Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of dihydroquinoxalinone derivatives as BRD4 inhibitors

Bioorg Chem. 2016 Oct:68:236-44. doi: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2016.08.009. Epub 2016 Aug 24.

Abstract

BRD4 plays a key role in transcriptional regulation. Recent biological and pharmacological studies have demonstrated that bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) is a viable drug target for cancer treatment. In this study, we synthesized a series of dihydroquinoxalinone derivatives and evaluated their BRD4 inhibitory activities, obtaining compound 5i with IC50 value of 73nM of binding activity in BRD4(1) and 258nM of cellular activity in MV-4-11 cancer cell lines. Docking studies were performed to explain the structure-activity relationship. Based on its potent biochemical and anti-proliferative activity, the novel BRD4 inhibitor compound 5i, is a promising lead compound for further investigation.

Keywords: BRD4 inhibitors; Cancer; Dihydroquinoxalinone derivatives; Molecular docking.

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemical synthesis
  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemistry
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Drug Design*
  • Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor
  • Humans
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Structure
  • Nuclear Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Quinoxalines / chemical synthesis
  • Quinoxalines / chemistry
  • Quinoxalines / pharmacology*
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Transcription Factors / antagonists & inhibitors*

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • BRD4 protein, human
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • Quinoxalines
  • Transcription Factors
  • dihydroquinoxalinone