New 2-(thien-2-yl)-acrylonitriles with putative kinase inhibitory activity were prepared and tested for their antineoplastic efficacy in hepatoma models. Four out of the 14 derivatives were shown to inhibit hepatoma cell proliferation at (sub-)micromolar concentrations with IC50 values below that of the clinically relevant multikinase inhibitor sorafenib, which served as a reference. Colony formation assays as well as primary in vivo examinations of hepatoma tumors grown on the chorioallantoic membrane of fertilized chicken eggs (CAM assay) confirmed the excellent antineoplastic efficacy of the new derivatives. Their mode of action included an induction of apoptotic capsase-3 activity, while no contribution of unspecific cytotoxic effects was observed in LDH-release measurements. Kinase profiling of cancer relevant protein kinases identified the two 3-aryl-2-(thien-2-yl)acrylonitrile derivatives 1b and 1c as (multi-)kinase inhibitors with a preferential activity against the VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase. Additional bioinformatic analysis of the VEGFR-2 binding modes by docking and molecular dynamics calculations supported the experimental findings and indicated that the hydroxy group of 1c might be crucial for its distinct inhibitory potency against VEGFR-2. Forthcoming studies will further unveil the underlying mode of action of the promising new derivatives as well as their suitability as an urgently needed novel approach in HCC treatment.
新的2-(噻吩-2-基)-丙烯腈具有潜在的激酶抑制活性,已经制备并在肝癌模型中测试了它们的抗肿瘤功效。在14种衍生物中,有4种显示出在(亚-)微摩尔浓度下抑制肝癌细胞增殖的能力,IC50值低于临床相关的多激酶抑制剂索拉非尼,后者作为参考。集落形成实验以及在受精鸡蛋的脐带尿囊膜上生长的肝癌肿瘤的原位体内检查(CAM实验)证实了新衍生物的出色抗肿瘤功效。它们的作用方式包括诱导凋亡相关的caspase-3活性,而在LDH释放测量中观察到的非特异性细胞毒效应没有贡献。对癌症相关蛋白激酶的激酶谱分析确定了两种3-芳基-2-(噻吩-2-基)丙烯腈衍生物1b和1c作为(多重)激酶抑制剂,对VEGFR-2酪氨酸激酶具有优先活性。通过对VEGFR-2结合模式的生物信息学分析,包括对接和分子动力学计算,支持了实验结果,并表明1c的羟基可能对其针对VEGFR-2的独特抑制效力至关重要。即将进行的研究将进一步揭示有前途的新衍生物的作用方式,以及它们作为肝细胞癌治疗中迫切需要的新方法的适用性。