A novel series of pyrimidine-benzotriazole derivatives have been synthesized and evaluated for their anticancer activity against human solid tumor cell lines. The most promising molecule 12O was identified for its excellent antiproliferative activities, especially against the SiHa cell line with IC50 value as 0.009 μM. Kinase inhibition assay assessed 12O was a potential multi-kinase inhibitor, which possessed potent inhibitory activities against cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) and fms-like tyrosine kinase (FLT) with IC50 values in the nanomolar range. Molecular docking studies illustrated that the introduction of triazole moiety in 12O was critical for CDKs inhibition. In addition, 12O inhibited cancer cell proliferation, colony-formation, and cell cycle progression and provoked apoptotic death in vitro. In an SiHa xenograft mouse model, a once-daily dose of compound 12O at 20 mg/kg significantly suppressed the tumor growth without obvious toxicity. Taken together, 12O provided valuable guide for further structural optimization for CDKs and FLT inhibitors.
Keywords: CDK; FLT; cancer; inhibitor.