New thiazolidine-2,4-diones as potential anticancer agents and apoptotic inducers targeting VEGFR-2 kinase: Design, synthesis, in silico and in vitro studies

Abstract

Background: VEGFR-2 has emerged as a prominent positive regulator of cancer progression.

Aim: Discovery of new anticancer agents and apoptotic inducers targeting VEGFR-2.

Methods: Design and synthesis of new thiazolidine-2,4-diones followed by extensive in vitro studies, including VEGFR-2 inhibition assay, MTT assay, apoptosis analysis, and cell migration assay. In silico investigations including docking, MD simulations, ADMET, toxicity, and DFT studies were performed.

Results: Compound 15 showed the strongest VEGFR-2 inhibitory activity with an IC₅₀ value of 0.066 μM. Additionally, most of the synthesized compounds showed anti-proliferative activity against HepG2 and MCF-7 cancer cell lines at the micromolar range with IC₅₀ values ranging from 0.04 to 4.71 μM, relative to sorafenib (IC₅₀ = 2.24 ± 0.06 and 3.17 ± 0.01 μM against HepG2 and MCF-7, respectively). Also, compound 15 showed selectivity indices of 1.36 and 2.08 against HepG2 and MCF-7, respectively. Furthermore, compound 15 showed a significant apoptotic effect and arrested the cell cycle of MCF-7 cells at the S phase. Moreover, compound 15 had a significant inhibitory effect on the ability of MCF-7 cells to heal from. Docking studies revealed that the synthesized thiazolidine-2,4-diones have a binding pattern approaching sorafenib. MD simulations indicated the stability of compound 15 in the active pocket of VEGFR-2 for 200 ns. ADMET and toxicity studies indicated an acceptable pharmacokinetic profile. DFT studies confirmed the ability of compound 15 to interact with VEGFR-2.

Conclusion: Compound 15 has promising anticancer activity targeting VEGFR-2 with significant activity as an apoptosis inducer.

Keywords: Anti-proliferative; Apoptosis; DFT; Docking; MD simulations; Thiazolidine-2,4-dione; VEGFR-2.