Discovery of 2-(3,5-difluoro-4-methylsulfonaminophenyl)propanamides as potent TRPV1 antagonists.

PubMed

Kim, Changhoon; Ann, Jihyae; Lee, Sunho; Sun, Wei; Blumberg, Peter M; Frank-Foltyn, Robert; Bahrenberg, Gregor; Stockhausen, Hannelore; Christoph, Thomas; Lee, Jeewoo

2018-05-23

A series of A-region analogues of 2-(3-fluoro-4-methylsufonamidophenyl) propanamide 1 were investigated as TRPV1 antagonists. The analysis of structure-activity relationship indicated that a fluoro group at the 3- (or/and) 5-position and a methylsulfonamido group at the 4-position were optimal for antagonism of TRPV1 activation by capsaicin. The most potent antagonist 6 not only exhibited potent antagonism of activation of hTRPV1 by capsaicin, low pH and elevated temperature but also displayed highly potent antagonism of activation of rTRPV1 by capsaicin. Further studies demonstrated that antagonist 6 blocked the hypothermic effect of capsaicin in vivo, consistent with its in vitro mechanism, and it showed promising analgesic activity in the formalin animal model. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Children with Invasive Staphylococcus aureus Disease Exhibit a Potently Neutralizing Antibody Response to the Cytotoxin LukAB

PubMed Central

DuMont, Ashley L.; James, David B. A; Yoong, Pauline; Saville, Benjamin R.; Soper, Nicole; Torres, Victor J.; Creech, C. Buddy

2014-01-01

Despite the importance of Staphylococcus aureus as a common invasive bacterial pathogen, the humoral response to infection remains inadequately defined, particularly in children. The purpose of this study was to assess the humoral response to extracellular staphylococcal virulence factors, including the bicomponent leukotoxins, which are critical for the cytotoxicity of S. aureus toward human neutrophils. Children with culture-proven S. aureus infection were prospectively enrolled and stratified by disease type. Fifty-three children were enrolled in the study, of which 90% had invasive disease. Serum samples were obtained during the acute (within 48 h) and convalescent (4 to 6 weeks postinfection) phases, at which point both IgG titers against S. aureus exotoxins were determined, and the functionality of the generated antibodies was evaluated. Molecular characterization of clinical isolates was also performed. We observed a marked rise in antibody titer from acute-phase to convalescent-phase sera for LukAB, the most recently described S. aureus bicomponent leukotoxin. LukAB production by the isolates was strongly correlated with cytotoxicity in vitro, and sera containing anti-LukAB antibodies potently neutralized cytotoxicity. Antibodies to S. aureus antigens were detectable in healthy pediatric controls but at much lower titers than in sera from infected subjects. The discovery of a high-titer, neutralizing antibody response to LukAB during invasive infections suggests that this toxin is produced in vivo and that it elicits a functional humoral response. PMID:24379282

Screening and selection of most potent diazotrophic cyanobacterial isolate exhibiting natural tolerance to rice field herbicides for exploitation as biofertilizer.

PubMed

Singh, Surendra; Datta, Pallavi

2006-01-01

Periodic applications of heavy dosages of herbicides in modern rice-agriculture are a necessary evil for obtaining high crop productivity. Such herbicides are not only detrimental to weeds but biofertilizer strains of diazotrophic cyanobacteria also. It is therefore, essential to screen and select such biofertilizer strains of diazotrophic cyanobacteria exhibiting natural tolerance to common rice-field herbicides that can be further improved by mutational techniques to make biofertilizer technology a viable one. Therefore, efforts have been made to screen five dominant diazotrophic cyanobacterial forms e.g. filamentous heterocystous Nostoc punctiforme , Nostoc calcicola , Anabaena variabilis and unicellular Gloeocapsa sp. and Aphanocapsa sp. along with standard laboratory strain Nostoc muscorum ISU against increasing concentrations (0-100 mg l(-1) of four commercial grade common rice-field herbicides i.e. Arozin, Butachlor, Alachlor and 2,4-D under diazotrophic growth conditions. The lethal and IGC(50) concentrations for all four herbicides tested were found highest for A. variabilis as compared to other test cyanobacteria. The lowest reduction in chlorophyll a content, photosynthetic oxygen evolution, and N(2)-fixation was found in A. variabilis as compared to other rice field isolates and standard laboratory strain N. muscorum ISU. On the basis of prolong survival potential and lowest reductions in vital metabolic activities tested at IGC(50) concentration of four herbicides, it is concluded that A. variabilis is the most potent and promising cyanobacterial isolate as compared with other forms. This could be further improved by mutational techniques for exploitation as most potential and viable biofertilizer strain.

COH-203, a novel microtubule inhibitor, exhibits potent anti-tumor activity via p53-dependent senescence in hepatocellular carcinoma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Qi, Huan; Zuo, Dai-Ying; Bai, Zhao-Shi

Highlights: • COH-203 exhibits anti-hepatoma effects in vitro and in vivo with low toxicity. • COH-203 inhibits tubulin polymerization. • COH-203 induces mitotic arrest followed by mitotic slippage in BEL-7402 cells. • COH-203 induces p53-dependent senescence in BEL-7402 cells. - Abstract: 5-(3-Hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)-4-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-3H-1, 2-dithiol-3-one (COH-203) is a novel synthesized analogue of combretastatin A-4 that can be classified as a microtubule inhibitor. In this study, we evaluated the anti-hepatoma effect of COH-203 in vitro and in vivo and explored the underlying molecular mechanisms. COH-203 was shown to be more effective in inhibiting the proliferation of liver cancer cells compared with normal livermore » cells. COH-203 also displayed potent anti-tumor activity in a hepatocellular carcinoma xenograft model without significant toxicity. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that treatment with COH-203 induced mitotic arrest by inhibiting tubulin polymerization in BEL-7402 liver cancer cells. Long-term COH-203 treatment in BEL-7402 cells led to mitotic slippage followed by senescence via the p14{sup Arf}–p53–p21 and p16{sup INK4α}–Rb pathways. Furthermore, suppression of p53 via pifithrin-α (p53 inhibitor) and p53-siRNA attenuated COH-203-induced senescence in BEL-7402 cells, suggesting that COH-203 induced senescence p53-dependently. In conclusion, we report for the first time that COH-203, one compound in the combretastatin family, promotes anti-proliferative activity through the induction of p-53 dependent senescence. Our findings will provide a molecular rationale for the development of COH-203 as a promising anti-tumor agent.« less

Identification of pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines as potent HCK and FLT3-ITD dual inhibitors.

PubMed

Koda, Yasuko; Kikuzato, Ko; Mikuni, Junko; Tanaka, Akiko; Yuki, Hitomi; Honma, Teruki; Tomabechi, Yuri; Kukimoto-Niino, Mutsuko; Shirouzu, Mikako; Shirai, Fumiyuki; Koyama, Hiroo

2017-11-15

A series of novel pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines were synthesized by introducing 15 different amino acids to 7-cyclohexyl-5-(4-phenoxyphenyl)-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine-4-amine. Compounds with potent activities against HCK and FLT3-ITD were evaluated in viability studies with acute myeloid leukemia cell line MV4-11. Our structure activity relationship analyses lead to the identification of compound 31, which exhibited potent HCK and FLT3-ITD inhibition and activity against the MV4-11 cell line. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chlorfenapyr, a Potent Alternative Insecticide of Phoxim To Control Bradysia odoriphaga (Diptera: Sciaridae).

PubMed

Zhao, Yunhe; Wang, Qiuhong; Wang, Yao; Zhang, Zhengqun; Wei, Yan; Liu, Feng; Zhou, Chenggang; Mu, Wei

2017-07-26

Bradysia odoriphaga is the major pest affecting Chinese chive production, and in China, it has developed widespread resistance to organophosphorus insecticides. Chlorfenapyr is a promising pyrrole insecticide with a unique mechanism of action that does not confer cross-resistance to neurotoxic insecticides. However, the effect of chlorfenapyr on organophosphate-resistant B. odoriphaga is not well understood. The present study evaluated the potential of chlorfenapyr for the control of phoxim-resistant B. odoriphaga. The results showed that chlorfenapyr had significant insecticidal activity to B. odoriphaga in multiple developmental stages, and there were no significant differences in susceptibility between the field (phoxim-resistant) and laboratory (phoxim-susceptible) populations. The pot experiment and field trials confirmed the results of our laboratory bioassays. In the field trial, chlorfenapyr applied at 3.0, 6.0, or 12.0 kg of active ingredient (a.i.)/ha significantly decreased the number of B. odoriphaga and improved the yield compared to phoxim at 6.0 kg of a.i./ha and the control conditions. Moreover, the final residues of chlorfenapyr on plants were below the maximum residue limits (MRLs) as a result of its non-systemic activity. These results demonstrate that chlorfenapyr has potential as a potent alternative to phoxim for controlling B. odoriphaga.

Essential oil of Artemisia vestita exhibits potent in vitro and in vivo antibacterial activity: Investigation of the effect of oil on biofilm formation, leakage of potassium ions and survival curve measurement

PubMed Central

YANG, CHANG; HU, DONG-HUI; FENG, YAN

2015-01-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate the chemical composition of the essential oil of Artemisia vestita and to determine the antibacterial activity of the essential oil and its two major components, grandisol and 1,8-cineole, against certain respiratory infection-causing bacterial strains, in vitro and in vivo. The chemical composition of the essential oil was analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A micro-well dilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) values of the essential oil and its major constituents. A model of Streptococcus pyogenes infection in mice was used to determine its in vivo activities. Lung and blood samples were obtained to assess bacterial cell counts. Toxicity evaluation of the essential oil and its components was completed by performing biochemical analysis of the serum, particularly monitoring aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, urea and creatinine. The essential oil exhibited potent antibacterial activity, whereas the two major constituents were less potent. The essential oil exhibited MIC values between 20 and 80 μg/ml, while the values of the two constituents were between 130 and 200 μg/ml. Scanning electron microscopy results demonstrated that the essential oil inhibited biofilm formation and altered its architecture. Survival curves indicated that the essential oil led to a reduction in the viability of different bacteria. The essential oil also induced significant leakage of potassium ions from S. pyogenes. The essential oil (100 μg/mouse) and grandisol (135 μg/mouse) significantly reduced the number of viable bacterial cells in the lungs (P<0.01). However, intake of 100 μg/mouse of essential oil or grandisol 135 μg/mouse once or twice each day for 9 days did not produce any toxic effects in the mice. In conclusion, the in vitro and in vivo results suggested that the essential oil of A. vestita and one of its major constituents, grandisol, can significantly

Essential oil of Artemisia vestita exhibits potent in vitro and in vivo antibacterial activity: Investigation of the effect of oil on biofilm formation, leakage of potassium ions and survival curve measurement.

PubMed

Yang, Chang; Hu, Dong-Hui; Feng, Yan

2015-10-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate the chemical composition of the essential oil of Artemisia vestita and to determine the antibacterial activity of the essential oil and its two major components, grandisol and 1,8‑cineole, against certain respiratory infection‑causing bacterial strains, in vitro and in vivo. The chemical composition of the essential oil was analyzed using gas chromatography‑mass spectrometry. A micro‑well dilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) values of the essential oil and its major constituents. A model of Streptococcus pyogenes infection in mice was used to determine its in vivo activities. Lung and blood samples were obtained to assess bacterial cell counts. Toxicity evaluation of the essential oil and its components was completed by performing biochemical analysis of the serum, particularly monitoring aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, urea and creatinine. The essential oil exhibited potent antibacterial activity, whereas the two major constituents were less potent. The essential oil exhibited MIC values between 20 and 80 µg/ml, while the values of the two constituents were between 130 and 200 µg/ml. Scanning electron microscopy results demonstrated that the essential oil inhibited biofilm formation and altered its architecture. Survival curves indicated that the essential oil led to a reduction in the viability of different bacteria. The essential oil also induced significant leakage of potassium ions from S. pyogenes. The essential oil (100 µg/mouse) and grandisol (135 µg/mouse) significantly reduced the number of viable bacterial cells in the lungs (P<0.01). However, intake of 100 µg/mouse of essential oil or grandisol 135 µg/mouse once or twice each day for 9 days did not produce any toxic effects in the mice. In conclusion, the in vitro and in vivo results suggested that the essential oil of A. vestita and one of its major constituents, grandisol, can

2-Arylbenzo[b]furan derivatives as potent human lipoxygenase inhibitors.

PubMed

Lang, Li; Dong, Ningning; Wu, Deyan; Yao, Xue; Lu, Weiqiang; Zhang, Chen; Ouyang, Ping; Zhu, Jin; Tang, Yun; Wang, Wei; Li, Jian; Huang, Jin

2016-01-01

Human lipoxygenases (LOXs) have been emerging as effective therapeutic targets for inflammatory diseases. In this study, we found that four natural 2-arylbenzo[b]furan derivatives isolated from Artocarpus heterophyllus exhibited potent inhibitory activities against human LOXs, including moracin C (1), artoindonesianin B-1 (2), moracin D (3), moracin M (4). In our in vitro experiments, compound 1 was identified as the most potent LOX inhibitor and the moderate subtype selective inhibitor of 12-LOX. Compounds 1 and 2 act as competitive inhibitors of LOXs. Moreover, 1 significantly inhibits LTB4 production and chemotactic capacity of neutrophils, and is capable of protecting vascular barrier from plasma leakage in vivo. In addition, the preliminary structure-activity relationship analysis was performed based on the above four naturally occurring (1-4) and six additional synthetic 2-arylbenzo[b]furan derivatives. Taken together, these 2-arylbenzo[b]furan derivatives, as LOXs inhibitors, could represent valuable leads for the future development of therapeutic agents for inflammatory diseases.

Discovery of novel acetanilide derivatives as potent and selective beta3-adrenergic receptor agonists.

PubMed

Maruyama, Tatsuya; Onda, Kenichi; Hayakawa, Masahiko; Matsui, Tetsuo; Takasu, Toshiyuki; Ohta, Mitsuaki

2009-06-01

In the search for potent and selective human beta3-adrenergic receptor (AR) agonists as potential drugs for the treatment of obesity and noninsulin-dependent (type II) diabetes, a novel series of acetanilide-based analogues were prepared and their biological activities were evaluated at the human beta3-, beta2-, and beta1-ARs. Among these compounds, 2-pyridylacetanilide (2f), pyrimidin-2-ylacetanilide (2u), and pyrazin-2-ylacetanilide (2v) derivatives exhibited potent agonistic activity at the beta3-AR with functional selectivity over the beta1- and beta2-ARs. In particular, compound 2u was found to be the most potent and selective beta3-AR agonist with an EC(50) value of 0.11 microM and no agonistic activity for either the beta1- or beta2-AR. In addition, 2f, 2u, and 2v showed significant hypoglycemic activity in a rodent diabetic model.

Discovery, synthesis, selectivity modulation and DMPK characterization of 5-azaspiro[2.4]heptanes as potent orexin receptor antagonists.

PubMed

Stasi, Luigi Piero; Artusi, Roberto; Bovino, Clara; Buzzi, Benedetta; Canciani, Luca; Caselli, Gianfranco; Colace, Fabrizio; Garofalo, Paolo; Giambuzzi, Silvia; Larger, Patrice; Letari, Ornella; Mandelli, Stefano; Perugini, Lorenzo; Pucci, Sabrina; Salvi, Matteo; Toro, PierLuigi

2013-05-01

Starting from a orexin 1 receptor selective antagonist 4,4-disubstituted piperidine series a novel potent 5-azaspiro[2.4]heptane dual orexin 1 and orexin 2 receptor antagonist class has been discovered. SAR and Pharmacokinetic optimization of this series is herein disclosed. Lead compound 15 exhibits potent activity against orexin 1 and orexin 2 receptors along with low cytochrome P450 inhibition potential, good brain penetration and oral bioavailability in rats. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Purine derivatives as potent Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors for autoimmune diseases

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shi, Qing; Tebben, Andrew; Dyckman, Alaric J.

Investigation of various heterocyclic core isosteres of imidazopyrazines 1 & 2 yielded purine derivatives 3 & 8 as potent and selective BTK inhibitors. Subsequent SAR studies of the purine series led to the discovery of 20 as a leading compound. Compound 20 is very selective when screened against a panel of 400 kinases and is a potent inhibitor in cellular assays of human B cell function including B-Cell proliferation and CD86 cell surface expression and exhibited in vivo efficacy in a mouse PCA model. Its X-ray co-crystal structure with BTK shows that the high selectivity is gained from filling amore » BTK specific lipophilic pocket. However, physical and ADME properties leading to low oral exposure hindered further development.« less

Icotinib (BPI-2009H), a novel EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, displays potent efficacy in preclinical studies.

PubMed

Tan, Fenlai; Shen, Xiaoyan; Wang, Dechang; Xie, Guojian; Zhang, Xiaodong; Ding, Lieming; Hu, Yunyan; He, Wei; Wang, Yanping; Wang, Yinxiang

2012-05-01

Icotinib, one of the leading compounds selected from our compound library, was found to be a potent and specific epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) with an IC(50) of 5 nM. When profiled with 88 kinases, Icotinib only showed meaningful inhibitory activity to EGFR and its mutants. Icotinib blocked EGFR-mediated intracellular tyrosine phosphorylation (IC(50)=45 nM) in the human epidermoid carcinoma A431 cell line and inhibits tumor cell proliferation. In vivo studies demonstrated that Icotinib exhibited potent dose-dependent antitumor effects in nude mice carrying a variety of human tumor-derived xenografts. The drug was well tolerated at doses up to 120 mg/kg/day in mice without mortality or significant body weight loss during the treatment. A head to head randomized, double blind phase III trial using Gefitinib as an active control for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was finished recently (Trial registration ID: NCT01040780). The data shows that Icotinib was non-inferior to Gefitinib in terms of median progression free survival (PFS) and safety superior favor to Icotinib compared to Gefitinib. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Efficacy of homeopathically potentized antimony on blood coagulation. A randomized placebo controlled crossover trial.

PubMed

Heusser, Peter; Berger, Sarah; Stutz, Monika; Hüsler, André; Haeberli, André; Wolf, Ursula

2009-02-01

Homeopathically potentized antimony 6x is traditionally used in anthroposophic medicine for an alleged pro-coagulatory effect in bleeding disorders. However, the scientific evidence base is yet insufficient. Results of a previous in vitro study suggested a slight increase of maximal clot firmness (MCF) and a tendency towards a shorter clotting time (CT). The objective of this study was to investigate the pro-coagulatory effects of antimony in vivo, and possible unexpected or adverse events. A randomized placebo controlled double blind crossover study was carried out in 30 healthy volunteers (15 males, 15 females). Each participant received intravenously 10 ml of antimony 6x and placebo in a randomized order at an interval of 1 month. Thrombelastography (TEG) was carried out immediately before and 30 and 60 min after the injection. Statistically significant pro-coagulatory effects were observed 30 min after injection for CT in men (p = 0.0306), and for MCF in men and women combined (p = 0.0476). The effect of antimony was significantly larger on test day 1 than on test day 2, whereas the effect of placebo was similar on both test days. No unexpected adverse or adverse events causally related to antimony were observed. This study adds evidence to the hypothesis that homeopathically potentized antimony may be efficacious in vivo. The consistency of the results with previous in vitro results indicates an effect on MCF and CT. The in vivo application of antimony 6x is safe. Copyright (c) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Identification of β-Amino alcohol grafted 1,4,5 trisubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles as potent antimalarial agents.

PubMed

Devender, Nalmala; Gunjan, Sarika; Chhabra, Stuti; Singh, Kartikey; Pasam, Venkata Reddy; Shukla, Sanjeev K; Sharma, Abhisheak; Jaiswal, Swati; Singh, Sunil Kumar; Kumar, Yogesh; Lal, Jawahar; Trivedi, Arun Kumar; Tripathi, Renu; Tripathi, Rama Pati

2016-02-15

In a quest to discover new drugs, we have synthesized a series of novel β-amino alcohol grafted 1,2,3-triazoles and screened them for their in vitro antiplasmodial and in vivo antimalarial activity. Among them, compounds 16 and 25 showed potent activity against chloroquine-sensitive (Pf3D7) strain with IC50 of 0.87 and 0.3 μM respectively, while compounds 7 and 13 exhibited better activity in vitro than the reference drug against chloroquine-resistance strain (PfK1) with IC50 of 0.5 μM each. Compound 25 showed 86.8% in vivo antimalarial efficacy with favorable pharmacokinetic parameters. Mechanistic studies divulged that potent compounds significantly boosted p53 protein levels to exhibit the antimalarial activity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Dmt and opioid peptides: a potent alliance.

PubMed

Bryant, Sharon D; Jinsmaa, Yunden; Salvadori, Severo; Okada, Yoshio; Lazarus, Lawrence H

2003-01-01

The introduction of the Dmt (2',6'-dimethyl-L-tyrosine)-Tic pharmacophore into the design of opioid ligands produced an extraordinary family of potent delta-opioid receptor antagonists and heralded a new phase in opioid research. First reviewed extensively in 1998, the incorporation of Dmt into a diverse group of opioid molecules stimulated the opioid field leading to the development of unique analogues with remarkable properties. This overview will document the crucial role played by this residue in the proliferation of opioid peptides with high receptor affinity (K(i) equal to or less than 1 nM) and potent bioactivity. The discussion will include the metamorphosis between delta-opioid receptor antagonists to delta-agonists based solely on subtle structural changes at the C-terminal region of the Dmt-Tic pharmacophore as well as their behavior in vivo. Dmt may be considered promiscuous due to the acquisition of potent mu-agonism by dermorphin and endomorphin derivatives as well as by a unique class of opioidmimetics containing two Dmt residues separated by alkyl or pyrazinone linkers. Structural studies on the Dmt-Tic compounds were enhanced tremendously by x-ray diffraction data for three potent and biologically diverse Dmt-Tic opioidmimetics that led to the development of pharmacophores for both delta-opioid receptor agonists and antagonists. Molecular modeling studies of other unique Dmt opioid analogues illuminated structural differences between delta- and mu-receptor ligand interactions. The future of these compounds as therapeutic applications for various medical syndromes including the control of cancer-associated pain is only a matter of time and perseverance. Copyright 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Development of a new benzophenone-diketopiperazine-type potent antimicrotubule agent possessing a 2-pyridine structure.

PubMed

Hayashi, Yoshiki; Takeno, Haruka; Chinen, Takumi; Muguruma, Kyohei; Okuyama, Kohei; Taguchi, Akihiro; Takayama, Kentaro; Yakushiji, Fumika; Miura, Masahiko; Usui, Takeo; Hayashi, Yoshio

2014-10-09

A new benzophenone-diketopiperazine-type potent antimicrotubule agent was developed by modifying the structure of the clinical candidate plinabulin (1). Although the right-hand imidazole ring with a branched alkyl chain at the 5-position in 1 was critical for the potency of the antimicrotubule activity, we successfully substituted this moiety with a simpler 2-pyridyl structure by converting the left-hand ring from a phenyl to a benzophenone structure without decreasing the potency. The resultant compound 6b (KPU-300) exhibited a potent cytotoxicity, with an IC50 value of 7.0 nM against HT-29 cells, by strongly binding to tubulin (K d = 1.3 μM) and inducing microtubule depolymerization.

Discovery of potent and novel smoothened antagonists via structure-based virtual screening and biological assays.

PubMed

Lu, Wenfeng; Zhang, Dihua; Ma, Haikuo; Tian, Sheng; Zheng, Jiyue; Wang, Qin; Luo, Lusong; Zhang, Xiaohu

2018-05-23

The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway plays a critical role in controlling patterning, growth and cell migration during embryonic development. Aberrant activation of Hh signaling has been linked to tumorigenesis in various cancers, such as basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and medulloblastoma. As a key member of the Hh pathway, the Smoothened (Smo) receptor, a member of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family, has emerged as an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment and prevention of human cancers. The recent determination of several crystal structures of Smo in complex with different antagonists offers the possibility to perform structure-based virtual screening for discovering potent Smo antagonists with distinct chemical scaffolds. In this study, based on the two Smo crystal complexes with the best capacity to distinguish the known Smo antagonists from decoys, the molecular docking-based virtual screening was conducted to identify promising Smo antagonists from ChemDiv library. A total of 21 structurally novel and diverse compounds were selected for experimental testing, and six of them exhibited significant inhibitory activity against the Hh pathway activation (IC 50  < 10 μM) in a GRE (Gli-responsive element) reporter gene assay. Specifically, the most potent compound (compound 20: 47 nM) showed comparable Hh signaling inhibition to vismodegib (46 nM). Compound 20 was further confirmed to be a potent Smo antagonist in a fluorescence based competitive binding assay. Optimization using substructure searching method led to the discovery of 12 analogues of compound 20 with decent Hh pathway inhibition activity, including four compounds with IC 50 lower than 1 μM. The important residues uncovered by binding free energy calculation (MM/GBSA) and binding free energy decomposition were highlighted and discussed. These findings suggest that the novel scaffold afforded by compound 20 can be used as a good starting point for further modification

Potent and Selective Amidopyrazole Inhibitors of IRAK4 That Are Efficacious in a Rodent Model of Inflammation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McElroy, William T.; Tan, Zheng; Ho, Ginny

IRAK4 is a critical upstream kinase in the IL-1R/TLR signaling pathway. Inhibition of IRAK4 is hypothesized to be beneficial in the treatment of autoimmune related disorders. A screening campaign identified a pyrazole class of IRAK4 inhibitors that were determined by X-ray crystallography to exhibit an unusual binding mode. SAR efforts focused on the identification of a potent and selective inhibitor with good aqueous solubility and rodent pharmacokinetics. Pyrazole C-3 piperidines were well tolerated, with N-sulfonyl analogues generally having good rodent oral exposure but poor solubility. N-Alkyl piperidines exhibited excellent solubility and reduced exposure. Pyrazoles possessing N-1 pyridine and fluorophenyl substituentsmore » were among the most active. Piperazine 32 was a potent enzyme inhibitor with good cellular activity. Compound 32 reduced the in vivo production of proinflammatory cytokines and was orally efficacious in a mouse antibody induced arthritis disease model of inflammation.« less

Biological evaluation of some uracil derivatives as potent glutathione reductase inhibitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Güney, Murat; Ekinci, Deniz; Ćavdar, Huseyin; Şentürk, Murat; Zilbeyaz, Kani

2016-04-01

Discovery of glutathione reductase (GR) inhibitors has become very popular recently due to antimalarial and anticancer activities. In this study, GR inhibitory capacities of some uracil derivatives (UDCs) (1-4) were reported. Some commercially available molecules (5-6) were also tested for comparison reasons. The novel UDCs were obtained in high yields using simple chemical procedures and exhibited much potent inhibitory activities against GR at low nanomolar concentrations with IC50 values ranging from 2.68 to 166.6 nM as compared with well-known agents.

In silico investigation of lavandulyl flavonoids for the development of potent fatty acid synthase-inhibitory prototypes.

PubMed

Oh, Joonseok; Liu, Haining; Park, Hyun Bong; Ferreira, Daneel; Jeong, Gil-Saeng; Hamann, Mark T; Doerksen, Robert J; Na, MinKyun

2017-01-01

Inhibition of fatty acid synthase (FAS) is regarded as a sensible therapeutic strategy for the development of optimal anti-cancer agents. Flavonoids exhibit potent anti-neoplastic properties. The MeOH extract of Sophora flavescens was subjected to chromatographic analyses such as VLC and HPLC for the purification of active flavonoids. The DP4 chemical-shift analysis protocol was employed to investigate the elusive chirality of the lavandulyl moiety of the purified polyphenols. Induced Fit docking protocols and per-residue analyses were utilized to scrutinize structural prerequisites for hampering FAS activity. The FAS-inhibitory activity of the purified flavonoids was assessed via the incorporation of [ 3 H] acetyl-CoA into palmitate. Six flavonoids, including lavandulyl flavanones, were purified and evaluated for FAS inhibition. The lavandulyl flavanone sophoraflavanone G (2) exhibited the highest potency (IC 50 of 6.7±0.2μM), which was more potent than the positive controls. Extensive molecular docking studies revealed the structural requirements for blocking FAS. Per-residue interaction analysis demonstrated that the lavandulyl functional group in the active flavonoids (1-3 and 5) significantly contributed to increasing their binding affinity towards the target enzyme. This research suggests a basis for the in silico design of a lavandulyl flavonoid-based architecture showing anti-cancer effects via enhancement of the binding potential to FAS. FAS inhibition by flavonoids and their derivatives may offer significant potential as an approach to lower the risk of various cancer diseases and related fatalities. In silico technologies with available FAS crystal structures may be of significant use in optimizing preliminary leads. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In silico investigation of lavandulyl flavonoids for the development of potent fatty acid synthase-inhibitory prototypes

PubMed Central

Oh, Joonseok; Liu, Haining; Park, Hyun Bong; Ferreira, Daneel; Jeong, Gil-Saeng; Hamann, Mark T.; Doerksen, Robert J.; Na, MinKyun

2016-01-01

Background Inhibition of fatty acid synthase (FAS) is regarded as a sensible therapeutic strategy for the development of optimal anti-cancer agents. Flavonoids exhibit potent anti-neoplastic properties. Methods The MeOH extract of Sophora flavescens was subjected to chromatographic analyses such as VLC and HPLC for the purification of active flavonoids. The DP4 chemical-shift analysis protocol was employed to investigate the elusive chirality of the lavandulyl moiety of the purified polyphenols. Induced Fit docking protocols and per-residue analyses were utilized to scrutinize structural prerequisites for hampering FAS activity. The FAS-inhibitory activity of the purified flavonoids was assessed via the incorporation of [3H] acetyl-CoA into palmitate. Results Six flavonoids, including lavandulyl flavanones, were purified and evaluated for FAS inhibition. The lavandulyl flavanone sophoraflavanone G (2) exhibited the highest potency (IC50 of 6.7 ± 0.2 μM), which was more potent than the positive controls. Extensive molecular docking studies revealed the structural requirements for blocking FAS. Per-residue interaction analysis demonstrated that the lavandulyl functional group in the active flavonoids (1–3 and 5) significantly contributed to increasing their binding affinity towards the target enzyme. Conclusion This research suggests a basis for the in silico design of a lavandulyl flavonoid-based architecture showing anti-cancer effects via enhancement of the binding potential to FAS. General significance FAS inhibition by flavonoids and their derivatives may offer significant potential as an approach to lower the risk of various cancer diseases and related fatalities. In silico technologies with available FAS crystal structures may be of significant use in optimizing preliminary leads. PMID:27531709

Celebrity Patients, VIPs, and Potentates.

PubMed

Groves, James E.; Dunderdale, Barbara A.; Stern, Theodore A.

2002-12-01

BACKGROUND: During the second half of the 20th century, the literature on the doctor-patient relationship mainly dealt with the management of "difficult" (personality-disordered) patients. Similar problems, however, surround other types of "special" patients. METHOD: An overview and analysis of the literature were conducted. As a result, such patients can be subcategorized by their main presentations; each requires a specific management strategy. RESULTS: Three types of "special" patients stir up irrational feelings in their caregivers. Sick celebrities threaten to focus public scrutiny on the private world of medical caregivers. VIPs generate awe in caregivers, with loss of the objectivity essential to the practice of scientific medicine. Potentates unearth narcissism in the caregiver-patient relationship, which triggers a struggle between power and shame. Pride, privacy, and the staff's need to be in control are all threatened by introduction of the special patient into medicine's closed culture. CONCLUSION: The privacy that is owed to sick celebrities should be extended to protect overexposed staff. The awe and loss of medical objectivity that VIPs generate are counteracted by team leadership dedicated to avoiding any deviation from standard clinical procedure. Moreover, the collective ill will surrounding potentates can be neutralized by reassuring them that they are "special"-and by caregivers mending their own vulnerable self-esteem.

Sansanmycin natural product analogues as potent and selective anti-mycobacterials that inhibit lipid I biosynthesis

PubMed Central

Tran, Anh T.; Watson, Emma E.; Pujari, Venugopal; Conroy, Trent; Dowman, Luke J.; Giltrap, Andrew M.; Pang, Angel; Wong, Weng Ruh; Linington, Roger G.; Mahapatra, Sebabrata; Saunders, Jessica; Charman, Susan A.; West, Nicholas P.; Bugg, Timothy D. H.; Tod, Julie; Dowson, Christopher G.; Roper, David I.; Crick, Dean C.; Britton, Warwick J.; Payne, Richard J.

2017-01-01

Tuberculosis (TB) is responsible for enormous global morbidity and mortality, and current treatment regimens rely on the use of drugs that have been in use for more than 40 years. Owing to widespread resistance to these therapies, new drugs are desperately needed to control the TB disease burden. Herein, we describe the rapid synthesis of analogues of the sansanmycin uridylpeptide natural products that represent promising new TB drug leads. The compounds exhibit potent and selective inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the etiological agent of TB, both in vitro and intracellularly. The natural product analogues are nanomolar inhibitors of Mtb phospho-MurNAc-pentapeptide translocase, the enzyme responsible for the synthesis of lipid I in mycobacteria. This work lays the foundation for the development of uridylpeptide natural product analogues as new TB drug candidates that operate through the inhibition of peptidoglycan biosynthesis. PMID:28248311

Sansanmycin natural product analogues as potent and selective anti-mycobacterials that inhibit lipid I biosynthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tran, Anh T.; Watson, Emma E.; Pujari, Venugopal; Conroy, Trent; Dowman, Luke J.; Giltrap, Andrew M.; Pang, Angel; Wong, Weng Ruh; Linington, Roger G.; Mahapatra, Sebabrata; Saunders, Jessica; Charman, Susan A.; West, Nicholas P.; Bugg, Timothy D. H.; Tod, Julie; Dowson, Christopher G.; Roper, David I.; Crick, Dean C.; Britton, Warwick J.; Payne, Richard J.

2017-03-01

Tuberculosis (TB) is responsible for enormous global morbidity and mortality, and current treatment regimens rely on the use of drugs that have been in use for more than 40 years. Owing to widespread resistance to these therapies, new drugs are desperately needed to control the TB disease burden. Herein, we describe the rapid synthesis of analogues of the sansanmycin uridylpeptide natural products that represent promising new TB drug leads. The compounds exhibit potent and selective inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the etiological agent of TB, both in vitro and intracellularly. The natural product analogues are nanomolar inhibitors of Mtb phospho-MurNAc-pentapeptide translocase, the enzyme responsible for the synthesis of lipid I in mycobacteria. This work lays the foundation for the development of uridylpeptide natural product analogues as new TB drug candidates that operate through the inhibition of peptidoglycan biosynthesis.

Novel depsides as potential anti-inflammatory agents with potent inhibitory activity against Escherichia coli-induced interleukin-8 production.

PubMed

Lv, Peng-Cheng; Xiong, Jing; Chen, Jin; Wang, Kai-Rui; Mao, Wen-Jun; Zhu, Hai-Liang

2010-08-01

Sixteen novel depsides were synthesized for the first time. Their chemical structures were clearly determined by (1)H NMR, ESI mass spectra, and elemental analyses. All the compounds were assayed for antibacterial activities against three Gram-positive bacterial strains (Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, and Streptococcus faecalis ATCC 9790) and three Gram-negative bacterial strains (Escherichia coli ATCC 35218, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 13525, and Enterobacter cloacae ATCC 13047) by the MTT method. Compound 2-(2-methoxy-2-oxoethyl)phenyl 5-bromonicotinate (5) exhibited significant antibacterial activities against E. coli ATCC 35218 with an MIC of 0.78 microg/mL, which was superior to the positive control kanamycin B. In addition, compound 5 showed potent inhibitory activity against E. coli-induced interleukin-8 production.

2-acetylphenol analogs as potent reversible monoamine oxidase inhibitors.

PubMed

Legoabe, Lesetja J; Petzer, Anél; Petzer, Jacobus P

2015-01-01

Based on a previous report that substituted 2-acetylphenols may be promising leads for the design of novel monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors, a series of C5-substituted 2-acetylphenol analogs (15) and related compounds (two) were synthesized and evaluated as inhibitors of human MAO-A and MAO-B. Generally, the study compounds exhibited inhibitory activities against both MAO-A and MAO-B, with selectivity for the B isoform. Among the compounds evaluated, seven compounds exhibited IC50 values <0.01 µM for MAO-B inhibition, with the most selective compound being 17,000-fold selective for MAO-B over the MAO-A isoform. Analyses of the structure-activity relationships for MAO inhibition show that substitution on the C5 position of the 2-acetylphenol moiety is a requirement for MAO-B inhibition, and the benzyloxy substituent is particularly favorable in this regard. This study concludes that C5-substituted 2-acetylphenol analogs are potent and selective MAO-B inhibitors, appropriate for the design of therapies for neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease.

Celebrity Patients, VIPs, and Potentates

PubMed Central

Groves, James E.; Dunderdale, Barbara A.; Stern, Theodore A.

2002-01-01

Background: During the second half of the 20th century, the literature on the doctor-patient relationship mainly dealt with the management of “difficult” (personality-disordered) patients. Similar problems, however, surround other types of “special” patients. Method: An overview and analysis of the literature were conducted. As a result, such patients can be subcategorized by their main presentations; each requires a specific management strategy. Results: Three types of “special” patients stir up irrational feelings in their caregivers. Sick celebrities threaten to focus public scrutiny on the private world of medical caregivers. VIPs generate awe in caregivers, with loss of the objectivity essential to the practice of scientific medicine. Potentates unearth narcissism in the caregiver-patient relationship, which triggers a struggle between power and shame. Pride, privacy, and the staff's need to be in control are all threatened by introduction of the special patient into medicine's closed culture. Conclusion: The privacy that is owed to sick celebrities should be extended to protect overexposed staff. The awe and loss of medical objectivity that VIPs generate are counteracted by team leadership dedicated to avoiding any deviation from standard clinical procedure. Moreover, the collective ill will surrounding potentates can be neutralized by reassuring them that they are “special”—and by caregivers mending their own vulnerable self-esteem. PMID:15014712

Potent peptidic fusion inhibitors of influenza virus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kadam, Rameshwar U.; Juraszek, Jarek; Brandenburg, Boerries

Influenza therapeutics with new targets and mechanisms of action are urgently needed to combat potential pandemics, emerging viruses, and constantly mutating strains in circulation. We report here on the design and structural characterization of potent peptidic inhibitors of influenza hemagglutinin. The peptide design was based on complementarity-determining region loops of human broadly neutralizing antibodies against the hemagglutinin (FI6v3 and CR9114). The optimized peptides exhibit nanomolar affinity and neutralization against influenza A group 1 viruses, including the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and avian H5N1 strains. The peptide inhibitors bind to the highly conserved stem epitope and block the low pH–induced conformational rearrangementsmore » associated with membrane fusion. These peptidic compounds and their advantageous biological properties should accelerate the development of new small molecule– and peptide-based therapeutics against influenza virus.« less

CT-721, a Potent Bcr-Abl Inhibitor, Exhibits Excellent In Vitro and In Vivo Efficacy in the Treatment of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

PubMed Central

Sun, Yinghui; Zhao, Na; Wang, Huan; Wu, Qiong; Han, Yunqi; Liu, Qichao; Wu, Mangang; Liu, Yuliang; Kong, Fansheng; Wang, He; Sun, Ying; Sun, Deguang; Jing, Lutao; Tang, Guojing; Hu, Yuandong; Xiao, Dengming; Luo, Hong; Han, Yongxin; Peng, Yong

2017-01-01

Kinase inhibitors that target Bcr-Abl are highly effective in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). However, these inhibitors are often invalidated due to the drug resistance. Therefore, the discovery and development of novel Bcr-Abl inhibitors is required to overwhelm the drug resistance in the treatment of CML resistant to the currently used first-line Bcr-Abl inhibitors. Herein we have described a newly developed Bcr-Abl inhibitor CT-721, which displayed potent inhibitory effects on wild-type and T315I mutant Bcr-Abl. It functioned as a typically ATP-competitive inhibitor, superior to other existing Bcr-Abl inhibitors. CT-721 also demonstrated time-dependent inhibition of Bcr-Abl activation and the resultant downstream signaling transduction pathways in Bcr-Abl positive cells. Furthermore, CT-721 induced cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, and efficaciously inhibited tumor growth in Bcr-Abl-expressed K562 and KU812 xenograft models in a mechanism-based manner. Further PK/PD studies revealed a positive in vivo correlation between the compound concentration and inhibition of Bcr-Abl activity. Taken together, CT-721 is a potent and time-dependent Bcr-Abl kinase inhibitor, and has shown strong in vitro and in vivo anti-CML activities with a favorable pharmacokinetic profile, differentiating it from other Bcr-Abl kinase inhibitors already approved and current in development for the treatment of CML. PMID:28928866

Trisubstituted Thieno[3,2-b]pyrrole 5-Carboxamides as Potent Inhibitors of Alphaviruses.

PubMed

Ching, Kuan-Chieh; Kam, Yiu-Wing; Merits, Andres; Ng, Lisa F P; Chai, Christina L L

2015-12-10

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a re-emerging vector-borne alphavirus and is transmitted to humans by Aedes mosquitoes. Despite the re-emergence of CHIKV as an epidemic threat, there is no approved effective antiviral treatment currently available for CHIKV. Herein, we report the synthesis and structure-activity relationship studies of a class of thieno[3,2-b]pyrroles and the discovery of a trisubstituted thieno[3,2-b]pyrrole 5-carboxamide 15c that exhibits potent inhibitory activity against in vitro CHIKV infection. Compound 15c displayed low micromolar activity (EC50 value of ca. 2 μM) and limited cytotoxic liability (CC50 > 100 μM) therefore furnishing a selectivity index of greater than 32. Notably, 15c not only controlled viral RNA production, but efficiently inhibited the expression of CHIKV nsP1, nsP3, capsid, and E2 proteins at a concentration as low as 2.5 μM. More importantly, 15c also demonstrated broad spectrum antiviral activity against other clinically important alphaviruses such as O'nyong-nyong virus and Sindbis virus.

Discovery and structure-based design of 4,6-diaminonicotinamides as potent and selective IRAK4 inhibitors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bhide, Rajeev S.; Keon, Alec; Weigelt, Carolyn

2017-11-01

The identification of small molecule inhibitors of IRAK4 for the treatment of autoimmune diseases has been an area of intense research. We discovered novel 4,6-diaminonicotinamides which potently inhibit IRAK4. Optimization efforts were aided by X-ray crystal structures of inhibitors bound to IRAK4. Structure activity relationship (SAR) studies led to the identification of compound 29 which exhibited sub-micromolar potency in a LTA stimulated cellular assay.

Discovery of Lacosamide Affinity Bait Agents That Exhibit Potent Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Blocking Properties

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Lacosamide ((R)-1) is a recently marketed, first-in-class, antiepileptic drug. Patch-clamp electrophysiology studies are consistent with the notion that (R)-1 modulates voltage-gated Na+ channel function by increasing and stabilizing the slow inactivation state without affecting fast inactivation. The molecular pathway(s) that regulate slow inactivation are poorly understood. Affinity baits are chemical reactive units, which when appended to a ligand (drug) can lead to irreversible, covalent modification of the receptor thus permitting drug binding site identification including, possibly, the site of ligand function. We describe, herein, the synthesis of four (R)-1 affinity baits, (R)-N-(4″-isothiocyanatobiphenyl-4′-yl)methyl 2-acetamido-3-methoxypropionamide ((R)-8), (S)-N-(4″-isothiocyanatobiphenyl-4′-yl)methyl 2-acetamido-3-methoxypropionamide ((S)-8), (R)-N-(3″-isothiocyanatobiphenyl-4′-yl)methyl 2-acetamido-3-methoxypropionamide ((R)-9), and (R)-N-(3″-acrylamidobiphenyl-4′-yl)methyl 2-acetamido-3-methoxypropionamide ((R)-10). The affinity bait compounds were designed to interact with the receptor(s) responsible for (R)-1-mediated slow inactivation. We show that (R)-8 and (R)-9 are potent inhibitors of Na+ channel function and function by a pathway similar to that observed for (R)-1. We further demonstrate that (R)-8 function is stereospecific. The calculated IC50 values determined for Na+ channel slow inactivation for (R)-1, (R)-8, and (R)-9 were 85.1, 0.1, and 0.2 μM, respectively. Incubating (R)-9 with the neuronal-like CAD cells led to appreciable levels of Na+ channel slow inactivation after cellular wash, and the level of slow inactivation only modestly decreased with further incubation and washing. Collectively, these findings have identified a promising structural template to investigate the voltage-gated Na+ channel slow inactivation process. PMID:23509982

HYPOXIA-ACTIVATED PRO-DRUG TH-302 EXHIBITS POTENT TUMOUR SUPPRESSIVE ACTIVITY AND COOPERATES WITH CHEMOTHERAPY AGAINST OSTEOSARCOMA

PubMed Central

Liapis, Vasilios; Labrinidis, Agatha; Zinonos, Irene; Hay, Shelley; Ponomarev, Vladimir; Panagopoulos, Vasilios; DeNichilo, Mark; Ingman, Wendy; Atkins, Gerald J.; Findlay, David M.; Zannettino, Andrew CW.; Evdokiou, Andreas

2015-01-01

Tumour hypoxia is a major cause of treatment failure for a variety of malignancies. However, tumour hypoxia also offers treatment opportunities, exemplified by the development compounds that target hypoxic regions within tumours. TH-302 is a pro-drug created by the conjugation of 2-nitroimidazole to bromo-isophosphoramide (Br-IPM). When TH-302 is delivered to regions of hypoxia, Br-IPM, the DNA cross linking toxin, is released. In this study we assessed the cytotoxic activity of TH-302 against osteosarcoma cells in vitro and evaluated its anticancer efficacy as a single agent, and in combination with doxorubicin, in an orthotopic mouse model of human osteosarcoma (OS). In vitro, TH-302 was potently cytotoxic to osteosarcoma cells selectively under hypoxic conditions, whereas primary normal human osteoblasts were protected. Animals transplanted with OS cells directly into their tibiae and left untreated developed mixed osteolytic/osteosclerotic bone lesions and subsequently developed lung metastases. TH-302 reduced tumor burden in bone and cooperated with doxorubicin to protect bone from osteosarcoma induced bone destruction, while it also reduced lung metastases. TH-302 may therefore be an attractive therapeutic agent with strong activity as a single agent and in combination with chemotherapy against OS. PMID:25444931

Hypoxia-activated pro-drug TH-302 exhibits potent tumor suppressive activity and cooperates with chemotherapy against osteosarcoma.

PubMed

Liapis, Vasilios; Labrinidis, Agatha; Zinonos, Irene; Hay, Shelley; Ponomarev, Vladimir; Panagopoulos, Vasilios; DeNichilo, Mark; Ingman, Wendy; Atkins, Gerald J; Findlay, David M; Zannettino, Andrew C W; Evdokiou, Andreas

2015-02-01

Tumor hypoxia is a major cause of treatment failure for a variety of malignancies. However, tumor hypoxia also offers treatment opportunities, exemplified by the development compounds that target hypoxic regions within tumors. TH-302 is a pro-drug created by the conjugation of 2-nitroimidazole to bromo-isophosphoramide (Br-IPM). When TH-302 is delivered to regions of hypoxia, Br-IPM, the DNA cross linking toxin, is released. In this study we assessed the cytotoxic activity of TH-302 against osteosarcoma cells in vitro and evaluated its anticancer efficacy as a single agent, and in combination with doxorubicin, in an orthotopic mouse model of human osteosarcoma (OS). In vitro, TH-302 was potently cytotoxic to osteosarcoma cells selectively under hypoxic conditions, whereas primary normal human osteoblasts were protected. Animals transplanted with OS cells directly into their tibiae and left untreated developed mixed osteolytic/osteosclerotic bone lesions and subsequently developed lung metastases. TH-302 reduced tumor burden in bone and cooperated with doxorubicin to protect bone from osteosarcoma induced bone destruction, while it also reduced lung metastases. TH-302 may therefore be an attractive therapeutic agent with strong activity as a single agent and in combination with chemotherapy against OS. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Discovery of a potent and orally available acyl-CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase inhibitor as an anti-atherosclerotic agent: (4-phenylcoumarin)acetanilide derivatives.

PubMed

Ogino, Masaki; Fukui, Seiji; Nakada, Yoshihisa; Tokunoh, Ryosuke; Itokawa, Shigekazu; Kakoi, Yuichi; Nishimura, Satoshi; Sanada, Tsukasa; Fuse, Hiromitsu; Kubo, Kazuki; Wada, Takeo; Marui, Shogo

2011-01-01

Acyl-CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) is an intracellular enzyme that catalyzes cholesterol esterification. ACAT inhibitors are expected to be potent therapeutic agents for the treatment of atherosclerosis. A series of potent ACAT inhibitors based on an (4-phenylcoumarin)acetanilide scaffold was identified. Evaluation of the structure-activity relationships of a substituent on this scaffold, with an emphasis on improving the pharmacokinetic profile led to the discovery of 2-[7-chloro-4-(3-chlorophenyl)-6-methyl-2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl]-N-[4-chloro-2-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]acetamide (23), which exhibited potent ACAT inhibitory activity (IC50=12 nM) and good pharmacokinetic profile in mice. Compound 23 also showed regressive effects on atherosclerotic plaques in apolipoprotein (apo)E knock out (KO) mice at a dose of 0.3 mg/kg per os (p.o.).

Aspartate aminotransferase is potently inhibited by copper complexes: Exploring copper complex-binding proteome.

PubMed

Jia, Yuqi; Lu, Liping; Yuan, Caixia; Feng, Sisi; Zhu, Miaoli

2017-05-01

Recent researches indicated that a copper complex-binding proteome that potently interacted with copper complexes and then influenced cellular metabolism might exist in organism. In order to explore the copper complex-binding proteome, a copper chelating ion-immobilized affinity chromatography (Cu-IMAC) column and mass spectrometry were used to separate and identify putative Cu-binding proteins in primary rat hepatocytes. A total of 97 putative Cu-binding proteins were isolated and identified. Five higher abundance proteins, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), catalase (CAT), calreticulin (CRT) and albumin (Alb) were further purified using a SP-, and (or) Q-Sepharose Fast Flow column. The interaction between the purified proteins and selected 11 copper complexes and CuCl 2 was investigated. The enzymes inhibition tests demonstrated that AST was potently inhibited by copper complexes while MDH and CAT were weakly inhibited. Schiff-based copper complexes 6 and 7 potently inhibited AST with the IC 50 value of 3.6 and 7.2μM, respectively and exhibited better selectivity over MDH and CAT. Fluorescence titration results showed the two complexes tightly bound to AST with binding constant of 3.89×10 6 and 3.73×10 6 M -1 , respectively and a stoichiometry ratio of 1:1. Copper complex 6 was able to enter into HepG2 cells and further inhibit intracellular AST activity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Polymeric surfaces exhibiting photocatalytic activity and controlled anisotropic wettability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anastasiadis, Spiros H.; Frysali, Melani A.; Papoutsakis, Lampros; Kenanakis, George; Stratakis, Emmanuel; Vamvakaki, Maria; Mountrichas, Grigoris; Pispas, Stergios

2015-03-01

In this work we focus on surfaces, which exhibit controlled, switchable wettability in response to one or more external stimuli as well as photocatalytic activity. For this we are inspired from nature to produce surfaces with a dual-scale hierarchical roughness and combine them with the appropriate inorganic and/or polymer coating. The combination of the hierarchical surface with a ZnO coating and a pH- or temperature-responsive polymer results in efficient photo-active properties as well as reversible superhydrophobic / superhydrophilic surfaces. Furthermore, we fabricate surfaces with unidirectional wettability variation. Overall, such complex surfaces require advanced design, combining hierarchically structured surfaces with suitable polymeric materials. Acknowledgment: This research was partially supported by the European Union (European Social Fund, ESF) and Greek national funds through the ``ARISTEIA II'' Action (SMART-SURF) of the Operational Programme ``Education and Lifelong Learning,'' NSRF 2007-2013, via the General Secretariat for Research & Technology, Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, Greece.

Secretome Identifies Tenascin-X as a Potent Marker of Ovarian Cancer

PubMed Central

Kramer, Marianne; Pierredon, Sandra; Ribaux, Pascale; Tille, Jean-Christophe; Cohen, Marie

2015-01-01

CA-125 has been a valuable marker for the follow-up of ovarian cancer patients but it is not sensitive enough to be used as diagnostic marker. We had already used secretomic methods to identify proteins differentially secreted by serous ovarian cancer cells compared to healthy ovarian cells. Here, we evaluated the secretion of these proteins by ovarian cancer cells during the follow-up of one patient. Proteins that correlated with CA-125 levels were screened using serum samples from ovarian cancer patients as well as benign and healthy controls. Tenascin-X secretion was shown to correlate with CA-125 value in the initial case study. The immunohistochemical detection of increased amount of tenascin-X in ovarian cancer tissues compared to healthy tissues confirms the potent interest in tenascin-X as marker. We then quantified the tenascin-X level in serum of patients and identified tenascin-X as potent marker for ovarian cancer, showing that secretomic analysis is suitable for the identification of protein biomarkers when combined with protein immunoassay. Using this method, we determined tenascin-X as a new potent marker for serous ovarian cancer. PMID:26090390

Synthesis of novel di- and tricationic carbapenems with potent anti-MRSA activity.

PubMed

Maruyama, Takahisa; Yamamoto, Yasuo; Kano, Yuko; Kurazono, Mizuyo; Shitara, Eiki; Iwamatsu, Katsuyoshi; Atsumi, Kunio

2009-01-15

A new series of 1beta-methyl carbapenems possessing a 6,7-disubstituted imidazo[5,1-b]thiazol-2-yl group directly attached to the C-2 position of the carbapenem nucleus was prepared, and their activities against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were evaluated. First, a benzyl moiety was introduced at the C-6 position of imidazo[5,1-b]thiazole attached to the carbapenem. These benzylated molecules showed potent anti-MRSA activity, but poor water solubility. In order to overcome this drawback, we designed and synthesized di- and tricationic carbapenems and finally discovered a novel carbapenem (15i), which exhibited excellent anti-MRSA activity and good water solubility.

Application of an imaging system to a museum exhibition for developing interactive exhibitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyata, Kimiyoshi; Inoue, Yuka; Takiguchi, Takahiro; Tsumura, Norimichi; Nakaguchi, Toshiya; Miyake, Yoichi

2009-10-01

In the National Museum of Japanese History, 215,759 artifacts are stored and used for research and exhibitions. In museums, due to the limitation of space in the galleries, a guidance system is required to satisfy visitors' needs and to enhance their understanding of the artifacts. We introduce one exhibition using imaging technology to improve visitors' understanding of a kimono (traditional Japanese clothing) exhibition. In the imaging technology introduced, one data projector, one display with touch panel interface, and magnifiers were used as exhibition tools together with a real kimono. The validity of this exhibition method was confirmed by results from a visitors' interview survey. Second, to further develop the interactive guidance system, an augmented reality system that consisted of cooperation between the projector and a digital video camera was also examined. A white paper board in the observer's hand was used as a projection screen and also as an interface to control the images projected on the board. The basic performance of the proposed system was confirmed; however continuous development was necessary for applying the system to actual exhibitions.

Discovery of a potent and highly specific β2 proteasome inhibitor from a library of copper complexes.

PubMed

Zhou, Tongliang; Cai, Yuanbo; Liang, Lei; Yang, Lingfei; Xu, Fengrong; Niu, Yan; Wang, Chao; Zhang, Jun-Long; Xu, Ping

2016-12-01

We reported the synthesis, characterization and biological activity of several copper(II) Schiff base complexes, which exhibit high proteasome inhibitory activities with particular selectivity of β 2 subunit. Structure-activity relationships information obtained from complex Na 2 [Cu(a4s1)] demonstrated that distinct bonding modes in β 2 and β 5 subunits determines its selectivity and potent inhibition for β 2 subunit. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A novel peptide with potent and broad-spectrum antiviral activities against multiple respiratory viruses

PubMed Central

Zhao, Hanjun; Zhou, Jie; Zhang, Ke; Chu, Hin; Liu, Dabin; Poon, Vincent Kwok-Man; Chan, Chris Chung-Sing; Leung, Ho-Chuen; Fai, Ng; Lin, Yong-Ping; Zhang, Anna Jin-Xia; Jin, Dong-Yan; Yuen, Kwok-Yung; Zheng, Bo-Jian

2016-01-01

A safe, potent and broad-spectrum antiviral is urgently needed to combat emerging respiratory viruses. In light of the broad antiviral activity of β-defensins, we tested the antiviral activity of 11 peptides derived from mouse β-defensin-4 and found that a short peptide, P9, exhibited potent and broad-spectrum antiviral effects against multiple respiratory viruses in vitro and in vivo, including influenza A virus H1N1, H3N2, H5N1, H7N7, H7N9, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. The antiviral activity of P9 was attributed to its high-affinity binding to viral glycoproteins, as well as the abundance of basic amino acids in its composition. After binding viral particles through viral surface glycoproteins, P9 entered into cells together with the viruses via endocytosis and prevented endosomal acidification, which blocked membrane fusion and subsequent viral RNA release. This study has paved the avenue for developing new prophylactic and therapeutic agents with broad-spectrum antiviral activities. PMID:26911565

Ribosome-inactivating proteins: potent poisons and molecular tools.

PubMed

Walsh, Matthew J; Dodd, Jennifer E; Hautbergue, Guillaume M

2013-11-15

Ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) were first isolated over a century ago and have been shown to be catalytic toxins that irreversibly inactivate protein synthesis. Elucidation of atomic structures and molecular mechanism has revealed these proteins to be a diverse group subdivided into two classes. RIPs have been shown to exhibit RNA N-glycosidase activity and depurinate the 28S rRNA of the eukaryotic 60S ribosomal subunit. In this review, we compare archetypal RIP family members with other potent toxins that abolish protein synthesis: the fungal ribotoxins which directly cleave the 28S rRNA and the newly discovered Burkholderia lethal factor 1 (BLF1). BLF1 presents additional challenges to the current classification system since, like the ribotoxins, it does not possess RNA N-glycosidase activity but does irreversibly inactivate ribosomes. We further discuss whether the RIP classification should be broadened to include toxins achieving irreversible ribosome inactivation with similar turnovers to RIPs, but through different enzymatic mechanisms.

Masitinib (AB1010), a Potent and Selective Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Targeting KIT

PubMed Central

Dubreuil, Patrice; Letard, Sébastien; Ciufolini, Marco; Gros, Laurent; Humbert, Martine; Castéran, Nathalie; Borge, Laurence; Hajem, Bérengère; Lermet, Anne; Sippl, Wolfgang; Voisset, Edwige; Arock, Michel; Auclair, Christian; Leventhal, Phillip S.; Mansfield, Colin D.; Moussy, Alain; Hermine, Olivier

2009-01-01

Background The stem cell factor receptor, KIT, is a target for the treatment of cancer, mastocytosis, and inflammatory diseases. Here, we characterise the in vitro and in vivo profiles of masitinib (AB1010), a novel phenylaminothiazole-type tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets KIT. Methodology/Principal Findings In vitro, masitinib had greater activity and selectivity against KIT than imatinib, inhibiting recombinant human wild-type KIT with an half inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 200±40 nM and blocking stem cell factor-induced proliferation and KIT tyrosine phosphorylation with an IC50 of 150±80 nM in Ba/F3 cells expressing human or mouse wild-type KIT. Masitinib also potently inhibited recombinant PDGFR and the intracellular kinase Lyn, and to a lesser extent, fibroblast growth factor receptor 3. In contrast, masitinib demonstrated weak inhibition of ABL and c-Fms and was inactive against a variety of other tyrosine and serine/threonine kinases. This highly selective nature of masitinib suggests that it will exhibit a better safety profile than other tyrosine kinase inhibitors; indeed, masitinib-induced cardiotoxicity or genotoxicity has not been observed in animal studies. Molecular modelling and kinetic analysis suggest a different mode of binding than imatinib, and masitinib more strongly inhibited degranulation, cytokine production, and bone marrow mast cell migration than imatinib. Furthermore, masitinib potently inhibited human and murine KIT with activating mutations in the juxtamembrane domain. In vivo, masitinib blocked tumour growth in mice with subcutaneous grafts of Ba/F3 cells expressing a juxtamembrane KIT mutant. Conclusions Masitinib is a potent and selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting KIT that is active, orally bioavailable in vivo, and has low toxicity. PMID:19789626

Citrus fruit and fabacea secondary metabolites potently and selectively block TRPM3

PubMed Central

Straub, I; Mohr, F; Stab, J; Konrad, M; Philipp, SE; Oberwinkler, J; Schaefer, M

2013-01-01

Background and Purpose The melastatin-related transient receptor potential TRPM3 is a calcium-permeable nonselective cation channel that can be activated by the neurosteroid pregnenolone sulphate (PregS) and heat. TRPM3-deficient mice show an impaired perception of noxious heat. Hence, drugs inhibiting TRPM3 possibly get in focus of analgesic therapy. Experimental Approach Fluorometric methods were used to identify novel TRPM3-blocking compounds and to characterize their potency and selectivity to block TRPM3 but not other sensory TRP channels. Biophysical properties of the block were assessed using electrophysiological methods. Single cell calcium measurements confirmed the block of endogenously expressed TRPM3 channels in rat and mouse dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurones. Key Results By screening a compound library, we identified three natural compounds as potent blockers of TRPM3. Naringenin and hesperetin belong to the citrus fruit flavanones, and ononetin is a deoxybenzoin. Eriodictyol, a metabolite of naringenin and hesperetin, was still biologically active as a TRPM3 blocker. The compounds exhibited a marked specificity for recombinant TRPM3 and blocked PregS-induced [Ca2+]i signals in freshly isolated DRG neurones. Conclusion and Implications The data indicate that citrus fruit flavonoids are potent and selective blockers of TRPM3. Their potencies ranged from upper nanomolar to lower micromolar concentrations. Since physiological functions of TRPM3 channels are still poorly defined, the development and validation of potent and selective blockers is expected to contribute to clarifying the role of TRPM3 in vivo. Considering the involvement of TRPM3 in nociception, TRPM3 blockers may represent a novel concept for analgesic treatment. PMID:23190005

Citrus fruit and fabacea secondary metabolites potently and selectively block TRPM3.

