Yu Luo

The discovery of colchicine-SAHA hybrids as a new class of antitumor agents.

A novel class of colchicine-SAHA hybrids were designed and synthesised based on the synergistic antitumor effect of tubulin inhibitors and histone deacetylases (HDAC) inhibitors. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first design of molecules that are dual inhibitors of tubulin and HDAC. Biological evaluations of these compounds included the inhibitory activity of HDAC, in vitro cell cycle analysis in BEL-7402 cells as well as cytotoxicity in five cancer cell lines.

Synthesis and in vitro cytotoxic evaluation of some thiazolylbenzimidazole derivatives

A novel kind of thiazolylbenzimidazole derivatives were designed and synthesized and evaluated for their antitumor activity against SMMC-7721 and A549 cell lines. Most compounds showed good antitumor activities, and compound 11b displayed remarkable in vitro anticancer activity comparable to taxol. The preliminary structure-activity relationship of these benzimidazole derivatives was discussed based on the experimental data obtained.

The discovery and optimization of novel dual inhibitors of topoisomerase ii and histone deacetylase

A novel class of podophyllotoxin derivatives have been designed and synthesized based on the synergistic antitumor effects of topoisomerase II and histone deacetylase inhibitors. Their inhibitory activities towards histone deacetylases and Topo II and their cytotoxicities in cancer cell lines were evaluated. The aromatic capping group connection, linker length and zinc-binding group were systematically varied and preliminary conclusions regarding structure-activity relationships are discussed. Among all of the synthesized hybrid compounds, compound 24 d showed the most potent HDAC inhibitory activity at a low nanomolar level and exhibited powerful antiproliferative activity towards HCT116 colon carcinoma cells at a low micromolar level. Further exploration of this series led to the discovery of potent dual inhibitor 32, which exhibited the strongest in vitro cytotoxic activity.

Design and synthesis of novel benzimidazole derivatives as inhibitors of hepatitis B virus

A series of novel benzimidazole derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) activity and cytotoxicity in the HepG2.2.15 cell line. The preliminary SAR was discussed. Compound 12a, with IC50<0.41 microM and SI>81.2, was the most promising compound and selected as the benchmark compound for further optimization.

Synthesis and Anti-Hepatitis B Virus Activity of a Novel Class of Thiazolylbenzimidazole Derivatives

Recently, heterocyclic benzimidazole derivatives have been investigated and validated as a promising class of antiviral agents. In this paper, a series of novel thiazolylbenzimidazole derivatives was synthesized and evaluated for their anti‐hepatitis B virus (HBV) activity and cytotoxicity on the HepG2.2.15 cell line. Afterwards, the preliminary structure–activity relationship (SAR) was discussed. Compound 8b, with IC50u2009=u20091.1u2009µM and SIu2009>u200990.9, was the most promising compound and could be selected as a benchmark compound for further investigation.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of piperamide analogues as HDAC inhibitors

Two natural piperamides (piperlonguminine and refrofractamide A) and their derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for inhibitory activity against histone deacetylases, as well as the HCT-116 human colon cancer cell line. The preliminary structure activity relationship was discussed. Compounds featuring a hydroxamic acid moiety exhibited moderate HDAC activity and in vitro cytotoxicity.

Synthesis and evaluation of novel 5-sulfonyl-indolin-2-ones as potent cytotoxic agents

A series of novel 5-sulfonyl-indolin-2-ones were designed, synthesized, and screened for their antitumor activity on SGC-7901, A549, HCT116, and ECA-109 cell lines. Four compounds with the most potent antitumor activity were further determined as fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) inhibitors. Among them, compound 2b was further identified to inhibit HUVECs tube formation.

CPT21, a novel compound with anti-proliferative effect against gastric cancer cell SGC7901

Summary7-[(3-piperidyl)-1-propinyl]-camptothecin (CPT21) is a novel semi-synthetic water-soluble analogue of camptothecin. In this context, we assessed the anti-tumor activity of CPT21 both in vivo and in vitro and explored its molecular mechanism. We found that CPT21 presented a broad anti-tumor spectrum against ten cancer cell lines in vitro, and the IC50 values ranged from 0.1 to 12.0xa0μM. CPT21 was also capable to interrupt the DNA topoisemerase I activity and caused DNA double strand breaks during DNA replication. Proportion of apoptotic SGC7901 cells induced by CPT21 showed a time- and concentration-dependent increase accompanied with the decrease in mitochondria membrane potential (ΔΨm). We also observed that CPT21 up-regulated the protein expression of p53, phospho-p53, p21, BAX, phospho-c-Jun NH2-terminal protein kinase (JNK), meanwhile down-regulating the protein expression of Bcl-2, procaspase-9, XIAP, and phospho-ERK1/2. In the study of SGC7901 xenograft model, the results suggested that both 5.0xa0mg/kg and 10.0xa0mg/kg CPT21 achieved high anti-tumor activity, and the tumor inhibition rates were 42.5% and 75.1% respectively. Taken together, our study demonstrates that CPT21 displays an extensive anti-tumor spectrum and CPT21 can induce the apoptosis of SGC7901 cells via activating the caspases cascade followed by disrupting mitochondrion function.