Novel 1,3-Thiazole Analogues with Potent Activity Against Breast Cancer: A Design, Synthesis, In Vitro, and In Silico Study

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, responsible for over half a million deaths in 2020. Almost 75% of FDA-approved drugs are mainly nitrogen- and sulfur-containing heterocyclic compounds, implying the importance of such compounds in drug discovery. Among heterocycles, thiazole-based heterocyclic compounds have demonstrated a broad range of pharmacological activities. In the present study, a novel set of 1,3-thiazole derivatives was designed and synthesized based on the coupling of acetophenone derivatives, and phenacyl bromide was substituted as a key reaction step. The activity of synthesized compounds was screened against the proliferation of two breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231). Almost all compounds exhibited a considerable antiproliferative activity toward the breast cancer cells as compared to staurosporine, with no significant cytotoxicity toward the epithelial cells. Among the synthesized compounds, compound exhibited the most potent antiproliferative activity, with an IC of 5.73 and 12.15 µM toward MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells, respectively, compared to staurosporine (IC = 6.77 and 7.03 µM, respectively). Exploring the mechanistic insights responsible for the antiproliferative activity of compound revealed that compound possesses a significant inhibitory activity toward the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) with (IC = 0.093 µM) compared to Sorafenib (IC = 0.059 µM). Further, compound showed the ability to induce programmed cell death by triggering apoptosis and necrosis in MCF-7 cells and to induce cell cycle arrest on MCF-7 cells at the G1 stage while decreasing the cellular population in the G2/M phase. Finally, detailed in silico molecular docking studies affirmed that this class of compounds possesses a considerable binding affinity toward VEGFR2 proteins. Overall, these results indicate that compound could be a promising lead compound for developing potent anti-breast cancer compounds.