Carboxamide appended quinoline moieties as potential anti-proliferative agents, apoptotic inducers and Pim-1 kinase inhibitors

The targeted approach of protein kinases (PKs), as PKs are the main regulators of cell survival and proliferation, has been a promising strategy for cancer treatments. Here we analyse the potential of quinoline-carboxamide derivatives for four cell lines: MCF-7, CACO, HepG-2 and HCT-116 as anticancer agents. 3e, 4b, 11b and 13d derivatives showed good anti-proliferative activities in comparison to the reference standard Doxorubicin, against the four cell lines tested. They have been chosen for further studies. First of all, the IC50 value surveys were carried out to ensure the protection of our hits and demonstrate that the cytotoxic effect (IC50 > 113 μM) is highly selective on normal human cells (WI-38). Secondly, apoptosis was accomplished by down-regulation of Bcl-2 and up-regulation of BAX and Caspase-3 by these active compounds. Also, the Pim-1 inhibitory activity of the active hybrids was done, which indicates that compound 3e was the most active with the percentage of inhibition 82.27% and IC50 equals 0.11 when compared to SGI-1776 as a reference standard. In addition, by in silico assessment of ADME properties, all of the strongest compounds are orally bioavailable without blood–brain barrier penetration.