Faculty Publications
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Item Identification and characterization of novel indole based small molecules as anticancer agents through SIRT1 inhibition(2013) Panathur, N.; Udayakumar, U.; Koushik, P.V.; Alvala, M.; Yogeeswari, P.; Sriram, D.; Kumar, V.In our pursuit to develop new potential anticancer leads, we designed a combination of structural units of indole and substituted triazole; and a library of 1-{1-methyl-2-[4-phenyl-5-(propan-2-ylsulfanyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3- yl]-1H-indol-3-yl}methanamine derivatives was synthesized and characterized. Cytotoxic evaluations of these molecules over a panel of three human cancer cell lines were carried out. Few molecules exhibited potent growth inhibitory action against the treated cancer cell lines at lower micro molar concentration. An in vitro assay investigation of these active compounds using recombinant human SIRT1 enzyme showed that one of the compounds (IT-14) inhibited the deacetylation activity of the enzyme. The in vivo study of IT-14 exemplified its promising action by reducing the prostate weight to the body weight ratio in prostate hyperplasia animal models. A remarkable decrease in the disruption of histoarchitecture of the prostate tissues isolated from IT-14 treated animal compared to that of the positive control was observed. The molecular interactions with SIRT1 enzyme were also supported by molecular docking simulations. Hence this compound can act as a lead molecule to treat prostatic hyperplasia. © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.Item Syntheses, quantum mechanical modeling, biomolecular interaction and in vitro anticancer – Tubulin activity of thiosemicarbazones(Academic Press Inc. apjcs@harcourt.com, 2020) Xavier, J.S.; Karthikeyan, K.; Ragavendran, V.; NityanandaShetty, A.A new series of thiosemicarbazones were designed and synthesized. Their structures were confirmed by spectral characterization and single crystal XRD studies. Compounds MTSC-2 and ETSC-3 crystallized in the orthorhombic crystal system with space group Pbc21 andPca21respectively. Density functional theory computational studies were performed on MTSC-2 and ETSC-3 along with natural bond orbital analysis and Mulliken population analysis to study the structural and electronic properties of the thiosemicarbazones. The HOMOs of the two thiosemicarbazones are ?5.2943 and ?5.1133 eV respectively while the LUMOs are ?1.6879 and ?1.6398 eV respectively. The energy gap is 3.6064 and 3.4736 eV respectively. Molecular docking studies were performed to determine the binding mode of the thiosemicarbazones against ?-tubulin. The theoretical studies were further supplemented with tubulin polymerization inhibition assay. All the four thiosemicarbazones proved effective in inhibiting the polymerization of ?- and ?-tubulin heterodimers into microtubules. The anticancer activity of these compounds showed their extreme potency against A549 and HepG2 cancer cell lines with IC50 values of 0.051 – 0.189 µm and 0.042 – 0.136 µm respectively. Compound PTSC-4 showed the highest activity both against tubulin and the two cancer cell lines. This was in correlation with the theoretical studies. Hence, these four compounds, specifically PTSC-4, can be considered to be potential leads in the development of non-metallic anticancer agents. © 2020 Elsevier Inc.Item Virtual and experimental high throughput screening of substituted hydrazones on ?-Tubulin polymerization(Academic Press Inc., 2021) Xavier, J.S.; Karthikeyan, K.; Ragavendran, V.; Manoharan, M.T.; Nityananda Shetty, A.Microtubule targeting agents that disrupt the dynamic functioning of the mitotic spindle are some of the best chemotherapeutic agents. Interruption of microtubule dynamics through polymerization or depolymerization causes cell arrest leading to apoptosis. We report a novel class of aroylhydrazones with anticancer properties. Tubulin inhibition studies were performed using both computational and biological methods. Docking and pharmacophore mapping showed efficient binding between the ligands and the protein. Tubulin inhibition assay showed the aroylhydrazones to be inhibitors of tubulin polymerization. DFT studies explains the geometrical and electronic properties of the compounds. Furthermore, anticancer studies using lung and liver cancer cell lines gave low IC50 values with the methyl substituted hydrazone MH-2 being the most potent. (IC50 of 0.0896 and 0.1040 µM respectively). The methyl group is responsible for the effective binding to the protein. Thus, a new class of tubulin binding agents have been identified as potential agents in cancer therapy. © 2021 Elsevier Inc.Item Benzothiazole