Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel thiazolidinone derivatives as potential anti-inflammatory agents

The modulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines provides a target for controlling inflammatory diseases and attracts much attention in current anti-inflammatory drug development. Here, four series of thiazolidinone derivatives were synthesized and screened for anti-inflammatory activities. A majority of these compounds showed excellent inhibition on the expression of TNF-α and IL-6 in LPS-stimulated macrophages. Discussions are given regarding the structure-activity relationships. Compounds 12d and 12h inhibited LPS-induced TNF-α and IL-6 release in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, 12d exhibited a significant protection against LPS-induced septic death in mouse model. Together, these data present a series of new thiazolidinones with potential therapeutic effects in acute inflammatory diseases and they could be important leads in the continuing anti-inflammatory drug research.