Design, synthesis and molecular docking of new [1,2,4] triazolo[4,3-a]quinoxaline derivatives as anticancer agents targeting VEGFR-2 kinase

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) is critically involved in cancer angiogenesis. Blocking of VEGFR-2 signaling pathway proved effective suppression of tumor growth. Accordingly, two series of new triazoloquinoxaline-based derivatives were designed and synthesized as VEGFR-2 inhibitors. All in vitro cytotoxic activities of the synthesized compounds were evaluated against two human cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and HepG2). To confirm the potential mechanism of cytotoxicity, enzymatic assays against VEGFR-2 were estimated for all the target compounds. The results of VEGFR-2 inhibitory activity and cytotoxicity were in high correlation. Compound 22a exhibited the highest cytotoxic effect with IC 50 values of 6.2 and 4.9 μM against MCF-7 and HepG2, respectively, comparing to sorafenib (IC 50 = 3.53 and 2.18 μM). Such derivative showed the best VEGFR-2 inhibitory activity with an IC 50 value of 3.9 nM, which is very close to that of sorafenib (IC 50 = 3.13 nM). Moreover, compounds 22b , 23b , and 23e exhibited strong cytotoxic activity with IC 50 values ranging from 11.7 to 15.3 μM. Also, these compounds showed promising VEGFR-2 inhibition with IC 50 values of 4.2, 5.7, and 4.7 nM, respectively. In silico docking, ADMET, and toxicity studies were carried out for the synthesized compounds. The results revealed that some compounds have a good binding mode against VEGFR-2 and a high level of drug-likeness. Graphic abstract