PubMed

Straub, I; Mohr, F; Stab, J; Konrad, M; Philipp, S E; Oberwinkler, J; Schaefer, M

2013-04-01

The melastatin-related transient receptor potential TRPM3 is a calcium-permeable nonselective cation channel that can be activated by the neurosteroid pregnenolone sulphate (PregS) and heat. TRPM3-deficient mice show an impaired perception of noxious heat. Hence, drugs inhibiting TRPM3 possibly get in focus of analgesic therapy. Fluorometric methods were used to identify novel TRPM3-blocking compounds and to characterize their potency and selectivity to block TRPM3 but not other sensory TRP channels. Biophysical properties of the block were assessed using electrophysiological methods. Single cell calcium measurements confirmed the block of endogenously expressed TRPM3 channels in rat and mouse dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurones. By screening a compound library, we identified three natural compounds as potent blockers of TRPM3. Naringenin and hesperetin belong to the citrus fruit flavanones, and ononetin is a deoxybenzoin. Eriodictyol, a metabolite of naringenin and hesperetin, was still biologically active as a TRPM3 blocker. The compounds exhibited a marked specificity for recombinant TRPM3 and blocked PregS-induced [Ca(2+)]i signals in freshly isolated DRG neurones. The data indicate that citrus fruit flavonoids are potent and selective blockers of TRPM3. Their potencies ranged from upper nanomolar to lower micromolar concentrations. Since physiological functions of TRPM3 channels are still poorly defined, the development and validation of potent and selective blockers is expected to contribute to clarifying the role of TRPM3 in vivo. Considering the involvement of TRPM3 in nociception, TRPM3 blockers may represent a novel concept for analgesic treatment. © 2012 The Authors. British Journal of Pharmacology © 2012 The British Pharmacological Society.

The pharmacological profile of CGP 28238, a novel highly potent anti-inflammatory compound.

PubMed

Wiesenberg-Boettcher, I; Schweizer, A; Green, J R; Mueller, K; Maerki, F; Pfeilschifter, J

1989-01-01

CGP 28238 (6-(2,4-difluorophenoxy)-5-methylsulfonylamino-1-indanone ) exhibits very potent anti-inflammatory activity in rat adjuvant arthritis (ED40 = 0.05 mg/kg, p.o.) and pronounced analgesic and antipyretic activity in acute models in mice and rats (ED50 2-5 mg/kg, p.o.), but has clear advantages over reference NSAIDs with respect to gastro-intestinal tolerability. Threshold doses for gastro-intestinal ulcerogenicity in rats after single and repeated (10x) doses were found to be 30 mg/kg, p.o., and prostaglandin (PGE2) production in rat gastric and ileal mucosa was only marginally inhibited (ED50 greater than 30 mg/kg, p.o.). On the other hand, PGE2 production in rat inflammatory exudate and thromboxane synthesis in rat blood were inhibited with ED50 values of less than or equal to 2 mg/kg, p.o. Although CGP28238 does not inhibit cyclooxygenase in bovine seminal vesicle microsomal preparations (IC50 greater than 10(-3) mol/l), potent inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis was shown in various in vitro systems using human and animal cells with IC50 values of less than 10(-6) mol/l. IL-1-stimulated bone resorption and PGE2 production in murine calvarial cultures were inhibited with IC50 values of 3 x 10(-7) and 2 x 10(-8) mol/l, respectively. 5-Lipoxygenase (murine macrophages), phospholipase A2 (human PMN) and phospholipase C (human platelets) were not inhibited. CGP 28238 may represent a novel highly potent anti-inflammatory compound with improved gastro-intestinal safety.

Synthesis of a novel adamantyl nitroxide derivative with potent anti-hepatoma activity in vitro and in vivo

PubMed Central

Sun, Jin; Wang, Shan; Bu, Wei; Wei, Meng-Ying; Li, Wei-Wei; Yao, Min-Na; Ma, Zhong-Ying; Lu, Cheng-Tao; Li, Hui-Hui; Hu, Na-Ping; Zhang, En-Hu; Yang, Guo-Dong; Wen, Ai-Dong; Zhu, Xiao-He

2016-01-01

In this study, a novel adamantyl nitroxide derivative was synthesized and its antitumor activities in vitro and in vivo were investigated. The adamantyl nitroxide derivative 4 displayed a potent anticancer activity against all the tested human hepatoma cells, especially with IC50 of 68.1 μM in Bel-7404 cells, compared to the positive control 5-FU (IC50=607.7 μM). The significant inhibition of cell growth was also observed in xenograft mouse model, with low toxicity. Compound 4 suppressed the cell migration and invasion, induced the G2/M phase arrest. Further mechanistic studies revealed that compound 4 induced cell death, which was accompanied with damaging mitochondria, increasing the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species, cleavages of caspase-9 and caspase-3, as well as activations of Bax and Bcl-2. These results confirmed that adamantyl nitroxide derivative exhibited selective antitumor activities via mitochondrial apoptosis pathway in Bel-7404 cells, and would be a potential anticancer agent for liver cancer. PMID:27429843

Structure-Based Design and Synthesis of Potent and Selective Matrix Metalloproteinase 13 Inhibitors.

PubMed

Choi, Jun Yong; Fuerst, Rita; Knapinska, Anna M; Taylor, Alexander B; Smith, Lyndsay; Cao, Xiaohang; Hart, P John; Fields, Gregg B; Roush, William R

2017-07-13

We describe the use of comparative structural analysis and structure-guided molecular design to develop potent and selective inhibitors (10d and (S)-17b) of matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP-13). We applied a three-step process, starting with a comparative analysis of the X-ray crystallographic structure of compound 5 in complex with MMP-13 with published structures of known MMP-13·inhibitor complexes followed by molecular design and synthesis of potent but nonselective zinc-chelating MMP inhibitors (e.g., 10a and 10b). After demonstrating that the pharmacophores of the chelating inhibitors (S)-10a, (R)-10a, and 10b were binding within the MMP-13 active site, the Zn 2+ chelating unit was replaced with nonchelating polar residues that bridged over the Zn 2+ binding site and reached into a solvent accessible area. After two rounds of structural optimization, these design approaches led to small molecule MMP-13 inhibitors 10d and (S)-17b, which bind within the substrate-binding site of MMP-13 and surround the catalytically active Zn 2+ ion without chelating to the metal. These compounds exhibit at least 500-fold selectivity versus other MMPs.

New World feline APOBEC3 potently controls inter-genus lentiviral transmission.

PubMed

Konno, Yoriyuki; Nagaoka, Shumpei; Kimura, Izumi; Yamamoto, Keisuke; Kagawa, Yumiko; Kumata, Ryuichi; Aso, Hirofumi; Ueda, Mahoko Takahashi; Nakagawa, So; Kobayashi, Tomoko; Koyanagi, Yoshio; Sato, Kei

2018-04-10

The apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide-like 3 (APOBEC3; A3) gene family appears only in mammalian genomes. Some A3 proteins can be incorporated into progeny virions and inhibit lentiviral replication. In turn, the lentiviral viral infectivity factor (Vif) counteracts the A3-mediated antiviral effect by degrading A3 proteins. Recent investigations have suggested that lentiviral vif genes evolved to combat mammalian APOBEC3 proteins, and have further proposed that the Vif-A3 interaction may help determine the co-evolutionary history of cross-species lentiviral transmission in mammals. Here we address the co-evolutionary relationship between two New World felids, the puma (Puma concolor) and the bobcat (Lynx rufus), and their lentiviruses, which are designated puma lentiviruses (PLVs). We demonstrate that PLV-A Vif counteracts the antiviral action of APOBEC3Z3 (A3Z3) of both puma and bobcat, whereas PLV-B Vif counteracts only puma A3Z3. The species specificity of PLV-B Vif is irrespective of the phylogenic relationships of feline species in the genera Puma, Lynx and Acinonyx. We reveal that the amino acid at position 178 in the puma and bobcat A3Z3 is exposed on the protein surface and determines the sensitivity to PLV-B Vif-mediated degradation. Moreover, although both the puma and bobcat A3Z3 genes are polymorphic, their sensitivity/resistance to PLV Vif-mediated degradation is conserved. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study suggesting that the host A3 protein potently controls inter-genus lentiviral transmission. Our findings provide the first evidence suggesting that the co-evolutionary arms race between lentiviruses and mammals has occurred in the New World.

Citrate- and Succinate-Modified Carbonate Apatite Nanoparticles with Loaded Doxorubicin Exhibit Potent Anticancer Activity against Breast Cancer Cells

PubMed Central

Mehbuba Hossain, Sultana; Chowdhury, Ezharul Hoque

2018-01-01

Biodegradable inorganic apatite-based particle complex is popular for its pH-sensitivity at the endosomal acidic environment to facilitate drug release following cellular uptake. Despite being a powerful anticancer drug, doxorubicin shows severe off-target effects and therefore would need a carrier for the highest effectiveness. We aimed to chemically modify carbonate apatite (CA) with Krebs cycle intermediates, such as citrate and succinate in order to control the growth of the resultant particles to more efficiently carry and transport the anticancer drug into the cancer cells. Citrate- or succinate-modified CA particles were synthesized with different concentrations of sodium citrate or sodium succinate, respectively, in the absence or presence of doxorubicin. The drug loading efficiency of the particles and their cellular uptake were observed by quantifying fluorescence intensity. The average diameter and surface charge of the particles were determined using Zetasizer. Cell viability was assessed by MTT assay. Citrate-modified carbonate apatite (CMCA) exhibited the highest (31.38%) binding affinity for doxorubicin and promoted rapid cellular uptake of the drug, leading to the half-maximal inhibitory concentration 1000 times less than that of the free drug in MCF-7 cells. Hence, CMCA nanoparticles with greater surface area enhance cytotoxicity in different breast cancer cells by enabling higher loading and more efficient cellular uptake of the drug. PMID:29534497

Novel Gallate Triphenylphosphonium Derivatives with Potent Antichagasic Activity

PubMed Central

Cortes, Leonel A.; Castro, Lorena; Pesce, Bárbara; Maya, Juan D.; Ferreira, Jorge; Castro-Castillo, Vicente; Parra, Eduardo; Jara, José A.; López-Muñoz, Rodrigo

2015-01-01

Chagas disease is one of the most neglected tropical diseases in the world, affecting nearly 15 million people, primarily in Latin America. Only two drugs are used for the treatment of this disease, nifurtimox and benznidazole. These drugs have limited efficacy and frequently induce adverse effects, limiting their usefulness. Consequently, new drugs must be found. In this study, we demonstrated the in vitro trypanocidal effects of a series of four gallic acid derivatives characterized by a gallate group linked to a triphenylphosphonium (TPP+) moiety (a delocalized cation) via a hydrocarbon chain of 8, 10, 11, or 12 atoms (TPP+-C8, TPP+-C10, TPP+-C11, and TPP+-C12, respectively). We analyzed parasite viability in isolated parasites (by MTT reduction and flow cytometry) and infected mammalian cells using T. cruzi Y strain trypomastigotes. Among the four derivatives, TPP+-C10 and TPP+-C12 were the most potent in both models, with EC50 values (in isolated parasites) of 1.0 ± 0.6 and 1.0 ± 0.7 μM, respectively, and were significantly more potent than nifurtimox (EC50 = 4.1 ± 0.6 μM). At 1 μM, TPP+-C10 and TPP+-C12 induced markers of cell death, such as phosphatidylserine exposure and propidium iodide permeabilization. In addition, at 1 μM, TPP+-C10 and TPP+-C12 significantly decreased the number of intracellular amastigotes (TPP+-C10: 24.3%, TPP+-C12: 19.0% of control measurements, as measured by DAPI staining) and the parasite’s DNA load (C10: 10%, C12: 13% of control measurements, as measured by qPCR). Based on the previous mode of action described for these compounds in cancer cells, we explored their mitochondrial effects in isolated trypomastigotes. TPP+-C10 and TPP+-C12 were the most potent compounds, significantly altering mitochondrial membrane potential at 1 μM (measured by JC-1 fluorescence) and inducing mitochondrial transition pore opening at 5 μM. Taken together, these results indicate that the TPP+-C10 and TPP+-C12 derivatives of gallic acid are

Bis-Cyclic-Guanidine as a Novel Class of Compounds Potent Against Clostridium Difficile.

PubMed

Li, Chunhui; Teng, Peng; Peng, Zhong; Sang, Peng; Sun, Xingmin; Cai, Jianfeng

2018-05-16

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) symptoms range from diarrhea to severe toxic megacolon and even death. Due to its rapid acquisition of resistance, C. difficile is listed as an urgent antibiotic-resistant threat, and has surpassed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) as the most common hospital-acquired infections in the USA. To combat the pathogen, the new structural class of pseudo peptides that exhibit antimicrobial activities could play an important role. Herein, we report that bis-cyclic guanidine compounds that exhibit potent antibacterial activity against C. difficile with decent selectivity. Eight compounds showed high in vitro potency against C. difficile UK6 with MIC of 1.0 μg/mL, and cytotoxic selectivity index (SI) up to 37. Moreover, the most selective compound 13 is also effective upon the treatment of C. difficile-induced diseases in the mouse model of CDI, and appears to be a very promising new candidate for the treatment of CDI. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Hit-to-Lead Optimization of a Novel Class of Potent, Broad-Spectrum Trypanosomacides.

PubMed

Russell, Stephanie; Rahmani, Raphaël; Jones, Amy J; Newson, Harriet L; Neilde, Kevin; Cotillo, Ignacio; Rahmani Khajouei, Marzieh; Ferrins, Lori; Qureishi, Sana; Nguyen, Nghi; Martinez-Martinez, Maria S; Weaver, Donald F; Kaiser, Marcel; Riley, Jennifer; Thomas, John; De Rycker, Manu; Read, Kevin D; Flematti, Gavin R; Ryan, Eileen; Tanghe, Scott; Rodriguez, Ana; Charman, Susan A; Kessler, Albane; Avery, Vicky M; Baell, Jonathan B; Piggott, Matthew J

2016-11-10

The parasitic trypanosomes Trypanosoma brucei and T. cruzi are responsible for significant human suffering in the form of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) and Chagas disease. Drugs currently available to treat these neglected diseases leave much to be desired. Herein we report optimization of a novel class of N-(2-(2-phenylthiazol-4-yl)ethyl)amides, carbamates, and ureas, which rapidly, selectively, and potently kill both species of trypanosome. The mode of action of these compounds is unknown but does not involve CYP51 inhibition. They do, however, exhibit clear structure-activity relationships, consistent across both trypanosome species. Favorable physicochemical parameters place the best compounds in CNS drug-like chemical space but, as a class, they exhibit poor metabolic stability. One of the best compounds (64a) cleared all signs of T. cruzi infection in mice when CYP metabolism was inhibited, with sterile cure achieved in one mouse. This family of compounds thus shows significant promise for trypanosomiasis drug discovery.

Novel STAT3 phosphorylation inhibitors exhibit potent growth suppressive activity in pancreatic and breast cancer cells

PubMed Central

Lin, Li; Hutzen, Brian; Zuo, Mingxin; Ball, Sarah; Deangelis, Stephanie; Foust, Elizabeth; Pandit, Bulbul; Ihnat, Michael A.; Shenoy, Satyendra S.; Kulp, Samuel; Li, Pui-Kai; Li, Chenglong; Fuchs, James; Lin, Jiayuh

2010-01-01

The constitutive activation of Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) is frequently detected in most types of human cancer where it plays important roles in survival, drug-resistance, angiogenesis, and other functions. Targeting constitutive STAT3 signaling is thus an attractive therapeutic approach for these cancers. We have recently developed novel small molecule STAT3 inhibitors known as FLLL31 and FLLL32, which are derived from curcumin (the primary bioactive compound of turmeric). These compounds are designed to bind selectively to Janus Kinase 2 (JAK2) and the STAT3 SH2 domain, which serves crucial roles in STAT3 dimerization and signal transduction. Here we show that FLLL31 and FLLL32 are effective inhibitors of STAT3 phosphorylation, DNA binding activity, and transactivation in vitro, leading to the impediment of multiple oncogenic processes and the induction of apoptosis in pancreatic and breast cancer cell lines. FLLL31 and FLLL32 also inhibit colony formation in soft agar, cell invasion, and exhibit synergy with the anti-cancer drug doxorubicin against breast cancer cells. In addition, we show that FLLL32 can inhibit the induction of STAT3 phosphorylation by Interferon-α (IFNα) and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) in breast cancer cells. We also demonstrate that administration of FLLL32 can inhibit tumor growth and vascularity in chicken embryo xenografts as well as substantially reduce tumor volumes in mouse xenografts. Our findings highlight the potential of these new compounds and their efficacy in targeting pancreatic and breast cancers that exhibit constitutive STAT3 signaling. PMID:20215512

Discovery of potent and selective cytotoxic activity of new quinazoline-ureas against TMZ-resistant glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

PubMed

Elkamhawy, Ahmed; Viswanath, Ambily Nath Indu; Pae, Ae Nim; Kim, Hyeon Young; Heo, Jin-Chul; Park, Woo-Kyu; Lee, Chong-Ock; Yang, Heekyoung; Kim, Kang Ho; Nam, Do-Hyun; Seol, Ho Jun; Cho, Heeyeong; Roh, Eun Joo

2015-10-20

Herein, we report new quinazoline-urea based compounds with potent cytotoxic activities against TMZ-resistant glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cells. Low micromolar IC₅₀ values were exhibited over a panel of three primary GBM patient-derived cell cultures belonging to proneural (GBM-1), mesenchymal (GBM-2), and classical (GBM-3) subtypes. Eight compounds showed excellent selectivity indices for GBM cells comparing to a normal astrocyte cell line. In JC-1 assay, analogues 11, 12, 20, 22, and 24 exerted promising rates of mPTP opening induction towards proneural GBM subtype. Compounds 11, 20, and 24 bound to the translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO) in submicromolar range using [(3)H] PK-11195 binding affinity assay. A homology model was built and docked models of 11, 12, 20, 22 and 24 were generated for describing their plausible binding modes in TSPO. In 3D clonogenic assay, compound 20 manifested potent tumoricidal effects on TMZ-resistant GBM cells even at submicromolar concentrations. In addition, CYP450 and hERG assays presented a safe toxicity profile of 20. Taken as a whole, this report presents compound 20 as a potent, selective and safe GBM cytotoxic agent which constitutes a promising direction against TMZ-resistant GBM. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

A Novel High-Mannose Specific Lectin from the Green Alga Halimeda renschii Exhibits a Potent Anti-Influenza Virus Activity through High-Affinity Binding to the Viral Hemagglutinin

PubMed Central

Mu, Jinmin; Hirayama, Makoto; Sato, Yuichiro; Morimoto, Kinjiro; Hori, Kanji

2017-01-01

We have isolated a novel lectin, named HRL40 from the green alga Halimeda renschii. In hemagglutination-inhibition test and oligosaccharide-binding experiment with 29 pyridylaminated oligosaccharides, HRL40 exhibited a strict binding specificity for high-mannose N-glycans having an exposed (α1-3) mannose residue in the D2 arm of branched mannosides, and did not have an affinity for monosaccharides and other oligosaccharides examined, including complex N-glycans, an N-glycan core pentasaccharide, and oligosaccharides from glycolipids. The carbohydrate binding profile of HRL40 resembled those of Type I high-mannose specific antiviral algal lectins, or the Oscillatoria agardhii agglutinin (OAA) family, which were previously isolated from red algae and a blue-green alga (cyanobacterium). HRL40 potently inhibited the infection of influenza virus (A/H3N2/Udorn/72) into NCI-H292 cells with half-maximal effective dose (ED50) of 2.45 nM through high-affinity binding to a viral envelope hemagglutinin (KD, 3.69 × 10−11 M). HRL40 consisted of two isolectins (HRL40-1 and HRL40-2), which could be separated by reverse-phase HPLC. Both isolectins had the same molecular weight of 46,564 Da and were a disulfide -linked tetrameric protein of a 11,641 Da polypeptide containing at least 13 half-cystines. Thus, HRL40, which is the first Type I high-mannose specific antiviral lectin from the green alga, had the same carbohydrate binding specificity as the OAA family, but a molecular structure distinct from the family. PMID:28813016

18β-Glycyrrhetinic Acid Derivatives Possessing a Trihydroxylated A Ring Are Potent Gram-Positive Antibacterial Agents.

PubMed

Huang, Li-Rong; Hao, Xiao-Jiang; Li, Qi-Ji; Wang, Dao-Ping; Zhang, Jian-Xin; Luo, Heng; Yang, Xiao-Sheng

2016-04-22

The oleanane-type triterpene 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid (1) was modified chemically through the introduction of a trihydroxylated A ring and an ester moiety at C-20 to enhance its antibacterial activity. Compounds 22, 23, 25, 28, 29, 31, and 32 showed more potent inhibitory activity against Streptomyces scabies than the positive control, streptomycin. Additionally, the inhibitory activity of the most potent compound, 29, against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was greater than that of the positive controls. The antibacterial mode of action of the active derivatives involved the regulation of the expression of genes associated with peptidoglycans, the respiratory metabolism, and the inherent virulence factors found in bacteria, as determined through a quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR assay.

Former Abusers of Anabolic Androgenic Steroids Exhibit Decreased Testosterone Levels and Hypogonadal Symptoms Years after Cessation: A Case-Control Study.

PubMed

Rasmussen, Jon Jarløv; Selmer, Christian; Østergren, Peter Busch; Pedersen, Karen Boje; Schou, Morten; Gustafsson, Finn; Faber, Jens; Juul, Anders; Kistorp, Caroline

2016-01-01

Abuse of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) is highly prevalent among male recreational athletes. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of AAS abuse on reproductive hormone levels and symptoms suggestive of hypogonadism in current and former AAS abusers. This study had a cross-sectional case-control design and involved 37 current AAS abusers, 33 former AAS abusers (mean (95%CI) elapsed duration since AAS cessation: 2.5 (1.7; 3.7) years) and 30 healthy control participants. All participants were aged 18-50 years and were involved in recreational strength training. Reproductive hormones (FSH, LH, testosterone, inhibin B and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH)) were measured using morning blood samples. Symptoms of hypogonadism (depressive symptoms, fatigue, decreased libido and erectile dysfunction) were recorded systematically. Former AAS abusers exhibited significantly lower median (25th -75th percentiles) total and free testosterone levels than control participants (total testosterone: 14.4 (11.9-17.7) nmol/l vs. 18.8 (16.6-22.0) nmol/l) (P < 0.01). Overall, 27.2% (13.3; 45.5) of former AAS abusers exhibited plasma total testosterone levels below the lower reference limit (12.1 nmol/l) whereas no control participants exhibited testosterone below this limit (P < 0.01). Gonadotropins were significantly suppressed, and inhibin B and AMH were significantly decreased in current AAS abusers compared with former AAS abusers and control participants (P < 0.01). The group of former AAS abusers had higher proportions of participants with depressive symptoms ((24.2%) (11.1; 42.2)), erectile dysfunction ((27.3%) (13.3; 45.6)) and decreased libido ((40.1%) (23.2; 57.0)) than the other two groups (trend analyses: P < 0.05). Former AAS abusers exhibited significantly lower plasma testosterone levels and higher frequencies of symptoms suggestive of hypogonadism than healthy control participants years after AAS cessation. Current AAS abusers exhibited severely

Discovery of a tetrahydropyrimidin-2(1H)-one derivative (TAK-442) as a potent, selective, and orally active factor Xa inhibitor.

PubMed

Fujimoto, Takuya; Imaeda, Yasuhiro; Konishi, Noriko; Hiroe, Katsuhiko; Kawamura, Masaki; Textor, Garret P; Aertgeerts, Kathleen; Kubo, Keiji

2010-05-13

Coagulation enzyme factor Xa (FXa) is a particularly promising target for the development of new anticoagulant agents. We previously reported the imidazo[1,5-c]imidazol-3-one derivative 1 as a potent and orally active FXa inhibitor. However, it was found that 1 predominantly undergoes hydrolysis upon incubation with human liver microsomes, and the human specific metabolic pathway made it difficult to predict the human pharmacokinetics. To address this issue, our synthetic efforts were focused on modification of the imidazo[1,5-c]imidazol-3-one moiety of the active metabolite 3a, derived from 1, which resulted in the discovery of the tetrahydropyrimidin-2(1H)-one derivative 5k as a highly potent and selective FXa inhibitor. Compound 5k showed no detectable amide bond cleavage in human liver microsomes, exhibited a good pharmacokinetic profile in monkeys, and had a potent antithrombotic efficacy in a rabbit model without prolongation of bleeding time. Compound 5k is currently under clinical development with the code name TAK-442.

A novel, potent dual inhibitor of Arg-gingipains and Lys-gingipain as a promising agent for periodontal disease therapy.

PubMed

Kataoka, Shinsuke; Baba, Atsuyo; Suda, Yoshimitsu; Takii, Ryosuke; Hashimoto, Munetaka; Kawakubo, Tomoyo; Asao, Tetsuji; Kadowaki, Tomoko; Yamamoto, Kenji

2014-08-01

The periodontal pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis produces a unique class of cysteine proteinases termed gingipains that comprises Arg-gingipain (Rgp) and Lys-gingipain (Kgp). Growing evidence indicates that these 2 types of gingipains synergistically contribute to the entire virulence of the organism and increase the risk of periodontal disease (PD) by disrupting the host immune system and degrading the host tissue and plasma proteins. Therefore, a dual inhibitor of both gingipains would have attractive clinical potential for PD therapy. In this study, a novel, potent, dual inhibitor of Rgp and Kgp was developed through structure-based drug design, and its biological potency was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. This inhibitor had low nanomolar inhibitory potency (Ki=40 nM for Rgp, Ki=0.27 nM for Kgp) and good selectivity for host proteases and exhibited potent antibacterial activity against P. gingivalis by abrogating its manifold pathophysiological functions. The therapeutic potential of this inhibitor in vivo was also verified by suppressing the vascular permeability that was enhanced in guinea pigs by the organism and the gingival inflammation in beagle dog PD models. These findings suggest that a dual inhibitor of Rgp and Kgp would exhibit noteworthy anti-inflammatory activity in the treatment of PD. © FASEB.

Synthesis and pharmacological characterization of novel xanthine carboxylate amides as A2A adenosine receptor ligands exhibiting bronchospasmolytic activity.

PubMed

Yadav, Rakesh; Bansal, Ranju; Rohilla, Suman; Kachler, Sonja; Klotz, Karl-Norbert

2016-04-01

The carboxylate amides of 8-phenyl-1,3-dimethylxanthine described herein represent a new series of selective ligands of the adenosine A2A receptors exhibiting bronchospasmolytic activity. The effects of location of 8-phenyl substitutions on the adenosine receptor (AR) binding affinities of the newly synthesized xanthines have also been studied. The compounds displayed moderate to potent binding affinities toward various adenosine receptor subtypes when evaluated through radioligand binding studies. However, most of the compounds showed the maximum affinity for the A2A subtype, some with high selectivity versus all other subtypes. Xanthine carboxylate amide 13b with a diethylaminoethylamino moiety at the para-position of the 8-phenylxanthine scaffold was identified as the most potent A2A adenosine receptor ligand with Ki=0.06μM. Similarly potent and highly A2A-selective are the isovanillin derivatives 16a and 16d. In addition, the newly synthesized xanthine derivatives showed good in vivo bronchospasmolytic activity when tested in guinea pigs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Potent virucidal effect of pheophorbide a and pyropheophorbide a on enveloped viruses.

PubMed

Bouslama, Lamjed; Hayashi, Kyoko; Lee, Jung-Bum; Ghorbel, Abdelwahed; Hayashi, Toshimitsu

2011-01-01

In this study, we evaluated the inhibitory effect of ethanol and aqueous extracts from a stem of Opuntia ficus indica on replication of three kinds of viruses: two enveloped viruses [herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), influenza A virus (IFV-A)], and one non-enveloped virus [poliovirus type 1 (PV-1)]. Only ethanol extract from the cactus stem showed significant antiviral activity in vitro. Two chlorophyll derivatives, pheophorbide a and pyropheophorbide a, were isolated as active substances exhibiting potent virucidal effects on HSV-2 and IFV-A, but no activity against PV-1 was observed. These findings suggest that these active compounds might recognize specific glycoproteins of enveloped viruses, precluding their binding to host cell receptors and inhibiting viral infections.

Potent HGF/c-Met axis inhibitors from Eucalyptus globulus: the coupling of phloroglucinol and sesquiterpenoid is essential for the activity.

PubMed

Yang, Sheng-Ping; Zhang, Xiao-Wei; Ai, Jing; Gan, Li-She; Xu, Jin-Biao; Wang, Ying; Su, Zu-Shang; Wang, Lu; Ding, Jian; Geng, Mei-Yu; Yue, Jian-Min

2012-09-27

Eucalyptin A (1), together with two known compounds 2 and 3 exhibiting potent inhibition on HGF/c-Met axis, was discovered from the fruits of Eucalyptus globulus. 1 possessed an unprecedented carbon framework of phloroglucinol-coupled sesquiterpenoid, and its structure was elucidated by spectroscopic method and ECD calculation. A brief structure-activity relationship discussion indicated that the coupling of a phloroglucinol and a sesquiterpenoid is essential for the activity.

Pharmacological characterization of potent and selective NaV1.7 inhibitors engineered from Chilobrachys jingzhao tarantula venom peptide JzTx-V.

PubMed

Moyer, Bryan D; Murray, Justin K; Ligutti, Joseph; Andrews, Kristin; Favreau, Philippe; Jordan, John B; Lee, Josie H; Liu, Dong; Long, Jason; Sham, Kelvin; Shi, Licheng; Stöcklin, Reto; Wu, Bin; Yin, Ruoyuan; Yu, Violeta; Zou, Anruo; Biswas, Kaustav; Miranda, Les P

2018-01-01

Identification of voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.7 inhibitors for chronic pain therapeutic development is an area of vigorous pursuit. In an effort to identify more potent leads compared to our previously reported GpTx-1 peptide series, electrophysiology screening of fractionated tarantula venom discovered the NaV1.7 inhibitory peptide JzTx-V from the Chinese earth tiger tarantula Chilobrachys jingzhao. The parent peptide displayed nominal selectivity over the skeletal muscle NaV1.4 channel. Attribute-based positional scan analoging identified a key Ile28Glu mutation that improved NaV1.4 selectivity over 100-fold, and further optimization yielded the potent and selective peptide leads AM-8145 and AM-0422. NMR analyses revealed that the Ile28Glu substitution changed peptide conformation, pointing to a structural rationale for the selectivity gains. AM-8145 and AM-0422 as well as GpTx-1 and HwTx-IV competed for ProTx-II binding in HEK293 cells expressing human NaV1.7, suggesting that these NaV1.7 inhibitory peptides interact with a similar binding site. AM-8145 potently blocked native tetrodotoxin-sensitive (TTX-S) channels in mouse dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons, exhibited 30- to 120-fold selectivity over other human TTX-S channels and exhibited over 1,000-fold selectivity over other human tetrodotoxin-resistant (TTX-R) channels. Leveraging NaV1.7-NaV1.5 chimeras containing various voltage-sensor and pore regions, AM-8145 mapped to the second voltage-sensor domain of NaV1.7. AM-0422, but not the inactive peptide analog AM-8374, dose-dependently blocked capsaicin-induced DRG neuron action potential firing using a multi-electrode array readout and mechanically-induced C-fiber spiking in a saphenous skin-nerve preparation. Collectively, AM-8145 and AM-0422 represent potent, new engineered NaV1.7 inhibitory peptides derived from the JzTx-V scaffold with improved NaV selectivity and biological activity in blocking action potential firing in both DRG neurons and C-fibers.

Pharmacological characterization of potent and selective NaV1.7 inhibitors engineered from Chilobrachys jingzhao tarantula venom peptide JzTx-V

PubMed Central

Murray, Justin K.; Ligutti, Joseph; Andrews, Kristin; Favreau, Philippe; Jordan, John B.; Lee, Josie H.; Liu, Dong; Long, Jason; Sham, Kelvin; Shi, Licheng; Stöcklin, Reto; Wu, Bin; Yin, Ruoyuan; Yu, Violeta; Zou, Anruo; Biswas, Kaustav; Miranda, Les P.

2018-01-01

Identification of voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.7 inhibitors for chronic pain therapeutic development is an area of vigorous pursuit. In an effort to identify more potent leads compared to our previously reported GpTx-1 peptide series, electrophysiology screening of fractionated tarantula venom discovered the NaV1.7 inhibitory peptide JzTx-V from the Chinese earth tiger tarantula Chilobrachys jingzhao. The parent peptide displayed nominal selectivity over the skeletal muscle NaV1.4 channel. Attribute-based positional scan analoging identified a key Ile28Glu mutation that improved NaV1.4 selectivity over 100-fold, and further optimization yielded the potent and selective peptide leads AM-8145 and AM-0422. NMR analyses revealed that the Ile28Glu substitution changed peptide conformation, pointing to a structural rationale for the selectivity gains. AM-8145 and AM-0422 as well as GpTx-1 and HwTx-IV competed for ProTx-II binding in HEK293 cells expressing human NaV1.7, suggesting that these NaV1.7 inhibitory peptides interact with a similar binding site. AM-8145 potently blocked native tetrodotoxin-sensitive (TTX-S) channels in mouse dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons, exhibited 30- to 120-fold selectivity over other human TTX-S channels and exhibited over 1,000-fold selectivity over other human tetrodotoxin-resistant (TTX-R) channels. Leveraging NaV1.7-NaV1.5 chimeras containing various voltage-sensor and pore regions, AM-8145 mapped to the second voltage-sensor domain of NaV1.7. AM-0422, but not the inactive peptide analog AM-8374, dose-dependently blocked capsaicin-induced DRG neuron action potential firing using a multi-electrode array readout and mechanically-induced C-fiber spiking in a saphenous skin-nerve preparation. Collectively, AM-8145 and AM-0422 represent potent, new engineered NaV1.7 inhibitory peptides derived from the JzTx-V scaffold with improved NaV selectivity and biological activity in blocking action potential firing in both DRG neurons and C

Discovery of Potent and Selective Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV Inhibitors Derived from [beta]-Aminoamides Bearing Subsituted Triazolopiperazines

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Dooseop; Kowalchick, Jennifer E.; Brockunier, Linda L.

2008-06-30

A series of {beta}-aminoamides bearing triazolopiperazines have been discovered as potent, selective, and orally active dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-4) inhibitors by extensive structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies around the triazolopiperazine moiety. Among these, compound 34b with excellent in vitro potency (IC{sub 50} = 4.3 nM) against DPP-4, high selectivity over other enzymes, and good pharmacokinetic profiles exhibited pronounced in vivo efficacy in an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in lean mice. On the basis of these properties, compound 34b has been profiled in detail. Further refinement of the triazolopiperazines resulted in the discovery of a series of extremely potent compounds withmore » subnanomolar activity against DPP-4 (42b-49b), that is, 4-fluorobenzyl-substituted compound 46b, which is notable for its superior potency (IC{sub 50} = 0.18 nM). X-ray crystal structure determination of compounds 34b and 46b in complex with DPP-4 enzyme revealed that (R)-stereochemistry at the 8-position of triazolopiperazines is strongly preferred over (S) with respect to DPP-4 inhibition.« less

Selectable antibiotic resistance marker gene-free transgenic rice harbouring the garlic leaf lectin gene exhibits resistance to sap-sucking planthoppers.

PubMed

Sengupta, Subhadipa; Chakraborti, Dipankar; Mondal, Hossain A; Das, Sampa

2010-03-01

Rice, the major food crop of world is severely affected by homopteran sucking pests. We introduced coding sequence of Allium sativum leaf agglutinin, ASAL, in rice cultivar IR64 to develop sustainable resistance against sap-sucking planthoppers as well as eliminated the selectable antibiotic-resistant marker gene hygromycin phosphotransferase (hpt) exploiting cre/lox site-specific recombination system. An expression vector was constructed containing the coding sequence of ASAL, a potent controlling agent against green leafhoppers (GLH, Nephotettix virescens) and brown planthopper (BPH, Nilaparvata lugens). The selectable marker (hpt) gene cassette was cloned within two lox sites of the same vector. Alongside, another vector was developed with chimeric cre recombinase gene cassette. Reciprocal crosses were performed between three single-copy T(0) plants with ASAL- lox-hpt-lox T-DNA and three single-copy T(0) plants with cre-bar T-DNA. Marker gene excisions were detected in T(1) hybrids through hygromycin sensitivity assay. Molecular analysis of T(1) plants exhibited 27.4% recombination efficiency. T(2) progenies of L03C04(1) hybrid parent showed 25% cre negative ASAL-expressing plants. Northern blot, western blot and ELISA showed significant level of ASAL expression in five marker-free T(2) progeny plants. In planta bioassay of GLH and BPH performed on these T(2) progenies exhibited radical reduction in survivability and fecundity compared with the untransformed control plants.

2,4-Dihydroxychalcone derivatives as novel potent cell division cycle 25B phosphatase inhibitors and protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B inhibitors.

PubMed

Xie, Chao; Sun, Yuan; Pan, Cheng-Yan; Tang, Li-Ming; Guan, Li-Ping

2014-04-01

Eleven 2,4-dihydroxychalcone compounds were synthesized and identified as reversible and competitive cell division cycle 25 (CDC25) B and protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) 1B inhibitors with inhibition values in the micromolar range. The results showed that nine compounds significantly inhibited CDC25B phosphatase, whereas seven compounds inhibited the activity against PTP1B in vitro. Compound 8 had the greatest inhibition activity against CDC25B and PTP1B in vitro, with percentage inhibition values of 97.5% and 96.3% at a dose of 20 microg/mL, respectively. Cytotoxic activity assays revealed that compound 8 was the most potent against HCT116, HeLa, and A549 cells. Furthermore, compound 8 exhibited potent antitumor activity in a colo205 xenograft model.

2-Aminobenzimidazoles as potent Aurora kinase inhibitors.

PubMed

Zhong, Min; Bui, Minna; Shen, Wang; Baskaran, Subramanian; Allen, Darin A; Elling, Robert A; Flanagan, W Michael; Fung, Amy D; Hanan, Emily J; Harris, Shannon O; Heumann, Stacey A; Hoch, Ute; Ivy, Sheryl N; Jacobs, Jeffrey W; Lam, Stuart; Lee, Heman; McDowell, Robert S; Oslob, Johan D; Purkey, Hans E; Romanowski, Michael J; Silverman, Jeffrey A; Tangonan, Bradley T; Taverna, Pietro; Yang, Wenjin; Yoburn, Josh C; Yu, Chul H; Zimmerman, Kristin M; O'Brien, Tom; Lew, Willard

2009-09-01

This Letter describes the discovery and key structure-activity relationship (SAR) of a series of 2-aminobenzimidazoles as potent Aurora kinase inhibitors. 2-Aminobenzimidazole serves as a bioisostere of the biaryl urea residue of SNS-314 (1c), which is a potent Aurora kinase inhibitor and entered clinical testing in patients with solid tumors. Compared to SNS-314, this series of compounds offers better aqueous solubility while retaining comparable in vitro potency in biochemical and cell-based assays; in particular, 6m has also demonstrated a comparable mouse iv PK profile to SNS-314.

6,7-Dimorpholinoalkoxy quinazoline derivatives as potent EGFR inhibitors with enhanced antiproliferative activities against tumor cells.

PubMed

Zhang, Yaling; Chen, Li; Xu, Hongjiang; Li, Xiabing; Zhao, Lijun; Wang, Wei; Li, Baolin; Zhang, Xiquan

2018-03-10

A series of novel 6,7-dimorpholinoalkoxy quinazoline derivatives was designed, synthesized and evaluated as potent EGFR inhibitors. Most of synthesized derivatives exhibited moderate to excellent antiproliferative activities against five human tumor cell lines. Compound 8d displayed the most remarkable inhibitory activities against tumor cells expressing wild type (A431, A549 and SW480 cells) or mutant (HCC827 and NCI-H1975 cells) epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) (with IC 50 values in the range of 0.37-4.87 μM), as well as more potent inhibitory effects against recombinant EGFR tyrosine kinase (EGFR-TK, wt or T790M) (with the IC 50 values of 7.0 and 9.3 nM, respectively). Molecular docking showed that 8d can form four hydrogen bonds with EGFR, and two of them were located in the Asp855-Phe856-Gly857 (DFG) motif of EGFR. Meanwhile, 8d can significantly block EGF-induced EGFR activation and the phosphorylation of its downstream proteins such as Akt and Erk1/2 in human NSCLC cells. Also, 8d mediated cell apoptosis and the prolongation of cell cycle progression in G0/G1-phase in A549 cells. The work would have remarkable implications for further design and development of more potent EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Lipoxins and novel 15-epi-lipoxin analogs display potent anti-inflammatory actions after oral administration.

PubMed

Bannenberg, Gerard; Moussignac, Rose-Laure; Gronert, Karsten; Devchand, Pallavi R; Schmidt, Birgitta A; Guilford, William J; Bauman, John G; Subramanyam, Babu; Perez, H Daniel; Parkinson, John F; Serhan, Charles N

2004-09-01

1. Lipoxins (LX) and aspirin-triggered 15-epi-lipoxins (ATL) exert potent anti-inflammatory actions. In the present study, we determined the anti-inflammatory efficacy of endogenous LXA(4) and LXB(4), the stable ATL analog ATLa2, and a series of novel 3-oxa-ATL analogs (ZK-996, ZK-990, ZK-994, and ZK-142) after intravenous, oral, and topical administration in mice. 2. LXA(4), LXB(4), ATLa2, and ZK-994 were orally active, exhibiting potent systemic inhibition of zymosan A-induced peritonitis at very low doses (50 ng kg(-1)-50 microg kg(-1)). 3. Intravenous ZK-994 and ZK-142 (500 microg kg(-1)) potently attenuated hind limb ischemia/reperfusion-induced lung injury, with 32+/-12 and 53+/-5% inhibition (P<0.05), respectively, of neutrophil accumulation in lungs. The same dose of ATLa2 had no significant protective action. 4. Topical application of ATLa2, ZK-994, and ZK-142 ( approximately 20 microg cm(-2)) prevented vascular leakage and neutrophil infiltration in LTB(4)/PGE(2)-stimulated ear skin inflammation. While ATLa2 and ZK-142 displayed approximately equal anti-inflammatory efficacy in this model, ZK-994 displayed a slower onset of action. 5. In summary, native LXA(4) and LXB(4), and analogs ATLa2, ZK-142, and ZK-994 retain broad anti-inflammatory effects after intravenous, oral, and topical administration. The 3-oxa-ATL analogs, which have enhanced metabolic and chemical stability and a superior pharmacokinetic profile, provide new opportunities to explore the actions and therapeutic potential for LX and ATL.

Potent, nonsteroidal selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) based on 8H-[1,4]oxazino[2,3-f]quinolin-8-ones.

PubMed

Higuchi, Robert I; Thompson, Anthony W; Chen, Jyun-Hung; Caferro, Thomas R; Cummings, Marquis L; Deckhut, Charlotte P; Adams, Mark E; Tegley, Christopher M; Edwards, James P; López, Francisco J; Kallel, E Adam; Karanewsky, Donald S; Schrader, William T; Marschke, Keith B; Zhi, Lin

2007-10-01

A series of androgen receptor modulators based on 8H-[1,4]oxazino[2,3-f]quinolin-8-ones was synthesized and evaluated in an androgen receptor transcriptional activation assay. The most potent analogues from the series exhibited single-digit nanomolar potency in vitro. Compound 18h demonstrated full efficacy in the maintenance of muscle weight, at 10 mg/kg, with reduced activity in prostate weight in an in vivo model of androgen action.

Discovery and characterization of a novel irreversible EGFR mutants selective and potent kinase inhibitor CHMFL-EGFR-26 with a distinct binding mode

PubMed Central

Chen, Cheng; Yu, Kailin; Zou, Fengming; Wang, Wenchao; Wang, Wei; Wu, Jiaxin; Liu, Juan; Wang, Beilei; Wang, Li; Ren, Tao; Zhang, Shanchun; Yun, Cai-Hong; Liu, Jing; Liu, Qingsong

2017-01-01

EGFR T790M mutation accounts for about 40-55% drug resistance for the first generation EGFR kinase inhibitors in the NSCLC. Starting from ibrutinib, a highly potent irreversible BTK kinase inhibitor, which was also found to be moderately active to EGFR T790M mutant, we discovered a highly potent irreversible EGFR inhibitor CHMFL-EGFR-26, which is selectively potent against EGFR mutants including L858R, del19, and L858R/T790M. It displayed proper selectivity window between the EGFR mutants and the wide-type. CHMFL-EGFR-26 exhibited good selectivity profile among 468 kinases/mutants tested (S score (1)=0.02). In addition, X-ray crystallography revealed a distinct “DFG-in” and “cHelix-out” inactive binding mode between CHMFL-EGFR-26 and EGFR T790M protein. The compound showed highly potent anti-proliferative efficacy against EGFR mutant but not wide-type NSCLC cell lines through effective inhibition of the EGFR mediated signaling pathway, induction of apoptosis and arresting of cell cycle progression. CHMFL-EGFR-26 bore acceptable pharmacokinetic properties and demonstrated dose-dependent tumor growth suppression in the H1975 (EGFR L858R/T790M) and PC-9 (EGFR del19) inoculated xenograft mouse models. Currently CHMFL-EGFR-26 is undergoing extensive pre-clinical evaluation for the clinical trial purpose. PMID:28407693

The Curcumin Analog C-150, Influencing NF-κB, UPR and Akt/Notch Pathways Has Potent Anticancer Activity In Vitro and In Vivo

PubMed Central

Hackler, László; Ózsvári, Béla; Gyuris, Márió; Sipos, Péter; Fábián, Gabriella; Molnár, Eszter; Marton, Annamária; Faragó, Nóra; Mihály, József; Nagy, Lajos István; Szénási, Tibor; Diron, Andrea; Párducz, Árpád; Kanizsai, Iván; Puskás, László G.

2016-01-01

C-150 a Mannich-type curcumin derivative, exhibited pronounced cytotoxic effects against eight glioma cell lines at micromolar concentrations. Inhibition of cell proliferation by C-150 was mediated by affecting multiple targets as confirmed at transcription and protein level. C-150 effectively reduced the transcription activation of NFkB, inhibited PKC-alpha which are constitutively over-expressed in glioblastoma. The effects of C-150 on the Akt/ Notch signaling were also demonstrated in a Drosophila tumorigenesis model. C-150 reduced the number of tumors in Drosophila with similar efficacy to mitoxantrone. In an in vivo orthotopic glioma model, C-150 significantly increased the median survival of treated nude rats compared to control animals. The multi-target action of C-150, and its preliminary in vivo efficacy would render this curcumin analogue as a potent clinical candidate against glioblastoma. PMID:26943907

The Curcumin Analog C-150, Influencing NF-κB, UPR and Akt/Notch Pathways Has Potent Anticancer Activity In Vitro and In Vivo.

PubMed

Hackler, László; Ózsvári, Béla; Gyuris, Márió; Sipos, Péter; Fábián, Gabriella; Molnár, Eszter; Marton, Annamária; Faragó, Nóra; Mihály, József; Nagy, Lajos István; Szénási, Tibor; Diron, Andrea; Párducz, Árpád; Kanizsai, Iván; Puskás, László G

2016-01-01

C-150 a Mannich-type curcumin derivative, exhibited pronounced cytotoxic effects against eight glioma cell lines at micromolar concentrations. Inhibition of cell proliferation by C-150 was mediated by affecting multiple targets as confirmed at transcription and protein level. C-150 effectively reduced the transcription activation of NFkB, inhibited PKC-alpha which are constitutively over-expressed in glioblastoma. The effects of C-150 on the Akt/ Notch signaling were also demonstrated in a Drosophila tumorigenesis model. C-150 reduced the number of tumors in Drosophila with similar efficacy to mitoxantrone. In an in vivo orthotopic glioma model, C-150 significantly increased the median survival of treated nude rats compared to control animals. The multi-target action of C-150, and its preliminary in vivo efficacy would render this curcumin analogue as a potent clinical candidate against glioblastoma.

Identification of an imidazopyridine scaffold to generate potent and selective TYK2 inhibitors that demonstrate activity in an in vivo psoriasis model.

PubMed

Liang, Jun; Van Abbema, Anne; Balazs, Mercedesz; Barrett, Kathy; Berezhkovsky, Leo; Blair, Wade S; Chang, Christine; Delarosa, Donnie; DeVoss, Jason; Driscoll, Jim; Eigenbrot, Charles; Goodacre, Simon; Ghilardi, Nico; MacLeod, Calum; Johnson, Adam; Bir Kohli, Pawan; Lai, Yingjie; Lin, Zhonghua; Mantik, Priscilla; Menghrajani, Kapil; Nguyen, Hieu; Peng, Ivan; Sambrone, Amy; Shia, Steven; Smith, Jan; Sohn, Sue; Tsui, Vickie; Ultsch, Mark; Williams, Karen; Wu, Lawren C; Yang, Wenqian; Zhang, Birong; Magnuson, Steven

2017-09-15

Herein we report identification of an imidazopyridine class of potent and selective TYK2 inhibitors, exemplified by prototype 6, through constraint of the rotatable amide bond connecting the pyridine and aryl rings of compound 1. Further optimization led to generation of compound 30 that potently inhibits the TYK2 enzyme and the IL-23 pathway in cells, exhibits selectivity against cellular JAK2 activity, and has good pharmacokinetic properties. In mice, compound 30 demonstrated dose-dependent reduction of IL-17 production in a PK/PD model as well as in an imiquimod-induced psoriasis model. In this efficacy model, the IL-17 decrease was accompanied by a reduction of ear thickness indicating the potential of TYK2 inhibition as a therapeutic approach for psoriasis patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Antifreeze Protein Mimetic Metallohelices with Potent Ice Recrystallization Inhibition Activity.

PubMed

Mitchell, Daniel E; Clarkson, Guy; Fox, David J; Vipond, Rebecca A; Scott, Peter; Gibson, Matthew I

2017-07-26

Antifreeze proteins are produced by extremophile species to control ice formation and growth, and they have potential applications in many fields. There are few examples of synthetic materials which can reproduce their potent ice recrystallization inhibition property. We report that self-assembled enantiomerically pure, amphipathic metallohelicies inhibited ice growth at just 20 μM. Structure-property relationships and calculations support the hypothesis that amphipathicity is the key motif for activity. This opens up a new field of metallo-organic antifreeze protein mimetics and provides insight into the origins of ice-growth inhibition.

Homeopathic potentization based on nanoscale domains.

PubMed

Czerlinski, George; Ypma, Tjalling

2011-12-01

The objectives of this study were to present a simple descriptive and quantitative model of how high potencies in homeopathy arise. The model begins with the mechanochemical production of hydrogen and hydroxyl radicals from water and the electronic stabilization of the resulting nanodomains of water molecules. The life of these domains is initially limited to a few days, but may extend to years when the electromagnetic characteristic of a homeopathic agent is copied onto the domains. This information is transferred between the original agent and the nanodomains, and also between previously imprinted nanodomains and new ones. The differential equations previously used to describe these processes are replaced here by exponential expressions, corresponding to simplified model mechanisms. Magnetic stabilization is also involved, since these long-lived domains apparently require the presence of the geomagnetic field. Our model incorporates this factor in the formation of the long-lived compound. Numerical simulation and graphs show that the potentization mechanism can be described quantitatively by a very simplified mechanism. The omitted factors affect only the fine structure of the kinetics. Measurements of pH changes upon absorption of different electromagnetic frequencies indicate that about 400 nanodomains polymerize to form one cooperating unit. Singlet excited states of some compounds lead to dramatic changes in their hydrogen ion dissociation constant, explaining this pH effect and suggesting that homeopathic information is imprinted as higher singlet excited states. A simple description is provided of the process of potentization in homeopathic dilutions. With the exception of minor details, this simple model replicates the results previously obtained from a more complex model. While excited states are short lived in isolated molecules, they become long lived in nanodomains that form coherent cooperative aggregates controlled by the geomagnetic field. These

Synthesis and SAR studies of potent imidazopyridine anticoccidial agents.

PubMed

Liang, Gui-Bai; Qian, Xiaoxia; Feng, Dennis; Fisher, Michael; Brown, Christine M; Gurnett, Anne; Leavitt, Penny Sue; Liberator, Paul A; Misura, Andrew S; Tamas, Tamas; Schmatz, Dennis M; Wyvratt, Matthew; Biftu, Tesfaye

2007-07-01

Diaryl imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine derivatives, such as 6a and 7i, have been synthesized and found to be potent inhibitors of parasite PKG activity. The most potent compounds are the 7-isopropylaminomethyl analog 6a and 2-isopropylamino analog 7i. These compounds are also fully active in in vivo assay as anticoccidial agents at 25 ppm in feed.

An Enantiomer of an Oral Small-Molecule TSH Receptor Agonist Exhibits Improved Pharmacologic Properties.

PubMed

Neumann, Susanne; Padia, Umesh; Cullen, Mary Jane; Eliseeva, Elena; Nir, Eshel A; Place, Robert F; Morgan, Sarah J; Gershengorn, Marvin C

2016-01-01

We are developing an orally available small-molecule, allosteric TSH receptor (TSHR) agonist for follow-up diagnostics of patients with thyroid cancer. The agonist C2 (NCGC00161870) that we have studied so far is a racemic mixture containing equal amounts of two enantiomers, E1 and E2. As enantiomers of many drugs exhibit different pharmacologic properties, we assessed the properties of E1 and E2. We separated the two enantiomers by chiral chromatography and determined E2 as the (S)-(+) isomer via crystal structure analysis. E1 and E2 were shown to bind differently to a homology model of the transmembrane domain of TSHR in which E2 was calculated to exhibit lower binding energy than E1 and was, therefore, predicted to be more potent than E1. In HEK293 cells expressing human TSHRs, C2, E1, and E2 were equally efficacious in stimulating cAMP production, but their potencies were different. E2 was more potent (EC50 = 18 nM) than C2 (EC50 = 46 nM), which was more potent than E1 (EC50 = 217 nM). In primary cultures of human thyrocytes, C2, E1, and E2 stimulated increases in thyroperoxidase mRNA of 92-, 55-, and 137-fold and in sodium-iodide symporter mRNA of 20-, 4-, and 121-fold above basal levels, respectively. In mice, C2 stimulated an increase in radioactive iodine uptake of 1.5-fold and E2 of 2.8-fold above basal level, whereas E1 did not have an effect. C2 stimulated an increase in serum T4 of 2.4-fold, E1 of 1.9-fold, and E2 of 5.6-fold above basal levels, and a 5-day oral dosing regimen of E2 increased serum T4 levels comparable to recombinant human TSH (rhTSH, Thyrogen(®)). Thus, E2 is more effective than either C2 or E1 in stimulating thyroid function and as efficacious as rhTSH in vivo. E2 represents the next step toward developing an oral drug for patients with thyroid cancer.

Progesterone potentially degrades to potent androgens in surface waters.

PubMed

Ojoghoro, Jasper O; Chaudhary, Abdul J; Campo, Pablo; Sumpter, John P; Scrimshaw, Mark D

2017-02-01

Progesterone is a natural hormone, excreted in higher concentrations than estrogens, and has been detected in the aqueous environment. As with other compounds, it is transformed during wastewater treatment processes and in the environment. However, minor modifications to the structure may result in transformation products which still exhibit biological activity, so understanding what transformation products are formed is of importance. The current study was undertaken to identify putative transformation products resulting from spiking river water with progesterone in a laboratory-based degradation study and hence to follow the metabolic breakdown pathways. On the basis of literature reports and predictions from the EAWAG Biocatalysis/biodegradation database, target putative transformation products were initially monitored under unit resolution mass spectrometry. The identity of these transformation products was confirmed by using accurate-mass quadrupole time-of-flight. The study results highlight that transformation of progesterone can potentially create other classes of steroids, some of which may still be potent, and possess other types of biological activity. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Investigations on the 4-Quinolone-3-Carboxylic Acid Motif. 5. Modulation of the Physicochemical Profile of a Set of Potent and Selective Cannabinoid-2 Receptor Ligands through a Bioisosteric Approach

PubMed Central

Nocerino, Stefania; Pedani, Valentina; Pasquini, Serena; Tafi, Andrea; De Chiaro, Maria; Bellucci, Luca; Valoti, Massimo; Guida, Francesca; Luongo, Livio; Dragoni, Stefania; Ligresti, Alessia; Rosenberg, Avraham; Bolognini, Daniele; Cascio, Maria Grazia; Pertwee, Roger G.; Moaddel, Ruin; Maione, Sabatino; Di Marzo, Vincenzo

2012-01-01

Three heterocyclic systems were selected as potential surrogates of the amide linker for a series of 1,6-disubstituted-4-quinolone-3-carboxamides, potent and selective CB2 ligands exhibiting scarce water solubility, with the aim of improving their physicochemical profile and also of clarifying properties of importance for amide bond mimicry. Among the newly synthesized compounds, the 1,2,3-triazole derivative 11 emerged as the most promising in terms of both physicochemical and pharmacodynamic properties. When assayed in vitro, 11 exhibited inverse agonist activity, whereas, in vivo, in the formalin test in mice, it produced analgesic effects antagonized by a well established inverse agonist. Metabolic studies allowed the identification of the side chain hydroxylated derivative 32 as its only metabolite which, in its racemic form, showed still appreciable CB2 selectivity, but was 150-fold less potent than the parent compound. PMID:22383251

Starship 2040 Exhibit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

This photograph shows Justin Varnadore, son of a Marshall TV employee, at the controls of one of the many displays within the Starship 2040 exhibit on display at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama. Developed by the Space Transportation Directorate at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), the Starship 2040 exhibit is housed in a 48-ft (14.6-m) tractor and trailer rig, permitting it to travel around the Nation, demonstrating NASA's vision of what commercial spaceflight might be like 40 years from now. All the irnovations suggested aboard the exhibit (automated vehicle health monitoring systems, high-energy propulsion drive, navigational aids, and emergency and safety systems) are based on concepts and technologies now being studied at NASA Centers and partner institutions around the Nation. NASA is the Nation's premier agency for development of the space transportation system, including future-generation reusable launch vehicles. Such systems, the keys to a 'real' Starship 2040, require revolutionary advances in critical aerospace technologies, from thermal, magnetic, chemical, and propellantless propulsion systems to new energy sources such as space solar power or antimatter propulsion. These and other advances are now being studied, developed, and tested at NASA field centers and partner institutions all over the Nation.

Mesoionic pyrido[1,2-a]pyrimidinones: Discovery of triflumezopyrim as a potent hopper insecticide1.

PubMed

Zhang, Wenming; Holyoke, Caleb W; Pahutski, Thomas F; Lahm, George P; Barry, James D; Cordova, Daniel; Leighty, Robert M; Singh, Vineet; Vicent, Daniel R; Tong, My-Hanh T; Hughes, Kenneth A; McCann, Stephen F; Henry, Yewande T; Xu, Ming; Briddell, Twyla A

2017-01-01

A novel class of mesoionic pyrido[1,2-a]pyrimidinones has been discovered with exceptional insecticidal activity controlling a number of insect species. In this communication, we report the part of the optimization program which led to the discovery of triflumezopyrim as a highly potent insecticide controlling various hopper species. Our efforts in discovery, synthesis, structure-activity relationship elucidation, and biological activity evaluation are also presented. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Discovery of potent and selective acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors: acacetin 7-O-methyl ether Mannich base derivatives synthesised from easy access natural product naringin.

PubMed

Liu, Hao-Ran; Men, Xue; Gao, Xiao-Hui; Liu, Lin-Bo; Fan, Hao-Qun; Xia, Xin-Hua; Wang, Qiu-An

2018-03-01

Naringin, as a component universal existing in the peel of some fruits or medicinal plants, was usually selected as the material to synthesise bioactive derivates since it was easy to gain with low cost. In present investigation, eight new acacetin-7-O-methyl ether Mannich base derivatives (1-8) were synthesised from naringin. The bioactivity evaluation revealed that most of them exhibited moderate or potent acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity. Among them, compound 7 (IC 50 for AChE = 0.82 ± 0.08 μmol•L -1 , IC 50 for BuChE = 46.30 ± 3.26 μmol•L -1 ) showed a potent activity and high selectivity compared with the positive control Rivastigmine (IC 50 for AChE = 10.54 ± 0.86 μmol•L -1 , IC 50 for BuChE = 0.26 ± 0.08 μmol•L -1 ). The kinetic study suggested that compound 7 bind to AChE with mix-type inhibitory profile. Molecular docking study revealed that compound 7 could combine both catalytic active site (CAS) and peripheral active site (PAS) of AChE with four points (Trp84, Trp279, Tyr70 and Phe330), while it could bind with BuChE via only His 20.

Novel triterpenoids isolated from raisins exert potent antiproliferative activities by targeting mitochondrial and Ras/Raf/ERK signaling in human breast cancer cells.

PubMed

Liu, Juan; Wang, Yihai; Liu, Rui Hai; He, Xiangjiu

2016-07-13

Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking and brewing. Bioactivity-guided fractionation of raisins was used to determine the chemical identity of bioactive constituents. Seven triterpenoids, including three novel triterpenoids, were isolated and identified. The novel triterpenoids were elucidated to be 3β,13β-dihydroxy-12,13-dihydrooleanolic acid (1), 3β,12β,13β-trihydroxy-12,13-dihydrooleanolic acid (2, TOA), and 3β,13β-dihydroxy-12,13-dihydroursolic acid (7), respectively. TOA showed the highest antiproliferative activity against MCF-7/DOX cells, with an EC50 value of 3.60 ± 0.55 μM. Compounds 1, 3 and 7 also exhibited potent antiproliferative activity against MCF-7/DOX cells, with an EC50 value of 7.10 ± 0.65, 10.22 ± 0.90 and 8.91 ± 1.12 μM. Compounds 1 and 2 also exhibited potent antioxidant activities. Moreover, the detailed cytotoxic mechanisms of TOA were investigated by targeting the mitochondrial and protein tyrosine kinase signaling (Ras/Raf/ERK). The results strongly demonstrated that the novel triterpenoids isolated from raisins could be promising candidates for therapy of breast cancer.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of LBM-A5 derivatives as potent P-glycoprotein-mediated multidrug resistance inhibitors.

