The structure-based
design introduced indoles as an essential motif
in designing new selective estrogen receptor modulators employed for
treating breast cancer. Therefore, here, a series of synthesized vanillin-substituted
indolin-2-ones were screened against the NCI-60 cancer cell panel
followed by in vivo, in vitro, and in silico studies. Physicochemical
parameters were evaluated with HPLC and SwissADME tools. The compounds
demonstrated promising anti-cancer activity for the MCF-7 breast cancer
cell line (GI = 6–63%). The compound with the highest activity
(6j) was selective for the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line
(IC50 = 17.01 μM) with no effect on the MCF-12A normal
breast cell line supported by real-time cell analysis. A morphological
examination of the used cell lines confirmed a cytostatic effect of
compound 6j. It inhibited both in vivo and in vitro estrogenic
activity, triggering a 38% reduction in uterine weight induced by
estrogen in an immature rat model and hindering 62% of ER-α
receptors in in vitro settings. In silico molecular docking and molecular
dynamics simulation studies supported the stability of the ER-α
and compound 6j protein–ligand complex. Herein,
we report that indolin-2-one derivative 6j is a promising
lead compound for further pharmaceutical formulations as a potential
anti-breast cancer drug.
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