0000000000180037

AUTHOR

Daniela Vedaldi

THIOPYRANO[2,3-E]INDOL-2-ONES: ANGELICIN HETEROANALOGUES WITH POTENT PHOTOANTIPROLIFERATIVE ACTIVITY

A new class of compounds, the thiopyrano[2,3-e]indol-2-ones, bioisosters of the angular furocoumarin angelicin, was synthesized with the aim of obtaining new photochemotherapeutic agents. In particular 7,8-dimethyl-thiopyranoindolone 6c s showed a remarkable phototoxicity and a great dose UVA dependence reaching IC(50) values at submicromolar level. This latter photoinduced a massive apoptosis and a remarkable photodamage to lipids and proteins. Although it did not intercalate DNA, it was able to cause photooxidation of DNA bases.

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2-Triazenoazaindoles: Α novel class of triazenes inducing transcriptional down-regulation of EGFR and HER-2 in human pancreatic cancer cells

Pancreatic cancer is a complex malignancy arising from the accumulation of genetic and epigenetic defects in the affected cells. Standard chemotherapy for patients with advanced disease shows only modest effects and is associated with considerable toxicity. Overexpression or aberrant activation of members of the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase family, which includes EGFR and HER-2, occurs frequently and is associated with multiple drug resistance and decreased patient survival. In this study, we have investigated the therapeutic potential of AS104, a novel compound of the triazene class, with potential inhibitory effects on EGFR. We found that treatment of cells with AS104 …

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Pyrazolo[3,4-h]quinolines promising photosensitizing agents in the treatment of cancer.

A new series of pyrazolo[3,4-h]quinolines, heteroanalogues of angelicin was conveniently prepared with a broad substitution pattern. A large number of derivatives was obtained and the cellular photocytotoxicity was evaluated in vitro against 5 different human tumor cell lines with GI50 values reaching the nanomolar level (14.52e0.04 mM). Selected compounds were able to photoinduce a massive cell death with the involvement of mitochondria. Their photodamage cellular targets were proteins and lipids and they did not cause any kind of DNA photodamage. This latter event is of considerable importance in the modulation of long term side effects, generally associated with the use of classical furo…

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Pyrrolo[2,3-h]quinolinones: A new ring system with potent photoantiproliferative activity

A new class of compounds, the pyrrolo[2,3-h]quinolin-2-ones, nitrogen isosters of the angular furocoumarin Angelicin, was synthesized with the aim of obtaining new photochemotherapeutic agents with increased antiproliferative activity and lower undesired toxic effects than the lead compound. Two synthetic pathways were approached to allow the isolation both of the dihydroderivatives 10-17 and of the aromatic ring system 23. Compounds 10-17 showed a remarkable phototoxicity and a great UVA dose dependence reaching IC(50) values at submicromolar level. Intracellular localization of these compounds has been evaluated by means of fluorescence microscopy using tetramethylrhodamine methyl ester a…

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Pyrano[2,3-e]isoindol-2-ones, new angelicin heteroanalogues

A convenient synthesis of the pyrano[2,3-e]isoindol-2-one ring system, an heteroanalogue of angelicin, is reported. Our synthetic approach consists of the annelation of the pyran ring on the isoindole moiety using 5-dialkylamino- or 5-hydroxymethylene intermediates as building blocks. The photoantiproliferative activity of the new derivatives was studied. Some of them bearing the benzyl group at the 8 position were active with IC(50) in the micromolar range. Cell cytotoxicity involves apoptosis, alteration of cell cycle profile and membrane photodamage.

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11H‑Pyrido[3′,2′:4,5]pyrrolo[3,2‑c]cinnoline and Pyrido[3′,2′:4,5]pyrrolo[1,2‑c][1,2,3]benzotriazine: Two New Ring Systems with Antitumor Activity

Derivatives of new ring systems 11H-pyrido[3',2':4,5]pyrrolo[3,2-c]cinnoline and pyrido[3',2':4,5]pyrrolo[1,2-c][1,2,3]benzotriazine have been prepared from the key intermediates 2-(1H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridin-2-yl)anilines in excellent yields (94-99%) and screened by the National Cancer Institute (Bethesda, MD) on about 60 human tumor cell lines derived from nine cancer cell types. The tested compounds exhibited antiproliferative activity against all the human cell lines, showing comparable MG_MID (mean graph midpoint) values in the range of 0.74-1.15 μM. A particular efficacy was observed against the leukemia subpanel (GI50 = 0.73-0.0090 μM). Flow cytometric analysis of the cell cycle demons…

