Design, synthesis, and antiproliferative activity of new 5-ethylsulfonyl-indazole-3-carbohydrazides as dual EGFR/VEGFR-2 kinases inhibitors

A novel series of 5-ethylsulfonyl-indazole-3-carbohydrazides <b>7a–o</b>, serving as dual inhibitors of EGFR and VEGFR-2 was developed. The antiproliferative effects of compounds <b>7a–o</b> were assessed against four cancer cell lines via the MTT assay. Compounds <b>7g</b>, <b>7i–7l</b>, and <b>7o</b> emerged as the most efficient six derivatives, with GI₅₀ values ranging from 25 nM to 42 nM. Compounds <b>7j</b>, <b>7k</b>, and <b>7o</b> (GI₅₀ values of 27, 25, and 30, respectively) demonstrated greater potency than erlotinib (GI₅₀ value of 33 nM), particularly against breast (MCF-7) cancer cell lines, and were identified as the most potent dual EGFR/VEGFR-2 inhibitors. Apoptotic markers assay results showed that increased levels of p53 and Bax proteins, along with lower levels of antiapoptotic Bcl-2, govern the apoptosis process in these new compounds. Computational analyses, encompassing molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and density functional theory (DFT) computations, elucidated the binding interactions of these drugs with EGFR and VEGFR-2.