Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of 4-Methyl Quinazoline Derivatives as Anticancer Agents Simultaneously Targeting Phosphoinositide 3-Kinases and Histone Deacetylases

Abstract

Polypharmacology is a promising paradigm in modern drug discovery. Herein, we have discovered a series of novel PI3K and HDAC dual inhibitors in which the hydroxamic acid moiety as the zinc binding functional group was introduced to a quinazoline-based PI3K pharmacophore through an appropriate linker. Systematic structure-activity relationship studies resulted in lead compounds <b>23</b> and <b>36</b> that simultaneously inhibited PI3K and HDAC with nanomolar potencies and demonstrated favorable antiproliferative activities. Compounds <b>23</b> and <b>36</b> efficiently modulated the expression of p-AKT and Ac-H3, arrested the cell cycle, and induced apoptosis in HCT116 cancer cells. Following pharmacokinetic studies, <b>23</b> was further evaluated in HCT116 and HGC-27 xenograft models to show significant in vivo anticancer efficacies with tumor growth inhibitions of 45.8% (po, 150 mg/kg) and 62.6% (ip, 30 mg/kg), respectively. Overall, this work shows promise in discovering new anticancer therapeutics by the approach of simultaneously targeting PI3K and HDAC pathways with a single molecule.