Synthesis, molecular modeling, and evaluation of nonphenolic indole analogs of mycophenolic acid

Based on the promising activity of an indole-3-carboxamide derivative, a nonphenolic analog of mycophenolic acid (MPA), we report herein the synthesis of a compound containing two important features for the activity of MPA, the ring methoxy and methyl. The synthesis was accomplished using two strategies; a method dependent on stepwise building of the hexenoate side chain followed by the indolecarboxamide ring system, and a convergent route that depended on 1,3-sigmatropic rearrangement as a key step. Docking experiments on both Chinese Hamster and Human Type-II inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) showed that this compound has potential binding interactions with the NAD site. The analogs showed no activity against MCF7-S, MCF7-R, or IGR-OV1 cancer cells.