PubMed

Wu, Yuxiang; Pan, Miaobo; Dai, Yuxuan; Liu, Baomin; Cui, Jian; Shi, Wei; Qiu, Qianqian; Huang, Wenlong; Qian, Hai

2016-05-15

A novel series of P-glycoprotein (P-gp)-mediated multidrug resistance (MDR) inhibitors with triazol-N-phenethyl-tetrahydroisoquinoline or triazol-N-ethyl-tetrahydroisoquinoline scaffold were designed and synthesized via click chemistry. Most of the synthesized compounds showed higher reversal activity than verapamil (VRP). Among them, the most potent compound 4 showed a comparable activity with the known potent P-gp inhibitor WK-X-34 with lower cytotoxicity toward K562 cells (IC50>100μM). Compared with VRP, compound 4 exhibited more potency in increasing drug accumulation in K562/A02 MDR cells. Moreover, compound 4 could significantly reverse MDR in a dose-dependent manner and also persist longer chemo-sensitizing effect than VRP with reversibility. Further mechanism studies revealed that compound 4 could remarkably increase the intracellular accumulation of Adriamycin (ADM) in K562/A02 cells as well as inhibit rhodamine-123 (Rh123) efflux from the cells. These results suggested that compound 4 may represent a promising candidate for developing P-gp-mediated MDR inhibitors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Withaferin A, a natural compound with anti-tumor activity, is a potent inhibitor of transcription factor C/EBPβ.

PubMed

Falkenberg, Kim D; Jakobs, Anke; Matern, Julian C; Dörner, Wolfgang; Uttarkar, Sagar; Trentmann, Amke; Steinmann, Simone; Coulibaly, Anna; Schomburg, Caroline; Mootz, Henning D; Schmidt, Thomas J; Klempnauer, Karl-Heinz

2017-07-01

Recent work has shown that deregulation of the transcription factor Myb contributes to the development of leukemia and several other human cancers, making Myb and its cooperation partners attractive targets for drug development. By employing a myeloid Myb-reporter cell line we have identified Withaferin A (WFA), a natural compound that exhibits anti-tumor activities, as an inhibitor of Myb-dependent transcription. Analysis of the inhibitory mechanism of WFA showed that WFA is a significantly more potent inhibitor of C/EBPβ, a transcription factor cooperating with Myb in myeloid cells, than of Myb itself. We show that WFA covalently modifies specific cysteine residues of C/EBPβ, resulting in the disruption of the interaction of C/EBPβ with the co-activator p300. Our work identifies C/EBPβ as a novel direct target of WFA and highlights the role of p300 as a crucial co-activator of C/EBPβ. The finding that WFA is a potent inhibitor of C/EBPβ suggests that inhibition of C/EBPβ might contribute to the biological activities of WFA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Clickable prodrugs bearing potent and hydrolytically cleavable nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase inhibitors.

PubMed

Sadrerafi, Keivan; Mason, Emilia O; Lee, Mark W

2018-01-01

Our previous study indicated that carborane containing small-molecule 1-(hydroxymethyl)-7-(4'-( trans -3″-(3'″-pyridyl)acrylamido)butyl)-1,7-dicarbadodecaborane (hm-MC4-PPEA), was a potent inhibitor of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (Nampt). Nampt has been shown to be upregulated in most cancers and is a promising target for the treatment of many different types of cancers, including breast cancers. To increase the selectivity of hm-MC4-PPEA toward cancer cells, three prodrugs were synthesized with different hydrolyzable linkers: ester, carbonate, and carbamate. Using click chemistry a fluorophore was attached to these prodrugs to act as a model for our conjugation strategy and to serve as an aid for prodrug stability studies. The stabilities of these drug conjugates were tested in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) at normothermia (37°C) using three different pH levels, 5.5, 7.5, and 9.5, as well as in horse serum at physiological pH. The stability of each was monitored using reversed-phase HPLC equipped with both diode array and fluorescence detection. The inhibitory activity of hm-MC4-PPEA was also measured using a commercially available colorimetric assay. The biological activities of the drug conjugates as well as those of the free drug (hm-MC4-PPEA), were evaluated using the MTT assay against the human breast cancer cell lines T47D and MCF7, as well as the noncancerous, transformed, Nampt-dependent human breast epithelium cell line 184A1. hm-MC4-PPEA showed to be a potent inhibitor of recombinant Nampt activity, exhibiting an IC50 concentration of 6.8 nM. The prodrugs showed great stability towards hydrolytic degradation under neutral, mildly acidic and mildly basic conditions. The carbamate prodrug also showed to be stable in rat serum. However, the carbonate and the ester prodrug release at various rates in serum presumably owing to the presence of several different classes of esterase. The biological activities of the drug conjugates correlate

Discovery of a Potent Free Fatty Acid 1 Receptor Agonist with Low Lipophilicity, Low Polar Surface Area, and Robust in Vivo Efficacy.

PubMed

Hansen, Steffen V F; Christiansen, Elisabeth; Urban, Christian; Hudson, Brian D; Stocker, Claire J; Due-Hansen, Maria E; Wargent, Ed T; Shimpukade, Bharat; Almeida, Reinaldo; Ejsing, Christer S; Cawthorne, Michael A; Kassack, Matthias U; Milligan, Graeme; Ulven, Trond

2016-03-24

The free fatty acid receptor 1 (FFA1 or GPR40) is established as an interesting potential target for treatment of type 2 diabetes. However, to obtain optimal ligands, it may be necessary to limit both lipophilicity and polar surface area, translating to a need for small compounds. We here describe the identification of 24, a potent FFA1 agonist with low lipophilicity and very high ligand efficiency that exhibit robust glucose lowering effect.

PAC exhibits potent anti-colon cancer properties through targeting cyclin D1 and suppressing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

PubMed

Al-Qasem, Abeer; Al-Howail, Huda A; Al-Swailem, Mashael; Al-Mazrou, Amer; Al-Otaibi, Basem; Al-Jammaz, Ibrahim; Al-Khalaf, Huda H; Aboussekhra, Abdelilah

2016-03-01

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cause of cancer morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although response rates and overall survival have been improved in recent years, resistance to multiple drug combinations is inevitable. Therefore, the development of more efficient drugs, with fewer side effects is urgently needed. To this end, we have investigated in the present report the effect of PAC, a novel cucumin analogue, on CRC cells both in vitro and in vivo. We have shown that PAC induces apoptosis, mainly via the internal mitochondrial route, and inhibits cell proliferation through delaying the cell cycle at G2/M phase. Interestingly, the pro-apoptotic effect was mediated through STAT3-dependent down-regulation of cyclin D1 and its downstream target survivin. Indeed, change in the expression level of cyclin D1 modulated the expression of survivin and the response of CRC cells to PAC. Furthermore, using the ChIP assay, we have shown PAC-dependent reduction in the binding of STAT3 to the cyclin D1 promoter in vivo. Additionally, PAC suppressed the epithelial-to-mesenchymal process through down-regulating the mesenchymal markers (N-cadherin, vimentin and Twist1) and inhibiting the invasion/migration abilities of the CRC cells via repressing the pro-migration/invasion protein kinases AKT and ERK1/2. In addition, PAC inhibited tumor growth and repressed the JAK2/STAT3, AKT/mTOR and MEK/ERK pathways as well as their common downstream effectors cyclin D1 and survivin in humanized CRC xenografts. Collectively, these results indicate that PAC has potent anti-CRC effects, and therefore could constitute an effective alternative chemotherapeutic agent, which may consolidate the adjuvant treatment of colon cancer. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Lipophilic Lysine-Spermine Conjugates are Potent Polyamine Transport Inhibitors for use in Combination with a Polyamine Biosynthesis Inhibitor

PubMed Central

Burns, Mark R.; Graminski, Gerard F.; Weeks, Reitha S.; Chen, Yan; O’Brien, Thomas G.

2009-01-01

Cancer cells can overcome the ability of polyamine biosynthesis inhibitors from completely depleting their internal polyamines by the importation polyamines from external sources. We have developed a group of lipophilic polyamine analogs that potently inhibit the cellular polyamine uptake system and greatly increase the effectiveness of polyamine depletion when used in combination with DFMO, a well-studied polyamine biosynthesis inhibitor. By the attachment of an length-optimized C16 lipophilic substituent to the epsilon-nitrogen atom of our earlier lead compound, d-Lys-Spm (5), we have produced an analog, d-Lys(C16acyl)-Spm (11) with several orders of magnitude more potent cell growth inhibition on a variety of cultured cancer cell types including breast (MDA-MB-231), prostate (PC-3), melanoma (A375) and ovarian (SK-OV-3), among others. We discuss these results in the context of a possible membrane-catalyzed interaction with the extracellular polyamine transport apparatus. The resulting novel two-drug combination therapy targeting cellular polyamine metabolism has shown exceptional efficacy against cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) in a transgenic ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) mouse model of skin cancer. A majority (88%) of large, aggressive SCCs exhibited complete or near-complete remission to this combination therapy, while responses to each agent alone were poor. The availability of a potent polyamine transport inhibitor allows, for the first time, for a real test of the hypothesis that starving cells of polyamines will lead to objective clinical response. PMID:19281226

Fragment-Based, Structure-Enabled Discovery of Novel Pyridones and Pyridone Macrocycles as Potent Bromodomain and Extra-Terminal Domain (BET) Family Bromodomain Inhibitors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Le; Pratt, John K.; Soltwedel, Todd

Members of the BET family of bromodomain containing proteins have been identified as potential targets for blocking proliferation in a variety of cancer cell lines. A two-dimensional NMR fragment screen for binders to the bromodomains of BRD4 identified a phenylpyridazinone fragment with a weak binding affinity (1, Ki = 160 μM). SAR investigation of fragment 1, aided by X-ray structure-based design, enabled the synthesis of potent pyridone and macrocyclic pyridone inhibitors exhibiting single digit nanomolar potency in both biochemical and cell based assays. Advanced analogs in these series exhibited high oral exposures in rodent PK studies and demonstrated significant tumormore » growth inhibition efficacy in mouse flank xenograft models.« less

2-Arylbenzofurans from Artocarpus lakoocha and methyl ether analogs with potent cholinesterase inhibitory activity.

PubMed

Namdaung, Umalee; Athipornchai, Anan; Khammee, Thongchai; Kuno, Mayuso; Suksamrarn, Sunit

2018-01-01

In vitro screening for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory activities of the Artocarpus lakoocha root-bark extracts revealed interesting results. Bioassay-guided fractionation resulted in the isolation of two new (1 and 2) and six known 2-arylbenzofurans 3-8, along with one stilbenoid 9 and one flavonoid 10. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated by UV, IR, 1D- and 2D-NMR and MS spectroscopic data analysis. Compounds 4, 6 and 7 exhibited more potent AChE inhibitory activity (IC 50  = 0.87-1.10 μM) than the reference drug, galantamine. Compounds 4, 8 and 9 displayed greater BChE inhibition than the standard drug. The preferential inhibition of BChE over AChE indicated that 4 also showed a promising dual AChE and BChE inhibitor. The synthetic mono-methylated analogs 4a-c and 6a-b were found to be good BChE inhibitors with IC 50 values ranging between 0.31 and 1.11 μM. Based on the docking studies, compounds 4 and 6 are well-fitted in the catalytic triad of AChE. Compounds 4 and 6 showed different binding orientations on BChE, and the most potent BChE inhibitor 4 occupied dual binding to both CAS and PAS more efficiently. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Novel indole sulfides as potent HIV-1 NNRTIs.

PubMed

Brigg, Siobhan; Pribut, Nicole; Basson, Adriaan E; Avgenikos, Moscos; Venter, Reinhardt; Blackie, Margaret A; van Otterlo, Willem A L; Pelly, Stephen C

2016-03-15

In a previous communication we described a series of indole based NNRTIs which were potent inhibitors of HIV replication, both for the wild type and K103N strains of the virus. However, the methyl ether functionality on these compounds, which was crucial for potency, was susceptible to acid promoted indole assisted SN1 substitution. This particular problem did not bode well for an orally bioavailable drug. Here we describe bioisosteric replacement of this problematic functional group, leading to a series of compounds which are potent inhibitors of HIV replication, and are acid stable. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Apomab, a fully human agonistic antibody to DR5, exhibits potent antitumor activity against primary and metastatic breast cancer

PubMed Central

Zinonos, Irene; Labrinidis, Agatha; Lee, Michelle; Liapis, Vasilios; Hay, Shelley; Ponomarev, Vladimir; Diamond, Peter; Zannettino, Andrew C.W.; Findlay, David M.; Evdokiou, Andreas

2017-01-01

Apomab, a fully human agonistic DR5 monoclonal antibody, triggers apoptosis through activation of the extrinsic apoptotic signaling pathway. In this study, we assessed the cytotoxic effect of Apomab in vitro and evaluated its antitumor activity in murine models of breast cancer development and progression. MDA-MB-231-TXSA breast cancer cells were transplanted into the mammary fat pad or directly into the tibial marrow cavity of nude mice. Apomab was administered early, postcancer cell transplantation, or after tumors progressed to an advanced stage. Tumor burden was monitored progressively using bioluminescence imaging, and the development of breast cancer–induced osteolysis was measured using micro-computed tomography. In vitro, Apomab treatment induced apoptosis in a panel of breast cancer cell lines but was without effect on normal human primary osteoblasts, fibroblasts, or mammary epithelial cells. In vivo, Apomab exerted remarkable tumor suppressive activity leading to complete regression of well-advanced mammary tumors. All animals transplanted with breast cancer cells directly into their tibiae developed large osteolytic lesions that eroded the cortical bone. In contrast, treatment with Apomab following an early treatment protocol inhibited both intraosseous and extraosseous tumor growth and prevented breast cancer–induced osteolysis. In the delayed treatment protocol, Apomab treatment resulted in the complete regression of advanced tibial tumors with progressive restoration of both trabecular and cortical bone leading to full resolution of osteolytic lesions. Apomab represents a potent immunotherapeutic agent with strong activity against the development and progression of breast cancer and should be evaluated in patients with primary and metastatic disease. PMID:19808976

Discovery of potent NEK2 inhibitors as potential anticancer agents using structure-based exploration of NEK2 pharmacophoric space coupled with QSAR analyses.

PubMed

Khanfar, Mohammad A; Banat, Fahmy; Alabed, Shada; Alqtaishat, Saja

2017-02-01

High expression of Nek2 has been detected in several types of cancer and it represents a novel target for human cancer. In the current study, structure-based pharmacophore modeling combined with multiple linear regression (MLR)-based QSAR analyses was applied to disclose the structural requirements for NEK2 inhibition. Generated pharmacophoric models were initially validated with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and optimum models were subsequently implemented in QSAR modeling with other physiochemical descriptors. QSAR-selected models were implied as 3D search filters to mine the National Cancer Institute (NCI) database for novel NEK2 inhibitors, whereas the associated QSAR model prioritized the bioactivities of captured hits for in vitro evaluation. Experimental validation identified several potent NEK2 inhibitors of novel structural scaffolds. The most potent captured hit exhibited an [Formula: see text] value of 237 nM.

The Artemisinin Derivative Artemisone Is a Potent Inhibitor of Human Cytomegalovirus Replication.

PubMed

Oiknine-Djian, E; Weisblum, Y; Panet, A; Wong, H N; Haynes, R K; Wolf, D G

2018-04-30

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a major cause of disease in immunocompromised individuals and the most common cause of congenital infection and neuro-sensorial disease. The expanding target populations for HCMV antiviral treatment along with the limitations of the currently available HCMV DNA polymerase inhibitors underscore the need for new antiviral agents with alternative modes of action. The anti-malarial artemisinin derivative artesunate was shown to inhibit HCMV in vitro , yet has demonstrated limited antiviral efficacy in vivo , prompting our search for more potent anti-HCMV artemisinin derivatives. Here we show that the innovative artemisinin derivative artemisone, which has been screened against malaria in human clinical studies, is a potent and non-cytotoxic inhibitor of HCMV. Artemisone exhibited an antiviral efficacy comparable to ganciclovir (EC 50 1.20 ± 0.46 μM) in human foreskin fibroblasts, with enhanced relative potency in lung fibroblasts and epithelial cells. Significantly, the antiviral efficacy of artemisone was consistently ≥10-fold superior to that of artesunate in all cells. Artemisone effectively inhibited both laboratory-adapted and low-passage clinical strains, as well as drug-resistant HCMV strains. By using quantitative viral kinetics and gene expression studies, we showed that artemisone is a reversible inhibitor, targeting an earlier phase of the viral replication cycle than ganciclovir. Importantly, artemisone most effectively inhibited HCMV infection ex vivo in a clinically-relevant multicellular model of integral human placental tissues maintained in organ culture. Our promising findings encourage preclinical and clinical studies of artemisone as a new inhibitor against HCMV. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

Ricin-Holotoxin-Based Vaccines: Induction of Potent Ricin-Neutralizing Antibodies.

PubMed

Sabo, Tamar; Kronman, Chanoch; Mazor, Ohad

2016-01-01

Ricin is one of the most potent and lethal toxins known to which there is no available antidote. Currently, the most promising therapy is based on neutralizing antibodies elicited by active vaccination or given passively. Here, detailed protocols are provided for the production of two ricin holotoxin-based vaccines: monomerized subunit-based vaccine, and a formaldehyde-based ricin toxoid vaccine. Both vaccines were found to be stable with no toxic activity reversion even after long-term storage while eliciting high anti-ricin antibody titers possessing a potent neutralizing activity. The use of these vaccines is highly suitable for both the production of sera that can be used in passive protection experiments and immunization aimed to isolate potent anti-ricin monoclonal antibodies.

Orally available stilbene derivatives as potent HDAC inhibitors with antiproliferative activities and antitumor effects in human tumor xenografts.

PubMed

Kachhadia, Virendra; Rajagopal, Sridharan; Ponpandian, Thanasekaran; Vignesh, Radhakrishnan; Anandhan, Karnambaram; Prabhu, Daivasigamani; Rajendran, Praveen; Nidhyanandan, Saranya; Roy, Anshu Mittal; Ahamed, Fakrudeen Ali; Surendran, Narayanan; Rajagopal, Sriram; Narayanan, Shridhar; Gopalan, Balasubramanian

2016-01-27

Herein we report the synthesis and activity of a novel class of HDAC inhibitors based on 2, 3-diphenyl acrylic acid derivatives. The compounds in this series have shown to be potent HDAC inhibitors possessing significant antiproliferative activity. Further compounds in this series were subjected to metabolic stability in human liver microsomes (HLM), mouse liver microsomes (MLM), and exhibits promising stability in both. These efforts culminated with the identification of a developmental candidate (5a), which displayed desirable PK/PD relationships, significant efficacy in the xenograft models and attractive ADME profiles. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

As-CATH1-6, novel cathelicidins with potent antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties from Alligator sinensis, play pivotal roles in host antimicrobial immune responses.

PubMed

Chen, Yan; Cai, Shasha; Qiao, Xue; Wu, Mali; Guo, Zhilai; Wang, Renping; Kuang, Yi-Qun; Yu, Haining; Wang, Yipeng

2017-08-10

Crocodilians are regarded as possessing a powerful immune system. However, the composition and action of the crocodilian immune system have remained unclear until now. Cathelicidins, the principal family of host defense peptides, play pivotal roles in vertebrate immune defense against microbial invasions. However, cathelicidins from crocodilians have not been extensively studied to date. In the present study, six novel cathelicidins (As-CATH1-6) were identified and characterized from the endangered Chinese alligator ( Alligator sinensis ). As-CATH1-6 exhibit no sequence similarity with any of the known cathelicidins. Structure analysis indicated that As-CATH1-3 adopt a random coil secondary conformation, whereas As-CATH4-6 were predicted to mainly adopt an amphipathic α-helix conformation. Among them, As-CATH4-6 exhibited potent, broad-spectrum and rapid antimicrobial activity by inducing the disruption of cell membrane integrity. They also exhibited strong ability to prevent the formation of bacterial biofilms and eradicate preformed biofilms. Furthermore, As-CATH4-6 exhibited potent anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of nitric oxide (NO) and pro-inflammatory cytokines in mouse peritoneal macrophages. They directly neutralized LPS toxicity and therefore inhibited the binding of LPS to the TLR4 receptor and the subsequent activation of inflammatory response pathways. In a peritonitis mice model, As-CATH2-6 provided effective protection against bacterial infection through enhanced immune cell recruitment. In the host Chinese alligator, As-CATH1-6 are mainly expressed in immune organs and epithelial tissues. Bacterial infection significantly enhances their expression, which implies an important role in host anti-infective response. Taken together, the diversity and multiple functions of As-CATH1-6 partially reveal the powerful immune system of the Chinese alligator. © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Portland

Tachykinin antagonists have potent local anaesthetic actions.

PubMed

Post, C; Butterworth, J F; Strichartz, G R; Karlsson, J A; Persson, C G

1985-11-19

Contrary to what would have been expected, an antagonist of substance P (SP) [Arg5,D-Trp7,9]SP-(5-11) inhibited the neurogenic contraction of isolated guinea-pig hilus bronchi more readily than a contraction produced by exogenous SP. Furthermore, it has previously been shown that a tachykinin antagonist given intrathecally produced motor blockade as do local anaesthetic drugs. We therefore examined whether tachykinin antagonists had a depressant action on axonal neurotransmission. The compound action potential (APc) of the frog isolated sciatic nerve was suppressed in a concentration-dependent manner by the tachykinin antagonists [D-Pro2,D-Trp7,9]SP and [Arg5,D-Trp7,9]Sp-(5-11), both being about 4 times more potent than lidocaine. SP itself was without effect. Similarly in the rat isolated sciatic nerve [D-Pro2,D-Trp7,9]SP suppressed the APc. It was more potent in the A alpha- than in the C-fibres. SP did not affect conduction in either fibre type. In conscious guinea-pigs [D-Pro2,D-Trp7,9]SP injected adjacent to the sciatic nerve was found to block motor but not sensory functions of the limb. Thus, commonly used tachykinin antagonists, but not SP itself, have potent local anaesthetic properties. This should be considered when these agents are employed as pharmacological tools.

Chronic administration of DSP-7238, a novel, potent, specific and substrate-selective DPP IV inhibitor, improves glycaemic control and beta-cell damage in diabetic mice.

PubMed

Furuta, Y; Horiguchi, M; Sugaru, E; Ono-Kishino, M; Otani, M; Sakai, M; Masui, Y; Tsuchida, A; Sato, Y; Takubo, K; Hochigai, H; Kimura, H; Nakahira, H; Nakagawa, T; Taiji, M

2010-05-01

The purpose of this study is to assess the in vitro enzyme inhibition profile of DSP-7238, a novel non-cyanopyrrolidine dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP) IV inhibitor and to evaluate the acute and chronic effects of this compound on glucose metabolism in two different mouse models of type 2 diabetes. The in vitro enzyme inhibition profile of DSP-7238 was assessed using plasma and recombinant enzymes including DPP IV, DPP II, DPP8, DPP9 and fibroblast activation protein alpha (FAPalpha) with fluorogenic substrates. The inhibition type was evaluated based on the Lineweaver-Burk plot. Substrate selectivity of DSP-7238 and comparator DPP IV inhibitors (vildagliptin, sitagliptin, saxagliptin and linagliptin) was evaluated by mass spectrometry based on the changes in molecular weight of peptide substrates caused by release of N-terminal dipeptides. In the in vivo experiments, high-fat diet-induced obese (DIO) mice were subjected to oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) following a single oral administration of DSP-7238. To assess the chronic effects of DSP-7238 on glycaemic control and pancreatic beta-cell damage, DSP-7238 was administered for 11 weeks to mice made diabetic by a combination of high-fat diet (HFD) and a low-dose of streptozotocin (STZ). After the dosing period, HbA1c was measured and pancreatic damage was evaluated by biological and histological analyses. DSP-7238 and sitagliptin both competitively inhibited recombinant human DPP IV (rhDPP IV) with K(i) values of 0.60 and 2.1 nM respectively. Neither vildagliptin nor saxagliptin exhibited competitive inhibition of rhDPP IV. DSP-7238 did not inhibit DPP IV-related enzymes including DPP8, DPP9, DPP II and FAPalpha, whereas vildagliptin and saxagliptin showed inhibition of DPP8 and DPP9. Inhibition of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) degradation by DSP-7238 was apparently more potent than its inhibition of chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 10 (IP-10) or chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 12 (SDF-1alpha) degradation. In

Synthesis and biological evaluation of N-(carbobenzyloxy)-l-phenylalanine and N-(carbobenzyloxy)-l-aspartic acid-β-benzyl ester derivatives as potent topoisomerase IIα inhibitors.

PubMed

Han, Xiaoyan; Zhong, Yifan; Zhou, Guan; Qi, Hui; Li, Shengbin; Ding, Qiang; Liu, Zhenming; Song, Yali; Qiao, Xiaoqiang

2017-06-15

A new series of thirteen N-(carbobenzyloxy)-l-phenylalanine and N-(carbobenzyloxy)-l-aspartic acid-β-benzyl ester compounds were synthesized and evaluated for antiproliferative activity against four different human cancer cell lines: cervical cancer (HeLa), lung cancer (A549), gastric cancer (MGC-803) and breast cancer (MCF-7) as well as topoisomerase I and IIα inhibitory activity. Compounds (5a, 5b, 5e, 8a, 8b) showed significant antiproliferative activity with low IC 50 values against the four cancer cell lines. Equally, compounds 5a, 5b, 5e, 5f, 8a, 8d, 8e and 8f showed topoisomerase IIα inhibitory activity at 100μM with 5b, 5e, 8f exhibiting potential topoisomerase IIα inhibitory activity compared to positive control at 100μM and 20μM, respectively. Conversely compounds 5e, 5f, 5g and 8a showed weaker topoisomerase I inhibitory activity compared to positive control at 100μM. Compound 5b exhibited the most potent topoisomerase IIα inhibitory activity at low concentration and better antiproliferative activity against the four human cancer cell lines. The molecular interactions between compounds 5a-5g, 8a-8f and the topoisomerase IIα (PDB ID: 1ZXM) were further investigated through molecular docking. The results indicated that these compounds could serve as promising leads for further optimization as novel antitumor agents. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1,2-Dithiole-3-Ones as Potent Inhibitors of the Bacterial 3-Ketoacyl Acyl Carrier Protein Synthase III (FabH)

PubMed Central

He, Xin; Reeve, Anne McElwee; Desai, Umesh R.; Kellogg, Glen E.; Reynolds, Kevin A.

2004-01-01

The enzyme FabH catalyzes the initial step of fatty acid biosynthesis via a type II dissociated fatty acid synthase. The pivotal role of this essential enzyme, combined with its unique structural features and ubiquitous occurrence in bacteria, has made it an attractive new target for the development of antibacterial and antiparasitic compounds. We have searched the National Cancer Institute database for compounds bearing structural similarities to thiolactomycin, a natural product which exhibits a weak activity against FabH. This search has yielded several substituted 1,2-dithiole-3-ones that are potent inhibitors of FabH from both Escherichia coli (ecFabH) and Staphylococcus aureus (saFabH). The most potent inhibitor was 4,5-dichloro-1,2-dithiole-3-one, which had 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 2 μM (ecFabH) and 0.16 μM (saFabH). The corresponding 3-thione analog exhibited comparable activities. Analogs in which the 4-chloro substituent was replaced with a phenyl group were also potent inhibitors, albeit somewhat less effectively (IC50 values of 5.7 and 0.98 μM for ecFabH and saFabH, respectively). All of the 5-chlorinated inhibitors were most effective when they were preincubated with FabH in the absence of substrates. The resulting enzyme-inhibitor complex did not readily regain activity after excess inhibitor was removed, suggesting that a slow dissociation occurs. In stark contrast, a series of inhibitors in which the 5-chloro substituent was replaced with the isosteric and isoelectronic trifluoromethyl group were poorer inhibitors (IC50 values typically ranging from 25 to >100 μM for both ecFabH and saFabH), did not require a preincubation period for maximal activity, and generated an enzyme-inhibitor complex which readily dissociated. Possible modes of binding of 5-chloro-1,2-dithiole-3-ones and 5-chloro-1,2-dithiole-3-thiones with FabH which account for the role of the 5-chloro substituent were considered. PMID:15273125

Interferon-Lambda: A Potent Regulator of Intestinal Viral Infections.

PubMed

Lee, Sanghyun; Baldridge, Megan T

2017-01-01

Interferon-lambda (IFN-λ) is a recently described cytokine found to be of critical importance in innate immune regulation of intestinal viruses. Endogenous IFN-λ has potent antiviral effects and has been shown to control multiple intestinal viruses and may represent a factor that contributes to human variability in response to infection. Importantly, recombinant IFN-λ has therapeutic potential against enteric viral infections, many of which lack other effective treatments. In this mini-review, we describe recent advances regarding IFN-λ-mediated regulation of enteric viruses with important clinical relevance including rotavirus, reovirus, and norovirus. We also briefly discuss IFN-λ interactions with other cytokines important in the intestine, and how IFN-λ may play a role in regulation of intestinal viruses by the commensal microbiome. Finally, we indicate currently outstanding questions regarding IFN-λ control of enteric infections that remain to be explored to enhance our understanding of this important immune molecule.

Interferon-Lambda: A Potent Regulator of Intestinal Viral Infections

PubMed Central

Lee, Sanghyun; Baldridge, Megan T.

2017-01-01

Interferon-lambda (IFN-λ) is a recently described cytokine found to be of critical importance in innate immune regulation of intestinal viruses. Endogenous IFN-λ has potent antiviral effects and has been shown to control multiple intestinal viruses and may represent a factor that contributes to human variability in response to infection. Importantly, recombinant IFN-λ has therapeutic potential against enteric viral infections, many of which lack other effective treatments. In this mini-review, we describe recent advances regarding IFN-λ-mediated regulation of enteric viruses with important clinical relevance including rotavirus, reovirus, and norovirus. We also briefly discuss IFN-λ interactions with other cytokines important in the intestine, and how IFN-λ may play a role in regulation of intestinal viruses by the commensal microbiome. Finally, we indicate currently outstanding questions regarding IFN-λ control of enteric infections that remain to be explored to enhance our understanding of this important immune molecule. PMID:28713375

Synthesis and biological evaluation of pyrazolylthiazole carboxylic acids as potent anti-inflammatory-antimicrobial agents.

PubMed

Khloya, Poonam; Kumar, Satish; Kaushik, Pawan; Surain, Parveen; Kaushik, Dhirender; Sharma, Pawan K

2015-03-15

Current Letter presents design, synthesis and biological evaluation of a novel series of pyrazolylthiazole carboxylates 1a-1p and corresponding acid derivatives 2a-2p. All 32 novel compounds were tested for their in vivo anti-inflammatory activity by carrageenan-induced rat paw edema method as well as for in vitro antimicrobial activity. All the tested compounds exhibited excellent AI activity profile. Three compounds 1p (R=Cl, R(1)=Cl), 2c (R=H, R(1)=F) and 2n (R=Cl, R(1)=OCH3) were identified as potent anti-inflammatory agents exhibiting edema inhibition of 93.06-89.59% which is comparable to the reference drug indomethacin (91.32%) after 3h of carrageenan injection while most of the other compounds displayed inhibition ⩾80%. In addition, pyrazolylthiazole carboxylic acids (2a-2p) also showed good antimicrobial profile. Compound 2h (R=OCH3, R(1)=Cl) showed excellent antimicrobial activity (MIC 6.25μg/mL) against both Gram positive bacteria comparable with the reference drug ciprofloxacin (MIC 6.25μg/mL). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Traveling Exhibitions: translating current science into effective science exhibitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dusenbery, P.; Morrow, C.; Harold, J.

The Space Science Institute (SSI) of Boulder, Colorado has recently developed two museum exhibits called the Space Weather Center and MarsQuest. It is currently planning to develop two other exhibitions called Cosmic Origins and InterActive Earth. Museum exhibitions provide research scientists the opportunity to engage in a number of activities that are vital to the success of earth and space outreach programs. The Space Weather Center was developed in partnership with various research missions at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The focus of the presentation will be on the Institute's MarsQuest exhibition. This project is a 5000 square-foot, 2.5M, traveling exhibition that is now touring the country. The exhibit's 3-year tour is enabling millions of Americans to share in the excitement of the scientific exploration of Mars and learn more about their own planet in the process. The associated planetarium show and education program will also be described, with particular emphasis on workshops to orient host museum staff (e.g. museum educators and docents). The workshops make innovative connections between the exhibitions interactive experiences and lesson plans aligned with the National Science Education Standards. SSI is also developing an interactive web site called MarsQuest On-line. The linkage between the web site, education program and exhibit will be discussed. MarsQuest and SSI's other exhibitions are good models for actively involving scientists and their discoveries to help improve informal science education in the museum community and for forging a stronger connection between formal and informal education.

Potent μ-Opioid Receptor Agonists from Cyclic Peptides Tyr-c[D-Lys-Xxx-Tyr-Gly]: Synthesis, Biological, and Structural Evaluation.

PubMed

Li, Yangmei; Cazares, Margret; Wu, Jinhua; Houghten, Richard A; Toll, Laurence; Dooley, Colette

2016-02-11

To optimize the structure of a μ-opioid receptor ligand, analogs H-Tyr-c[D-Lys-Xxx-Tyr-Gly] were synthesized and their biological activity was tested. The analog containing a Phe(3) was identified as not only exhibiting binding affinity 14-fold higher than the original hit but also producing agonist activity 3-fold more potent than morphine. NMR study suggested that a trans conformation at D-Lys(2)-Xxx(3) is crucial for these cyclic peptides to maintain high affinity, selectivity, and functional activity toward the μ-opioid receptor.

Prevalence of potent skin sensitizers in oxidative hair dye products in Korea.

PubMed

Kim, Hyunji; Kim, Kisok

2016-09-01

The objective of the present study was to elucidate the prevalence of potent skin sensitizers in oxidative hair dye products manufactured by Korean domestic companies. A database on hair dye products made by domestic companies and selling in the Korean market in 2013 was used to obtain information on company name, brand name, quantity of production, and ingredients. The prevalence of substances categorized as potent skin sensitizers was calculated using the hair dye ingredient database, and the pattern of concomitant presence of hair dye ingredients was analyzed using network analysis software. A total of 19 potent skin sensitizers were identified from a database that included 99 hair dye products manufactured by Korean domestic companies. Among 19 potent skin sensitizers, the four most frequent were resorcinol, m-aminophenol, p-phenylenediamine (PPD), and p-aminophenol; these four skin-sensitizing ingredients were found in more than 50% of the products studied. Network analysis showed that resorcinol, m-aminophenol, and PPD existed together in many hair dye products. In 99 products examined, the average product contained 4.4 potent sensitizers, and 82% of the products contained four or more skin sensitizers. The present results demonstrate that oxidative hair dye products made by Korean domestic manufacturers contain various numbers and types of potent skin sensitizers. Furthermore, these results suggest that some hair dye products should be used with caution to prevent adverse effects on the skin, including allergic contact dermatitis.

Potent inhibitors of human LAT1 (SLC7A5) transporter based on dithiazole and dithiazine compounds for development of anticancer drugs.

PubMed

Napolitano, Lara; Scalise, Mariafrancesca; Koyioni, Maria; Koutentis, Panayiotis; Catto, Marco; Eberini, Ivano; Parravicini, Chiara; Palazzolo, Luca; Pisani, Leonardo; Galluccio, Michele; Console, Lara; Carotti, Angelo; Indiveri, Cesare

2017-11-01

The LAT1 transporter is acknowledged as a pharmacological target of tumours since it is strongly overexpressed in many human cancers. The purpose of this work was to find novel compounds exhibiting potent and prolonged inhibition of the transporter. To this aim, compounds based on dithiazole and dithiazine scaffold have been screened in the proteoliposome experimental model. Inhibition was tested on the antiport catalysed by hLAT1 as transport of extraliposomal [ 3 H]histidine in exchange with intraliposomal histidine. Out of 59 compounds tested, 8 compounds, showing an inhibition higher than 90% at 100µM concentration, were subjected to dose-response analysis. Two of them exhibited IC 50 lower than 1µM. Inhibition kinetics, performed on the two best inhibitors, indicated a mixed type of inhibition with respect to the substrate. Furthermore, inhibition of the transporter was still present after removal of the compounds from the reaction mixture, but was reversed on addition of dithioerythritol, a S-S reducing agent, indicating the formation of disulfide(s) between the compounds and the protein. Molecular docking of the two best inhibitors on the hLAT1 homology structural model, highlighted interaction with the substrate binding site and formation of a covalent bond with the residue C407. Indeed, the inhibition was impaired in the hLAT1 mutant C407A confirming the involvement of that Cys residue. Treatment of SiHa cells expressing hLAT1 at relatively high level, with the two most potent inhibitors led to cell death which was not observed after treatment with a compound exhibiting very poor inhibitory effect. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of (E)-1-(substituted)-3-phenylprop-2-en-1-ones bearing rhodanines as potent anti-microbial agents.

PubMed

Song, Ming-Xia; Deng, Xian-Qing; Li, Ya-Ru; Zheng, Chang-Ji; Hong, Lan; Piao, Hu-Ri

2014-10-01

Herein, we report the design, syntheses and in vitro anti-microbial activity of two series of rhodanines with chalcone moiety. Anti-microbial tests showed that some of the synthesized compounds exhibited good inhibition (MIC = 1-8 µg/mL) against multi-drug-resistant Gram-positive organisms, including methicillin resistant and quinolone-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, in which the compound 4g was found to be the most potent with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 1 µg/mL against two methicillin-resistant S. aureus.

QS-21: a potent vaccine adjuvant

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

QS-21 is an potent adjuvant derived from the bark of a Chilean tree, Quillaja saponaria. One of the advantages of this adjuvant is that it promotes a balanced humoral and cell-mediaed immune response and can be widely applicable to a variety of vaccines. This adjuvant has used for some veterinary va...

Indolyl aryl sulfones (IASs): development of highly potent NNRTIs active against wt-HIV-1 and clinically relevant drug resistant mutants.

PubMed

Silvestri, Romano; Artico, Marino

2005-01-01

Indolyl aryl sulfones (IASs) are a potent class of NNRTIs developed from L-737,126, a lead agent discovered by Merck AG. IAS derivatives are endowed with inhibitory activities against wt HIV-1 in the low nanomolar concentration range. Introduction of two methyl groups at positions 3 and 5 of the phenyl ring of the aryl sulfonyl moiety furnished IAS derivatives such as 5-chloro- or 5-bromo-3-[(3,5-dimethylphenyl)sulfonyl]indole-2-carboxyamide, which showed very potent and selective anti-HIV-1 activity against some mutants carrying NNRTI resistant mutations at positions 103 and 181 of the reverse transcriptase. IAS derivatives bearing 2-hydroxyethylcarboxyamide or 2-hydroxyethylcarboxyhydrazide groups at position 2 of the indole nucleus were more active than L-737,126 against the K103N-Y181C double mutant. A great improvement of antiviral activity against wt HIV-1 and resistant mutants was obtained by coupling 1-3 simple amino acids, such as glycine and alanine, in sequence, with the 3-[(3,5-dimethylphenyl)sulfonyl]-1H-indole-2-carbonyl moiety. The transformation of the chain terminus into amide or hydrazide, produced short peptides with high selectivity and potent activity against wt HIV-1, and the viral mutants Y181C, K103N-Y181C and EFV(R). IAS having two halogen atoms at the indole showed potent inhibitory activity against the Y181C and the EFV(R) resistant mutant strains. In particular, the introduction of a fluorine atom at position 4 of the indole ring notably contributed to improve the antiviral activities against both wt and the related resistant mutants. 5-Nitro-IASs were highly active against wt HIV-1 and exhibited low cytotoxicity. Experimental data highlighted the class IAS derivatives as promising candidates for clinical trials.

Substituted N-aryl-6-pyrimidinones: A new class of potent, selective, and orally active p38 MAP kinase inhibitors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Devadas, Balekudru; Selness, Shaun R.; Xing, Li

2012-02-28

A novel series of highly potent and selective p38 MAP kinase inhibitors was developed originating from a substituted N-aryl-6-pyrimidinone scaffold. SAR studies coupled with in vivo evaluations in rat arthritis model culminated in the identification of 10 with excellent oral efficacy. Compound 10 exhibited a significantly enhanced dissolution rate compared to 1, translating to a high oral bioavailability (>90%) in rat. In animal studies 10 inhibited LPS-stimulated production of tumor necrosis factor-{alpha} in a dose-dependent manner and demonstrated robust efficacy comparable to dexamethasone in a rat streptococcal cell wall-induced arthritis model.

Fatty Acyl Incorporation in the Biosynthesis of WAP-8294A, a Group of Potent Anti-MRSA Cyclic Lipodepsipeptides

PubMed Central

Chen, Haotong; Olson, Andrew S.; Su, Wei; Dussault, Patrick H.; Du, Liangcheng

2015-01-01

WAP-8294A is a family of at least 20 cyclic lipodepsipeptides exhibiting potent anti-MRSA activity. These compounds differ mainly in the hydroxylated fatty acyl chain; WAP-8294A2, the most potent member of the family that reached clinical trials, is based on (R)-3-hydroxy-7-methyloctanoic acid. It is unclear how the acyl group is incorporated because no acyl-CoA ligase (ACL) gene is present in the WAP-8294A gene cluster in Lysobacter enzymogenes OH11. Here, we identified seven putative ACL genes in the OH11 genome and showed that the yield of WAP-8294A2 was impacted by multiple ACL genes with the ACL6 gene having the most significant effect. We then investigated several (R)-3-hydroxy fatty acids and their acyl SNAC (N-acetylcysteamine) thioesters as substrates for the ACLs. Feeding (R)-3-hydroxy-7-methyloctanoate-SNAC to the ACL6 gene deletion mutant restored the production of WAP-8294A2. Finally, we heterologously expressed the seven ACL genes in E. coli and purified six of the proteins. While these enzymes exhibit a varied level of activity in vitro, ACL6 showed the highest catalytic efficiency in converting (R)-3-hydroxy-7-methyloctanoic acid to its CoA thioester when incubated with coenzyme A and ATP. These results provided both in vivo and in vitro evidence to support the fact that ACL6 is the main player for fatty acyl activation and incorporation in WAP-8294A2 biosynthesis. The results also suggest that the molecular basis for the acyl chain diversity in the WAP-8294A family is the presence of functionally overlapping ACLs. PMID:26726302

Fatty Acyl Incorporation in the Biosynthesis of WAP-8294A, a Group of Potent Anti-MRSA Cyclic Lipodepsipeptides.

PubMed

Chen, Haotong; Olson, Andrew S; Su, Wei; Dussault, Patrick H; Du, Liangcheng

WAP-8294A is a family of at least 20 cyclic lipodepsipeptides exhibiting potent anti-MRSA activity. These compounds differ mainly in the hydroxylated fatty acyl chain; WAP-8294A2, the most potent member of the family that reached clinical trials, is based on ( R )-3-hydroxy-7-methyloctanoic acid. It is unclear how the acyl group is incorporated because no acyl-CoA ligase (ACL) gene is present in the WAP-8294A gene cluster in Lysobacter enzymogenes OH11. Here, we identified seven putative ACL genes in the OH11 genome and showed that the yield of WAP-8294A2 was impacted by multiple ACL genes with the ACL6 gene having the most significant effect. We then investigated several ( R )-3-hydroxy fatty acids and their acyl SNAC ( N -acetylcysteamine) thioesters as substrates for the ACLs. Feeding ( R )-3-hydroxy-7-methyloctanoate-SNAC to the ACL6 gene deletion mutant restored the production of WAP-8294A2. Finally, we heterologously expressed the seven ACL genes in E. coli and purified six of the proteins. While these enzymes exhibit a varied level of activity in vitro , ACL6 showed the highest catalytic efficiency in converting ( R )-3-hydroxy-7-methyloctanoic acid to its CoA thioester when incubated with coenzyme A and ATP. These results provided both in vivo and in vitro evidence to support the fact that ACL6 is the main player for fatty acyl activation and incorporation in WAP-8294A2 biosynthesis. The results also suggest that the molecular basis for the acyl chain diversity in the WAP-8294A family is the presence of functionally overlapping ACLs.

Identification and characterization of novel and potent transcription promoters of Francisella tularensis.

PubMed

Zaide, Galia; Grosfeld, Haim; Ehrlich, Sharon; Zvi, Anat; Cohen, Ofer; Shafferman, Avigdor

2011-03-01

Two alternative promoter trap libraries, based on the green fluorescence protein (gfp) reporter and on the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (cat) cassette, were constructed for isolation of potent Francisella tularensis promoters. Of the 26,000 F. tularensis strain LVS gfp library clones, only 3 exhibited visible fluorescence following UV illumination and all appeared to carry the bacterioferritin promoter (Pbfr). Out of a total of 2,000 chloramphenicol-resistant LVS clones isolated from the cat promoter library, we arbitrarily selected 40 for further analysis. Over 80% of these clones carry unique F. tularensis DNA sequences which appear to drive a wide range of protein expression, as determined by specific chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) Western dot blot and enzymatic assays. The DNA sequence information for the 33 unique and novel F. tularensis promoters reported here, along with the results of in silico and primer extension analyses, suggest that F. tularensis possesses classical Escherichia coli σ(70)-related promoter motifs. These motifs include the -10 (TATAAT) and -35 [TTGA(C/T)A] domains and an AT-rich region upstream from -35, reminiscent of but distinct from the E. coli upstream region that is termed the UP element. The most efficient promoter identified (Pbfr) appears to be about 10 times more potent than the F. tularensis groEL promoter and is probably among the strongest promoters in F. tularensis. The battery of promoters identified in this work will be useful, among other things, for genetic manipulation in the background of F. tularensis intended to gain better understanding of the mechanisms involved in pathogenesis and virulence, as well as for vaccine development studies.

Discovery of potent cytotoxic ortho-aryl chalcones as new scaffold targeting tubulin and mitosis with affinity-based fluorescence.

PubMed

Zhu, Cuige; Zuo, Yinglin; Wang, Ruimin; Liang, Baoxia; Yue, Xin; Wen, Gesi; Shang, Nana; Huang, Lei; Chen, Yu; Du, Jun; Bu, Xianzhang

2014-08-14

A series of new ortho-aryl chalcones have been designed and synthesized. Many of these compounds were found to exhibit significant antiproliferation activity toward a panel of cancer cell lines. Selected compounds show potent cytotoxicity against several drug resistant cell lines including paclitaxel (Taxol) resistant human ovarian carcinoma cells, vincristine resistant human ileocecum carcinoma cells, and doxorubicin resistant human breast carcinoma cells. Further investigation revealed that active analogues could inhibit the microtubule polymerization by binding to colchicine site and thus induce multipolar mitosis, G2/M phase arrest, and apoptosis of cancer cells. Furthermore, affinity-based fluorescence enhancement was observed during the binding of active compounds with tubulin, which greatly facilitated the determination of tubulin binding site of the compounds. Finally, selected compound 26 was found to exhibit obvious in vivo antitumor activity in A549 tumor xenografts model. Our systematic studies implied a new scaffold targeting tubulin and mitosis for novel antitumor drug discovery.

Design, synthesis, and in vivo SAR of a novel series of pyrazolines as potent selective androgen receptor modulators.

PubMed

Zhang, Xuqing; Li, Xiaojie; Allan, George F; Sbriscia, Tifanie; Linton, Olivia; Lundeen, Scott G; Sui, Zhihua

2007-08-09

A novel series of pyrazolines 2 have been designed, synthesized, and evaluated by in vivo screening as tissue-selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs). Structure-activity relationships (SAR) were investigated at the R1 to R6 positions as well as the core pyrazoline ring and the anilide linker. Overall, strong electron-withdrawing groups at the R1 and R2 positions and a small group at the R5 and R6 position are optimal for AR agonist activity. The (S)-isomer of 7c exhibits more potent AR agonist activity than the corresponding (R)-isomer. (S)-7c exhibited an overall partial androgenic effect but full anabolic effect via oral administration in castrated rats. It demonstrated a noticeable antiandrogenic effect on prostate in intact rats with endogenous testosterone. Thus, (S)-7c is a tissue-selective nonsteroidal androgen receptor modulator with agonist activity on muscle and mixed agonist and antagonist activity on prostate.

The neuro-steroid, 3β androstene 17α diol exhibits potent cytotoxic effects on human malignant glioma and lymphoma cells through different programmed cell death pathways

PubMed Central

Graf, M R; Jia, W; Loria, R M

2007-01-01

The neuro-steroids 3β-androstene-17α-diol (17α-AED), 3β-androstene-17β-diol (17β-AED), 3β-androstene-7α,-17β-triol (7α-AET) and 3β-androstene-7β,-17β-triol (7β-AET) are metabolites of dehydroepiandrosterone and are produced in neuro-ectodermal tissue. Both epimers of androstenediols (17α-AED and 17β-AED) and androstenetriols (7α-AET and 7β-AET) have markedly different biological functions of their chemical analogue. We investigated the cytotoxic activity of these neuro-steroids on human T98G and U251MG glioblastoma and U937 lymphoma cells. Proliferation studies showed that 17α-AED is the most potent inhibitor, with an IC50 ∼15 μM. For T98G glioma, 90% inhibition was achieved with 25 μM of 17α-AED. Other neuro-steroids tested only marginally suppressed cell proliferation. Reduced cell adherence and viability could be detected after 18 h of 17α-AED exposure. Treatment with 17α-AED induced a significant level of apoptosis in U937 lymphoma cells, but not in the glioma cells. Cytopathology of 17α-AED-treated T98G cells revealed the presence of multiple cytoplasmic vacuoles. Acridine orange staining demonstrated the formation of acidic vesicular organelles in 17α-AED-treated T98G and U251MG, which was inhibited by bafilomycin A1. These findings indicate that 17α-AED bears the most potent cytotoxic activity of the neuro-steroids tested, and the effectiveness may depend on the number of hydroxyls and their position on the androstene molecule. These cytotoxic effects may utilize a non-apoptotic pathway in malignant glioma cells. PMID:17637679

Extensive screening for herbal extracts with potent antioxidant properties

PubMed Central

Niwano, Yoshimi; Saito, Keita; Yoshizaki, Fumihiko; Kohno, Masahiro; Ozawa, Toshihiko

2011-01-01

This paper summarizes our research for herbal extracts with potent antioxidant activity obtained from a large scale screening based on superoxide radical (O2•−) scavenging activity followed by characterization of antioxidant properties. Firstly, scavenging activity against O2•− was extensively screened from ethanol extracts of approximately 1000 kinds of herbs by applying an electron spin resonance (ESR)-spin trapping method, and we chose four edible herbal extracts with prominently potent ability to scavenge O2•−. They are the extracts from Punica granatum (Peel), Syzygium aromaticum (Bud), Mangifera indica (Kernel), and Phyllanthus emblica (Fruit). These extracts were further examined to determine if they also scavenge hydroxyl radical (•OH), by applying the ESR spin-trapping method, and if they have heat resistance as a desirable characteristic feature. Experiments with the Fenton reaction and photolysis of H2O2 induced by UV irradiation demonstrated that all four extracts have potent ability to directly scavenge •OH. Furthermore, the scavenging activities against O2•− and •OH of the extracts of P. granatum (peel), M. indica (kernel) and P. emblica (fruit) proved to be heat-resistant. The results of the review might give useful information when choosing a potent antioxidant as a foodstuff. For instance, the four herbal extracts chosen from extensive screening possess desirable antioxidant properties. In particular, the extracts of the aforementioned three herbs are expected to be suitable for food processing in which thermal devices are used, because of their heat resistance. PMID:21297917

Truncation studies of alpha-melanotropin peptides identify tripeptide analogues exhibiting prolonged agonist bioactivity.

PubMed

Haskell-Luevano, C; Sawyer, T K; Hendrata, S; North, C; Panahinia, L; Stum, M; Staples, D J; Castrucci, A M; Hadley, M F; Hruby, V J

1996-01-01

Truncation studies of alpha-melanotropin peptides identify tripeptide analogues exhibiting prolonged agonist bioactivity: PEPTIDES 17(6) 995-1002, 1996.-Systematic analysis of fragment derivatives of the superpotent alpha-MSH analogue. Ac-Ser.Tyr-Ser-Nle4-Glu- His-DPhe7-Arg-Trp-Gly-Lys-Pro-Val-NH2(NDP-MSH), led to the discovery of tripeptide agonists possessing prolonged bioactivity in the frog skin assay. Of particular significance to this discovery was Ac-DPhe-Arg-DTrp-NH2, which was the most potent tripeptide in this series exhibiting sustained melanotropic activity. Different pharmacophore models appear to exist that are dependent on the substructure and stereochemistry of the MSH(6-9) "active site." The tripeptides Ac-DPhe-Arg-Trp-NH2, Ac-DPhe-Arg-DTrp-NH2, and Ac-DPhe-DArg-Trp-NH2 stereo-chemical combinations require only Phe7-Xaa8-Trp9, whereas Ac-DPhe-DArg-DTrp-NH2, Ac-Phe-Arg-DTrp-NH2, and Ac-Phe-Arg-Trp-NH2 additionally require His4 for minimal biological activity. Ac-DPhe-Arg-DTrp-NH2 represents a novel prototype lead for the development of MSH-based peptidomimetic agonists.

Rational CCL5 mutagenesis integration in a lactobacilli platform generates extremely potent HIV-1 blockers.

PubMed

Secchi, Massimiliano; Grampa, Valentina; Vangelista, Luca

2018-01-30

Efforts to improve existing anti-HIV-1 therapies or develop preventatives have identified CCR5 as an important target and CCL5 as an ideal scaffold to sculpt potent HIV-1 entry inhibitors. We created novel human CCL5 variants that exhibit exceptional anti-HIV-1 features using recombinant lactobacilli (exploited for live microbicide development) as a screening platform. Protein design, expression and anti-HIV-1 activity flowed in iterative cycles, with a stepwise integration of successful mutations and refinement of an initial CCL5 mutant battery towards the generation of two ultimate CCL5 derivatives, a CCR5 agonist and a CCR5 antagonist with similar anti-HIV-1 potency. The CCR5 antagonist was tested in human macrophages and against primary R5 HIV-1 strains, exhibiting cross-clade low picomolar IC 50 activity. Moreover, its successful combination with several HIV-1 inhibitors provided the ground for conceiving therapeutic and preventative anti-HIV-1 cocktails. Beyond HIV-1 infection, these CCL5 derivatives may now be tested against several inflammation-related pathologies where the CCL5:CCR5 axis plays a relevant role.

Synthesis of novel ring-contracted artemisinin dimers with potent anticancer activities.

PubMed

Zhang, Ning; Yu, Zhimei; Yang, Xiaohong; Hu, Ping; He, Yun

2018-04-25

Artemisinin is a potential anticancer agent with an interesting trioxane sesquiterpene structure. In order to improve the biological activity and metabolic stability of artemisinin, a series of novel ring-contracted artemisinin dimers were synthesized. These dimers were evaluated by MTT assay against six cancer cell lines. Most of the dimmers exhibited improved antiproliferative activities over artemisinin. Especially, compound 8b showed the most pronounced anti-cancer activity for PC12 cancer cells with an IC 50 value of 1.56 μM. Thus, PC12 cancer cells were used to further investigate the mechanism of antiproliferation for this series of compounds. Compound 8b arrested cell cycle at G1 phase and induced cell apoptosis via up-regulation of Bad, Bax, caspase-3 and caspase-9 protein expressions while inhibiting the expression of Bcl-xL. The present studies are the first to synthesize the ring-contracted artemisinin as dimers and show that these dimers have potent anti-tumor activities against several cancer cell lines. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Isolation of potent neutralizing antibodies from a survivor of the 2014 Ebola virus outbreak.

PubMed

Bornholdt, Zachary A; Turner, Hannah L; Murin, Charles D; Li, Wen; Sok, Devin; Souders, Colby A; Piper, Ashley E; Goff, Arthur; Shamblin, Joshua D; Wollen, Suzanne E; Sprague, Thomas R; Fusco, Marnie L; Pommert, Kathleen B J; Cavacini, Lisa A; Smith, Heidi L; Klempner, Mark; Reimann, Keith A; Krauland, Eric; Gerngross, Tillman U; Wittrup, Karl D; Saphire, Erica Ollmann; Burton, Dennis R; Glass, Pamela J; Ward, Andrew B; Walker, Laura M

2016-03-04

Antibodies targeting the Ebola virus surface glycoprotein (EBOV GP) are implicated in protection against lethal disease, but the characteristics of the human antibody response to EBOV GP remain poorly understood. We isolated and characterized 349 GP-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from the peripheral B cells of a convalescent donor who survived the 2014 EBOV Zaire outbreak. Remarkably, 77% of the mAbs neutralize live EBOV, and several mAbs exhibit unprecedented potency. Structures of selected mAbs in complex with GP reveal a site of vulnerability located in the GP stalk region proximal to the viral membrane. Neutralizing antibodies targeting this site show potent therapeutic efficacy against lethal EBOV challenge in mice. The results provide a framework for the design of new EBOV vaccine candidates and immunotherapies. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Amide-based inhibitors of p38alpha MAP kinase. Part 2: design, synthesis and SAR of potent N-pyrimidyl amides.

PubMed

Tester, Richland; Tan, Xuefei; Luedtke, Gregory R; Nashashibi, Imad; Schinzel, Kurt; Liang, Weiling; Jung, Joon; Dugar, Sundeep; Liclican, Albert; Tabora, Jocelyn; Levy, Daniel E; Do, Steven

2010-04-15

Optimization of a tri-substituted N-pyridyl amide led to the discovery of a new class of potent N-pyrimidyl amide based p38alpha MAP kinase inhibitors. Initial SAR studies led to the identification of 5-dihydrofuran as an optimal hydrophobic group. Additional side chain modifications resulted in the introduction of hydrogen bond interactions. Through extensive SAR studies, analogs bearing free amino groups and alternatives to the parent (S)-alpha-methyl benzyl moiety were identified. These compounds exhibited improved cellular activities and maintained balance between p38alpha and CYP3A4 inhibition. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pre-clinical pharmacology of ICI D2138, a potent orally-active non-redox inhibitor of 5-lipoxygenase.

PubMed Central

McMillan, R. M.; Spruce, K. E.; Crawley, G. C.; Walker, E. R.; Foster, S. J.

1992-01-01

1. This paper describes the pre-clinical pharmacology of ICI D2138, a potent orally-active non-redox inhibitor of 5-lipoxygenase which is undergoing clinical evaluation. 2. ICI D2138 potently inhibited leukotriene synthesis in murine peritoneal macrophages (IC50 = 3 nM) and human blood (IC50 = 20 nM). In human and dog blood, ICI D2138 did not inhibit thromboxane B2 synthesis at a concentration of 500 microM, thus the selectivity ratio (cyclo-oxygenase: 5-lipoxygenase) was greater than 20,000. In contrast, zileuton (a 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor also undergoing clinical evaluation) exhibited a selectivity ratio of 15-100. 3. ICI D2138 potently and dose-dependently inhibited ex vivo leukotriene B4 (LTB4) synthesis by rat blood with ED50 values of 0.9, 4.0 and 80.0 mg kg-1 p.o. at 3, 10 and 20 h respectively after dosing. Similar activity was observed for inhibition of LTB4 production in a zymosan-inflamed rat air pouch model. Zileuton produced ED50 values of 5 and 20 mg kg-1 at 3 and 10 h respectively. 4. Oral administration of 1, 3 or 10 mg kg-1 ICI D2138 to dogs produced maximal inhibition of ex vivo LTB4 synthesis by blood for 5, 9 and 31 h respectively. A dose of 5 mg kg-1 p.o. of zileuton caused maximal inhibition of LTB4 for 24 h. 5. Oral administration of 10 mg kg-1 ICI D2138 caused total inhibition of LTB4 production in zymosan-inflamed rabbit knee joint. 6. Topical administration of ICI D2138 to rabbit skin caused a dose-related inhibition of arachidonic acid-induced plasma extravasation with an ID30 of 1.08 nmol per site.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) PMID:1334748

RIPK1 and PGAM5 Control Leishmania Replication through Distinct Mechanisms.

PubMed

Farias Luz, Nivea; Balaji, Sakthi; Okuda, Kendi; Barreto, Aline Silva; Bertin, John; Gough, Peter J; Gazzinelli, Ricardo; Almeida, Roque P; Bozza, Marcelo T; Borges, Valeria M; Chan, Francis Ka-Ming

2016-06-15

Leishmaniasis is an important parasitic disease found in the tropics and subtropics. Cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis affect an estimated 1.5 million people worldwide. Despite its human health relevance, relatively little is known about the cell death pathways that control Leishmania replication in the host. Necroptosis is a recently identified form of cell death with potent antiviral effects. Receptor interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) is a critical kinase that mediates necroptosis downstream of death receptors and TLRs. Heme, a product of hemoglobin catabolism during certain intracellular pathogen infections, is also a potent inducer of macrophage necroptosis. We found that human visceral leishmaniasis patients exhibit elevated serum levels of heme. Therefore, we examined the impact of heme and necroptosis on Leishmania replication. Indeed, heme potently inhibited Leishmania replication in bone marrow-derived macrophages. Moreover, we found that inhibition of RIPK1 kinase activity also enhanced parasite replication in the absence of heme. We further found that the mitochondrial phosphatase phosphoglycerate mutase family member 5 (PGAM5), a putative downstream effector of RIPK1, was also required for inhibition of Leishmania replication. In mouse infection, both PGAM5 and RIPK1 kinase activity are required for IL-1β expression in response to Leishmania However, PGAM5, but not RIPK1 kinase activity, was directly responsible for Leishmania-induced IL-1β secretion and NO production in bone marrow-derived macrophages. Collectively, these results revealed that RIPK1 and PGAM5 function independently to exert optimal control of Leishmania replication in the host. Copyright © 2016 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.

Caged Garcinia Xanthones, a Novel Chemical Scaffold with Potent Antimalarial Activity.

