Discovery of novel (imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazin-6-yl)ureas as antiproliferative agents targeting p53 in non-small cell lung cancer cell lines

A series of (imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazin-6-yl)ureas were synthesized through 6-aminoimidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine as a key intermediate. 1-(Imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazin-6-yl)-3-(4-methoxy-phenyl)urea displayed a cytostatic activity against a nonsmall cell lung cancer cell line and was chosen for further mechanistic studies. Growth kinetics highlighted a selective dose-dependent response of P53-mutant NSCLC-N6-L16 cell line and overexpression of TP53 gene induced by this compound. These pharmacological data suggest a promising reactivation of p53 mutant in NSCLC-N6-L16 cell line.