derivatives as p53-MDM2 inhibitors: in-silico design, ADMET predictions, molecular docking, MM-GBSA Assay, MD simulations studies(Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2025) Shridhar Deshpande, N.; Naik, S.; Udayakumar, U.; Ghate, S.D.; Dixit, S.R.; Awasthi, A.; Revanasiddappa, B.C.Breast cancer stands as the most prevalent malignancy among the female populace. One of the pivotal domains in the therapeutic landscape of breast cancer revolves around the precise targeting of the p53-MDM2 inhibitory pathway. The advent of p53-MDM2 inhibition in the context of developing treatments for breast cancer marks a significant stride. In the quest for enhancing the efficacy of p53-MDM2 inhibition against breast cancer, a new series of benzothiazole compounds (B1-B30) was designed through in-silico methodologies in the present work. Using Schrodinger Maestro, the compounds underwent molecular docking assessments against the p53-MDM2 target (PDB: 4OGT). Compared to reference compounds, B25 and B12 exhibited notably elevated glide scores. Extensive in-silico studies, including ADMET and toxicity evaluations, were performed to predict pharmacokinetics, drug likeness, and toxicity. All compounds adhered to Lipinski criteria, signifying favorable oral drug properties. The MM-GBSA analysis indicated consistent binding free energies. Molecular dynamics simulations for B25 over 200 ns assessed complex stability and interactions. In summary, these compounds exhibit potential for future cancer therapy medication development. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Item An in silico approach to identify novel and potential Akt1 (protein kinase B-alpha) inhibitors as anticancer drugs(Springer Nature, 2025) Etikyala, U.; Reddyrajula, R.; Vani, T.; Kuchana, V.; Udayakumar, U.; Vijjulatha, V.Akt1 (protein kinase B) has become a major focus of attention due to its significant functionality in a variety of cellular processes and the inhibition of Akt1 could lead to a decrease in tumour growth effectively in cancer cells. In the present work, we discovered a set of novel Akt1 inhibitors by using multiple computational techniques, i.e. pharmacophore-based virtual screening, molecular docking, binding free energy calculations, and ADME properties. A five-point pharmacophore hypothesis was implemented and validated with AADRR38. The obtained R2 and Q2 values are in the acceptable region with the values of 0.90 and 0.64, respectively. The generated pharmacophore model was employed for virtual screening to find out the potential Akt1 inhibitors. Further, the selected hits were subjected to molecular docking, binding free energy analysis, and refined using ADME properties. Also, we designed a series of 6-methoxybenzo[b]oxazole analogues by comprising the structural characteristics of the hits acquired from the database. Molecules D1–D10 were found to have strong binding interactions and higher binding free energy values. In addition, Molecular dynamic simulation was performed to understand the conformational changes of protein–ligand complex. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.Item Exploring Indole-1,3,4-Thiadiazole Schiff Base Derivatives as Anticancer Agents: Design, Synthesis, In Vitro and In Silico Evaluation(John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2025) Etikyala, U.; Reddyrajula, R.; Udayakumar, U.; Kokku, P.; Vijjulatha, V.Cancer remains a major global health challenge, with resistance to existing therapeutic regimens underscoring the development of novel agents with improved efficacy and reduced toxicity. The indole and 1,3,4-thiadiazole scaffolds are distinguished for their broad-spectrum bioactivities, including anticancer properties. In this study, the synthesis and biological evaluation of a new series of indole-1,3,4-thiadiazole Schiff bases (U1-U31) designed to enhance anticancer efficacy is explored. In vitro evaluation demonstrates potent and selective cytotoxicity of several compounds, particularly U19 and U24, against multiple cancer cell lines, with minimal toxicity to normal cells. Molecular docking and density functional theory studies demonstrate that these hybrid compounds effectively occupy the ATP-binding sites of Pi3K and Akt proteins, exhibiting notable binding interactions comparable to the respective standard inhibitors. In addition, molecular dynamics simulation is performed to understand the conformational changes of the protein–ligand complex. Overall, the findings indicate that these novel indole-1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives have selective inhibitory potency, making them promising leads for further anticancer drug development. © 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.