Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of 4-Methyl Quinazoline Derivatives as Anticancer Agents Simultaneously Targeting Phosphoinositide 3-Kinases and Histone Deacetylases

J Med Chem. 2019 Aug 8;62(15):6992-7014. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b00390. Epub 2019 May 29.

Abstract

Polypharmacology is a promising paradigm in modern drug discovery. Herein, we have discovered a series of novel PI3K and HDAC dual inhibitors in which the hydroxamic acid moiety as the zinc binding functional group was introduced to a quinazoline-based PI3K pharmacophore through an appropriate linker. Systematic structure-activity relationship studies resulted in lead compounds 23 and 36 that simultaneously inhibited PI3K and HDAC with nanomolar potencies and demonstrated favorable antiproliferative activities. Compounds 23 and 36 efficiently modulated the expression of p-AKT and Ac-H3, arrested the cell cycle, and induced apoptosis in HCT116 cancer cells. Following pharmacokinetic studies, 23 was further evaluated in HCT116 and HGC-27 xenograft models to show significant in vivo anticancer efficacies with tumor growth inhibitions of 45.8% (po, 150 mg/kg) and 62.6% (ip, 30 mg/kg), respectively. Overall, this work shows promise in discovering new anticancer therapeutics by the approach of simultaneously targeting PI3K and HDAC pathways with a single molecule.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemical synthesis
  • Antineoplastic Agents / metabolism*
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Drug Delivery Systems / methods*
  • Drug Design
  • Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor / methods
  • HCT116 Cells
  • Hep G2 Cells
  • Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors / chemical synthesis
  • Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors / metabolism*
  • Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Histone Deacetylases / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • K562 Cells
  • MCF-7 Cells
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred ICR
  • Molecular Docking Simulation / methods
  • Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / metabolism*
  • Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors / chemical synthesis
  • Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors / metabolism*
  • Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors / pharmacology

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors
  • Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors
  • Histone Deacetylases