New Paracyclophanylthiazoles with Anti-Leukemia Activity: Design, Synthesis, Molecular Docking, and Mechanistic Studies

• Main Authors: Ashraf A Aly, Stefan Bräse, Alaa A. Hassan, Nasr K. Mohamed, Lamiaa E. Abd El-Haleem, Martin Nieger, Nesrin M. Morsy, Elshimaa M. N. Abdelhafez
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
• Series: Molecules
• Subjects: paracyclophanes; NMR; X-ray; NCI-60; cancer cell lines; mechanism
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/25/13/3089

A new series of methyl 2-(2-(4′-[2.2]paracyclophanyl)-hydrazinylidene)-3-substituted-4-oxothiazolidin-5-ylidene)acetates <b>3a</b>–<b>f</b> were synthesized from the reaction of paracyclophanyl-acylthiosemicarbazides <b>2a</b>–<b>f</b> with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate. Based upon nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infrared (IR), and mass spectra (HRMS), the structure of the obtained products was elucidated. X-ray structure analysis was also used as unambiguous tool to elucidate the structure of the products. The target compounds <b>3a</b>–<b>f</b> were screened against 60 cancer cell lines. They displayed anticancer activity against a leukemia subpanel, namely, RPMI-8226 and SR cell lines. The activity of compound <b>3a</b> was found as the most cytotoxic potency against 60 cancer cell lines. Consequently, it was selected for further five doses analysis according to National Cancer Institute (NCI) protocol. The cytotoxic effect showed selectivity ratios ranging between 0.63 and 1.28 and between 0.58 and 5.89 at the GI₅₀ and total growth inhibition (TGI) levels, respectively. Accordingly, compound <b>3a</b> underwent further mechanistic study against the most sensitive leukemia RPMI-8226 and SR cell lines. It showed antiproliferation with IC50 = 1.61 ± 0.04 and 1.11 ± 0.03 µM against RPMI-8226 and SR cell lines, respectively. It also revealed a remarkable tubulin inhibitory activity, compared to colchicine with IC50 = 4.97 µM/mL. Caspase-3, BAX, and Bcl-2 assays for <b>3a</b> using annexin V-FITC staining revealed significant pro-apoptotic activity. Furthermore, multidrug-resistant leukemia SR cells were used to show better resistance indices (1.285 ng/mL, 1.15-fold) than the reference. Docking studies with β-tubulin indicate that most of the tested compounds illustrated good binding at the colchicine binding site of the enzyme, especially for compound <b>3a</b>, which made several interactions better than that of the reference colchicine.