Multi-Target Anticancer Activity of Structurally Diverse Schiff Bases: Insights into Cell-Cycle Arrest, DNA Damage, Metabolic Signaling, and Biomolecular Binding.

Schiff bases are widely studied for their biological activities, yet structure-activity relationships governing their anticancer potential remain insufficiently understood. In this work, eight structurally diverse imine derivatives (A-H) were evaluated for their cytotoxic, biochemical, and biomolecular interactions in human cancer cells. Their antiproliferative effects were assessed in HeLa, A549, and LS174T cell lines, with MRC-5 fibroblasts used as a non-malignant control. Cytotoxicity screening identified three compounds (A, B, and F) with the highest potency, prompting further mechanistic investigation. Cell cycle analysis revealed G1 arrest and accumulation of sub-G1 populations for all three derivatives, with compound B additionally increasing S-phase content and compound F inducing G2/M arrest. All compounds reduced intracellular ROS levels and caused significant DNA damage at subtoxic concentrations. Western blot analysis demonstrated downregulation of HIF-1α and PDK3, suggesting disruption of hypoxia-associated metabolic signaling. Fluorescence quenching experiments showed strong binding of the active compounds to bovine serum albumin (K(a) ≈ 10(6) M(-1)), and molecular docking supported stable interactions near tryptophan-adjacent binding regions. Collectively, these findings indicate that selected Schiff bases exert multi-target anticancer activity by modulating oxidative stress, DNA integrity, cell-cycle progression, and metabolic adaptation pathways, warranting further investigation of their therapeutic potential.