Synthesis and In Vitro and Silico Anti-inflammatory Activity of New Thiazolidinedione-quinoline Derivatives

Curr Top Med Chem. 2024 Mar 21. doi: 10.2174/0115680266295582240318060802. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Background: Inflammation is a series of complex defense-related reactions. The inflammation cascade produces various pro-inflammatory mediators. Unregulated production of these pro-inflammatory mediators can lead to a wide range of diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, sepsis, and inflammatory bowel disease. In the literature, the anti-inflammatory action of quinoline and thiazolidinedione nuclei are well established, alone, and associated with other nuclei. The synthesis of hybrid molecules is a strategy for obtaining more efficient molecules due to the union of pharmacophoric nuclei known to be related to pharmacological activity.

Objective: Based on this, this work presents the synthesis of thiazolidinedione-quinoline molecular hybrids and their involvement in the modulation of cytokines involved in the inflammatory reaction cascade.

Methods: After synthesis and characterization, the compounds were submitted to cell viability test (MTT), ELISA IFN-γ and TNF-α, adipogenic differentiation, and molecular docking assay with PPARy and COX-2 targets.

Results: LPSF/ZKD2 and LPSF/ZKD7 showed a significant decrease in the concentration of IFN- γ and TNF-α, with a dose-dependent behavior. LPSF/ZKD4 at a concentration of 50 μM significantly reduced IL-6 expression. LPSF/ZKD4 demonstrates lipid accumulation with significant differences between the untreated and negative control groups, indicating a relevant agonist action on the PPARγ receptor. Molecular docking showed that all synthesized compounds have good affinity with PPARγ e COX-2, with binding energy close to -10,000 Kcal/mol.

Conclusion: These results demonstrate that the synthesis of quinoline-thiazolidinedione hybrids may be a useful strategy for obtaining promising candidates for new anti-inflammatory agents.

Keywords: Cyclooxygenase 2; IFN-γ; Inflammation; PPARγ; Quinoline.; TNF-β; Thiazoidinedione.