Pyrimidine-based compounds as promising anticancer agents targeting tumor cell senescence

The pyrimidine ring is an important structural motif present in numerous bioactive compounds, including those with antibacterial and antitumor activities. In this study, two novel 4,6-disubstituted-2-(4-morpholinyl) pyrimidines (P12 and P14) were evaluated in breast cancer and melanoma cells with different genetic backgrounds. Both compounds demonstrated antitumor activity by reducing cell proliferation in 2D and 3D models. Mechanistic studies showed that these derivatives induce cell-cycle delay, altering the transcription of key cell-cycle mediators and leading to a senescent-like phenotype accompanied by changes in the pattern of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). In addition, both compounds appeared to induce cell death, potentially in distinct tumor cell subpopulations. Collectively, these findings highlight the potential of pyrimidine-based derivatives as lead compounds for the development of pro-senescent anticancer agents, with utility in cancers where senescence plays a critical role, such as BRAF-mutant melanoma and the ER+/HER2- breast cancer subtype investigated in this study.