Indole and 2,4-Thiazolidinedione conjugates as potential anticancer modulators.

BACKGROUND: Thiazolidinediones (TZDs), also called glitazones, are five-membered carbon ring molecules commonly used for the management of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Recently, many prospective studies have also documented the impact of these compounds as anti-proliferative agents, though several negative side effects such as hepatotoxicity, water retention and cardiac issues have been reported. In this work, we synthesized twenty-six new TZD analogues where the thiazolidinone moiety is directly connected to an N-heterocyclic ring in order to lower their toxic effects. METHODS: By adopting a widely applicable synthetic method, twenty-six TZD derivatives were synthesized and tested for their antiproliferative activity in MTT and Wound healing assays with PC3 (prostate cancer) and MCF-7 (breast cancer) cells. RESULTS: Three compounds, out of twenty-six, significantly decreased cellular viability and migration, and these effects were even more pronounced when compared with rosiglitazone, a well-known member of the TZD class of antidiabetic agents. As revealed by Western blot analysis, part of this antiproliferative effect was supported by apoptosis studies evaluating BCL-xL and C-PARP protein expression. CONCLUSION: Our data highlight the promising potential of these TZD derivatives as anti-proliferative agents for the treatment of prostate and breast cancer.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel pyrano[3,2-c]carbazole derivatives as anti-tumor agents inducing apoptosis via tubulin polymerization inhibition.

A series of novel pyrano[3,2-c]carbazole derivatives have been synthesized by a simple one-pot, three component reaction of aromatic aldehydes, malononitrile-ethyl cyanoacetate and 4-hydroxycarbazoles catalyzed by triethylamine. The antiproliferative activity of the derivatives on various cancer cell lines such as MDA-MB-231, K562, A549 and HeLa was investigated. Among 9a-p, congeners 9a, 9c, 9g and 9i showed profound antiproliferative activity with IC50 values ranging from 0.43 to 8.05 µM and induced apoptosis significantly by inhibiting tubulin polymerization. Cell-based biological assays demonstrated that treatment of cell lines with compounds 9a, 9c, 9g and 9i results in G2/M phase arrest of the cell cycle. Moreover the derivatives significantly disrupted the microtubule network, produced an elevation of cyclinB1 protein levels and induced apoptosis by increasing the caspase-3 levels. In particular, 9i strongly inhibited tubulin assembly compared to the positive control CA-4. Molecular docking studies demonstrated that all the lead compounds selectively occupy the colchicine binding site of the tubulin polymer.

X-ray structure of PTP1B in complex with a new PTP1B inhibitor.

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) is a prototype non receptor cytoplasmic PTPase enzyme that has been implicated in regulation of insulin and leptin signaling pathways. Studies on PTP1B knockout mice and PTP1B antisense treated mice suggested that inhibition of PTP1B would be an effective strategy for the treatment of type II diabetes and obesity. Here we report the X-ray structure of PTP1B in complex with compound IN1834-146C (PDB ID 4I8N). The crystals belong to P3121 space group with cell dimensions (a = b = 87.89 Å, c = 103.68 Å) diffracted to 2.5 Å. The crystal structure contained one molecule of protein in the asymmetric unit and was solved by molecular replacement method. The compound engages both catalytic site and allosteric sites of PTP1B protein. We described the molecular interaction of the compound with the active site residues of PTP1B in this crystal structure report.

Design and synthesis of 2-substituted benzoxazoles as novel PTP1B inhibitors.

A series of benzoxazole compounds containing oxamic acid were synthesized and screened for the PTP1B inhibition. Compound 31d showed best biochemical potency (Ki) of 6.7 µM. Structure-activity relationship were explained with the help of molecular modeling approach.

A novel asymmetric synthesis of cinacalcet hydrochloride.

A novel route to asymmetric synthesis of cinacalcet hydrochloride by the application of (R)-tert-butanesulfinamide and regioselective N-alkylation of the naphthyl ethyl sulfinamide intermediate is described.

Design, synthesis and preliminary screening of novel 3-(2-N,N-dimethylaminoethylthio) indole derivatives as potential 5-HT(6) receptor ligands.

The synthesis and potential 5-hydroxytryptamine(6) receptor (5-HT6R) antagonist activity of a novel series of N-arylsulfonyl-3-(2-N,N-dimethylaminoethylthio) indoles has been reported. The molecular modeling, synthesis and in-vitro radioligand binding data of this series are discussed. The present article describes 37 derivatives of the title series. It was observed that the increased side-chain length with the insertion of a sulfur atom did not lead to the loss of binding affinity of these compounds, although the affinities were reduced. The compounds exhibited moderate affinity and selectivity to human 5-HT6 receptors.