Optimised arylbiamidine derivative as potent in vivo antimelanoma agent: Drug-to-target approach reveals nanomolar GSK3β inhibition

Melanoma, particularly in its metastatic form, remains highly lethal. Despite advancements in treatment, nearly half of melanoma patients experience therapeutic failure due to resistance. Consequently, the development of new antimelanoma drugs is critical for those unresponsive to current therapies. Here, we report the discovery of a potent antimelanoma scaffold and a promising inhibitor of glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3β) through a drug-to-target approach. A phenotypic screening of arylbiamidine derivatives identified lead compound 35, N-(N-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)carbamimidoyl)pyrazine-2-carboximidamide, which exhibited the highest in vitro potency against melanoma cell lines and nanomolar inhibition of oncogenic GSK3β (IC50 = 73.8 nM). Moreover, compound 35 demonstrated a favourable pharmacological profile, significantly reducing tumour growth in vivo in an A375 xenograft mouse model.

Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Anticancer Amidinourea Analogues via Unexpected 1,3,5-Triazin-2-one Ring Opening

Amidinoureas are an understudied class of molecules with unique structural properties and biological activities. A simple methodology has been developed for the synthesis of aliphatic substituted amidinoureas via unexpected cycle opening of benzothiazolo-1,3,5-triazine-2-ones and transamination reaction of N-(N-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)carbamimidoyl)aniline-1-carboxamide in good yields. A novel series of amidinoureas derivatives was designed, synthesized, and evaluated for its antiproliferative activity on an aggressive metastatic melanoma A375 cell line model. This evaluation reveals antiproliferative activities in the low micromolar range and establishes a first structure-activity relationship. In addition, analogues selected for their structural diversity were assayed on a panel of cancer cell lines through the DTP-NCI60, on which they showed effectiveness on various cancer types, with promising activities on melanoma cells for two hit compounds. This work paves the way for further optimization of this family of compounds towards the development of potent antimelanoma agents.

Biguanides drugs: Past success stories and promising future for drug discovery

Biguanides have attracted much attention a century ago and showed resurgent interest in recent years after a long period of dormancy. They constitute an important class of therapeutic agents suitable for the treatment of a wide spectrum of diseases. Therapeutic indications of biguanides include antidiabetic, antimalarial, antiviral, antiplaque, and bactericidal applications. This review presents an extensive overview of the biological activity of biguanides and different mechanisms of action of currently marketed biguanide-containing drugs, as well as their pharmacological properties when applicable. We highlight the recent developments in research on biguanide compounds, with a primary focus on studies on metformin in the field of oncology. We aim to provide a critical overview of all main bioactive biguanide compounds and discuss future perspectives for the design of new drugs based on the biguanide fragment.