Identification of a novel 1,2 oxazine that can induce apoptosis by targeting NF-κB in hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Constitutive activation of NF-κB is associated with proinflammatory diseases and suppression of the NF-κB signaling pathway has been considered as an effective therapeutic strategy in the treatment of various cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Herein, we report the synthesis of 1,2 oxazines and their anticancer potential. The antiproliferative studies presented 3-((4-(1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)piperidin-1-yl)methyl)-4-phenyl-4,4a,5,6,7,7a-hexahydrocyclopenta [e][1,2]oxazine(3i) as a lead cytotoxic agent against HCC cells. Flow cytometric analysis showed that 3i caused a substantial increase in the subG1 cell population. Annexin-V-FITC-PI staining showed a significant increase in the percentage of apoptotic cells on treatment with 3i. Transfection with p65 siRNA significantly reduced the 3i induced DNA fragmentation indicating that 3i may primarily mediate its proapoptotic effects by abrogating the NF-κB signaling. In addition, treatment of HCC cells with 3i decreased the DNA binding ability of NF-κB and NF-κB-dependent luciferase expression. Taken together, this report introduces 1,2-oxazine that potently targets the NF-κB signaling pathway in HCC cells.

Synthesis of CC, CN coupled novel substituted dibutyl benzothiazepinone derivatives and evaluation of their thrombin inhibitory activity.

The formation of a thrombus is a key event in thromboembolic disorders, that contribute to high mortality and morbidity in affected patients. In the present study, we synthesized a library of novel substituted 3,3-dibutyl-8-methoxy-2,3-dihydrobenzo [b] [1,4] thiazepin-4(5H)-one derivatives which were tested for their platelet aggregation and thrombin inhibitory activity. Among the tested compounds, 3,3-dibutyl-7-(2-chlorophenyl)-8-methoxy-2,3-dihydrobenzo[b] [1,4]thiazepin-4(5H)-one (DCT) displayed the maximum thrombin inhibition with an IC50 value of 3.85 µM and thus DCT was chosen for further studies. Next, the effect of DCT on primary hemostasis was evaluated using agonist-induced platelet aggregation model. The lead compound inhibited the collagen- or ADP- or thrombin-induced platelet aggregation in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, DCT prolonged the process of clot formation when evaluating plasma re-calcification time (320 ±â€¯11 sec at 5 µg DCT), activated partial thromboplastin time (58.0 ±â€¯0.01 sec at 2 µg), and prothrombin time (14.7 ±â€¯0.01 sec at 5 µg). Molecular docking studies suggested that the benzothiazepinones evaluated here consistently display hydrogen bonding with Ser214 of thrombin, which is similar to that of the co-crystallized ligand (1-(2R)-2-amino-3-phenyl-propanoyl-N-(2,5dichlorophenyl)methylpyrrolidine-2-carboxamide). DCT displayed additional hydrogen bonding to Ser195 and π-π interactions between its methoxyphenyl groups and Trp60, thereby providing a structural rationale for the observed biological effect.

Identification of Novel Class of Triazolo-Thiadiazoles as Potent Inhibitors of Human Heparanase and their Anticancer Activity.

BACKGROUND: Expression and activity of heparanase, an endoglycosidase that cleaves heparan sulfate (HS) side chains of proteoglycans, is associated with progression and poor prognosis of many cancers which makes it an attractive drug target in cancer therapeutics. METHODS: In the present work, we report the in vitro screening of a library of 150 small molecules with the scaffold bearing quinolones, oxazines, benzoxazines, isoxazoli(di)nes, pyrimidinones, quinolines, benzoxazines, and 4-thiazolidinones, thiadiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-5-one, 1,2,4-triazolo-1,3,4-thiadiazoles, and azaspiranes against the enzymatic activity of human heparanase. The identified lead compounds were evaluated for their heparanase-inhibiting activity using sulfate [35S] labeled extracellular matrix (ECM) deposited by cultured endothelial cells. Further, anti-invasive efficacy of lead compound was evaluated against hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) and Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells. RESULTS: Among the 150 compounds screened, we identified 1,2,4-triazolo-1,3,4-thiadiazoles bearing compounds to possess human heparanase inhibitory activity. Further analysis revealed 2,4-Diiodo-6-(3-phenyl-[1, 2, 4]triazolo[3,4-b][1, 3, 4]thiadiazol-6yl)phenol (DTP) as the most potent inhibitor of heparanase enzymatic activity among the tested compounds. The inhibitory efficacy was demonstrated by a colorimetric assay and further validated by measuring the release of radioactive heparan sulfate degradation fragments from [35S] labeled extracellular matrix. Additionally, lead compound significantly suppressed migration and invasion of LLC and HepG2 cells with IC50 value of ~5 µM. Furthermore, molecular docking analysis revealed a favourable interaction of triazolo-thiadiazole backbone with Asn-224 and Asp-62 of the enzyme. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, we identified biologically active heparanase inhibitor which could serve as a lead structure in developing compounds that target heparanase in cancer.

