Design and synthesis of amphiphilic 2-hydroxybenzylphosphonium salts with antimicrobial and antitumor dual action

Here we report the synthesis and biological evaluation of a series of new 2-hydroxybenzylphosphonium salts (QPS) with antimicrobial and antitumor dual action. The most active compounds exhibit antimicrobial activity at a micromolar level against Gram-positive bacteria Sa (ATCC 209p and clinical isolates), Bc (1–2 μM) and fungi Tm and Ca, and induced no notable hemolysis at MIC. The change in nature of substituents of the same length led to a drastic change of biological activity. Self-assembly behavior of the octadecyl and oleyl derivatives was studied. QPS demonstrated self-assembly within the micromolar range with the formation of nanosized aggregates capable of the solubilizing hydrophobic probe. The synthesized phosphonium salts were tested for cytotoxicity. The most potent salt was active against on M−Hela cell line with IC₅₀ on the level of doxorubicin and good selectivity. According to the cytofluorimetry analysis, the salts induced mitochondria-dependent apoptosis.     

环状RNA计算预测方法的研究进展

环状RNA(circular RNA,circRNA)是一类具有重要生物作用的内源性RNA,大多在可变剪接过程中通过5'端和3'端反向共价连接形成闭合环状结构.目前,环状RNA的识别策略主要分为两大类:一类方法从高通量测序(RNA-seq)数据中检测反向剪接位点,另一类直接从RNA序列中检测成环特征.由于数据本身和识别...     

Role of structure and pH in cyclization of allene oxide fatty acids: implications for the reaction mechanism

Incubations of allene oxide synthases of flax or maize with the E,E-isomers of the 13- and 9-hydroperoxides of linoleic acid (E,E-13- and E,E-9-HPOD, respectively) at pH 7.5 afforded substantial yields of trans-disubstituted cyclopentenones. Under the conditions used, (Z,E)-HPODs were converted mainly into -ketols and afforded only trace amount of cyclopentenones. These findings indicated that changing the double bond geometry from Z to E dramatically increased the rate of formation of the pericyclic pentadienyl cation intermediate necessary for electrocyclization of 18:2-allene oxides and thus the yield of cyclopentenones. The well-known cyclization of the homoallylic allene oxide (12,13-EOT) derived from -linolenic acid 13-hydroperoxide (E,Z-13-HPOT) into cis-12-oxo-10,15-phytodienoic acid was suppressed at pH below neutral and was not observable at pH 4.5. In contrast, cyclization of the allene oxide ((9E)-12,13-EOD) derived from (E,E)-13-HPOD was slightly favoured at low pH. The finding that the cyclizations of 12,13-EOT and (9E)-12,13-EOD were differently affected by changes in pH suggested that the mechanisms of cyclization of these allene oxides are distinct.     

A double prodrug system for colon targeting of benzenesulfonamide COX-2 inhibitors

The design, synthesis and delivery potential of a new type of benzenesulfonamide cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor prodrug is investigated using celecoxib. The approach involves a double prodrug that is activated first by azoreductases and then by cyclization triggering drug release. We studied the intramolecular aminolysis of the acylsulfonamide. The cyclization was surprisingly rapid at physiological pH and very fast at pH 5. The prodrug is activated specifically under conditions found in the colon but highly stable in the presence of human and rodent intestinal extracts. Finally, the prototype with celecoxib was transported much more slowly in the Caco-2 transepithelial model than the parent. The design therefore shows significant promise for the site specific delivery of benzenesulfonamide COX-2 inhibitors to the colon.     

Extracellular expression and biochemical characterization of α-cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase from Paenibacillus macerans

The cgt gene encoding α-cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase (α-CGTase) from Paenibacillus macerans strain JFB05-01 was expressed in Escherichia coli as a C-terminal His-tagged protein. After 90 h of induction, the activity of α-CGTase in the culture medium reached 22.5 U/mL, which was approximately 42-fold higher than that from the parent strain. The recombinant α-CGTase was purified to homogeneity through either nickel affinity chromatography or a combination of ion-exchange and hydrophobic interaction chromatography. Then, the purified enzyme was characterized in detail with respect to its cyclization activity. It is a monomer in solution. Its optimum reaction temperature is 45 °C, and half-lives are approximately 8 h at 40 °C, 1.25 h at 45 °C and 0.5 h at 50 °C. The recombinant α-CGTase has an optimum pH of 5.5 with broad pH stability between pH 6 and 9.5. It is activated by Ca²⁺, Ba²⁺, and Zn²⁺ in a concentration-dependent manner, while it is dramatically inhibited by Hg²⁺. The kinetics of the α-CGTase-catalyzed cyclization reaction could be fairly well described by the Hill equation.     

