A comparative molecular field and comparative molecular similarity indices analyses (CoMFA and CoMSIA) of N-phenyl-N′-(2-chloroethyl)ureas targeting the colchicine-binding site as anticancer agents Original Research Article

To decipher the mechanism underlying the covalent binding of N-phenyl-N′-(2-chloroethyl)ureas (CEU) to the colchicine-binding site on βII-tubulin and to design new and selective antimitotic drugs, we developed 3D quantitative structure–activity relationships (3D-QSAR) models using CoMFA and CoMSIA analyses. The present study correlates the cell growth inhibition activities of 56 structurally related CEU derivatives to several physicochemical parameters representing steric, electrostatic, and hydrophobic fields. Both CoMFA and CoMSIA models using two different optimum numbers of components (ONC) 10 and 4, respectively, gave good internal predictions and their cross-validated r2 values were between 0.639 and 0.743. These comprehensive CoMFA and CoMSIA models are useful in understanding the structure–activity relationships of CEU. The two models were compared to the X-ray crystal structure of the complex of tubulin–colchicine and analyzed for similarities between the two modes of analysis. These models will inspire the design of new CEU derivatives with enhanced inhibition of tumor cell growth and targeting specificity of βII-tubulin and the cytoskeleton.