Anti-cancer agents in medicinal chemistry最新文献

Background: Radioresistance is the primary cause of treatment failure in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, emphasizing the importance of identifying effective radiosensitizers.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the effects and potential mechanisms of Eg5 inhibitor K858 on the radiosensitivity of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma TE-1 and KYSE150 cell lines, as well as xenografts (TE-1 cells).

Methods: Cellular function was assessed using CCK8, wound healing, and transwell invasion assays. Radiosensitivity parameters were derived from colony formation assays. Cell apoptosis and cell cycle were assessed using flow cytometry, whereas protein expression levels were detected using western blotting and immunohistochemistry. The xenograft model was used to observe the growth of tumors.

Results: K858 inhibited the malignant functions of TE-1 and KYSE150 cell lines. Radiosensitivity parameters were reduced after K858 treatment. The combination of K858 and irradiation markedly suppressed cell proliferation, induced apoptosis, and stimulated cell cycle arrest during the irradiation-sensitive phase. Additionally, K858, combined with irradiation, significantly increased the expression of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition marker E-cadherin and decreased the expression of N-cadherin, vimentin, MMP2, and MMP9. K858, combined with irradiation, significantly inhibited tumor growth in xenograft models.

Conclusion: K858 enhanced the radiosensitivity of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and affected the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related markers.

Background: Esophageal cancer is a highly lethal cancer with a rapidly increasing incidence and a poor prognosis. Atractylenolide I is a natural sesquiterpene lactone extracted from the rhizome of the Asteraceae plant, which has a variety of pharmacological effects, such as anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory. Still, its impact on esophageal cancer has not been reported. Therefore, this study investigated the in vitro and in vivo effects of Atractylenolide I on the growth and proliferation of esophageal cancer and explored its possible mechanisms.

Methods: To evaluate the effect of atractylenolide I on esophageal cancer cells, apoptosis assay and cell cycle assay tests were performed. Atractylenolide I was used to treat esophageal cancer cells for 48 hours, and flow cytometry detects apoptosis and cell cycle. The Wnt/β-catenin-related pathway proteins were then detected by Western blotting. For in vivo studies, an esophageal cancer graft tumor model was established subcutaneously in BALB/c nude mice, which were given Atractylenolide I treatment for 2 weeks.

Result: The result shows that Atractylenolide I inhibited the proliferation and induced apoptosis of esophageal squamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma cells. Further research shows that Atractylenolide I inhibited the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, decreased the expression of CCND1, MYC, and FN1 genes, and thus increased the apoptosis of esophageal cancer cells and blocked the cell cycle in G0/G1 phase, hence exerting the role of inhibiting esophageal cancer cells in vivo and in vitro.

Conclusion: This study indicates that Atractylenolide I is an efficient lead compound for the treatment of esophageal cancer, providing a theoretical basis for further clinical development and application of Atractylenolide I.

Background: This study explored whether the cell cycle regulator cadherin 1 (CDH1) impacts colorectal cancer cell cycle and stemness via mediating ubiquitination of sirtuin 5 (SIRT5).

Methods: We first constructed CDH1 overexpression plasmid and small interfering RNA against SIRT5 (siSIRT5) and transfected them into HCT116/HT29 cells, followed by transfection efficiency verification. The effect of CDH1 on Cyclin F/SIRT5/CDH1 protein levels in HCT116/HT29 cells was verified by Western blot. After up-regulation of CDH1, changes in SIRT5 ubiquitination (immunoprecipitation), cell cycle (cell cycle kit), proliferation (5-Bromodeoxyuridine assay), and stemness marker expressions (qRT-PCR) in HCT116/HT29 cells were detected. Rescue assays were performed to examine cell proliferation and stemness marker expressions.

Results: Overexpression of CDH1 decreased Cyclin F expression and increased SIRT5 and CDH1 expressions in HCT116/HT29 cells. Up-regulation of CDH1 suppressed SIRT5 ubiquitination, promoted G0/G1 phase blockage in HCT116/HT29 cells, boosted cell proliferation into quiescence and enhanced cell stemness. siSIRT5 counteracted the regulatory effect of CDH1 overexpression on colorectal cancer cells.

Conclusion: CDH1 promotes the entry of colorectal cancer cells into quiescence and enhances stemness by dampening SIRT5 ubiquitination.

Background: The occurrence of gain of function mutations in STAT5B has been associated to survival, and drug resistance in Leukemia. In silico screening of compounds having inhibitory potential towards mutated proteins, can be helpful in the development of specific inhibitors.

Objective: This study was designed to screen selected JAK-STAT mutations in leukemia patients and virtual exploration of molecular interaction of potential inhibitors with their mutated products.

