Penta-1,4-dien-3-one and quinoxaline conjugates as potential anticancer agents via inhibiting EphB3/SRC/AKT axis

Overexpression of EphB3 has been documented across various cancers and essential for cell proliferation, survive and metastasis, making it a valuable therapeutic target. In this study, a series of novel penta-1,4-dien-3-one and quinoxaline conjugates were designed and synthesized using pharmacophore fusion strategies to explore potential EphB3 inhibitors. CCK-8 experiments revealed significant anti-cancer activity of most newly synthesized compounds against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Among them, compound W8 displaying the highest inhibitory activity against MHCC97H (IC 50  = 1.87 μM), which arrests MHCC97H cells in the G0/G1 phase and induces apoptosis. Furthermore, compound W8 suppresses tumor growth in an MHCC97H xenograft model in vivo by suppressing phosphorylation level of EphB3 and down-regulating the SRC-AKT signaling pathway, leading to a dose-dependent reduction in tumor volumes and weights, with a 40 mg/kg dose achieving decreases of 68.4 % and 65.3 %, respectively. Given its ability to modulate EphB3 signaling, W8 represents a promising lead compound for further drug development, particularly for cancers characterized by EphB3 overexpression, and may offer new opportunities for targeted therapy in precision oncology.