PubMed

Ke, Hangjun; Morrisey, Joanne M; Qu, Shiwei; Chantarasriwong, Oraphin; Mather, Michael W; Theodorakis, Emmanuel A; Vaidya, Akhil B

2017-01-01

Caged Garcinia xanthones (CGXs) constitute a family of natural products that are produced by tropical/subtropical trees of the genus Garcinia CGXs have a unique chemical architecture, defined by the presence of a caged scaffold at the C ring of a xanthone moiety, and exhibit a broad range of biological activities. Here we show that synthetic CGXs exhibit antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum, the causative parasite of human malaria, at the intraerythrocytic stages. Their activity can be substantially improved by attaching a triphenylphosphonium group at the A ring of the caged xanthone. Specifically, CR135 and CR142 were found to be highly effective antimalarial inhibitors, with 50% effective concentrations as low as ∼10 nM. CGXs affect malaria parasites at multiple intraerythrocytic stages, with mature stages (trophozoites and schizonts) being more vulnerable than immature rings. Within hours of CGX treatment, malaria parasites display distinct morphological changes, significant reduction of parasitemia (the percentage of infected red blood cells), and aberrant mitochondrial fragmentation. CGXs do not, however, target the mitochondrial electron transport chain, the target of the drug atovaquone and several preclinical candidates. CGXs are cytotoxic to human HEK293 cells at the low micromolar level, which results in a therapeutic window of around 150-fold for the lead compounds. In summary, we show that CGXs are potent antimalarial compounds with structures distinct from those of previously reported antimalarial inhibitors. Our results highlight the potential to further develop Garcinia natural product derivatives as novel antimalarial agents. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Microbiology.

Potent cross-reactive neutralization of SARS coronavirus isolates by human monoclonal antibodies

PubMed Central

Zhu, Zhongyu; Chakraborti, Samitabh; He, Yuxian; Roberts, Anjeanette; Sheahan, Tim; Xiao, Xiaodong; Hensley, Lisa E.; Prabakaran, Ponraj; Rockx, Barry; Sidorov, Igor A.; Corti, Davide; Vogel, Leatrice; Feng, Yang; Kim, Jae-Ouk; Wang, Lin-Fa; Baric, Ralph; Lanzavecchia, Antonio; Curtis, Kristopher M.; Nabel, Gary J.; Subbarao, Kanta; Jiang, Shibo; Dimitrov, Dimiter S.

2007-01-01

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) caused a worldwide epidemic in late 2002/early 2003 and a second outbreak in the winter of 2003/2004 by an independent animal-to-human transmission. The GD03 strain, which was isolated from an index patient of the second outbreak, was reported to resist neutralization by the human monoclonal antibodies (hmAbs) 80R and S3.1, which can potently neutralize isolates from the first outbreak. Here we report that two hmAbs, m396 and S230.15, potently neutralized GD03 and representative isolates from the first SARS outbreak (Urbani, Tor2) and from palm civets (SZ3, SZ16). These antibodies also protected mice challenged with the Urbani or recombinant viruses bearing the GD03 and SZ16 spike (S) glycoproteins. Both antibodies competed with the SARS-CoV receptor, ACE2, for binding to the receptor-binding domain (RBD), suggesting a mechanism of neutralization that involves interference with the SARS-CoV–ACE2 interaction. Two putative hot-spot residues in the RBD (Ile-489 and Tyr-491) were identified within the SARS-CoV spike that likely contribute to most of the m396-binding energy. Residues Ile-489 and Tyr-491 are highly conserved within the SARS-CoV spike, indicating a possible mechanism of the m396 cross-reactivity. Sequence analysis and mutagenesis data show that m396 might neutralize all zoonotic and epidemic SARS-CoV isolates with known sequences, except strains derived from bats. These antibodies exhibit cross-reactivity against isolates from the two SARS outbreaks and palm civets and could have potential applications for diagnosis, prophylaxis, and treatment of SARS-CoV infections. PMID:17620608

A TAD further: exogenous control of gene activation.

PubMed

Mapp, Anna K; Ansari, Aseem Z

2007-01-23

Designer molecules that can be used to impose exogenous control on gene transcription, artificial transcription factors (ATFs), are highly desirable as mechanistic probes of gene regulation, as potential therapeutic agents, and as components of cell-based devices. Recently, several advances have been made in the design of ATFs that activate gene transcription (activator ATFs), including reports of small-molecule-based systems and ATFs that exhibit potent activity. However, the many open mechanistic questions about transcriptional activators, in particular, the structure and function of the transcriptional activation domain (TAD), have hindered rapid development of synthetic ATFs. A compelling need thus exists for chemical tools and insights toward a more detailed portrait of the dynamic process of gene activation.

Identification and Characterization of the First Cathelicidin from Sea Snakes with Potent Antimicrobial and Anti-inflammatory Activity and Special Mechanism*

PubMed Central

Wei, Lin; Gao, Jiuxiang; Zhang, Shumin; Wu, Sijin; Xie, Zeping; Ling, Guiying; Kuang, Yi-Qun; Yang, Yongliang; Yu, Haining; Wang, Yipeng

2015-01-01

Cathelicidins are a family of gene-encoded peptide effectors of innate immunity found exclusively in vertebrates. They play pivotal roles in host immune defense against microbial invasions. Dozens of cathelicidins have been identified from several vertebrate species. However, no cathelicidin from marine reptiles has been characterized previously. Here we report the identification and characterization of a novel cathelicidin (Hc-CATH) from the sea snake Hydrophis cyanocinctus. Hc-CATH is composed of 30 amino acids, and the sequence is KFFKRLLKSVRRAVKKFRKKPRLIGLSTLL. Circular dichroism spectroscopy and structure modeling analysis indicated that Hc-CATH mainly assumes an amphipathic α-helical conformation in bacterial membrane-mimetic solutions. It possesses potent broad-spectrum and rapid antimicrobial activity. Meanwhile, it is highly stable and shows low cytotoxicity toward mammalian cells. The microbial killing activity of Hc-CATH is executed through the disruption of cell membrane and lysis of bacterial cells. In addition, Hc-CATH exhibited potent anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting the LPS-induced production of nitric oxide (NO) and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6. Hc-CATH directly binds with LPS to neutralize its toxicity, and it also binds to Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4/MD2 complex), which therefore inhibits the binding of LPS to TLR4/MD2 complex and the subsequent activation of LPS-induced inflammatory response pathways. Taken together, our study demonstrates that Hc-CATH, the first cathelicidin from sea snake discovered to have both antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity, is a potent candidate for the development of peptide antibiotics. PMID:26013823

Synthesis, biological evaluation and structure-activity relationship studies of isoflavene based Mannich bases with potent anti-cancer activity.

PubMed

Chen, Yilin; Cass, Shelley L; Kutty, Samuel K; Yee, Eugene M H; Chan, Daniel S H; Gardner, Christopher R; Vittorio, Orazio; Pasquier, Eddy; Black, David StC; Kumar, Naresh

2015-11-15

Phenoxodiol, an analogue of the isoflavone natural product daidzein, is a potent anti-cancer agent that has been investigated for the treatment of hormone dependent cancers. This molecular scaffold was reacted with different primary amines and secondary amines under different Mannich conditions to yield either benzoxazine or aminomethyl substituted analogues. These processes enabled the generation of a diverse range of analogues that were required for structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies. The resulting Mannich bases exhibited prominent anti-proliferative effects against SHEP neuroblastoma and MDA-MB-231 breast adenocarcinoma cell lines. Further cytotoxicity studies against MRC-5 normal lung fibroblast cells showed that the isoflavene analogues were selective towards cancer cells. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hydrocarbon-stapled lipopeptides exhibit selective antimicrobial activity.

PubMed

Jenner, Zachary B; Crittenden, Christopher M; Gonzalez, Martín; Brodbelt, Jennifer S; Bruns, Kerry A

2017-05-01

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) occur widely in nature and have been studied for their therapeutic potential. AMPs are of interest due to the large number of possible chemical structural combinations using natural and unnatural amino acids, with varying effects on their biological activities. Using physicochemical properties from known naturally occurring amphipathic cationic AMPs, several hydrocarbon-stapled lipopeptides (HSLPs) were designed, synthesized, and tested for antimicrobial properties. Peptides were chemically modified by N-terminal acylation, C-terminal amidation, and some were hydrocarbon stapled by intramolecular olefin metathesis. The effects of peptide length, amphipathic character, and stapling on antimicrobial activity were tested against Escherichia coli, three species of Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus megaterium, and Enterococcus faecalis), and two strains of Candida albicans. Peptides were shown to disrupt liposomes of different phospholipid composition, as measured by leakage of a fluorescent compound from vesicles. Peptides with (S)-2-(4'-pentenyl)-alanine substituted for l-alanine in a reference peptide showed a marked increase in antimicrobial activity, hemolysis, and membrane disruption. Stapled peptides exhibited slightly higher antimicrobial potency; those with greatest hydrophobic character showed the greatest hemolysis and liposome leakage, but lower antimicrobial activity. The results support a model of HSLPs as membrane-disruptive AMPs with potent antimicrobial activity and relatively low hemolytic potential at biologically active peptide concentrations. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The 5-HT(4) agonists cisapride, mosapride, and CJ-033466, a Novel potent compound, exhibit different human ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG)-blocking activities.

PubMed

Toga, Tetsuo; Kohmura, Yumi; Kawatsu, Ryoichi

2007-10-01

The blocking effect of three 5-HT(4) agonists, cisapride, mosapride, and the newly discovered CJ-033466 on the human ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG) channel was studied using a whole cell patch-clamp technique in HEK293 cells. Cisapride was found to be the most potent of the hERG blockers. CJ-033466 had the widest safety margin between its hERG blocking activity and 5-HT(4) agonism among the tested compounds. This suggests a lower clinical risk of cardiac arrhythmia in CJ-033466 compared with the other 2 agonists. Therefore, CJ-033466 has the potential to be a drug with higher therapeutic efficacy and less cardiac risk than both cisapride and mosapride.

9-Benzoyl 9-deazaguanines as potent xanthine oxidase inhibitors.

PubMed

Rodrigues, Marili V N; Barbosa, Alexandre F; da Silva, Júlia F; dos Santos, Deborah A; Vanzolini, Kenia L; de Moraes, Marcela C; Corrêa, Arlene G; Cass, Quezia B

2016-01-15

A novel potent xanthine oxidase inhibitor, 3-nitrobenzoyl 9-deazaguanine (LSPN451), was selected from a series of 10 synthetic derivatives. The enzymatic assays were carried out using an on-flow bidimensional liquid chromatography (2D LC) system, which allowed the screening¸ the measurement of the kinetic inhibition constant and the characterization of the inhibition mode. This compound showed a non-competitive inhibition mechanism with more affinity for the enzyme-substrate complex than for the free enzyme, and inhibition constant of 55.1±9.80 nM, about thirty times more potent than allopurinol. Further details of synthesis and enzymatic studies are presented herein. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cyclic Peptide-Polymer Nanotubes as Efficient and Highly Potent Drug Delivery Systems for Organometallic Anticancer Complexes.

PubMed

Larnaudie, Sophie C; Brendel, Johannes C; Romero-Canelón, Isolda; Sanchez-Cano, Carlos; Catrouillet, Sylvain; Sanchis, Joaquin; Coverdale, James P C; Song, Ji-Inn; Habtemariam, Abraha; Sadler, Peter J; Jolliffe, Katrina A; Perrier, Sébastien

2018-01-08

Functional drug carrier systems have potential for increasing solubility and potency of drugs while reducing side effects. Complex polymeric materials, particularly anisotropic structures, are especially attractive due to their long circulation times. Here, we have conjugated cyclic peptides to the biocompatible polymer poly(2-hydroxypropyl methacrylamide) (pHPMA). The resulting conjugates were functionalized with organoiridium anticancer complexes. Small angle neutron scattering and static light scattering confirmed their self-assembly and elongated cylindrical shape. Drug-loaded nanotubes exhibited more potent antiproliferative activity toward human cancer cells than either free drug or the drug-loaded polymers, while the nanotubes themselves were nontoxic. Cellular accumulation studies revealed that the increased potency of the conjugate appears to be related to a more efficient mode of action rather than a higher cellular accumulation of iridium.

Recent Progress on C-4-Modified Podophyllotoxin Analogs as Potent Antitumor Agents

PubMed Central

Liu, Ying-Qian; Tian, Jing; Qian, Keduo; Zhao, Xiao-Bo; Morris-Natschke, Susan L.; Yang, Liu; Nan, Xiang; Tian, Xuan; Lee, Kuo-Hsiung

2015-01-01

Podophyllotoxin (PPT), as well as its congeners and derivatives, exhibits pronounced biological activities, especially antineoplastic effects. Its strong inhibitory effect on tumor cell growth led to the development of three of the most highly prescribed anticancer drugs in the world, etoposide, teniposide, and the water-soluble prodrug etoposide phosphate. Their clinical success as well as intriguing mechanism of action stimulated great interest in further modification of PPT for better antitumor activity. The C-4 position has been a major target for structural derivatization aimed at either producing more potent compounds or overcoming drug resistance. Accordingly, numerous PPT derivatives have been prepared via hemisynthesis and important structure–activity relationship (SAR) correlations have been identified. Several resulting compounds, including GL-331, TOP-53, and NK611, reached clinical trials. Some excellent reviews on the distribution, sources, applications, synthesis, and SAR of PPT have been published. This review focuses on a second generation of new etoposide-related drugs and provides detailed coverage of the current status and recent development of C-4-modified PPT analogs as anticancer clinical trial candidates. PMID:24827545

Covalent Dimer Species of β-Defensin Defr1 Display Potent Antimicrobial Activity against Multidrug-Resistant Bacterial Pathogens▿

PubMed Central

Taylor, Karen; McCullough, Bryan; Clarke, David J.; Langley, Ross J.; Pechenick, Tali; Hill, Adrian; Campopiano, Dominic J.; Barran, Perdita E.; Dorin, Julia R.; Govan, John R. W.

2007-01-01

Beta defensins comprise a family of cationic, cysteine-rich antimicrobial peptides, predominantly expressed at epithelial surfaces. Previously we identified a unique five-cysteine defensin-related peptide (Defr1) that, when synthesized, is a mixture of dimeric isoforms and exhibits potent antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Here we report that Defr1 displays antimicrobial activity against an extended panel of multidrug-resistant nosocomial pathogens for which antimicrobial treatment is limited or nonexistent. Defr1 fractions were collected by high-pressure liquid chromatography and analyzed by gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. Antimicrobial activity was initially investigated with the type strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. All fractions tested displayed equivalent, potent antimicrobial activity levels comparable with that of the unfractionated Defr1. However, use of an oxidized, monomeric six-cysteine analogue (Defr1 Y5C), or of reduced Defr1, gave diminished antimicrobial activity. These results suggest that the covalent dimer structure of Defr1 is crucial to antimicrobial activity; this hypothesis was confirmed by investigation of a synthetic one-cysteine variant (Defr1-1cys). This gave an activity profile similar to that of synthetic Defr1 but only in an oxidized, dimeric form. Thus, we have shown that covalent, dimeric molecules based on the Defr1 β-defensin sequence demonstrate antimicrobial activity even in the absence of the canonical cysteine motif. PMID:17353239

DIMETHYLARSINE AND TRIMETHYLARSINE ARE POTENT GENOTOXINS IN VITRO.

EPA Science Inventory

Dimethylarsine and Trimethylarsine are potent genotoxins in vitro
Andrewes, P; Kitchin, KT; and Wallace, KA

Abstract
The mechanism of arsenic carcinogenesis is unclear. A complicating factor receiving increasing attention is that arsenic is biomethylated to form vari...

A novel dioxygenation product of arachidonic acid possesses potent chemotactic activity for human polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

PubMed

Shak, S; Perez, H D; Goldstein, I M

1983-12-25

We have found that a novel dioxygenation product of arachidonic acid, 8(S),15(S)-dihydroxy-5,11-cis-9,13-trans-eicosatetraenoic acid (8,15-diHETE), possesses chemotactic activity for human polymorphonuclear leukocytes comparable to that of leukotriene B4. Authentic 8,15-diHETE, identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, was prepared by treating arachidonic acid with soybean lipoxygenase and was purified by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography. Using a "leading front" assay, 8,15-diHETE exhibited significant chemotactic activity at a concentration of 5.0 ng/ml. Maximum chemotactic activity was observed at a concentration of 30 ng/ml. The 8,15-diHETE generated by mixed human leukocytes after stimulation with arachidonic acid and the calcium ionophore, A23187, exhibited quantitatively similar chemotactic activity. Two synthetic all-trans conjugated isomers of 8,15-diHETE, however, were not chemotactic at concentrations up to 500 ng/ml. In contrast to its potent chemotactic activity, 8,15-diHETE (at concentrations up to 10 micrograms/ml) was relatively inactive with respect to its ability to provoke either degranulation or generation of superoxide anion radicals by cytochalasin B-treated leukocytes. Both leukotriene B4 and 8,15-diHETE may be important mediators of inflammation.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of di-substituted cinnamic hydroxamic acids bearing urea/thiourea unit as potent histone deacetylase inhibitors.

PubMed

Ning, Chengqing; Bi, Yanjing; He, Yujun; Huang, WenYuan; Liu, Lifei; Li, Yi; Zhang, Sihan; Liu, Xiaoyu; Yu, Niefang

2013-12-01

A novel class of di-substituted cinnamic hydroxamic acid derivatives containing urea or thiourea unit was designed, synthesized and evaluated as HDAC inhibitors. All tested compounds demonstrated significant HDAC inhibitory activities and anti-proliferative effects against diverse human tumor cell lines. Among them, 7l exhibited most potent pan-HDAC inhibitory activity, with an IC50 value of 130 nM. It also showed strong cellular inhibition against diverse cell lines including HCT-116, MCF-7, MDB-MB-435 and NCI-460, with GI50 values of 0.35, 0.22, 0.51 and 0.48 μM, respectively. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identification and screening of potent antimicrobial peptides in arthropod genomes.

PubMed

Duwadi, Deepesh; Shrestha, Anishma; Yilma, Binyam; Kozlovski, Itamar; Sa-Eed, Munaya; Dahal, Nikesh; Jukosky, James

2018-05-01

Using tBLASTn and BLASTp searches, we queried recently sequenced arthropod genomes and expressed sequence tags (ESTs) using a database of known arthropod cecropins, defensins, and attacins. We identified and synthesized 6 potential AMPs and screened them for antimicrobial activity. Using radial diffusion assays and microtiter antimicrobial assays, we assessed the in vitro antimicrobial effects of these peptides against several human pathogens including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. We also conducted hemolysis assays to examine the cytotoxicity of these peptides to mammalian cells. Four of the six peptides identified showed antimicrobial effects in these assays. We also created truncated versions of these four peptides to assay their antimicrobial activity. Two cecropins derived from the monarch butterfly genome (Danaus plexippus), DAN1 and DAN2, showed minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) in the range of 2-16 μg/ml when screened against Gram-negative bacteria. HOLO1 and LOUDEF1, two defensin-like peptides derived from red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum) and human body louse (Pediculus humanus humanus), respectively, exhibited MICs in the range of 13-25 μg/ml against Gram-positive bacteria. Furthermore, HOLO1 showed an MIC less than 5 μg/ml against the fungal species Candida albicans. These peptides exhibited no hemolytic activity at concentrations up to 200 μg/ml. The truncated peptides derived from DAN2 and HOLO1 showed very little antimicrobial activity. Our experiments show that the peptides DAN1, DAN2, HOLO1, and LOUDEF1 showed potent antimicrobial activity in vitro against common human pathogens, did not lyse mammalian red blood cells, and indicates their potential as templates for novel therapeutic agents against microbial infection. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A potent synthetic inorganic antibiotic with activity against drug-resistant pathogens.

PubMed

Hubick, Shelby; Jayaraman, Arumugam; McKeen, Alexander; Reid, Shelby; Alcorn, Jane; Stavrinides, John; Sterenberg, Brian T

2017-02-06

The acronymously named "ESKAPE" pathogens represent a group of bacteria that continue to pose a serious threat to human health, not only due to their propensity for repeated emergence, but also due to their ability to "eskape" antibiotic treatment. The evolution of multi-drug resistance in these pathogens alone has greatly outpaced the development of new therapeutics, necessitating an alternative strategy for antibiotic development that considers the evolutionary mechanisms driving antibiotic resistance. In this study, we synthesize a novel inorganic antibiotic, phosphopyricin, which has antibiotic activity against the Gram-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE). We show that this potent antibiotic is bactericidal, and exhibits low toxicity in an acute dose assay in mice. As a synthetic compound that does not occur naturally, phosphopyricin would be evolutionarily foreign to microbes, thereby slowing the evolution of resistance. In addition, it loses antibiotic activity upon exposure to light, meaning that the active antibiotic will not accumulate in the general environment where strong selective pressures imposed by antibiotic residuals are known to accelerate resistance. Phosphopyricin represents an innovation in antimicrobials, having a synthetic core, and a photosensitive chemical architecture that would reduce accumulation in the environment.

Carvacrol as a potent natural acaricide against Dermanyssus gallinae.

PubMed

Tabari, Mohaddeseh Abouhosseini; Youssefi, Mohammad Reza; Barimani, Alireza; Araghi, Atefeh

2015-10-01

Resistance to conventional synthetic pesticides has been widely reported in Dermanyssus gallinae in poultry production systems. Introducing novel acaricides to poultry industry today is more urgent than ever. Research in this field recently focused on plants and plant-derived compounds as acaricides. In the present study, acaricidal activity of three plant bioactive components, carvacrol, thymol, and farnesol, was assessed against D. gallinae and compared with synthetic pesticide permethrin. Mode of acaricidal action was determined by contact toxicity and fumigant toxicity bioassays. Except farnesol which did not cause any mortality, carvacrol and thymol were found to be toxic to D. gallinae with LD50 values of 1 and 3.15 μg/cm(3), respectively. Permethrin gave the LD50 value of 31.95 μg/cm(3) which was less efficient than carvacrol and thymol. In fumigant toxicity bioassay, mortality rate in carvacrol- and thymol-treated groups in closed method was significantly higher than the open one. On the other hand, permethrin exhibited poor fumigant toxicity as there was no statistically significant difference between mortality rate in open and closed methods. These findings revealed that mechanism of acaricidal activity of carvacrol and thymol but not permethrin was mainly due to fumigant action. Results of the present study suggested that carvacrol and thymol, especially carvacrol, can be developed as a novel potent bioacaricide against D. gallinae.

Gallium Compounds Exhibit Potential as New Therapeutic Agents against Mycobacterium abscessus

PubMed Central

Abdalla, Maher Y.; Switzer, Barbara L.; Goss, Christopher H.; Aitken, Moira L.; Singh, Pradeep K.

2015-01-01

The rapidly growing nontuberculous mycobacterial species Mycobacterium abscessus has recently emerged as an important pathogen in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Treatment options are limited because of the organism's innate resistance to standard antituberculous antibiotics, as well as other currently available antibiotics. New antibiotic approaches to the treatment of M. abscessus are urgently needed. The goal of the present study was to assess the growth-inhibitory activity of different Ga compounds against an American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) strain and clinical isolates of M. abscessus obtained from CF and other patients. In our results, using Ga(NO3)3 and all of the other Ga compounds tested inhibited the growth of ATCC 19977 and clinical isolates of M. abscessus. Inhibition was mediated by disrupting iron uptake, as the addition of exogenous iron (Fe) restored basal growth. There were modest differences in inhibition among the isolates for the same Ga chelates, and for most Ga chelates there was only a slight difference in potency from Ga(NO3)3. In contrast, Ga-protoporphyrin completely and significantly inhibited the ATCC strain and clinical isolates of M. abscessus at much lower concentrations than Ga(NO3)3. In in vitro broth culture, Ga-protoporphyrin was more potent than Ga(NO3)3. When M. abscessus growth inside the human macrophage THP-1 cell line was assessed, Ga-protoporphyrin was >20 times more active than Ga(NO3)3. The present work suggests that Ga exhibits potent growth-inhibitory capacity against the ATCC strain, as well as against antibiotic-resistant clinical isolates of M. abscessus, including the highly antibiotic-resistant strain MC2638. Ga-based therapy offers the potential for further development as a novel therapy against M. abscessus. PMID:26033732

A Nanocomposite Hydrogel with Potent and Broad-Spectrum Antibacterial Activity.

PubMed

Dai, Tianjiao; Wang, Changping; Wang, Yuqing; Xu, Wei; Hu, Jingjing; Cheng, Yiyun

2018-05-02

Local bacterial infection is a challenging task and still remains a serious threat to human health in clinics. Systemic administration of antibiotics has only short-term antibacterial activity and usually causes adverse effects and bacterial resistance. A bioadhesive hydrogel with broad-spectrum and on-demand antibiotic activity is highly desirable. Here, we designed a pH-responsive nanocomposite hydrogel via a Schiff base linkage between oxidized polysaccharides and cationic dendrimers encapsulated with silver nanoparticles. The antibacterial components, both the cationic dendrimers and silver species, could be released in response to the acidity generated by growing bacteria. The released cationic polymer and silver exhibited a synergistic effect in antibacterial activity, and thus, the nanocomposite hydrogel showed potent antibacterial activity against both Gram-negative ( Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and Gram-positive bacteria ( Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus). The gel showed superior in vivo antibacterial efficacy against S. aureus infection compared with a commercial silver hydrogel at the same silver concentration. In addition, no obvious hemolytic toxicity, cytotoxicity, and tissue and biochemical toxicity were observed for the antibacterial hydrogel after incubation with cells or implantation. This study provides a facile and promising strategy to develop smart hydrogels to treat local bacterial infections.

A non-cytotoxic N-dehydroabietylamine derivative with potent antimalarial activity.

PubMed

Sadashiva, Maralinganadoddi P; Gowda, Raghavendra; Wu, Xianzhu; Inamdar, Gajanan S; Kuzu, Omer F; Rangappa, Kanchugarakoppal S; Robertson, Gavin P; Gowda, D Channe

2015-08-01

Malaria caused by the Plasmodium parasites continues to be an enormous global health problem owing to wide spread drug resistance of parasites to many of the available antimalarial drugs. Therefore, development of new classes of antimalarial agents is essential to effectively treat malaria. In this study, the efficacy of naturally occurring diterpenoids, dehydroabietylamine and abietic acid, and their synthetic derivatives was assessed for antimalarial activity. Dehydroabietylamine and its N-trifluoroacetyl, N-tribromoacetyl, N-benzoyl, and N-benzyl derivatives showed excellent activity against P. falciparum parasites with IC50 values of 0.36 to 2.6 µM. Interestingly, N-dehydroabietylbenzamide showed potent antimalarial activity (IC50 0.36), and negligible cytotoxicity (IC50 >100 µM) to mammalian cells; thus, this compound can be an important antimalarial drug. In contrast, abietic acid was only marginally effective, exhibiting an IC50 value of ~82 µM. Several carboxylic group-derivatives of abietic acid were moderately active with IC50 values of ~8.2 to ~13.3 µM. These results suggest that a detailed understanding of the structure-activity relationship of abietane diterpenoids might provide strategies to exploit this class of compounds for malaria treatment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Conformation-Dependent High-Affinity Potent Ricin-Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibodies

PubMed Central

Hu, Wei-Gang; Yin, Junfei; Chau, Damon; Hu, Charles Chen; Lillico, Dustin; Yu, Justin; Negrych, Laurel M.; Cherwonogrodzky, John W.

2013-01-01

Ricin is a potential biothreat agent with no approved antidote available for ricin poisoning. The aim of this study was to develop potent antibody-based antiricin antidotes. Four strong ricin resistant hybridoma clones secreting antiricin monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were developed. All four mAbs are bound to conformational epitopes of ricin toxin B (RTB) with high affinity (K D values from 2.55 to 36.27 nM). RTB not only triggers cellular uptake of ricin, but also facilitates transport of the ricin toxin A (RTA) from the endoplasmic reticulum to the cytosol, where RTA exerts its toxic activity. The four mAbs were found to have potent ricin-neutralizing capacities and synergistic effects among them as determined by an in vitro neutralization assay. In vivo protection assay demonstrated that all four mAbs had strong efficacy against ricin challenges. D9 was found to be exceptionally effective. Intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of D9, at a dose of 5 μg, 6 weeks before or 6 hours after an i.p. challenge with 5 × LD50 of ricin was able to protect or rescue 100% of the mice, indicating that mAb D9 is an excellent candidate to be developed as a potent antidote against ricin poisoning for both prophylactic and therapeutic purposes. PMID:23484120

Interbilayer-crosslinked multilamellar vesicles as synthetic vaccines for potent humoral and cellular immune responses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moon, James J.; Suh, Heikyung; Bershteyn, Anna; Stephan, Matthias T.; Liu, Haipeng; Huang, Bonnie; Sohail, Mashaal; Luo, Samantha; Ho Um, Soong; Khant, Htet; Goodwin, Jessica T.; Ramos, Jenelyn; Chiu, Wah; Irvine, Darrell J.

2011-03-01

Vaccines based on recombinant proteins avoid the toxicity and antivector immunity associated with live vaccine (for example, viral) vectors, but their immunogenicity is poor, particularly for CD8+ T-cell responses. Synthetic particles carrying antigens and adjuvant molecules have been developed to enhance subunit vaccines, but in general these materials have failed to elicit CD8+ T-cell responses comparable to those for live vectors in preclinical animal models. Here, we describe interbilayer-crosslinked multilamellar vesicles formed by crosslinking headgroups of adjacent lipid bilayers within multilamellar vesicles. Interbilayer-crosslinked vesicles stably entrapped protein antigens in the vesicle core and lipid-based immunostimulatory molecules in the vesicle walls under extracellular conditions, but exhibited rapid release in the presence of endolysosomal lipases. We found that these antigen/adjuvant-carrying vesicles form an extremely potent whole-protein vaccine, eliciting endogenous T-cell and antibody responses comparable to those for the strongest vaccine vectors. These materials should enable a range of subunit vaccines and provide new possibilities for therapeutic protein delivery.

Aglaiabbrevins A-D, New Prenylated Bibenzyls from the Leaves of Aglaia abbreviata with Potent PTP1B Inhibitory Activity.

PubMed

Sun, Pan; Jiang, Chang-Sheng; Zhang, Yi; Liu, Ai-Hong; Liang, Tong-Jun; Li, Jia; Guo, Yue-Wei; Jiang, Jian-Mei; Mao, Shui-Chun; Wang, Bin

2017-01-01

Four new prenylated bibenzyls, named aglaiabbrevins A-D (2, 4-6), were isolated from the leaves of Aglaia abbreviata, along with two known related analogues, 3,5-dihydroxy-2-[3,7-dimethyl-2(E),6-octadienyl]bibenzyl (7) and 3,5-dihydroxy-2-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)bibenzyl (8). The structures of the new compounds were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic experiments, mainly one and two dimensional (1D- and 2D)-NMR, and the absolute configuration of 5 was determined by the measurement of specific rotation. The isolated compounds were evaluated for their protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B (PTP1B) inhibitory activity. The results showed that compounds 5-7 exhibited more potent PTP1B inhibitory effects with IC 50 values of 2.58±0.52, 2.44±0.35, and 2.23±0.14 µM, respectively, than the positive control oleanolic acid (IC 50 =2.74±0.20 µM). On the basis of the data obtained, these bibenzyls with the longer C-2 prenyl groups may be considered as potential lead compounds for the development of new anti-obesity and anti-diabetic agents. Also, the PTP1B inhibitory effects for prenylated bibenzyls are being reported for the first time.

Design, synthesis and molecular simulation studies of dihydrostilbene derivatives as potent tyrosinase inhibitors.

PubMed

Vontzalidou, Argyro; Zoidis, Grigoris; Chaita, Eliza; Makropoulou, Maria; Aligiannis, Nektarios; Lambrinidis, George; Mikros, Emmanuel; Skaltsounis, Alexios-Leandros

2012-09-01

The synthesis, molecular modeling and biological evaluation of substituted deoxybenzoins and optimized dihydrostilbenes are reported. Preliminary structure-activity relationship data were elucidated and lead compounds suitable for further optimization were discovered. Dihydrostilbene 7 is a particularly potent inhibitor (IC(50)=8.44 μM, more potent than kojic acid). Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pityriazepin and other potent AhR ligands isolated from Malassezia furfur yeast

PubMed Central

Mexia, Nikitia; Gaitanis, George; Velegraki, Aristea; Soshilov, Anatoly; Denison, Michael S.; Magiatis, Prokopios

2015-01-01

Malassezia furfur yeast strains isolated from diseased human skin preferentially biosynthesize indole alkaloids which can be detected in human skin and are highly potent activators of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and AhR-dependent gene expression. Chemical analysis of an EtOAc extract of a M. furfur strain obtained from diseased human skin and grown on L-tryptophan agar revealed several known AhR active tryptophan metabolites along with a previously unidentified compound, pityriazepin. While its structure resembled that of the known alkaloid pityriacitrin, the comprised pyridine ring had been transformed into an azepinone. The indoloazepinone scaffold of pityriazepin is extremely rare in nature and has only been reported once previously. Pityriazepin, like the other isolated compounds, was found to be a potent activator of the AhR-dependent reporter gene assays in recombinant cell lines derived from four different species, although significant species differences in relative potency was observed. The ability of pityriazepin to competitively bind to the AhR and directly stimulate AhR DNA binding classified it as a new naturally-occurring potent AhR agonist. Malassezia furfur produces an expanded collection of extremely potent naturally occurring AhR agonists, which produce their biological effects in a species-specific manner.1 PMID:25721496

Atpenins, potent and specific inhibitors of mitochondrial complex II (succinate-ubiquinone oxidoreductase)

PubMed Central

Miyadera, Hiroko; Shiomi, Kazuro; Ui, Hideaki; Yamaguchi, Yuichi; Masuma, Rokuro; Tomoda, Hiroshi; Miyoshi, Hideto; Osanai, Arihiro; Kita, Kiyoshi; Ōmura, Satoshi

2003-01-01

Enzymes in the mitochondrial respiratory chain are involved in various physiological events in addition to their essential role in the production of ATP by oxidative phosphorylation. The use of specific and potent inhibitors of complex I (NADH-ubiquinone reductase) and complex III (ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase), such as rotenone and antimycin, respectively, has allowed determination of the role of these enzymes in physiological processes. However, unlike complexes I, III, and IV (cytochrome c oxidase), there are few potent and specific inhibitors of complex II (succinate-ubiquinone reductase) that have been described. In this article, we report that atpenins potently and specifically inhibit the succinate-ubiquinone reductase activity of mitochondrial complex II. Therefore, atpenins may be useful tools for clarifying the biochemical and structural properties of complex II, as well as for determining its physiological roles in mammalian tissues. PMID:12515859

Imidazopyridine- and purine-thioacetamide derivatives: potent inhibitors of nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase 1 (NPP1).

PubMed

Chang, Lei; Lee, Sang-Yong; Leonczak, Piotr; Rozenski, Jef; De Jonghe, Steven; Hanck, Theodor; Müller, Christa E; Herdewijn, Piet

2014-12-11

Nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase 1 (NPP1) belongs to the family of ecto-nucleotidases, which control extracellular nucleotide, nucleoside, and (di)phosphate levels. To study the (patho)physiological roles of NPP1 potent and selective inhibitors with drug-like properties are required. Therefore, a compound library was screened for NPP1 inhibitors using a colorimetric assay with p-nitrophenyl 5'-thymidine monophosphate (p-Nph-5'-TMP) as an artificial substrate. This led to the discovery of 2-(3H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-2-ylthio)-N-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)acetamide (5a) as a hit compound with a Ki value of 217 nM. Subsequent structure-activity relationship studies led to the development of purine and imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine analogues with high inhibitory potency (Ki values of 5.00 nM and 29.6 nM, respectively) when assayed with p-Nph-5'-TMP as a substrate. Surprisingly, the compounds were significantly less potent when tested versus ATP as a substrate, with Ki values in the low micromolar range. A prototypic inhibitor was investigated for its mechanism of inhibition and found to be competitive versus both substrates.

Control of dynamic foot-ground interactions in male and female soccer athletes: females exhibit reduced dexterity and higher limb stiffness during landing.

PubMed

Lyle, Mark A; Valero-Cuevas, Francisco J; Gregor, Robert J; Powers, Christopher M

2014-01-22

Controlling dynamic interactions between the lower limb and ground is important for skilled locomotion and may influence injury risk in athletes. It is well known that female athletes sustain anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears at higher rates than male athletes, and exhibit lower extremity biomechanics thought to increase injury risk during sport maneuvers. The purpose of this study was to examine whether lower extremity dexterity (LED)--the ability to dynamically control endpoint force magnitude and direction as quantified by compressing an unstable spring with the lower limb at submaximal forces--is a potential contributing factor to the "at-risk" movement behavior exhibited by female athletes. We tested this hypothesis by comparing LED-test performance and single-limb drop jump biomechanics between 14 female and 14 male high school soccer players. We found that female athletes exhibited reduced LED-test performance (p=0.001) and higher limb stiffness during landing (p=0.008) calculated on average within 51 ms of foot contact. Females also exhibited higher coactivation at the ankle (p=0.001) and knee (p=0.02) before landing. No sex differences in sagittal plane joint angles and center of mass velocity at foot contact were observed. Collectively, our results raise the possibility that the higher leg stiffness observed in females during landing is an anticipatory behavior due in part to reduced lower extremity dexterity. The reduced lower extremity dexterity and compensatory stiffening strategy may contribute to the heightened risk of ACL injury in this population. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Control of dynamic foot-ground interactions in male and female soccer athletes: Females exhibit reduced dexterity and higher limb stiffness during landing

PubMed Central

Lyle, Mark A.; Valero-Cuevas, Francisco J.; Gregor, Robert J.; Powers, Christopher M.

2014-01-01

Controlling dynamic interactions between the lower limb and ground is important for skilled locomotion and may influence injury risk in athletes. It is well known that female athletes sustain anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears at higher rates than male athletes, and exhibit lower extremity biomechanics thought to increase injury risk during sport maneuvers. The purpose of this study was to examine whether lower extremity dexterity (LED) – the ability to dynamically control endpoint force magnitude and direction as quantified by compressing an unstable spring with the lower limb at submaximal forces – is a potential contributing factor to the “at-risk” movement behavior exhibited by female athletes. We tested this hypothesis by comparing LED-test performance and single-limb drop jump biomechanics between 14 female and 14 male high school soccer players. We found that female athletes exhibited reduced LED-test performance (p=0.001) and higher limb stiffness during landing (p=0.008) calculated on average within 51 ms of foot contact. Females also exhibited higher coactivation at the ankle (p=0.001) and knee (p=0.02) before landing. No sex differences in sagittal plane joint angles and center of mass velocity at foot contact were observed. Collectively, our results raise the possibility that the higher leg stiffness observed in females during landing is an anticipatory behavior due in part to reduced lower extremity dexterity. The reduced lower extremity dexterity and compensatory stiffening strategy may contribute to the heightened risk of ACL injury in this population. PMID:24275440

Potent D-peptide inhibitors of HIV-1 entry

PubMed Central

Welch, Brett D.; VanDemark, Andrew P.; Heroux, Annie; Hill, Christopher P.; Kay, Michael S.

2007-01-01

During HIV-1 entry, the highly conserved gp41 N-trimer pocket region becomes transiently exposed and vulnerable to inhibition. Using mirror-image phage display and structure-assisted design, we have discovered protease-resistant D-amino acid peptides (D-peptides) that bind the N-trimer pocket with high affinity and potently inhibit viral entry. We also report high-resolution crystal structures of two of these D-peptides in complex with a pocket mimic that suggest sources of their high potency. A trimeric version of one of these peptides is the most potent pocket-specific entry inhibitor yet reported by three orders of magnitude (IC50 = 250 pM). These results are the first demonstration that D-peptides can form specific and high-affinity interactions with natural protein targets and strengthen their promise as therapeutic agents. The D-peptides described here address limitations associated with current L-peptide entry inhibitors and are promising leads for the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. PMID:17942675

Small dense HDLs display potent vasorelaxing activity, reflecting their elevated content of sphingosine-1-phosphate.

PubMed

Perségol, Laurence; Darabi, Maryam; Dauteuille, Carolane; Lhomme, Marie; Chantepie, Sandrine; Rye, Kerry-Anne; Therond, Patrice; Chapman, M John; Salvayre, Robert; Nègre-Salvayre, Anne; Lesnik, Philippe; Monier, Serge; Kontush, Anatol

2018-01-01

The functional heterogeneity of HDL is attributed to its diverse bioactive components. We evaluated whether the vasodilatory effects of HDL differed across HDL subpopulations, reflecting their distinct molecular composition. The capacity of five major HDL subfractions to counteract the inhibitory effects of oxidized LDL on acetylcholine-induced vasodilation was tested in a rabbit aortic rings model. NO production, an essential pathway in endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation, was studied in simian vacuolating virus 40-transformed murine endothelial cells (SVECs). Small dense HDL3 subfractions displayed potent vasorelaxing activity (up to +31% vs. baseline, P < 0.05); in contrast, large light HDL2 did not induce aortic-ring relaxation when compared on a total protein basis. HDL3 particles were enriched with sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) (up to 3-fold vs. HDL2), with the highest content in HDL3b and -3c that concomitantly revealed the strongest vasorelaxing properties. NO generation was enhanced by HDL3c in SVECs (1.5-fold, P < 0.01), a phenomenon that was blocked by the S1P receptor antagonist, VPC 23019. S1P-enriched reconstituted HDL (rHDL) was a 1.8-fold ( P < 0.01) more potent vasorelaxant than control rHDL in aortic rings. Small dense HDL3 particles displayed potent protective effects against oxidative stress-associated endothelium dysfunction, potentially reflecting their elevated content of S1P that might facilitate interaction with S1P receptors and ensuing NO generation. Copyright © 2018 by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

A chalcone with potent inhibiting activity against biofilm formation by nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae.

PubMed

Kunthalert, Duangkamol; Baothong, Sudarat; Khetkam, Pichit; Chokchaisiri, Suwadee; Suksamrarn, Apichart

2014-10-01

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi), an important human respiratory pathogen, frequently causes biofilm infections. Currently, resistance of bacteria within the biofilm to conventional antimicrobials poses a major obstacle to effective medical treatment on a global scale. Novel agents that are effective against NTHi biofilm are therefore urgently required. In this study, a series of natural and synthetic chalcones with various chemical substituents were evaluated in vitro for their antibiofilm activities against strong biofilm-forming strains of NTHi. Of the test chalcones, 3-hydroxychalcone (chalcone 8) exhibited the most potent inhibitory activity, its mean minimum biofilm inhibitory concentration (MBIC50 ) being 16 μg/mL (71.35 μM), or approximately sixfold more active than the reference drug, azithromycin (MBIC50 419.68 μM). The inhibitory activity of chalcone 8, which is a chemically modified chalcone, appeared to be superior to those of the natural chalcones tested. Significantly, chalcone 8 inhibited biofilm formation by all studied NTHi strains, indicating that the antibiofilm activities of this compound occur across multiple strong-biofilm forming NTHi isolates of different clinical origins. According to antimicrobial and growth curve assays, chalcone 8 at concentrations that decreased biofilm formation did not affect growth of NTHi, suggesting the biofilm inhibitory effect of chalcone 8 is non-antimicrobial. In terms of structure-activity relationship, the possible substituent on the chalcone backbone required for antibiofilm activity is discussed. These findings indicate that 3-hydroxychalcone (chalcone 8) has powerful antibiofilm activity and suggest the potential application of chalcone 8 as a new therapeutic agent for control of NTHi biofilm-associated infections. © 2014 The Societies and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

A novel, selective inhibitor of fibroblast growth factor receptors that shows a potent broad spectrum of antitumor activity in several tumor xenograft models.

PubMed

Zhao, Genshi; Li, Wei-Ying; Chen, Daohong; Henry, James R; Li, Hong-Yu; Chen, Zhaogen; Zia-Ebrahimi, Mohammad; Bloem, Laura; Zhai, Yan; Huss, Karen; Peng, Sheng-Bin; McCann, Denis J

2011-11-01

The fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFR) are tyrosine kinases that are present in many types of endothelial and tumor cells and play an important role in tumor cell growth, survival, and migration as well as in maintaining tumor angiogenesis. Overexpression of FGFRs or aberrant regulation of their activities has been implicated in many forms of human malignancies. Therefore, targeting FGFRs represents an attractive strategy for development of cancer treatment options by simultaneously inhibiting tumor cell growth, survival, and migration as well as tumor angiogenesis. Here, we describe a potent, selective, small-molecule FGFR inhibitor, (R)-(E)-2-(4-(2-(5-(1-(3,5-Dichloropyridin-4-yl)ethoxy)-1H-indazol-3yl)vinyl)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)ethanol, designated as LY2874455. This molecule is active against all 4 FGFRs, with a similar potency in biochemical assays. It exhibits a potent activity against FGF/FGFR-mediated signaling in several cancer cell lines and shows an excellent broad spectrum of antitumor activity in several tumor xenograft models representing the major FGF/FGFR relevant tumor histologies including lung, gastric, and bladder cancers and multiple myeloma, and with a well-defined pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic relationship. LY2874455 also exhibits a 6- to 9-fold in vitro and in vivo selectivity on inhibition of FGF- over VEGF-mediated target signaling in mice. Furthermore, LY2874455 did not show VEGF receptor 2-mediated toxicities such as hypertension at efficacious doses. Currently, this molecule is being evaluated for its potential use in the clinic.

1-Methyl-beta-carboline (harmane), a potent endogenous inhibitor of benzodiazepine receptor binding.

PubMed

Rommelspacher, H; Nanz, C; Borbe, H O; Fehske, K J; Müller, W E; Wollert, U

1980-10-01

The interaction of several beta-carbolines with specific [3H]-flunitrazepam binding to benzodiazepine receptors in rat brain membranes was investigated. Out of the investigated compounds, harmane and norharmane were the most potent inhibitors of specific [3H]-flunitrazepam binding, with IC50-values in the micromolar range. All other derivatives, including harmine, harmaline, and several tetrahydroderivatives were at least ten times less potent. Harmane has been previously found in rat brain and human urine, so it is the most potent endogenous inhibitor of specific [3H]-flunitrazepam binding known so far, with a several fold higher affinity for the benzodiazepine receptor than inosine and hypoxanthine. Thus, we suggest that harmane or other related beta-carbolines could be potential candidates as endogenous ligands of the benzodiazepine receptor.

Co-expression of LAG3 and TIM3 identifies a potent Treg population that suppresses macrophage functions in colorectal cancer patients.

PubMed

Ma, Qiang; Liu, Junning; Wu, Guoliang; Teng, Mujian; Wang, Shaoxuan; Cui, Meng; Li, Yuantao

2018-06-15

Regulatory T (Treg) cells are critical suppressors of inflammation and are thought to exert mainly deleterious effects in cancers. In colorectal cancer (CRC), Foxp3 +  Treg accumulation in the tumor was associated with poor prognosis. Hence, we examined the circulating Treg cells in CRC patients. Compared to controls, CRC patients presented mild upregulations in CD4 + CD25 +/hi T cells and in the more canonical CD4 + CD25 +/hi Foxp3 + Treg cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Both of these Treg populations could be roughly divided into LAG3 - TIM3 - and LAG3 + TIM3 + subsets. In CRC patients, the LAG3 + TIM3 + subset represented approximately half of CD4 + CD25 +/hi T cells and greater than 60% of CD4 + CD25 +/hi Foxp3 + Treg cells, which was significantly more frequent than in healthy controls. Compared to the LAG3 - TIM3 - CD4 + CD25 +/hi T cells, the LAG3 + TIM3 + CD4 + CD25 +/hi T cells presented considerably higher transforming growth factor (TGF)-β and slightly higher interleukin (IL)-10 secretion, together with higher CTLA-4 and Foxp3 expression levels. Notably, macrophages following incubation with LAG3 - TIM3 - CD4 + CD25 +/hi T cells and LAG3 + TIM3 + CD4 + CD25 +/hi T cells displayed different characteristics. Macrophages incubated with LAG3 + TIM3 + CD4 + CD25 +/hi T cells presented lower expression of MHC class II, CD80, CD86, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) but higher expression of IL-10, than macrophages incubated with LAG3 - TIM3 - CD4 + CD25 +/hi T cells. Together, our investigations demonstrated that CRC patients presented an enrichment of circulating Treg cells, in which the LAG3 + TIM3 + subset exhibited more potent expression of inhibitory molecules, and furthermore, the LAG3 + TIM3 + Treg cells could suppress the proinflammatory activation of macrophages more potently than the LAG3 - TIM3 - Treg cells. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

(1S)-1,5-anhydro-1-[5-(4-ethoxybenzyl)-2-methoxy-4-methylphenyl]-1-thio-D-glucitol (TS-071) is a potent, selective sodium-dependent glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor for type 2 diabetes treatment.

PubMed

Kakinuma, Hiroyuki; Oi, Takahiro; Hashimoto-Tsuchiya, Yuko; Arai, Masayuki; Kawakita, Yasunori; Fukasawa, Yoshiki; Iida, Izumi; Hagima, Naoko; Takeuchi, Hiroyuki; Chino, Yukihiro; Asami, Jun; Okumura-Kitajima, Lisa; Io, Fusayo; Yamamoto, Daisuke; Miyata, Noriyuki; Takahashi, Teisuke; Uchida, Saeko; Yamamoto, Koji

2010-04-22

Derivatives of a novel scaffold, C-phenyl 1-thio-D-glucitol, were prepared and evaluated for sodium-dependent glucose cotransporter (SGLT) 2 and SGLT1 inhibition activities. Optimization of substituents on the aromatic rings afforded five compounds with potent and selective SGLT2 inhibition activities. The compounds were evaluated for in vitro human metabolic stability, human serum protein binding (SPB), and Caco-2 permeability. Of them, (1S)-1,5-anhydro-1-[5-(4-ethoxybenzyl)-2-methoxy-4-methylphenyl]-1-thio-D-glucitol (3p) exhibited potent SGLT2 inhibition activity (IC(50) = 2.26 nM), with 1650-fold selectivity over SGLT1. Compound 3p showed good metabolic stability toward cryo-preserved human hepatic clearance, lower SPB, and moderate Caco-2 permeability. Since 3p should have acceptable human pharmacokinetics (PK) properties, it could be a clinical candidate for treating type 2 diabetes. We observed that compound 3p exhibits a blood glucose lowering effect, excellent urinary glucose excretion properties, and promising PK profiles in animals. Phase II clinical trials of 3p (TS-071) are currently ongoing.

Heritage characteristics reported by a group of African-Americans who exhibit the pigment dispersion syndrome: a case-control study.

PubMed

Roberts, D K; Ho, L A; Beedle, N L; Flynn, F M; Gable, E M

2000-11-01

To investigate the racial heritage of a group of African-Americans who exhibit the pigment dispersion syndrome (PDS). Ten unrelated African-American PDS patients (age range 13-59) from a primary eye care population in Chicago, Illinois, USA, were interviewed to determine their racial heritage. Since Caucasian and Native American heritage were commonly reported, 101 unaffected African-American control subjects (age range 18-55) were also interviewed to determine the reported frequency of these specific racial heritage characteristics. Some degree of Caucasian heritage was reported by 100% of the PDS subjects and by 46.5% of controls. Native American heritage was reported by 90% of the PDS subjects and by 71.3% of controls. Based on these data, the PDS subjects were significantly more likely to report Caucasian heritage (Fisher's exact test, P=0.001) but they were not significantly more likely to report Native American heritage (P=0.282). In addition, the PDS subjects were significantly more likely to report Caucasian heritage from both parents (P=0.024) and more likely to report a combination of both Caucasian and Native American heritage (P=0.0006) than corresponding controls. In general, the PDS subjects had 'light' or 'medium' complexions. Results from this analysis are consistent with the hypothesis that non-African heritage, particularly Caucasian, is likely to be prevalent in the background of African-Americans who exhibit PDS. It is suggested that non-African heritage may not only be important for the transference of PDS causing genes, but it may also influence factors such as degree of iris pigmentation and rigidity which could influence iris contour and the subsequent expression of PDS in those who are genetically predisposed. Further investigation is needed to study the factors that influence the expression and severity of PDS among African-Americans, a population which traditionally has been considered to be rarely affected by this condition.

Arylbenzazepines Are Potent Modulators for the Delayed Rectifier K+ Channel: A Potential Mechanism for Their Neuroprotective Effects

PubMed Central

Chen, Xue-Qin; Zhang, Jing; Neumeyer, John L.; Jin, Guo-Zhang; Hu, Guo-Yuan; Zhang, Ao; Zhen, Xuechu

2009-01-01

(±) SKF83959, like many other arylbenzazepines, elicits powerful neuroprotection in vitro and in vivo. The neuroprotective action of the compound was found to partially depend on its D1-like dopamine receptor agonistic activity. The precise mechanism for the (±) SKF83959-mediated neuroprotection remains elusive. We report here that (±) SKF83959 is a potent blocker for delayed rectifier K+ channel. (±) SKF83959 inhibited the delayed rectifier K+ current (I K) dose-dependently in rat hippocampal neurons. The IC 50 value for inhibition of I K was 41.9±2.3 µM (Hill coefficient = 1.81±0.13, n = 6), whereas that for inhibition of I A was 307.9±38.5 µM (Hill coefficient = 1.37±0.08, n = 6). Thus, (±) SKF83959 is 7.3-fold more potent in suppressing I K than I A. Moreover, the inhibition of I K by (±) SKF83959 was voltage-dependent and not related to dopamine receptors. The rapidly onset of inhibition and recovery suggests that the inhibition resulted from a direct interaction of (±) SKF83959 with the K+ channel. The intracellular application of (±) SKF83959 had no effects of on I K, indicating that the compound most likely acts at the outer mouth of the pore of K+ channel. We also tested the enantiomers of (±) SKF83959, R-(+) SKF83959 (MCL-201), and S-(−) SKF83959 (MCL-202), as well as SKF38393; all these compounds inhibited I K. However, (±) SKF83959, at either 0.1 or 1 mM, exhibited the strongest inhibition on the currents among all tested drug. The present findings not only revealed a new potent blocker of I K , but also provided a novel mechanism for the neuroprotective action of arylbenzazepines such as (±) SKF83959. PMID:19503734

Communicating Science through Exhibitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dusenbery, P.; Harold, J.; Morrow, C.

It is critically important for the public to better understand the scientific process. Museum exhibitions are an important part of informal science education that can effectively reach public audiences as well as school groups. They provide an important gateway for the public to learn about compelling scientific endeavors. There are many ways for scientists to help develop science exhibitions. The Space Science Institute (SSI) is a national leader in producing traveling science exhibitions and their associated educational programming (i.e. interactive websites, educator workshops, public talks, instructional materials). Two of its exhibitions, Space Weather Center and MarsQuest, are currently on tour. Another exhibition, Alien Earths, is in development. The Space Weather Center was developed in partnership with various research missions at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. MarsQuest is a 5000 square-foot traveling exhibition. The exhibit's second 3-year tour began this January at the Detroit Science Center. It is enabling millions of Americans to share in the excitement of the scientific exploration of Mars and to learn more about their own planet in the process. The 3,000 square-foot traveling exhibition, called Alien Earths, will bring origins-related research and discoveries to students and the American public. Alien Earths has four interrelated exhibit areas: Our Place in Space, Star Birth, PlanetQuest, and Search for Life. Exhibit visitors will explore the awesome events surrounding the birth of stars and planets; they will join scientists in the hunt for planets outside our solar system including those that may be in ``habitable zones'' around other stars; and finally they will be able to learn about how scientists are looking for signs of life beyond Earth. Besides the exhibits, SSI is also developing interactive web sites based on exhibit themes. New technologies are transforming the Web from a static medium to an interactive environment with tremendous

Structure and synthesis of a potent glutamate receptor antagonist in wasp venom.

PubMed Central

Eldefrawi, A T; Eldefrawi, M E; Konno, K; Mansour, N A; Nakanishi, K; Oltz, E; Usherwood, P N

1988-01-01

A low molecular weight toxin isolated from the venom of the digger wasp Philanthus triangulum, first noted by T. Piek, is a potent antagonist of transmission at quisqualate-sensitive glutamate synapses of locust leg muscle. This philanthotoxin 433 (PTX-433) has been purified, chemically characterized, and subsequently synthesized along with two closely related analogues. It has a butyryl/tyrosyl/spermine sequence and a molecular weight of 435. Its two analogues, PTX-343 and PTX-334 (the numerals denoting the number of methylenes between the amino groups of the spermine moiety), are also active on the glutamate synapse of the locust leg muscle; PTX-334 was more potent and PTX-343 was less potent than the natural toxin. Such chemicals are useful for studying, labeling, and purifying glutamate receptors and may become models for an additional class of therapeutic drugs and possibly insecticides. Images PMID:2838850

Selective and potent urea inhibitors of Cryptosporidium parvum inosine 5′ monophosphate dehydrogenase

PubMed Central

Gorla, Suresh Kumar; Kavitha, Mandapati; Zhang, Minjia; Liu, Xiaoping; Sharling, Lisa; Gollapalli, Deviprasad R.; Striepen, Boris; Hedstrom, Lizbeth; Cuny, Gregory D.

2012-01-01

Cryptosporidium parvum and related species are zoonotic intracellular parasites of the intestine. Cryptosporidium is a leading cause of diarrhea in small children around the world. Infection can cause severe pathology in children and immunocompromised patients. This waterborne parasite is resistant to common methods of water treatment and therefore a prominent threat to drinking and recreation water even in countries with strong water safety systems. The drugs currently used to combat these organisms are ineffective. Genomic analysis revealed that the parasite relies solely on inosine-5′-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) for the biosynthesis of guanine nucleotides. Herein, we report a selective urea-based inhibitor of C. parvum IMPDH (CpIMPDH) identified by high throughput screening. We performed a SAR study of these inhibitors with some analogues exhibiting high potency (IC50 < 2 nM) against CpIMPDH, excellent selectivity > 1000-fold versus human IMPDH type 2 and good stability in mouse liver microsomes. A subset of inhibitors also displayed potent antiparasitic activity in a Toxoplasma gondii model. PMID:22950983

Optimization of a binding fragment targeting the "enlarged methionine pocket" leads to potent Trypanosoma brucei methionyl-tRNA synthetase inhibitors.

PubMed

Huang, Wenlin; Zhang, Zhongsheng; Ranade, Ranae M; Gillespie, J Robert; Barros-Álvarez, Ximena; Creason, Sharon A; Shibata, Sayaka; Verlinde, Christophe L M J; Hol, Wim G J; Buckner, Frederick S; Fan, Erkang

2017-06-15

Potent inhibitors of Trypanosoma brucei methionyl-tRNA synthetase were previously designed using a structure-guided approach. Compounds 1 and 2 were the most active compounds in the cyclic and linear linker series, respectively. To further improve cellular potency, SAR investigation of a binding fragment targeting the "enlarged methionine pocket" (EMP) was performed. The optimization led to the identification of a 6,8-dichloro-tetrahydroquinoline ring as a favorable fragment to bind the EMP. Replacement of 3,5-dichloro-benzyl group (the EMP binding fragment) of inhibitor 2 using this tetrahydroquinoline fragment resulted in compound 13, that exhibited an EC 50 of 4nM. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design of potent substrate-analogue inhibitors of canine renin

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hui, K. Y.; Siragy, H. M.; Haber, E.

1992-01-01

Through a systematic study of structure-activity relationships, we designed potent renin inhibitors for use in dog models. In assays against dog plasma renin at neutral pH, we found that, as in previous studies of rat renin inhibitors, the structure at the P2 position appears to be important for potency. The substitution of Val for His at this position increases potency by one order of magnitude. At the P3 position, potency appears to depend on a hydrophobic side chain that does not necessarily have to be aromatic. Our results also support the approach of optimizing potency in a renin inhibitor by introducing a moiety that promotes aqueous solubility (an amino group) at the C-terminus of the substrate analogue. In the design of potent dog plasma renin inhibitors, the influence of the transition-state residue 4(S)-amino-3(S)-hydroxy-5-cyclohexylpentanoic acid (ACHPA)-commonly used as a substitute for the scissile-bond dipeptide to boost potency-is not obvious, and appears to be sequence dependent. The canine renin inhibitor Ac-paF-Pro-Phe-Val-statine-Leu-Phe-paF-NH2 (compound 15; IC50 of 1.7 nM against dog plasma renin at pH 7.4; statine, 4(S)-amino-3(S)-hydroxy-6-methylheptanoic acid; paF, para-aminophenylalanine) had a potent hypotensive effect when infused intravenously into conscious, sodium-depleted, normotensive dogs. Also, compound 15 concurrently inhibited plasma renin activity and had a profound diuretic effect.

Potent antitumor activity of a urokinase-activated engineered anthrax toxin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Shihui; Aaronson, Hannah; Mitola, David J.; Leppla, Stephen H.; Bugge, Thomas H.

2003-01-01

The acquisition of cell-surface urokinase plasminogen activator activity is a hallmark of malignancy. We generated an engineered anthrax toxin that is activated by cell-surface urokinase in vivo and displays limited toxicity to normal tissue but broad and potent tumoricidal activity. Native anthrax toxin protective antigen, when administered with a chimeric anthrax toxin lethal factor, Pseudomonas exotoxin fusion protein, was extremely toxic to mice, causing rapid and fatal organ damage. Replacing the furin activation sequence in anthrax toxin protective antigen with an artificial peptide sequence efficiently activated by urokinase greatly attenuated toxicity to mice. In addition, the mutation conferred cell-surface urokinase-dependent toxin activation in vivo, as determined by using a panel of plasminogen, plasminogen activator, plasminogen activator receptor, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-deficient mice. Surprisingly, toxin activation critically depended on both urokinase plasminogen activator receptor and plasminogen in vivo, showing that both proteins are essential cofactors for the generation of cell-surface urokinase. The engineered toxin displayed potent tumor cell cytotoxicity to a spectrum of transplanted tumors of diverse origin and could eradicate established solid tumors. This tumoricidal activity depended strictly on tumor cell-surface plasminogen activation. The data show that a simple change of protease activation specificity converts anthrax toxin from a highly lethal to a potent tumoricidal agent.

