Therapeutic effects of newly synthesized boron compounds (BPM and BPD) on Mycobacterium tuberculosis and A549 cells.

In this study, the cytotoxic and antimycobacterial effects of two newly synthesized boron-based compounds, boron phenylalanine monoester (BPM) and boron phenylalanine diester (BPD), were investigated in human lung adenocarcinoma cells (A549) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain. MTT assays revealed dose-dependent antiproliferative activity, with IC₅₀ values of 1.5 mM for BPM and 1.16 mM for BPD, indicating greater potency of BPD at lower concentrations. To contextualize potency, we report MICs in both mM and µg/mL. While the current MICs are higher than typical literature benchmarks for front-line comparators, these chemotypes provide a starting point for optimization. Gene expression analysis after 48-hour treatment showed significant upregulation of TNF-α, p53, and Bax, and downregulation of IL-6 and Bcl-2 (p < 0.05). The increase in TNF-α expression (p = 0.0159 for BPM; p = 0.0095 for BPD) suggests immune pathway activation, while the rise in p53 levels supports apoptotic induction. In antimicrobial assays, BPD demonstrated superior efficacy with a MIC value of 25 mM, compared to 50 mM for BPM. Collectively, these findings indicate that BPM and especially BPD show preliminary activity that warrants further optimization for dual anticancer and antimycobacterial applications.