Synthesis and Biological Evaluations of 1,2-Diaryl Pyrroles as Analogues of Combretastatin A-4.

A series of novel 1,2-diaryl pyrroles as analogues of combretastatin A-4 (CA-4, 1a) were synthesized and evaluated for their antitumour potential against three cancer cell lines. Most compounds exhibited growth inhibition against all of the cancer cell lines. Compound 7q not only exhibited prominent antitumour efficacy with IC50 values of 0.390 μm in SGC-7901, 0.070 μm in HT-1080 and 0.045 μm in KB cell lines but also showed low activity with IC50 values of 30.08 μm in normal L929 cell line. Moreover, compound 7q inhibited tubulin polymerization into microtubules and caused microtubule destabilization. A molecular docking study of 7q was performed to determine its binding mode at the colchicine site in the tubulin dimer.