The chemistry and pharmacology of privileged pyrroloquinazolines

Discovery of fluorinated 2‑Styryl 4(3H)-quinazolinone as potential therapeutic hit for oral cancer

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common malignant epithelial neoplasm, affects the mouth and throat, and accounts for 90 % of oral cancers. Considering the associated morbidity with neck dissections and the limitation of existing therapeutic agents, the discovery and development of new anticancer drugs/drug candidates for oral cancer treatment are of the utmost need. In this context, reported here is the identification of fluorinated 2‑styryl 4(3H)-quinazolinone as a promising hit for oral cancer. Preliminary studies indicate that the compound blocks the transition of G1 to S phase, thereby leading to arrest in the G1/S phase. Subsequent RNA-seq analysis revealed that the compound induces the activation of molecular pathways involved in apoptosis (such as TNF signalling through NF-κB, p53 pathways) and cell differentiation and suppresses the pathways of cellular growth and development (such as KRAS signaling) in CAL-27 cancer cells. It is noted that identified hit complies with a favorable range of ADME properties as per the computational analysis.

Regioselective Brønsted Acid-Catalyzed Annulation of Cyclopropane Aldehydes with N'-Aryl Anthranil Hydrazides: Domino Construction of Tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]quinazolin-5(1H)ones

A highly regioselective synthesis of tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]quinazolin-5(1H)one derivatives was achieved by reacting cyclopropane aldehydes with N'-aryl anthranil hydrazides in the presence of p-toluene sulfonic acid (PTSA). The transformation involves domino imine formation and intramolecular cyclization to form 2-arylcyclopropyl-2,3-dihydroquinolin-4(1H)-one, followed by nucleophilic ring opening of the cyclopropyl ring to form desired tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]quinazolin-5(1H)one in good to excellent yield with complete regioselectivity. This protocol tolerates a great variety of functional groups and thus provides a simple and step-efficient method for pyrroloquinazolinone synthesis.

Anticancer Pyrroloquinazoline LBL1 Targets Nuclear Lamins

Target identification of bioactive compounds is critical for understanding their mechanism of action. We previously discovered a novel pyrroloquinazoline compound LBL1 with significant anticancer activity. However, its molecular targets remain to be established. Herein, we developed a clickable photoaffinity probe based on LBL1. Using extensive chemical, biochemical, and cellular studies with this probe and LBL1, we found that LBL1 targets nuclear lamins, which are type V intermediate filament (IF) proteins. Further studies showed that LBL1 binds to the coiled-coil domain of lamin A. These results revealed that IF proteins can also be targeted with appropriate small molecules besides two other cytoskeletal proteins actin filaments and microtubules, providing a novel avenue to investigate lamin biology and a novel strategy to develop distinct anticancer therapies.

Design, synthesis and evaluation of antitumor acylated monoaminopyrroloquinazolines

Pyrroloquinazoline is a privileged chemical scaffold with diverse biological activities. We recently described a series of N-3 acylated 1,3-diaminopyrroloquinazolines with potent anticancer activities. The N-1 primary amino group in 1,3-diaminopyrroloquinazoline is critical for its inhibitory activity against dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR). In order to design out this unnecessary DHFR inhibition activity and further expand the chemical space associated with pyrroloquinazoline, we removed the N-1 primary amino group. In this report, we describe our design and synthesis of a series of N-3 acylated monoaminopyrroloquinazolines. Biological evaluation of these compounds identified a naphthamide 4a as a potent anticancer agent (GI₅₀=88-200nM), suggesting that removing the N-1 primary amino group in 1,3-diaminopyrroloquinazoline is a useful chemical modification that can be introduced to improve the anticancer activity.

Novel 2,3-Dihydro-1H-pyrrolo[3,2,1-ij]quinazolin-1-ones: Synthesis and Biological Evaluation

Herein we describe the synthesis and evaluation of a series of novel 2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrrolo[3,2,1-ij]quinazolin-1-ones for in vitro cytotoxicity against three human cancer cell lines as well as for potential antimalarial activity against the chloroquine-sensitive strain 3D7 of Plasmodium falciparum. The title compounds were prepared via PdCl₂-mediated endo-dig cyclization of 2-aryl-8-(arylethynyl)-6-bromo-2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones. The latter were prepared, in turn, via initial Sonogashira cross-coupling of 2-amino-5-bromo-3-iodobenzamide with aryl acetylenes followed by boric acid-mediated cyclocondensation of the intermediate 2-amino-3-(arylethynyl)-5-bromobenzamides with benzaldehyde derivatives. The 2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrrolo[3,2,1-ij]quinazolin-1-ones 4a-k were evaluated for potential in vitro cytotoxicity against the breast (MCF-7), melanoma (B16) and endothelioma (sEnd.2) cell lines. All of the compounds except 4h and 4i were found to be inactive against the three cancer cell lines. Compound 4h substituted with a 4-methoxyphenyl and 4-fluorophenyl groups at the 3- and 5-positions was found to exhibit significant cytotoxicity against the three cancer cell lines. The presence of phenyl and 3-chlorophenyl groups at the 3- and 5-posiitons of the pyrroloquinazolinone 4i, on the other hand, resulted in significant cytotoxicity against vascular tumour endothelial cells (sEnd.2), but reduced activity against the melanoma (B16) and breast cancer (MCF-7) cells except at higher concentrations. The 2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrrolo[3,2,1-ij]quinazolin-1-ones 4a-l were found to be inactive against the chloroquine sensitive 3D7 strain of Plasmodium falciparum.