Novel Heterocyclic Compounds Exhibit Potent Antileukemic Activity through Selective Induction of Apoptosis and HDAC8 Interaction in AML Cells.

Introduction: Heterocyclic compounds serve as the structural framework for many commercially available drugs and are well known for their antitumor properties.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxic effects, apoptosis induction, changes in cell cycle progression, and gene expression alterations of new heterocyclic compounds and their precursors against the acute monocytic leukemia cell line THP-1 through in vitro experimentation and computational approaches.

Methods: The study employed cytotoxicity assays, flow cytometry analyses, gene expression evaluations, oral bioavailability studies, and molecular modeling. Among the compounds tested, 6, 25, and 26 demonstrated the greatest potency and selectivity, exhibiting substantially increased cytotoxicity (1.18 μM < IC50 < 7.66 μM) against the THP-1 cell line. Investigations into apoptosis induction and cell cycle changes revealed that these compounds primarily caused an increase in the number of THP-1 cells undergoing apoptosis after 48 hours of treatment. Additionally, compounds 6 and 25 induced an accumulation of cells in the G0/G1 phase in the same cell line.

Results: Regarding gene expression, a shift in the expression profile of genes associated with apoptotic mechanisms was observed. Furthermore, in silico analysis revealed that these three active compounds potentially interact with histone deacetylase 8 (HDAC8), a protein known to be associated with cancer.

Conclusion: These findings underscore the potential of these compounds as candidates for the development of novel therapeutic approaches in oncology.