Structure-Activity Study of S-n-Butyl S′-p-teri-Butylbenzyl N-3-Pyridyldithiocarbonimidate (S-1358, Denmert®) and Its Derivatives

Fungicidal activities of S-alkyl S′-p-substituted benzyl N-3-pyridyldithiocarbonimidates toward Coniothyrium diplodiella, Scleotinia sclerotiorum (on agar medium) and Sphaerotheca fuliginea (on pot test) were shown. The activities varied with the change of the S-alkyl group and were maximized at certain numbers of carbon atoms. A different pattern was observed in the activity toward S. fuliginea when the carbon number was 8 or more. Bulkiness of the S-alkyl group also appeared to influence the activities. The steric factor of the p-alkyl substituents mainly influenced the activity toward S. fuliginea up to the tert-butyl analog. The activities toward C. diplodiella and S. sclerotiorum increased with the increase in the bulkiness and the hydrophylicity of the p-substituent. Rm values were determined on reversed phase TLC and the structure-activity correlations were analyzed against hydrophobic (Rm), electronic (σ) and steric (Es) factors on 34 compounds.     

Studies on Chrysanthemic Acid

Pyrethrin II, cinerin II, allethrin II, pyrethrin II isomer, and allethrin II isomer were prepared by esterification of rethrolons with (+)-trans-pyrethric acid and (+)-trans-methyl-2,2-dimethyl-3-(2′-carboxy-l′-propenyl) cyclopropanecarboxylate and their relative toxicities to pyrethrin I, cinerin I and allethrin I against houseflies were measured by counting “mortality” and “knock-down percent”     

Ester Formation by Alcohol Acetyltransferase from Brewers’ Yeast

Alcohol acetyltransferase responsible for the formation of acetate esters during beer fermentation was found to be localized at the cell membrane of brewers’ yeast. This cell membrane-bound enzyme was purified 120-fold by solubilization with Triton X-100, gel filtration on a Sepharose 6B column and chromatography on a DEAE-Sephadex A-50 column. The enzyme was most active at 30°C at pH 7 ? 8. It was least active against C₃ alcohol among C₁ ? C₆ alcohols, and slightly more active against straight-chain alcohols than against branched-chain alcohols with the same carbon number. The enzyme was strongly inhibited by unsaturated fatty acids, heavy metal ions and sulfhydryl reagents.     

Optical Resolution and Determination of Absolute Configurations of α-Isopropyl-4-substituted Phenylacetic Acids and Insecticidal Activities of Their 5-Benzyl-3-furylmethyl Esters

In connection with disclosure of a new class of insecticides, the modified phenylacetates, six new optically active α-isopropy-4-substituted phenylacetic acids whose substituents are respectively 4-methyl,4-methoxy, 4-fluoro, 4-chloro, 4-bromo and 3,4-methylenedioxy group were prepared by optical resolution and their absolute configurations were determined by comparative ORD with α-isopropylphenylacetic acid derivatives whose absolute configuration is known as (S)-(²). Esters of the (S)-(²)-acids with 5-benzyl-3-furylmethanol were nearly twice toxic to Musca domestica than those of the racemic esters. Optical purities of the resolved acids were determined by GLC and NMR (with Eu-FOD) as (?)-methyl esters.     

Production of Acidic Actinomycin Congeners by a Mutant Strain of Streptomyces antibioticus,No. B-1625

Streptomyces sp. No. B-1625, which was identified as a strain of Streptomyces antibioticus, is a typical producer of actinomycin, but also produces minor acidic antibiotic components (FA), besides actinomycins X₂, D and X_0β. The FA-components, which were obtained with a high-producing mutant, 11M-21, showed antibacterial and antitumor activities, and also similar visible and UV absorption spectra to those characteristic of actinomycin. The FA-components were separated into five components, FA₁ FA_2α, FA_2β, FA_3α and FA_3β, on TLC. Among them, one component, FA_3β, isolated in a purified state as an orange powder, has a composition of C, 52.97: H, 6.34: N, 10.48%, and is active against B. subtilis at a MIC of 5mcg/ml. The FA_3β component showed pK_a′ of 5.4 and 12.0 and λ_max at 443, 427 and 233 nm. From these properties, FA_3β is considered to be an acidic actinomycin congener.     

Effect of PLCβ4 in the thalamus on the EEG in REM sleep

Sleep and Biological Rhythms -     

The clinicopathological significance of angiogenesis in hindgut neuroendocrine tumors obtained via an endoscopic procedure

Background

As the World Health Organization grading system for gastroenteropancreatic-neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) may not always correlate with tumor progression, it is imperative that other independent predictors of tumor progression be established. To identify such predictors, we conducted a retrospective histopathological study of hindgut NETs, obtained from endoscopic procedures, and used statistical analyses to evaluate predictive factors.

Methods

We first obtained clinicopathological data of cases of hindgut NETs. Tissue sections from tumor samples were prepared and subjected to pathological examination. In particular, we calculated the microvessel density (MVD) and lymphatic microvessel density (LMVD) values, and performed appropriate statistical analyses.

Results

A total of 42 cases of hindgut NETs were selected for the study, 41 from the rectum and 1 from the sigmoid colon. Based on the Ki-67 labeling index, 34 cases were classified as NET G1 tumors and 8 as NET G2 tumors. MVD values ranged from 1.4/mm² to 73.9/mm² and LMVD values from 0/mm² to 22.9/mm². MVD and LMVD were identified as risk factors for venous and lymphatic invasion of hindgut NETs. Moreover, MVD positively correlated with the maximum diameter of the tumor.

Conclusions

Tumor progression of NETs may cause angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, via an unknown mechanism, as well as lymphovascular invasion. Angiogenesis likely plays an important role in occurrence and progression in the initial phase of hindgut NETs.

     

Lead optimization and efficacy evaluation of quinazoline-based BET family inhibitors for potential treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases

Extensive optimization of quinazoline-based lead 8 is described. The structure-activity relationship studies indicate the S-configuration is preferred for the phenylmorpholine substitution. Together with incorporation of a (2-hydroxyl-2-methylpropyl)pyrazole moiety at the 2-position leads to analogs with comparable potency and marked improvement in the pharmacokinetic profile over our previously reported lead compounds. Further in vivo efficacy studies in Kasumi-1 xenograft mouse model demonstrates that the selected inhibitors are well tolerated and highly efficacious in the inhibition of tumor growth. Additionally, the representative analog 19 also demonstrated significant improvement of arthritis severity in a collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mouse model. These results indicate potential use of these quinazoline-based BET inhibitors for treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases. A brief discussion of the co-crystallized structure of 19 with BRD4 (BD1) is also highlighted.     

Structure-activity relationship study of estrogen receptor down-regulators with a diphenylmethane skeleton

Selective estrogen receptor (ER) down-regulators (SERDs) are pure ER antagonists that also induce ER degradation upon binding to the receptor. Although SERDs have been developed for the treatment of ER-positive breast cancers for nearly a decade, their precise mechanism(s) of action and structure-activity relationship are still unclear. Generally, Western blotting is used to examine the effects of SERDs on ER protein levels, but the methodology is low-throughput and not quantitative. Here, we describe a quantitative, high-throughput, luciferase-based assay for the evaluation of SERDs activity. For this purpose, we established stable recombinant HEK-293 cell lines expressing ERα fused with emerald luciferase. We also designed and synthesized new diphenylmethane derivatives as candidate SERDs, and evaluated their SERDs activity using the developed system in order to examine their structure-activity relationship, taking EC₅₀ as a measure of potency, and E_max as a measure of efficacy.