Two new mixed-ligand coordination polymers based on multi-N chelating ligand inhibit YAP expression and induce caspase-mediated spinal tumor cell apoptosis.

Two new coordination polymers [Zn (bdc)(bpybzimH(2))](DMF)(0.5) (1, H(2)bdc=1,4-dicarboxybenzene, bpybzimH(2) =6,6'-bis-(1H-benzoimidazol-2-yl)-2,2'-bipyridine, DMF=N,N-dimethylformamide) and [Co (bpybzimH(2))(sbc)]H2O (2, H(2)sbc=4-mercaptoben-zoic acid) have been successfully prepared under solvothermal conditions using the multi-N chelating organic ligand bpybzimH(2) as the foundational building block. In addition, the Cell Counting Kit-8 assay was conducted to evaluate the anti-proliferation activity of compounds 1 and 2 against human spinal tumor cells OPM-2. The cell viability curves showed that the two compounds have anti-proliferation activity on spinal tumor cells, and the activity of compound 1 is higher than compound 2. The annexin V-FITC/PI assay and western blot were used to detect the apoptotic percentage of OPM-2 cells incubated with compounds 1 and 2. The YAP protein expression and its role in cell apoptosis were further studied with qRT-PCR, immunoblotting, and flow cytometer.