Manal N. S. Saudi

Synthesis and evaluation of some pyrimidine analogs against toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis is a worldwide infection caused by the obligate intracellular protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Some pyrimidine analogs were synthesized to be evaluated for their antitoxoplasma effects in animal experiments. Results were assessed by studying parasite density, estimation of serum Toxoplasma antigen, studying the ultrastructural changes of the parasite, and the histopathological changes of the affected organs and inhibitory activity for dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) isolated from Cryptosporidium parvum. The result showed that 4 out of 12 synthesized compounds have promising antitoxoplasma potentials. The animals that received these four compounds showed statistically significant decrease in the mean number of the parasite count in the liver and the spleen when compared to the corresponding control group. Moreover, Toxoplasma antigen was very low or even absent in the serum of animals receiving these compounds. Light microscopic examination of the peritoneal exudates of animals receiving these compounds showed stoppage of movement and deformity in shape of the tachyzoites, whereas scanning electron microscopy revealed that the organisms had lost their crescent shape, with dimples and deep ridges on their surfaces. Very mild histopathological changes were noticed in liver, spleen, and lungs of the groups of animals receiving these compounds in comparison to the other groups. Thus, these compounds proved their effectiveness in eradication of the experimental Toxoplasma infection and inhibition of DHFR from C. parvum.

Target identification, lead optimization and antitumor evaluation of some new 1,2,4-triazines as c-Met kinase inhibitors.

In silico target fishing approach using PharmMapper server identified c-Met kinase as the selective target for our previously synthesized compound NCI 748494/1. This approach was validated by in vitro kinase assay which showed that NCI 748494/1 possessed promising inhibitory activity against c-Met kinase (IC50=31.70μM). Assessment of ADMET profiling, drug-likeness, drug score as well as docking simulation for the binding pose of that compound in the active site of c-Met kinase domain revealed that NCI 748494/1 could be considered as a promising drug lead. Based on target identification and validation, it was observed that there is structure similarity between NCI 748494/1 and the reported type II c-Met kinase inhibitor BMS-777607. Optimization of our lead NCI 748494/1 furnished newly synthesized 1,2,4-triazine derivatives based on well-established structure-activity relationships, whereas three compounds namely; 4d, 7a and 8c displayed excellent in vitro cytotoxicity against three c-Met addicted cancer cell lines; A549 (lung adenocarcinoma), HT-29 (colon cancer) and MKN-45 (gastric carcinoma); with IC50 values in the range 0.01-1.86µM. In vitro c-Met kinase assay showed 8c to possess the highest c-Met kinase inhibition profile (IC50=4.31µM). Docking of the active compounds in c-Met kinase active site revealed strong binding interactions comparable to the lead NCI 748494/1 and BMS-777607, suggesting that c-Met inhibition is very likely to be the mechanism of the antitumor effect of these derivatives.

Reactions with pyrrolidine-2,4-diones, II: New approaches to the synthesis of substituted 5,6-dihydropyrrolo[3,4-d][1,2,3]triazol-4(2H,4H)ones

SummaryApproaches leading to 5,6-dihydro-5,6-diphenyl-2-substituted-pyrrolo[3,4-d][1,2,3]-triazol-4(2H,4H)-ones (10) are described. The first approach consists of cyclodehydrating 3(or 4)-hydroxyimino-1,5-diphenyl-4(or 3)-(4-substituted phenylhydrazono)pyrrolidin-2-ones (4,7) with boiling acetic anhydride. The second approach involves cyclization of 3(or 4)-acetoxyimino-1,5-diphenyl-4(or 3)-(4-substituted phenylhydrazono)pyrrolidin-2-ones (8,9) with elimination of acetic acid upon treatment with sodium hydroxide.ZusammenfassungEs werden zwei neue Wege zur Synthese von 5,6-dihydro-5,6-diphenyl-2-substituierten Pyrrolo[3,4-d][1,2,3]triazol-4(2H,4H)-onen (10) beschrieben. Der erste Weg besteht aus der Cyclodehydrierung von 3(oder 4)-Hydroxyimino-1,5-diphenyl-4(oder 3)-(4-subst.phenylhydrazono)pyrrolidin-2-onen (4,7) mit kochendem Essigsäureanhydrid. Der zweite Weg benutzt eine Cyclisierung von 3(oder 4)-Acetoxyimino-1,5-diphenyl-4(oder 3)-(4-subst.phenylhydrazono)-pyrrolidin-2-onen (8,9) unter Eliminierung von Essigsäure nach Behandlung mit Natriumhydroxyd.