Isatin as a privileged scaffold for kinase inhibition: recent advances in anti-cancer research.
Mushtaq Alia A, Khan Azmat Ullah AU, Maqbool Akasha A, Shahzad Muhammad M et al.
Protein kinases are key therapeutic targets in anticancer drug discovery due to their central roles in regulating cell proliferation, survival, and signaling pathways. Among diverse heterocyclic scaffolds, isatin (indole-2,3-dione) has emerged as a privileged framework for the development of potent kinase inhibitors due to its structural versatility and favorable interaction profile within binding pockets. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in isatin-based kinase inhibitors, highlighting their design strategies, structure-activity relationships (SAR), and key molecular determinants of potency and selectivity. Particular emphasis is placed on structural optimization at the N-1 and C-5/C-7 positions, as well as hybridization with heterocyclic pharmacophores has yielded compounds with nanomolar inhibitory activity against clinically relevant targets, including cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs), vascular-endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and other kinases. In addition, ligand-kinase interactions are critically analyzed, with focus on hinge-region hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic complementarity within the ATP-binding site. Computational approaches, including molecular docking studies, are integrated to rationalize binding modes and support SAR interpretations. Collectively, this review underscores isatin as a versatile and promising scaffold for the rational design of next generation multitarget kinase inhibitors with potential applications in anticancer therapy.