Carbazole derivative as an effective telomeric G-quadruplex DNA binder

Inhibition of cancer cells by Quinoline-Based compounds: A review with mechanistic insights

This article includes a thorough examination of the inhibitory potential of quinoline-based drugs on cancer cells, as well as an explanation of their modes of action. Quinoline derivatives, due to their various chemical structures and biological activity, have emerged as interesting candidates in the search for new anticancer drugs. The review paper delves into the numerous effects of quinoline-based chemicals in cancer progression, including apoptosis induction, cell cycle modification, and interference with tumor-growth signaling pathways. Mechanistic insights on quinoline derivative interactions with biological targets enlightens their therapeutic potential. However, obstacles such as poor bioavailability, possible off-target effects, and resistance mechanisms make it difficult to get these molecules from benchside to bedside. Addressing these difficulties might be critical for realizing the full therapeutic potential of quinoline-based drugs in cancer treatment.

Design, synthesis, molecular docking and biological evaluation of new carbazole derivatives as anticancer, and antioxidant agents

BACKGROUND

The carbazole skeleton is an important structural motif occurring naturally or synthesized chemically and has antihistaminic, antioxidant, antitumor, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory activities.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to design and synthesize a novel series of carbazole derivatives and evaluate their antiproliferative and antioxidant activities.

METHODS

The synthesized compounds were characterized utilizing HRMS, ¹H-, and ¹³C_APT-NMR, and assessed for their anticancer, antifibrotic, and antioxidant effects utilizing reference biomedical procedures. In addition, the AutoDock Vina application was used to perform in-silico docking computations.

RESULTS

A series of carbazole derivatives were synthesized and characterized in the current study. Compounds 10 and 11 were found to have a stronger antiproliferative effect than compounds 2-5 against HepG2, HeLa, and MCF7 cancer cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 7.68, 10.09, and 6.44 µM, respectively. Moreover, compound 9 showed potent antiproliferative activity against HeLa cancer cell lines with an IC₅₀ value of 7.59 µM. However, except for compound 5, all of the synthesized compounds showed moderate antiproliferative activities against CaCo-2 with IC₅₀ values in the range of 43.7-187.23 µM. All of these values were compared with the positive control anticancer drug 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU). In addition, compound 9 showed the most potent anti-fibrotic compound, and the cellular viability of LX-2 was found 57.96% at 1 µM concentration in comparison with the positive control 5-FU. Moreover, 4 and 9 compounds showed potent antioxidant activities with IC₅₀ values of 1.05 ± 0.77 and 5.15 ± 1.01 µM, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Most of the synthesized carbazole derivatives showed promising antiproliferative, antioxidant, and antifibrotic biological effects, and further in-vivo investigations are needed to approve or disapprove these results.

Insights from Binding on Quadruplex Selective Carbazole Ligands

Polymorphic G-quadruplex (G4) secondary DNA structures have received increasing attention in medicinal chemistry owing to their key involvement in the regulation of the maintenance of genomic stability, telomere length homeostasis and transcription of important proto-oncogenes. Different classes of G4 ligands have been developed for the potential treatment of several human diseases. Among them, the carbazole scaffold with appropriate side chain appendages has attracted much interest for designing G4 ligands. Because of its large and rigid π-conjugation system and ease of functionalization at three different positions, a variety of carbazole derivatives have been synthesized from various natural or synthetic sources for potential applications in G4-based therapeutics and biosensors. Herein, we provide an updated close-up of the literatures on carbazole-based G4 ligands with particular focus given on their detailed binding insights studied by NMR spectroscopy. The structure-activity relationships and the opportunities and challenges of their potential applications as biosensors and therapeutics are also discussed. This review will provide an overall picture of carbazole ligands with remarkable G4 topological preference, fluorescence properties and significant bioactivity; portraying carbazole as a very promising scaffold for assembling G4 ligands with a range of novel functional applications.