Antiproliferative activity of bicyclic benzimidazole nucleosides: synthesis, DNA-binding and cell cycle analysis

An efficient route was developed for synthesis of bicyclic benzimidazole nucleosides from readily available d-glucose. The key reactions were Vörbruggen glycosylation and ring closing metathesis (RCM). Primarily, to understand the mode of DNA binding, we performed a molecular docking study and the binding was found to be in the minor groove region. Based on the proposed binding model, UV-visible and fluorescence spectroscopic techniques using calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) demonstrated a non-intercalative mode of binding. Antiproliferative activity of nucleosides was tested against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines and found to be active at low micromolar concentrations. Compounds and displayed significant antiproliferative activity as compared to and with the reference anticancer drug, doxorubicin. Cell cycle analysis showed that nucleoside induced cell cycle arrest at the S-phase. Confocal microscopy has been performed to validate the induction of cellular apoptosis. Based on these findings, such modified bicyclic benzimidazole nucleosides will make a significant contribution to the development of anticancer drugs.