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Yan MP, Wee CE, Yen KP, Stevens A, Wai LK. G-quadruplex ligands as therapeutic agents against cancer, neurological disorders and viral infections. Future Med Chem 2023; 15:1987-2009. [PMID: 37933551 DOI: 10.4155/fmc-2023-0202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2023] Open
Abstract
G-quadruplexes (G4s) within the human genome have undergone extensive molecular investigation, with a strong focus on telomeres, gene promoters and repetitive regulatory sequences. G4s play central roles in regulating essential biological processes, including telomere maintenance, replication, transcription and translation. Targeting these molecular processes with G4-binding ligands holds substantial therapeutic potential in anticancer treatments and has also shown promise in treating neurological, skeletal and muscular disorders. The presence of G4s in bacterial and viral genomes also suggests that G4-binding ligands could be a critical tool in fighting infections. This review provides an overview of the progress and applications of G4-binding ligands, their proposed mechanisms of action, challenges faced and prospects for their utilization in anticancer treatments, neurological disorders and antiviral activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mock Phooi Yan
- Centre for Drug & Herbal Development, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur, 50300, Malaysia
| | - Chua Eng Wee
- Centre for Drug & Herbal Development, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur, 50300, Malaysia
| | - Khor Poh Yen
- Faculty Pharmacy & Health Sciences, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Royal College of Medicine Perak, 3, Jalan Greentown, Ipoh, Perak, 30450, Malaysia
| | - Aaron Stevens
- Department of Pathology & Molecular Medicine, University of Otago, Wellington, 6021, New Zealand
| | - Lam Kok Wai
- Centre for Drug & Herbal Development, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur, 50300, Malaysia
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Islam R, Yan MP, Yen KP, Rasol NE, Meng CK, Wai LK. Synthesis and biological evaluation of chromone derivatives against triple-negative breast cancer cells. Med Chem Res 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s00044-023-03048-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/19/2023]
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Poh Yen K, Stanslas J, Zhang T, Li H, Wang X, Kok Meng C, Kok Wai L. Synthesis of small molecules targeting paclitaxel-induced MyD88 expression in triple-negative breast cancer cell lines. Bioorg Med Chem 2021; 49:116442. [PMID: 34600241 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2021.116442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Revised: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Acquired paclitaxel (PTX) chemoresistance in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) can be inferred from the overexpression of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and myeloid differentiation primary response 88 (MyD88) proteins and the activation of the TLR4/MyD88 cascading signalling pathway. Finding a new inhibitor that can attenuate the activation of this pathway is a novel strategy for reducing PTX chemoresistance. In this study, a series of small molecule compounds were synthesised and tested in combination with PTX against TNBC cells. The trimethoxy-substituted compound significantly decreased MyD88 overexpression and improved PTX activity in MDA-MB-231TLR4+ cells but not in HCCTLR4- cells. On the contrary, the trifluoromethyl-substituted compound with PTX synergistically improved the growth inhibition in both TNBC subtypes. The fluorescence titrations indicated that both compounds could bind with MD2 with good and comparable binding affinities. This was further supported by docking analysis, in which both compounds fit perfectly well and form some critical binding interactions with MD2, an essential lipid-binding accessory to TLR4 involved in activating the TLR-4/MyD88-dependent pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khor Poh Yen
- Faculty Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Royal College of Medicine Perak, 3, Jalan Greentown, 30450 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia; Drugs and Herbal Research Centre, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Johnson Stanslas
- Pharmacotherapeutics Unit, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
| | - Tianshu Zhang
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, China; Department of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Hongyuan Li
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, China
| | - Xiaohui Wang
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, China; Department of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Chan Kok Meng
- Center for Toxicology and Health Risk Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Lam Kok Wai
- Drugs and Herbal Research Centre, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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