Facile construction of fused benzimidazole-isoquinolinones that induce cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells

Liu Jun He, Dong Lin Yang, Shi Qiang Li, Ya Jun Zhang, Yan Tang, Jie Lei, Brendan Frett, Hui kuan Lin, Hong yu Li, Zhong Zhu Chen, Zhi Gang Xu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most frequent, malignant gastrointestinal tumors, and strategies and effectiveness of current therapy are limited. A series of benzimidazole-isoquinolinone derivatives (BIDs) was synthesized and screened to identify novel scaffolds for CRC. Of the compounds evaluated, 7g exhibited the most promising anti-cancer properties. Employing two CRC cell lines, SW620 and HT29, 7g was found to suppress growth and proliferation of the cell lines at a concentration of ∼20 µM. Treatment followed an increase in G2/M cell cycle arrest, which was attributed to cyclin B1 and cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) signaling deficiencies with simultaneous enhancement in p21 and p53 activity. In addition, mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis was induced in CRC cells. Interestingly, 7g decreased phosphorylated AKT, mTOR and 4E-BP1 levels, while promoting the expression/stability of PTEN. Since PTEN controls input into the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, antiproliferative effects can be attributed to PTEN-mediated tumor suppression. Collectively, these results suggest that BIDs exert antitumor activity in CRC by impairing PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling. Against a small kinase panel, 7g exhibited low affinity at 5 µM suggesting anticancer properties likely stem through a non-kinase mechanism. Because of the novelty of BIDs, the structure can serve as a lead scaffold to design new CRC therapies.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3899-3908
Number of pages10
JournalBioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry
Volume26
Issue number14
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 7 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Apoptosis
  • Benzimidazole
  • Cell-cycle arrest
  • Colorectal cancer
  • Isoquinolinones

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Medicine
  • Molecular Biology
  • Pharmaceutical Science
  • Drug Discovery
  • Clinical Biochemistry
  • Organic Chemistry

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