Design of novel coumarin derivatives as CK2 inhibitors were attempted by targeting the interaction with the hinge region. A set of substituents capable of forming a hydrogen bond or halogen bond with the hinge region were screened in silico, and trifluoromethyl emerges as a promising motif by forming favorable electrostatic interaction and a presumable halogen bond with the hinge region. As proof of concept, three trifluoromethyl derivatives of coumarin were synthesized and tested in vitro. The results indicated that replacement of methyl by trifluoromethyl leads to a modest 5-fold improvement in potency, with the most active compound being 0.4 µM. The newly designed compounds were further screened on one lung cancer cell line A549, showing low micromolar anti-proliferative activity.
Keywords: Protein kinase CK2; cancer; hinge region; molecular docking.
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