Asymmetric synthesis of antimitotic combretadioxolane with potent antitumor activity against multi-drug resistant cells

3,4-Diarylisoxazoles-Analogues of Combretastatin A-4: Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation In Vitro and In Vivo

Focusing on the molecular docking results, a series of 3,4-diarylisoxazoles, analogues of Combretastatin A4, bearing various substituents at the fifth position of the isoxazole ring and pharmacophore groups bioisosteric to methoxy substituent at ring B, were synthesized in good yields and high regioselectivity. Depending on the substituent at C5, three approaches were chosen for the construction of isoxazole ring, including nitrosation of gem-dihalocyclopropanes, nitrile oxide synthesis, and difluoromethoxylation of isoxazolone to afford 5-haloisoxazoles, 5-unsubstituted isoxazoles, and 5-difluoromethoxyisoxazoles, respectively. Isoxazoles 43 and 45 showed selective cytotoxicity and antitubulin inhibition properties in vitro, with pharmacodynamic profiles closely related to that of CA-4. Both of them slow down tumor growth (66-74%) in mouse xenografts and slightly exceed in effectiveness Combretastatin A4-phosphate itself.

Combretastatin A-4 sulfur-containing heterocyclic derivatives: Synthesis, antiproliferative activities and molecular docking studies

Combretastatin A-4 inspired heterocyclic derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their biological activities on tubulin polymerization and cell proliferation. Among the 19 described sulfur-containing compounds, derivatives (Z)-4h and (Z)-4j exhibited interesting in cellulo tubulin polymerization inhibition and antiproliferative activities with IC₅₀ values for six different cell lines between 8 and 27 nM. Furthermore, in silico docking studies within the colchicine/CA-4 binding site of tubulin were carried out to understand the interactions of our products with the protein target. The effects on the cell cycle of follicular lymphoma cells were also investigated at 1-10 nM concentrations showing that apoptotic processes occurred.

Medicinal chemistry of vicinal diaryl scaffold: A mini review

The privileged structures have been widely used as a valuable template in new drug discovery. 1,2-Diaryl or vicinal diaryl is a simple scaffold found in many drugs and naturally occurring compounds. From synthetic point of view, the vicinal diaryl derivatives are easily accessible due to their facile and expedient syntheses. These scaffolds have shown numerous interesting pharmacological activities against various diseases with lot of clinical potentials. This review aims to highlight the evidence of vicinal diaryl motif as a privileged scaffold in COX-2 inhibitors and CA-4 analogs.

Development of combretastatins as potent tubulin polymerization inhibitors

The combretastatins are isolated from South African tree combretum caffrum kuntze. The lead compound combretastatin A-4 has displayed remarkable cytotoxic effect in a wide variety of preclinical tumor models and inhibits tubulin polymerization by interacting at colchicine binding site of microtubule. However, the structural simplicity of C A-4 is favorable for synthesis of various derivatives projected to induce rapid and selective vascular shutdown in tumors. Majority of the molecules have shown excellent antiproliferative activity and are able to inhibit tubulin polymerization as well as possible mechanisms of action have been investigated. In this review article, the synthesis and structure-activity relationships of C A-4 and immense number of its synthetic derivatives with various modifications on the A, B-rings, bridge carbons and their anti mitotic activities are discussed.

Crystal structure of 5''-(4-chloro-benzyl-idene)-4'-(4-chloro-phen-yl)-1'-methyltri-spiro[acenapthylene-1,2'-pyrrolidine-3',1''-cyclo-hexane-3'',2'''-[1,3]dioxane]-2(1H),6''-dione

In the title compound, C36H29Cl2NO4, two spiro links connect the methyl-substituted pyrrolidine ring to the ace-naphthyl-ene and cyclo-hexa-none rings. The cyclo-hexa-none ring is further connected to the dioxalane ring by a third spiro junction. The five-membered ring of the ace-naphthylen-1-one ring system adopts a flattened envelope conformation, with the ketonic C atom as the flap, whereas the dioxalane and pyrrolidine rings each have a twist conformation. The cyclo-hexenone ring assumes a boat conformation. An intra-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen-bond inter-action is present. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by non-classical C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming chains extending parallel to the a axis.

Combretastatins: more than just vascular targeting agents?

