Synthesis, anticancer evaluation, and molecular docking study of some arylidenehydrazono analogues

A series of 2-(arylidenehydrazono)-5-(2-oxo-2-arylethyl)thiazolidin-4-one derivatives was synthesized, characterized by spectral analyses and evaluated for their in vitro antitumor activity. The IC 50 determination of compounds was investigated on the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7. Among the series, compounds 3, 6, 10, 16, 17, and 24 showed remarkable anticancer activity with mean IC 50 values 2.34, 0.73, 2.69, 3.40, 1.18, and 1.76 µg/mL, respectively, against MCF-7 cancer cells. Compound 16 enhanced the concentration of caspase-9, inhibited the concentration of Ki67 and showed a profound reduction in the amount of MMP9 secreted into the medium of MCF-7-treated cells. Furthermore, compound 16 revealed anti-angiogenic activity through downregulation of the concentration of VEGF in the medium of MCF-7-treated cells. Compound 16 exerted cytotoxic effects on MCF-7 tumor cells via antiproliferative, apoptotic, anti-angiogenic, and antimetastatic activities. Molecular docking methodology was performed for the most effective anticancer compounds to rationalize the possible interactions with active site of VEGFR-2 enzyme.