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Abstract Drug-resistant bacteria associated with biofilm formation are rapidly on the rise, requiring novel therapeutic options to combat biofilm induced drug-resistance. In this study, a class of 3-hydroxy-2-(phenylhydroxy-methyl)-6-methyl-4 H -pyran-4-one derivatives (1a - 1e) were found by screening of an in-house compound library to be potential Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm inhibitors. Thirty one novel 2-substituted 3-hydroxy-6-methyl-4 H -pyran-4-one derivatives were synthesized and assayed for their biofilm inhibitory activity. A promising biofilm inhibitor 6a was identified, and showed an obvious biofilm inhibitory effect even at a concentration of 2.5 μM. Further mechanism studies revealed that 6a only shows inhibitory effects on the expression of pqsA-gfp in a fluorescent reporter strain, and the production of a PQS- regulated virulence factor, pyocyanin. This indicates that this type of compound exercises its anti-biofilm activity specifically through the PQS pathway. Novel chemical biofilm inhibitors are described here and guard against biofilm formation associated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Four series of 2-substituted 3-hydroxy-6-methyl-4 H -pyran-4-one derivatives were synthesized. • Potent biofilm inhibitor 6a exhibited excellent Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm inhibitory effect were identified. • The PQS pathway specific anti-biofilm mechanism of this type of compound was uncovered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of 4-anilinoquinazoline derivatives were designed and synthesized as novel c-myc promoter G-quadruplex binding ligands. Subsequent biophysical and biochemical evaluation demonstrated that the introduction of aniline group at 4-position of quinazoline ring and two side chains with terminal amino group improved their binding affinity and stabilizing ability to G-quadruplex DNA. RT-PCR assay and Western blot showed that compound 7a could down-regulate transcription and expression of c-myc gene in Hela cells, which was consistent with the behavior of an effective G-quadruplex ligand targeting c-myc oncogene. More importantly, RTCA and colony formation assays indicated that 7a obviously inhibited Hela cells proliferation, without influence on normal primary cultured mouse mesangial cells. Flow cytometric assays suggested that 7a induced Hela cells to arrest in G0/G1 phase both in a time-dependent and dose-dependent manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our previous work, indolizinoquinolinedione derivative 1 was identified as a Top1 catalytic inhibitor. Herein, a series of 6-substituted indolizinoquinolinedione derivatives were synthesized through modification of the parent compound 1 . Top1 cleavage and relaxation assays indicate that none of these novel compounds act as classical Top1 poison, and that the compounds with alkylamino terminus at C-6 side chain, including 8 , 11 – 16 , 18 – 21 , 25 , 26 and 28 – 30 , are the most potent Top1 catalytic inhibitors. Top1-mediated unwinding assay demonstrated that 14 , 22 and 26 were Top1 catalytic inhibitors without Top1-mediated unwinding effect. Moreover, MTT results showed that compounds 26 , 28 – 30 exhibit significant cytotoxicity against human leukemia HL-60 cells, and that compound 26 exerts potent cytotoxicity against A549 lung cancer cells at nanomolar range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]