Several prodrugs of the naturally occurring combretastatins have undergone extensive clinical evaluation as vascular targeting agents (VTAs). Their increased selectivity toward endothelial cells together with their innate ability to rapidly induce vascular shutdown and inhibit tumor growth at doses up to 10-fold less than the maximum tolerated dose led to the clinical evaluation of combretastatins as VTAs. Tubulin is well established as the molecular target of the combretastatins and the vast majority of its synthetic derivatives. Furthermore, tubulin is a highly validated molecular target of many direct anticancer agents routinely used as front-line chemotherapeutics. The unique vascular targeting properties of the combretastatins have somewhat overshadowed their development as direct anticancer agents and the delineation of the various cell death pathways and anticancer properties associated with such chemotherapeutics. Moreover, the ongoing clinical trial of OXi4503 (combretastatin-A1 diphosphate) together with preliminary preclinical evaluation for the treatment of refractory acute myelogenous leukemia has successfully highlighted both the indirect and direct anticancer properties of combretastatins. In this review, we discuss the development of the combretastatins from nature to the clinic. The various mechanisms underlying combretastatin-induced cell cycle arrest, mitotic catastrophe, cell death, and survival are also reviewed in an attempt to further enhance the clinical prospects of this unique class of VTAs.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 4,5-disubstituted 2H-1,2,3-triazoles as cis-constrained analogues of combretastatin A-4

A series of combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) analogues have been prepared from (Z)-substituted diarylacrylonitriles (1a-1p) obtained in a two-step synthesis from appropriate arylaldehydes and acrylonitriles. The resulting 4,5-disubstituted 2H-1,2,3-triazoles were evaluated for their anti-cancer activities against a panel of 60 human cancer cell lines. The diarylacrylonitrile analogue 2l exhibited the most potent anti-cancer activity in the screening studies, with GI₅₀ values of <10 nM against almost all the cell lines in the human cancer cell panel and TGI values of <10 nM against cancer cell lines SF-539, MDA-MB-435, OVCAR-3 and A498. Furthermore, in silico docking studies of compounds 2l, 2e and 2h within the active site of tubulin were carried out in order to rationalize the mechanism of the anti-cancer properties of these compounds. From the in silico studies, compound 2e was predicted to have better affinity for the colchicine binding site on tubulin compared to compounds 2l and 2h. Analogue 2e was also evaluated for its anti-cancer activity by colony formation assay against 9LSF rat gliosarcoma cells and afforded an LD₅₀ of 7.5 nM. A cell cycle redistribution assay using analogue 2e was conducted to further understand the mechanism of action of these CA-4 analogues. From this study, analogues 2e and 2l were the most potent anti-cancer agents in this structural class, and were considered lead compounds for further development as anti-cancer drugs.

Synthesis and anti-cancer screening of novel heterocyclic-(2H)-1,2,3-triazoles as potential anti-cancer agents

trans-Cyanocombretastatin A-4 (trans-CA-4) analogues have been structurally modified to afford their more stable CA-4-(2H)-1,2,3-triazole analogues. Fifteen novel, stable 4-heteroaryl-5-aryl-(2H)-1,2,3-triazole CA-4 analogues (8a-i, 9 and 11a-e) were evaluated for anti-cancer activity against a panel of 60 human cancer cell lines. These analogues displayed potent cytotoxic activity against both hematological and solid tumor cell lines with GI50 values in the low nanomolar range. The most potent compound, 8a, was a benzothiophen-2-yl analogue that incorporated a 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl moiety connected to the (2H)-1,2,3-triazole ring system. Compound 8a exhibited GI50 values of <10 nM against 80% of the cancer cell lines in the panel. Three triazole analogues, 8a, 8b and 8g, showed particularly potent growth inhibition against the triple negative Hs578T breast cancer cell line with GI50 values of 10.3 nM, 66.5 nM and 20.3 nM, respectively. Molecular docking studies suggest that these compounds bind to the same hydrophobic pocket at the interface of α- and β-tubulin that is occupied by colchicine and cis-CA-4, and are stabilized by Van der Waals' interactions with surrounding amino acid residues. Compound 8a was found to inhibit tubulin polymerization in vitro with an IC50 value of 1.7 µM. The potent cytotoxicity of these novel compounds and their inhibition of tubulin dynamics make these triazole analogues promising candidates for development as anti-cancer drugs.

Improved synthesis of bioactive stilbene derivatives applying design of experiments to the Heck–Matsuda reaction

Design of experiments (DOE) was instrumental to optimize reaction conditions which allowed the efficient synthesis of key bioactive stilbenes.