New Hurricane Exhibit

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-29

A new exhibit in StenniSphere depicting NASA's role in hurricane prediction and research and SSC's role in helping the region recover from Hurricane Katrina. The cyclone-shaped exhibit focuses on the effects of the Aug. 29, 2005 storm and outlines how NASA is working to improve weather forecasting. Through photos, 3-D models and digital animations, the exhibit tells the story of what happened inside the storm and how NASA's scientific research can increase the accuracy of hurricane tracking and modeling.

New Hurricane Exhibit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2007-01-01

A new exhibit in StenniSphere depicting NASA's role in hurricane prediction and research and SSC's role in helping the region recover from Hurricane Katrina. The cyclone-shaped exhibit focuses on the effects of the Aug. 29, 2005 storm and outlines how NASA is working to improve weather forecasting. Through photos, 3-D models and digital animations, the exhibit tells the story of what happened inside the storm and how NASA's scientific research can increase the accuracy of hurricane tracking and modeling.

An optimal output feedback gain variation scheme for the control of plants exhibiting gross parameter changes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moerder, Daniel D.

1987-01-01

A concept for optimally designing output feedback controllers for plants whose dynamics exhibit gross changes over their operating regimes was developed. This was to formulate the design problem in such a way that the implemented feedback gains vary as the output of a dynamical system whose independent variable is a scalar parameterization of the plant operating point. The results of this effort include derivation of necessary conditions for optimality for the general problem formulation, and for several simplified cases. The question of existence of a solution to the design problem was also examined, and it was shown that the class of gain variation schemes developed are capable of achieving gain variation histories which are arbitrarily close to the unconstrained gain solution for each point in the plant operating range. The theory was implemented in a feedback design algorithm, which was exercised in a numerical example. The results are applicable to the design of practical high-performance feedback controllers for plants whose dynamics vary significanly during operation. Many aerospace systems fall into this category.

Discovery of novel, highly potent, and selective quinazoline-2-carboxamide-based matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-13 inhibitors without a zinc binding group using a structure-based design approach.

PubMed

Nara, Hiroshi; Sato, Kenjiro; Naito, Takako; Mototani, Hideyuki; Oki, Hideyuki; Yamamoto, Yoshio; Kuno, Haruhiko; Santou, Takashi; Kanzaki, Naoyuki; Terauchi, Jun; Uchikawa, Osamu; Kori, Masakuni

2014-11-13

Matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) has been implicated to play a key role in the pathology of osteoarthritis. On the basis of X-ray crystallography, we designed a series of potent MMP-13 selective inhibitors optimized to occupy the distinct deep S1' pocket including an adjacent branch. Among them, carboxylic acid inhibitor 21k exhibited excellent potency and selectivity for MMP-13 over other MMPs. An effort to convert compound 21k to the mono sodium salt 38 was promising in all animal species studied. Moreover, no overt toxicity was observed in a preliminary repeat dose oral toxicity study of compound 21k in rats. A single oral dose of compound 38 significantly reduced degradation products (CTX-II) released from articular cartilage into the joint cavity in a rat MIA model in vivo. In this article, we report the discovery of highly potent, selective, and orally bioavailable MMP-13 inhibitors as well as their detailed structure-activity data.

Aronia melanocarpa fruit extract exhibits anti-inflammatory activity in human aortic endothelial cells.

PubMed

Zapolska-Downar, D; Bryk, D; Małecki, M; Hajdukiewicz, K; Sitkiewicz, D

2012-08-01

Altered expression of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) has been implicated in a variety of chronic inflammatory conditions, including atherosclerosis. Regulation of adhesion molecule expression by specific redox-sensitive mechanisms has been reported. Additionally, it has been observed that the extract of Aronia melanocarpa (A. Melanocarpa) fruits, rich in polyphenols, exhibits potent anti-oxidant properties and displays cardioprotective activity. Human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) were pretreated with various concentrations (primarily 50 μg/mL) of Aronia Melanocarpa fruit extract prior to treatment with TNFα (10 ng/mL) for various periods of time. The surface protein and mRNA expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 were determined using flow cytometry and real-time RT-PCR, respectively. Adhesion of peripheral blood mononuclear leucocytes (PBMLs) to TNFα-treated HAECs was evaluated by an adhesion assay. Activation of NF-κB was evaluated by measuring NF-κB p65 phosphorylation using flow cytometry. ROS production was determined by reduction in fluorescent 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA). Tested A. Melanocarpa extract significantly inhibited the expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, attenuated the phosphorylation of NF-κB p65 and decreased intracellular ROS production in TNFα-treated HAECs. We conclude that A. Melanocarpa fruit extract exhibits anti-inflammatory effects in HAECs by inhibiting the expression of endothelial CAMs, activation of NF-κB and production of ROS.

Human Galectin-9 Is a Potent Mediator of HIV Transcription and Reactivation

PubMed Central

Abdel-Mohsen, Mohamed; Chavez, Leonard; Tandon, Ravi; Chew, Glen M.; Deng, Xutao; Danesh, Ali; Keating, Sheila; Lanteri, Marion; Samuels, Michael L.; Hoh, Rebecca; Sacha, Jonah B.; Norris, Philip J.; Niki, Toshiro; Shikuma, Cecilia M.; Hirashima, Mitsuomi; Deeks, Steven G.; Ndhlovu, Lishomwa C.; Pillai, Satish K.

2016-01-01

Identifying host immune determinants governing HIV transcription, latency and infectivity in vivo is critical to developing an HIV cure. Based on our recent finding that the host factor p21 regulates HIV transcription during antiretroviral therapy (ART), and published data demonstrating that the human carbohydrate-binding immunomodulatory protein galectin-9 regulates p21, we hypothesized that galectin-9 modulates HIV transcription. We report that the administration of a recombinant, stable form of galectin-9 (rGal-9) potently reverses HIV latency in vitro in the J-Lat HIV latency model. Furthermore, rGal-9 reverses HIV latency ex vivo in primary CD4+ T cells from HIV-infected, ART-suppressed individuals (p = 0.002), more potently than vorinostat (p = 0.02). rGal-9 co-administration with the latency reversal agent "JQ1", a bromodomain inhibitor, exhibits synergistic activity (p<0.05). rGal-9 signals through N-linked oligosaccharides and O-linked hexasaccharides on the T cell surface, modulating the gene expression levels of key transcription initiation, promoter proximal-pausing, and chromatin remodeling factors that regulate HIV latency. Beyond latent viral reactivation, rGal-9 induces robust expression of the host antiviral deaminase APOBEC3G in vitro and ex vivo (FDR<0.006) and significantly reduces infectivity of progeny virus, decreasing the probability that the HIV reservoir will be replenished when latency is reversed therapeutically. Lastly, endogenous levels of soluble galectin-9 in the plasma of 72 HIV-infected ART-suppressed individuals were associated with levels of HIV RNA in CD4+ T cells (p<0.02) and with the quantity and binding avidity of circulating anti-HIV antibodies (p<0.009), suggesting a role of galectin-9 in regulating HIV transcription and viral production in vivo during therapy. Our data suggest that galectin-9 and the host glycosylation machinery should be explored as foundations for novel HIV cure strategies. PMID:27253379

Potent L-lactic acid assimilation of the fermentative and heterothallic haploid yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae NAM34-4C.

PubMed

Tomitaka, Masataka; Taguchi, Hisataka; Matsuoka, Masayoshi; Morimura, Shigeru; Kida, Kenji; Akamatsu, Takashi

2014-01-01

We screened an industrial thermotolerant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain, KF7, as a potent lactic-acid-assimilating yeast. Heterothallic haploid strains KF7-5C and KF7-4B were obtained from the tetrads of the homothallic yeast strain KF7. The inefficient sporulation and poor spore viability of the haploid strains were improved by two strategies. The first strategy was as follows: (i) the KF7-5C was crossed with the laboratory strain SH6710; (ii) the progenies were backcrossed with KF7-5C three times; and (iii) the progenies were inbred three times to maintain a genetic background close to that of KF7. The NAM12 diploid between the cross of the resultant two strains, NAM11-9C and NAM11-13A, showed efficient sporulation and exhibited excellent growth in YPD medium (pH 3.5) at 35°C with 1.4-h generation time, indicating thermotolerance and acid tolerance. The second strategy was successive intrastrain crosses. The resultant two strains, KFG4-6B and KFG4-4B, showed excellent mating capacity. A spontaneous mutant of KFG4-6B, KFG4-6BD, showed a high growth rate with a generation time of 1.1 h in YPD medium (pH 3.0) at 35°C. The KFG4-6BD strain produced ascospores, which were crossed with NAM11-2C and its progeny to produce tetrads. These tetrads were crossed with KFG4-4B to produce NAM26-14A and NAM26-15A. The latter strain had a generation time of 1.6 h at 35°C in pH 2.5, thus exhibiting further thermotolerance and acid tolerance. A progeny from a cross of NAM26-14A and NAM26-15A yielded the strain NAM34-4C, which showed potent lactic acid assimilation and high transformation efficiency, better than those of a standard laboratory strain. Copyright © 2013 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Recent advances in the development of 14-alkoxy substituted morphinans as potent and safer opioid analgesics.

PubMed

Spetea, M; Schmidhammer, H

2012-01-01

Morphine and other opioid morphinans produce analgesia primarily through μ opioid receptors (MORs), which mediate beneficial but also non-beneficial actions. There is a continued search for efficacious opioid analgesics with reduced complications. The cornerstone in the development of 14-alkoxymorphinans as novel analgesic drugs was the synthesis of the highly potent MOR agonist 14-O-methyloxymorphone. This opioid showed high antinociceptive potency but also the adverse effects associated with morphine type compounds. Further developments represent the introduction of a methyl and benzyl group at position 5 of 14-O-methyloxymorphone leading to the strong opioid analgesics 14-methoxymetopon and its 5-benzyl analogue, which exhibited less pronounced side effects than morphine although interacting selectively with MORs. Introduction of arylalkyl substituents such as phenylpropoxy in position 14 led to a series of extremely potent antinociceptive agents with enhanced affinities at all three opioid receptor types. During the past years, medicinal chemistry and opioid research focused increasingly on exploring the therapeutic potential of peripheral opioid receptors by peripheralization of opioids in order to minimize the occurrence of centrally-mediated side effects. Strategies to reduce penetration to the central nervous system (CNS) include chemical modifications that increase hydrophilicity. Zwitterionic 6-amino acid conjugates of 14-Oalkyloxymorphones were developed in an effort to obtain opioid agonists that have limited access to the CNS. These compounds show high antinociceptive potency by interacting with peripheral MORs. Opioid drugs with peripheral site of action represent an important target for the treatment of severe and chronic pain without the adverse actions of centrally acting opioids.

Discovery of Potent VEGFR-2 Inhibitors based on Furopyrimidine and Thienopyrimidne Scaffolds as Cancer Targeting Agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aziz, Marwa A.; Serya, Rabah A. T.; Lasheen, Deena S.; Abdel-Aziz, Amal Kamal; Esmat, Ahmed; Mansour, Ahmed M.; Singab, Abdel Nasser B.; Abouzid, Khaled A. M.

2016-04-01

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) plays a crucial role in cancer angiogenesis. In this study, a series of novel furo[2,3-d]pyrimidine and thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine based-derivatives were designed and synthesized as VEGFR-2 inhibitors, in accordance to the structure activity relationship (SAR) studies of known type II VEGFR-2 inhibitors. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for their ability to in vitro inhibit VEGFR-2 kinase enzyme. Seven compounds (15b, 16c, 16e, 21a, 21b, 21c and 21e) demonstrated highly potent dose-related VEGFR-2 inhibition with IC50 values in nanomolar range, of which the thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine based-derivatives (21b, 21c and 21e) exhibited IC50 values of 33.4, 47.0 and 21 nM respectively. Moreover, furo[2,3-d]pyrimidine-based derivative (15b) showed the strongest inhibition of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) proliferation with 99.5% inhibition at 10 μM concentration. Consistent with our in vitro findings, compounds (21b and 21e) orally administered at 5 and 10 mg/kg/day for 8 consecutive days demonstrated potent anticancer activity in Erhlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) solid tumor murine model. Such compounds blunted angiogenesis in EAC as evidenced by reduced percent microvessel via decreasing VEGFR-2 phosphorylation with subsequent induction of apoptotic machinery. Furthermore, Miles vascular permeability assay confirmed their antiangiogenic effects in vivo. Intriguingly, such compounds showed no obvious toxicity.

A potent, covalent inhibitor of orotidine 5'-monophosphate decarboxylase with antimalarial activity.

PubMed

Bello, Angelica M; Poduch, Ewa; Fujihashi, Masahiro; Amani, Merhnaz; Li, Yan; Crandall, Ian; Hui, Raymond; Lee, Ping I; Kain, Kevin C; Pai, Emil F; Kotra, Lakshmi P

2007-03-08

Orotidine 5'-monophosphate decarboxylase (ODCase) has evolved to catalyze the decarboxylation of orotidine 5'-monophosphate without any covalent intermediates. Active site residues in ODCase are involved in an extensive hydrogen-bonding network. We discovered that 6-iodouridine 5'-monophosphate (6-iodo-UMP) irreversibly inhibits the catalytic activities of ODCases from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum and Plasmodium falciparum. Mass spectral analysis of the enzyme-inhibitor complex confirms covalent attachment of the inhibitor to ODCase accompanied by the loss of two protons and the iodo moiety. The X-ray crystal structure (1.6 A resolution) of the complex of the inhibitor and ODCase clearly shows the covalent bond formation with the active site Lys-72 [corrected] residue. 6-Iodo-UMP inhibits ODCase in a time- and concentration-dependent fashion. 6-Iodouridine, the nucleoside form of 6-iodo-UMP, exhibited potent antiplasmodial activity, with IC50s of 4.4 +/- 1.3 microM and 6.2 +/- 0.7 microM against P. falciparum ItG and 3D7 isolates, respectively. 6-Iodouridine 5'-monophosphate is a novel covalent inhibitor of ODCase, and its nucleoside analogue paves the way to a new class of inhibitors against malaria.

A new series of potent benzodiazepine gamma-secretase inhibitors.

PubMed

Churcher, Ian; Ashton, Kate; Butcher, John W; Clarke, Earl E; Harrison, Timothy; Lewis, Huw D; Owens, Andrew P; Teall, Martin R; Williams, Susie; Wrigley, Jonathan D J

2003-01-20

A new series of benzodiazepine-containing gamma-secretase inhibitors with potential use in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease is disclosed. Structure-activity relationships of the pendant hydrocinnamate side-chain which led to the preparation of highly potent inhibitors are described.

Hydroxychavicol: a potent xanthine oxidase inhibitor obtained from the leaves of betel, Piper betle.

PubMed

Murata, Kazuya; Nakao, Kikuyo; Hirata, Noriko; Namba, Kensuke; Nomi, Takao; Kitamura, Yoshihisa; Moriyama, Kenzo; Shintani, Takahiro; Iinuma, Munekazu; Matsuda, Hideaki

2009-07-01

The screening of Piperaceous plants for xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity revealed that the extract of the leaves of Piper betle possesses potent activity. Activity-guided purification led us to obtain hydroxychavicol as an active principle. Hydroxychavicol is a more potent xanthine oxidase inhibitor than allopurinol, which is clinically used for the treatment of hyperuricemia.

Optimization of 1H-indazol-3-amine derivatives as potent fibroblast growth factor receptor inhibitors.

PubMed

Cui, Jing; Peng, Xia; Gao, Dingding; Dai, Yang; Ai, Jing; Li, Yingxia

2017-08-15

Fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) is a potential target for cancer therapy because of its critical role in promoting cancer formation and progression. In a continuing effort to improve the cellular activity of hit compound 7r bearing an indazole scaffold, which was previously discovered by our group, several compounds harnessing fluorine substituents were designed, synthesized and biological evaluated. Besides, the region extended out to the ATP binding pocket toward solvent was also explored. Among them, compound 2a containing 2,6-difluoro-3-methoxyphenyl residue exhibited the most potent activities (FGFR1: less than 4.1nM, FGFR2: 2.0±0.8nM). More importantly, compound 2a showed an improved antiproliferative effect against KG1 cell lines and SNU16 cell lines with IC 50 values of 25.3±4.6nM and 77.4±6.2nM respectively. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

CDB-4124 and its putative monodemethylated metabolite, CDB-4453, are potent antiprogestins with reduced antiglucocorticoid activity: in vitro comparison to mifepristone and CDB-2914.

PubMed

Attardi, Barbara J; Burgenson, Janet; Hild, Sheri A; Reel, Jerry R; Blye, Richard P

2002-02-25

To obtain selective antiprogestins, we have examined the in vitro antiprogestational/antiglucocorticoid properties of two novel compounds, CDB-4124 and the putative monodemethylated metabolite, CDB-4453, in transcription and receptor binding assays and compared them to CDB-2914 and mifepristone. All four antiprogestins bound with high affinity to rabbit uterine progestin receptors (PR) and recombinant human PR-A and PR-B (rhPR-A, rhPR-B) and were potent inhibitors of R5020-induced transactivation of the PRE2-tk-luciferase (PRE2-tk-LUC) reporter plasmid and endogenous alkaline phosphatase production in T47D-CO human breast cancer cells. None of these compounds exhibited agonist activity in these cells. Induction of luciferase activity was potentiated about five-fold by 8-Br-cAMP under basal conditions and to the same extent in the presence of the PR antagonists. Mifepristone bound to rabbit thymic glucocorticoid receptors (GR) with approximately twice the avidity of the CDB antiprogestins. Inhibition of GR-mediated transcription of PRE2-tk-LUC was assessed in HepG2 human hepatoblastoma cells. Mifepristone exhibited greater antiglucocorticoid activity than CDB-2914, 4124, and 4453, about 12-, 22-, and 185-fold, respectively. Thus, while there was a good correlation between binding to PR and functional activity of these antiprogestins, GR binding was not predictive of their glucocorticoid antagonist activity. In agreement with our in vivo results, CDB-4124 and CDB-4453, as well as CDB-2914, are potent antiprogestins in vitro, but show considerably less antiglucocorticoid activity than mifepristone.

From nonpeptide toward noncarbon protease inhibitors: Metallacarboranes as specific and potent inhibitors of HIV protease

PubMed Central

Cígler, Petr; Kožíšek, Milan; Řezáčová, Pavlína; Brynda, Jíří; Otwinowski, Zbyszek; Pokorná, Jana; Plešek, Jaromír; Grüner, Bohumír; Dolečková-Marešová, Lucie; Máša, Martin; Sedláček, Juraj; Bodem, Jochen; Kräusslich, Hans-Georg; Král, Vladimír; Konvalinka, Jan

2005-01-01

HIV protease (PR) represents a prime target for rational drug design, and protease inhibitors (PI) are powerful antiviral drugs. Most of the current PIs are pseudopeptide compounds with limited bioavailability and stability, and their use is compromised by high costs, side effects, and development of resistant strains. In our search for novel PI structures, we have identified a group of inorganic compounds, icosahedral metallacarboranes, as candidates for a novel class of nonpeptidic PIs. Here, we report the potent, specific, and selective competitive inhibition of HIV PR by substituted metallacarboranes. The most active compound, sodium hydrogen butylimino bis-8,8-[5-(3-oxa-pentoxy)-3-cobalt bis(1,2-dicarbollide)]di-ate, exhibited a Ki value of 2.2 nM and a submicromolar EC50 in antiviral tests, showed no toxicity in tissue culture, weakly inhibited human cathepsin D and pepsin, and was inactive against trypsin, papain, and amylase. The structure of the parent cobalt bis(1,2-dicarbollide) in complex with HIV PR was determined at 2.15 Å resolution by protein crystallography and represents the first carborane-protein complex structure determined. It shows the following mode of PR inhibition: two molecules of the parent compound bind to the hydrophobic pockets in the flap-proximal region of the S3 and S3′ subsites of PR. We suggest, therefore, that these compounds block flap closure in addition to filling the corresponding binding pockets as conventional PIs. This type of binding and inhibition, chemical and biological stability, low toxicity, and the possibility to introduce various modifications make boron clusters attractive pharmacophores for potent and specific enzyme inhibition. PMID:16227435

Multi-target screening mines hesperidin as a multi-potent inhibitor: Implication in Alzheimer's disease therapeutics.

PubMed

Chakraborty, Sandipan; Bandyopadhyay, Jaya; Chakraborty, Sourav; Basu, Soumalee

2016-10-04

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most frequent form of neurodegenerative disorder in elderly people. Involvement of several pathogenic events and their interconnections make this disease a complex disorder. Therefore, designing compounds that can inhibit multiple toxic pathways is the most attractive therapeutic strategy in complex disorders like AD. Here, we have designed a multi-tier screening protocol combining ensemble docking to mine BACE1 inhibitor, as well as 2-D QSAR models for anti-amyloidogenic and antioxidant activities. An in house developed phytochemical library of 200 phytochemicals has been screened through this multi-target procedure which mine hesperidin, a flavanone glycoside commonly found in citrus food items, as a multi-potent phytochemical in AD therapeutics. Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy reveal that binding of hesperidin to the active site of BACE1 induces a conformational transition of the protein from open to closed form. Hesperidin docks close to the catalytic aspartate residues and orients itself in a way that blocks the cavity opening thereby precluding substrate binding. Hesperidin is a high affinity BACE1 inhibitor and only 500 nM of the compound shows complete inhibition of the enzyme activity. Furthermore, ANS and Thioflavin-T binding assay show that hesperidin completely inhibits the amyloid fibril formation which is further supported by atomic force microscopy. Hesperidin exhibits moderate ABTS(+) radical scavenging assay but strong hydroxyl radical scavenging ability, as evident from DNA nicking assay. Present study demonstrates the applicability of a novel multi-target screening procedure to mine multi-potent agents from natural origin for AD therapeutics. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Vaginal concentrations of lactic acid potently inactivate HIV

PubMed Central

Aldunate, Muriel; Tyssen, David; Johnson, Adam; Zakir, Tasnim; Sonza, Secondo; Moench, Thomas; Cone, Richard; Tachedjian, Gilda

2013-01-01

Objectives When Lactobacillus spp. dominate the vaginal microbiota of women of reproductive age they acidify the vagina to pH <4.0 by producing ∼1% lactic acid in a nearly racemic mixture of d- and l-isomers. We determined the HIV virucidal activity of racemic lactic acid, and its d- and l-isomers, compared with acetic acid and acidity alone (by the addition of HCl). Methods HIV-1 and HIV-2 were transiently treated with acids in the absence or presence of human genital secretions at 37°C for different time intervals, then immediately neutralized and residual infectivity determined in the TZM-bl reporter cell line. Results l-lactic acid at 0.3% (w/w) was 17-fold more potent than d-lactic acid in inactivating HIVBa-L. Complete inactivation of different HIV-1 subtypes and HIV-2 was achieved with ≥0.4% (w/w) l-lactic acid. At a typical vaginal pH of 3.8, l-lactic acid at 1% (w/w) more potently and rapidly inactivated HIVBa-L and HIV-1 transmitter/founder strains compared with 1% (w/w) acetic acid and with acidity alone, all adjusted to pH 3.8. A final concentration of 1% (w/w) l-lactic acid maximally inactivated HIVBa-L in the presence of cervicovaginal secretions and seminal plasma. The anti-HIV activity of l-lactic acid was pH dependent, being abrogated at neutral pH, indicating that its virucidal activity is mediated by protonated lactic acid and not the lactate anion. Conclusions l-lactic acid at physiological concentrations demonstrates potent HIV virucidal activity distinct from acidity alone and greater than acetic acid, suggesting a protective role in the sexual transmission of HIV. PMID:23657804

Rational and Modular Design of Potent Ligands Targeting the RNA that Causes Myotonic Dystrophy 2

PubMed Central

Lee, Melissa M.; Pushechnikov, Alexei; Disney, Matthew D.

2009-01-01

Most ligands targeting RNA are identified through screening a therapeutic target for binding members of a ligand library. A potential alternative way to construct RNA binders is through rational design using information about the RNA motifs ligands prefer to bind. Herein, we describe such an approach to design modularly assembled ligands targeting the RNA that causes myotonic dystrophy type 2 (DM2), a currently untreatable disease. A previous study identified that 6′-N-5-hexynoate kanamycin A (1) prefers to bind 2×2 nucleotide, pyrimidine-rich RNA internal loops. Multiple copies of such loops were found in the RNA hairpin that causes DM2. The 1 ligand was then modularly displayed on a peptoid scaffold with varied number and spacing to target several internal loops simultaneously. Modularly assembled ligands were tested for binding to a series of RNAs and for inhibiting the formation of the toxic DM2 RNA-muscleblind protein (MBNL-1) interaction. The most potent ligand displays three 1 modules, each separated by four spacing submonomers, and inhibits the formation of the RNA-protein complex with an IC50 of 25 nM. This ligand is higher affinity and more specific for binding DM2 RNA than MBNL-1. It binds the DM2 RNA at least 20-times more tightly than related RNAs and 15-fold more tightly than MBNL-1. A related control peptoid displaying 6′-N-5-hexynoate neamine (2) is >100-fold less potent at inhibiting the RNA-protein interaction and binds to DM2 RNA >125-fold more weakly. Uptake studies into a mouse myoblast cell line also show that the most potent ligand is cell permeable. PMID:19348464

Pyrazole derived ultra-short antimicrobial peptidomimetics with potent anti-biofilm activity.

PubMed

Ahn, Mija; Gunasekaran, Pethaiah; Rajasekaran, Ganesan; Kim, Eun Young; Lee, Soo-Jae; Bang, Geul; Cho, Kun; Hyun, Jae-Kyung; Lee, Hyun-Ju; Jeon, Young Ho; Kim, Nam-Hyung; Ryu, Eun Kyoung; Shin, Song Yub; Bang, Jeong Kyu

2017-01-05

In this study, we report on the first chemical synthesis of ultra-short pyrazole-arginine based antimicrobial peptidomimetics derived from the newly synthesized N-alkyl/aryl pyrazole amino acids. Through the systematic tuning of hydrophobicity, charge, and peptide length, we identified the shortest peptide Py11 with the most potent antimicrobial activity. Py11 displayed greater antimicrobial activity against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including MRSA, MDRPA, and VREF, which was approximately 2-4 times higher than that of melittin. Besides its higher selectivity (therapeutic index) toward bacterial cells than LL-37, Py11 showed highly increased proteolytic stability against trypsin digestion and maintained its antimicrobial activity in the presence of physiological salts. Interestingly, Py11 exhibited higher anti-biofilm activity against MDRPA compared to LL-37. The results from fluorescence spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) suggested that Py11 kills bacterial cells possibly by integrity disruption damaging the cell membrane, leading to the cytosol leakage and eventual cell lysis. Furthermore, Py11 displayed significant anti-inflammatory (endotoxin-neutralizing) activity by inhibiting LPS-induced production of nitric oxide (NO) and TNF-α. Collectively, our results suggest that Py11 may serve as a model compound for the design of antimicrobial and antisepsis agents. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Potent 19-norvitamin D analogs for prostate and liver cancer therapy

PubMed Central

Kittaka, Atsushi; Yoshida, Akihiro; Chiang, Kun-Chun; Takano, Masashi; Sawada, Daisuke; Sakaki, Toshiyuki; Chen, Tai C

2013-01-01

The active form of vitamin D3, 1α,25(OH)2D3 or calcitriol, is known to inhibit the proliferation and invasiveness of many types of cancer cells, including prostate and liver cancer cells. These findings support the use of 1α,25(OH)2D3 for prostate and liver cancer therapy. However, 1α,25(OH)2D3 can cause hypercalcemia, thus, analogs of 1α,25(OH)2D3 that are less calcemic but exhibit potent antiproliferative activity would be attractive as therapeutic agents. We have developed 2α-functional group substituted 19-norvitamin D3 analogs with and without 14-epimerization. Among them, 2α- and 2β-(3-hydroxypropyl)-1α,25-dihydroxy-19-norvitamin D3 (MART-10 and -11, respectively) and 14-epi-2α- and 14-epi-2β-(3-hydroxypropyl)-1α,25-dihydroxy-19-norvitamin D3 (14-epi-MART-10 and 14-epi-MART-11, respectively) were found to be the most promising. In this review, we discuss the synthesis of this unique class of vitamin D analogs, the molecular mechanism of anticancer actions of vitamin D, and the biological evaluation of these analogs for potential application to the prevention and treatment of prostate and liver cancer. PMID:23157238

A potent synthetic inorganic antibiotic with activity against drug-resistant pathogens

PubMed Central

Hubick, Shelby; Jayaraman, Arumugam; McKeen, Alexander; Reid, Shelby; Alcorn, Jane; Stavrinides, John; Sterenberg, Brian T.

2017-01-01

The acronymously named “ESKAPE” pathogens represent a group of bacteria that continue to pose a serious threat to human health, not only due to their propensity for repeated emergence, but also due to their ability to “eskape” antibiotic treatment12. The evolution of multi-drug resistance in these pathogens alone has greatly outpaced the development of new therapeutics, necessitating an alternative strategy for antibiotic development that considers the evolutionary mechanisms driving antibiotic resistance. In this study, we synthesize a novel inorganic antibiotic, phosphopyricin, which has antibiotic activity against the Gram-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE). We show that this potent antibiotic is bactericidal, and exhibits low toxicity in an acute dose assay in mice. As a synthetic compound that does not occur naturally, phosphopyricin would be evolutionarily foreign to microbes, thereby slowing the evolution of resistance. In addition, it loses antibiotic activity upon exposure to light, meaning that the active antibiotic will not accumulate in the general environment where strong selective pressures imposed by antibiotic residuals are known to accelerate resistance. Phosphopyricin represents an innovation in antimicrobials, having a synthetic core, and a photosensitive chemical architecture that would reduce accumulation in the environment. PMID:28165020

Discovery of imidazopyridine derivatives as highly potent respiratory syncytial virus fusion inhibitors.

PubMed

Feng, Song; Hong, Di; Wang, Baoxia; Zheng, Xiufang; Miao, Kun; Wang, Lisha; Yun, Hongying; Gao, Lu; Zhao, Shuhai; Shen, Hong C

2015-03-12

A series of imidazolepyridine derivatives were designed and synthesized according to the established docking studies. The imidazopyridine derivatives were found to have good potency and physical-chemical properties. Several highly potent compounds such as 8ji, 8jl, and 8jm were identified with single nanomolar activities. The most potent compound 8jm showed an IC50 of 3 nM, lower microsome clearance and no CYP inhibition. The profile of 8jm appeared to be superior to BMS433771, and supported further optimization.

Discovery of Imidazopyridine Derivatives as Highly Potent Respiratory Syncytial Virus Fusion Inhibitors

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

A series of imidazolepyridine derivatives were designed and synthesized according to the established docking studies. The imidazopyridine derivatives were found to have good potency and physical-chemical properties. Several highly potent compounds such as 8ji, 8jl, and 8jm were identified with single nanomolar activities. The most potent compound 8jm showed an IC50 of 3 nM, lower microsome clearance and no CYP inhibition. The profile of 8jm appeared to be superior to BMS433771, and supported further optimization. PMID:25941547

Sulfonamide derivatives of styrylheterocycles as a potent inhibitor of COX-2-mediated prostaglandin E2 production.

PubMed

Lim, Chaemin; Lee, Minhee; Park, Eun-Jung; Cho, Ran; Park, Hyen-Joo; Lee, Seong Jin; Cho, Heeyeong; Lee, Sang Kook; Kim, Sanghee

2010-12-01

The overproduction of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) plays an important role in a variety of pathophysiological processes including inflammation and carcinogenesis. Therefore, the modulation of PGE(2) production is a promising target in the design of chemotherapeutic agents. In the present study, the inhibitory effects of a series of styrylheterocycles having either a p-SO(2)NH(2) or p-SO(2)Me group on the production of cyclooxygenase-2-mediated PGE(2) were evaluated in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 murine macrophages. Among the series of styrylheterocycle derivatives, (E)-4-(2-(thiophen-3-yl)vinyl)benzenesulfonamide exhibited a potent inhibitory activity, with an IC(50) value of 0.013 μM. The inhibitory activity against the overproduction of PGE(2) by the active compound was found to be due in part to the suppression of COX-2 mRNA expression. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

5-Nitroimidazole-derived Schiff bases and their copper(II) complexes exhibit potent antimicrobial activity against pathogenic anaerobic bacteria.

PubMed

Oliveira, Alexandre A; Oliveira, Ana P A; Franco, Lucas L; Ferencs, Micael O; Ferreira, João F G; Bachi, Sofia M P S; Speziali, Nivaldo L; Farias, Luiz M; Magalhães, Paula P; Beraldo, Heloisa

2018-05-07

In the present work a family of novel secnidazole-derived Schiff base compounds and their copper(II) complexes were synthesized. The antimicrobial activities of the compounds were evaluated against clinically important anaerobic bacterial strains. The compounds exhibited in vitro antibacterial activity against Bacteroides fragilis, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, Bacteroides vulgatus, Bacteroides ovatus, Parabacteroides distasonis and Fusubacterium nucleatum pathogenic anaerobic bacteria. Upon coordination to copper(II) the antibacterial activity significantly increased in several cases. Some derivatives were even more active than the antimicrobial drugs secnidazole and metronidazole. Therefore, the compounds under study are suitable for in vivo evaluation and the microorganisms should be classified as susceptible to them. Electrochemical studies on the reduction of the nitro group revealed that the compounds show comparable reduction potentials, which are in the same range of the bio-reducible drugs secnidazole and benznidazole. The nitro group reduction potential is more favorable for the copper(II) complexes than for the starting ligands. Hence, the antimicrobial activities of the compounds under study might in part be related to intracellular bio-reduction activation. Considering the increasing resistance rates of anaerobic bacteria against a wide range of antimicrobial drugs, the present work constitutes an important contribution to the development of new antibacterial drug candidates.

Potent Antiarthritic Properties of Phloretin in Murine Collagen-Induced Arthritis.

PubMed

Wang, Shun-Ping; Lin, Shih-Chao; Li, Shiming; Chao, Ya-Hsuan; Hwang, Guang-Yuh; Lin, Chi-Chen

2016-01-01

In the exploration of potential therapeutic agents for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), DBA/1J mice are used as the RA model of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). Phloretin, a flavonoid compound extracted from Prunus mandshurica , has been found to exhibit anti-inflammatory activity, making it a potential candidate for treatment of RA. The objective of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of phloretin on CIA mice. CIA mice were dosed daily with phloretin at either 50 or 100 mg/kg among two treatment groups. CIA treated mice showed mitigation of clinical symptoms of RA in addition to reduced inflammation of hind-limbs compared to mice who did not receive phloretin. Histological analysis showed that phloretin suppressed the severity of RA and effectively mitigated joint inflammation and cartilage- and bone-destruction via reducing proinflammatory cytokine productions (TNF- α , IL-6, IL-1 β , and IL-17). This was at least partially mediated by causing inadequate splenocyte activation and proliferation. Moreover, phloretin-treated CIA mice showed decreased oxidative stress and diminished levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) in paw tissues as well as reduced productivity of anti-collagen antibodies in serum. We have concluded that phloretin could be a potent and effective antiarthritis agent, demonstrating anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and immunomodulatory effects in CIA mice.

Discovery of novel, high potent, ABC type PTP1B inhibitors with TCPTP selectivity and cellular activity.

PubMed

Liu, Peihong; Du, Yongli; Song, Lianhua; Shen, Jingkang; Li, Qunyi

2016-08-08

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) as a key negative regulator of both insulin and leptin receptor pathways has been an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity. With the goal of enhancing potency and selectivity of the PTP1B inhibitors, a series of methyl salicylate derivatives as ABC type PTP1B inhibitors (P1-P7) were discovered. More importantly, compound P6 exhibited high potent inhibitory activity (IC50 = 50 nM) for PTP1B with 15-fold selectivity over T-cell PTPase (TCPTP). Further studies on cellular activities revealed that compound P6 could enhance insulin-mediated insulin receptor β (IRβ) phosphorylation and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Development of Potent, Selective SRPK1 Inhibitors as Potential Topical Therapeutics for Neovascular Eye Disease.

PubMed

Batson, Jennifer; Toop, Hamish D; Redondo, Clara; Babaei-Jadidi, Roya; Chaikuad, Apirat; Wearmouth, Stephen F; Gibbons, Brian; Allen, Claire; Tallant, Cynthia; Zhang, Jingxue; Du, Chunyun; Hancox, Jules C; Hawtrey, Tom; Da Rocha, Joana; Griffith, Renate; Knapp, Stefan; Bates, David O; Morris, Jonathan C

2017-03-17

Serine/arginine-protein kinase 1 (SRPK1) regulates alternative splicing of VEGF-A to pro-angiogenic isoforms and SRPK1 inhibition can restore the balance of pro/antiangiogenic isoforms to normal physiological levels. The lack of potency and selectivity of available compounds has limited development of SRPK1 inhibitors, with the control of alternative splicing by splicing factor-specific kinases yet to be translated. We present here compounds that occupy a binding pocket created by the unique helical insert of SRPK1, and trigger a backbone flip in the hinge region, that results in potent (<10 nM) and selective inhibition of SRPK1 kinase activity. Treatment with these inhibitors inhibited SRPK1 activity and phosphorylation of serine/arginine splicing factor 1 (SRSF1), resulting in alternative splicing of VEGF-A from pro-angiogenic to antiangiogenic isoforms. This property resulted in potent inhibition of blood vessel growth in models of choroidal angiogenesis in vivo. This work identifies tool compounds for splice isoform selective targeting of pro-angiogenic VEGF, which may lead to new therapeutic strategies for a diversity of diseases where dysfunctional splicing drives disease development.

Bacterial flagellin—a potent immunomodulatory agent

PubMed Central

Hajam, Irshad A; Dar, Pervaiz A; Shahnawaz, Imam; Jaume, Juan Carlos; Lee, John Hwa

2017-01-01

Flagellin is a subunit protein of the flagellum, a whip-like appendage that enables bacterial motility. Traditionally, flagellin was viewed as a virulence factor that contributes to the adhesion and invasion of host cells, but now it has emerged as a potent immune activator, shaping both the innate and adaptive arms of immunity during microbial infections. In this review, we summarize our understanding of bacterial flagellin and host immune system interactions and the role flagellin as an adjuvant, anti-tumor and radioprotective agent, and we address important areas of future research interests. PMID:28860663

The preclinical biology of a new potent and selective progestin: trimegestone.

PubMed

Winneker, Richard C; Bitran, Daniel; Zhang, Zhiming

2003-11-01

Trimegestone (TMG) is a 19-norpregnane progestin being developed, in combination with an estrogen, for the treatment of postmenopausal symptoms. TMG binds to the human progesterone receptor with an affinity greater than medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), norethindrone (NET), and levonorgestrel (LNG). In contrast, TMG binds with low affinity to the androgen, glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptor and has no measurable affinity for the estrogen receptor. Compared to other progestins, TMG demonstrates an improved separation of its PR affinity from its affinity to other classical steroid hormone receptors. In vivo, TMG has potent progestin activity. For example, TMG produces glandular differentiation of the uterine endometrium in rabbits and is about 30 and 60 times more potent than MPA and NET, respectively. In the rat, TMG maintains pregnancy, induces deciduoma formation, inhibits ovulation and has uterine anti-estrogenic activity. With respect to these endpoints, TMG appears to be more potent and selective on uterine epithelial responses than other classical progestin responses. In vivo, TMG does not have significant androgenic, glucocorticoid, anti-glucocorticoid or mineralocorticoid activity but does have anti-mineralocorticoid activity and modest anti-androgenic effects. This overall profile is qualitatively similar to progesterone. When TMG is administered chronically, it antagonizes the effect of estradiol on the uterus but does not antagonize the beneficial bone sparing activity of estradiol. In rat studies evaluating CNS GABAA receptor modulatory activity, TMG is less active on this likely undesirable endpoint than progesterone and norethindrone acetate, which may translate into fewer mood-related side effects. The results indicate that TMG is a potent and selective progestin with a preclinical profile well suited for hormone replacement therapy.

Simultaneous inhibition of multiple oncogenic miRNAs by a multi-potent microRNA sponge.

PubMed

Jung, Jaeyun; Yeom, Chanjoo; Choi, Yeon-Sook; Kim, Sinae; Lee, EunJi; Park, Min Ji; Kang, Sang Wook; Kim, Sung Bae; Chang, Suhwan

2015-08-21

The roles of oncogenic miRNAs are widely recognized in many cancers. Inhibition of single miRNA using antagomiR can efficiently knock-down a specific miRNA. However, the effect is transient and often results in subtle phenotype, as there are other miRNAs contribute to tumorigenesis. Here we report a multi-potent miRNA sponge inhibiting multiple miRNAs simultaneously. As a model system, we targeted miR-21, miR-155 and miR-221/222, known as oncogenic miRNAs in multiple tumors including breast and pancreatic cancers. To achieve efficient knockdown, we generated perfect and bulged-matched miRNA binding sites (MBS) and introduced multiple copies of MBS, ranging from one to five, in the multi-potent miRNA sponge. Luciferase reporter assay showed the multi-potent miRNA sponge efficiently inhibited 4 miRNAs in breast and pancreatic cancer cells. Furthermore, a stable and inducible version of the multi-potent miRNA sponge cell line showed the miRNA sponge efficiently reduces the level of 4 target miRNAs and increase target protein level of these oncogenic miRNAs. Finally, we showed the miRNA sponge sensitize cells to cancer drug and attenuate cell migratory activity. Altogether, our study demonstrates the multi-potent miRNA sponge is a useful tool to examine the functional impact of simultaneous inhibition of multiple miRNAs and proposes a therapeutic potential.

Visitors Center Exhibits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

A child enjoys building his own LEGO model at a play table which was included in the exhibit 'Travel in Space' World Show. The exhibit consisted of 21 displays designed to teach children about flight and space travel from the Wright brothers to future generations of space vehicles.

Immunization With Fc-Based Recombinant Epstein–Barr Virus gp350 Elicits Potent Neutralizing Humoral Immune Response in a BALB/c Mice Model

PubMed Central

Zhao, Bingchun; Zhang, Xiao; Krummenacher, Claude; Song, Shuo; Gao, Ling; Zhang, Haojiong; Xu, Miao; Feng, Lin; Feng, Qisheng; Zeng, Musheng; Xu, Yuting; Zeng, Yixin

2018-01-01

Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) was the first human virus proved to be closely associated with tumor development, such as lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and EBV-associated gastric carcinoma. Despite many efforts to develop prophylactic vaccines against EBV infection and diseases, no candidates have succeeded in effectively blocking EBV infection in clinical trials. Previous investigations showed that EBV gp350 plays a pivotal role in the infection of B-lymphocytes. Nevertheless, using monomeric gp350 proteins as antigens has not been effective in preventing infection. Multimeric forms of the antigen are more potently immunogenic than monomers; however, the multimerization elements used in previous constructs are not approved for human clinical trials. To prepare a much-needed EBV prophylactic vaccine that is potent, safe, and applicable, we constructed an Fc-based form of gp350 to serve as a dimeric antigen. Here, we show that the Fc-based gp350 antigen exhibits dramatically enhanced immunogenicity compared with wild-type gp350 protein. The complete or partial gp350 ectodomain was fused with the mouse IgG2a Fc domain. Fusion with the Fc domain did not impair gp350 folding, binding to a conformation-dependent neutralizing antibody (nAb) and binding to its receptor by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and surface plasmon resonance. Specific antibody titers against gp350 were notably enhanced by immunization with gp350-Fc dimers compared with gp350 monomers. Furthermore, immunization with gp350-Fc fusion proteins elicited potent nAbs against EBV. Our data strongly suggest that an EBV gp350 vaccine based on Fc fusion proteins may be an efficient candidate to prevent EBV infection in clinical applications. PMID:29765376

IMGN779, a Novel CD33-Targeting Antibody-Drug Conjugate with DNA-Alkylating Activity, Exhibits Potent Antitumor Activity in Models of AML.

PubMed

Kovtun, Yelena; Noordhuis, Paul; Whiteman, Kathleen R; Watkins, Krystal; Jones, Gregory E; Harvey, Lauren; Lai, Katharine C; Portwood, Scott; Adams, Sharlene; Sloss, Callum M; Schuurhuis, Gerrit Jan; Ossenkoppele, Gert; Wang, Eunice S; Pinkas, Jan

2018-06-01

The myeloid differentiation antigen CD33 has long been exploited as a target for antibody-based therapeutic approaches in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Validation of this strategy was provided with the approval of the CD33-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) gemtuzumab ozogamicin in 2000; the clinical utility of this agent, however, has been hampered by safety concerns. Thus, the full potential of CD33-directed therapy in AML remains to be realized, and considerable interest exists in the design and development of more effective ADCs that confer high therapeutic indices and favorable tolerability profiles. Here, we describe the preclinical characterization of a novel CD33-targeting ADC, IMGN779, which utilizes a unique DNA-alkylating payload to achieve potent antitumor effects with good tolerability. The payload, DGN462, is prototypical of a novel class of purpose-created indolinobenzodiazeprine pseudodimers, termed IGNs. With low picomolar potency, IMGN779 reduced viability in a panel of AML cell lines in vitro Mechanistically, the cytotoxic activity of IMGN779 involved DNA damage, cell-cycle arrest, and apoptosis consistent with the mode of action of DGN462. Moreover, IMGN779 was highly active against patient-derived AML cells, including those with adverse molecular abnormalities, and sensitivity correlated to CD33 expression levels. In vivo , IMGN779 displayed robust antitumor efficacy in multiple AML xenograft and disseminated disease models, as evidenced by durable tumor regressions and prolonged survival. Taken together, these findings identify IMGN779 as a promising new candidate for evaluation as a novel therapeutic in AML. Mol Cancer Ther; 17(6); 1271-9. ©2018 AACR . ©2018 American Association for Cancer Research.

Functional characterization of CFI-402257, a potent and selective Mps1/TTK kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of cancer.

PubMed

Mason, Jacqueline M; Wei, Xin; Fletcher, Graham C; Kiarash, Reza; Brokx, Richard; Hodgson, Richard; Beletskaya, Irina; Bray, Mark R; Mak, Tak W

2017-03-21

Loss of cell-cycle control is a hallmark of human cancer. Cell-cycle checkpoints are essential for maintaining genome integrity and balanced growth and division. They are specifically deregulated in cancer cells and contain regulators that represent potential therapeutic targets. Monopolar spindle 1 (Mps1; also known as TTK protein kinase) is a core component of the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC), a genome-surveillance mechanism that is important for cell survival, and has emerged as a candidate target for anticancer therapy. Here, we report the cellular and antitumor effects of CFI-402257, a potent (Mps1 K i = 0.09 ± 0.02 nM; cellular Mps1 EC 50 = 6.5 ± 0.5 nM), highly selective, and orally active small-molecule inhibitor of Mps1 that was identified through a drug-discovery program. Human cancer cells treated with CFI-402257 exhibit effects consistent with Mps1 kinase inhibition, specifically SAC inactivation, leading to chromosome missegregation, aneuploidy, and ultimately cell death. Oral administration of CFI-402257 in monotherapy or in combination with an anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) antibody in mouse models of human cancer results in inhibition of tumor growth at doses that are well-tolerated. Our findings provide a rationale for the clinical evaluation of CFI-402257 in patients with solid tumors.

Functional characterization of CFI-402257, a potent and selective Mps1/TTK kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of cancer

PubMed Central

Mason, Jacqueline M.; Wei, Xin; Fletcher, Graham C.; Kiarash, Reza; Brokx, Richard; Hodgson, Richard; Beletskaya, Irina; Bray, Mark R.; Mak, Tak W.

2017-01-01

Loss of cell-cycle control is a hallmark of human cancer. Cell-cycle checkpoints are essential for maintaining genome integrity and balanced growth and division. They are specifically deregulated in cancer cells and contain regulators that represent potential therapeutic targets. Monopolar spindle 1 (Mps1; also known as TTK protein kinase) is a core component of the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC), a genome-surveillance mechanism that is important for cell survival, and has emerged as a candidate target for anticancer therapy. Here, we report the cellular and antitumor effects of CFI-402257, a potent (Mps1 Ki = 0.09 ± 0.02 nM; cellular Mps1 EC50 = 6.5 ± 0.5 nM), highly selective, and orally active small-molecule inhibitor of Mps1 that was identified through a drug-discovery program. Human cancer cells treated with CFI-402257 exhibit effects consistent with Mps1 kinase inhibition, specifically SAC inactivation, leading to chromosome missegregation, aneuploidy, and ultimately cell death. Oral administration of CFI-402257 in monotherapy or in combination with an anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) antibody in mouse models of human cancer results in inhibition of tumor growth at doses that are well-tolerated. Our findings provide a rationale for the clinical evaluation of CFI-402257 in patients with solid tumors. PMID:28270606

Identification and Quantitation of Potent Odorants in Spearmint Oils.

PubMed

Kelley, Lauren E; Cadwallader, Keith R

2018-03-14

Potent odorants in Native spearmint, Scotch spearmint, and Macho mint oils were determined by the combined use of gas chromatography-olfactometry (GCO), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA). Of the 85 odorants detected, ( R)-(-)-carvone was the most potent odorant in all three spearmint oils. Additional predominant odorants in all spearmint oils included eugenol, ethyl ( S)-(+)-2-methylbutanoate, ( E)-β-damascenone, and (3 E,5 Z)-1,3,5-undecatriene. Forty-six compounds were quantitated using various methods, including 19 by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID), 20 by stable isotope dilution analysis (SIDA), and 14 by GCO dilution analysis. Concentrations were used to calculate the odor activity values (OAVs) for predominant odorants in the oils. Among the compounds quantitated, those with the highest OAVs were ( R)-(-)-carvone, 1,8-cineole, ( E, Z)-2,6-nonadienal, ( E)-β-damascenone, and (3 E,5 Z)-1,3,5-undecatriene.

Essential oils from Origanum vulgare and Salvia officinalis exhibit antibacterial and anti-biofilm activities against Streptococcus pyogenes.

PubMed

Wijesundara, Niluni M; Rupasinghe, H P Vasantha

2018-04-01

In the present study, essential oils (EOs) extracted from oregano, sage, cloves, and ginger were evaluated for the phytochemical profile, antibacterial, and anti-biofilm activities against Streptococcus pyogenes. The broth microdilution method was used to determine the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) of EOs. The minimum biofilm inhibitory concentrations (MBICs) were determined using MTT assay and fixed biofilms were observed through scan electron microscopy. The oregano and sage EOs showed the lowest MIC as well as MBC of 0.25-0.5 mg/mL. Time kill assay results showed that oregano and sage EOs exhibited bactericidal effects within 5 min and 4 h, respectively. Both oregano and sage extracts acts as a potent anti-biofilm agent with dual actions, preventing and eradicating the biofilm. The microscopic visualization of biofilms treated with EOs have shown morphological and density changes compared to the untreated control. Oregano EO was constituted predominantly carvacrol (91.6%) and in sage EO, higher levels of α-thujone (28.5%) and camphor (16.6%) were revealed. EOs of oregano and sage inhibit the growth and biofilm formation of S. pyogenes. Effective concentrations of oregano and sage EOs and their phytochemicals can be used in developing potential plant-derived antimicrobial agents in the management of streptococcal pharyngitis. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

X-ray Structural and Biological Evaluation of a Series of Potent and Highly Selective Inhibitors of Human Coronavirus Papain-like Proteases

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Structure-guided design was used to generate a series of noncovalent inhibitors with nanomolar potency against the papain-like protease (PLpro) from the SARS coronavirus (CoV). A number of inhibitors exhibit antiviral activity against SARS-CoV infected Vero E6 cells and broadened specificity toward the homologous PLP2 enzyme from the human coronavirus NL63. Selectivity and cytotoxicity studies established a more than 100-fold preference for the coronaviral enzyme over homologous human deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs), and no significant cytotoxicity in Vero E6 and HEK293 cell lines is observed. X-ray structural analyses of inhibitor-bound crystal structures revealed subtle differences between binding modes of the initial benzodioxolane lead (15g) and the most potent analogues 3k and 3j, featuring a monofluoro substitution at para and meta positions of the benzyl ring, respectively. Finally, the less lipophilic bis(amide) 3e and methoxypyridine 5c exhibit significantly improved metabolic stability and are viable candidates for advancing to in vivo studies. PMID:24568342

The Potent ALK Inhibitor Brigatinib (AP26113) Overcomes Mechanisms of Resistance to First- and Second-Generation ALK Inhibitors in Preclinical Models.

PubMed

Zhang, Sen; Anjum, Rana; Squillace, Rachel; Nadworny, Sara; Zhou, Tianjun; Keats, Jeff; Ning, Yaoyu; Wardwell, Scott D; Miller, David; Song, Youngchul; Eichinger, Lindsey; Moran, Lauren; Huang, Wei-Sheng; Liu, Shuangying; Zou, Dong; Wang, Yihan; Mohemmad, Qurish; Jang, Hyun Gyung; Ye, Emily; Narasimhan, Narayana; Wang, Frank; Miret, Juan; Zhu, Xiaotian; Clackson, Tim; Dalgarno, David; Shakespeare, William C; Rivera, Victor M

2016-11-15

Non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) harboring ALK gene rearrangements (ALK + ) typically become resistant to the first-generation anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) crizotinib through development of secondary resistance mutations in ALK or disease progression in the brain. Mutations that confer resistance to second-generation ALK TKIs ceritinib and alectinib have also been identified. Here, we report the structure and first comprehensive preclinical evaluation of the next-generation ALK TKI brigatinib. A kinase screen was performed to evaluate the selectivity profile of brigatinib. The cellular and in vivo activities of ALK TKIs were compared using engineered and cancer-derived cell lines. The brigatinib-ALK co-structure was determined. Brigatinib potently inhibits ALK and ROS1, with a high degree of selectivity over more than 250 kinases. Across a panel of ALK + cell lines, brigatinib inhibited native ALK (IC 50 , 10 nmol/L) with 12-fold greater potency than crizotinib. Superior efficacy of brigatinib was also observed in mice with ALK + tumors implanted subcutaneously or intracranially. Brigatinib maintained substantial activity against all 17 secondary ALK mutants tested in cellular assays and exhibited a superior inhibitory profile compared with crizotinib, ceritinib, and alectinib at clinically achievable concentrations. Brigatinib was the only TKI to maintain substantial activity against the most recalcitrant ALK resistance mutation, G1202R. The unique, potent, and pan-ALK mutant activity of brigatinib could be rationalized by structural analyses. Brigatinib is a highly potent and selective ALK inhibitor. These findings provide the molecular basis for the promising activity being observed in ALK + , crizotinib-resistant patients with NSCLC being treated with brigatinib in clinical trials. Clin Cancer Res; 22(22); 5527-38. ©2016 AACR. ©2016 American Association for Cancer Research.

Biological properties of potent inhibitors of class I phosphatidylinositide 3-kinases: from PI-103 through PI-540, PI-620 to the oral agent GDC-0941.

PubMed

Raynaud, Florence I; Eccles, Suzanne A; Patel, Sonal; Alix, Sonia; Box, Gary; Chuckowree, Irina; Folkes, Adrian; Gowan, Sharon; De Haven Brandon, Alexis; Di Stefano, Francesca; Hayes, Angela; Henley, Alan T; Lensun, Letitia; Pergl-Wilson, Giles; Robson, Anthony; Saghir, Nahid; Zhyvoloup, Alexander; McDonald, Edward; Sheldrake, Peter; Shuttleworth, Stephen; Valenti, Melanie; Wan, Nan Chi; Clarke, Paul A; Workman, Paul

2009-07-01

The phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase pathway is frequently deregulated in human cancers and inhibitors offer considerable therapeutic potential. We previously described the promising tricyclic pyridofuropyrimidine lead and chemical tool compound PI-103. We now report the properties of the pharmaceutically optimized bicyclic thienopyrimidine derivatives PI-540 and PI-620 and the resulting clinical development candidate GDC-0941. All four compounds inhibited phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase p110alpha with IC(50) < or = 10 nmol/L. Despite some differences in isoform selectivity, these agents exhibited similar in vitro antiproliferative properties to PI-103 in a panel of human cancer cell lines, with submicromolar potency in PTEN-negative U87MG human glioblastoma cells and comparable phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase pathway modulation. PI-540 and PI-620 exhibited improvements in solubility and metabolism with high tissue distribution in mice. Both compounds gave improved antitumor efficacy over PI-103, following i.p. dosing in U87MG glioblastoma tumor xenografts in athymic mice, with treated/control values of 34% (66% inhibition) and 27% (73% inhibition) for PI-540 (50 mg/kg b.i.d.) and PI-620 (25 mg/kg b.i.d.), respectively. GDC-0941 showed comparable in vitro antitumor activity to PI-103, PI-540, and PI-620 and exhibited 78% oral bioavailability in mice, with tumor exposure above 50% antiproliferative concentrations for >8 hours following 150 mg/kg p.o. and sustained phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase pathway inhibition. These properties led to excellent dose-dependent oral antitumor activity, with daily p.o. dosing at 150 mg/kg achieving 98% and 80% growth inhibition of U87MG glioblastoma and IGROV-1 ovarian cancer xenografts, respectively. Together, these data support the development of GDC-0941 as a potent, orally bioavailable inhibitor of phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase. GDC-0941 has recently entered phase I clinical trials.

Biological properties of potent inhibitors of class I phosphatidylinositide 3-kinases: from PI-103 through PI-540, PI-620 to the oral agent GDC-0941

PubMed Central

Raynaud, Florence I.; Eccles, Suzanne A.; Patel, Sonal; Alix, Sonia; Box, Gary; Chuckowree, Irina; Folkes, Adrian; Gowan, Sharon; De Haven Brandon, Alexis; Di Stefano, Francesca; Hayes, Angela; Henley, Alan T.; Lensun, Letitia; Pergl-Wilson, Giles; Robson, Anthony; Saghir, Nahid; Zhyvoloup, Alexander; McDonald, Edward; Sheldrake, Peter; Shuttleworth, Stephen; Valenti, Melanie; Wan, Nan Chi; Clarke, Paul A.; Workman, Paul

2009-01-01

The phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase pathway is frequently deregulated in human cancers and inhibitors offer considerable therapeutic potential. We previously described the promising tricyclic pyridofuropyrimidine lead and chemical tool compound PI-103. We now report the properties of the pharmaceutically optimized bicyclic thienopyrimidine derivatives PI-540 and PI-620 and the resulting clinical development candidate GDC-0941. All four compounds inhibited phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase p110α with IC50 ≤ 10 nmol/L. Despite some differences in isoform selectivity, these agents exhibited similar in vitro antiproliferative properties to PI-103 in a panel of human cancer cell lines, with submicromolar potency in PTEN-negative U87MG human glioblastoma cells and comparable phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase pathway modulation. PI-540 and PI-620 exhibited improvements in solubility and metabolism with high tissue distribution in mice. Both compounds gave improved antitumor efficacy over PI-103, following i.p. dosing in U87MG glioblastoma tumor xenografts in athymic mice, with treated/control values of 34% (66% inhibition) and 27% (73% inhibition) for PI-540 (50 mg/kg b.i.d.) and PI-620 (25 mg/kg b.i.d.), respectively. GDC-0941 showed comparable in vitro antitumor activity to PI-103, PI-540, and PI-620 and exhibited 78% oral bioavailability in mice, with tumor exposure above 50% anti-proliferative concentrations for >8 hours following 150 mg/kg p.o. and sustained phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase pathway inhibition. These properties led to excellent dose-dependent oral antitumor activity, with daily p.o. dosing at 150 mg/kg achieving 98% and 80% growth inhibition of U87MG glioblastoma and IGROV-1 ovarian cancer xenografts, respectively. Together, these data support the development of GDC-0941 as a potent, orally bioavailable inhibitor of phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase. GDC-0941 has recently entered phase I clinical trials. PMID:19584227

Sulfoximines as potent RORγ inverse agonists.

PubMed

Ouvry, Gilles; Bihl, Franck; Bouix-Peter, Claire; Christin, Olivier; Defoin-Platel, Claire; Deret, Sophie; Feret, Christophe; Froude, David; Hacini-Rachinel, Feriel; Harris, Craig S; Hervouet, Catherine; Lafitte, Guillaume; Luzy, Anne-Pascale; Musicki, Branislav; Orfila, Danielle; Parnet, Veronique; Pascau, Coralie; Pascau, Jonathan; Pierre, Romain; Raffin, Catherine; Rossio, Patricia; Spiesse, Delphine; Taquet, Nathalie; Thoreau, Etienne; Vatinel, Rodolphe; Vial, Emmanuel; Hennequin, Laurent F

2018-05-01

Progress in the identification of suitable RORγ inverse agonists as clinical candidates has been hampered by the high lipophilicity that seems required for high potency on this nuclear receptor. In this context, we decided to focus on the replacement of the hydroxymethyl group found on known modulators to determine if more polarity could be tolerated in this position. SAR of the replacement of this moiety is presented in this article leading to the identification of sulfoximine derivatives as potent modulators with pharmacological activity in the in vivo mouse Imiquimod psoriasis model. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Discovery of Indeno[1,2-c]quinoline Derivatives as Potent Dual Antituberculosis and Anti-Inflammatory Agents.

PubMed

Tseng, Chih-Hua; Tung, Chun-Wei; Wu, Chen-Hsin; Tzeng, Cherng-Chyi; Chen, Yen-Hsu; Hwang, Tsong-Long; Chen, Yeh-Long

2017-06-16

A series of indeno[1,2- c ]quinoline derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB) and anti-inflammatory activities. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the newly synthesized compound was tested against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H 37 R V . Among the tested compounds, ( E )- N '-[6-(4-hydroxypiperidin-1-yl)-11 H -indeno[1,2- c ]quinolin-11-ylidene]isonicotino-hydrazide ( 12 ), exhibited significant activities against the growth of M. tuberculosis (MIC values of 0.96 μg/mL) with a potency approximately equal to that of isoniazid (INH), an anti-TB drug. Important structure features were analyzed by quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) analysis to give better insights into the structure determinants for predicting the anti-TB activity. The anti-inflammatory activity was induced by superoxide anion generation and neutrophil elastase (NE) release using the formyl-l-methionyl-l-leucyl-l-phenylalanine (fMLF)-activated human neutrophils method. Results indicated that compound 12 demonstrated a potent dual inhibitory effect on NE release and superoxide anion generation with IC 50 values of 1.76 and 1.72 μM, respectively. Our results indicated that compound 12 is a potential lead compound for the discovery of dual anti-TB and anti-inflammatory drug candidates. In addition, 6-[3-(hydroxymethyl)piperidin-1-yl]-9-methoxy-11 H -indeno[1,2- c ]quinolin-11-one ( 4g ) showed a potent dual inhibitory effect on NE release and superoxide anion generation with IC 50 values of 0.46 and 0.68 μM, respectively, and is a potential lead compound for the discovery of anti-inflammatory drug candidates.

