[1,2,4] Triazolo [3,4-a]isoquinoline chalcone derivative exhibits anticancer activity via induction of oxidative stress, DNA damage, and apoptosis in Ehrlich solid carcinoma-bearing mice

Despite the advances made in cancer therapeutics, their adverse effects remain a major concern, putting safer therapeutic options in high demand. Since chalcones, a group of flavonoids and isoflavonoids, act as promising anticancer agents, we aimed to evaluate the in vivo anticancer activity of a synthetic isoquinoline chalcone (CHE) in a mice model with Ehrlich solid carcinoma. Our in vivo pilot experiments revealed that the maximum tolerated body weight-adjusted CHE dose was 428 mg/kg. Female BALB/c mice were inoculated with Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells and randomly assigned to three different CHE doses administered intraperitoneally (IP; 107, 214, and 321 mg/kg) twice a week for two consecutive weeks. A group injected with doxorubicin (DOX; 4 mg/kg IP) was used as a positive control. We found that in CHE-treated groups: (1) tumor weight was significantly decreased; (2) the total antioxidant concentration was substantially depleted in tumor tissues, resulting in elevated oxidative stress and DNA damage evidenced through DNA fragmentation and comet assays; (3) pro-apoptotic genes p53 and Bax, assessed via qPCR, were significantly upregulated. Interestingly, CHE treatment reduced immunohistochemical staining of the proliferative marker ki67, whereas BAX was increased. Notably, histopathological examination indicated that unlike DOX, CHE treatment had minimal toxicity on the liver and kidney. In conclusion, CHE exerts antitumor activity via induction of oxidative stress and DNA damage that lead to apoptosis, making CHE a promising candidate for solid tumor therapy. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00210-022-02269-5.