Benzimidazole-Based Derivatives as Apoptotic Antiproliferative Agents: Design, Synthesis, Docking, and Mechanistic...

A new class of benzimidazole-based derivatives (4a-j, 5, and 6) with potential dual inhibition of EGFR and BRAF^V600E has been developed. The newly synthesized compounds were submitted for testing for antiproliferative activity against the NCI-60 cell line. All newly synthesized compounds 4a-j, 5, and 6 were selected for testing against a panel of sixty cancer cell lines at a single concentration of 10 µM. Some compounds tested demonstrated remarkable antiproliferative activity against the cell lines tested. Compounds 4c, 4e, and 4g were chosen for five-dose testing against 60 human tumor cell lines. Compound 4c demonstrated strong selectivity against the leukemia subpanel, with a selectivity ratio of 5.96 at the GI₅₀ level. The most effective in vitro anti-cancer assay derivatives (4c, 4d, 4e, 4g, and 4h) were tested for EGFR and BRAF^V600E inhibition as potential targets for antiproliferative action. The results revealed that compounds 4c and 4e have significant antiproliferative activity as dual EGFR/BRAF^V600E inhibitors. Compounds 4c and 4e induced apoptosis by increasing caspase-3, caspase-8, and Bax levels while decreasing the anti-apoptotic Bcl2 protein. Moreover, molecular docking studies confirmed the potential of compounds 4c and 4e to act as dual EGFR/BRAF^V600E inhibitors.