Protective activity of (1S,2E,4R,6R,7E,11E)-2,7,11-cembratriene-4,6-diol analogues against diisopropylfluorophosphate neurotoxicity: Preliminary structure–activity relationship and pharmacophore modeling

Diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) is an organophosphorous insecticide used as a surrogate for the more toxic chemical warfare nerve agent sarin. DFP produces neurotoxicity in vivo and irreversibly decreases the area of population spikes recorded from the CA1 region of acute hippocampal slices. (1S,2E,4R,6R,7E,11E)-2,7,11-Cembratriene-4,6-diol (1) is a neuroprotective natural cembranoid that reverses DFP-induced damage both in vivo and in the hippocampal slice. Cembranoid 1 acts by noncompetitive inhibition of the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. This study aims at establishing a preliminary structure–activity relationship to define the neuroprotective cembranoid pharmacophores using the hippocampal slice assay and pharmacophore modeling. Fourteen natural, semisynthetic, or biocatalytic cembranoid analogues 2–15 related to 1 were tested for their capacity to protect the population spikes from DFP-induced damage and intrinsic toxicity. Twelve cembranoids caused significant reversal of DFP toxicity; only 3 active analogues displayed minor intrinsic toxicity at 10 μM. The C-4 epimer of 1 (2) and the 4-O-methyl ether analogue of 1 (3), were totally devoid of neuroprotective activity. The results suggested a model for cembranoid binding where the hydrophobic ring surface binds to a hydrophobic (Hbic) patch on the receptor molecule and an electronegative atom (oxygen or sulfur) in proper spatial relationship to the ring surface interacts with an electropositive group in the receptor binding site. A pharmacophore model consisting of 1 hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA), 2 Hbic, and 10 exclusion spheres was established using HipHop-REFINE and supported the above mentioned pharmacophoric hypothesis.     

Synthesis,cytotoxicity against human oral cancer KB cells and structure–activity relationship studies of trienone analogues of curcuminoids

A general method for the synthesis of substituted (1E,4E,6E)-1,7-diphenylhepta-1,4,6-trien-3-ones, based on the aldol condensations of substituted 4-phenylbut-3-en-2-ones and substituted 3-phenylacrylaldehydes, was achieved. The natural trienones 4 and 5 have been synthesized by this method, together with the trienone analogues 9–20. These analogues were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against human oral cancer KB cell line. The structure–activity relationship study has indicated that the analogues with the 1,4,6-trien-3-one function are more potent than the curcuminoid-type function. Analogues with meta-oxygen function on the aromatic rings are more potent than those in the ortho- and para-positions. Free phenolic hydroxy group is more potent than the corresponding methyl ether analogues. Among the potent trienones, compounds 11, 18 and 20 were more active than the anticancer drug ellipticine. All compounds were also evaluated against the non-cancerous Vero cells and it was found that compounds 11, 12 and 17 were much less toxic than curcumin (1); they showed high selectivity indices of 35.46, 33.46 and 31.68, respectively. These analogues are regarded as the potent trienones for anti-oral cancer study.     

Anti-HBV and cytotoxic activities of pyranocoumarin derivatives

Four natural pyranocoumarins clausenidin (1), nordentatin (2), clausarin (3), and xanthoxyletin (4) were isolated from the medicinal plant Clausena excavata. Recently, we found that 1 and 2 suppressed hepatitis B virus surface antigen in HepA2 cells, and in addition, 1–3 showed cytotoxic activity against four human cancer cell lines (A549, MCF7, KB, and KB-VIN). To explore the SAR of 1–4, 17 pyranocoumarin analogues (5–21) were designed and synthesized. Among these analogues, 5 and 10 were the most potent against hepatitis B virus with EC₅₀ values of 1.14 and 1.34 μM, respectively. The most interesting result in the cytotoxicity assay was the significant activity of 1, 5, and 6 against the multi-drug resistant cell line, KB-VIN, without activity against the KB cell line. These data suggest that these three compounds could be useful hits for developing MDR-inverse drugs.     