Cetalox and analogues: synthesis via acid-mediated polyene cyclizations

Using a novel, acid-mediated cyclization methodology, a direct access to Cetalox ((+/-)-1; a commercially important ambergris-type odorant) and various structurally related didehydro (i.e., 19, 26, and 30) and tetradehydro (i.e., 28 and 37/38) analogues is described. Treatment of either (E,E)-14 or (E)-15 with an excess of FSO(3)H in 2-nitropropane at -90 degrees stereospecifically afforded (+/-)-1 in 40 and 42% yield, respectively. Under similar conditions, cyclization of (E)-18 or 20 furnished 19 in 60 and 64% yield, respectively. Analogously, using an excess of ClSO(3)H in CH(2)Cl(2) at -80 degrees, 26 is formed with high stereoselectivity by cyclization of either (E)-24 or (Z)-25 (52 and 31% yield, resp.); in the same manner, 28 was prepared from 27 (22% yield). The same principle was applied to the synthesis of racemic Superambrox (30), via cyclization of 35, but only with poor selectivity (22%) and low yield (7%). Another approach via cyclization of (E)-40 under solvolysis conditions (excess TFA in CH(2)Cl(2) at -10 degrees) gave a higher yield (15%) with improved selectivity (43%). Finally, cyclization of 34 (1:1 diastereoisomer mixture) afforded 37/38 (10:1) in 27% yield. The qualitative organoleptic properties of 19, 26, 28, 30, and 37/38 (10:1) are briefly discussed.     

N-(2,2-Dimethyl-2-(2-nitrophenyl)acetyl)-4-aminocyclophosphamide as a potential bioreductively activated prodrug of phosphoramide mustard

N-(2,2-Dimethyl-2-(2-nitrophenyl)acetyl)-4-aminocyclophosphamide isomers (DMNA-NH-CPA, 4) were synthesized stereospecifically from Boc-l-Hse(OBn)-OH and the degradation of the corresponding reduced amine 5a was investigated by UV/vis spectroscopy and LC/MS. The rate of cyclization of 5a was found to increase with decreasing pH, with half-lives ranging from 3.2 to 54 min at pH 4–7.4, suggesting that the cyclization is catalyzed by the hydronium ions. LC/MS analysis of the degradation products of 5a indicates that 4-aminocyclophosphamide is rapidly released from 4 upon reductive activation under acidic conditions and further decomposes into the cytotoxic phosphoramide mustard. These results validated 4-aminocyclophosphamide as a prodrug form of phosphoramide mustard and suggest that compound 4 can potentially be used as a prodrug of phosphoramide mustard for bioreductive activation.     

Structural modeling of osteoarthritis ADAMTS4 complex with its cognate inhibitory protein TIMP3 and rational derivation of cyclic peptide inhibitors from the complex interface to target ADAMTS4

The ADAMTS4 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 4) enzyme is a matrix-associated zinc metalloendopeptidase that plays an essential role in the degradation of cartilage aggrecan in arthritic diseases and has been recognized as one of the most primary targets for therapeutic intervention in osteoarthritis (OA). Here, we reported computational modeling of the atomic-level complex structure of ADAMTS4 with its cognate inhibitory protein TIMP3 based on high-resolution crystal template. By systematically examining the modeled complex structure we successfully identified a short inhibitory loop (⁶²EASESLC⁶⁸) in TIMP3 N-terminal inhibitory domain (NID) that directly participates in blocking the enzyme’s active site, which, and its extended versions, were then broken from the full-length protein to serve as the peptide inhibitor candidates of ADAMTS4. Atomistic molecular dynamics simulation, binding energetic analysis, and fluorescence-based assay revealed that the TIMP3-derived linear peptides can only bind weakly to the enzyme (K_d = 74 ± 8 μM), which would incur a considerable entropy penalty due to the high conformational flexibility and intrinsic disorder of these linear peptides. In this respect, we proposed a cyclization strategy to improve enzyme–peptide binding affinity by, instead of traditionally maximizing enthalpy contribution, minimizing entropy cost of the binding, where a disulfide bond was added across the two terminal residues of linear peptides, resulting in a number of TIMP3-derived cyclic peptides. Our studies confirmed that the cyclization, as might be expected, can promote peptide binding capability against ADAMTS4 substantially, with affinity increase by 3-fold, 9-fold and 7-fold for cyclic peptides

,

and

, respectively.     

Cooperative effect of the camphor imine ligand in alkynols activation by trans-[MCl2(YNC10H14O)2] (M = Pd or Pt)

The cooperative effect of the camphor imine ligand (YNC₁₀H₁₄O) in the cyclization of 5-hexyn-1-ol and 4-pentyn-1-ol promoted by complexes trans-[MCl₂(YNC₁₀H₁₄O)₂] (M = Pd, Y = NH₂, NHMe, NMe₂, OH, Ph; Pt, Y = NH₂, NHMe, NMe₂) is established from a direct relation between the constants calculated for conversion of 5-hexyn-1-ol (A) into 2-methyl-2-pent-4-ynyloxy-tetrahydropyran (B) and 4-pentyn-1-ol (C) into 2-methyl-2-pent-4-ynyloxy-tetrahydrofuran (D) and the basic character of the camphor imine substituent (Y). In the catalytic process acid-base interactions between the alkynol and the coordinated camphor imine are supported by the structural characterization of [PdCl₄][Me₂NHNC₁₀H₁₄O]₂.