- Keerthy, Hosadurga K;
- Garg, Manoj;
- Mohan, Chakrabhavi D;
- Madan, Vikas;
- Kanojia, Deepika;
- Shobith, Rangappa;
- Nanjundaswamy, Shivananju;
- Mason, Daniel J;
- Bender, Andreas;
- Basappa;
- Rangappa, Kanchugarakoppal S;
- Koeffler, H Phillip
- Editor(s): Lodola, Alessio
The anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 is a well-known and attractive therapeutic target for cancer. In the present study the solution-phase T3P-DMSO mediated efficient synthesis of 2-amino-chromene-3-carbonitriles from alcohols, malanonitrile and phenols is reported. These novel 2-amino-chromene-3-carbonitriles showed cytotoxicity in human acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines. Compound 4 g was found to be the most bioactive, decreasing growth and increasing apoptosis of AML cells. Moreover, compound 4 g (at a concentration of 5 µM) increased the G2/M and sub-G1 (apoptosis) phases of AML cells. The AML cells treated with compound 4 g exhibited decreased levels of Bcl-2 and increased levels of caspase-9. In silico molecular interaction analysis showed that compound 4 g shared a similar global binding motif with navitoclax (another small molecule that binds Bcl-2), however compound 4 g occupies a smaller volume within the P2 hot spot of Bcl-2. The intermolecular π-stacking interaction, direct electrostatic interactions, and docking energy predicted for 4 g in complex with Bcl-2 suggest a strong affinity of the complex, rendering 4 g as a promising Bcl-2 inhibitor for evaluation as a new anticancer agent.