Synthesis,SAR and molecular docking studies of benzo[d]thiazole-hydrazones as potential antibacterial and antifungal agents

A series of new benzo[d]thiazole-hydrazones analogues were synthesized and screened for their in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities. The results revealed that compounds 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 28 and 30 exhibited superior antibacterial potency compared to the reference drug chloramphenicol and rifampicin. Compounds 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 28 and 30 were found to be good antifungal activity compared to the standard drug ketoconazole.A preliminary study of the structure-activity relationship (SAR) revealed that the antimicrobial activity depended on the effect of different substituents on the phenyl ring. The electron donating (OH and OCH₃) groups presented in the analogues, increase the antibacterial activity (except compound 12), interestingly, while the electron withdrawing (Cl, NO₂, F and Br) groups increase the antifungal activity (except compound 19 and 20). In addition, analogues containing thiophene (28) and indole (30) showed good antimicrobial activities. Whereas, aliphatic analogues (24–26) shown no activities in both bacterial and fungal stains even in high concentrations (100 µg/mL). Molecular docking studies were performed for all the synthesized compounds of which compounds 11, 19 and 20 showed the highest glide G-score.     

Bioactive cucurbitane triterpenoids from the tubers of Hemsleya penxianensis

Four new cucurbitacins, jinfushanencins C-F (1–4) and three known analogues (5–7) were isolated from the tubers of Hemsleya penxianensis by Silica gel column, ODS column, pre-HPLC techniques. The structures of 1–7 were establishhed on the basis of extensive spectroscopic. The isolated compounds were tested for their cytotoxic activity against Hela human cancer cell line and compounds 1, 5, and 7 showed significant cytotoxicity with IC₅₀ values at 5.1, 8.7, and 1.2 μM, respectively. None of the compounds had active anti-HIV activity.     

Dihydropyrrolones as bacterial quorum sensing inhibitors

Bacteria regulate their pathogenicity and biofilm formation through quorum sensing (QS), which is an intercellular communication system mediated by the binding of signaling molecules to QS receptors such as LasR. In this study, a range of dihydropyrrolone (DHP) analogues were synthesized via the lactone-lactam conversion of lactone intermediates. The synthesized compounds were tested for their ability to inhibit QS, biofilm formation and bacterial growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The compounds were also docked into a LasR crystal structure to rationalize the observed structure-activity relationships. The most active compound identified in this study was compound 9i, which showed 63.1% QS inhibition of at 31.25?µM and 60% biofilm reduction at 250?µM with only moderate toxicity towards bacterial cell growth.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of tricyclic anilinopyrimidines as IKKβ inhibitors

A series of tricyclic anilinopyrimidines were synthesized and evaluated as IKKβ inhibitors. Several analogues, including tricyclic phenyl (10, 18a, 18c, 18d, and 18j) and thienyl (26 and 28) derivatives were shown to have good in vitro enzyme potency and excellent cellular activity. Pharmaceutical profiling of a select group of tricyclic compounds compared to the non-tricyclic analogues suggested that in some cases, the improved cellular activity may be due to increased clog P and permeability.     

Synthesis and evaluation of vitamin D3 analogues with C-11 modifications as inhibitors of Hedgehog signaling

Previous structure-activity relationship studies have provided potent and selective analogues of vitamin D3 as inhibitors of the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway. These analogues contain both modified A- and seco-B ring motifs, and have been evaluated for anticancer therapeutic potential. To continue our studies on this scaffold, a new series of compounds were synthesized to explore additional interactions and spatial constraints. These compounds incorporate functional groups of varying size and hydrophobicity at the C-11 position. While large hydrophobic moieties (9c–e) resulted in significant loss of Hh inhibition, smaller or more flexible moieties (9a, 11) maintain anti-Hh activity. These results call for additional and continued studies to identify the binding pocket to better understand these structure-activity relationships.     

Cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory cembranoids from the Dongsha Atoll soft coral Sarcophyton crassocaule

Five new cembranoids, sarcocrassocolides A–E (1–5), along with three known cembranoids 6–8, have been isolated from a Formosan soft coral Sarcophyton crassocaule. The structures of the new metabolites were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis and the absolute configuration of 1 was determined by a modified Mosher’s method. Compounds 1–4 exhibited significantly cytotoxic activity against a limited panel of cancer cell lines. Compounds 1–4, 6 and 8 were shown to exert significant in vitro anti-inflammatory activity in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage cells. Compound 6 also significantly inhibited the accumulation of pro-inflammatory COX-2 protein.     

Synthesis and bioactivities evaluation of l-pyroglutamic acid analogues from natural product lead

A series of l-pyroglutamic acid analogues from natural product lead were designed and synthesized, as well as their antifungal activities against Phytophthora infestans, neuritogenic activities, antibacterial activities and anti-inflammatory activities are described. The bioassays and SAR study showed that the majority of l-pyroglutamic acid esters have a significant antifungal activity against P. infestans, especially 2d and 2j demonstrated the best activities with EC₅₀ values of 1.44 and 1.21?μg?mL^?1, which were about seven times that of commercial azoxystrobin (7.85?μg?mL^?1). Moreover, compounds 2e, 2g and 4d displayed anti-inflammatory activity against LPS-induced NO production in BV-2 microglial cells; neuritogenic activity in NGF-induced PC-12 cells is the same activity. This study demonstrates that compounds 2d and 2j are potential drugs to control P. infestans.     

New bithiazolyl hydrazones: Novel synthesis,characterization and antitubercular evaluation

New bithiazolyl hydrazones (6a–l) have been first time synthesized by carrying novel one pot cyclocondensation of 5-acyl thiazoles (1a–b), thiosemicarbazide (2) and substituted phenacyl chlorides (4a–f) in freshly prepared ionic liquid, diisopropyl ethyl ammonium acetate (DIPEAc) at room temperature. The newly synthesized compounds have been evaluated for their antitubercular activity and the compounds 3b, 6a, 6b, 6d, 6e, 6f, 6g, and 6l have displayed noticeable antitubercular activity compared to Rifampicin with tolerable cytotoxicity. All these compounds were also screened for their antibacterial activity and found that, compounds 6j and 6k have exhibited a very good antibacterial activity. Molecular docking study has shown better harmony with the evaluation trend shown by these compounds under in vitro antitubercular screening.     

Design and synthesis of novel 2H-chromen-2-one derivatives bearing 1,2,3-triazole moiety as lead antimicrobials

A series of novel 2H-chromen-2-one derivatives decorated with 1,2,3-triazole moiety were designed and synthesized using the click reaction of azidoalkyloxy-2H-chromen-2-ones with different propargylamines. Propargylamines were obtained by alkylation of various heterocyclic amines with propargyl bromide. Newly synthesized compounds and intermediates were evaluated for their antifungal activity against four fungi (Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus and Candida albicans). Antibacterial studies were also carried out against three Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus epidermis) and four Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi and Klebsiella pneumoniae). In vitro, bioassay results showed that all the synthesized compounds exhibited excellent activity against fungal strains Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus and Candida albicans. Interestingly, all the compounds have shown even superior activity than the reference drug miconazole against Aspergillus fumigatus. Morpholine and N-acetyl piperazine containing compounds 10c and 10e have shown promising activity against various bacterial strains. Compound 10e was found to be most active against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Based on, in silico pharmacokinetic studies, compounds 10a–e were identified as lead compounds for future investigation due to their lower toxicity, high drug score values and good oral bioavailability as per OECD guidelines.     

Triethylated chromones with substituted naphthalenes as tubulin inhibitors

Previously synthesized 2-(benzo[b]thiophene-3′-yl)-6,8,8-triethyldesmosdumotin B (1, TEDB-TB) and 2-(naphth-1′-yl)-6,8,8-triethyldesmosdumotin B (2) showed potent activity against multiple human tumor cell lines, including a multidrug-resistant (MDR) subline, by targeting spindle formation and/or the microtubule network. Consequently, ester analogues of hydroxylated naphthyl substituted TEBDs (3–5) were prepared and evaluated for their effects on tumor cell proliferation and on tubulin assembly. Among all new compounds, compound 6, a 4′-acetoxynaphthalen-1′-yl derivative, displayed the most potent antiproliferative activity (IC₅₀ 0.2–5.7 μM). Selected analogues were confirmed to be tubulin assembly inhibitors in cell-free and cell-based assays using MDR tumor cells. The new analogues partially inhibited colchicine binding to tubulin, suggesting their binding mode would be different from that of colchicine. This observation was supported by computational docking model analyses. Thus, the newly synthesized triethylated chromones with esterified naphthalene groups have good potential for development as a new class of mitotic inhibitors that target tubulin.     

