Synthesis of diaryl urea derivatives and evaluation of their antiproliferative activities in colon adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Colon cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths today. Serious research for ideal chemotherapy continues today. In this context, newly synthesized molecules have an essential role in cancer treatment research. The effects of 5 diaryl urea derivatives synthesized within the scope of this study on the HT-29 colon cancer cell line were investigated for the first time in the literature by in-silico and in-vitro methods. Among the five compounds produced in the first stage of the study, DAU5 was found to have a cytotoxic effect on HT-29. However, it was determined that it did not show a serious cytotoxic effect on L929 (healthy fibroblast cell line) at the same doses. The efficacy of DAU5 was evaluated for expression of LC3B, an indicator of autophagy, and 8-OHdG, an indicator of oxidative stress-DNA damage. LC3B and 8-OHdG expression were lower in the DAU5 treatment group than in the control group. As a result, it was seen that DAU5, a diaryl urea derivative compound we synthesized in this study, has the potential to be a chemotherapeutic agent against colon cancer. However, our study needs to be supported by in vivo and clinical studies.