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Exploring the Binding of Natural Compounds to Cancer-Related G-Quadruplex Structures: From 9,10-Dihydrophenanthrenes to Their Dimeric and Glucoside Derivatives
oleh: Chiara Platella, Andrea Criscuolo, Claudia Riccardi, Rosa Gaglione, Angela Arciello, Domenica Musumeci, Marina DellaGreca, Daniela Montesarchio
| Format: | Article |
|---|---|
| Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2023-04-01 |
Deskripsi
In-depth studies on the interaction of natural compounds with cancer-related G-quadruplex structures have been undertaken only recently, despite their high potential as anticancer agents, especially due to their well-known and various bioactivities. In this frame, aiming at expanding the repertoire of natural compounds able to selectively recognize G-quadruplexes, and particularly focusing on phenanthrenoids, a mini-library including dimeric (<b>1</b>–<b>3</b>) and glucoside (<b>4</b>–<b>5</b>) analogues of 9,10-dihydrophenanthrenes, a related tetrahydropyrene glucoside (<b>6</b>) along with 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene <b>7</b> were investigated here by several biophysical techniques and molecular docking. Compounds <b>3</b> and <b>6</b> emerged as the most selective G-quadruplex ligands within the investigated series. These compounds proved to mainly target the grooves/flanking residues of the hybrid telomeric and parallel oncogenic G-quadruplex models exploiting hydrophobic, hydrogen bond and π-π interactions, without perturbing the main folds of the G-quadruplex structures. Notably, a binding preference was found for both ligands towards the hybrid telomeric G-quadruplex. Moreover, compounds <b>3</b> and <b>6</b> proved to be active on different human cancer cells in the low micromolar range. Overall, these compounds emerged as useful ligands able to target G-quadruplex structures, which are of interest as promising starting scaffolds for the design of analogues endowed with high and selective anticancer activity.