Design, synthesis, biological activity evaluation of 3-(4-phenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-1H-pyrazole derivatives as potent JAK 2/3 and aurora A/B kinases multi-targeted inhibitors

In this study, a series of 3-(4-phenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-1H-pyrazole derivatives were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their biological activities. Upon performing kinase assays, most of the compounds exhibited potent inhibition against JAK2/3 and Aurora A/B with the IC 50 values ranging from 0.008 to 2.52 μM. Among these derivatives, compound 10e expressed the most moderate inhibiting activities against all the four kinases with the IC 50 values of 0.166 μM (JAK2), 0.057 μM (JAK3), 0.939 μM (Aurora A), and 0.583 μM (Aurora B), respectively. Moreover, most of the derived compounds exhibited potent cytotoxicity against human chronic myeloid leukemia cells K562 and human colon cancer cells HCT116, while compound 10e expressed antiproliferative activities against K562 (IC 50= 6.726 μM). According to western blot analysis, compound 10e down-regulated the phosphorylation of STAT3, STAT5, Aurora A, and Aurora B in a dose-dependent manner in K562 and HCT116 cells. Cell cycle analysis revealed that compound 10e inhibited the proliferation of cells by inducing cell cycle arrest in the G2 phase. The molecular modeling suggested that compound 10e could maintain a binding mode similar to the binding mode of AT9832, a common JAK 2/3 and Aurora A/B kinases multi-target kinase inhibitor. Therefore, compound 10e might be a potential agent for cancer therapy deserving further research. • Compound 10e is a multi-targeted inhibitor. • Compound 10e exhibited moderate anti-proliferative activities against K562. • Compound 10e down-regulates the phosphorylation of STAT3/5 and Aurora A/B in cancer cells. • Compound 10e inhibited the proliferation of cells by inducing cell cycle arrest in G2 phase. • Compound 10e could maintain similar binding mode of JAK 2/3 and Aurora A/B kinases as multi-targeted inhibitor (AT9832).