Adamantyl-tethered-biphenylic compounds induce apoptosis in cancer cells by targeting Bcl homologs.

Bcl homologs prominently contribute to apoptotic resistance in cancer cells and serve as molecular targets in treatment of various cancers. Herein, we report the synthesis of biphenyl-adamantane derivatives by a ligand free palladium on carbon based Suzuki reaction using diisopropylamine as a base for the coupling of adamantane based aryl chloride with a variety of aryl boronic acids. Among the biphenyl derivatives synthesized, compound 3'-(adamantan-1-yl)-4'-methoxy-[1,1'-biphenyl]-3-ol (AMB) displayed cytotoxic activity against hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines without significantly affecting the normal cell lines. Further, AMB caused increased accumulation of the HCC cells in subG1 phase, decreased the expression of Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, cyclin D1, caspase-3, survivin and increased the cleavage of PARP in a time-dependent manner. In silico molecular interaction studies between Bcl homologs and AMB showed that the biphenyl scaffold is predicted to form π-π interactions with Phe-101 and Tyr-105 and the adamantyl fragment is predicted to occupy another hydrophobic region in the kink region of the binding groove. In summary, we report on the synthesis and biological characterization of adamantyl-tethered biphenylic compounds that induce apoptosis in tumor cells most likely by targeting Bcl homologs.

Novel Adamantanyl-Based Thiadiazolyl Pyrazoles Targeting EGFR in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a validated therapeutic target for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). In the present study, we synthesize novel adamantanyl-based thiadiazolyl pyrazoles by introducing the adamantane ring to thiazolopyrazoline. On the basis of loss of cell viability in TNBC cells, 4-(adamantan-1-yl)-2-(3-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-5-phenyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)thiazole (APP) was identified as a lead compound. Using a Parzen-Rosenblatt Window classifier, APP was predicted to target the EGFR protein, and the same was confirmed by surface plasmon resonance. Further analysis revealed that APP suppressed the phosphorylation of EGFR at Y992, Y1045, Y1068, Y1086, Y1148, and Y1173 in TNBC cells. APP also inhibited the phosphorylation of ERK at Y204 and of STAT3 at Y705, implying that APP downregulates the activity of EGFR downstream effectors. Small interfering RNA mediated depletion of EGFR expression prevented the effect of APP in BT549 and MDA-MB-231 cells, indicating that APP specifically targets the EGFR. Furthermore, APP modulated the expression of the proteins involved in cell proliferation and survival. In addition, APP altered the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition related proteins and suppressed the invasion of TNBC cells. Hence, we report a novel and specific inhibitor of the EGFR signaling cascade.

Development of Novel Triazolo-Thiadiazoles from Heterogeneous "Green" Catalysis as Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase 1B Inhibitors.

Condensed-bicyclic triazolo-thiadiazoles were synthesized via an efficient "green" catalyst strategy and identified as effective inhibitors of PTP1B in vitro. The lead compound, 6-(2-benzylphenyl)-3-phenyl-[1,2,4]triazolo[3][1,3,4]thiadiazole (BPTT) was most effective against human hepatoma cells, inhibits cell invasion, and decreases neovasculature in HUVEC and also tumor volume in EAT mouse models. This report describes an experimentally unidentified class of condensed-bicyclic triazolo-thiadiazoles targeting PTP1B and its analogs could be the therapeutic drug-seeds.

Synthesis and characterization of novel oxazines and demonstration that they specifically target cyclooxygenase 2.

In the present study, we used solution combustion synthesis-bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) as catalyst for the simple and efficient synthesis of 1,2-oxazine based derivatives of 6-fluoro-3-(piperidin-4-yl)benzo[d]isoxazoles, 1-arylpiperazine and carbazoles. (4aR,8aR)-4-(4-Methoxyphenyl)-3-((4-(4-methoxyphenyl)piperazin-1-yl)methyl)-4a,5,6,7,8,8a-hexahydro-4H-benzo[e][1,2]oxazine was found to be the most potent compound with a high degree of selectivity in inhibition towards COX2 (1.7 µM) over COX1 (40.4 µM) demonstrating the significance of 1,2-oxazine derivatives in developing COX2 specific inhibitors. Molecular docking analyses demonstrated that an isoleucine residue in the active site of COX1 is responsible for lower affinity to COX1 and increased potency towards COX2. Overall, our study reveals that the new 1,2-oxazine-based small molecules qualify as lead structures in developing COX2-specific inhibitors for anti-inflammatory therapy.