Syntheses, Characterization of Imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]Phenanthroline Derivative and as (III) Complex, in Vitro Evaluation, the Determine of Apoptosis Mechanism; Theoretical and Quantum Studies

In the present work, a novel ligand, (4-amino-3-methoxybenzaldehyde)-1H-imidazo[4,5-f][1,10] phenanthroline (AMIP) based on the formation of an imidazole ring and [As(AMIP)](Cl)]Cl2 was synthesized and characterized through Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. In addition, the anticancer activity of [As(AMIP)](Cl)] Cl2 complex was tested against human acute promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL-60) and granulocytic differen-tiation of human promyelocytic leukemia cells (NB4). The MTT results showed IC50 values of 7.31 & PLUSMN; 15 and 8.4 & PLUSMN; 62 & mu;M for As (III) complex against NB4 and HL-60, respectively. In a study on both cell lines, As (III) reduced gene expression Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl, increased Bax and Bad, and activated caspase-3, resulting in apoptosis. The dye Hoechst 33342 showed increased apoptosis induction in the NB4 cell line than in the HL-60 cell line. BrdU test exhibited an inhibitory effect on DNA synthesis. The protein levels of caspase-3 were enhanced in a dose-dependent manner in both HL-60 and NB-4 cell lines. Based on the Annexin V-FITC/PI assay, apoptosis was the primary mechanism of cell death. The real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) results demon-strated that the expression level of Atg 12, Atg 7, Lc 3, and Beclin-1 genes, antiapoptotic genes including Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl, and apoptotic genes containing BAD and BAX was improved. Furthermore, the hemolysis assay showed the anti-hemolytic activity of the complex. Moreover, quantum chemical calculations were utilized to optimize all structures, and the output results were employed to study molecular docking of compounds with caspase-3 tethered to irreversible inhibitor (PDB ID: 1NMS) and DNA with sequence d(CCGTCGACGG) (PDB ID:423D). The results showed that As (III) complex had the lowest-energy conformation, suggesting the optimal interaction.