Potent antitumor bifunctional DNA alkylating agents, synthesis and biological activities of 3a-aza-cyclopenta[a]indenes.

PubMed

Kakadiya, Rajesh; Dong, Huajin; Lee, Pei-Chih; Kapuriya, Naval; Zhang, Xiuguo; Chou, Ting-Chao; Lee, Te-Chang; Kapuriya, Kalpana; Shah, Anamik; Su, Tsann-Long

2009-08-01

A series of bifunctional DNA interstrand cross-linking agents, bis(hydroxymethyl)- and bis(carbamates)-8H-3a-azacyclopenta[a]indene-1-yl derivatives were synthesized for antitumor evaluation. The preliminary antitumor studies revealed that these agents exhibited potent cytotoxicity in vitro and antitumor therapeutic efficacy against human tumor xenografts in vivo. Furthermore, these derivatives have little or no cross-resistance to either Taxol or Vinblastine. Remarkably, complete tumor remission in nude mice bearing human breast carcinoma MX-1 xenograft by 13a,b and 14g,h and significant suppression against prostate adenocarcinoma PC3 xenograft by 13b were achieved at the maximum tolerable dose with relatively low toxicity. In addition, these agents induce DNA interstrand cross-linking and substantial G2/M phase arrest in human non-small lung carcinoma H1299 cells. The current studies suggested that these agents are promising candidates for preclinical studies.

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Delphinium denudatum root extract exhibits antibacterial and mosquito larvicidal activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suresh, Gopal; Gunasekar, Poosali Hariharan; Kokila, Dhanasegaran; Prabhu, Durai; Dinesh, Devadoss; Ravichandran, Nagaiya; Ramesh, Balasubramanian; Koodalingam, Arunagirinathan; Vijaiyan Siva, Ganesan

2014-06-01

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using aqueous root extract of Delphinium denudatum (Dd) by reduction of Ag+ ions from silver nitrate solution has been investigated. The synthesized DdAgNPs were characterized by using UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The prepared DdAgNPs showed maximum absorbance at 416 nm and particles were polydispersed in nature, spherical in shape and the size of the particle obtained was ⩽85 nm. The DdAgNPs exhibited antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, Bacillus cereus NCIM 2106, Escherichia coli ATCC 8739 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027. The DdAgNPs showed potent larvicidal activity against second instar larvae of dengue vector Aedes aegypti with a LC50 value of 9.6 ppm.

Tetrahydrohyperforin and Octahydrohyperforin Are Two New Potent Inhibitors of Angiogenesis

PubMed Central

Martínez-Poveda, Beatriz; Verotta, Luisella; Bombardelli, Ezio; Quesada, Ana R.; Medina, Miguel Ángel

2010-01-01

Background We have previously shown that hyperforin, a phloroglucinol derivative found in St. John's wort, behaves as a potent anti-angiogenic compound. To identify the reactive group(s) mainly involved in this anti-angiogenic effect, we have investigated the anti-angiogenic properties of a series of stable derivatives obtained by oxidative modification of the natural product. In addition, in the present work we have studied the role of the four carbonyl groups present in hyperforin by investigating the potential of some other chemically stable derivatives. Methodology/Principal Findings The experimental procedures included the analysis of the effects of treatment of endothelial cells with these compounds in cell growth, cell viability, cell migration and zymographic assays, as well as the tube formation assay on Matrigel. Our study with hyperforin and eight derivatives shows that the enolized β-dicarbonyl system contained in the structure of hyperforin has a dominant role in its antiangiogenic activity. On the other hand, two of the tested hyperforin derivatives, namely, tetrahydrohyperforin and octahydrohyperforin, behave as potent inhibitors of angiogenesis. Additional characterization of these compounds included a cell specificity study of their effects on cell growth, as well as the in vivo Matrigel plug assay. Conclusions/Significance These observations could be useful for the rational design and chemical synthesis of more effective hyperforin derivatives as anti-angiogenic drugs. Altogether, the results indicate that octahydrohyperforin is a more specific and slightly more potent antiangiogenic compound than hyperforin. PMID:20224821

Older women exhibit greater airway 8-isoprostane responses to strenuous exercise compared with older men and younger controls.

PubMed

Kurti, Stephanie P; Emerson, Sam R; Smith, Joshua R; Rosenkranz, Sara K; Alexander, Samantha A; Lovoy, Garrett M; Harms, Craig A

2018-05-01

Development of late-onset respiratory diseases is associated with elevated 8-isoprostane, a marker of oxidative stress, in the airways. However, sex differences exist in development of these diseases. Using an exhaustive exercise bout as a physiological stressor may elucidate whether there is a sex difference with aging in pre- to postexercise airway 8-isoprostane generation. The purpose of this study was to determine whether older women exhibit a greater airway 8-isoprostane response to exhaustive exercise compared with older men and younger controls. Thirty-six individuals completed the study (12 postmenopausal older women (OW) and 12 age-matched older men (OM), 65 ± 4 years of age; and 12 younger controls (YC), 21 ± 2 years of age). Baseline measurements included exhaled breath condensate (EBC) for assessment of airway 8-isoprostane and standard pulmonary function tests (PFTs) to assess forced expiratory volume in 1-s (FEV 1 ), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV 1 /FVC, and forced expiratory flow at 25%-75% of FVC. Subjects then performed a peak oxygen uptake test to exhaustion on a cycle ergometer. Immediately postexercise, PFTs and EBC were performed. The generation of airway 8-isoprostane from pre- to postexercise was greater in OW compared with OM and YC (p < 0.01), increasing ∼74% ± 77% in OW, while decreasing in OM (∼12% ± 50%) and YC (∼20.9% ± 30%). The OW exhibited a greater airway 8-isoprostane response to exhaustive exercise compared with OM and YC, which may suggest that sex differences in oxidative stress generation following exhaustive exercise may provide a mechanistic rationale for sex differences in late-onset respiratory diseases.

Discovery of chiral dihydropyridopyrimidinones as potent, selective and orally bioavailable inhibitors of AKT.

PubMed

Parthasarathy, Saravanan; Henry, Kenneth; Pei, Huaxing; Clayton, Josh; Rempala, Mark; Johns, Deidre; De Frutos, Oscar; Garcia, Pablo; Mateos, Carlos; Pleite, Sehila; Wang, Yong; Stout, Stephanie; Condon, Bradley; Ashok, Sheela; Lu, Zhohai; Ehlhardt, William; Raub, Tom; Lai, Mei; Geeganage, Sandaruwan; Burkholder, Timothy P

2018-06-01

During the course of our research efforts to develop potent and selective AKT inhibitors, we discovered enatiomerically pure substituted dihydropyridopyrimidinones (DHP) as potent inhibitors of protein kinase B/AKT with excellent selectivity against ROCK 2 . A key challenge in this program was the poor physicochemical properties of the initial lead compound 5. Integration of structure-based drug design and physical properties-based design resulted in replacement of a highly hydrophobic poly fluorinated aryl ring by a simple trifluoromethyl that led to identification of compound 6 with much improved physicochemical properties. Subsequent SAR studies led to the synthesis of new pyran analog 7 with improved cell potency. Further optimization of pharmacokintetics properties by increasing permeability with appropriate fluorinated alkyl led to compound 8 as a potent, selective AKT inhibitors that blocks the phosphorylation of GSK3β in vivo and had robust, dose and concentration dependent efficacy in the U87MG tumor xenograft model. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fluoroethoxy-1,4-diphenethylpiperidine and piperazine derivatives: Potent and selective inhibitors of [3H]dopamine uptake at the vesicular monoamine transporter-2.

PubMed

Hankosky, Emily R; Joolakanti, Shyam R; Nickell, Justin R; Janganati, Venumadhav; Dwoskin, Linda P; Crooks, Peter A

2017-12-15

A small library of fluoroethoxy-1,4-diphenethyl piperidine and fluoroethoxy-1,4-diphenethyl piperazine derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their ability to inhibit [ 3 H]dopamine (DA) uptake at the vesicular monoamine transporter-2 (VMAT2) and dopamine transporter (DAT), [ 3 H]serotonin (5-HT) uptake at the serotonin transporter (SERT), and [ 3 H]dofetilide binding at the human-ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG) channel. The majority of the compounds exhibited potent inhibition of [ 3 H]DA uptake at VMAT2, Ki changes in the nanomolar range (K i  = 0.014-0.073 µM). Compound 15d exhibited the highest affinity (K i  = 0.014 µM) at VMAT2, and had 160-, 5-, and 60-fold greater selectivity for VMAT2 vs. DAT, SERT and hERG, respectively. Compound 15b exhibited the greatest selectivity (>60-fold) for VMAT2 relative to all the other targets evaluated, and 15b had high affinity for VMAT2 (K i  = 0.073 µM). Compound 15b was considered the lead compound from this analog series due to its high affinity and selectivity for VMAT2. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synthesis and structure-activity relationships of novel lincomycin derivatives. Part 4: synthesis of novel lincomycin analogs modified at the 6- and 7-positions and their potent antibacterial activities.

PubMed

Wakiyama, Yoshinari; Kumura, Ko; Umemura, Eijiro; Ueda, Kazutaka; Watanabe, Takashi; Yamada, Keiko; Okutomi, Takafumi; Ajito, Keiichi

2017-07-01

To modify lincomycin (LCM) at the C-6 and the C-7 positions, we firstly prepared various substituted proline intermediates (7, 11-15 and 17). These proline intermediates were coupled with methyl 1-thio-α-lincosamide and tetrakis-O-trimethylsilylation followed by selective deprotection of the TMS group at the 7-position gave a wide variety of key intermediates (23-27, 47 and 50). Then, we synthesized a variety of novel LCM analogs modified at the 7-position in application of the Mitsunobu reaction, an S N 2 reaction, and a Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction. Compounds 34 and 35 (1'-NH derivatives) exhibited enhanced antibacterial activities against resistant pathogens with erm gene compared with the corresponding 1'-N-methyl derivatives (3 and 37). On the basis of reported SAR, we modified the 4'-position of LCM derivatives possessing a 5-(2-nitrophenyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl group at the C-7 position. Compound 56 showed significantly potent antibacterial activities against S. pneumoniae and S. pyogenes with erm gene, and its activities against S. pneumoniae with erm gene were improved compared with those of 34 and 57. Although we synthesized novel analogs by transformation of a C-7 substituent focusing on the 1'-demethyl framework to prepare very potent analogs 73 and 75, it was impossible to generate novel derivatives exhibiting stronger antibacterial activities against S. pneumoniae with erm gene compared with 56.

Pterostilbene Is a Potential Candidate for Control of Blackleg in Canola

PubMed Central

Barbulescu, Denise M.; Salisbury, Phil A.; Slater, Anthony T.

2016-01-01

Two stilbenes, resveratrol and pterostilbene, exhibit antifungal activity against Leptosphaeria maculans, the fungal pathogen responsible for blackleg (stem canker) in canola (Brassica napus). In vitro studies on the effect of these stilbenes on L. maculans mycelial growth and conidia germination showed that pterostilbene is a potent fungicide and sporicide, but resveratrol only exerted minor inhibition on L. maculans. Cell viability of hyphae cultures was markedly reduced by pterostilbene and SYTOX green staining showed that cell membrane integrity was compromised. We demonstrate that pterostilbene exerts fungicidal activity across 10 different L. maculans isolates and the compound confers protection to the blackleg-susceptible canola cv. Westar seedlings. The potential of pterostilbene as a control agent against blackleg in canola is discussed. PMID:27213274

Phenolic derivatives from soy flour ethanol extract are potent in vitro quinone reductase (QR) inducing agents.

PubMed

Bolling, Bradley W; Parkin, Kirk L

2008-11-26

The fractionation of soy flour directed by a cellular bioassay for induction of phase 2 detoxification enzymes was used to identify quinone reductase (QR) inducing agents. A phospholipid-depleted, 80% methanol-partitioned isolate from a crude ethanol extract of soy flour was resolved using normal phase medium-pressure liquid chromatography (MPLC). Early eluting fractions were found to be the most potent QR inducing agents among the separated fractions. Fraction 2 was the most potent, doubling QR at <2 mug/mL. Further fractionation of this isolate led to the identification of several constituents. Fatty acids and sn-1 and sn-2 monoacylglycerols were identified, but were not highly potent QR inducers. Benzofuran-3-carbaldehyde, 4-hydroxybenzaldeyde, 4-ethoxybenzoic acid, 4-ethoxycinnamic acid, benzofuran-2-carboxylic ethyl ester, and ferulic acid ethyl ester (FAEE) were also identified as QR inducing constituents of this fraction. FAEE was the most potent of the identified constituents, doubling QR specific activity at 3.2 muM in the cellular bioassay.

Proinflammatory tachykinins that signal through the neurokinin 1 receptor promote survival of dendritic cells and potent cellular immunity.

PubMed

Janelsins, Brian M; Mathers, Alicia R; Tkacheva, Olga A; Erdos, Geza; Shufesky, William J; Morelli, Adrian E; Larregina, Adriana T

2009-03-26

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the preferred targets for immunotherapy protocols focused on stimulation of cellular immune responses. However, regardless of initial promising results, ex vivo generated DCs do not always promote immune-stimulatory responses. The outcome of DC-dependent immunity is regulated by proinflammatory cytokines and neuropeptides. Proinflammatory neuropeptides of the tachykinin family, including substance P (SP) and hemokinin-1 (HK-1), bind the neurokinin 1 receptor (NK1R) and promote stimulatory immune responses. Nevertheless, the ability of pro-inflammatory tachykinins to affect the immune functions of DCs remains elusive. In the present work, we demonstrate that mouse bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs) generated in the presence of granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin-4 (IL-4), express functional NK1R. Signaling via NK1R with SP, HK-1, or the synthetic agonist [Sar(9)Met(O(2))(11)]-SP rescues DCs from apoptosis induced by deprivation of GM-CSF and IL-4. Mechanistic analysis demonstrates that NK1R agonistic binding promotes DC survival via PI3K-Akt signaling cascade. In adoptive transfer experiments, NK1R-signaled BMDCs loaded with Ag exhibit increased longevity in draining lymph nodes, resulting in enhanced and prolonged effector cellular immunity. Our results contribute to the understanding of the interactions between the immune and nervous systems that control DC function and present a novel approach for ex vivo-generation of potent immune-stimulatory DCs.

Respirable Uranyl-Vanadate Containing Particulate Matter Derived from a Legacy Uranium Mine Site Exhibits Potentiated Cardiopulmonary Toxicity.

PubMed

Zychowski, Katherine E; Kodali, Vamsi; Harmon, Molly; Tyler, Christina; Sanchez, Bethany; Ordonez Suarez, Yoselin; Herbert, Guy; Wheeler, Abigail; Avasarala, Sumant; Cerrato, José M; Kunda, Nitesh K; Muttil, Pavan; Shuey, Chris; Brearley, Adrian; Ali, Abdul-Mehdi; Lin, Yan; Shoeb, Mohammad; Erdely, Aaron; Campen, Matthew J

2018-04-05

Exposure to windblown particulate matter (PM) arising from legacy uranium (U) mine sites in the Navajo Nation may pose a human health hazard due to their potentially high metal content, including U and vanadium (V). To assess the toxic impact of PM derived from Claim 28 (a priority U mine) compared to background PM, and consider the putative role of metal species U and V. Two representative sediment samples from Navajo Nation sites (Background PM and Claim 28 PM) were obtained, characterized in terms of chemistry and morphology, and fractioned to the respirable (≤10μm) fraction. Mice were dosed with either PM sample, uranyl acetate or vanadyl sulfate via aspiration (100µg), with assessments of pulmonary and vascular toxicity 24h later. PM samples were also examined for in vitro effects on cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, phagocytosis, and inflammasome induction. Claim 28 PM10 was highly enriched with U and V and exhibited a unique nanoparticle ultrastructure compared to background PM10. Claim 28 PM10 exhibited enhanced pulmonary and vascular toxicity relative to background PM10. Both U and V exhibited complementary pulmonary inflammatory potential, with U driving a classical inflammatory cytokine profile (elevated IL-1β, TNFα, KC/GRO) while V preferentially induced a different cytokine pattern (elevated IL-5, IL-6, IL-10). Claim 28 PM10 was more potent than background PM10 in terms of in vitro cytotoxicity, impairment of phagocytosis, and oxidative stress responses. Resuspended PM10 derived from U mine waste exhibit greater cardiopulmonary toxicity than background dusts. Rigorous exposure assessment is needed to gauge the regional health risks imparted by these unremediated sites.

Substituted N-(biphenyl-4'-yl)methyl (R)-2-acetamido-3-methoxypropionamides: potent anticonvulsants that affect frequency (use) dependence and slow inactivation of sodium channels.

PubMed

Lee, Hyosung; Park, Ki Duk; Torregrosa, Robert; Yang, Xiao-Fang; Dustrude, Erik T; Wang, Yuying; Wilson, Sarah M; Barbosa, Cindy; Xiao, Yucheng; Cummins, Theodore R; Khanna, Rajesh; Kohn, Harold

2014-07-24

We prepared 13 derivatives of N-(biphenyl-4'-yl)methyl (R)-2-acetamido-3-methoxypropionamide that differed in type and placement of a R-substituent in the terminal aryl unit. We demonstrated that the R-substituent impacted the compound's whole animal and cellular pharmacological activities. In rodents, select compounds exhibited excellent anticonvulsant activities and protective indices (PI=TD50/ED50) that compared favorably with clinical antiseizure drugs. Compounds with a polar, aprotic R-substituent potently promoted Na+ channel slow inactivation and displayed frequency (use) inhibition of Na+ currents at low micromolar concentrations. The possible advantage of affecting these two pathways to decrease neurological hyperexcitability is discussed.

Design and syntheses of novel N-(benzothiazol-5-yl)-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-isoindole-1,3(2H)-dione and N-(benzothiazol-5-yl)isoindoline-1,3-dione as potent protoporphyrinogen oxidase inhibitors.

PubMed

Jiang, Li-Li; Zuo, Yang; Wang, Zhi-Fang; Tan, Yin; Wu, Qiong-You; Xi, Zhen; Yang, Guang-Fu

2011-06-08

Discovery of protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO, EC 1.3.3.4) inhibitors has been one of the hottest research areas in the field of herbicide development for many years. As a continuation of our research work on the development of new PPO-inhibiting herbicides, a series of novel N-(benzothiazol-5-yl)-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-isoindole-1,3(2H)-diones (1a-p) and N-(benzothiazol-5-yl)isoindoline-1,3-diones (2a-h) were designed and synthesized according to the ring-closing strategy of two ortho-substituents. The bioassay results indicated that some newly synthesized compounds exhibited higher PPO inhibition activity than the control of sulfentrazone. Compound 1a, S-(5-(1,3-dioxo-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-isoindol-2(3H)-yl)-6-fluorobenzothiazol-2-yl) O-methyl carbonothioate, was identified as the most potent inhibitor with k(i) value of 0.08 μM, about 9 times higher than that of sulfentrazone (k(i) = 0.72 μM). Further green house assay showed that compound 1b, methyl 2-((5-(1,3-dioxo-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-isoindol-2(3H)-yl)-6-fluorobenzothiazol-2-yl)thio)acetate, exhibited herbicidal activity comparable to that of sulfentrazone even at a concentration of 37.5 g ai/ha. In addition, among six tested crops, wheat exhibited high tolerance to compound 1b even at a dosage of 300 g ai/ha. These results indicated that compound 1b might have the potential to be developed as a new herbicide for weed control of wheat field.

Pin1 inhibition exerts potent activity against acute myeloid leukemia through blocking multiple cancer-driving pathways.

PubMed

Lian, Xiaolan; Lin, Yu-Min; Kozono, Shingo; Herbert, Megan K; Li, Xin; Yuan, Xiaohong; Guo, Jiangrui; Guo, Yafei; Tang, Min; Lin, Jia; Huang, Yiping; Wang, Bixin; Qiu, Chenxi; Tsai, Cheng-Yu; Xie, Jane; Cao, Ziang Jeff; Wu, Yong; Liu, Hekun; Zhou, Xiaozhen; Lu, Kunping; Chen, Yuanzhong

2018-05-30

The increasing genomic complexity of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the most common form of acute leukemia, poses a major challenge to its therapy. To identify potent therapeutic targets with the ability to block multiple cancer-driving pathways is thus imperative. The unique peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase Pin1 has been reported to promote tumorigenesis through upregulation of numerous cancer-driving pathways. Although Pin1 is a key drug target for treating acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) caused by a fusion oncogene, much less is known about the role of Pin1 in other heterogeneous leukemia. The mRNA and protein levels of Pin1 were detected in samples from de novo leukemia patients and healthy controls using real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blot. The establishment of the lentiviral stable-expressed short hairpin RNA (shRNA) system and the tetracycline-inducible shRNA system for targeting Pin1 were used to analyze the biological function of Pin1 in AML cells. The expression of cancer-related Pin1 downstream oncoproteins in shPin1 (Pin1 knockdown) and Pin1 inhibitor all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) treated leukemia cells were examined by western blot, followed by evaluating the effects of genetic and chemical inhibition of Pin1 in leukemia cells on transformed phenotype, including cell proliferation and colony formation ability, using trypan blue, cell counting assay, and colony formation assay in vitro, as well as the tumorigenesis ability using in vivo xenograft mouse models. First, we found that the expression of Pin1 mRNA and protein was significantly increased in both de novo leukemia clinical samples and multiple leukemia cell lines, compared with healthy controls. Furthermore, genetic or chemical inhibition of Pin1 in human multiple leukemia cell lines potently inhibited multiple Pin1 substrate oncoproteins and effectively suppressed leukemia cell proliferation and colony formation ability in cell culture models in vitro. Moreover

Lessons from life: Learning from exhibits, animals and interaction in a museum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldowsky, Alexander Noah

This study examines the effect of interaction on visitor behavior at a public aquarium, experimentally comparing one exhibit under interactive and noninteractive conditions. A quantitative analysis showed that the time visitor groups spent in the study area significantly increased in the interactive condition (median 73 vs. 32 seconds). Further, this effect extended only to those groups within the interactive condition in which at least one member operated the exhibit (median 102 vs. 36 seconds). Both median times and survival curves are compared, and the analysis controlled for group size, age and sex ratios, visitor density, queuing time, and animal activity. Qualitative analyses focused on visitors' spontaneous conversation at the exhibit. Interactive visitors were found to engage in more in-depth exploration, including conducting informal experiments. The amount of discussion was found to correlate with stay time (r = 0.47). Visitor discussion centered on the exhibit, with frequent observations of penguin behavior. Greater enthusiasm was observed for interactive visitors, and coding showed interactive visitors laughed more frequently, and were significantly more likely to speculate on the penguins' reactions and motivations for behaviors. The experimental setup included a control condition consisting of a typical aquarium exhibit, including live penguins, naturalistic habitat, and graphics. The interactive condition added a device designed to mediate a two-way interaction between the visitors and penguins: visitors moved a light beam across the bottom of the pool. The penguins, intern, chased the light. This exhibit was designed both to benefit visitors and to serve as behavioral enrichment for the penguins. A third condition employed an automatically moving light, which elicited similar penguin behaviors, but without allowing visitor interaction. Videotaped data was analyzed for 301 visitor groups (756 individuals). A supplemental study employed video recall

D-piece modifications of the hemiasterlin analog HTI-286 produce potent tubulin inhibitors.

PubMed

Zask, Arie; Birnberg, Gary; Cheung, Katherine; Kaplan, Joshua; Niu, Chuan; Norton, Emily; Yamashita, Ayako; Beyer, Carl; Krishnamurthy, Girija; Greenberger, Lee M; Loganzo, Frank; Ayral-Kaloustian, Semiramis

2004-08-16

Modifications of the D-piece carboxylic acid group of the hemiasterlin analog HTI-286 gave tubulin inhibitors which were potent cytotoxic agents in taxol resistant cell lines expressing P-glycoprotein. Amides derived from proline had potency comparable to HTI-286. Reduction of the carboxylic acid to ketones and alcohols or its conversion to acidic heterocycles also gave potent analogs. Synthetic modifications of the carboxylic acid could be carried out selectively using a wide range of synthetic reagents. Proline analog 3 was found to be effective in a human xenograft model in athymic mice.

Celecoxib: a potent cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor in cancer prevention.

PubMed

Kismet, Kemal; Akay, M Turan; Abbasoglu, Osman; Ercan, Aygün

2004-01-01

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most widely used therapeutic agents in the treatment of pain, inflammation and fever. They may also have a role in the management of cancer prevention, Alzheimer's disease and prophylaxis against cardiovascular disease. These drugs act primarily by inhibiting cyclooxygenase enzyme, which has two isoforms, cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Selective COX-2 inhibitors provide potent anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects without the side effects of gastric and renal toxicity and inhibition of platelet function. Celecoxib is a potent COX-2 inhibitor being developed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Chemoprevention is the use of pharmacological or natural agents to prevent, suppress, interrupt or reverse the process of carcinogenesis. For this purpose, celecoxib is being used for different cancer types. The effects of NSAIDs on tumor growth remain unclear, but are most likely to be multifocal. In this article, we reviewed COX-2 selectivity, the pharmacological properties of celecoxib, the use of celecoxib for cancer prevention and the mechanisms of chemoprevention.

Synthesis, kinetic characterization and metabolism of diastereomeric 2-(1-(4-phenoxyphenylsulfonyl)ethyl)thiiranes as potent gelatinase and MT1-MMP inhibitors.

PubMed

Gooyit, Major; Lee, Mijoon; Hesek, Dusan; Boggess, Bill; Oliver, Allen G; Fridman, Rafael; Mobashery, Shahriar; Chang, Mayland

2009-12-01

Gelatinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9) have been implicated in a number of pathological conditions, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. Hence, small molecule inhibitors of these enzymes are highly sought for use as potential therapeutic agents. 2-(4-Phenoxyphenylsulfonylmethyl)thiirane (SB-3CT) has previously been demonstrated to be a potent and selective inhibitor of gelatinases, however, it is rapidly metabolized because of oxidation at the para position of the phenoxy ring and at the alpha-position to the sulfonyl group. alpha-Methyl variants of SB-3CT were conceived to improve metabolic stability and as mechanistic probes. We describe herein the synthesis and evaluation of these structural variants as potent inhibitors of gelatinases. Two (compounds 5b and 5d) among the four synthetic stereoisomers were found to exhibit slow-binding inhibition of gelatinases and MMP-14 (MT1-MMP), which is a hallmark of the mechanism of this class of inhibitors. The ability of these compounds to inhibit MMP-2, MMP-9, and MMP-14 could target cancer tissues more effectively. Metabolism of the newly synthesized inhibitors showed that both oxidation at the alpha-position to the sulfonyl group and oxidation at the para position of the terminal phenyl ring were prevented. Instead oxidation on the thiirane sulfur is the only biotransformation pathway observed for these gelatinase inhibitors.

Design of a potent antibiotic peptide based on the active region of human defensin 5.

PubMed

Wang, Cheng; Shen, Mingqiang; Gohain, Neelakshi; Tolbert, William D; Chen, Fang; Zhang, Naixin; Yang, Ke; Wang, Aiping; Su, Yongping; Cheng, Tianmin; Zhao, Jinghong; Pazgier, Marzena; Wang, Junping

2015-04-09

Human defensin 5 (HD5) is a broad-spectrum antibacterial peptide with a C-terminal active region. To promote the development of this peptide into an antibiotic, we initially substituted Glu21 with Arg because it is an electronegative residue located around the active region. Although detrimental to dimer formation, the E21R substitution markedly enhanced the antibacterial activity of HD5 and increased its ability to penetrate cell membranes, demonstrating that increasing the electropositive charge compensated for the effect of dimer disruption. Subsequently, a partial Arg scanning mutagenesis was performed, and Thr7 was selected for replacement with Arg to further strengthen the antibacterial activity. The newly designed peptide, T7E21R-HD5, exhibited potent antibacterial activity, even in saline and serum solutions. In contrast to monomeric E21R-HD5, T7E21R-HD5 assembled into an atypical dimer with parallel β strands, thus expanding the role of increasing electropositive charge in bactericidal activity and providing a useful guide for further defensin-derived antibiotic design.

Discovery of 5-(arenethynyl) hetero-monocyclic derivatives as potent inhibitors of BCR-ABL including the T315I gatekeeper mutant.

PubMed

Thomas, Mathew; Huang, Wei-Sheng; Wen, David; Zhu, Xiaotian; Wang, Yihan; Metcalf, Chester A; Liu, Shuangying; Chen, Ingrid; Romero, Jan; Zou, Dong; Sundaramoorthi, Raji; Li, Feng; Qi, Jiwei; Cai, Lisi; Zhou, Tianjun; Commodore, Lois; Xu, Qihong; Keats, Jeff; Wang, Frank; Wardwell, Scott; Ning, Yaoyu; Snodgrass, Joseph T; Broudy, Marc I; Russian, Karin; Iuliucci, John; Rivera, Victor M; Sawyer, Tomi K; Dalgarno, David C; Clackson, Tim; Shakespeare, William C

2011-06-15

Ponatinib (AP24534) was previously identified as a pan-BCR-ABL inhibitor that potently inhibits the T315I gatekeeper mutant, and has advanced into clinical development for the treatment of refractory or resistant CML. In this study, we explored a novel series of five and six membered monocycles as alternate hinge-binding templates to replace the 6,5-fused imidazopyridazine core of ponatinib. Like ponatinib, these monocycles are tethered to pendant toluanilides via an ethynyl linker. Several compounds in this series displayed excellent in vitro potency against both native BCR-ABL and the T315I mutant. Notably, a subset of inhibitors exhibited desirable PK and were orally active in a mouse model of T315I-driven CML. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Potentized Mercuric chloride and Mercuric iodide enhance alpha-amylase activity in vitro.

PubMed

Sukul, N C; De, A; Sukul, A; Sinhababu, S P

2002-10-01

Mercuric chloride 30c and Mercuric iodide 30c were prepared by successive dilution in 30 steps of 1:100 followed by sonication at 20KHz for 30s at each step. Both were prepared in two media: 90% ethanol and distilled water. Three preparations of Mercuric chloride 30 in water were used: 12-month old, 1-month old and 4-day old. The controls for the water and ethanol-water preparations were pure water 30c and 90% ethanol 30c, respectively. For the three water preparations there were three matched controls of water 30c of the same ages. Each potentized substance or its control was mixed with distilled water 1:100 before testing. Hydrolysis of starch by alpha-amylase was measured by the standard procedure after incubation for 15 min at 27 degrees C. Mercuric chloride 30c and Mercuric iodide 30c in both water and aqueous ethanol media, enhanced enzyme activity significantly, compared to their respective controls. Mercuric chloride 30c, prepared in water 12 months previously, produced no significant change in the enzyme activity compared to its control. We hypothesize that the structure of the active molecule imprinted on water polymers during the process of dynamization. The specifically structured water interacts with the active sites of alpha-amylase, modifying its activity. Ethanol molecules have large non-polar part stabilizing the water structure and thus retaining activity for a longer time.

Honaucins A–C, Potent Inhibitors of Eukaryotic Inflammation and Bacterial Quorum Sensing: Synthetic Derivatives and Structure-Activity Relationships

PubMed Central

Choi, Hyukjae; Mascuch, Samantha J.; Villa, Francisco A.; Byrum, Tara; Teasdale, Margaret E.; Smith, Jennifer E.; Preskitt, Linda B.; Rowley, David C.; Gerwick, Lena; Gerwick, William H.

2012-01-01

SUMMARY Honaucins A–C were isolated from the cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya crossbyana which was found overgrowing corals on the Hawaiian coast. Honaucin A consists of (S)-3-hydroxy-γ-butyrolactone and 4-chlorocrotonic acid which are connected via an ester linkage. Honaucin A and its two natural analogs exhibit potent inhibition of bioluminescence, a quorum sensing-dependent phenotype, in Vibrio harveyi BB120 as well as of lipopolysaccharide-stimulated nitric oxide production in the murine macrophage cell line RAW264.7. The decrease in nitric oxide production was accompanied by a decrease in the transcripts of several pro-inflammatory cytokines, most dramatically interleukin-1β. Synthesis of honaucin A as well as a number of analogs and subsequent evaluation in anti-inflammation and quorum sensing inhibition bioassays revealed the essential structural features for activity in this chemical class, and provided analogs with greater potency in both assays. PMID:22633410

Library-based discovery and characterization of daphnane diterpenes as potent and selective HIV inhibitors in Daphne gnidium.

PubMed

Vidal, Vincent; Potterat, Olivier; Louvel, Séverine; Hamy, François; Mojarrab, Mahdi; Sanglier, Jean-Jacques; Klimkait, Thomas; Hamburger, Matthias

2012-03-23

Despite the existence of an extended armamentarium of effective synthetic drugs to treat HIV, there is a continuing need for new potent and affordable drugs. Given the successful history of natural product based drug discovery, a library of close to one thousand plant and fungal extracts was screened for antiretroviral activity. A dichloromethane extract of the aerial parts of Daphne gnidium exhibited strong antiretroviral activity and absence of cytotoxicity. With the aid of HPLC-based activity profiling, the antiviral activity could be tracked to four daphnane derivatives, namely, daphnetoxin (1), gnidicin (2), gniditrin (3), and excoecariatoxin (4). Detailed anti-HIV profiling revealed that the pure compounds were active against multidrug-resistant viruses irrespective of their cellular tropism. Mode of action studies that narrowed the site of activity to viral entry events suggested a direct interference with the expression of the two main HIV co-receptors, CCR5 and CXCR4, at the cell surface by daphnetoxin (1).

A natural inhibitor of kidney-type glutaminase: a withanolide from Physalis pubescens with potent anti-tumor activity

PubMed Central

Wu, Canrong; Zheng, Mengzhu; Gao, Suyu; Luan, Shanshan; Cheng, Li; Wang, Liqing; Li, Jiachen; Chen, Lixia; Li, Hua

2017-01-01

Kidney-type glutaminase (KGA), a mitochondrial enzyme converting glutamine to glutamate for energy supply, was over-expressed in many cancers and had been regarded as a promising therapeutic target in recent years. Structure-based virtual ligand screening predicted physapubescin K, a new withanolide from Physalis pubescens, to be potential KGA inhibitor. Enzyme activity inhibition assays and microscale thermophoresis experiments had demonstrated the efficiency and specificity of physapubescin K targeting KGA. Additionally, physapubescin K exhibited potent proliferation inhibitory effects on a panel of human cancer cell lines, such as SW1990 and HCC827-ER. It blocked glutamine metabolism in SW1990 with increasing intracellular level of glutamine and decreasing glutamate and its downstream metabolites. Physapubescin K also significantly inhibited the tumor growth in a SW1990 xenograft mouse model. Interestingly, physapubescin K could reverse the resistance of HCC827-ER cells to erlotinib and synergize with the hexokinase 2 inhibitor to markedly enhance the inhibition of SW1990 cell proliferation. PMID:29371926

Interaction of antithrombin with sulfated, low molecular weight lignins: opportunities for potent, selective modulation of antithrombin function.

PubMed

Henry, Brian L; Connell, Justin; Liang, Aiye; Krishnasamy, Chandravel; Desai, Umesh R

2009-07-31

Antithrombin, a major regulator of coagulation and angiogenesis, is known to interact with several natural sulfated polysaccharides. Previously, we prepared sulfated low molecular weight variants of natural lignins, called sulfated dehydrogenation polymers (DHPs) (Henry, B. L., Monien, B. H., Bock, P. E., and Desai, U. R. (2007) J. Biol. Chem. 282, 31891-31899), which have now been found to exhibit interesting antithrombin binding properties. Sulfated DHPs represent a library of diverse noncarbohydrate aromatic scaffolds that possess structures completely different from heparin and heparan sulfate. Fluorescence binding studies indicate that sulfated DHPs bind to antithrombin with micromolar affinity under physiological conditions. Salt dependence of binding affinity indicates that the antithrombin-sulfated DHP interaction involves a massive 80-87% non-ionic component to the free energy of binding. Competitive binding studies with heparin pentasaccharide, epicatechin sulfate, and full-length heparin indicate that sulfated DHPs bind to both the pentasaccharide-binding site and extended heparin-binding site of antithrombin. Affinity capillary electrophoresis resolves a limited number of peaks of antithrombin co-complexes suggesting preferential binding of selected DHP structures to the serpin. Computational genetic algorithm-based virtual screening study shows that only one sulfated DHP structure, out of the 11 present in a library of plausible sequences, bound in the heparin-binding site with a high calculated score supporting selectivity of recognition. Enzyme inhibition studies indicate that only one of the three sulfated DHPs studied is a potent inhibitor of free factor VIIa in the presence of antithrombin. Overall, the chemo-enzymatic origin and antithrombin binding properties of sulfated DHPs present novel opportunities for potent and selective modulation of the serpin function, especially for inhibiting the initiation phase of hemostasis.

A Potent and Highly Efficacious Bcl-2/Bcl-xL Inhibitor

PubMed Central

McEachern, Donna; Yang, Chao-Yie; Meagher, Jennifer; Stuckey, Jeanne; Wang, Shaomeng

2013-01-01

Our previously reported Bcl-2/Bcl-xL inhibitor, 4, effectively inhibited tumor growth but failed to achieve complete regression in vivo. We have now performed extensive modifications on its pyrrole core structure, which has culminated in the discovery of 32 (BM-1074). Compound 32 binds to Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL proteins with Ki values of < 1 nM and inhibits cancer cell growth with IC50 values of 1-2 nM in four small-cell lung cancer cell lines sensitive to potent and specific Bcl-2/Bcl-xL inhibitors. Compound 32 is capable of achieving rapid, complete and durable tumor regression in vivo at a well-tolerated dose-schedule. Compound 32 is the most potent and efficacious Bcl-2/Bcl-xL inhibitor reported to date. PMID:23448298

Substituted N-(Biphenyl-4′-yl)methyl (R)-2-Acetamido-3-methoxypropionamides: Potent Anticonvulsants That Affect Frequency (Use) Dependence and Slow Inactivation of Sodium Channels

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

We prepared 13 derivatives of N-(biphenyl-4′-yl)methyl (R)-2-acetamido-3-methoxypropionamide that differed in type and placement of a R-substituent in the terminal aryl unit. We demonstrated that the R-substituent impacted the compound’s whole animal and cellular pharmacological activities. In rodents, select compounds exhibited excellent anticonvulsant activities and protective indices (PI = TD50/ED50) that compared favorably with clinical antiseizure drugs. Compounds with a polar, aprotic R-substituent potently promoted Na+ channel slow inactivation and displayed frequency (use) inhibition of Na+ currents at low micromolar concentrations. The possible advantage of affecting these two pathways to decrease neurological hyperexcitability is discussed. PMID:25004277

25I-NBOH: a new potent serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonist identified in blotter paper seizures in Brazil.

PubMed

Arantes, Luciano Chaves; Júnior, Ettore Ferrari; de Souza, Luciano Figueiredo; Cardoso, Andriele Costa; Alcântara, Thaynara Lino Fernandes; Lião, Luciano Morais; Machado, Yuri; Lordeiro, Rogério Araújo; Neto, José Coelho; Andrade, Ana Flávia B

2017-01-01

A new potent serotonin 5-HT 2A receptor agonist was identified in blotter papers by several state level forensic laboratories in Brazil. The 25I-NBOH is a labile molecule, which fragments into 2C-I when analyzed by routine seized material screening gas chromatography (GC) methods. GC-mass spectrometry (MS), liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight-MS, and Fourier transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance analyses were performed to complete molecular characterization. Individual doses range from 300 to 1000 μg. Despite its being a potent 5-HT 2A receptor agonist, 25I-NBOH is neither registered in the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) nor classified as a scheduled substance in most countries. Sweden and Brazil seem to be the only countries to control 25I-NBOH. To our knowledge, this is the first scientific report dealing with identification of 25I-NBOH in actual seizures.

Abietane-Type Diterpenoid Amides with Highly Potent and Selective Activity against Leishmania donovani and Trypanosoma cruzi.

PubMed

Pirttimaa, Minni; Nasereddin, Abedelmajeed; Kopelyanskiy, Dmitry; Kaiser, Marcel; Yli-Kauhaluoma, Jari; Oksman-Caldentey, Kirsi-Marja; Brun, Reto; Jaffe, Charles L; Moreira, Vânia M; Alakurtti, Sami

2016-02-26

Dehydroabietylamine (1) was used as a starting material to synthesize a small library of dehydroabietyl amides by simple and facile methods, and their activities against two disease-causing trypanosomatids, namely, Leishmania donovani and Trypanosoma cruzi, were assayed. The most potent compound, 10, an amide of dehydroabietylamine and acrylic acid, was found to be highly potent against these parasites, displaying an IC50 value of 0.37 μM against L. donovani axenic amastigotes and an outstanding selectivity index of 63. Moreover, compound 10 fully inhibited the growth of intracellular amastigotes in Leishmania donovani-infected human macrophages with a low IC50 value of 0.06 μM. This compound was also highly effective against T. cruzi amastigotes residing in L6 cells with an IC50 value of 0.6 μM and high selectivity index of 58, being 3.5 times more potent than the reference compound benznidazole. The potent activity of this compound and its relatively low cytotoxicity make it attractive for further development in pursuit of better drugs for patients suffering from leishmaniasis and Chagas disease.

An In-Depth Comparison of Latency-Reversing Agent Combinations in Various In Vitro and Ex Vivo HIV-1 Latency Models Identified Bryostatin-1+JQ1 and Ingenol-B+JQ1 to Potently Reactivate Viral Gene Expression.

PubMed

Darcis, Gilles; Kula, Anna; Bouchat, Sophie; Fujinaga, Koh; Corazza, Francis; Ait-Ammar, Amina; Delacourt, Nadège; Melard, Adeline; Kabeya, Kabamba; Vanhulle, Caroline; Van Driessche, Benoit; Gatot, Jean-Stéphane; Cherrier, Thomas; Pianowski, Luiz F; Gama, Lucio; Schwartz, Christian; Vila, Jorge; Burny, Arsène; Clumeck, Nathan; Moutschen, Michel; De Wit, Stéphane; Peterlin, B Matija; Rouzioux, Christine; Rohr, Olivier; Van Lint, Carine

2015-07-01

The persistence of latently infected cells in patients under combinatory antiretroviral therapy (cART) is a major hurdle to HIV-1 eradication. Strategies to purge these reservoirs are needed and activation of viral gene expression in latently infected cells is one promising strategy. Bromodomain and Extraterminal (BET) bromodomain inhibitors (BETi) are compounds able to reactivate latent proviruses in a positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb)-dependent manner. In this study, we tested the reactivation potential of protein kinase C (PKC) agonists (prostratin, bryostatin-1 and ingenol-B), which are known to activate NF-κB signaling pathway as well as P-TEFb, used alone or in combination with P-TEFb-releasing agents (HMBA and BETi (JQ1, I-BET, I-BET151)). Using in vitro HIV-1 post-integration latency model cell lines of T-lymphoid and myeloid lineages, we demonstrated that PKC agonists and P-TEFb-releasing agents alone acted as potent latency-reversing agents (LRAs) and that their combinations led to synergistic activation of HIV-1 expression at the viral mRNA and protein levels. Mechanistically, combined treatments led to higher activations of P-TEFb and NF-κB than the corresponding individual drug treatments. Importantly, we observed in ex vivo cultures of CD8+-depleted PBMCs from 35 cART-treated HIV-1+ aviremic patients that the percentage of reactivated cultures following combinatory bryostatin-1+JQ1 treatment was identical to the percentage observed with anti-CD3+anti-CD28 antibodies positive control stimulation. Remarkably, in ex vivo cultures of resting CD4+ T cells isolated from 15 HIV-1+ cART-treated aviremic patients, the combinations bryostatin-1+JQ1 and ingenol-B+JQ1 released infectious viruses to levels similar to that obtained with the positive control stimulation. The potent effects of these two combination treatments were already detected 24 hours post-stimulation. These results constitute the first demonstration of LRA combinations

An In-Depth Comparison of Latency-Reversing Agent Combinations in Various In Vitro and Ex Vivo HIV-1 Latency Models Identified Bryostatin-1+JQ1 and Ingenol-B+JQ1 to Potently Reactivate Viral Gene Expression

PubMed Central

Bouchat, Sophie; Fujinaga, Koh; Corazza, Francis; Ait-Ammar, Amina; Delacourt, Nadège; Melard, Adeline; Kabeya, Kabamba; Vanhulle, Caroline; Van Driessche, Benoit; Gatot, Jean-Stéphane; Cherrier, Thomas; Pianowski, Luiz F.; Gama, Lucio; Schwartz, Christian; Vila, Jorge; Burny, Arsène; Clumeck, Nathan; Moutschen, Michel; De Wit, Stéphane; Peterlin, B. Matija; Rouzioux, Christine; Rohr, Olivier; Van Lint, Carine

2015-01-01

The persistence of latently infected cells in patients under combinatory antiretroviral therapy (cART) is a major hurdle to HIV-1 eradication. Strategies to purge these reservoirs are needed and activation of viral gene expression in latently infected cells is one promising strategy. Bromodomain and Extraterminal (BET) bromodomain inhibitors (BETi) are compounds able to reactivate latent proviruses in a positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb)-dependent manner. In this study, we tested the reactivation potential of protein kinase C (PKC) agonists (prostratin, bryostatin-1 and ingenol-B), which are known to activate NF-κB signaling pathway as well as P-TEFb, used alone or in combination with P-TEFb-releasing agents (HMBA and BETi (JQ1, I-BET, I-BET151)). Using in vitro HIV-1 post-integration latency model cell lines of T-lymphoid and myeloid lineages, we demonstrated that PKC agonists and P-TEFb-releasing agents alone acted as potent latency-reversing agents (LRAs) and that their combinations led to synergistic activation of HIV-1 expression at the viral mRNA and protein levels. Mechanistically, combined treatments led to higher activations of P-TEFb and NF-κB than the corresponding individual drug treatments. Importantly, we observed in ex vivo cultures of CD8+-depleted PBMCs from 35 cART-treated HIV-1+ aviremic patients that the percentage of reactivated cultures following combinatory bryostatin-1+JQ1 treatment was identical to the percentage observed with anti-CD3+anti-CD28 antibodies positive control stimulation. Remarkably, in ex vivo cultures of resting CD4+ T cells isolated from 15 HIV-1+ cART-treated aviremic patients, the combinations bryostatin-1+JQ1 and ingenol-B+JQ1 released infectious viruses to levels similar to that obtained with the positive control stimulation. The potent effects of these two combination treatments were already detected 24 hours post-stimulation. These results constitute the first demonstration of LRA combinations

Chemical probes to potently and selectively inhibit endocannabinoid cellular reuptake.

PubMed

Chicca, Andrea; Nicolussi, Simon; Bartholomäus, Ruben; Blunder, Martina; Aparisi Rey, Alejandro; Petrucci, Vanessa; Reynoso-Moreno, Ines Del Carmen; Viveros-Paredes, Juan Manuel; Dalghi Gens, Marianela; Lutz, Beat; Schiöth, Helgi B; Soeberdt, Michael; Abels, Christoph; Charles, Roch-Philippe; Altmann, Karl-Heinz; Gertsch, Jürg

2017-06-20

The extracellular effects of the endocannabinoids anandamide and 2-arachidonoyl glycerol are terminated by enzymatic hydrolysis after crossing cellular membranes by facilitated diffusion. The lack of potent and selective inhibitors for endocannabinoid transport has prevented the molecular characterization of this process, thus hindering its biochemical investigation and pharmacological exploitation. Here, we report the design, chemical synthesis, and biological profiling of natural product-derived N -substituted 2,4-dodecadienamides as a selective endocannabinoid uptake inhibitor. The highly potent (IC 50 = 10 nM) inhibitor N -(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)ethyl amide (WOBE437) exerted pronounced cannabinoid receptor-dependent anxiolytic, antiinflammatory, and analgesic effects in mice by increasing endocannabinoid levels. A tailored WOBE437-derived diazirine-containing photoaffinity probe (RX-055) irreversibly blocked membrane transport of both endocannabinoids, providing mechanistic insights into this complex process. Moreover, RX-055 exerted site-specific anxiolytic effects on in situ photoactivation in the brain. This study describes suitable inhibitors to target endocannabinoid membrane trafficking and uncovers an alternative endocannabinoid pharmacology.

Polyvalent Recognition of Biopolymers:The Design of Potent Inhibitors of Anthrax Toxin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kane, Ravi

2007-03-01

Polyvalency -- the simultaneous binding of multiple ligands on one entity to multiple receptors on another -- is a phenomenon that is ubiquitous in nature. We are using a biomimetic approach, inspired by polyvalency, to design potent inhibitors of anthrax toxin. Since the major symptoms and death from anthrax are due primarily to the action of anthrax toxin, the toxin is a prime target for therapeutic intervention. We describe the design of potent polyvalent anthrax toxin inhibitors, and will discuss the role of pattern matching in polyvalent recognition. Pattern-matched polyvalent inhibitors can neutralize anthrax toxin in vivo, and may enable the successful treatment of anthrax during the later stages of the disease, when antibiotic treatment is ineffective.

Chloroatranol, an extremely potent allergen hidden in perfumes: a dose-response elicitation study.

PubMed

Johansen, Jeanne Duus; Andersen, Klaus Ejner; Svedman, Cecilia; Bruze, Magnus; Bernard, Guillaume; Giménez-Arnau, Elena; Rastogi, Suresh Chandra; Lepoittevin, Jean-Pierre; Menné, Torkil

2003-10-01

Oak moss absolute is a long-known, popular natural extract widely used in perfumes. It is reported as the cause of allergic reactions in a significant number of those with perfume allergy. Oak moss absolute has been the target of recent research to identify its allergenic components. Recently, chloroatranol, a hitherto unknown fragrance allergen, was identified in oak moss absolute. The objective was to assess the clinical importance of chloroatranol as a fragrance allergen by characterizing its elicitation profile. 13 patients previously showing a positive patch test to oak moss absolute and chloroatranol were included, together with a control group of 10 patients without sensitization to either of the 2 materials. A serial dilution patch test was performed on the upper back with concentrations ranging from 200 to 0.0063 p.p.m. of chloroatranol in ethanol. Simultaneously, the participant performed an open test simulating the use of perfumes on the volar aspect of the forearms in a randomized and double-blinded design. A solution with 5 p.p.m. chloroatranol was used for 14 days, and, in case of no reaction, the applications were continued for another 14 days with a solution containing 25 p.p.m. All test subjects (13/13) developed an allergic reaction at the site of application of the solution containing chloroatranol. Among them, 12/13 (92%) gave a positive reaction to the 5 p.p.m. solution and 1 to 25 p.p.m. None of the controls reacted (P < 0.001). The use test was terminated at median day 4. The dose eliciting a reaction in 50% of the test subjects at patch testing was 0.2 p.p.m. In conclusion, the hidden exposure to a potent allergen widely used in perfumes has caused a highly sensitized cohort of individuals. Judged from the elicitation profile, chloroatranol is the most potent allergen present in consumer products today.

Identification of a novel inhibitor of isocitrate lyase as a potent antitubercular agent against both active and non-replicating Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

PubMed

Liu, Yishuang; Zhou, Shuang; Deng, Qi; Li, Xinghua; Meng, Jianzhou; Guan, Yan; Li, Chuanyou; Xiao, Chunling

2016-03-01

Screen and identify novel inhibitors of isocitrate lyase (ICL) as potent antitubercular agents against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and determine their inhibitory characteristics, antitubercular activities and mechanisms of action. Recombinant ICL of M. tuberculosis was expressed and purified, which was used for high-throughput screening (HTS) and the following experiments. A total of 71,765 compounds were screened to identify ICL inhibitors which were then evaluated for their roles as potent antitubercular agents. To determine the inhibitory characteristics of the agents against latent M. tuberculosis in persistent infections, a macrophage model (mouse J774A.1 cell) infected with Mycobacterium marinum BAA-535 strain was built and assessed. The potent antitubercular agents were identified using the macrophage model. Then, the inhibitory intensity and mode of the agents that exhibit on ICL protein of M. tuberculosis were analyzed, and the interaction mechanisms were preliminarily clarified according to the parameters of enzyme kinetics, circular dichroism experiments, fluorescence quenching assay, and molecular docking. The previously established ICL inhibitor screening model was evaluated to be suitable for HTS assay. Of the 71,765 compounds, 13 of them were identified to inhibit ICL effectively and stably. IMBI-3 demonstrated the most significant inhibitory activity with IC50 of 30.9 μmol/L. Its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for M. tuberculosis, including extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), were determined in the range of 0.25-1 μg/mL. When IMBI-3 is used in combination with isoniazid, the colony-forming units (CFU) counting of latent M. tuberculosis in J774A.1 macrophage cells decreased significantly as IMBI-3 concentration increased. The inhibition mode of IMBI-3 on ICL was probably competitive inhibition with an inhibition constant (Ki) of approximate 1.85 μmol/L. The interaction between IMBI

29 CFR 2200.70 - Exhibits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION RULES OF PROCEDURE Hearings... separate file designated for rejected exhibits. (e) Return of physical exhibits. A party may on motion request the return of a physical exhibit within 30 days after expiration of the time for filing a petition...

32 CFR 705.24 - Exhibits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 32 National Defense 5 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Exhibits. 705.24 Section 705.24 National Defense... inform the public of the Navy's mission and operations. (2) To disseminate technical and scientific... Exhibit Center is to support local Navy recruiters. Requests for exhibits for community relations events...

32 CFR 705.24 - Exhibits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 5 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Exhibits. 705.24 Section 705.24 National Defense... inform the public of the Navy's mission and operations. (2) To disseminate technical and scientific... Exhibit Center is to support local Navy recruiters. Requests for exhibits for community relations events...

Development of potent in vivo mutagenesis plasmids with broad mutational spectra

PubMed Central

Badran, Ahmed H.; Liu, David R.

2015-01-01

Methods to enhance random mutagenesis in cells offer advantages over in vitro mutagenesis, but current in vivo methods suffer from a lack of control, genomic instability, low efficiency and narrow mutational spectra. Using a mechanism-driven approach, we created a potent, inducible, broad-spectrum and vector-based mutagenesis system in E. coli that enhances mutation 322,000-fold over basal levels, surpassing the mutational efficiency and spectra of widely used in vivo and in vitro methods. We demonstrate that this system can be used to evolve antibiotic resistance in wild-type E. coli in <24 h, outperforming chemical mutagens, ultraviolet light and the mutator strain XL1-Red under similar conditions. This system also enables the continuous evolution of T7 RNA polymerase variants capable of initiating transcription using the T3 promoter in <10 h. Our findings enable broad-spectrum mutagenesis of chromosomes, episomes and viruses in vivo, and are applicable to both bacterial and bacteriophage-mediated laboratory evolution platforms. PMID:26443021

Development of potent in vivo mutagenesis plasmids with broad mutational spectra.

PubMed

Badran, Ahmed H; Liu, David R

2015-10-07

Methods to enhance random mutagenesis in cells offer advantages over in vitro mutagenesis, but current in vivo methods suffer from a lack of control, genomic instability, low efficiency and narrow mutational spectra. Using a mechanism-driven approach, we created a potent, inducible, broad-spectrum and vector-based mutagenesis system in E. coli that enhances mutation 322,000-fold over basal levels, surpassing the mutational efficiency and spectra of widely used in vivo and in vitro methods. We demonstrate that this system can be used to evolve antibiotic resistance in wild-type E. coli in <24 h, outperforming chemical mutagens, ultraviolet light and the mutator strain XL1-Red under similar conditions. This system also enables the continuous evolution of T7 RNA polymerase variants capable of initiating transcription using the T3 promoter in <10 h. Our findings enable broad-spectrum mutagenesis of chromosomes, episomes and viruses in vivo, and are applicable to both bacterial and bacteriophage-mediated laboratory evolution platforms.

Imidazopyridine derivatives as potent and selective Polo-like kinase (PLK) inhibitors.

PubMed

Sato, Yoshiyuki; Onozaki, Yu; Sugimoto, Tetsuya; Kurihara, Hideki; Kamijo, Kaori; Kadowaki, Chie; Tsujino, Toshiaki; Watanabe, Akiko; Otsuki, Sachie; Mitsuya, Morihiro; Iida, Masato; Haze, Kyosuke; Machida, Takumitsu; Nakatsuru, Yoko; Komatani, Hideya; Kotani, Hidehito; Iwasawa, Yoshikazu

2009-08-15

A novel class of imidazopyridine derivatives was designed as PLK1 inhibitors. Extensive SAR studies supported by molecular modeling afforded a highly potent and selective compound 36. Compound 36 demonstrated good antitumor efficacy in xenograft nude rat model.

A derivative of oleamide potently inhibits the spontaneous metastasis of mouse melanoma BL6 cells.

PubMed

Ito, Akihiko; Morita, Nobuyoshi; Miura, Daisaku; Koma, Yu-Ichiro; Kataoka, Tatsuki R; Yamasaki, Hiroshi; Kitamura, Yukihiko; Kita, Yasuyuki; Nojima, Hiroshi

2004-10-01

We reported previously that the abnormally augmented expression of connexin 26 (Cx26) is responsible for the enhanced spontaneous metastasis of mouse BL6 melanoma cells, and that the exogenous expression of a dominant negative form of Cx26 inhibits the spontaneous metastasis of BL6. Here we show that daily intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of oleamide, a sleep-inducing lipid hormone, weakly inhibited the spontaneous metastasis of BL6 cells. To obtain a more effective reagent, 19 oleamide derivatives were chemically synthesized and tested for their ability to inhibit the gap junction-mediated intercellular communications (GJIC) that are formed between HeLa cells by the ectopic expression of Cx26 or Cx43. One of these, denoted metastasis inhibitor-18 (MI-18), inhibited the GJIC formed by Cx26 as well as oleamide but unlike oleamide, which is a non-selective inhibitor of connexin, it did not inhibit the GJIC formed by Cx43. Daily i.p. injections of MI-18 potently blocked the spontaneous metastasis of BL6 cells down to 15% of that in the untreated control mice. MI-18 was safe because even after >7 weeks of daily injections, the survival rate of the mice was 93%. We propose that MI-18 may serve as a novel and clinically important prototype of a potent inhibitor of spontaneous metastasis.

Synthesis, cytotoxicity and molecular modelling studies of new phenylcinnamide derivatives as potent inhibitors of cholinesterases.

PubMed

Saeed, Aamer; Mahesar, Parvez Ali; Zaib, Sumera; Khan, Muhammad Siraj; Matin, Abdul; Shahid, Mohammad; Iqbal, Jamshed

2014-05-06

The present study reports the synthesis of cinnamide derivatives and their biological activity as inhibitors of both cholinesterases and anticancer agents. Controlled inhibition of brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) may slow neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's diseases (AD). The anticholinesterase activity of phenylcinnamide derivatives was determined against Electric Eel acetylcholinesterase (EeAChE) and horse serum butyrylcholinesterase (hBChE) and some of the compounds appeared as moderately potent inhibitors of EeAChE and hBChE. The compound 3-(2-(Benzyloxy)phenyl)-N-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)acrylamide (3i) showed maximum activity against EeAChE with an IC50 0.29 ± 0.21 μM whereas 3-(2-chloro-6-nitrophenyl)-N-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)acrylamide (3k) was proved to be the most potent inhibitor of hBChE having IC50 1.18 ± 1.31 μM. To better understand the enzyme-inhibitor interaction of the most active compounds toward cholinesterases, molecular modelling studies were carried out on high-resolution crystallographic structures. The anticancer effects of synthesized compounds were also evaluated against cancer cell line (lung carcinoma). The compounds may be useful leads for the design of a new class of anticancer drugs for the treatment of cancer and cholinesterase inhibitors for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Potent anti-seizure effects of D-leucine

PubMed Central

Hartman, Adam L.; Santos, Polan; O’Riordan, Kenneth J.; Stafstrom, Carl E.; Hardwick, J. Marie

2015-01-01

There are no effective treatments for millions of patients with intractable epilepsy. High-fat ketogenic diets may provide significant clinical benefit but are challenging to implement. Low carbohydrate levels appear to be essential for the ketogenic diet to work, but the active ingredients in dietary interventions remain elusive, and a role for ketogenesis has been challenged. A potential antiseizure role of dietary protein or of individual amino acids in the ketogenic diet is understudied. We investigated the two exclusively ketogenic amino acids, L-leucine and L-lysine, and found that only L-leucine potently protects mice when administered prior to the onset of seizures induced by kainic acid injection, but not by inducing ketosis. Unexpectedly, the D-enantiomer of leucine, which is found in trace amounts in the brain, worked as well or better than L-leucine against both kainic acid and 6 Hz electroshock-induced seizures. However, unlike L-leucine, D-leucine potently terminated seizures even after the onset of seizure activity. Furthermore, D-leucine, but not L-leucine, reduced long-term potentiation but had no effect on basal synaptic transmission in vitro. In a screen of candidate neuronal receptors, D-leucine failed to compete for binding by cognate ligands, potentially suggesting a novel target. Even at low doses, D-leucine suppressed ongoing seizures at least as effectively as diazepam but without sedative effects. These studies raise the possibility that D-leucine may represent a new class of anti-seizure agents, and that D-leucine may have a previously unknown function in eukaryotes. PMID:26054437

The Analgesic Activity of Bestatin as a Potent APN Inhibitor

PubMed Central

Jia, Mei-Rong; Wei, Tao; Xu, Wen-Fang

2010-01-01

Bestatin, a small molecular weight dipeptide, is a potent inhibitor of various aminopeptidases as well as LTA4 hydrolase. Various physiological functions of Bestatin have been identified, viz.: (1) an immunomodifier for enhancing the proliferation of normal human bone marrow granulocyte–macrophage progenitor cells to form CFU-GM colonies; Bestatin exerts a direct stimulating effect on lymphocytes via its fixation on the cell surface and an indirect effect on monocytes via aminopeptidase B inhibition of tuftsin catabolism; (2) an immunorestorator and curative or preventive agent for spontaneous tumor; Bestatin alone or its combination with chemicals can prolongate the disease-free interval and survival period in adult acute or chronic leukemia, therefore, it was primarily marketed in 1987 in Japan as an anticancer drug and servers as the only marketed inhibitor of Aminopeptidase N (APN/CD13) to cure leukemia to date; (3) a pan-hematopoietic stimulator and restorator; Bestatin promotes granulocytopoiesis and thrombocytopoiesis in vitro and restores them in myelo-hypoplastic men; (4) an inhibitor of several natural opioid peptides. Based on the knowledge that APN can cleave several bioactive neuropeptides such as Met-enkaphalins, Leu-enkaphalins, β-Endorphin, and so on, the anti-aminopeptidase action of Bestatin also allows it to protect endopeptides against their catabolism, exhibiting analgesic activity. Although many scientific studies and great accomplishments have been achieved in this field, a large amount of problems are unsolved. This article reviews the promising results obtained for future development of the analgesic activity of Bestatin that can be of vital interest in a number of severe and chronic pain syndromes. PMID:20631848

7 CFR Exhibit G to Subpart E of... - Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 14 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980 G Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL HOUSING... Program Pt. 1980, Subpt. E, Exh. G Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980 Note: The Exhibit is not published...