Chloroquine fumardiamides as novel quorum sensing inhibitors

Quorum sensing inhibitors (QSIs) that specifically interfere with bacterial cell-to-cell communication are considered as an alternative approach to conventional antibacterial therapy. In our study, a set of twenty-six fumardiamides with a quinoline head-group were evaluated as potential QSIs. Two strains of Gram-negative Chromobacterium violaceum (violacein-producing strain ATCC31532 and violacein-negative, mini-Tn5 mutant derivative CV026) were used as QS reporters for testing anti-QS and bactericidal activity of various quinoline fumardiamides. The initial screening of eighteen fumardiamides with primaquine, mefloquine and chloroquine scaffolds identified chloroquine derivatives as the most promising QSIs. Tail-group optimization of chloroquine fumardiamides led to the most active compounds 27, 29 and 30 bearing aminoethyl or piperidine moieties. At 400 µM concentration, these compounds inhibited the QS of C. violaceum strains in a manner similar to quercetin (the model QSI), while at the 40 µM concentration their inhibitory effect was twice less than that of quercetin. As none of the compounds displayed a bactericidal effect and that the QS inhibition was specific to the CV026 strain, our findings indicate that the structurally optimized chloroquine derivatives could function as quorum quenching (QQ) agents with a potential to block the signaling without entering the cell. In conclusion, our finding provides an important step toward the further design of agents targeting cell-to-cell communication.     

Aryl fluorosulfate analogues as potent antimicrobial agents: SAR,cytotoxicity and docking studies

A series of aryl fluorosulfate analogues (1–37) were synthesized and tested for in vitro antibacterial and antifungal studies, and validated by docking studies. The compounds 9, 12, 14, 19, 25, 26, 35, 36 and 37 exhibited superior antibacterial potency against tested bacterial strains, while compounds 2, 4, 5, 15, 35, 36 and 37 were found to have better antifungal activity against tested fungal strains, compared to standard antibiotic gentamicin and ketoconazole respectively. Among all the synthesized 37 analogs, compounds 25, 26, 35, 36 and 37 displayed excellent anti-biofilm property against Staphylococcus aureus. The structure–activity relationship (SAR) revealed that the antimicrobial activity depends upon the presence of –OSO₂F group and slender effect of different substituent’s on the phenyl rings. The electron donating (OCH₃) groups in analogs increase the antibacterial activity, and interestingly the electron withdrawing (Cl, NO₂, F and Br) groups increase the antifungal activity (except compound 35, 36 and 37). The mechanism of potent compounds showed membrane damage on bacteria confirmed by SEM. Compounds 35, 36 and 37 exhibited highest glide g-scores in molecular docking studies and validated the biocidal property.     

Synthesis and evaluation of myxochelin analogues as antimetastatic agents

Myxochelin A (1) is an inhibitor of tumor cell invasion produced by the bacterium belonging to the genus Nonomuraea. In order to obtain more potent inhibitors, a series of myxochelin analogues [2 and (S)-3–17] were synthesized through the coupling of lysine or diaminoalkane derivatives and appropriately protected hydroxybenzoate, followed by modification of functional groups and deprotection. These compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory activity against invasion of murine colon 26-L5 carcinoma cells. Among the synthetic analogues tested, compound (S)-6 which possesses carbamoyl group at C-1 was found to be the most potent antiinvasive agent and is considered to be a promising lead molecule for the antimetastasis. Compound (S)-6 was also shown to inhibit gelatinase activities of MMP-2 and MMP-9 and in vivo lung metastasis in mice.     

