Soares, PedroCosta, RaquelFroufe, Hugo J.C.Calhelha, Ricardo C.Peixoto, DanielaAbreu, Rui M.V.Ferreira, Isabel C.F.R.Soares, RaquelQueiroz, Maria João R.P.2013-07-242013-07-242013Soares, Pedro; Costa, Raquel; Froufe, Hugo J.C.; Calhelha, Ricardo C.; Peixoto, Daniela; Abreu, Rui M.V.; Ferreira, Isabel C.F.R.; Soares, Raquel; Queiroz, Maria João R.P. (2013). 1-Aryl-3-[4-(thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidin-4-yloxy)phenyl]ureas as VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors: Synthesis, biological evaluation, and molecular modelling studies. BioMed Research International. ISSN 2314-6141. 2013, p. 1-92314-6141http://hdl.handle.net/10198/8554The Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) is a tyrosine kinase receptor involved in the growth and differentiation of endothelial cells that is implicated in tumor-associated angiogenesis. In this study novel 1-aryl-3-[4-(thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidin-4-yloxy)phenyl]ureas were synthesized and evaluated for the VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase inhibition. Three of these compounds showed good VEGFR-2 inhibition presenting low IC50 values (150-199 nM) in enzymatic assays. The latter promoted also significant inhibition of cell proliferation at low concentrations (0.5-1 µM), not affecting cell viability, of VEGF-stimulated Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) using the BrdU assay. The determination of the total and phosphorylated (active) VEGFR-2 was performed by western-blot, and it was possible to conclude that the compounds significantly inhibit the phosphorylation of the receptor at 1 µM pointing to their antiproliferative mechanism of action in HUVECs. The molecular rationale for inhibiting the tyrosine kinase domain of VEGFR-2 was also done and discussed using molecular docking studies.engThienopyrimidine ether ureasVEGFR-2 inhibitorsHUVECsWestern-blotMolecular modellingjournal article