Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of β-carboline 1,3,4-oxadiazole based hybrids as HDAC inhibitors with potential antitumor effects

  • Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2022 May 15:64:128663. doi: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2022.128663.
Caizhi Tian  1 Shuoqi Huang  2 Zihua Xu  3 Wenwu Liu  1 Deping Li  4 Mingyue Liu  2 Chengze Zhu  5 Limeng Wu  1 Xiaowen Jiang  1 Huaiwei Ding  6 Qingchun Zhao  7
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Pharmacy, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang 110840, PR China; School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, PR China.
  • 2. Department of Pharmacy, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang 110840, PR China; School of Life Science and Biochemistry, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, PR China.
  • 3. Department of Pharmacy, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang 110840, PR China.
  • 4. Department of Pharmacy, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang 110840, PR China; School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, PR China.
  • 5. Key Laboratory of Structure-Based Drug Design and Discovery, Ministry of Education, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China.
  • 6. Key Laboratory of Structure-Based Drug Design and Discovery, Ministry of Education, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 7. Department of Pharmacy, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang 110840, PR China; School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
Abstract

A series of novel β-carboline 1,3,4-oxadiazole based hybrids were designed, synthesized, and tested for cytotoxicity and HDAC inhibition. Among the target compounds, compound ZDLT-1 displayed high inhibitory activity for class I HDACs 1, 2, and 3, and potent anti-proliferative activity against HCT116 cells with an IC50 value of 0.173 ± 0.018 μM, it also exhibited better inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 6 nM for HDAC6 than SAHA (IC50 = 15 nM). Furthermore, the pharmacological experiment of Hoechst staining, colony formation, cell Apoptosis assay, and wound healing scratch assay indicated that compound ZDLT-1 was a potent cytotoxic agent against HCT116 cells with cell Apoptosis induction. Further, in silico prediction of physicochemical properties, drug-likeness, and ADME parameters suggested that compound ZDLT-1 is a promising Anticancer agent. Taken together, the high potency cytotoxicity and class I HDACs inhibitory activity of compound ZDLT-1, which with the β-carboline 1,3,4-oxadiazole based hybrids as potent Anticancer agents could be nominated for further modification and optimization.

Keywords
1,3,4-Oxadiazole; Anticancer; HCT116 cells; HDAC; β-carboline.