Isatin-triazole/imidazole hybrids as dual CDK2/VEGFR2 inhibitors with potent anti-cancer activity: design, synthesis, and biological evaluations

Cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) are essential for the development of tumor angiogenesis and the cell cycle, respectively. Inhibiting both kinases at the same time has therefore become a sensible anticancer tactic. A number of unique hybrid compounds containing isatin-triazole and isatin-imidazole scaffolds were created and thoroughly described in an effort to find dual CDK2/VEGFR2 inhibitors. Compounds 5d , 5k , and 10 showed the strongest antiproliferative activity against breast (MCF7) and prostate (PC3) cancer cell lines among the produced derivatives. Notably, compound 10 showed the most inhibitory potency, with IC50 values of 0.058 μM for VEGFR2 and 0.789 μM for CDK2, respectively. These values are on par with or higher than those of the reference standards, roscovitine and sunitinib. Additionally, a biological study showed that compounds 5d and 5 k had negligible off-target toxicity and were selectively lethal to cancer cells compared to normal HaCaT keratinocytes. Furthermore, cell cycle studies revealed that compound 5d produced S-phase arrest, whereas compounds 5 k and 10 mostly caused G-phase arrest, in line with their kinase inhibition profiles. Additionally, the potent analogues 5d and 10 substantially decreased colony formation and tumoral cell migration. Molecular docking and dynamics simulations helped to clarify the possible binding interactions inside the ATP-binding sites of CDK2 and VEGFR2, confirming the dual-binding mechanism that underlies their potent effects. According to all of these findings, compound 10 is a potential dual CDK2/VEGFR2 inhibitor that offers a helpful foundation for the development and optimization of future multitarget anticancer agents.