7 CFR Exhibit G to Subpart E of... - Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 14 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980 G Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL HOUSING... Program Pt. 1980, Subpt. E, Exh. G Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980 Note: The Exhibit is not published...

7 CFR Exhibit G to Subpart E of... - Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 14 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980 G Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL HOUSING... Program Pt. 1980, Subpt. E, Exh. G Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980 Note: The Exhibit is not published...

7 CFR Exhibit G to Subpart E of... - Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 14 2010-01-01 2009-01-01 true Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980 G Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL HOUSING... Program Pt. 1980, Subpt. E, Exh. G Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980 Note: The Exhibit is not published...

7 CFR Exhibit G to Subpart E of... - Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 14 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980 G Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL HOUSING... Program Pt. 1980, Subpt. E, Exh. G Exhibit G to Subpart E of Part 1980 Note: The Exhibit is not published...

Active Control of Surge in Compressors Which Exhibit Abrupt Stall

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-06-01

sensor (of pressure, flow rate, etc.) is fed to a controller which applies a proper control law to drive the actuator (valve, The present paper reports...1993), who analyzed the influence of sensor and numerical simulation shows that: t) the predictions of control acutrsltin o th mxmm sabizd opesr...a sensor of compressor face total pressure), a The present paper considers the active suppression of surge in a butterfly throttle/actuation valve

Discovery of antitumor ursolic acid long-chain diamine derivatives as potent inhibitors of NF-κB.

PubMed

Jiang, Wei; Huang, Ri-Zhen; Zhang, Jing; Guo, Tong; Zhang, Meng-Ting; Huang, Xiao-Chao; Zhang, Bin; Liao, Zhi-Xin; Sun, Jing; Wang, Heng-Shan

2018-05-08

A series of inhibitors of NF-κB based on ursolic acid (UA) derivatives containing long-chain diamine moieties were designed and synthesized as well as evaluated the antitumor effects. These compounds exhibited significant inhibitory activity to the NF-κB with IC 50 values at micromolar concentrations in A549 lung cancer cell line. Among them, compound 8c exerted potent activity against the test tumor cell lines including multidrug resistant human cancer lines, with the IC 50 values ranged from 5.22 to 8.95 μM. Moreover, compound 8c successfully suppressed the migration of A549 cells. Related mechanism study indicated compound 8c caused cell cycle arrest at G1 phase and triggered apoptosis in A549 cells through blockage of NF-κB signalling pathway. Molecular docking study revealed that key interactions between 8c and the active site of NF-κB in which the bulky and strongly electrophilic group of long-chain diamine moieties were important for improving activity. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Design of novel potent antihyperlipidemic agents with antioxidant/anti-inflammatory properties: exploiting phenothiazine's strong antioxidant activity.

PubMed

Matralis, Alexios N; Kourounakis, Angeliki P

2014-03-27

Because atherosclerosis is an inflammatory process involving a series of pathological events such as dyslipidemia, oxidative stress, and blood clotting mechanisms, we hereby report the synthesis and evaluation of novel compounds in which antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and squalene synthase (SQS) inhibitory/hypolipidemic activities are combined in simple molecules through design. The coupling of two different pharmacophores afforded compounds 1-12, whose biological profile was markedly improved compared to those of parent lead structures (i.e., the hypolipidemic 2-hydroxy-2-aryl-(benzo)oxa(or thia)zine and the antioxidant phenothiazine). Most derivatives strongly inhibited in vitro microsomal lipid and LDL peroxidation, exhibiting potent free-radical scavenging activity. They further significantly inhibited SQS activity and showed remarkable antidyslipidemic activity in vivo in animal models of acute and high-fat-induced hyperlipidemia. Finally, several compounds showed anti-inflammatory activity in vitro, inhibiting cycloxygenase (COX-1/2) activity. The multimodal properties of the new compounds and especially their combined antioxidant/SQS/COX inhibitory activity render them interesting lead compounds for further evaluation against atherosclerosis.

Allyl m-Trifluoromethyldiazirine Mephobarbital: An Unusually Potent Enantioselective and Photoreactive Barbiturate General Anesthetic

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Savechenkov, Pavel Y.; Zhang, Xi; Chiara, David C.

2012-12-10

We synthesized 5-allyl-1-methyl-5-(m-trifluoromethyl-diazirynylphenyl)barbituric acid (14), a trifluoromethyldiazirine-containing derivative of general anesthetic mephobarbital, separated the racemic mixture into enantiomers by chiral chromatography, and determined the configuration of the (+)-enantiomer as S by X-ray crystallography. Additionally, we obtained the {sup 3}H-labeled ligand with high specific radioactivity. R-(-)-14 is an order of magnitude more potent than the most potent clinically used barbiturate, thiopental, and its general anesthetic EC{sub 50} approaches those for propofol and etomidate, whereas S-(+)-14 is 10-fold less potent. Furthermore, at concentrations close to its anesthetic potency, R-(-)-14 both potentiated GABA-induced currents and increased the affinity for the agonist muscimol inmore » human {alpha}1{beta}2/3{gamma}2L GABA{sub A} receptors. Finally, R-(-)-14 was found to be an exceptionally efficient photolabeling reagent, incorporating into both {alpha}1 and {beta}3 subunits of human {alpha}1{beta}3 GABAA receptors. These results indicate R-(-)-14 is a functional general anesthetic that is well-suited for identifying barbiturate binding sites on Cys-loop receptors.« less

Neurologically Potent Molecules from Crataegus oxyacantha; Isolation, Anticholinesterase Inhibition, and Molecular Docking

PubMed Central

Ali, Mumtaz; Muhammad, Sultan; Shah, Muhammad R.; Khan, Ajmal; Rashid, Umer; Farooq, Umar; Ullah, Farhat; Sadiq, Abdul; Ayaz, Muhammad; Ali, Majid; Ahmad, Manzoor; Latif, Abdul

2017-01-01

Crataegus oxyacantha is an important herbal supplement and famous for its antioxidant potential. The antioxidant in combination with anticholinesterase activity can be considered as an important target in the management of Alzheimer’s disease. The compounds isolated from C. oxyacantha were evaluated for cholinesterases inhibitory activity using Ellman’s assay with Galantamine as standard drug. Total of nine (1–9) compounds were isolated. Compounds 1 and 2 were isolated for the first time from natural source. Important natural products like β-Sitosterol-3-O-β-D-Glucopyranoside (3), lupeol (4), β-sitosterol (5), betulin (6), betulinic acid (7), oleanolic acid (8), and chrysin (9) have also been isolated from C. oxyacantha. Overall, all the compounds exhibited an overwhelming acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition potential in the range 5.22–44.47 μM. The compound 3 was prominent AChE inhibitor with IC50 value of 5.22 μM. Likewise, all the compounds were also potent in butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitions with IC50s of up to 0.55–15.36 μM. All the compounds, except 3, were selective toward BChE. Mechanism of the inhibition of both the enzymes were further studied by docking procedures using Genetic Optimization for Ligand Docking suit v5.4.1. Furthermore, computational blood brain barrier prediction of the isolated compounds suggest that these are BBB+. PMID:28638340

Nutlin-3 plus tanshinone IIA exhibits synergetic anti-leukemia effect with imatinib by reactivating p53 and inhibiting the AKT/mTOR pathway in Ph+ ALL.

PubMed

Guo, Yong; Li, Yi; Xiang, Bing; Huang, Xiao-Ou; Ma, Hong-Bing; Wang, Fang-Fang; Gong, Yu-Ping

2017-12-06

Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL) is triggered by BCR/ABL kinase. Recent efforts focused on the development of more potent tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) that also inhibit mutant tyrosine kinases such as nilotinib and dasatinib. Although major advances in the treatment of this aggressive disease with potent inhibitors of the BCR/ABL kinases, patients in remission frequently relapse due to drug resistance possibly mediated, at least in part, by compensatory activation of growth-signaling pathways and protective feedback signaling of leukemia cells in response to TKI treatment. Continuous activation of AKT/mTOR signaling and inactivation of p53 pathway were two mechanisms of TKI resistance. Here, we reported that nutlin-3 plus tanshinone IIA significantly potentiated the cytotoxic and apoptotic induction effects of imatinib by down-regulation of the AKT/mTOR pathway and reactivating the p53 pathway deeply in Ph+ ALL cell line. In primary samples from Ph+ ALL patients, nutlin-3 plus tanshinone IIA also exhibited synergetic cytotoxic effects with imatinib. Of note, three samples from Ph+ ALL patients harboring T315I mutation also showed sensitivity to the combined treatment of imatinib, nutlin-3 plus tanshinone IIA. In Ph+ ALL mouse models, imatinib combined with nutlin-3 plus tanshinone IIA also exhibited synergetic effects on reduction in leukemia burden. These results demonstrated that nutlin-3 plus tanshinone IIA combined TKI might be a promising treatment strategy for Ph+ ALL patients. © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

36 CFR 1284.30 - Does NARA lend documents to other institutions for exhibit purposes?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Does NARA lend documents to other institutions for exhibit purposes? 1284.30 Section 1284.30 Parks, Forests, and Public Property... security, fire protection, environmental controls, packing and shipping, exhibit methods, and insurance...

San Rafael Schools Exhibit.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

San Rafael City Schools, CA.

The San Rafael City Schools' exhibit which was displayed at the 1983 Marin County Fair (California) is described. The exhibit, entitled "Education - A Real Winner," consisted of 12 display panels illustrating the following aspects of the school system: (1) early history from 1861; (2) present board and administration; (3) present schools…

Emamectin, a novel insecticide for controlling field crop pests.

PubMed

Ishaaya, Isaac; Kontsedalov, Svetlana; Horowitz, A Rami

2002-11-01

Emamectin is a macrocyclic lactone insecticide with low toxicity to non-target organisms and the environment, and is considered an important component in pest-management programmes for controlling field crop pests. It is a powerful compound for controlling the cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner). A spray concentration of 25 mg AI litre-1 in a cotton field resulted in over 90% suppression of H armigera larvae up to day 28 after treatment, while similar mortality of the Egyptian cotton leafworm Spodoptera littoralis Boisduval, under the same conditions, was maintained for 3 days only. Emamectin is a potent compound for controlling the western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) under both laboratory and field conditions and its activity on adults was over 10-fold greater than that of abamectin. Spray concentrations of 10 and 50 mg AI litre-1 in Ageratum houstonianum Mill flowers resulted in total suppression of adults up to day 11 and of larvae up to day 20 after treatment. Under standard laboratory conditions, emamectin exhibits a considerable activity on the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) and the leafminer Liriomyza huidobrensis (Blanchard). Further studies are required to evaluate its potential activity on the latter pests under field conditions.

Potent human α-amylase inhibition by the β-defensin-like protein helianthamide

DOE PAGES

Tysoe, Christina; Williams, Leslie K.; Keyzers, Robert; ...

2016-02-26

Here, selective inhibitors of human pancreatic α-amylase (HPA) are an effective means of controlling blood sugar levels in the management of diabetes. A high-throughput screen of marine natural product extracts led to the identification of a potent (K i = 10 pM) peptidic HPA inhibitor, helianthamide, from the Caribbean sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus. Active helianthamide was produced in Escherichia coli via secretion as a barnase fusion protein. X-ray crystallographic analysis of the complex of helianthamide with porcine pancreatic α-amylase revealed that helianthamide adopts a β-defensin fold and binds into and across the amylase active site, utilizing a contiguous YIYH inhibitorymore » motif. Helianthamide represents the first of a novel class of glycosidase inhibitors and provides an unusual example of functional malleability of the β-defensin fold, which is rarely seen outside of its traditional role in antimicrobial peptides.« less

Pharmacological selectivity of the cloned human P2U-purinoceptor: potent activation by diadenosine tetraphosphate.

PubMed Central

Lazarowski, E. R.; Watt, W. C.; Stutts, M. J.; Boucher, R. C.; Harden, T. K.

1995-01-01

1. The human P2U-purinoceptor was stably expressed in 1321N1 human astrocytoma cells and the pharmacological selectivity of the expressed receptor was studied by measurement of inositol lipid hydrolysis. 2. High basal levels of inositol phosphates occurred in P2U-purinoceptor-expressing cells. This phenomenon was shown to be due to release of large amounts of ATP from 1321N1 cells, and could be circumvented by adoption of an assay protocol that did not involve medium changes. 3. UTP, ATP and ATP gamma S were full and potent agonists for activation of phospholipase C with EC50 values of 140 nM, 230 nM, and 1.72 microM, respectively. 5BrUTP, 2C1ATP and 8BrATP were also full agonists although less potent than their natural congeners. Little or no effect was observed with the selective P2Y-, P2X-, and P2T-purinoceptor agonists, 2MeSATP, alpha,beta-MeATP, and 2MeSADP, respectively. 4. Diadenosine tetraphosphate, Ap4A, was a surprisingly potent agonist at the expressed P2U-purinoceptor with an EC50 (720 nM) in the range of the most potent P2U-purinoceptor agonists. Ap4A may be a physiologically important activator of P2U-purinoceptors. PMID:8564228

Identification of a Potent Tryptophan-based TRPM8 Antagonist With in vivo Analgesic Activity.

PubMed

Bertamino, Alessia; Iraci, Nunzio; Ostacolo, Carmine; Ambrosino, Paolo; Musella, Simona; Di Sarno, Veronica; Ciaglia, Tania; Pepe, Giacomo; Sala, Marina; Soldovieri, Maria Virginia; Mosca, Ilaria; Gonzalez-Rodriguez, Sara; Fernández-Carvajal, Asia; Ferrer-Montiel, Antonio; Novellino, Ettore; Taglialatela, Maurizio; Campiglia, Pietro; Gomez-Monterrey, Isabel M

2018-06-25

TRPM8 has been implicated in nociception and pain and is currently regarded as an attractive target for the pharmacological treatment of neuropathic pain syndromes. A series of analogues of N,N'-dibenzyl tryptamine 1, a potent TRPM8 antagonist, were prepared and screened using a fluorescence-based in vitro assay based on menthol-evoked calcium influx in TRPM8 stably-transfected HEK293 cells. The tryptophan derivative 14 was identified as a potent (IC 50 0.2±0.2 nM) and selective TRPM8 antagonist. In vivo, 14 showed significant target coverage in both an icilin-induced WDS (at 1-30 mg/kg s.c.) and oxaliplatin-induced cold allodynia (at 0.1-1 μg s.c.) mice models. Molecular modeling studies identified the putative binding mode of these antagonists, suggesting that they could influence an interaction network between the S1-4 transmembrane segments and the TRP domains of the channel subunits. The tryptophan moiety provides a new pharmacophoric scaffold for the design of highly potent modulators of TRPM8-mediated pain.

The history of N-methanocarbathymidine: the investigation of a conformational concept leads to the discovery of a potent and selective nucleoside antiviral agent.

PubMed

Marquez, Victor E; Hughes, Stephen H; Sei, Shizuko; Agbaria, Riad

2006-09-01

Conformationally locked (North)-methanocarbathymidine (N-MCT) and (South)-methanocarbathymidine (S-MCT) have been used to investigate the conformational preferences of kinases and polymerases. The herpes kinases show a distinct bias for S-MCT, while DNA polymerases almost exclusively incorporate the North 5'-triphosphate (N-MCT-TP). Only N-MCT demonstrated potent antiviral activity against herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1 and 2) and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). The activity of N-MCT depends on its metabolic transformation to N-MCT-TP by the herpes kinases (HSV-tk or KSHV-tk), which catalyze the mono and diphosphorylation steps; cellular kinases generate the triphosphate. N-MCT at a dose of 5.6 mg/kg was totally protective for mice inoculated intranasally with HSV-1. Tumor cells that are not responsive to antiviral therapy became sensitive to N-MCT if the cells expressed HSV-tk. N-MCT given twice daily (100 mg/kg) for 7 days completely inhibited the growth of MC38 tumors derived from cells that express HSV-tk in mice while exhibiting no effect on tumors derived from non-transduced cells. After i.p. administration, N-MCT was rapidly absorbed and distributed in all organs examined with slow penetration into brain and testes. N-MCT-TP was also a potent inhibitor of HIV replication in human osteosarcoma (HOS) cells expressing HSV-tk.

Dual-Use Space Technology Transfer Conference and Exhibition. Volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krishen, Kumar (Compiler)

1994-01-01

This document contains papers presented at the Dual-Use Space Technology Transfer Conference and Exhibition held at the Johnson Space Center February 1-3, 1994. Possible technology transfers covered during the conference were in the areas of information access; innovative microwave and optical applications; materials and structures; marketing and barriers; intelligent systems; human factors and habitation; communications and data systems; business process and technology transfer; software engineering; biotechnology and advanced bioinstrumentation; communications signal processing and analysis; new ways of doing business; medical care; applications derived from control center data systems; human performance evaluation; technology transfer methods; mathematics, modeling, and simulation; propulsion; software analysis and decision tools systems/processes in human support technology; networks, control centers, and distributed systems; power; rapid development perception and vision technologies; integrated vehicle health management; automation technologies; advanced avionics; ans robotics technologies. More than 77 papers, 20 presentations, and 20 exhibits covering various disciplines were presented b experts from NASA, universities, and industry.

Catechins and procyanidins of Ginkgo biloba show potent activities towards the inhibition of β-amyloid peptide aggregation and destabilization of preformed fibrils.

PubMed

Xie, Haiyan; Wang, Jing-Rong; Yau, Lee-Fong; Liu, Yong; Liu, Liang; Han, Quan-Bin; Zhao, Zhongzhen; Jiang, Zhi-Hong

2014-04-22

Catechins and procyanidins, together with flavonoid glycosides and terpene trilactones, are three important categories of components in the standard extract of Ginkgo biloba leaves (EGb761). In this research, catechins and proanthocyanidins were found to exist in both the extract of Ginkgo leaves and Ginkgo products. By comparing with reference compounds, six of them were identified as (+)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin, (-)-gallocatechin, (-)-epigallocatechin and procyanidins B1 and B3. The activities of these polyphenols in the inhibition of Aβ42 aggregation and the destabilization of preformed fibrils were evaluated using biochemical assays, which showed that all six of the polyphenols, as well as a fraction of the extract of Ginkgo biloba leaves (EGb) containing catechins and procyanidins, exerted potent inhibitory activities towards Aβ42 aggregation and could also destabilize the performed fibrils. Catechins and procyanidins can therefore be regarded as the potent active constituents of EGb761 in terms of their inhibition of Aβ42 aggregation and destabilization of the fibrils. Although quantitative mass spectroscopic analysis revealed that the catechins and procyanidins are only present in low concentrations in EGb761, these components should be studied in greater detail because of their potent inhibitory effects towards Aβ42 aggregation and their ability to destabilize preformed fibrils, especially during the quality control of Ginkgo leaves and the manufacture of Ginkgo products.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers with potent and broad spectrum antimicrobial activity from the marine sponge Dysidea.

PubMed

Sun, Shi; Canning, Corene B; Bhargava, Kanika; Sun, Xiuxiu; Zhu, Wenjun; Zhou, Ninghui; Zhang, Yifan; Zhou, Kequan

2015-01-01

Three polybrominated diphenyl ethers, 2-(2',4'-dibromophenoxy)-3,5-dibromophenol (1) and 2-(2',4'-dibromophenoxy)-3,4,5-tribromophenol (2) were isolated from the marine sponge Dysidea granulosa; and 2-(2',4'-dibromophenoxy)-4,6-dibromophenol (3) from Dysidea spp. They exhibited potent and broad spectrum in vitro antibacterial activity, especially against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Salmonella. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was evaluated against 12 clinical and standard strains of Gram positive and negative bacteria. The observed MIC range was 0.1-4.0mg/L against all the Gram positive bacteria and 0.1-16.0mg/L against Gram negative bacteria. 2-(2',4″-Dibromophenoxy)-3,5-dibromophenol showed stronger broad spectrum antibacterial activity than other two compounds. 2-(2',4″-Dibromophenoxy)-3,5-dibromophenol and 2-(2',4'-dibromophenoxy)-4,6-dibromophenol are thermo-stable. The results suggest that 2-(2',4'-dibromophenoxy)-3,5-dibromophenol could be used as a potential lead molecule for anti-MRSA, anti-E. coli O157:H7, and anti-Salmonella for drug development. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Autocrine selection of a GLP-1R G-protein biased agonist with potent antidiabetic effects.

PubMed

Zhang, Hongkai; Sturchler, Emmanuel; Zhu, Jiang; Nieto, Ainhoa; Cistrone, Philip A; Xie, Jia; He, LinLing; Yea, Kyungmoo; Jones, Teresa; Turn, Rachel; Di Stefano, Peter S; Griffin, Patrick R; Dawson, Philip E; McDonald, Patricia H; Lerner, Richard A

2015-12-01

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor (GLP-1R) agonists have emerged as treatment options for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). GLP-1R signals through G-protein-dependent, and G-protein-independent pathways by engaging the scaffold protein β-arrestin; preferential signalling of ligands through one or the other of these branches is known as 'ligand bias'. Here we report the discovery of the potent and selective GLP-1R G-protein-biased agonist, P5. We identified P5 in a high-throughput autocrine-based screening of large combinatorial peptide libraries, and show that P5 promotes G-protein signalling comparable to GLP-1 and Exendin-4, but exhibited a significantly reduced β-arrestin response. Preclinical studies using different mouse models of T2DM demonstrate that P5 is a weak insulin secretagogue. Nevertheless, chronic treatment of diabetic mice with P5 increased adipogenesis, reduced adipose tissue inflammation as well as hepatic steatosis and was more effective at correcting hyperglycaemia and lowering haemoglobin A1c levels than Exendin-4, suggesting that GLP-1R G-protein-biased agonists may provide a novel therapeutic approach to T2DM.

Green tea polyphenols as potent enhancers of glucocorticoid-induced mouse mammary tumor virus gene expression.

PubMed

Abe, I; Umehara, K; Morita, R; Nemoto, K; Degawa, M; Noguchi, H

2001-02-16

The effect of natural and synthetic galloyl esters on glucocorticoid-induced gene expression was evaluated by using rat fibroblast 3Y1 cells stably transfected with a luciferase reporter gene under the transcriptional regulation of the mouse mammary tumor virus promoter. The glucocorticoid-induced gene transcription was strongly suppressed by synthetic alkyl esters; n-dodecyl gallate showed the most potent inhibition (66% inhibition at 10 microM), which was far more potent than that of crude tannic acid. n-Octyl and n-cetyl gallate also showed good inhibition, while gallic acid itself was not so active, suggesting that the presence of hydrophobic side chain is important for the suppressive effect. On the other hand, surprisingly, green tea gallocatechins, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate and theasinensin A, potently enhanced the promoter activity (182 and 247% activity at 1 microM, respectively). The regulation of the level of the glucocorticoid-induced gene expression by the antioxidative gallates is of great interest from a therapeutic point of view.

Synthesis, characterization and biological evaluation of novel chalcone sulfonamide hybrids as potent intestinal alkaline phosphatase inhibitors.

PubMed

Ejaz, Syeda Abida; Saeed, Aamer; Siddique, Muhammad Nasir; Nisa, Zaib Un; Khan, Samiullah; Lecka, Joanna; Sévigny, Jean; Iqbal, Jamshed

2017-02-01

Alkaline phosphatase (AP) and ecto-5'-nucleotidase (e5'NT) belong to same family that hydrolyze the extracellular nucleotides and ensure the bioavailability of nucleotides and nucleosides at purinergic receptors. During pathophysiological conditions, the over expression of AP and e5'NT lead to an increased production of adenosine that enhance tumor proliferation, invasiveness, neoangiogenesis and disrupts the body antitumor response. As both enzymes are abundantly expressed in above mentioned conditions, therefore it is of great interest to synthesize and develop potent inhibitors of these enzymes that augment the antitumor therapy. Herein we reported the synthesis and biological activity of a new series of chalcone-sulfonamide hybrids (4a-j). These derivatives were then evaluated for their inhibitory potential against two members of ecto-nucleotidase family, e5'NT (human and rat) and APs isozyme (intestinal and tissue nonspecific). Only six derivatives were found to inhibit both human and rat e5'NT enzymes. Compounds 4e and 4d showed maximum inhibition of human and rat e5'NT with an IC 50 ±SEM=0.26±0.01 and 0.33±0.004μM, respectively. Moreover, on APs, these derivatives were identified as the selective inhibitors of calf intestinal AP (c-IAP). The derivative 4a exhibited maximum inhibition of c-IAP with an IC 50 ±SEM=0.12±0.02μM. In conclusion, these chalcone-sulfonamide hybrids exhibited dual inhibition of both family of isozymes but was more selective towards c-IAP enzyme. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

GBR-12909 and fluspirilene potently inhibited binding of ( sup 3 H) (+) 3-PPP to sigma receptors in rat brain

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Contreras, P.C.; Bremer, M.E.; Rao, T.S.

1990-01-01

Fluspirilene and GBR-12909, two compounds structurally similar to BMY-14802 and haloperidol, were assessed for their ability to interact with sigma receptors. Fluspirilene, an antipsychotic agent that interacts potently with dopamine receptors, inhibited the binding of ({sup 3}H)-(+)3-PPP (IC{sub 50} = 380 nM) more potently than rimcazole, a putative sigma antagonist that was tested clinically for antipsychotic activity. GBR-12909, a potent dopamine uptake blocker, also inhibited the binding of ({sup 3}H)-(+)3-PPP with an IC{sub 50} of 48 nM. However, other compounds that block the re-uptake of catecholamines, such as nomifensine, desipramine, imipramine, xylamine, benztropine and cocaine, were much weaker than GBR-12909asmore » sigma ligands. Thus, GBR-12909 and fluspirilene, compounds structurally similar to BMY-14802, are potent sigma ligands.« less

Tranylcypromine Substituted cis-Hydroxycyclobutylnaphthamides as Potent and Selective Dopamine D3 Receptor Antagonists

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

We report a class of potent and selective dopamine D3 receptor antagonists based upon tranylcypromine. Although tranylcypromine has a low affinity for the rat D3 receptor (Ki = 12.8 μM), our efforts have yielded (1R,2S)-11 (CJ-1882), which has Ki values of 2.7 and 2.8 nM at the rat and human dopamine D3 receptors, respectively, and displays respective selectivities of >10000-fold and 223-fold over the rat and human D2 receptors. Evaluation in a β-arrestin functional assay showed that (1R,2S)-11 is a potent and competitive antagonist at the human D3 receptor. PMID:24848155

O-(Triazolyl)methyl carbamates as a novel and potent class of FAAH inhibitors

PubMed Central

Colombano, Giampiero; Albani, Clara; Ottonello, Giuliana; Ribeiro, Alison; Scarpelli, Rita; Tarozzo, Glauco; Daglian, Jennifer; Jung, Kwang-Mook; Piomelli, Daniele; Bandiera, Tiziano

2015-01-01

Inhibition of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) activity is under investigation as a valuable strategy for the treatment of several disorders, including pain and drug addiction. A number of potent FAAH inhibitors belonging to different chemical classes have been disclosed. O-aryl carbamates are one of the most representative families. In the search for novel FAAH inhibitors, we synthesized a series of O-(1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl carbamate derivatives exploiting the copper-catalyzed [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction between azides and alkynes (click chemistry). We explored structure-activity relationships within this new class of compounds and identified potent inhibitors of both rat and human FAAH with IC50 values in the single-digit nanomolar range. PMID:25338703

Starship 2040 Exhibit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

This photograph shows onlookers viewing displays within the Starship 2040 exhibit on display at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama. Developed by the Space Transportation Directorate at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), the Starship 2040 exhibit is housed in a 48-ft (14.6-m) tractor and trailer rig, permitting it to travel around the Nation, demonstrating NASA's vision of what commercial spaceflight might be like 40 years from now. All the irnovations suggested aboard the exhibit (automated vehicle health monitoring systems, high-energy propulsion drive, navigational aids, and emergency and safety systems) are based on concepts and technologies now being studied at NASA Centers and partner institutions around the Nation. NASA is the Nation's premier agency for development of the space transportation system, including future-generation reusable launch vehicles. Such systems, the keys to a 'real' Starship 2040, require revolutionary advances in critical aerospace technologies, from thermal, magnetic, chemical, and propellantless propulsion systems to new energy sources such as space solar power or antimatter propulsion. These and other advances are now being studied, developed, and tested at NASA field centers and partner institutions all over the Nation.

Discovery, structure-activity relationship, and pharmacological evaluation of (5-substituted-pyrrolidinyl-2-carbonyl)-2-cyanopyrrolidines as potent dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitors.

PubMed

Pei, Zhonghua; Li, Xiaofeng; Longenecker, Kenton; von Geldern, Thomas W; Wiedeman, Paul E; Lubben, Thomas H; Zinker, Bradley A; Stewart, Kent; Ballaron, Stephen J; Stashko, Michael A; Mika, Amanda K; Beno, David W A; Long, Michelle; Wells, Heidi; Kempf-Grote, Anita J; Madar, David J; McDermott, Todd S; Bhagavatula, Lakshmi; Fickes, Michael G; Pireh, Daisy; Solomon, Larry R; Lake, Marc R; Edalji, Rohinton; Fry, Elizabeth H; Sham, Hing L; Trevillyan, James M

2006-06-15

A series of (5-substituted pyrrolidinyl-2-carbonyl)-2-cyanopyrrolidine (C5-Pro-Pro) analogues was discovered as dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV) inhibitors as a potential treatment of diabetes and obesity. X-ray crystallography data show that these inhibitors bind to the catalytic site of DPPIV with the cyano group forming a covalent bond with the serine residue of DPPIV. The C5-substituents make various interactions with the enzyme and affect potency, chemical stability, selectivity, and PK properties of the inhibitors. Optimized analogues are extremely potent with subnanomolar K(i)'s, are chemically stable, show very little potency decrease in the presence of plasma, and exhibit more than 1,000-fold selectivity against related peptidases. The best compounds also possess good PK and are efficacious in lowering blood glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test in ZDF rats.

High-Throughput Screening To Identify Potent and Specific Inhibitors of Microbial Sulfate Reduction.

PubMed

Carlson, Hans K; Mullan, Mark R; Mosqueda, Lorraine A; Chen, Steven; Arkin, Michelle R; Coates, John D

2017-06-20

The selective perturbation of complex microbial ecosystems to predictably influence outcomes in engineered and industrial environments remains a grand challenge for geomicrobiology. In some industrial ecosystems, such as oil reservoirs, sulfate reducing microorganisms (SRM) produce hydrogen sulfide which is toxic, explosive, and corrosive. Despite the economic cost of sulfidogenesis, there has been minimal exploration of the chemical space of possible inhibitory compounds, and very little work has quantitatively assessed the selectivity of putative souring treatments. We have developed a high-throughput screening strategy to identify potent and selective inhibitors of SRM, quantitatively ranked the selectivity and potency of hundreds of compounds and identified previously unrecognized SRM selective inhibitors and synergistic interactions between inhibitors. Zinc pyrithione is the most potent inhibitor of sulfidogenesis that we identified, and is several orders of magnitude more potent than commonly used industrial biocides. Both zinc and copper pyrithione are also moderately selective against SRM. The high-throughput (HT) approach we present can be readily adapted to target SRM in diverse environments and similar strategies could be used to quantify the potency and selectivity of inhibitors of a variety of microbial metabolisms. Our findings and approach are relevant to efforts to engineer environmental ecosystems and also to understand the role of natural gradients in shaping microbial niche space.

Synthesis and potent in vitro activity of novel 1H-benzimidazoles as anti-MRSA agents.

PubMed

Karataş, Hacer; Alp, Mehmet; Yildiz, Sulhiye; Göker, Hakan

2012-08-01

A new class of 1H-benzimidazolecarboxamidines was synthesized and evaluated for in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities, including drug-resistant bacterial strains. The most potent compound (32) has the same ratio of anti-MRSA activity as Vancomycin (minimal inhibitory concentrations value 0.78 μg/mL). The mechanism of action for 1H-benzimidazolecarboxamidine appears to be different from existing antibacterial agents. These compounds have potential for development as a new class of potent anti-MRSA agent. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

2',5'-Dihydroxychalcone as a potent chemical mediator and cyclooxygenase inhibitor.

PubMed

Lin, C N; Lee, T H; Hsu, M F; Wang, J P; Ko, F N; Teng, C M

1997-05-01

Eleven chalcone derivatives have been tested for their inhibitory effects on platelet aggregation in rabbit platelet suspension and the activation of mast cells and neutrophils. Arachidonic acid-induced platelet aggregation was potently inhibited by almost all the compounds and some also had a potent inhibitory effect on collagen-induced platelet aggregation and cyclooxygenase. Some hydroxychalcone derivatives showed strong inhibitory effects on the release of beta-glucuronidase and lysozyme, and on superoxide formation by rat neutrophils stimulated with the peptide fMet-Leu-Phe (fMLP). We found that the anti-inflammatory effect of 2',5'-dihydroxychalcone was greater than that of trifluoperazine. 2'5'-Dihydroxy and 2',3,4,5'-tetrahydroxyl chalcones, even at low concentration (50 microM), tested in platelet-rich plasma from man almost completely inhibited secondary aggregation induced by adrenaline. These results suggest that the anti-platelet effects of the chalcones are mainly a result of inhibition of thromboxane formation.

Targeting the Intratumoral Dendritic Cells by the Oncolytic Adenoviral Vaccine Expressing RANTES Elicits Potent Antitumor Immunity

PubMed Central

Lapteva, Natalia; Aldrich, Melissa; Weksberg, David; Rollins, Lisa; Goltsova, Tatiana; Chen, Si-Yi; Huang, Xue F.

2014-01-01

Summary Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen (Ag)-presenting cells capable of inducing immune responses to tumor Ags and, therefore, play a central role in the induction of antitumor immunity. There is a large amount of evidence, however, about paucity of tumor-associated DCs and that DCs’ immunogenic functions are suppressed in a tumor environment. Here we describe a potent in situ vaccine targeting tumoral DCs in vivo. This vaccine comprised of an oncolytic adenovirus expressing RANTES (regulated upon activation, normally T expressed, and presumably secreted) (Ad-RANTES-E1A), enhanced tumor infiltration, and maturation of Ag-presenting cells in vivo. In this study, we show that intratumoral vaccinations with Ad-RANTES-E1A induced significant primary tumor growth regression and blocked metastasis formation in JC and E.G-7 murine tumor models. This vaccine recruited DCs, macrophages, natural killer cells, and CD8+ T cells to the tumor site, and thus enhanced Ag-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses and natural killer cell responses. DCs purified from the Ad-RANTES-E1A–treated E.G-7 tumors secreted significantly higher levels of interferon-γ and interleukin-12, as compared with control groups and more efficiently enhanced CD8+ T-cell response. This in situ immunization strategy could be a potent antitumor immunotherapy approach for aggressive established tumors. PMID:19238013

Consecutive pharmacological activation of PKA and PKC mimics the potent cardioprotection of temperature preconditioning

PubMed Central

Khaliulin, Igor; Parker, Joanna E.; Halestrap, Andrew P.

2010-01-01

Aims Temperature preconditioning (TP) provides very powerful protection against ischaemia/reperfusion. Understanding the signalling pathways involved may enable the development of effective pharmacological cardioprotection. We investigated the interrelationship between activation of protein kinase A (PKA) and protein kinase C (PKC) in the signalling mechanisms of TP and developed a potent pharmacological intervention based on this mechanism. Methods and results Isolated rat hearts were subjected to TP, 30 min global ischaemia, and 60 min reperfusion. Other control and TP hearts were perfused with either sotalol (β-adrenergic blocker) or H-89 (PKA inhibitor). Some hearts were pre-treated with either isoproterenol (β-adrenergic agonist) or adenosine (PKC activator) that were given alone, simultaneously, or sequentially. Pre-treatment with isoproterenol, adenosine, and the consecutive isoproterenol/adenosine treatment was also combined with the PKC inhibitor chelerythrine. Cardioprotection was evaluated by haemodynamic function recovery, lactate dehydrogenase release, measurement of mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening, and protein carbonylation during reperfusion. Cyclic AMP and PKA activity were increased in TP hearts. H-89 and sotalol blocked the cardioprotective effect of TP and TP-induced PKC activation. Isoproterenol, adenosine, and the consecutive treatment increased PKC activity during pre-ischaemia. Isoproterenol significantly reduced myocardial glycogen content. Isoproterenol and adenosine, alone or simultaneously, protected hearts but the consecutive treatment gave the highest protection. Cardioprotective effects of adenosine were completely blocked by chelerythrine but those of the consecutive treatment only attenuated. Conclusion The signal transduction pathway of TP involves PKA activation that precedes PKC activation. Pharmacologically induced consecutive PKA/PKC activation mimics TP and induces extremely potent cardioprotection. PMID

Potent antiplatelet activity of sesamol in an in vitro and in vivo model: pivotal roles of cyclic AMP and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase.

PubMed

Chang, Chao C; Lu, Wan J; Chiang, Cheng W; Jayakumar, Thanasekaran; Ong, Eng T; Hsiao, George; Fong, Tsorng H; Chou, Duen S; Sheu, Joen R

2010-12-01

Sesamol is a potent phenolic antioxidant which possesses antimutagenic, antihepatotoxic and antiaging properties. Platelet activation is relevant to a variety of acute thrombotic events and coronary heart diseases. There have been few studies on the effect of sesamol on platelets. Therefore, the aim of this study was to systematically examine the detailed mechanisms of sesamol in preventing platelet activation in vitro and in vivo. Sesamol (2.5-5 μM) exhibited more potent activity of inhibiting platelet aggregation stimulated by collagen than other agonists. Sesamol inhibited collagen-stimulated platelet activation accompanied by [Ca(2+)](i) mobilization, thromboxane A(2) (TxA(2)) formation, and phospholipase C (PLC)γ2, protein kinase C (PKC) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylation in washed platelets. Sesamol markedly increased cAMP and cGMP levels, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression and NO release, as well as vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) phosphorylation. SQ22536, an inhibitor of adenylate cyclase, markedly reversed the sesamol-mediated inhibitory effects on platelet aggregation and p38 MAPK phosphorylation, and sesamol-mediated stimulatory effects on VASP and eNOS phosphorylation, and NO release. Sesamol also reduced hydroxyl radical (OH(●)) formation in platelets. In an in vivo study, sesamol (5 mg/kg) significantly prolonged platelet plug formation in mice. The most important findings of this study demonstrate for the first time that sesamol possesses potent antiplatelet activity, which may involve activation of the cAMP-eNOS/NO-cGMP pathway, resulting in inhibition of the PLCγ2-PKC-p38 MAPK-TxA(2) cascade, and, finally, inhibition of platelet aggregation. Sesamol treatment may represent a novel approach to lowering the risk of or improving function in thromboembolism-related disorders. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A polysaccharide from Armillaria mellea exhibits strong in vitro anticancer activity via apoptosis-involved mechanisms.

PubMed

Wu, Jun; Zhou, Jinxu; Lang, Yaoguo; Yao, Lei; Xu, Hai; Shi, Hubo; Xu, Shidong

2012-11-01

Armillaria mellea is a famous traditional Chinese medicinal and edible fungus. In this study, we purified a water-soluble polysaccharide (AMP) from the fruiting bodies of this fungus. AMP contained 94.8% carbohydrate, 2.3% uronic acid and 0.5% protein. Its molecular weight was determined as 4.6 × 10⁵ Da, as determined by high-performance gel-permeation chromatography (HPGPC). Gas chromatography (GC) analysis indicated that AMP was mainly composed of d-glucose. In vitro assay, AMP exhibited a potent tumor growth inhibitory effect on A549 cells, and induced cell cycle disruption in the G0/G1 phase, accompanied by an increment of apoptotic cells. Furthermore, AMP induced the disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential, thus leading to cytochrome c release from mitochondria and activation of caspase-3 and -9. Taken together, our results demonstrate that AMP possesses strong antitumor activities through the mitochondria dependent pathway and activation of caspase cascade through cytochrome c release. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In vivo assessment of plant extracts for control of plant diseases: A sesquiterpene ketolactone isolated from Curcuma zedoaria suppresses wheat leaf rust.

PubMed

Han, Jae Woo; Shim, Sang Hee; Jang, Kyoung Soo; Choi, Yong Ho; Dang, Quang Le; Kim, Hun; Choi, Gyung Ja

2018-02-01

As an alternative to synthetic pesticides, natural materials such as plant extracts and microbes have been considered to control plant diseases. In this study, methanol extracts of 120 plants were explored for in vivo antifungal activity against Rhizoctonia solani, Botrytis cinerea, Phytophthora infestans, Puccinia triticina, and Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei. Of the 120 plant extracts, eight plant extracts exhibited a disease control efficacy of more than 90% against at least one of five plant diseases. In particular, a methanol extract of Curcuma zedoaria rhizomes exhibited strong activity against wheat leaf rust caused by P. triticina. When the C. zedoaria methanol extracts were partitioned with various solvents, the layers of n-hexane, methylene chloride, and ethyl acetate showed disease control values of 100, 80, and 43%, respectively, against wheat leaf rust. From the C. zedoaria rhizome extracts, an antifungal substance was isolated and identified as a sesquiterpene ketolactone based on the mass and nuclear magnetic resonance spectral data. The active compound controlled the development of rice sheath blight, wheat leaf rust, and tomato late blight. Considering the in vivo antifungal activities of the sesquiterpene ketolactone and the C. zedoaria extracts, these results suggest that C. zedoaria can be used as a potent fungicide in organic agriculture.

UV-inactivated HSV-1 potently activates NK cell killing of leukemic cells

PubMed Central

Samudio, Ismael; Rezvani, Katayoun; Shaim, Hila; Hofs, Elyse; Ngom, Mor; Bu, Luke; Liu, Guoyu; Lee, Jason T. C.; Imren, Suzan; Lam, Vivian; Poon, Grace F. T.; Ghaedi, Maryam; Takei, Fumio; Humphries, Keith; Jia, William

2016-01-01

Herein we demonstrate that oncolytic herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) potently activates human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to lyse leukemic cell lines and primary acute myeloid leukemia samples, but not healthy allogeneic lymphocytes. Intriguingly, we found that UV light–inactivated HSV-1 (UV-HSV-1) is equally effective in promoting PBMC cytolysis of leukemic cells and is 1000- to 10 000-fold more potent at stimulating innate antileukemic responses than UV-inactivated cytomegalovirus, vesicular stomatitis virus, reovirus, or adenovirus. Mechanistically, UV-HSV-1 stimulates PBMC cytolysis of leukemic cells, partly via Toll-like receptor-2/protein kinase C/nuclear factor-κB signaling, and potently stimulates expression of CD69, degranulation, migration, and cytokine production in natural killer (NK) cells, suggesting that surface components of UV-HSV-1 directly activate NK cells. Importantly, UV-HSV-1 synergizes with interleukin-15 (IL-15) and IL-2 in inducing activation and cytolytic activity of NK cells. Additionally, UV-HSV-1 stimulates glycolysis and fatty acid oxidation–dependent oxygen consumption in NK cells, but only glycolysis is required for their enhanced antileukemic activity. Last, we demonstrate that T cell–depleted human PBMCs exposed to UV-HSV-1 provide a survival benefit in a murine xenograft model of human acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Taken together, our results support the preclinical development of UV-HSV-1 as an adjuvant, alone or in combination with IL-15, for allogeneic donor mononuclear cell infusions to treat AML. PMID:26941401

Potent Elastase Inhibitors from Cyanobacteria: Structural Basis and Mechanisms Mediating Cytoprotective and Anti-inflammatory Effects in Bronchial Epithelial Cells

PubMed Central

Salvador, Lilibeth A.; Taori, Kanchan; Biggs, Jason S.; Jakoncic, Jean; Ostrov, David A.; Paul, Valerie J.; Luesch, Hendrik

2013-01-01

We discovered new structural diversity to a prevalent, yet medicinally underappreciated, cyanobacterial protease inhibitor scaffold and undertook comprehensive protease profiling to reveal potent and selective elastase inhibition. SAR and X-ray cocrystal structure analysis allowed a detailed assessment of critical and tunable structural elements. To realize the therapeutic potential of these cyclodepsipeptides, we probed the cellular effects of a novel and representative family member, symplostatin 5 (1), which attenuated the downstream cellular effects of elastase in an epithelial lung airway model system, alleviating clinical hallmarks of chronic pulmonary diseases such as cell death, cell detachment and inflammation. This compound attenuated the effects of elastase on receptor activation, proteolytic processing of the adhesion protein ICAM-1, NF-κB activation and transcriptomic changes, including the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL1A, IL1B and IL8. Compound 1 exhibited activity comparable to the clinically-approved elastase inhibitor sivelestat in short-term assays and demonstrated superior sustained activity in longer-term assays. PMID:23350733

Alcoholic Fractions F5 and F6 from Withania somnifera Leaves Show a Potent Antileishmanial and Immunomodulatory Activities to Control Experimental Visceral Leishmaniasis

PubMed Central

Chandrasekaran, Sambamurthy; Veronica, Jalaja; Sundar, Shyam; Maurya, Radheshyam

2017-01-01

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) causes fatal life-threatening disease, if left untreated. The current drugs have various limitations; hence, natural products from medicinal plants are being focused in search of new drugs to treat leishmaniasis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antileishmanial and immunomodulatory activities of F5 and F6 alcoholic fractions from Withania somnifera leaves and purified withaferin-A in Leishmania donovani-infected peritoneal macrophages and BALB/c mice. We observed that F5 (15 µg/mL), F6 (10 µg/mL), and withaferin-A (1.5 µM) reduce amastigote count in peritoneal macrophages and induce reactive oxygen species and significant decrease in IL-10 mRNA expression compared to control upon treatment. Subsequently, in vivo study mice were treated with F5 (25 and 50 mg/kg b.wt.), F6 (25 and 50 mg/kg b.wt.) orally, and withaferin-A (2 mg/kg b.wt.) intraperitoneally for 10 consecutive days and a drastic reduction in parasite burden in both spleen and liver were observed. The treatment resulted in the reduction in IL-10, IL-4, and TGF-β mRNA expression and a significant increase in IFN-γ/IL-10 expression ratio in the treated group compared to control. The humoral response of these alcoholic fractions and withaferin-A shows increased IgG2a levels when compared with IgG1 in treated mice. Taken together, our result concludes that withanolides in alcoholic fractions demonstrate a potent antileishmanial and immunomodulatory activities in experimental VL. PMID:28553635

Tetrodotoxin, an Extremely Potent Marine Neurotoxin: Distribution, Toxicity, Origin and Therapeutical Uses

PubMed Central

Lago, Jorge; Rodríguez, Laura P.; Blanco, Lucía; Vieites, Juan Manuel; Cabado, Ana G.

2015-01-01

Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent neurotoxin responsible for many human intoxications and fatalities each year. The origin of TTX is unknown, but in the pufferfish, it seems to be produced by endosymbiotic bacteria that often seem to be passed down the food chain. The ingestion of contaminated pufferfish, considered the most delicious fish in Japan, is the usual route of toxicity. This neurotoxin, reported as a threat to human health in Asian countries, has spread to the Pacific and Mediterranean, due to the increase of temperature waters worldwide. TTX, for which there is no known antidote, inhibits sodium channel producing heart failure in many cases and consequently death. In Japan, a regulatory limit of 2 mg eq TTX/kg was established, although the restaurant preparation of “fugu” is strictly controlled by law and only chefs qualified are allowed to prepare the fish. Due to its paralysis effect, this neurotoxin could be used in the medical field as an analgesic to treat some cancer pains. PMID:26492253

Peptide fragments of a beta-defensin derivative with potent bactericidal activity.

PubMed

Reynolds, Natalie L; De Cecco, Martin; Taylor, Karen; Stanton, Chloe; Kilanowski, Fiona; Kalapothakis, Jason; Seo, Emily; Uhrin, Dusan; Campopiano, Dominic; Govan, John; Macmillan, Derek; Barran, Perdita; Dorin, Julia R

2010-05-01

Beta-defensins are known to be both antimicrobial and able to chemoattract various immune cells. Although the sequences of paralogous genes are not highly conserved, the core defensin structure is retained. Defb14-1C(V) has bactericidal activity similar to that of its parent peptide (murine beta-defensin Defb14) despite all but one of the canonical six cysteines being replaced with alanines. The 23-amino-acid N-terminal half of Defb14-1C(V) is a potent antimicrobial while the C-terminal half is not. Here, we use a library of peptide derivatives to demonstrate that the antimicrobial activity can be localized to a particular region. Overlapping fragments of the N-terminal region were tested for their ability to kill Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. We demonstrate that the most N-terminal fragments (amino acids 1 to 10 and 6 to 17) are potent antimicrobials against Gram-negative bacteria whereas fragments based on sequence more C terminal than amino acid 13 have very poor activity against both Gram-positive and -negative types. We further test a series of N-terminal deletion peptides in both their monomeric and dimeric forms. We find that bactericidal activity is lost against both Gram types as the deletion region increases, with the point at which this occurs varying between bacterial strains. The dimeric form of the peptides is more resistant to the peptide deletions, but this is not due just to increased charge. Our results indicate that the primary sequence, together with structure, is essential in the bactericidal action of this beta-defensin derivative peptide and importantly identifies a short fragment from the peptide that is a potent bactericide.

Virtual screening studies to design potent CDK2-cyclin A inhibitors.

PubMed

Vadivelan, S; Sinha, Barij Nayan; Irudayam, Sheeba Jem; Jagarlapudi, Sarma A R P

2007-01-01

The cell division cycle is controlled by cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK), which consist of a catalytic subunit (CDK1-CDK8) and a regulatory subunit (cyclin A-H). Pharmacophore analysis indicates that the best inhibitor model consists of (1) two hydrogen bond acceptors, (2) one hydrogen bond donor, and (3) one hydrophobic feature. The HypoRefine pharmacophore model gave an enrichment factor of 1.31 and goodness of fit score of 0.76. Docking studies were carried out to explore the structural requirements for the CDK2-cyclin A inhibitors and to construct highly predictive models for the design of new inhibitors. Docking studies demonstrate the important role of hydrogen bond and hydrophobic interactions in determining the inhibitor-receptor binding affinity. The validated pharmacophore model is further used for retrieving the most active hits/lead from a virtual library of molecules. Subsequently, docking studies were performed on the hits, and novel series of potent leads were suggested based on the interaction energy between CDK2-cyclin A and the putative inhibitors.

Discovery of diethyl 2,5-diaminothiophene-3,4-dicarboxylate derivatives as potent anticancer and antimicrobial agents and screening of anti-diabetic activity: synthesis and in vitro biological evaluation. Part 1.

PubMed

Bozorov, Khurshed; Ma, Hai-Rong; Zhao, Jiang-Yu; Zhao, Hai-Qing; Chen, Hua; Bobakulov, Khayrulla; Xin, Xue-Lei; Elmuradov, Burkhon; Shakhidoyatov, Khusnutdin; Aisa, Haji A

2014-09-12

Series of diethyl 2,5-diaminothiophene-3,4-dicarboxylate (DDTD) derivatives: azomethines of DDTD (2a-l) have been synthesized and screened for their anticancer, antimicrobial and anti-diabetic activities. The novel synthesized compounds were characterized by (1)H, (13)C NMR, MS and FT-IR analyses. All compounds were evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against three types of cancer cell line such as T47D and MCF-7 (human breast cancer), Hela (human cervical cancer) and Ishikawa (human endometrial cancer) lines. The results showed that most compounds exhibited significant antiproliferative activity against breast cancer cells. The majority of azomethines DDTD influenced strongly against breast cancer cells T47D and MCF-7, among them compounds 2b (2.3 μM), 2c (12.1 μM), 2e (13.2 μM), 2i (14.9 μM), 2j (16.0 μM), 2k (7.1 μM), 2l (8.6 μM) manifest potent anticancer activity against cancer cell T47D than Doxorubicin (DOX, 15.5 μM). Compound 2j has shown potent activity on all three types of cancer cells concurrently and IC50 values were considerably low in comparison with positive control DOX. In addition, all compounds were tested for antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 (Gram positive bacteria), Escherichia coli ATCC 11229 (Gram negative bacteria) and Candida albicans ATCC 10231 (Fungi) strains and 2j which contains in the ring nitrofurfural fragment, showed the highest effect on the three species of microbial pathogens simultaneously. Some compounds induced enzymatic inhibition in a concentration-dependent manner on PTP-1B inhibitor. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Highly fluorescent peptide nanoribbon impregnated with Sn-porphyrin as a potent DNA sensor.

PubMed

Parayil, Sreenivasan Koliyat; Lee, Jooran; Yoon, Minjoong

2013-05-01

Highly fluorescent and thermo-stable peptide nanoribbons (PNRs) were fabricated by solvothermal self-assembly of a single peptide (D,D-diphenyl alanine peptides) with Sn-porphyrin (trans-dihydroxo[5,10,15,20-tetrakis(p-tolyl)porphyrinato] Sn(IV) (SnTTP(OH)2)). The structural characterization of the as-prepared nanoribbons was performed by transmitting electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy, indicating that the lipophilic Sn-porphyrins are impregnated into the porous surface formed in the process of nanoribbon formation through intermolecular hydrogen bonding of the peptide main chains. Consequently the Sn-porphyrin-impregnated peptide nanoribbons (Sn-porphyrin-PNRs) exhibited typical UV-visible absorption spectrum of the monomer porphyrin with a red shifted Q-band, and their fluorescence quantum yield was observed to be enhanced compared to that of free Sn-porphyrin. Interestingly the fluorescence intensity and lifetimes of Sn-porphyrin-PNRs were selectively affected upon interaction with nucleotide base sequences of DNA while those of free Sn-porphyrins were not affected by binding with any of the DNA studied, indicating that DNA-induced changes in the fluorescence properties of Sn-porphyrin-PNRs are due to interaction between DNA and the PNR scaffold. These results imply that Sn-porphyrin-PNR will be useful as a potent fluorescent protein analogue and as a biocompatible DNA sensor.

Bioactives in cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) stems possess potent antioxidant and pro-apoptotic activities through COX-2 involvement.

PubMed

Kim, Jinhee; Soh, Soon Yil; Shin, Juha; Cho, Chi-Woung; Choi, Young Hee; Nam, Sang-Yong

2015-10-01

Bioactives extracted from cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) stems were investigated for their chemopreventive activities using human cancer cells in vitro. The bioactives present in crude extracts were detected and quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography. Among all the extracts, such as hexane, ethyl acetate (EtOAc), acetone, methanol (MeOH), and MeOH:water (80:20), the MeOH extract had the highest amount of polyphenolic compounds and the acetone extract exhibited the most potent effect at scavenging the 2,2,-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-di-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS(•+) ) radical. In addition, most of the extracts, with the exception of hexane, exhibited significant cytotoxicity in human SW480 colon and MCF7 breast cancer cells. Overall, the SW480 cells were more sensitive than the MCF7 cells to the cytotoxic effect of the O. ficus-indica extracts (OFEs). Cell death by OFE treatment caused significant inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 and increased the Bax/Bcl2 ratio in both SW480 and MCF7 cell lines. However, degradation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase was significantly increased by OFE only in the MCF7 cells, thereby inducing apoptosis. These findings demonstrate the health-benefit roles, including anti-oxidative and anti-proliferative activities as well as pro-apoptotic effects, of bioactive compounds in OFEs, suggesting a chemopreventive role in human cancer cells. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

Identification of ML204, a Novel Potent Antagonist That Selectively Modulates Native TRPC4/C5 Ion Channels*

PubMed Central

Miller, Melissa; Shi, Jie; Zhu, Yingmin; Kustov, Maksym; Tian, Jin-bin; Stevens, Amy; Wu, Meng; Xu, Jia; Long, Shunyou; Yang, Pu; Zholos, Alexander V.; Salovich, James M.; Weaver, C. David; Hopkins, Corey R.; Lindsley, Craig W.; McManus, Owen; Li, Min; Zhu, Michael X.

2011-01-01

Transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) channels are Ca2+-permeable nonselective cation channels implicated in diverse physiological functions, including smooth muscle contractility and synaptic transmission. However, lack of potent selective pharmacological inhibitors for TRPC channels has limited delineation of the roles of these channels in physiological systems. Here we report the identification and characterization of ML204 as a novel, potent, and selective TRPC4 channel inhibitor. A high throughput fluorescent screen of 305,000 compounds of the Molecular Libraries Small Molecule Repository was performed for inhibitors that blocked intracellular Ca2+ rise in response to stimulation of mouse TRPC4β by μ-opioid receptors. ML204 inhibited TRPC4β-mediated intracellular Ca2+ rise with an IC50 value of 0.96 μm and exhibited 19-fold selectivity against muscarinic receptor-coupled TRPC6 channel activation. In whole-cell patch clamp recordings, ML204 blocked TRPC4β currents activated through either μ-opioid receptor stimulation or intracellular dialysis of guanosine 5′-3-O-(thio)triphosphate (GTPγS), suggesting a direct interaction of ML204 with TRPC4 channels rather than any interference with the signal transduction pathways. Selectivity studies showed no appreciable block by 10–20 μm ML204 of TRPV1, TRPV3, TRPA1, and TRPM8, as well as KCNQ2 and native voltage-gated sodium, potassium, and calcium channels in mouse dorsal root ganglion neurons. In isolated guinea pig ileal myocytes, ML204 blocked muscarinic cation currents activated by bath application of carbachol or intracellular infusion of GTPγS, demonstrating its effectiveness on native TRPC4 currents. Therefore, ML204 represents an excellent novel tool for investigation of TRPC4 channel function and may facilitate the development of therapeutics targeted to TRPC4. PMID:21795696

Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oil as a potent anti-inflammatory and antifungal drugs

PubMed Central

Boukhatem, Mohamed Nadjib; Ferhat, Mohamed Amine; Kameli, Abdelkrim; Saidi, Fairouz; Kebir, Hadjer Tchoketch

2014-01-01

Background Volatile oils obtained from lemon grass [Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf, Poaceae family] are used in traditional medicine as remedies for the treatment of various diseases. Aims In the present study, lemon grass essential oil (LGEO) was evaluated for its in vivo topical and oral anti-inflammatory effects, and for its in vitro antifungal activity using both liquid and vapor phases. Methods The chemical profile of LGEO as determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis revealed two major components: geranial (42.2%), and neral (31.5%). The antifungal activity of LGEO was evaluated against several pathogenic yeasts and filamentous fungi using disc diffusion and vapor diffusion methods. Results LGEO exhibited promising antifungal effect against Candida albicans, C. tropicalis, and Aspergillus niger, with different inhibition zone diameters (IZDs) (35–90 mm). IZD increased with increasing oil volume. Significantly, higher anti-Candida activity was observed in the vapor phase. For the evaluation of the anti-inflammatory effect, LGEO (10 mg/kg, administered orally) significantly reduced carrageenan-induced paw edema with a similar effect to that observed for oral diclofenac (50 mg/kg), which was used as the positive control. Oral administration of LGEO showed dose-dependent anti-inflammatory activity. In addition, topical application of LGEO in vivo resulted in a potent anti-inflammatory effect, as demonstrated by using the mouse model of croton oil-induced ear edema. To our knowledge, this is the first such report to be published. The topical application of LGEO at doses of 5 and 10 µL/ear significantly reduced acute ear edema induced by croton oil in 62.5 and 75% of the mice, respectively. In addition, histological analysis clearly confirmed that LGEO inhibits the skin inflammatory response in animal models. Conclusion Results of the present study indicate that LGEO has a noteworthy potential for the development of drugs for the treatment of

Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oil as a potent anti-inflammatory and antifungal drugs.

PubMed

Boukhatem, Mohamed Nadjib; Ferhat, Mohamed Amine; Kameli, Abdelkrim; Saidi, Fairouz; Kebir, Hadjer Tchoketch

2014-01-01

Background Volatile oils obtained from lemon grass [Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf, Poaceae family] are used in traditional medicine as remedies for the treatment of various diseases. Aims In the present study, lemon grass essential oil (LGEO) was evaluated for its in vivo topical and oral anti-inflammatory effects, and for its in vitro antifungal activity using both liquid and vapor phases. Methods The chemical profile of LGEO as determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis revealed two major components: geranial (42.2%), and neral (31.5%). The antifungal activity of LGEO was evaluated against several pathogenic yeasts and filamentous fungi using disc diffusion and vapor diffusion methods. Results LGEO exhibited promising antifungal effect against Candida albicans, C.tropicalis, and Aspergillus niger, with different inhibition zone diameters (IZDs) (35-90 mm). IZD increased with increasing oil volume. Significantly, higher anti-Candida activity was observed in the vapor phase. For the evaluation of the anti-inflammatory effect, LGEO (10 mg/kg, administered orally) significantly reduced carrageenan-induced paw edema with a similar effect to that observed for oral diclofenac (50 mg/kg), which was used as the positive control. Oral administration of LGEO showed dose-dependent anti-inflammatory activity. In addition, topical application of LGEO in vivo resulted in a potent anti-inflammatory effect, as demonstrated by using the mouse model of croton oil-induced ear edema. To our knowledge, this is the first such report to be published. The topical application of LGEO at doses of 5 and 10 µL/ear significantly reduced acute ear edema induced by croton oil in 62.5 and 75% of the mice, respectively. In addition, histological analysis clearly confirmed that LGEO inhibits the skin inflammatory response in animal models. Conclusion Results of the present study indicate that LGEO has a noteworthy potential for the development of drugs for the treatment of

Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oil as a potent anti-inflammatory and antifungal drugs.