Methods: In total 276 patients were randomly recruited for this study. Demographic and clinical data were summarized. The genetic status of JAK1V623A, JAK2 S473 and STAT5BN642H were screened through allele specific PCR. In-silico analysis was performed on wild type and mutant protein sequences retrieved from Protein databank. The ligands and protein were prepared through standard protocols, and docking was performed through Auto Dock Vina 1.2.0.

Results: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia comprises 70% of the total patients. Male to female ratio was 3:1. All the patients were homozygous for JAK1V623A, JAK2 S473 major allele. However, 6 patients (5 male, 1 female) with ALL were STAT5BN642H+. The molecular docking of the ligands to wild type and STAT5BN642H+revealed that AC- 4-130, Pimozide, Indirubin and Stafib-2 have higher but differential docking affinities for SH2-domain of both normal and mutated STAT5B. However, AC-4-130 has a higher affinity for wild type and Stafib-2 has stable molecular interaction with STAT5BN642H+.

Conclusion: The aggressive form of pediatric leukemia, carrying STAT5BN642H+ mutation is identified in the studied population. It is predicted that AC-14-30 and stafib-2 have potential for inhibition of constitutively active STAT5B if optimized for use in combination therapy.

Objectives: According to the data, mutations in EGFR-related genes are the main cause of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), necessitating the development of new drug constructs for EGFR-TKIs particularly important. This study aimed to screen potential third-generation EGFR-TKIs to address the emerging drug resistance challenges in NSCLC.

Methods: In this study, virtual screening, molecular dynamics modeling, and bioactivity evaluation were carried out to find a potential EGFR inhibitor that could overcome the L858R/T790M mutation. At first, 12 potential compounds were screened step by step from about 250,000 structures by virtual screening. These 12 compounds were subjected to MTT antitumor activity evaluation and kinase inhibition assay to select compounds with strong antiproliferative effects on cancer cells. Then, the preferred compounds were subjected to time-dependent assay, scratch assay, AO staining assay, and hemolysis assay. Finally, the preferred compound was subjected to molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation with 5HG7 protein.

Result: The IC50 of T22306 on H1975 cells was 9.17 μM. In further kinase evaluation, the kinase inhibition of EGFRL858R/T790M was 69.17%. In addition, time-dependent experiments and scratch and AO staining assays confirmed the potential of T22306 as an EGFR-TKI inhibitor, while hemolysis assays demonstrated no significant toxicity. Finally, molecular docking revealed the formation of critical hydrogen bonds between T22306 and LEU-718. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations showed that the T22306-5HG7 complex has a low binding energy (-117.73 ± 18.69 kJ/mol), thus suggesting that T22306 binds tightly to the target protein 5HG7.

Conclusion: In this study, we rapidly screened potential compounds against NSCLC with the help of virtual screening technology. Further in vitro experiments demonstrated that T22306 successfully overcame the L858R/T790M mutation and could be a potential epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor.

Background: Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is a primary hepatic tumor and is one of the world's third most frequent malignancies after lung and colorectal. After stomach, lung, and colorectal cancers, it is the most common cause of cancer-related mortality. Since the Palaeolithic era, herbs have been used as an essential source of alternative drugs. Modern cancer treatments that use chemotherapeutic medications are made of chemicals derived from plants.

Objective: The present review is about the compilation of phytochemical extracts and molecules from 2020 to July 2024.

Methods: A detailed literature survey was conducted to compile data from PubMed, Sci Finder, Science Direct, Google, etc. Results: The identification of novel treatments and their combinations for usage in the adjuvant context potentially address significant unmet needs in the management of HCC. A large number of investigations have been carried out these days on plants. Numerous phytochemicals included in plant extract may possess anti-cancer properties, including the ability to induce cell cycle arrest, suppress cell proliferation, increase apoptosis, and obstruct migration, invasion, and metastasis. These approaches possess less hazardous and more effective treatment in HCC.

Conclusion: This article is the compilation of data about research on phytomolecules and herbal extracts from January 2020 to July 2024 for the treatment of HCC in vitro and in-vivo. Various mechanisms involved in the treatment are also explored in the article. The growing interest of researchers in investigating new approaches toward HCC management with phytomolecules is rapidly growing.

Background: 1,4-Naphthoquinone and its derivatives are recognized for their potent anticancer effects, establishing this pharmacophore as a key focus in cancer research. Their potential to modulate cellular pathways suggests they could be effective in developing new HuR inhibitors, targeting a protein crucial for regulating cancer-related gene expression. Compounds C1-C20 were designed by using Discovery Studio (DS) software.

Methods: In this study, a systematic approach involves scaffold hopping followed by additional research such as molecular docking, ADMET, drug-likeness, toxicity prediction, molecular dynamic (MD) simulation, and binding free energy analysis was used to discover novel Human Antigen R (HuR) inhibitors.