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Synthesis of Triazenoazaindoles: a New Class of Triazenes with Antitumor Activity

Despite improvements in the treatment and prevention of cancer, the number of new diagnoses continues to rise; this has fuelled substantial interest in the development of new and effective chemotherapeutic agents. Compounds of the triazene class, such as dacarbazine, have been used in the clinical management of many cancer types including brain, leukemia, and melanoma. A new compound class bearing a triazenoazaindole scaffold was synthesized with the aim of identifying new antiproliferative agents. Compounds 5 a-g and 6 a-c were screened against a panel of human tumor cell lines, and two of them, 5 e and 5 f, showed cytotoxicity (GI(50) range: 2.2-8.2 μM) in all cell lines. These two compou…

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Isoindolo[2,1-a]quinoxaline derivatives, novel potent antitumor agents with dual inhibition of tubulin polymerization and topoisomerase I.

Isoindoloquinoxalines 4 and 5 were obtained by refluxing 2-(2'-aminoaryl)-1-cyanoisoindoles 3a- e in acetic or formic acid. All derivatives were screened by the National Cancer Institute (Bethesda, MD) for the in vitro one dose primary anticancer assay against a 3-cell line panel. Compounds 4a- e, screened against a panel of about 60 human tumor cell lines, showed remarkable antineoplastic activity; they had GI 50 values in the low micromolar or submicromolar range and reached, in the case of 4c, nanomolar concentrations on 88% of the 59 tested cell lines. Flow cytometric analysis of cell cycle after treatment with 4c demonstrated an arrest of the cell cycle in G2/M phase. This effect was a…

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Pyrrolo[3,2-h]quinazolines as Photochemotherapeutic Agents

Heteroanalogues of angelicin, pyrrolo[3,2-h]quinazolines, were synthesized with the aim of obtaining new potent photochemotherapeutic agents. Many derivatives caused a significant decrease in cell proliferation in several human tumor cell lines after irradiation with UVA light (GI(50) =15.2-0.2 μM). Their phototoxicity effected apoptosis in Jurkat cells with the involvement of mitochondria (as determined by the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and production of reactive oxygen species) and lysosomes. The phototoxicity of these compounds could be explained by lipid peroxidation.

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Synthesis of a new class of pyrrolo[3,4-h]quinazolines with antimitotic activity

Abstract A new series of pyrrolo[3,4- h ]quinazolines was conveniently prepared with a broad substitution pattern. A large number of derivatives was obtained and the cellular cytotoxicity was evaluated in vitro against 5 different human tumor cell lines with GI 50 values reaching the low micromolar level (1.3–19.8 μM). These compounds were able to induce cell death mainly by apoptosis through a mitochondrial dependent pathway. Selected compounds showed antimitotic activity and a reduction of tubulin polymerization in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, they showed anti-angiogenic properties since reduced in vitro endothelial cell migration and disrupted HUVEC capillary-like tube net…

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Pyrrolo[3,4-h]quinolinones a new class of photochemotherapeutic agents

Abstract Pyrrolo[3,4- h ]quinolin-2-ones were synthesized as nitrogen isosters of the angular furocoumarin angelicin, with the aim of obtaining new photochemotherapeutic agents with increased antiproliferative activity and lower undesired toxic effects. A versatile synthetic pathway was approached to allow the isolation of derivatives of the new ring system with a good substitution pattern on the pyrrole moiety. Photobiological screenings of the new compounds revealed a potent phototoxic effect and a great UVA dose dependence, reaching IC 50 values at submicromolar level. The induced cellular photocytotoxicity was related to apoptosis with the involvement of mitochondria and lysosomes, alte…

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SYNTHESIS OF PYRROLO[3,2-H]QUINOLINONES WITH GOOD PHOTOCHEMOTHERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY AND NO DNA DAMAGE

In the search for new photochemotherapeutic agents, a series of derivatives of the ring system pyrrolo[3,2-h]quinoline--bioisosters of the angular furocoumarin angelicin--were synthesized through a four-step synthetic approach, in reasonable overall yields. Eight of the synthesized derivatives showed a remarkable phototoxicity against a panel of four human tumor cell lines and a great dose UV-A dependence, reaching IC₅₀ values at submicromolar level. The mode of cellular death photoinduced by pyrrolo[3,2-h]quinolines was evaluated through a series of flow cytometric analysis and other tests were performed to clarify their mechanism of action.

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