A novel anti-lung cancer agent inhibits proliferation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition

Objective To synthesize a novel chalcone-1,3,4-thiadiazole hybrid and investigate its anticancer effects against NCI-H460 cells. Methods (E)-3-(4-bromophenyl)-1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one, 1,3-dibromopropane and 1,3,4-thiadiazole-2-thiol were used as chemical materials to synthesize compound ZW97. The NCI-H460 lung cancer cell line was selected to explore the antitumor effects of compound ZW97 in vitro and in vivo. Results Compound ZW97 selectively inhibited cell proliferation against lung cancer cell lines NCI-H460, HCC-44 and NCI-H3122 with IC50 values of 0.15 mu M, 2.06 mu M and 1.17 mu M, respectively. ZW97 suppressed migration and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process in NCI-H460 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Based on the kinase activity results and docking analysis, compound ZW97 is a novel tyrosine-protein kinase Met (c-Met kinase) inhibitor. It also inhibited NCI-H460 cell growth in xenograft models without obvious toxicity to normal tissues. Conclusions Compound ZW97 is a potential c-Met inhibitor that might be a promising agent to treat lung cancer by inhibiting the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process.