Cytotoxic and trypanocidal activities of cinchona alkaloid derivatives

CuAAC-Based Synthesis, Copper-Catalyzed Aldehyde-Forming Hydrolytic Fission and Antiproliferative Evaluation of Novel Ferrocenoylamino-Substituted Triazole-Tethered Quinine-Chalcone Hybrids

A series of novel triazole-tethered ferrocenoylamino-substituted cinchona-chalcone hybrids along with two representative benzoylamino-substituted reference compounds were prepared by three methods of CuAAC chemistry. In line with the limited success or complete failure of attempted conversions with low catalyst loadings, by means of DFT modeling studies, we demonstrated that a substantial part of the Cu(I) ions can be chelated and thus trapped in the aroylamino-substituted cinchona fragment and all of the accessible coordinating sites of the chalcone residues. Accordingly, increased amounts of catalysts were used to achieve acceptable yields; however, the cycloadditions with para-azidochalcones were accompanied by partial or complete aldehyde-forming hydrolytic fission of the enone C=C bond in a substituent-, solvent- and copper load-dependent manner. The experienced hydrolytic stability of the hybrids obtained by cycloadditions with ortho-azidochalcones was interpreted in terms of relative energetics, DFT reactivity indices and MO analysis of simplified models of two isomer copper-enone complexes. The novel hybrids were evaluated on HeLa, MDA-MB-231 and A2780 cell lines and showed substantial activity at low-to-submicromolar concentrations. An organometallic model carrying 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl residue in the enone part with a para-disubstituted benzene ring in the central skeletal region was identified as the most potent antiproliferative lead, characterized by submicromolar IC50 values measured on the three investigated cells. The biological assays also disclosed that this ferrocenoylamino-containing lead compound displays a ca. two- to five-fold more substantial antiproliferative effect than its benzoylamino-substituted counterpart.

Cinchonine-induced cell death in pancreatic cancer cells by downregulating RRP15

Pancreatic cancer is characterized by poor prognosis and high mortality, while its treatment remains unsatisfactory. Cinchonine, a natural compound present in cinchona bark, is a potential anticancer drug. Whether cinchonine is of relevance to pancreatic cancer therapeutics is unclear. This research showed that the ribosomal RNA-processing 15 homolog (RRP15) expression is decreased in the pancreatic cancer, and RRP15 knockdown inhibited autophagy, and caused apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells. Cinchonine treatment inhibits the expression of RRP15 and autophagy, and caused apoptosis by leading to the activation of Nrf2 axis in pancreatic cancer cells. Taken together, the above results indicate that cinchonine treatment inhibited autophagy and induced apoptosis through activating Nrf2 axis by downregulating RRP15 in pancreatic cancer cells.

Cytotoxicity of cinchona alkaloid organocatalysts against MES-SA and MES-SA/Dx5 multidrug-resistant uterine sarcoma cell lines

Since the first application of natural quinine as an anti-malarial drug, cinchona alkaloids and their derivatives have been exhaustively studied for their biological activity. In our work, we tested 13 cinchona alkaloid organocatalysts, synthesised from quinine. These derivatives were screened against MES-SA and Dx5 uterine sarcoma cell lines for in vitro anticancer activity and to investigate their potential to overcome P-glycoprotein (P-gp) mediated multidrug resistance (MDR). Decorating quinine with hydrogen-bond donor units, such as thiourea and (thio)squaramide, resulted in decreased half-maximal growth inhibition values on both cell lines (1.3-21 µM) compared to quinine and other cinchona alcohols (47-111 µM). Further cytotoxicity studies conducted in the presence of the P-gp inhibitor tariquidar indicated that several analogues, especially cinchona amines and squaramides, but not thiosquaramide, were expelled from MDR cells by P-gp. Similarly to the established P-gp inhibitor quinine, 6 cinchona analogues were shown to inhibit calcein-AM efflux. Interestingly, quinine and didehydroquinine exhibited a marginally increased toxicity against the multidrug resistant Dx5 cells. Collateral sensitivity of the MDR cell line was more pronounced when the cinchona thiosquaramide was complexed with Cu(II) acetate. Based on the results, cinchona derivatives are good anticancer candidates for further drug development.

Antimicrobial Activity of Quasi-Enantiomeric Cinchona Alkaloid Derivatives and Prediction Model Developed by Machine Learning

Bacterial infections that do not respond to current treatments are increasing, thus there is a need for the development of new antibiotics. Series of 20 N-substituted quaternary salts of cinchonidine (CD) and their quasi-enantiomer cinchonine (CN) were prepared and their antimicrobial activity was assessed against a diverse panel of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. All tested compounds showed good antimicrobial potential (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values 1.56 to 125.00 μg/mL), proved to be nontoxic to different human cell lines, and did not influence the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Seven compounds showed very strong bioactivity against some of the tested Gram-negative bacteria (MIC for E. coli and K. pneumoniae 6.25 μg/mL; MIC for P. aeruginosa 1.56 μg/mL). To establish a connection between antimicrobial data and potential energy surfaces (PES) of the compounds, activity/PES models using principal components of the disc diffusion assay and MIC and data towards PES data were built. An extensive machine learning procedure for the generation and cross-validation of multivariate linear regression models with a linear combination of original variables as well as their higher-order polynomial terms was performed. The best possible models with predicted R²(CD derivatives) = 0.9979 and R²(CN derivatives) = 0.9873 were established and presented. This activity/PES model can be used for accurate prediction of activities for new compounds based solely on their potential energy surfaces, which will enable wider screening and guided search for new potential leads. Based on the obtained results, N-quaternary derivatives of Cinchona alkaloids proved to be an excellent scaffold for further optimization of novel antibiotic species.

