A. L. Zakharenko

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase 1 inhibitors with a benzopentathiepine moiety.

Tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase 1 (TDP1) is a promising target for antitumor therapy based on Top1 poison-mediated DNA damage. Several novel benzopentathiepines were synthesized and tested as inhibitors of TDP1 using a new oligonucleotide-based fluorescence assay. The benzopentathiepines have IC₅₀ values in the range of 0.2-6.0 μM. According to the molecular modeling, the conformational flexibility of the dibutylamine group of the most effective inhibitor (3d) allows it to occupy an advantageous position for effective binding compared to its cyclic counterparts. The study of cytotoxicity of these compounds revealed that all compounds cause an apoptotic cell death in MCF-7 and Hep G2 cells. Therefore the new class of very effective inhibitors of TDP1 was elaborated.

New inhibitors of tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase I (Tdp 1) combining 7-hydroxycoumarin and monoterpenoid moieties.

A number of derivatives of 7-hydroxycoumarins containing aromatic or monoterpene substituents at hydroxy-group were synthesized based on a hit compound from a virtual screen. The ability of these compounds to inhibit tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase I (Tdp 1), important target for anti-cancer therapy, was studied for the first time. It was found that the 7-hydroxycoumarin derivatives with monoterpene pinene moiety are effective inhibitors of Tdp 1 with the most active derivative (+)-25c with IC50 value of 0.675μM. This compound has low cytotoxicity (CC50>100μM) when tested against human cancer cells which is crucial for presupposed application in combination with clinically established anticancer drugs. The ability of the new compounds to enhance the cytotoxicity of camptothecin, an established topoisomerase 1 poison, was demonstrated.

A synthesis, in silico, in vitro and in vivo study of thieno[2,3-b]pyridine anticancer analogues

The anticancer activity of the thieno[2,3-b]pyridines was explored by altering the ring size of the cyclo-aliphatic moiety. Five-, six-, seven- and eight-membered derivatives were tested against the NCI60 tumour cell panel. According to this assay the most active derivative 9a has a cyclooctane moiety, which suggests that larger aliphatic ring systems are favourable. For the most sensitive tumour cell line MB-MDA-435, derivative 9a has a GI50 = 70 nM and a LC50 = 925 nM. To explore the biological mechanism of the thieno[2,3-b]pyridines five derivatives were tested against tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase I (TDP1), a phospholipase D enzyme, using a biochemical assay. The most potent derivative for TDP1 was 9d, giving an excellent IC50 at 0.5 ± 0.1 μM. Also, derivative 12 was tested against 97 kinases and no or very limited activity was found, excluding this class of biomolecular targets. Finally, a mouse xenograft study using derivative 12 was encouraging but the tumour size/mass reduction was not quite statistically significant.

Disaccharide pyrimidine nucleosides and their derivatives: a novel group of cell-penetrating inhibitors of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1.

Nearly 30 synthetic nucleosides were tested with human recombinant poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 as potential inhibitors of this enzyme. The most active compounds were some disaccharide analogues of thymidine: 3′-O-β-D-ribofuranosyl-5-iodo-dUrd (2d; IC50 = 45 μM), 3′-O-β-D-ribofuranosyl-2′-deoxythymidine (2e; IC50 = 38 μM), and 3′-O-β-D-ribofuranosyl-2′-deoxythymidine oxidized (4; IC50 = 25 μM). These compounds also reduced H2O2-induced synthesis of poly(ADP-ribose) in cultured human ovarian carcinoma (SKOV-3) cells in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, compounds 2d or 2e until a concentration of 1 mM did not affect growth of SKOV-3 cells, whereas dialdehyde compound 4, as well as thymidine, exhibited a significant cytotoxicity.

Investigation of the dNTP-binding site of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase using photoreactive analogs of dNTP.

The interaction of dNTPs with the active site of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (HIV RT) has been investigated. The kinetic parameters of primer elongation catalyzed by wild-type HIV-1 RT and two of its mutants with substitutions for Tyr115 using dTTP and two of its photoreactive analogs were determined. The substitution for Tyr115 with alanine or tryptophan resulted in an increase in Km values of dTTP and its analogs. Wild-type RT and its mutants were photoaffinity modified using photoreactive primer synthesized in situ. The modification was made in two variants: direct photocross-linking under UV irradiation and photosensitized modification using Pyr-dUTP as a sensitizer. The use of the sensitizer decreased the number of modification products and increased selective labeling of the catalytic subunit of both the mutant and wild-type RT.

Aminoadamantanes containing monoterpene-derived fragments as potent tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase 1 inhibitors

The ability of a number of nitrogen-containing compounds that simultaneously carry the adamantane and monoterpene moieties to inhibit Tdp1, an important enzyme of the DNA repair system, is studied. Inhibition of this enzyme has the potential to overcome chemotherapeutic resistance of some tumor types. Compound (+)-3c synthesized from 1-aminoadamantane and (+)-myrtenal, and compound 4a produced from 2-aminoadamantane and citronellal were found to be most potent as they inhibited Tdp1 with IC50 values of 6 and 3.5 µM, respectively. These compounds proved to have low cytotoxicity in colon HCT-116 and lung A-549 human tumor cell lines (CC50 > 50 µM). It was demonstrated that compound 4a at 10 µM enhanced cytotoxicity of topotecan, a topoisomerase 1 poison in clinical use, against HCT-116 more than fivefold and to a lesser extent of 1.5 increase in potency for A-549.

Usnic acid derivatives are effective inhibitors of tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase 1

The synthesis of (+)-usnic acid derivatives is described. The derivatives contain one or two cyano groups, connected to the acetophenone fragment of dibenzofuran core by linkers of different length and character, or some other modifications. The influence of these compounds on the activity of recombinant human tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase 1 and MCF-7 tumor cells’ viability has been estimated. The data indicate a distinct dependence of functional characteristics of the compounds on their structure.

Improved procedure of the search for poly(ADP-Ribose) polymerase-1 potential inhibitors with the use of the molecular docking approach

A search for poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 inhibitors by virtual screening of a chemical compound database and a subsequent experimental verification of their activities have been performed. It was shown that the most efficient method to predict inhibitory properties implies a combinatorial approach joining molecular docking capabilities with structural filtration. Among more than 300000 low molecular chemical compounds, 9 PARP1 inhibitors were revealed; the most active ones, namely, STK031481, STK056130, and STK265022, displayed biological effect at a micromolar concentration (IC50 = 2.0, 1.0, and 2.6 μM, respectively).

A versatile strategy for the design and synthesis of novel ADP conjugates and their evaluation as potential poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 inhibitors

A versatile strategy for the synthesis of