Synthesis and Evaluation of Quinazolone Derivatives as a New Class of c-KIT G‑Quadruplex Binding Ligands

The c-KIT G-quadruplex structures are a novel class of attractive targets for the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). Herein, a series of new quinazolone derivatives with the expansion of unfused aromatic ring system were designed and synthesized. Subsequent biophysical studies demonstrated that the derivatives with adaptive scaffold could effectively bind to and stabilize c-KIT G-quadruplexes with good selectivity against duplex DNA. More importantly, these ligands further inhibited the transcription and expression of c-KIT gene and exhibited significant cytotoxicity on the GIST cell line HGC-27. Overall, these quinazolone derivatives represent a new class of promising c-KIT G-quadruplex ligands. The experimental results have also reinforced the idea of inhibition of c-KIT expression through targeting c-KIT G-quadruplex DNA.