Results: In molecular docking, 1,4-Naphthoquinone derivatives showed better interactions with the HuR protein compared to that of the conventional HuR inhibitor MS-444. Among twenty 1,4-Naphthoquinone derivatives, most of the compounds showed favorable pharmacokinetic characteristics. In the toxicity prediction model, most of the designed compounds were neither mutagenic nor carcinogenic. According to MD simulation, C5 is more stable than MS-444.

Conclusion: The designed 1,4-Naphthoquinone derivatives have been found to be crucial structural motifs for the discovery of novel HuR inhibitors, which was well supported by the in-silico screening and molecular modeling methods.

Background: The tetracyclic indoloquinoline ring system has attracted considerable interest in the recent past due to its broad spectrum of biological activities and its binding to various types of nucleic acids.

Objective: This study aims to elucidate their interactions with DNA and their effects on topoisomerases (TOPO) I and II.

Methods: Several compounds derived from 6-amino-11H-indolo[3,2-c]quinoline with diverse groups on the quinoline ring have been successfully synthesized according to a previously established protocol where all the synthesized indolo[3,2-c]quinoline derivatives were evaluated in vitro against A549, HCT-116, BALB/3T3, and MV4-11 cell lines using MTT (3-[4,5- dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl- tetrazolium bromide) assay. These derivatives were then screened for their topo I and II inhibitory activities.

Results: The tested compounds were more effective at killing MV4-11 leukemia cells than the standard cancer drug cisplatin, as shown by the fact that their IC50 values were less than 0.9 μM. On the other hand, cisplatin revealed an IC50 value of 2.36 μM. Moreover, they exhibited inhibitory activity against both Topoisomerase (Topo) I and II. The most potent compound, 5g, demonstrated a suppressive impact on topoisomerase I, with an IC50 value of 2.9 μM compared to the positive control Camptothecin (IC50 1.64 μM) and compound 8 displayed remarkable topoisomerase II inhibitory activity with an IC50 of 6.82 μM compared to the positive control Doxorubicin (IC50 6.49 μM). The cell cycle study for compounds 5g and 8 revealed that cell cycle arrest occurred at the G1/S and S phases, respectively. Compounds 5g and 8 showed a high selectivity index, which suggests that they could be used to develop low-toxicity chemotherapeutic agents.

Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate that compounds 5g and 8 can be considered promising candidates for further anti-cancer drug development, which might be related to inhibiting TOPO I and TOPO II activities.

Background: Cancer chemotherapy is one of the best ways to treat the patients with cancer as they can remove cancer cells, which can't be remove by radiation or surgery.

Aims: Our study is focused on identifying potent chemotherapeutic drugs with minor or no adverse side effects. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to synthesize ethyl 4-[(4-methylbenzyl)oxy] benzoate complex, a macrocyclic aromatic compound followed by testing its antineoplastic activity against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) human breast cancer (MCF7) cells.

Methods: In vitro and in vivo assays were used for monitoring, cytotoxicity, tumor weight, survival time, tumor cell growth inhibition, and hematological parameters to investigate the anticancer effectiveness of the tested compound. Quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to examine the expression of growth and apoptotic related genes. Haematological and biochemical parameters were assessed to examine the host toxicity in mice.

Results: The compound exhibited notable anticancer activity against both EAC and MCF7cells. It showed 40.70 and 58.98 % cell growth inhibition at the doses of 0.5 and 1.00 mg/kg, respectively in comparison to that of control EAC-bearing mice (p < 0.0001). The result is comparable with clinically used chemotherapeutic drugs cisplatin (59.2% growth inhibition at the dose of 1.0 mg/kg body weight). A four folds reduction of tumor weight (volume) of treated group at higher dose (1.0 mg/kg/day) was noted in comparison to that of untreated EAC-bearing mice. Also, the mean survival time of treated mice (1.00 mg/kg) increased by more than 83.07% when compared to that of control EAC-bearing mice (p<0.001). In addition, EAC-bearing control mice showed drastic deterioration of RBC, WBC, and % of hemoglobin, however, in the treated mice these parameters were restored towards normal levels. A dose dependent reduction of growth and proliferation of MCF7 cells was noted in compound treated cells. Most importantly, apoptosis of MCF7 was induced followed by activation of pro-apoptotic genes (p53, Bax, Parp, Caspase-3, -8, -9) and inactivation of antiapoptotic, e.g. Bcl2 gene. Toxicological studies reveal that there were changes in hematological (RBC, WBC, % of Hb) and biochemical (serum glucose, cholesterol, creatinine, SGOT, SGPT) parameters during the treatment period, however, the parameters returned towards normal levels after the treatment period, indicating no or minor toxic effect of the compound on the host.

Conclusion: The compound has promising anticancer activity with no or minimum host toxic effects. Thus, it has the potential to be formulated as an effective chemo-agent, however, further preclinical and clinical research is imperative using animal and human models.