Tubulin-interactive stilbene derivatives as anticancer agents

Microtubules are dynamic polymers that occur in eukaryotic cells and play important roles in cell division, motility, transport and signaling. They form during the process of polymerization of α- and β-tubulin dimers. Tubulin is a significant and heavily researched molecular target for anticancer drugs. Combretastatins are natural cis-stilbenes that exhibit cytotoxic properties in cultured cancer cells in vitro. Combretastatin A-4 (3′-hydroxy-3,4,4′, 5-tetramethoxy-cis-stilbene; CA-4) is a potent cytotoxic cis-stilbene that binds to β-tubulin at the colchicine-binding site and inhibits tubulin polymerization. The prodrug CA-4 phosphate is currently in clinical trials as a chemotherapeutic agent for cancer treatment. Numerous series of stilbene analogs have been studied in search of potent cytotoxic agents with the requisite tubulin-interactive properties. Microtubule-interfering agents include numerous CA-4 and transresveratrol analogs and other synthetic stilbene derivatives. Importantly, these agents are active in both tumor cells and immature endothelial cells of tumor blood vessels, where they inhibit the process of angiogenesis. Recently, computer-aided virtual screening was used to select potent tubulin-interactive compounds. This review covers the role of stilbene derivatives as a class of antitumor agents that act by targeting microtubule assembly dynamics. Additionally, we present the results of molecular modeling of their binding to specific sites on the α- and β-tubulin heterodimer. This has enabled the elucidation of the mechanism of stilbene cytotoxicity and is useful in the design of novel agents with improved anti-mitotic activity. Tubulin-interactive agents are believed to have the potential to play a significant role in the fight against cancer.

Synthesis and biological activity of new 1,3-dioxolanes as potential antibacterial and antifungal compounds

A series of new enantiomerically pure and racemic 1,3-dioxolanes 1-8 was synthesized in good yields and short reaction times by the reaction of salicylaldehyde with commercially available diols using a catalytic amount of Mont K10. Elemental analysis and spectroscopic characterization established the structure of all the newly synthesized compounds. These compounds were tested for their possible antibacterial and antifungal activity. Biological screening showed that all the tested compounds, except 1, show excellent antifungal activity against C. albicans, while most of the compounds have also shown significant antibacterial activity against S. aureus, S. epidermidis, E. faecalis and P. aeruginosa.

Synthesis and evaluation of azetidinone analogues of combretastatin A-4 as tubulin targeting agents

The synthesis and antiproliferative activity of a new series of rigid analogues of combretastatin A-4 are described which contain the 1,4-diaryl-2-azetidinone (β-lactam) ring system in place of the usual ethylene bridge present in the natural combretastatin stilbene products. These novel compounds are also substituted at position 3 of the β-lactam ring with an aryl ring. A number of analogues showed potent nanomolar activity in human MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines, displayed in vitro inhibition of tubulin polymerization, and did not cause significant cytotoxicity in normal murine breast epithelial cells. 4-(4-Methoxyaryl)-substituted compound 32, 4-(3-hydroxy-4-methoxyaryl)-substituted compounds 35 and 41, and the 3-(4-aminoaryl)-substituted compounds 46 and 47 displayed the most potent antiproliferative activity of the series. β-Lactam 41 in particular showed subnanomolar activity in MCF-7 breast cancer cells (IC₅₀= 0.8 nM) together with significant in vitro inhibition of tubulin polymerization and has been selected for further biochemical assessment. These novel β-lactam compounds are identified as potentially useful scaffolds for the further development of antitumor agents that target tubulin.

Lead identification of conformationally restricted β-lactam type combretastatin analogues: synthesis, antiproliferative activity and tubulin targeting effects

The synthesis and study of the structure-activity relationships of a series of rigid analogues of combretastatin A-4 are described which contain the 1,4-diaryl-2-azetidinone (β-lactam) ring system in place of the usual ethylene bridge present in the natural combretastatin stilbene products. The 1,4-diaryl-2-azetidinones are unsubstituted at C-3, or contain methyl substituent(s) at C-3. The most potent compounds 12d and 12e display antiproliferative activity at nanomolar concentrations when evaluated against the MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 human breast carcinoma cell lines. 12d exerts antimitotic effects through an inhibition of tubulin polymerisation and subsequent G2/M arrest of the cell cycle in human MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, with similar activity to that of CA-4. These novel β-lactam compounds are identified as potentially useful scaffolds for the further development of antitumour agents which target tubulin.

