Integration of Hybridization Strategies in Pyridine-Urea Scaffolds for Novel Anticancer Agents: Design, Synthesis, and Mechanistic Insights

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 28; no. 13; p. 4952
• Main Authors: Godesi, Sreenivasulu, Nada, Hossam, Lee, Joohan, Kang, Joon-Hee, Kim, Soo-Youl, Choi, Yongseok, Lee, Kyeong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 23.06.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Acids; anticancer agents; Antimitotic agents; Antineoplastic agents; Antitumor activity; Breast; Breast cancer; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Care and treatment; Cell growth; Colon cancer; Colorectal cancer; Cytotoxicity; Diagnosis; Drugs; Free energy; Hybridization; hybridization strategy; In vitro methods and tests; Inhibitors; MM–GBSA; Molecular docking; molecular dynamics; Mortality; Patient compliance; Post traumatic stress disorder; Pyridine; Pyridines; pyridine–urea; Tumor cell lines; Urea; Vascular endothelial growth factor; South Korea; hybridization strategy; pyridine–urea; molecular docking; molecular dynamics; MM–GBSA; anticancer agents
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules28134952

Annually, millions of new cancer cases are reported, leading to millions of deaths worldwide. Among the newly reported cases, breast and colon cancers prevail as the most frequently detected variations. To effectively counteract this rapid increase, the development of innovative therapies is crucial. Small molecules possessing pyridine and urea moieties have been reported in many of the currently available anticancer agents, especially VEGFR2 inhibitors. With this in mind, a rational design approach was employed to create hybrid small molecules combining urea and pyridine. These synthesized compounds underwent in vitro testing against breast and colon cancer cell lines, revealing potent submicromolar anticancer activity. Compound , specifically, exhibited an impressive GI value of 0.06 μM against the MCF7 cancer cell line, while compound displayed the highest cytotoxic activity against the HCT116 cell line, with a GI of 0.33 ± 0.042 μM. Notably, compounds , , and demonstrated excellent safety profiles when tested on normal cells. Molecular docking, dynamic studies, and free energy calculations were employed to validate the affinity of these compounds as VEGFR2 inhibitors.