Hetarylfuroxans: cytotoxic effect and induction of apoptosis in chronic myeloid leukemia K562 cells

Hetarylfuroxans (4-(2-methylpyridin-5-yloxy)-3-phenylfuroxan ( 1 ), bis(1,2,4-oxadiazol- 3-yl)furoxan ( 2 ), and 4-amino-3-(indenotriazin-3-yl)furoxan ( 3 )) exhibit in vitro cytotoxic activity against chronic myeloid leukemia K562 cells. All studied furoxans induce apoptosis in K562 cells. The experiments with activation of caspases-3 and -7 showed that furoxan 3 possessed the highest apoptosis-inducing capacity. The studied hetarylfuroxans were found to be the promising drug candidates for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia K562.