Issue 45, 2023

Novel quinoxaline-3-propanamides as VGFR-2 inhibitors and apoptosis inducers

Abstract

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 is a vital target for therapeutic mediation in various types of cancer. This study was aimed at exploring the cytotoxic activity of seventeen novel quinoxaline-3-propanamides against colon cancer (HCT-116) and breast cancer (MCF-7) using MTT assay. Results revealed that compounds 8, 9, and 14 elicited higher cytotoxicity than the reference drugs, doxorubicin (DOX) and sorafenib. Interestingly, they are more selective for HCT-116 (SI 11.98–19.97) and MCF-7 (SI 12.44–23.87) compared to DOX (SI HCT-116 0.72 and MCF-7 0.9). These compounds effectively reduced vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2; among them, compound 14 displayed similar VEGFR-2 inhibitory activity to sorafenib (IC50 0.076 M). The ability of 14 to inhibit angiogenesis was demonstrated by a reduction in VEGF-A level compared to control. Furthermore, it induced a significant increase in the percentage of cells at pre-G1 phase by almost 1.38 folds (which could be indicative of apoptosis) and an increase in G2/M by 3.59 folds compared to the control experiment. A flow cytometry assay revealed that compound 14 triggered apoptosis via the programmed cell death and necrotic pathways. Besides, it caused a remarkable increase in apoptotic markers, i.e., caspase-3 p53 and BAX. When compared to the control, significant increase in the expression levels of caspase-3 from 47.88 to 423.10 and p53 from 22.19 to 345.83 pg per ml in MCF-7 cells. As well, it increased the proapoptotic protein BAX by 4.3 times while lowering the antiapoptotic marker BCL2 by 0.45 fold. Docking studies further supported the mechanism, where compound 14 showed good binding to the essential amino acids in the active site of VEGFR-2. Pharmacokinetic properties showed the privilege of these hits over sunitinib: they are not substrates of P-gp protein; this suggests that they have less chance to efflux out of the cell, committing maximum effect; and in addition, they do not allow permeation to the BBB.

Graphical abstract: Novel quinoxaline-3-propanamides as VGFR-2 inhibitors and apoptosis inducers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
26 Jul 2023
Accepted
23 Sep 2023
First published
31 Oct 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Adv., 2023,13, 31908-31924

Novel quinoxaline-3-propanamides as VGFR-2 inhibitors and apoptosis inducers

M. M. F. Ismail, T. Z. Shawer, R. S. Ibrahim, M. S. Abusaif, M. M. Kamal, R. M. Allam and Y. A. Ammar, RSC Adv., 2023, 13, 31908 DOI: 10.1039/D3RA05066A

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