Design,synthesis and evaluation of benzoheterocycle analogues as potent antifungal agents targeting CYP51

To further enhance the anti-Aspergillus efficacy of our previously discovered antifungal lead compound 1, a series of benzoheterocycle analogues were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro antifungal activity. The most promising compounds 13s and 14a exhibited excellent antifungal activity against C. albicans, C. neoformans, A. fumigatus and fluconazole-resistant C. albicans strains, that was superior or comparable to those of the reference drugs fluconazole and voriconazole. GC–MS analyses suggested that the novel compound 13s might have a similar mechanism to fluconazole by inhibiting fungal lanosterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51). Furthermore, compounds 13s and 14a exhibited low inhibition profiles for various human cytochrome P450 isoforms as well as excellent blood plasma stability.     

Identification of a novel selective small-molecule inhibitor of protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) by virtual screening,resynthesis and biological evaluations

As one of the most promising anticancer target in protein arginine methyltransferase (PRMT) family, PRMT5 has been drawing more and more attentions, and many efforts have been devoted to develop its inhibitors. In this study, three PRMT5 inhibitors (9, 16, and 23) with novel scaffolds were identified by performing pharmacophore- and docking-based virtual screening combined with in vitro radiometric-based scintillation proximity assay (SPA). Substructure search based on the scaffold of the most active 9 afforded 26 additional analogues, and SPA results indicated that two analogues (9–1 and 9–2) showed increased PRMT5 inhibitory activity compared with the parental compound. Resynthesis of 9, 9–1, and 9–2 confirmed their PRMT5 enzymatic inhibition activity. In addition, compound 9–1 displayed selectivity against PRMT5 over other key homological members (PRMT1 and CARM1 (PRMT4)). While the structure–activity relationship (SAR) of this series of compounds was discussed to provide clues for further structure optimization, the probable binding modes of active compounds were also probed by molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations. Finally, the antiproliferative effect of 9–1 on MV4-11 leukemia cell line was confirmed and its impact on regulating the target gene of PRMT5 was also validated. The hit compounds identified in this work have provided more novel scaffolds for future hit-to-lead optimization of small-molecule PRMT5 inhibitors.     

Two new cembranic diterpenoids from the flowers of Nicotiana tabacum L.

Two new cembranoids, together with fifteen known ones, were isolated from the flowers of Nicotiana tabacum L. The structures of the new compounds were established as (1βH,2E,4αOH,6αOH,7E,10αH,11αH,12βOH)-10,11-epoxy-2,7-cembradiene-4,6,12-triol (1) and (1βH,2E,4αOH,6αOH,7E,10βH,11βH,12αOH)-10,11-epoxy-2,7-cembradiene-4,6, 12-triol (2) by using spectroscopic analysis, including HRESIMS, IR, one- and two-dimensional NMR. A plausible biogenetic relationship of the isolated cembranoids was proposed. The antitumor activities of selected compounds against a panel of three human cancer HepG2, A549 and HCT-116 cell lines were evaluated by the MTT assay. Compound 5 exhibited moderate activity against Hep-G2 cell lines with an IC₅₀ value of 14.38 μM.     

Long-acting anticholinesterases for myasthenia gravis: synthesis and activities of quaternary phenylcarbamates of neostigmine,pyridostigmine and physostigmine

The N-monophenylcarbamate analogues of neostigmine methyl sulfate (6) and pyridostigmine bromide (8) together with their precursors (5), (7), and the N(1)-methylammonium analogues of (?)-phenserine (12), (?)-tolserine (14), (?)-cymserine (16) and (?)-phenethylcymserine (18) were synthesized to produce long-acting peripheral inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase or butyrylcholinesterase. Evaluation of their cholinesterase inhibition against human enzyme ex vivo demonstrated that, whereas compounds 5–8 possessed only marginal activity, 12, 14, 16 and 18 proved to be potent anticholinesterases. An extended duration of cholinesterase inhibition was determined in rodent, making them of potential interest as long-acting agents for myasthenia gravis.