A novel trifluoromethyl quinoline derivative targeting SGK1 inducing autophagy and apoptosis via regulating mTOR/FOXO3a pathway in glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) is known for its aggressive nature and poor prognosis, with currently no effective treatment available. Research has shown that introducing fluorinated functional groups into different parts of natural product quinoline significantly affects its anti-tumor activity. Therefore, this study synthesized the trifluoromethyl quinoline derivative FKL296 to investigate its anti-tumor effect on GBM and reveal its mechanism of action. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that FKL296 effectively inhibitd the growth of GBM and is relatively safe and low toxicity, whice also induced cell apoptosis and autophagy. Additionally, protein kinase profiling and molecular docking analyses have revealed a strong binding affinity between FKL296 and SGK1. Cellular thermal shift assay experiments have confirmed the targeting of SGK1 by FKL296 and its role in enhancing SGK1 stability. Bioinformatics analysis and pathway validation indicated that FKL296 targeted SGK1 and inhibited autophagy in tumor cells through the mTOR/FOXO3a signaling pathway. In summary, FKL296 may become a promising drug for the treatment of GBM.