New biaryl-chalcone derivatives of pregnenolone via Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction. Synthesis, CYP17 hydroxylase inhibition activity, QSAR, and molecular docking study

Design, synthesis, and anti-hepatocellular carcinoma of thiopyrimidine/chalcone hybrids as dual STAT3/STAT5 inhibitors

Among the promising therapeutic targets for treating cancer are the continuously active STAT proteins, which are important in the progression of many malignancies. Here, we detail the STAT3/5 inhibitory action and thiopyrimidine/chalcone hybrid design, production, and anti-hepatocellular carcinoma activity. The prepared hybrids were assessed for their cytotoxic effect on HepG2 and Huh7 liver cancer cells. The most active compounds 5e and 5h (IC50 range from 0.55 to 2.58 μM) were further evaluated against normal THLE cells to examine their safety profiles. The hybrids 5e and 5h were additionally tested for their potential to inhibit STAT3 and STAT5a. They showed dual inhibitory action, with a decrease in the level of STAT3 by 65 and 87 times, respectively, and a decrease in the level of STAT5 by 60 and 79.5 times, respectively, compared to the control. Additionally, western blot analysis of compound 5h revealed inhibition of STAT3 and STAT5 phosphorylation at Tyr705 and Tyr694, respectively, with only a slight decrease in the total expression of STAT3 and STAT5 proteins. And lastly, molecular docking research provided additional insight on the 5h binding mechanism in the STAT3 and STAT5 SH2 domains.

Synthesis, pharmacological evaluation and Molecular modelling studies of pregnenolone derivatives as inhibitors of human dihydrofolate reductase

In current study, we synthesized chalcone derivatives (13a-c) via base-catalyzed Claisen-Schmidt condensation reaction. We further treated diamino compounds with synthesized chalcones to produce 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-one (18a-c), 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-thione (19a-c) and 2-aminopyrimidine (20a-c) derivatives of pregnenolone by cyclization reaction. Cell viability test of synthesized steroidal chalcones and their pyrimidine and thiopyrimidine derivatives against human breast (MCF-7), human lung (A549) and human prostate (PC-3) cancer cell lines was performed using (4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), assay. Compounds were further evaluated for their inhibition potential against recombinant human DHFR (rhDHFR). All compounds showed activity from low micromolar to submicromolar range. Compound 20b with IC₅₀ value of 180 nM emerged as most potent compound against rhDHFR. Interaction of the newly synthesized pregnenolone derivatives with hDHFR and estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) were also explored via docking simulations. The overall results of hDHFR inhibition have shown that these analogues can be further optimized and developed as potent anticancer agents.

2-Thiopyrimidine/chalcone hybrids: design, synthesis, ADMET prediction, and anticancer evaluation as STAT3/STAT5a inhibitors

A novel 2-thiopyrimidine/chalcone hybrid was designed, synthesised, and evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against three different cell lines, K-562, MCF-7, and HT-29. The most active cytotoxic derivatives were 9d, 9f, 9n, and 9p (IC50=0.77-1.74 µM, against K-562 cell line), 9a and 9r (IC50=1.37-3.56 µM against MCF-7 cell line), and 9a, 9l, and 9n (IC50=2.10 and 2.37 µM against HT-29 cell line). Compounds 9a, 9d, 9f, 9n, and 9r were further evaluated for their cytotoxicity against normal fibroblast cell line WI38. Moreover, STAT3 and STAT5a inhibitory activities were determined for the most active derivatives 9a, 9d, 9f, 9n, and 9r. Dual inhibitory activity was observed in compound 9n (IC50=113.31 and 50.75 µM, against STAT3 and STAT5a, respectively). Prediction of physicochemical properties, drug likeness score, pharmacokinetic and toxic properties was detected.

A novel pregnene analogs: synthesis, cytotoxicity on prostate cancer of PC-3 and LNCPa-AI cells and in silico molecular docking study

New pregnene analogs of N-hydroxamic acid 6, imino-propane hydrazides 7 and 8 as well as the aryl amides 9-11, oxadiazole, pyrazole and sulfinyl analogs 13-15, via the hydrazide analog 5 of methyl ((5-pregnen-3β,17β-diol-15α-yl)thio)propanoate (4) were synthesized. The in vitro cytotoxic activities of selected synthesized steroids against two human prostate cancer cell lines (PC-3, and LNCaP-AI) were evaluated by MTT assay. Compound 10 was the most active cytotoxic agent among these steroids against PC-3 and LNCaP-AI cell lines with inhibition of 96.2%, and 93.6% at concentration levels of 10.0 μM and 91.8%, and of 79.8% at concentration of 1.0 μM, respectively. Molecular docking study of 10 showed a hydrogen bonding with the amino acid Asn705 residue of the receptor 1E3G, together with hydrophobic interactions. Therefore, compound 10 can be considered as a promising anticancer agent due to its potent cytotoxic activity.

New chalcones and thiopyrimidine analogues derived from mefenamic acid: microwave-assisted synthesis, anti-HIV activity and cytotoxicity as antileukemic agents

The development of new HIV non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors offers the possibility of generating structures of increased potency. To this end, coupling of mefenamic acid (4) with 4-amino-acetophenone (6) in the presence of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) reagents afforded 4-(acetyphenyl)-2-((2,3-dimethylphenyl)amino)benzamide (7). Analogously, treatment of mefenamyl chloride (5) prepared from 4 with 6 under microwave irradiation (MWI) afforded 7. A new series of substituted chalconyl-incorporated amide derivatives of mefenamic acid 8–13 were synthesized from condensation of 7 with various substituted benzaldehydes via the Claisen–Schmidt reaction. Treatment of 8 and 11 with thiourea in a basic medium afforded the thiopyrimidine analogues 14 and 15, respectively. The newly synthesized compounds were assayed against HIV-1 and HIV-2 in MT-4 cells. Compounds 9 and 11 showed cytotoxicity values of 2.17 and 2.06 μm, respectively, against mock-infected MT-4 cells (C type adult T leukemia cells), which considered to be promising antileukemic agents.