Synthesis and Anticancer Activity of Novel Derivatives of α,ß-Unsaturated Ketones Based on Oleanolic Acid: in Vitro and in Silico Studies against Prostate Cancer Cells.

Herein, new derivatives of α,ß-unsaturated ketones based on oleanolic acid (4 a-i) were designed, synthesized, characterized, and tested against human prostate cancer (PC3). According to the in vitro cytotoxic study, title compounds (4 a-i) showed significantly lower toxicity toward healthy cells (HUVEC) in comparison with the reference drug doxorubicin. The compounds with the lowest IC50 values on PC3 cell lines were 4 b (7.785 µM), 4 c (8.869 µM), and 4 e (8.765 µM). The results of the ADME calculations showed that the drug-likeness parameters were within the defined ranges according to Lipinski's and Jorgensen's rules. For the most potent compounds 4 b, 4 c, and 4 e, a molecular docking analysis using the induced fit docking (IFD) protocol was performed against three protein targets (PARP, PI3K, and mTOR). Based on the IFD scores, compound 4 b had the highest calculated affinity for PARP1, while compound 4 c had higher affinities for mTOR and PI3K. The MM-GBSA calculations showed that the most potent compounds had high binding affinities and formed stable complexes with the protein targets. Finally, a 50 ns molecular dynamics simulation was performed to study the behavior of protein target complexes under in silico physiological conditions.

Evaluation of In Vivo Biological Activity Profiles of Isoindole-1,3-dione Derivatives: Cytotoxicity, Toxicology, and Histopathology Studies.

The anticancer activity of N-benzylisoindole-1,3-dione derivatives was evaluated against adenocarcinoma (A549-Luc). First, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide activity assay studies of two isoindole-1,3-dione derivatives were performed against A549 cell lines. Both compounds showed inhibitory effects on the viability of A549 cells. Then, we explored the potential of these compounds as active ingredients by in vivo studies. Nude mice were given A549-luc lung cancer cells, and tumor growth was induced with a xenograft model. Then, nude mice were divided into three groups: the control group, compound 3 group, and compound 4 group. After application of each compound to the mice, tumor sizes, their survival, and weight were determined for 60 days. Furthermore, toxicological studies were performed to examine the effects of the drugs in mice. In addition to toxicological studies, histopathological analyses of organs taken from mice were performed, and the results were evaluated. The obtained results showed that both N-benzylisoindole derivatives are potential anticancer agents.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of new chloro/acetoxy substituted isoindole analogues as new tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

We have developed a versatile synthetic approach for the synthesis of new isoindole derivatives via the cleavage of ethers from tricyclic imide skeleton compounds. An exo-cycloadduct prepared from the Diels-Alder reaction of furan and maleic anhydride furnished imide derivatives. The epoxide ring was opened with Ac2O or Ac2O/AcCl in the presence of a catalytic amount of H2SO4 in order to yield new isoindole derivatives 8a-d and 9a-d. The anticancer activity of these compounds was evaluated against the HeLa cell lines. The synthesized compounds showed inhibitory effects on the viability of HeLa cells and the degree of cytotoxicity was increased with the level of bigger branched isoindole derivatives. To better understand the acting mechanism of these molecules, western blot analysis was performed with using mTOR and its downstream substrates. In addition, human mTOR and ribozomal S6 kinase ß1 (RS6Kß1) have been investigated with molecular modelling studies as possible targets for compound series 8 and 9.

An anomalous addition of chlorosulfonyl isocyanate to a carbonyl group: the synthesis of ((3aS,7aR,E)-2-ethyl-3-oxo-2,3,3a,4,7,7a-hexahydro-1H-isoindol-1-ylidene)sulfamoyl chloride.

In this study, we developed a new addition reaction of chlorosulfonyl isocyanate (CSI), starting from 2-ethyl-3a,4,7,7a-tetrahydro-1H-isoindole-1,3(2H)-dione. The addition reaction of CSI with 2-ethyl-3a,4,7,7a-tetrahydro-1H-isoindole-1,3(2H)-dione resulted in the formation of ylidenesulfamoyl chloride, whose exact configuration was determined by X-ray crystal analysis. We explain the mechanism of product formation supported by theoretical calculations.