Conformationally restricted macrocyclic analogues of combretastatins

New analogues of combretastatins have been evaluated as inhibitors of tubulin polymerization. These compounds present a macrocyclic structure, in which the para positions of the aromatic moieties have been linked by a 5- or 6-atoms chain, in order to produce a conformational restriction. This could contribute to determine the active conformation for these ligands. Such a conformational restriction and/or the steric hindrance makes them less potent inhibitors than the model compound CA-4.

Synthesis and Conformational Analysis of Macrocyclic Dihydroxystilbenes Linked between thepara–para Positions

A new family of diphenylethanes has been synthesized as conformationally restricted analogues of antimitotic combretastatins. The two phenyl rings are linked between the para-phenolic positions through a 3-oxapentamethylene or hexamethylene chain. The key macrocyclization step was achieved in moderate yields by using an intramolecular McMurry pinacol coupling of linked aromatic dialdehydes, except for the nitro-substituted compounds. The relative stereochemistry of the isomeric pinacols was determined by a combination of spectroscopic, chemical derivatization, and molecular-modeling approaches. The NMR spectra of these compounds (with a polyoxygenated crownophane skeleton) indicate severe conformational restrictions relative to their parent combretastatins; the rotation of the phenyl rings is hampered by interactions of their substituents and the linker and the conformational restrictions imposed by the substituted bridge.

Synthesis and cytotoxic activities of 4,5-diarylisoxazoles

A series of 4,5-diarylisoxazoles related to combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) were synthesized and evaluated for cytotoxicity against three human cancer cell lines. Among them, compound 6e showed better cytotoxic activity than CA-4 in HeLa and HepG2 cell lines assayed with IC(50) value as low as 0.022 and 0.065nM, respectively.

Synthesis and activity of Combretastatin A-4 analogues: 1,2,3-thiadiazoles as potent antitumor agents

A series of 4,5-disubstitute-1,2,3-thiadiazole compounds were designed and synthesized as potent anticancer agents, some of them exhibited excellent in vitro and in vivo inhibitory activity.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of boronic acid containing cis-stilbenes as apoptotic tubulin polymerization inhibitors

A series of boronic acid containing cis-stilbenes as potent inhibitors of tubulin polymerization was synthesized by the introduction of boronic acid as an acceptor-type functional group into the aromatic ring B of the combretastatin framework. High cell-growth inhibition was observed with boron compounds 13 c and 13 d, in which a hydroxy group on the aromatic ring B of combretastatin A-4 was replaced with boronic acid; IC50 values toward B-16 and 1-87 cell lines are 0.48-2.1 microM. Compounds 13 c and 13 d exhibited significant inhibitory activity toward tubulin polymerization (IC50=21-22 microM). The carboxylic acid derivative 17, which can be considered as a mimic of boronic acid 13 c, did not show significant inhibition of cell growth or tubulin polymerization. According to the FACScan analysis using Jurkat cells, apoptosis was induced after incubation for 8 h with 13 c at a concentration of >10(-8) M. Growth inhibitory experiments against a panel of 39 human cancer cell lines revealed 13 c to inhibit growth differently than combretastatin A-4; the correlation coefficient (r) between the two compounds was 0.553 in the COMPARE analysis.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of 3,4-diarylmaleimides as angiogenesis inhibitors

The new analogue 2 of combretastatin A-4 was discovered to be an inhibitor of tubulin polymerization with an IC50 of 7.6 microM and reduced angiogenesis in the in vivo chick embryo model. Interestingly, in a series of 2,3-diarylmaleimides closely related to this lead, no other compound was found to be active in the tubulin polymerization assay. However, by screening in the in vivo chick embryo assay 10 was identified as a potent angiogenesis inhibitor indicating an alternative target. Indeed, molecular modeling studies suggest a reasonable binding mode of 10 at the ATP-binding site of the model kinase CDK2. Motivated by these results, analogues of 10 were screened for inhibitory activity in a panel of 12 selected protein kinases and a high affinity of 10 to VEGF-R2 was found showing an IC50 of 2.5 nM. Structure-activity relationships (SAR) for this compound series with the isolated enzyme and equivalent antiangiogenic activity in the chick embryo assay are presented herein.

