Abstract
VEGFR-2, the subtype receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) responsible for angiogenesis, is expressed in various cancer cells. Thus, VEGFER-2 inhibition is an efficient approach for the discovery of new anticancer agents. Accordingly, a new set of nicotinamide derivatives were designed and synthesized to be VEGFR-2 inhibitors. The chemical structures were confirmed using IR,
1
H-NMR, and
13
C-NMR spectroscopy. The obtained compounds were examined for their anti-proliferative activities against the human cancer cell lines (HCT-116 and HepG2). VEGFR-2 inhibitory activities were determined for the titled compounds. Compound
8
exhibited the strongest anti-proliferative activities with IC
50
values of 5.4 and 7.1 µM against HCT-116 and HepG2, respectively. Interestingly, compound
8
was the most potent VEGFR-2 inhibitor with an IC
50
value of 77.02 nM (compare to sorafenib: IC
50
= 53.65 nM). Treatment of HCT-116 cells with compound
8
produced arrest of the cell cycle at the G0–G1 phase and a total apoptosis increase from 3.05 to 19.82%—6.5-fold in comparison to the negative control. In addition, compound
8
caused significant increases in the expression levels of caspase-8 (9.4-fold) and Bax (9.2-fold), and a significant decrease in the Bcl-2 expression level (3-fold). The effects of compound
8
on the levels of the immunomodulatory proteins (TNF-α and IL-6) were examined. There was a marked decrease in the level of TNF-α (92.37%) compared to the control (82.47%) and a non-significant reduction in the level of IL-6. In silico docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and MM-PBSA studies revealed the high affinity, the correct binding, and the optimum dynamics of compound 8 inside the active site of VEGFR-2. Finally, in silico ADMET and toxicity studies indicated acceptable values of drug-likeness. In conclusion, compound
8
has emerged as a promising anti-proliferative agent targeting VEGFR-2 with significant apoptotic and immunomodulatory effects.