Evaluation of oxadiazole-<i>N</i>-phenylacetamide conjugates as VEGFR-2 inhibitors and apoptosis inducers: design, synthesis, anti-proliferative assessment, molecular docking, and dynamics studies


Otify I. I., Ayyad R. R. A., Celik İ., Sakr H., Elwan A.

FUTURE MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY, cilt.18, sa.1, ss.19-34, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 18 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/17568919.2025.2594968
  • Dergi Adı: FUTURE MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Chemical Abstracts Core, EMBASE, MEDLINE
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.19-34
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Oxadiazole, anticancer, VEGFR-2 inhibitors, cell cycle analysis, apoptosis induction, molecular docking, MD simulations
  • Erciyes Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

AimA novel series of oxadiazole-based derivatives was designed and synthesized as vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) inhibitors.MethodThe synthesized compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic and VEGFR-2 inhibition activities.ResultsCompound 11i was a super cytotoxic member, showing IC50 of 3.26 and 5.11 mu M, twice as active as sorafenib (IC50 = 8.83 and 6.68 mu M) against hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) and colon cancer (HCT-116), respectively. Also, the VEGFR-2 inhibitory assay revealed that derivative 11i was the most potent VEGFR-2 inhibitor, showing a strong IC50 value of 0.56 nM, compared to sorafenib (IC50 = 0.46 nM). Furthermore, extra mechanistic studies were conducted on the most active candidate 11i. The results indicated that such a compound arrested the cell cycle at both S and G2/M stages, triggering apoptosis in HepG2 cells. Also, compound 11i produced a significant increase in the expression levels of apoptotic suppressors, caspase-3 and BAX, and a significant reduction of apoptosis motivator, Bcl-2 protein. Moreover, docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies revealed the correct binding mode and the optimum dynamics of compound 11i inside the VEGFR-2 pocket.ConclusionThis study represents compound 11i, incorporating an oxadiazole scaffold as a promising VEGFR-2 inhibitor with potent anticancer activity.