Synthesis, antiproliferative activity, and in silico studies of quinoline-based pyrimidinedione and thiazolidinedione derivatives

Cancer affects millions of people worldwide. PDK1 enzyme (co-crystallized with BIM-1) controls the proliferation of breast cancer cells. Aiming to resemble BIM-1’s binding, quinoline-based pyrimidinediones and thiazolidinediones were synthesized starting from 2-chloro-3-formylquinoline. Compared with doxorubicin (reference), in vitro antiproliferative activity against MCF7 and HCT116 cancer cell lines showed the most potency of thiobarbiturate 3 and thiazolidinedione 4. In silico molecular docking, DFT, and pharmacokinetics simulations supported the findings. The docking analysis toward PDK1 enzyme showed that most amino acids interacting with co-crystallized ligand (BIM-1) were successfully bonded to our docked substances, especially thiobarbiturate 3 with highest S-score closer to BIM-1. In DFT calculations, this compound exhibited the lowest energy gap and highest softness leading to more response to radical surface interactions. The compounds with significant antiproliferative activity exhibited high electrophilicity values. ADME analysis showed its desirable drug-likeness and oral bioavailability. This work may contribute to developing new potent antiproliferative agents.