Synthesis, Structure and In Vitro Cytotoxic Activity of Novel Cinchona-Chalcone Hybrids with 1,4-Disubstituted- and 1,5-Disubstituted 1,2,3-Triazole Linkers

By means of copper(I)-and ruthenium(II)-catalyzed click reactions of quinine- and quinidine-derived alkynes with azide-substituted chalcones a systematic series of novel cinchona-chalcone hybrid compounds, containing 1,4-disubstituted- and 1,5-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazole linkers, were synthesized and evaluated for their cytotoxic activity on four human malignant cell lines (PANC-1, COLO-205, A2058 and EBC-1). In most cases, the cyclization reactions were accompanied by the transition-metal-catalyzed epimerization of the C9-stereogenic centre in the cinchona fragment. The results of the in vitro assays disclosed that all the prepared hybrids exhibit marked cytotoxicity in concentrations of low micromolar range, while the C9-epimerized model comprising quinidine- and (E)-1-(4-(3-oxo-3-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)prop-1-en-1-yl)phenyl) fragments, connected by 1,5-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazole linker, and can be regarded as the most potent lead of which activity is probably associated with a limited conformational space allowing for the adoption of a relatively rigid well-defined conformation identified by DFT modelling. The mechanism of action of this hybrid along with that of a model with markedly decreased activity were approached by comparative cell-cycle analyses in PANC-1 cells. These studies disclosed that the hybrid of enhanced antiproliferative activity exerts significantly more extensive inhibitory effects in subG1, S and G2/M phases than does the less cytotoxic counterpart.

Hybrids of Cinchona Alkaloids and Bile Acids as Antiparasitic Agents Against Trypanosoma cruzi

The current chemotherapy of Chagas disease needs to be urgently improved. With this aim, a series of 16 hybrids of Cinchona alkaloids and bile acids were prepared by functionalization at position C-2 of the quinoline nucleus by a radical attack of a norcholane substituent via a Barton-Zard decarboxylation reaction. The antitrypanosomal activity of the hybrids was tested on different stages and strains of T. cruzi. In particular, eight out of 16 hybrids presented an IC₅₀ ≤1 μg/mL against trypomastigotes of the CL Brener strain and/or a selectivity index higher than 10. These promising hybrids yielded similar results when tested on trypomastigotes from the RA strain of T. cruzi (discrete typing unit-DTU-VI). Surprisingly, trypomastigotes of the Y strain (DTU II) were more resistant to benznidazole and to most of the hybrids than those of the CL Brener and RA strains. However, the peracetylated and non-acetylated forms of the cinchonine/chenodeoxycholic bile acid conjugate 4f and 5f were the most trypanocidal hybrids against Y strain trypomastigotes, with IC₅₀ values of 0.5 and 0.65 μg/mL, respectively. More importantly, promising results were observed in invasion assays using the Y strain, where hybrids 5f and 4f induced a significant reduction in intracellular amastigotes and on the release of trypomastigotes from infected cells.

Cinchona alkaloids as natural fetal hemoglobin inducing agents in human erythroleukemia cells

Pharmacologically mediated reactivation of γ-globin gene with an increase in fetal hemoglobin production, is a cost effective experimental therapeutic intervention for the management of β-hemoglobinopathies. Investigation of new pharmacological agents as HbF inducers from natural resources is desirable to develop safe and effective HbF inducers. We evaluated selected cinchona alkaloids (cinchonidine and quinidine) for their potential of erythroid differentiation and augmentation of fetal hemoglobin production. K562 cells were used as in vitro experimental model. Erythroid differentiation of K562 cells was studied using a benzidine assay, and total hemoglobin was estimated through a calorimetric method. Whereas, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to analyse γ-globin gene expression, and flow cytometry and immunofluorescence microscopy for evaluating HbF production. Cinchona alkaloids showed dose dependent erythroid differentiation, time driven cellular proliferation, with kinetics of hemoglobin accumulation in K562 cells. The findings of qRT-PCR showed an increase in expression of γ-globin mRNA content (3.17-fold in cinchonidine and 2.03-fold increase in quinidine treated K562 cells), accompanied by an increase in fetal hemoglobin production. Altogether, this study demonstrates that cinchona alkaloids can be used as therapeutic agents in treating β-thalassemia after further biological investigation.

Pharmacologically mediated reactivation of γ-globin gene and fetal hemoglobin (HbF) induction by cinchona alkaloids; a cost effective experimental therapeutic intervention for the efficient management of β-thalassemia.