A series of new thiazacridine agents were synthesized and evaluated as antitumor agents, in terms of not only their cytotoxicity but also their selectivity. The cytotoxicity assay confirmed that all compounds showed cytotoxic activity and selectivity. The new compound, 3-acridin-9-ylmethyl-5-(5-bromo-1 H-indol-3-ylmethylene)-thiazolidine-2,4-dione (LPSF/AA29 - 7a), proved to be the most promising compound as it presents lower half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values (ranging from 0.25 to 68.03 µM) depending on cell lineage. In HepG2 cells, the lowest IC50 value was exhibited by 3-acridin-9-ylmethyl-5-(4-piperidin-1-yl-benzylidene)-thiazolidine-2,4-dione (LPSF/AA36 - 7b; 46.95 µM). None of the synthesized compounds showed cytotoxic activity against normal cells (IC50 > 100 µM). The mechanism of death induction and cell cycle effects was also evaluated. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that the compounds LPSF/AA29 - 7a and LPSF/AA36 - 7b significantly increased the percentage of apoptotic cells and induced G2/M arrest in the cell cycle progression. Therefore, these new thiazacridine derivatives constitute promising antitumor agents whose cytotoxicity and selectivity properties indicate they have potential to contribute to or serve as a basis for the development of new cancer drugs in the future.
Keywords: Acridine; anticancer activity; cell cycle; death induction mechanisms; thiazolidine.