Naphthalene combretastatin analogues: synthesis, cytotoxicity and antitubulin activity

Synthesis and evaluation of new combretastatin analogues with varied modifications on the bridge and the aromatic rings, have shown that the 2-naphthyl moiety is a good surrogate for the 3-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl (B-ring) of combretastatin A-4. Other bicyclic systems, such as 6(7)-quinolyl and 5-indolyl, can replace the B-ring, but they produce less potent analogues in the cytotoxicity and tubulin polymerization inhibition assays. Other modifications are detrimental for the potency of the studied analogues. The 2-naphthyl combretastatin 53 and the related 6-quinolyl combretastatin 106 analogues are the most potent among the derivatives of this type, whereas 92 and 95 are the most potent among the naphthalene derivatives with a heterocycle in the bridge. Previous and new results in this family of combretastatin analogues are discussed.

Further naphthylcombretastatins. An investigation on the role of the naphthalene moiety

By synthesis and biological studies of new naphthalene analogues of combretastatins, we have found that the naphthalene is a good surrogate for the isovanillin moiety (3-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl) of combretastatin A-4, always generating highly cytotoxic analogues when combined with the 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl or related systems. On the other hand, when the naphthalene replaces the 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl moiety, the cytotoxic activity is largely decreased. The most cytotoxic naphthalene analogues of combretastatins, which also produce inhibition of tubulin polymerization, exerted their antimitotic effects through microtubule network disruption and subsequent G(2)/M arrest of the cell cycle in human cancer cells.

Structure-activity and crystallographic analysis of benzophenone derivatives-the potential anticancer agents

Compounds 1-5, structurally related to combretastatin A-4 showed excellent cytotoxic activities against a panel of human cancer cell lines including multi-drug resistant cell lines. The X-ray three-dimensional structural analysis shows that proton donor in B ring may be required for cytotoxic activity, with intermolecular hydrogen bonding playing an important role.

Development of a donor-acceptor concept for enzymatic cross-coupling reactions of aldehydes: the first asymmetric cross-benzoin condensation

Highly enantioenriched mixed benzoins are obtained selectively through a biocatalytical cross-coupling reaction of aromatic aldehydes using ThDP-dependent enzymes.

Synthesis and structure-activity relationship of 2-aminobenzophenone derivatives as antimitotic agents

A new type of inhibitor of tubulin polymerization was discovered on the basis of the combretastatin molecular skeleton. The lead compounds in this series, compounds 6 and 7, strongly inhibited tubulin polymerization in vitro and significantly arrested cells at the G(2)/M phase. Compounds 6 and 7 yielded 50- to 100-fold lower IC(50) values than did combretastatin A-4 against Colo 205, NUGC3, and HA22T human cancer cell lines as well as similar or greater growth inhibitory activities than did combretastain A-4 against DLD-1, HR, MCF-7, DU145, HONE-1, and MES-SA/DX5 human cancer cell lines. Structure-activity relationship information revealed that introduction of an amino group at the ortho position of the benzophenone ring plays an integral role for increased growth inhibition.

Potent, orally active heterocycle-based combretastatin A-4 analogues: synthesis, structure-activity relationship, pharmacokinetics, and in vivo antitumor activity evaluation

The synthesis and structure-activity relationship study of a series of compounds with heterocycles in place of the cis double bond in combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) are described. Substituted tosylmethyl isocyanides were found to be the key intermediates in construction of the heterocycles. Cytotoxicities of the heterocycle-based CA-4 analogues were evaluated against NCI-H460 and HCT-15 cancer cell lines. 3-Amino-4-methoxyphenyl and N-methyl-indol-5-yl were the best replacements for the 3-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl in CA-4. 4,5-Disubstituted imidazole was found to be the best for the replacement of the cis double bond in CA-4. Medicinal chemistry efforts led to the discovery of compounds 24h and 25f that were found to be 32 and 82% bioavailable, respectively, in rat. Evaluation of 24h and 25f against murine M5076 reticulum sarcoma in mice revealed that both compounds were orally efficacious with an increase in life span of 38.5 and 40.5%, respectively.

Novel sulfonate analogues of combretastatin A-4: potent antimitotic agents

Sulfonate analogues of combretastatin A-4 have been prepared. These compounds compete with colchicine and combretastatin A-4 for the colchicine binding site on tubulin and are potent inhibitors of tubulin polymerization and cell proliferation. Importantly, these compounds also inhibit the proliferation of P-glycoprotein positive (+) cancer cells, which are resistant to many other antitumor agents.

Synthesis and pharmacological activity of diarylindole derivatives. Cytotoxic agents based on combretastatins

Taking into account the structure of Combretastatins, we have synthesized and assayed for cytotoxic activity of new indole derivatives. Two aryl groups are maintained in the cis orientation required for activity by means of an indole moiety built up on less active ketoderivatives used as starting materials.