Design, Synthesis and Preliminary Biological Evaluation of Benzylsulfone Coumarin Derivatives as Anti-Cancer Agents

Molecules. 2019 Nov 7;24(22):4034. doi: 10.3390/molecules24224034.

Abstract

In this work, a series of benzylsulfone coumarin derivatives 5a-5o were synthesized and characterized. Kinase inhibitory activity assay indicated that most of the compounds showed considerable activity against PI3K. Anti-tumor activity studies of the active compounds were also carried out in vitro on the Hela, HepG2, H1299, HCT-116, and MCF-7 tumor cell lines by MTS assay. The structure-activity relationships (SARs) of these compounds were analyzed in detail. Compound 5h exhibited the most potent activities against the mentioned cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 18.12 to 32.60 μM, followed by 5m with IC50 values of 29.30-42.14 μM. Furthermore, 5h and 5m clearly retarded the migration of Hela cells in vitro. Next, an in silico molecular docking study was conducted to evaluate the binding models of 5h and 5m towards PI3Kα and PI3Kβ. Collectively, the above findings suggested that compounds 5h and 5m might be promising PI3K inhibitors deserving further investigation for cancer treatment.

Keywords: anticancer; benzylsulfone; cell migration; coumarins; molecular docking; phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K).

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents* / chemical synthesis
  • Antineoplastic Agents* / chemistry
  • Antineoplastic Agents* / pharmacology
  • Class I Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Class I Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / metabolism
  • Coumarins* / chemical synthesis
  • Coumarins* / chemistry
  • Coumarins* / pharmacology
  • Drug Design*
  • Enzyme Inhibitors* / chemical synthesis
  • Enzyme Inhibitors* / chemistry
  • Enzyme Inhibitors* / pharmacology
  • HCT116 Cells
  • HeLa Cells
  • Hep G2 Cells
  • Humans
  • MCF-7 Cells
  • Molecular Docking Simulation*
  • Neoplasm Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Neoplasm Proteins / metabolism
  • Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Neoplasms / enzymology

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Coumarins
  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Neoplasm Proteins
  • Class I Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases
  • PIK3CA protein, human
  • PIK3CB protein, human