New cell cycle checkpoint pathways regulators with 2-Oxo-indoline scaffold as potential anticancer agents: Design, synthesis, biological activities and in silico studies

3-Arylidene-2-oxo-indoline derivatives are at the heart of a wide range of clinically, medicinally and biologically important compounds among the 2-oxo-indolines. A number of 3-arylidene-2-oxo-indolines have been approved for clinical application. Accordingly, the current work describes the structural based design of 3-arylidene-2-oxindole derivatives through docking of their structures in the active site of CDK2 as one of the dominant Enzyme checkpoints. Based on the docking studies a range of 3-arylidene-2-oxindole derivatives, 5(a-n) and 6(a-x), with variable substituents at positions 1 and 5 of the 2-oxindole as well as 3 and 4 of the aryl moieties were synthesized. These molecules exist in either E or Z diastereomer about the exocyclic double bond at position 3 of oxindole nucleus. Their structures were confirmed by spectral and elemental methods of analyses and the E/Z-configuration of the diastereomers was confirmed by 2D NOE analysis. In vitro cytotoxicity of these molecules was tested against four cancerous cell lines, namely, breast Cancer cell line (MCF7), liver carcinoma cell line (HepG2), cervix carcinoma cell line (HeLa), colon Cancer cell line (HCT116) in addition to the diploid human normal non-cancerous cell line (F180) using SRB and MTT assays. The tested molecules showed variable cytotoxic effects on the four Cancer cell lines with pronounced selectivity compared to the normal one (F180) with no significant difference between E and Z diastereomers. Compounds 5a, 5b, 5e₁, 5m, 6f and 6j were tested for the effect on the expression on CDK2, p53, Caspase-3 and caspase-9 proteins, and revealed variable activities compared to the positive controls Sunitinib and Staurosporine. These molecules seem to have multiple cellular targets as they induced expression of p53 and caspases while inhibited that of CDK2. Apoptotic effect of compound 6j was further investigated using annexin V-FITC/PI dual staining assay and showed that cells treated with 6j have nearly 15 folds greater apoptotic effect than that of the control cells. Furthermore, inhibitory activity of compounds 5a, 5b, 5e₁, 5m, 6f and 6j on CDK2 Enzyme were tested and revealed that compound 6f, with the N-4-flourobenzyl- 2-oxindole and 3-p-chlorobenzylidene moieties, has a comparable inhibitory activity to the reference drug sunitinib.