PubMed

Boukhatem, Mohamed Nadjib; Ferhat, Mohamed Amine; Kameli, Abdelkrim; Saidi, Fairouz; Kebir, Hadjer Tchoketch

2014-01-01

Volatile oils obtained from lemon grass [Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf, Poaceae family] are used in traditional medicine as remedies for the treatment of various diseases. In the present study, lemon grass essential oil (LGEO) was evaluated for its in vivo topical and oral anti-inflammatory effects, and for its in vitro antifungal activity using both liquid and vapor phases. The chemical profile of LGEO as determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis revealed two major components: geranial (42.2%), and neral (31.5%). The antifungal activity of LGEO was evaluated against several pathogenic yeasts and filamentous fungi using disc diffusion and vapor diffusion methods. LGEO exhibited promising antifungal effect against Candida albicans, C. tropicalis, and Aspergillus niger, with different inhibition zone diameters (IZDs) (35-90 mm). IZD increased with increasing oil volume. Significantly, higher anti-Candida activity was observed in the vapor phase. For the evaluation of the anti-inflammatory effect, LGEO (10 mg/kg, administered orally) significantly reduced carrageenan-induced paw edema with a similar effect to that observed for oral diclofenac (50 mg/kg), which was used as the positive control. Oral administration of LGEO showed dose-dependent anti-inflammatory activity. In addition, topical application of LGEO in vivo resulted in a potent anti-inflammatory effect, as demonstrated by using the mouse model of croton oil-induced ear edema. To our knowledge, this is the first such report to be published. The topical application of LGEO at doses of 5 and 10 µL/ear significantly reduced acute ear edema induced by croton oil in 62.5 and 75% of the mice, respectively. In addition, histological analysis clearly confirmed that LGEO inhibits the skin inflammatory response in animal models. RESULTS of the present study indicate that LGEO has a noteworthy potential for the development of drugs for the treatment of fungal infections and skin inflammation that

Pharmacology of a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, HN-56249: a novel compound exhibiting a marked preference for the human enzyme in intact cells.

PubMed

Berg, J; Fellier, H; Christoph, T; Kremminger, P; Hartmann, M; Blaschke, H; Rovensky, F; Towart, R; Stimmeder, D

2000-04-01

HN-56249 (3-(2,4-dichlorothiophenoxy)-4-methylsulfonylamino-benzenesu lfonamide), a highly selective cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitor, is the prototype of a novel series of COX inhibitors comprising bicyclic arylethersulfonamides; of this series HN-56249 is the most potent and selective human COX-2 inhibitor. HN-56249 inhibited platelet aggregation as a measure of COX-1 activity only moderately (IC50 26.5+/-1.7 microM). In LPS-stimulated monocytic cells the release of prostaglandin (PG) F1alpha as a measure of COX-2 was markedly inhibited (IC50 0.027+/-0.001 microM). Thus, HN-56249 showed an approximately 1000-fold selectivity for COX-2 in intact cells. In whole blood assays HN-56249 showed a potent inhibitory activity for COX-2 (IC50 0.78+/-0.37 microM) only. COX-1 was only weakly inhibited (IC50 867+/-181 microM). Hence, HN-56249 exhibited a greater than 1000-fold selectivity for whole blood COX-2. HN-56249 surpassed the COX-2 selectivities of the COX-2 selective inhibitors 3-cyclohexyloxy-4-methylsulfonylamino-nitrobenzene (NS-398) and 6-(2,4-difluorophenoxy)-5-methyl-sulfonylamino-1-indanone (flosulide) in the intact cell assays by eight- and threefold, respectively, and in the whole blood assays by approximately 40-fold. Following i.v. administration HN-56249 inhibited carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema only moderately (ID50 26.2+/-5.7 mg/kg, mean +/- SEM), approximately tenfold less potent than indomethacin (ID50 2.1+/-0.2 mg/kg, mean +/- SEM). After oral administration HN-56249 reversed thermal hyperalgesia in the carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema test, however, some 30-fold less potently than diclofenac. Comparing the inhibitory potency of HN-56249 against human COX-2 with that against murine COX-2 in intact cells revealed a 300-fold selectivity for the human enzyme. Similar effects were observed with other COX-2-selective arylethersulfonamides. In contrast, non-COX-2-selective arylethersulfonamides, including a highly selective COX-1 inhibitor, inhibited

Cadmium is a potent inhibitor of PPM phosphatases and targets the M1 binding site

PubMed Central

Pan, Chang; Liu, Hong-Da; Gong, Zheng; Yu, Xiao; Hou, Xu-Ben; Xie, Di-Dong; Zhu, Xi-Bin; Li, Hao-Wen; Tang, Jun-Yi; Xu, Yun-Fei; Yu, Jia-Qi; Zhang, Lian-Ying; Fang, Hao; Xiao, Kun-Hong; Chen, Yu-Guo; Wang, Jiang-Yun; Pang, Qi; Chen, Wei; Sun, Jin-Peng

2013-01-01

The heavy metal cadmium is a non-degradable pollutant. By screening the effects of a panel of metal ions on the phosphatase activity, we unexpectedly identified cadmium as a potent inhibitor of PPM1A and PPM1G. In contrast, low micromolar concentrations of cadmium did not inhibit PP1 or tyrosine phosphatases. Kinetic studies revealed that cadmium inhibits PPM phosphatases through the M1 metal ion binding site. In particular, the negative charged D441 in PPM1G specific recognized cadmium. Our results suggest that cadmium is likely a potent inhibitor of most PPM family members except for PHLPPs. Furthermore, we demonstrated that cadmium inhibits PPM1A-regulated MAPK signaling and PPM1G-regulated AKT signaling potently in vivo. Cadmium reversed PPM1A-induced cell cycle arrest and cadmium insensitive PPM1A mutant rescued cadmium induced cell death. Taken together, these findings provide a better understanding of the effects of the toxicity of cadmium in the contexts of human physiology and pathology. PMID:23903585

Exhibiting Lives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Golden, Deborah; Elbaz-Luwisch, Freema

2007-01-01

This paper examines some of the dilemmas that accompany the emergence of the personal voice in scholarly work, by taking a close, grounded look at the way in which these unfolded in a specific academic course. As part of the course, entitled "A cultural approach to the life cycle", students were asked to participate in a group exhibition in which…

Synthetic Studies of Neoclerodane Diterpenes from Salvia divinorum: Identification of a Potent and Centrally Acting μ Opioid Analgesic with Reduced Abuse Liability.

PubMed

Crowley, Rachel Saylor; Riley, Andrew P; Sherwood, Alexander M; Groer, Chad E; Shivaperumal, Nirajmohan; Biscaia, Miguel; Paton, Kelly; Schneider, Sebastian; Provasi, Davide; Kivell, Bronwyn M; Filizola, Marta; Prisinzano, Thomas E

2016-12-22

Opioids are widely used to treat millions suffering from pain, but their analgesic utility is limited due to associated side effects. Herein we report the development and evaluation of a chemical probe exhibiting analgesia and reduced opioid-induced side effects. This compound, kurkinorin (5), is a potent and selective μ-opioid receptor (MOR) agonist (EC 50 = 1.2 nM, >8000 μ/κ selectivity). 5 is a biased activator of MOR-induced G-protein signaling over β-arrestin-2 recruitment. Metadynamics simulations of 5's binding to a MOR crystal structure suggest energetically preferred binding modes that differ from crystallographic ligands. In vivo studies with 5 demonstrate centrally mediated antinociception, significantly reduced rewarding effects, tolerance, and sedation. We propose that this novel MOR agonist may represent a valuable tool in distinguishing the pathways involved in MOR-induced analgesia from its side effects.

Myricetin: a potent approach for the treatment of type 2 diabetes as a natural class B GPCR agonist

PubMed Central

Li, Ying; Zheng, Xuemin; Yi, Xiulin; Liu, Changxiao; Kong, Dexin; Zhang, Jianning; Gong, Min

2017-01-01

The physiologic properties of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) make it a potent candidate drug target in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). GLP-1 is capable of regulating the blood glucose level by insulin secretion after administration of oral glucose. The advantages of GLP-1 for the avoidance of hypoglycemia and the control of body weight are attractive despite its poor stability. The clinical efficacies of long-acting GLP-1 derivatives strongly support discovery pursuits aimed at identifying and developing orally active, small-molecule GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists. The purpose of this study was to identify and characterize a novel oral agonist of GLP-1R (i.e., myricetin). The insulinotropic characterization of myricetin was performed in isolated islets and in Wistar rats. Long-term oral administration of myricetin demonstrated glucoregulatory activity. The data in this study suggest that myricetin might be a potential drug candidate for the treatment of T2DM as a GLP-1R agonist. Further structural modifications on myricetin might improve its pharmacology and pharmacokinetics.—Li, Y., Zheng, X., Yi, X., Liu, C., Kong, D., Zhang, J., Gong, M. Myricetin: a potent approach for the treatment of type 2 diabetes as a natural class B GPCR agonist. PMID:28270518

Eugenol and its structural analogs inhibit monoamine oxidase A and exhibit antidepressant-like activity.

PubMed

Tao, Guoxin; Irie, Yoshifumi; Li, Dian-Jun; Keung, Wing Ming

2005-08-01

Eugenol (1) is an active principle of Rhizoma acori graminei, a medicinal herb used in Asia for the treatment of symptoms reminiscent of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It has been shown to protect neuronal cells from the cytotoxic effect of amyloid beta peptides (Abetas) in cell cultures and exhibit antidepressant-like activity in mice. Results from this study show that eugenol inhibits monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) preferentially with a K(i)=26 microM. It also inhibits MAOB but at much higher concentrations (K(i)=211 microM). In both cases, inhibition is competitive with respect to the monoamine substrate. Survey of compounds structurally related to eugenol has identified a few that inhibit MAOs more potently. Structure activity relationship reveals structural features important for MAOA and MAOB inhibition. Molecular docking experiments were performed to help explain the SAR outcomes. Four of these compounds, two (1, 24) inhibiting MAOA selectively and the other two (19, 21) inhibiting neither MAOA nor MAOB, were tested for antidepressant-like activity using the forced swim test in mice. Results suggest a potential link between the antidepressant activity of eugenol and its MAOA inhibitory activity.

Design, synthesis and evaluation of a potent substrate analog inhibitor identified by scanning Ala/Phe mutagenesis, mimicking substrate co-evolution, against multidrug-resistant HIV-1 protease

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yedidi, Ravikiran S.; Muhuhi, Joseck M.; Liu, Zhigang

Highlights: •Inhibitors against MDR HIV-1 protease were designed, synthesized and evaluated. •Lead peptide (6a) showed potent inhibition (IC{sub 50}: 4.4 nM) of MDR HIV-1 protease. •(6a) Showed favorable binding isotherms against NL4-3 and MDR proteases. •(6a) Induced perturbations in the {sup 15}N-HSQC spectrum of MDR HIV-1 protease. •Molecular modeling suggested that (6a) may induce total flap closure inMDR protease. -- Abstract: Multidrug-resistant (MDR) clinical isolate-769, human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) protease (PDB ID: (1TW7)), was shown to exhibit wide-open flaps and an expanded active site cavity, causing loss of contacts with protease inhibitors. In the current study, the expanded activemore » site cavity of MDR769 HIV-1 protease was screened with a series of peptide-inhibitors that were designed to mimic the natural substrate cleavage site, capsid/p2. Scanning Ala/Phe chemical mutagenesis approach was incorporated into the design of the peptide series to mimic the substrate co-evolution. Among the peptides synthesized and evaluated, a lead peptide (6a) with potent activity (IC{sub 50}: 4.4 nM) was identified against the MDR769 HIV-1 protease. Isothermal titration calorimetry data showed favorable binding profile for 6aagainst both wild type and MDR769 HIV-1 protease variants. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of {sup 15}N-labeled MDR769 HIV-1 protease in complex with 6a showed some major perturbations in chemical shift, supporting the peptide induced conformational changes in protease. Modeling analysis revealed multiple contacts between 6a and MDR769 HIV-1 protease. The lead peptide-inhibitor, 6a, with high potency and good binding profile can be used as the basis for developing potent small molecule inhibitors against MDR variants of HIV.« less

Expression of lumican in hidroacanthoma simplex and clonal-type seborrheic keratosis as a potent differential diagnostic marker.

PubMed

Takayama, Ryoko; Ansai, Shin-Ichi; Ishiwata, Toshiyuki; Yamamoto, Tetsushi; Matsuda, Yoko; Naito, Zenya; Kawana, Seiji

2014-08-01

Lumican, a member of the small leucine-rich proteoglycan family, regulates the assembly and diameter of collagen fibers in the extracellular matrix of various tissues. The lumican expression correlates with pathological conditions and the growth and metastasis of various malignancies. In cutaneous neoplasms, the lumican expression is lower in advanced-stage malignant melanomas that invade the dermis than in early-stage melanomas. Furthermore, we have recently reported that the expression pattern of lumican is different from that of actinic keratosis and the Bowen disease. Lumican is positive in the poroid cells of intraepidermal sweat ducts; therefore, we examined the expression patterns of lumican in acanthotic-type seborrheic keratosis and Pinkus-type poroma followed by clonal-type seborrheic keratosis and hidroacanthoma simplex. The neoplastic cells of acanthotic-type seborrheic keratosis exhibited positive immunostaining in only 1 of 31 cases (3.23%), whereas the poroid cells of Pinkus-type poroma exhibited positive immunoreactivity in 26 of 28 patients (92.8%). In the hidroacanthoma simplex cases, lumican was expressed in poroid cells forming intraepidermal nests in 22 of 28 patients (78.6%), whereas the neoplastic cells in most cases of clonal-type seborrheic keratosis were negative for lumican. In some seborrheic keratosis cases that were positive for lumican in neoplastic cells, lumican was observed in squamoid cells but not in basaloid cells. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the immunoreactivity of lumican in seborrheic keratosis and in basaloid cells. These findings suggest that lumican is a potent differential diagnostic marker that distinguishes hidroacanthoma simplex from clonal-type seborrheic keratosis.

Phenazine antibiotic inspired discovery of potent bromophenazine antibacterial agents against Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis.

PubMed

Borrero, Nicholas V; Bai, Fang; Perez, Cristian; Duong, Benjamin Q; Rocca, James R; Jin, Shouguang; Huigens, Robert W

2014-02-14

Nearly all clinically used antibiotics have been (1) discovered from microorganisms (2) using phenotype screens to identify inhibitors of bacterial growth. The effectiveness of these antibiotics is attributed to their endogenous roles as bacterial warfare agents against competing microorganisms. Unfortunately, every class of clinically used antibiotic has been met with drug resistant bacteria. In fact, the emergence of resistant bacterial infections coupled to the dismal pipeline of new antibacterial agents has resulted in a global health care crisis. There is an urgent need for innovative antibacterial strategies and treatment options to effectively combat drug resistant bacterial pathogens. Here, we describe the implementation of a Pseudomonas competition strategy, using redox-active phenazines, to identify novel antibacterial leads against Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. In this report, we describe the chemical synthesis and evaluation of a diverse 27-membered phenazine library. Using this microbial warfare inspired approach, we have identified several bromophenazines with potent antibacterial activities against S. aureus and S. epidermidis. The most potent bromophenazine analogue from this focused library demonstrated a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.78-1.56 μM, or 0.31-0.62 μg mL(-1), against S. aureus and S. epidermidis and proved to be 32- to 64-fold more potent than the phenazine antibiotic pyocyanin in head-to-head MIC experiments. In addition to the discovery of potent antibacterial agents against S. aureus and S. epidermidis, we also report a detailed structure-activity relationship for this class of bromophenazine small molecules.

Museum Exhibitions: Optimizing Development Using Evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dusenbery, P. B.

2002-12-01

The Space Science Institute (SSI) of Boulder, Colorado, has recently developed two museum exhibits called the Space Weather Center and MarsQuest. It is currently planning to develop a third exhibit called InterActive Earth. The Space Weather Center was developed in partnership with various research missions at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The development of these exhibitions included a comprehensive evaluation plan. I will report on the important role evaluation plays in exhibit design and development using MarsQuest and InterActive Earth as models. The centerpiece of SSI's Mars Education Program is the 5,000-square-foot traveling exhibition, MarsQuest: Exploring the Red Planet, which was developed with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA, and several corporate donors. The MarsQuest exhibit is nearing the end of a highly successful, fully-booked three-year tour. The Institute plans to send an enhanced and updated MarsQuest on a second three-year tour and is also developing Destination: Mars, a mini-version of MarsQuest designed for smaller venues. They are designed to inspire and empower participants to extend the excitement and science content of the exhibitions into classrooms and museum-based education programs in an ongoing fashion. The centerpiece of the InterActive Earth project is a traveling exhibit that will cover about 4,000 square feet. The major goal of the proposed exhibit is to introduce students and the public to the complexity of the interconnections in the Earth system, and thereby, to inspire them to better understand planet Earth. Evaluation must be an integral part of the exhibition development process. For MarsQuest, a 3-phase evaluation (front end, formative and summative) was conducted by Randi Korn and Associates in close association with the development team. Sampling procedures for all three evaluation phases ensured the participation of all audiences, including family groups, students, and adults. Each phase of

Analogues of the Potent Antitumor Compound Leiodermatolide from a Deep-Water Sponge of the Genus Leiodermatium.

PubMed

Wright, Amy E; Roberts, Jill C; Guzmán, Esther A; Pitts, Tara P; Pomponi, Shirley A; Reed, John K

2017-03-24

Two new analogues of the potent antitumor compound leiodermatolide, which we call leiodermatolides B and C, have been isolated from specimens of a deep-water sponge of the genus Leiodermatium collected off Florida. The compounds were purified using standard chromatographic methods, and the structures defined through interpretation of the HRMS and 1D and 2D NMR data. Leiodermatolide B (2) lacks the C-21 hydroxy group found in leiodermatolide and has equal potency as the parent compound, providing a simpler analogue for possible clinical development. It inhibits the proliferation of the AsPC-1 human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line with an IC 50 of 43 nM. Leiodermatolide C (3) has a modified macrolide ring and is over 85-fold less potent with an IC 50 of 3.7 μM against the same cell line. These compounds add to the knowledge of the pharmacophore of this class of potent antitumor agents.

Science Fiction Exhibits as STEM Gateways

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robie, Samantha

Women continue to hold less than a quarter of all STEM jobs in the United States, prompting many museums to develop programs and exhibits with the express goal of interesting young girls in scientific fields. At the same time, a number of recent museum exhibits have harnessed the popularity of pop culture and science fiction in order to interest general audiences in STEM subject matter, as well as using the exhibits as springboards to expand or shift mission goals and focus. Because science fiction appears to be successful at raising interest in STEM fields, it may be an effective way to garner the interest of young girls in STEM in particular. This research seeks to describe the ways in which museums are currently using science fiction exhibits to interest young girls in STEM fields and careers. Research focused on four institutions across the country hosting three separate exhibits, and included staff interviews and content analysis of exhibit descriptions, promotional materials, a summative evaluation and supplementary exhibit productions. In some ways, science fiction exhibits do serve young girls, primarily through the inclusion of female role models, staff awareness, and prototype testing to ensure interactives are attractive to girls as well as to boys. However, STEM appears to be underutilized, which may be partly due to a concern within the field that the outcome of targeting a specific gender could be construed as "stereotyping".

Sickle cell mice exhibit mechanical allodynia and enhanced responsiveness in light touch cutaneous mechanoreceptors

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Sickle cell disease (SCD) is associated with both acute vaso-occlusive painful events as well as chronic pain syndromes, including heightened sensitivity to touch. We have previously shown that mice with severe SCD (HbSS mice; express 100% human sickle hemoglobin in red blood cells; RBCs) have sensitized nociceptors, which contribute to increased mechanical sensitivity. Yet, the hypersensitivity in these neural populations alone may not fully explain the mechanical allodynia phenotype in mouse and humans. Findings Using the Light Touch Behavioral Assay, we found HbSS mice exhibited increased responses to repeated application of both innocuous punctate and dynamic force compared to control HbAA mice (100% normal human hemoglobin). HbSS mice exhibited a 2-fold increase in percent response to a 0.7mN von Frey monofilament when compared to control HbAA mice. Moreover, HbSS mice exhibited a 1.7-fold increase in percent response to the dynamic light touch “puffed” cotton swab stimulus. We further investigated the mechanisms that drive this behavioral phenotype by focusing on the cutaneous sensory neurons that primarily transduce innocuous, light touch. Low threshold cutaneous afferents from HbSS mice exhibited sensitization to mechanical stimuli that manifested as an increase in the number of evoked action potentials to suprathreshold force. Rapidly adapting (RA) Aβ and Aδ D-hair fibers showed the greatest sensitization, each with a 75% increase in suprathreshold firing compared to controls. Slowly adapting (SA) Aβ afferents had a 25% increase in suprathreshold firing compared to HbAA controls. Conclusions These novel findings demonstrate mice with severe SCD exhibit mechanical allodynia to both punctate and dynamic light touch and suggest that this behavioral phenotype may be mediated in part by the sensitization of light touch cutaneous afferent fibers to suprathreshold force. These findings indicate that Aβ fibers can be sensitized to mechanical

Synthesis, molecular properties, toxicity and biological evaluation of some new substituted imidazolidine derivatives in search of potent anti-inflammatory agents

PubMed Central

Husain, Asif; Ahmad, Aftab; Khan, Shah Alam; Asif, Mohd; Bhutani, Rubina; Al-Abbasi, Fahad A.

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to design and synthesize pharmaceutical agents containing imidazolidine heterocyclic ring in the hope of developing potent, safe and orally active anti-inflammatory agents. A number of substituted-imidazolidine derivatives (3a–k) were synthesized starting from ethylene diamine and aromatic aldehydes. The imidazolidine derivatives (3a–k) were investigated for their anticipated anti-inflammatory, and analgesic activity in Wistar albino rats and Swiss albino mice, respectively. Bioactivity score, molecular and pharmacokinetic properties of the imidazolidine derivatives were calculated by online computer software programs viz. Molinspiration and Osiris property explorer. The results of biological testing indicated that among the synthesized compounds only three imidazolidine derivatives namely 4-[1,3-Bis(2,6-dichlorobenzyl)-2-imidazolidinyl]phenyl-diethylamine (3g), 4-[1,3-Bis(3-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzyl)-2-imidazolidinyl]phenyl-diethylamine (3i) and 4-(1,3-Bis(4-methoxybenzyl)-4-methylimidazolidin-2-yl)-phenyl-diethylamine (3j) possess promising anti-inflammatory and analgesic actions. Additionally these derivatives displayed superior GI safety profile (low severity index) with respect to the positive control, Indomethacin. All synthesized compounds showed promising bioactivity score for drug targets by Molinspiration software. Almost all the compounds were predicted to have very low toxicity risk by Osiris online software. Compound number (3i) emerged as a potential candidate for further research as it obeyed Lipinski’s rule of five for drug likeness, exhibited promising biological activity in-vivo and showed no risk of toxicity in computer aided screening. PMID:26903774

Synthesis, Characterization and Biological Evaluation of Some Quinoxaline Derivatives: A Promising and Potent New Class of Antitumor and Antimicrobial Agents.

PubMed

Al-Marhabi, Aisha R; Abbas, Hebat-Allah S; Ammar, Yousry A

2015-11-03

In continuation of our endeavor towards the development of potent and effective anticancer and antimicrobial agents; the present work deals with the synthesis of some novel tetrazolo[1,5-a]quinoxalines, N-pyrazoloquinoxalines, the corresponding Schiff bases, 1,2,4-triazinoquinoxalines and 1,2,4-triazoloquinoxalines. These compounds were synthesized via the reaction of the key intermediate hydrazinoquinoxalines with various reagents and evaluated for anticancer and antimicrobial activity. The results indicated that tetrazolo[1,5-a]quinoxaline derivatives showed the best result, with the highest inhibitory effects towards the three tested tumor cell lines, which were higher than that of the reference doxorubicin and these compounds were non-cytotoxic to normal cells (IC50 values > 100 μg/mL). Also, most of synthesized compounds exhibited the highest degrees of inhibition against the tested strains of Gram positive and negative bacteria, so tetrazolo[1,5-a]quinoxaline derivatives show dual activity as anticancer and antimicrobial agents.

Fragment-Based Discovery of a Potent, Orally Bioavailable Inhibitor That Modulates the Phosphorylation and Catalytic Activity of ERK1/2.

PubMed

Heightman, Tom D; Berdini, Valerio; Braithwaite, Hannah; Buck, Ildiko M; Cassidy, Megan; Castro, Juan; Courtin, Aurélie; Day, James E H; East, Charlotte; Fazal, Lynsey; Graham, Brent; Griffiths-Jones, Charlotte M; Lyons, John F; Martins, Vanessa; Muench, Sandra; Munck, Joanne M; Norton, David; O'Reilly, Marc; Palmer, Nick; Pathuri, Puja; Reader, Michael; Rees, David C; Rich, Sharna J; Richardson, Caroline; Saini, Harpreet; Thompson, Neil T; Wallis, Nicola G; Walton, Hugh; Wilsher, Nicola E; Woolford, Alison J-A; Cooke, Michael; Cousin, David; Onions, Stuart; Shannon, Jonathan; Watts, John; Murray, Christopher W

2018-05-31

Aberrant activation of the MAPK pathway drives cell proliferation in multiple cancers. Inhibitors of BRAF and MEK kinases are approved for the treatment of BRAF mutant melanoma, but resistance frequently emerges, often mediated by increased signaling through ERK1/2. Here, we describe the fragment-based generation of ERK1/2 inhibitors that block catalytic phosphorylation of downstream substrates such as RSK but also modulate phosphorylation of ERK1/2 by MEK without directly inhibiting MEK. X-ray crystallographic and biophysical fragment screening followed by structure-guided optimization and growth from the hinge into a pocket proximal to the C-α helix afforded highly potent ERK1/2 inhibitors with excellent kinome selectivity. In BRAF mutant cells, the lead compound suppresses pRSK and pERK levels and inhibits proliferation at low nanomolar concentrations. The lead exhibits tumor regression upon oral dosing in BRAF mutant xenograft models, providing a promising basis for further optimization toward clinical pERK1/2 modulating ERK1/2 inhibitors.

Arabidopsis thaliana telomeres exhibit euchromatic features

PubMed Central

Vaquero-Sedas, María I.; Gámez-Arjona, Francisco M.; Vega-Palas, Miguel A.

2011-01-01

Telomere function is influenced by chromatin structure and organization, which usually involves epigenetic modifications. We describe here the chromatin structure of Arabidopsis thaliana telomeres. Based on the study of six different epigenetic marks we show that Arabidopsis telomeres exhibit euchromatic features. In contrast, subtelomeric regions and telomeric sequences present at interstitial chromosomal loci are heterochromatic. Histone methyltransferases and the chromatin remodeling protein DDM1 control subtelomeric heterochromatin formation. Whereas histone methyltransferases are required for histone H3K92Me and non-CpG DNA methylation, DDM1 directs CpG methylation but not H3K92Me or non-CpG methylation. These results argue that both kinds of proteins participate in different pathways to reinforce subtelomeric heterochromatin formation. PMID:21071395

Synthesis and SARs of novel lincomycin derivatives Part 5: optimization of lincomycin analogs exhibiting potent antibacterial activities by chemical modification at the 6- and 7-positions.

PubMed

Wakiyama, Yoshinari; Kumura, Ko; Umemura, Eijiro; Masaki, Satomi; Ueda, Kazutaka; Sato, Yasuo; Hirai, Yoko; Hayashi, Yoshio; Ajito, Keiichi

2018-02-01

In order to modify lincomycin at the C-6 and C-7 positions, we prepared target molecules, which have substituted pipecolinic acid at the 6-amino group and a para-substituted phenylthio group at the C-7 position, in application of palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling as a key reaction. As the result of structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies at the 6-position, analogs possessing 4'-cis-(cyclopropylmethyl)piperidine showed significantly strong antibacterial activities against Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes with an erm gene. On the basis of SAR, we further synthesized novel analogs possessing 4'-cis-(cyclopropylmethyl)piperidine by transformation of a C-7 substituent. Consequently, novel derivatives possessing a para-heteroaromatic-phenylthio group at the C-7 position exhibited significantly strong activities against S. pneumoniae and S. pyogenes with an erm gene even when compared with those of telithromycin. Finally, in vivo efficacy of selected two derivatives was evaluated in a rat pulmonary infection model with resistant S. pneumoniae with erm + mef genes. One of them exhibited strong and constant in vivo efficacy in this model, and both compounds showed strong in vivo efficacy against resistant S. pneumoniae with a mef gene.

Reaching the Public through Traveling Exhibitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dusenbery, P. B.; Harold, J. B.; Morrow, C. A.

2004-11-01

The Space Science Institute (SSI) of Boulder, Colorado has recently developed two museum exhibits called Alien Earths and MarsQuest. It has just started to develop another exhibit called Giant Planets. These exhibitions provide research scientists the opportunity to engage in a number of activities that are vital to the success of these major outreach programs. Alien Earths was developed in partnership with various research missions. The focus of the presentation will be on MarsQuest and Giant Planets. MarsQuest is a 5000 square-foot, \\$3M, traveling exhibition that is now touring the country. The exhibit's second 3-year tour will enable millions of Americans to share in the excitement of the scientific exploration of Mars and learn more about their own planet in the process. The associated planetarium show and education program will also be described, with particular emphasis on workshops to orient museum staff (e.g. museum educators and docents) and workshops for master educators near host museums and science centers. The workshops make innovative connections between the exhibition's interactive experiences and lesson plans aligned with the National Science Education Standards. These exhibit programs are good models for actively involving scientists and their discoveries to help improve informal science education in the museum community and for forging a stronger connection between formal and informal education. The presentation will also discuss how Giant Planets, a proposed 3500 square-foot traveling exhibition on the mysteries and discoveries of the outer planets, will be able to take advantage of the connections and resources that have been developed by the MarsQuest project.

Discovery of potent and selective small-molecule PAR-2 agonists.

PubMed

Seitzberg, Jimmi Gerner; Knapp, Anne Eeg; Lund, Birgitte Winther; Mandrup Bertozzi, Sine; Currier, Erika A; Ma, Jian-Nong; Sherbukhin, Vladimir; Burstein, Ethan S; Olsson, Roger

2008-09-25

Proteinase activated receptor-2 plays a crucial role in a wide variety of conditions with a strong inflammatory component. We present the discovery and characterization of two structurally different, potent, selective, and metabolically stable small-molecule PAR-2 agonists. These ligands may be useful as pharmacological tools for elucidating the complex physiological role of the PAR-2 receptors as well as for the development of PAR-2 antagonists.

Benzyloxynitrostyrene analogues - A novel class of selective and highly potent inhibitors of monoamine oxidase B.

PubMed

Van der Walt, Mietha M; Terre'Blanche, Gisella; Petzer, Jacobus P; Petzer, Anél

2017-01-05

This study examines a series of novel 3-benzyloxy-β-nitrostyrene analogues as a novel class of inhibitors of the monoamine oxidase (MAO) enzymes. MAO inhibitors are considered useful for the treatment of depression and Parkinson's disease, and have recently attracted attention as potential therapeutic agents for a range of disorders including Alzheimer's disease, prostate cancer and certain cardiomyopathies. This study shows that the 3-benzyloxy-β-nitrostyrene analogues are potent inhibitors of the MAO-B isoform with IC 50 values in the nanomolar range (39-565 nM). Significantly, effectiveness towards MAO-B inhibition seems to be governed by the introduction of a 4″-fluoro-substituent on the benzyloxy ring, with compound 2b exhibiting the highest degree of MAO-B inhibition potency (IC 50  = 0.039 μM) and selectivity (SI = 166) among the compounds investigated. Since some of the 3-benzyloxy-β-nitrostyrene analogues possess potencies that are comparable to that of the reversible inhibitor, safinamide (IC 50  = 0.080 μM), it may be concluded that this class may be promising leads for the development of reversible and selective MAO-B inhibitors, that may be useful for the management of Parkinson's disease. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Discovery of potent and selective sirtuin 2 (SIRT2) inhibitors using a fragment-based approach.

PubMed

Cui, Huaqing; Kamal, Zeeshan; Ai, Teng; Xu, Yanli; More, Swati S; Wilson, Daniel J; Chen, Liqiang

2014-10-23

Sirtuin 2 (SIRT2) is one of the sirtuins, a family of NAD(+)-dependent deacetylases that act on a variety of histone and non-histone substrates. Accumulating biological functions and potential therapeutic applications have drawn interest in the discovery and development of SIRT2 inhibitors. Herein we report our discovery of novel SIRT2 inhibitors using a fragment-based approach. Inspired by the purported close binding proximity of suramin and nicotinamide, we prepared two sets of fragments, namely, the naphthylamide sulfonic acids and the naphthalene-benzamides and -nicotinamides. Biochemical evaluation of these two series provided structure-activity relationship (SAR) information, which led to the design of (5-benzamidonaphthalen-1/2-yloxy)nicotinamide derivatives. Among these inhibitors, one compound exhibited high anti-SIRT2 activity (48 nM) and excellent selectivity for SIRT2 over SIRT1 and SIRT3. In vitro, it also increased the acetylation level of α-tubulin, a well-established SIRT2 substrate, in both concentration- and time-dependent manners. Further kinetic studies revealed that this compound behaves as a competitive inhibitor against the peptide substrate and most likely as a noncompetitive inhibitor against NAD(+). Taken together, these results indicate that we have discovered a potent and selective SIRT2 inhibitor whose novel structure merits further exploration.

Generation of Potent T-cell Immunotherapy for Cancer using DAP12-based, Multichain, Chimeric Immunoreceptors

PubMed Central

Wang, Enxiu; Wang, Liang-Chuan; Tsai, Ching-Yi; Bhoj, Vijay; Gershenson, Zack; Moon, Edmund; Newick, Kheng; Sun, Jing; Lo, Albert; Baradet, Timothy; Feldman, Michael D.; Barrett, David; Puré, Ellen; Albelda, Steven; Milone, Michael C.

2015-01-01

Chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) bearing an antigen-binding domain linked in cis to the cytoplasmic domains of CD3ζ and costimulatory receptors have provided a potent method for engineering T-cell cytotoxicity towards B-cell leukemia and lymphoma. However, resistance to immunotherapy due to loss of T-cell effector function remains a significant barrier, especially in solid malignancies. We describe an alternative chimeric immunoreceptor design in which we have fused a single-chain variable fragment for antigen recognition to the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of KIR2DS2, a stimulatory killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR). We show that this simple, KIR-based CAR (KIR-CAR) triggers robust antigen-specific proliferation and effector function in vitro when introduced into human T cells with DAP12, an immunotyrosine-based activation motifs (ITAM)-containing adaptor. T cells modified to express a KIR-CAR and DAP12 exhibit superior antitumor activity compared to standard first and second generation CD3ζ-based CARs in a xenograft model of mesothelioma highly resistant to immunotherapy. The enhanced antitumor activity is associated with improved retention of chimeric immunoreceptor expression and improved effector function of isolated tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. These results support the exploration of KIR-CARs for adoptive T-cell immunotherapy, particularly in immunotherapy-resistant solid tumors. PMID:25941351

"Appearance potent"? A content analysis of UK gay and straight men's magazines.

PubMed

Jankowski, Glen S; Fawkner, Helen; Slater, Amy; Tiggemann, Marika

2014-09-01

With little actual appraisal, a more 'appearance potent' (i.e., a reverence for appearance ideals) subculture has been used to explain gay men's greater body dissatisfaction in comparison to straight men's. This study sought to assess the respective appearance potency of each subculture by a content analysis of 32 issues of the most read gay (Attitude, Gay Times) and straight men's magazines (Men's Health, FHM) in the UK. Images of men and women were coded for their physical characteristics, objectification and nudity, as were the number of appearance adverts and articles. The gay men's magazines featured more images of men that were appearance ideal, nude and sexualized than the straight men's magazines. The converse was true for the images of women and appearance adverts. Although more research is needed to understand the effect of this content on the viewer, the findings are consistent with a more appearance potent gay male subculture. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Targeting putative mu opioid/metabotropic glutamate receptor-5 heteromers produces potent antinociception in a chronic murine bone cancer model.

PubMed

Smeester, Branden A; Lunzer, Mary M; Akgün, Eyup; Beitz, Alvin J; Portoghese, Philip S

2014-11-15

The therapeutic management of chronic pain associated with many cancers is problematic due to the development of tolerance and other adverse effects during the disease progression. Recently we reported on a bivalent ligand (MMG22) containing both mu agonist and mGluR5 antagonist pharmacophores that produced potent antinociception in mice with LPS-induced acute inflammatory pain via a putative MOR-mGluR5 heteromer. In the present study we have investigated the antinociception of MMG22 in a mouse model of bone cancer pain to determine its effectiveness in reducing this type of chronic nociception. There was a 572-fold increase in the potency of MMG22 over a period of 3-21 days that correlated with the progressive increase in hyperalgesia induced by bone tumor growth following implantation of fibrosarcoma cells in mice. The enhancement of antinociception with the progression of the cancer is possibly due to inhibition of NMDA receptor-mediated hyperalgesia via antagonism of mGluR5 and concomitant activation of MOR by the MMG22-occupied heteromer. Notably, MMG22 was 3.6-million-fold more potent than morphine at PID 21. Since MMG22 exhibited a 250,000-times greater potency than that of a mixture of the mu opioid (M19) agonist and mGluR5 antagonist (MG20) monovalent ligands, the data suggest that targeting the putative MOR-mGluR5 heteromer is far superior to univalent interaction with receptors in reducing tumor-induced nociception. In view of the high potency, long duration (>24h) of action and minimal side effects, MMG22 has the potential to be a superior pharmacological agent than morphine and other opiates in the treatment of chronic cancer pain and to serve as a novel pharmacologic tool. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An integrated computational approach of molecular dynamics simulations, receptor binding studies and pharmacophore mapping analysis in search of potent inhibitors against tuberculosis.

PubMed

Agarwal, Shivangi; Verma, Ekta; Kumar, Vivek; Lall, Namrita; Sau, Samaresh; Iyer, Arun K; Kashaw, Sushil K

2018-05-03

Tuberculosis is an infectious chronic disease caused by obligate pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis that affects millions of people worldwide. Although many first and second line drugs are available for its treatment, but their irrational use has adversely lead to the emerging cases of multiple drug resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis. Therefore, there is an intense need to develop novel potent analogues for its treatment. This has prompted us to develop potent analogues against TB. The Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome provides us with number of validated targets to combat against TB. Study of Mtb genome disclosed six epoxide hydrolases (A to F) which convert harmful epoxide into diols and act as a potential drug target for rational drug design. Our current strategy is to develop such analogues which inhibits epoxide hydrolase enzyme present in Mtb genome. To achieve this, we adopted an integrated computational approach involving QSAR, pharmacophore mapping, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation studies. The approach envisaged vital information about the role of molecular descriptors, essential pharmacophoric features and binding energy for compounds to bind into the active site of epoxide hydrolase. Molecular docking analysis revealed that analogues exhibited significant binding to Mtb epoxide hydrolase. Further, three docked complexes 2s, 37s and 15s with high, moderate and low docking scores respectively were selected for molecular dynamics simulation studies. RMSD analysis revealed that all complexes are stable with average RMSD below 2 Å throughout the 10 ns simulations. The B-factor analysis showed that the active site residues of epoxide hydrolase are flexible enough to interact with inhibitor. Moreover, to confirm the binding of these urea derivatives, MM-GBSA binding energy analysis were performed. The calculations showed that 37s has more binding affinity (ΔGtotal = -52.24 kcal/mol) towards epoxide hydrolase

Highly potent non-peptidic inhibitors of the HCV NS3/NS4A serine protease.

PubMed

Sperandio, David; Gangloff, Anthony R; Litvak, Joane; Goldsmith, Richard; Hataye, Jason M; Wang, Vivian R; Shelton, Emma J; Elrod, Kyle; Janc, James W; Clark, James M; Rice, Ken; Weinheimer, Steve; Yeung, Kap-Sun; Meanwell, Nicholas A; Hernandez, Dennis; Staab, Andrew J; Venables, Brian L; Spencer, Jeffrey R

2002-11-04

Screening of a diverse set of bisbenzimidazoles for inhibition of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) serine protease NS3/NS4A led to the identification of a potent Zn(2+)-dependent inhibitor (1). Optimization of this screening hit afforded a 10-fold more potent inhibitor (46) under Zn(2+) conditions (K(i)=27nM). This compound (46) binds also to NS3/NS4A in a Zn(2+) independent fashion (K(i)=1microM). The SAR of this class of compounds under Zn(2+) conditions is highly divergent compared to the SAR in the absence of Zn(2+), suggesting two distinct binding modes.

Online Exhibits & Concept Maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Douma, M.

2009-12-01

Presenting the complexity of geosciences to the public via the Internet poses a number of challenges. For example, utilizing various - and sometimes redundant - Web 2.0 tools can quickly devour limited time. Do you tweet? Do you write press releases? Do you create an exhibit or concept map? The presentation will provide participants with a context for utilizing Web 2.0 tools by briefly highlighting methods of online scientific communication across several dimensions. It will address issues of: * breadth and depth (e.g. from narrow topics to well-rounded views), * presentation methods (e.g. from text to multimedia, from momentary to enduring), * sources and audiences (e.g. for experts or for the public, content developed by producers to that developed by users), * content display (e.g. from linear to non-linear, from instructive to entertaining), * barriers to entry (e.g. from an incumbent advantage to neophyte accessible, from amateur to professional), * cost and reach (e.g. from cheap to expensive), and * impact (e.g. the amount learned, from anonymity to brand awareness). Against this backdrop, the presentation will provide an overview of two methods of online information dissemination, exhibits and concept maps, using the WebExhibits online museum (www.webexhibits.org) and SpicyNodes information visualization tool (www.spicynodes.org) as examples, with tips on how geoscientists can use either to communicate their science. Richly interactive online exhibits can serve to engage a large audience, appeal to visitors with multiple learning styles, prompt exploration and discovery, and present a topic’s breadth and depth. WebExhibits, which was among the first online museums, delivers interactive information, virtual experiments, and hands-on activities to the public. While large, multidisciplinary exhibits on topics like “Color Vision and Art” or “Calendars Through the Ages” require teams of scholars, user interface experts, professional writers and editors

The discovery of thienopyridine analogues as potent IkappaB kinase beta inhibitors. Part II.

PubMed

Wu, Jiang-Ping; Fleck, Roman; Brickwood, Janice; Capolino, Alison; Catron, Katrina; Chen, Zhidong; Cywin, Charles; Emeigh, Jonathan; Foerst, Melissa; Ginn, John; Hrapchak, Matt; Hickey, Eugene; Hao, Ming-Hong; Kashem, Mohammed; Li, Jun; Liu, Weimin; Morwick, Tina; Nelson, Richard; Marshall, Daniel; Martin, Leslie; Nemoto, Peter; Potocki, Ian; Liuzzi, Michel; Peet, Gregory W; Scouten, Erika; Stefany, David; Turner, Michael; Weldon, Steve; Zimmitti, Clare; Spero, Denise; Kelly, Terence A

2009-10-01

An SAR study that identified a series of thienopyridine-based potent IkappaB Kinase beta (IKKbeta) inhibitors is described. With focuses on the structural optimization at C4 and C6 of structure 1 (Fig. 1), the study reveals that small alkyl and certain aromatic groups are preferred at C4, whereas polar groups with proper orientation at C6 efficiently enhance compound potency. The most potent analogues inhibit IKKbeta with IC50s as low as 40 nM, suppress LPS-induced TNF-alpha production in vitro and in vivo, display good kinase selectivity profiles, and are active in a HeLa cell NF-kappaB reporter gene assay, demonstrating that they directly interfere with the NF-kappaB signaling pathway.

Potent influenza A virus entry inhibitors targeting a conserved region of hemagglutinin.

PubMed

Lin, Dongguo; Luo, Yinzhu; Yang, Guang; Li, Fangfang; Xie, Xiangkun; Chen, Daiwei; He, Lifang; Wang, Jingyu; Ye, Chunfeng; Lu, Shengsheng; Lv, Lin; Liu, Shuwen; He, Jian

2017-11-15

Influenza A viruses (IAVs) induce acute respiratory disease and cause significant morbidity and mortality throughout the world. With the emergence of drug-resistant viral strains, new and effective anti-IAV drugs with different modes of action are urgently needed. In this study, by conjugating cholesterol to the N-terminus of the short peptide KKWK, a lipopeptide named S-KKWK was created. The anti-IAV test indicated that S-KKWK and its derivatives displayed potent antiviral activities against a broad variety of influenza A viral strains including oseltamivir-resistant strains and clinically relevant isolates with IC 50 values ranging from 0.7 to 3.0µM. An extensive mechanistic study showed that these peptides functioned as viral "entry blockers" by inhibiting the conformational rearrangements of HA2 subunit, thereby interrupting the fusion of virus-host cell membranes. Significantly, a computer-aided docking simulation and protein sequence alignment identified conserved residues in the stem region of HA2 as the possible binding site of S-KKWK, which may be employed as a potential drug target for designing anti-IAVs with a broad-spectrum of activity. By targeting this region, a potent anti-IAV agent was subsequently created. In addition, the anti-IAV activity of S-KKWK was assessed by experiments with influenza A virus-infected mice, in which S-KKWK reduced the mortality of infected animals and extended survival time significantly. Overall, in addition to providing a strategy for designing broad-spectrum anti-IAV agents, these results indicate that S-KKWK and its derivatives are prospective candidates for potent antivirals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Peptide Fragments of a β-Defensin Derivative with Potent Bactericidal Activity ▿

PubMed Central

Reynolds, Natalie L.; De Cecco, Martin; Taylor, Karen; Stanton, Chloe; Kilanowski, Fiona; Kalapothakis, Jason; Seo, Emily; Uhrin, Dusan; Campopiano, Dominic; Govan, John; Macmillan, Derek; Barran, Perdita; Dorin, Julia R.

2010-01-01

β-Defensins are known to be both antimicrobial and able to chemoattract various immune cells. Although the sequences of paralogous genes are not highly conserved, the core defensin structure is retained. Defb14-1CV has bactericidal activity similar to that of its parent peptide (murine β-defensin Defb14) despite all but one of the canonical six cysteines being replaced with alanines. The 23-amino-acid N-terminal half of Defb14-1CV is a potent antimicrobial while the C-terminal half is not. Here, we use a library of peptide derivatives to demonstrate that the antimicrobial activity can be localized to a particular region. Overlapping fragments of the N-terminal region were tested for their ability to kill Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. We demonstrate that the most N-terminal fragments (amino acids 1 to 10 and 6 to 17) are potent antimicrobials against Gram-negative bacteria whereas fragments based on sequence more C terminal than amino acid 13 have very poor activity against both Gram-positive and -negative types. We further test a series of N-terminal deletion peptides in both their monomeric and dimeric forms. We find that bactericidal activity is lost against both Gram types as the deletion region increases, with the point at which this occurs varying between bacterial strains. The dimeric form of the peptides is more resistant to the peptide deletions, but this is not due just to increased charge. Our results indicate that the primary sequence, together with structure, is essential in the bactericidal action of this β-defensin derivative peptide and importantly identifies a short fragment from the peptide that is a potent bactericide. PMID:20176896

Graphene-Iodine Nanocomposites: Highly Potent Bacterial Inhibitors that are Bio-compatible with Human Cells

PubMed Central

Some, Surajit; Sohn, Ji Soo; Kim, Junmoo; Lee, Su-Hyun; Lee, Su Chan; Lee, Jungpyo; Shackery, Iman; Kim, Sang Kyum; Kim, So Hyun; Choi, Nakwon; Cho, Il-Joo; Jung, Hyo-Il; Kang, Shinill; Jun, Seong Chan

2016-01-01

Graphene-composites, capable of inhibiting bacterial growth which is also bio-compatible with human cells have been highly sought after. Here we report for the first time the preparation of new graphene-iodine nano-composites via electrostatic interactions between positively charged graphene derivatives and triiodide anions. The resulting composites were characterized by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, UV-spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and Scanning electron microscopy. The antibacterial potential of these graphene-iodine composites against Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirobilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and E. coli was investigated. In addition, the cytotoxicity of the nanocomposite with human cells [human white blood cells (WBC), HeLa, MDA-MB-231, Fibroblast (primary human keratinocyte) and Keratinocyte (immortalized fibroblast)], was assessed. DGO (Double-oxidizes graphene oxide) was prepared by the additional oxidation of GO (graphene oxide). This generates more oxygen containing functional groups that can readily trap more H+, thus generating a positively charged surface area under highly acidic conditions. This step allowed bonding with a greater number of anionic triiodides and generated the most potent antibacterial agent among graphene-iodine and as-made povidone-iodine (PVP-I) composites also exhibited nontoxic to human cells culture. Thus, these nano-composites can be used to inhibit the growth of various bacterial species. Importantly, they are also very low-cytotoxic to human cells culture. PMID:26843066

Screening of Natural Product Derivatives Identifies Two Structurally Related Flavonoids as Potent Quorum Sensing Inhibitors against Gram-Negative Bacteria.

PubMed

Manner, Suvi; Fallarero, Adyary

2018-05-03

Owing to the failure of conventional antibiotics in biofilm control, alternative approaches are urgently needed. Inhibition of quorum sensing (QS) represents an attractive target since it is involved in several processes essential for biofilm formation. In this study, a compound library of natural product derivatives ( n = 3040) was screened for anti-quorum sensing activity using Chromobacterium violaceum as reporter bacteria. Screening assays, based on QS-mediated violacein production and viability, were performed in parallel to identify non-bactericidal QS inhibitors (QSIs). Nine highly active QSIs were identified, while 328 compounds were classified as moderately actives and 2062 compounds as inactives. Re-testing of the highly actives at a lower concentration against C. violaceum , complemented by a literature search, led to the identification of two flavonoid derivatives as the most potent QSIs, and their impact on biofilm maturation in Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was further investigated. Finally, effects of these leads on swimming and swarming motility of P. aeruginosa were quantified. The identified flavonoids affected all the studied QS-related functions at micromolar concentrations. These compounds can serve as starting points for further optimization and development of more potent QSIs as adjunctive agents used with antibiotics in the treatment of biofilms.

Forging a potent vaccine adjuvant: CpG ODN/cationic peptide nanorings.

PubMed

Gungor, Bilgi; Yagci, Fuat Cem; Gursel, Ihsan; Gursel, Mayda

Type I interferon inducers may potentially be engineered to function as antiviral and anticancer agents, or alternatively, vaccine adjuvants, all of which may have clinical applications. We recently described a simple strategy to convert a Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonist devoid of interferon α (IFNα) stimulating activity into a robust Type I interferon inducer with potent vaccine adjuvant activity.

Superconductive microstrip exhibiting negative differential resistivity

DOEpatents

Huebener, R.P.; Gallus, D.E.

1975-10-28

A device capable of exhibiting negative differential electrical resistivity over a range of values of current and voltage is formed by vapor- depositing a thin layer of a material capable of exhibiting superconductivity on an insulating substrate, establishing electrical connections at opposite ends of the deposited strip, and cooling the alloy into its superconducting range. The device will exhibit negative differential resistivity when biased in the current- induced resistive state.

Exhibitions in Sight

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wasserman, Burton

1977-01-01

Today, few artists make serving vessels on a monumental scale. Here artists compete in this unique area of specialization prompted by the Campbell Museum in Camden, New Jersey, which is dedicated to collecting and exhibiting the very best in soup tureens. (Author/RK)

METHYLATION INACTIVATES PENTAVALENT ARSENIC SPECIES BUT ACTIVATES TRIVALENT ARSENIC SPECIES TO POTENT GENOTOXICANTS

EPA Science Inventory

Methylation Inactivates Pentavalent Arsenic Species but Activates Trivalent Arsenic Species to Potent Genotoxicants

The sensitivity ofhumans to arsenic-induced cancer is thought to be related in part to the limited ability of humans to detoxify arsenic. Recently, methyl- ...

Identification of azabenzimidazoles as potent JAK1 selective inhibitors.

PubMed

Vasbinder, Melissa M; Alimzhanov, Marat; Augustin, Martin; Bebernitz, Geraldine; Bell, Kirsten; Chuaqui, Claudio; Deegan, Tracy; Ferguson, Andrew D; Goodwin, Kelly; Huszar, Dennis; Kawatkar, Aarti; Kawatkar, Sameer; Read, Jon; Shi, Jie; Steinbacher, Stefan; Steuber, Holger; Su, Qibin; Toader, Dorin; Wang, Haixia; Woessner, Richard; Wu, Allan; Ye, Minwei; Zinda, Michael

2016-01-01

We have identified a class of azabenzimidazoles as potent and selective JAK1 inhibitors. Investigations into the SAR are presented along with the structural features required to achieve selectivity for JAK1 versus other JAK family members. An example from the series demonstrated highly selective inhibition of JAK1 versus JAK2 and JAK3, along with inhibition of pSTAT3 in vivo, enabling it to serve as a JAK1 selective tool compound to further probe the biology of JAK1 selective inhibitors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design, synthesis, in silico and in vitro studies of novel 4-methylthiazole-5-carboxylic acid derivatives as potent anti-cancer agents.

PubMed

Kilaru, Ravendra Babu; Valasani, Koteswara Rao; Yellapu, Nanda Kumar; Osuru, Hari Prasad; Kuruva, Chandra Sekhar; Matcha, Bhaskar; Chamarthi, Naga Raju

2014-09-15

Since inhibitors of mucin onco proteins are potential targets for breast cancer therapy, a series of novel 4-methylthiazole-5-carboxylic acid (1) derivatives 3a-k were synthesized by the reaction of 1 with SOCl2 followed by different bases/alcohols in the presence of triethylamine. Once synthesized and characterized, their binding modes with MUC1 were studied by molecular docking analysis using Aruglab 4.0.1 and QSAR properties were determined using HyperChem. All synthesized compounds were screened for in vitro anti-breast cancer activity against MDA-MB-231 breast adenocarcinoma cell lines by Trypan-blue cell viability assay and MTT methods. Compounds 1, 3b, 3d, 3e, 3i and 3f showed good anti-breast cancer activity. Since 1 and 3d exhibited high potent activity against MDA-MB-231 cell lines, they show could be effective mucin onco protein inhibitors. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Efficient Buchwald-Hartwig/Reductive Cyclization for the Scaffold Diversification of Halogenated Phenazines: Potent Antibacterial Targeting, Biofilm Eradication, and Prodrug Exploration.

PubMed

Garrison, Aaron T; Abouelhassan, Yasmeen; Kallifidas, Dimitris; Tan, Hao; Kim, Young S; Jin, Shouguang; Luesch, Hendrik; Huigens, Robert W

2018-05-10

Bacterial biofilms are surface-attached communities comprised of nonreplicating persister cells housed within a protective extracellular matrix. Biofilms display tolerance toward conventional antibiotics, occur in ∼80% of infections, and lead to >500000 deaths annually. We recently identified halogenated phenazine (HP) analogues which demonstrate biofilm-eradicating activities against priority pathogens; however, the synthesis of phenazines presents limitations. Herein, we report a refined HP synthesis which expedited the identification of improved biofilm-eradicating agents. 1-Methoxyphenazine scaffolds were generated through a Buchwald-Hartwig cross-coupling (70% average yield) and subsequent reductive cyclization (68% average yield), expediting the discovery of potent biofilm-eradicating HPs (e.g., 61: MRSA BAA-1707 MBEC = 4.69 μM). We also developed bacterial-selective prodrugs (reductively activated quinone-alkyloxycarbonyloxymethyl moiety) to afford HP 87, which demonstrated excellent antibacterial and biofilm eradication activities against MRSA BAA-1707 (MIC = 0.15 μM, MBEC = 12.5 μM). Furthermore, active HPs herein exhibit negligible cytotoxic or hemolytic effects, highlighting their potential to target biofilms.

Biochemical and pharmacological properties of SR 49059, a new, potent, nonpeptide antagonist of rat and human vasopressin V1a receptors.

PubMed

Serradeil-Le Gal, C; Wagnon, J; Garcia, C; Lacour, C; Guiraudou, P; Christophe, B; Villanova, G; Nisato, D; Maffrand, J P; Le Fur, G

1993-07-01

SR 49059, a new potent and selective orally active, nonpeptide vasopressin (AVP) antagonist has been characterized in several in vitro and in vivo models. SR 49059 showed high affinity for V1a receptors from rat liver (Ki = 1.6 +/- 0.2) and human platelets, adrenals, and myometrium (Ki ranging from 1.1 to 6.3 nM). The previously described nonpeptide V1 antagonist, OPC-21268, was almost inactive in human tissues at concentrations up to 100 microM. SR 49059 exhibited much lower affinity (two orders of magnitude or more) for AVP V2 (bovine and human), V1b (human), and oxytocin (rat and human) receptors and had no measurable affinity for a great number of other receptors. In vitro, AVP-induced contraction of rat caudal artery was competitively antagonized by SR 49059 (pA2 = 9.42). Furthermore, SR 49059 inhibited AVP-induced human platelet aggregation with an IC50 value of 3.7 +/- 0.4 nM, while OPC-21268 was inactive up to 20 microM. In vivo, SR 49059 inhibited the pressor response to exogenous AVP in pithed rats (intravenous) and in conscious normotensive rats (intravenous and per os) with a long duration of action (> 8 h at 10 mg/kg p.o). In all the biological assays used, SR 49059 was devoid of any intrinsic agonistic activity. Thus, SR 49059 is the most potent and selective nonpeptide AVP V1a antagonist described so far, with marked affinity, selectivity, and efficacy toward both animal and human receptors. With this original profile, SR 49059 constitutes a powerful tool for exploring the therapeutical usefulness of a selective V1a antagonist.

Development of Potent Antiviral Drugs Inspired by Viral Hexameric DNA-Packaging Motors with Revolving Mechanism

PubMed Central

Pi, Fengmei; Zhao, Zhengyi; Chelikani, Venkata; Yoder, Kristine; Kvaratskhelia, Mamuka

2016-01-01

The intracellular parasitic nature of viruses and the emergence of antiviral drug resistance necessitate the development of new potent antiviral drugs. Recently, a method for developing potent inhibitory drugs by targeting biological machines with high stoichiometry and a sequential-action mechanism was described. Inspired by this finding, we reviewed the development of antiviral drugs targeting viral DNA-packaging motors. Inhibiting multisubunit targets with sequential actions resembles breaking one bulb in a series of Christmas lights, which turns off the entire string. Indeed, studies on viral DNA packaging might lead to the development of new antiviral drugs. Recent elucidation of the mechanism of the viral double-stranded DNA (dsDNA)-packaging motor with sequential one-way revolving motion will promote the development of potent antiviral drugs with high specificity and efficiency. Traditionally, biomotors have been classified into two categories: linear and rotation motors. Recently discovered was a third type of biomotor, including the viral DNA-packaging motor, beside the bacterial DNA translocases, that uses a revolving mechanism without rotation. By analogy, rotation resembles the Earth's rotation on its own axis, while revolving resembles the Earth's revolving around the Sun (see animations at http://rnanano.osu.edu/movie.html). Herein, we review the structures of viral dsDNA-packaging motors, the stoichiometries of motor components, and the motion mechanisms of the motors. All viral dsDNA-packaging motors, including those of dsDNA/dsRNA bacteriophages, adenoviruses, poxviruses, herpesviruses, mimiviruses, megaviruses, pandoraviruses, and pithoviruses, contain a high-stoichiometry machine composed of multiple components that work cooperatively and sequentially. Thus, it is an ideal target for potent drug development based on the power function of the stoichiometries of target complexes that work sequentially. PMID:27356896

New Pyrazolopyrimidine Inhibitors of Protein Kinase D as Potent Anticancer Agents for Prostate Cancer Cells

PubMed Central

Tandon, Manuj; Johnson, James; Li, Zhihong; Xu, Shuping; Wipf, Peter; Wang, Qiming Jane

2013-01-01

The emergence of protein kinase D (PKD) as a potential therapeutic target for several diseases including cancer has triggered the search for potent, selective, and cell-permeable small molecule inhibitors. In this study, we describe the identification, in vitro characterization, structure-activity analysis, and biological evaluation of a novel PKD inhibitory scaffold exemplified by 1-naphthyl PP1 (1-NA-PP1). 1-NA-PP1 and IKK-16 were identified as pan-PKD inhibitors in a small-scale targeted kinase inhibitor library assay. Both screening hits inhibited PKD isoforms at about 100 nM and were ATP-competitive inhibitors. Analysis of several related kinases indicated that 1-NA-PP1 was highly selective for PKD as compared to IKK-16. SAR analysis showed that 1-NA-PP1 was considerably more potent and showed distinct substituent effects at the pyrazolopyrimidine core. 1-NA-PP1 was cell-active, and potently blocked prostate cancer cell proliferation by inducing G2/M arrest. It also potently blocked the migration and invasion of prostate cancer cells, demonstrating promising anticancer activities on multiple fronts. Overexpression of PKD1 or PKD3 almost completely reversed the growth arrest and the inhibition of tumor cell invasion caused by 1-NA-PP1, indicating that its anti-proliferative and anti-invasive activities were mediated through the inhibition of PKD. Interestingly, a 12-fold increase in sensitivity to 1-NA-PP1 could be achieved by engineering a gatekeeper mutation in the active site of PKD1, suggesting that 1-NA-PP1 could be paired with the analog-sensitive PKD1M659G for dissecting PKD-specific functions and signaling pathways in various biological systems. PMID:24086585

Cinnamic acid/chloroquinoline conjugates as potent agents against chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum.

PubMed

Pérez, Bianca; Teixeira, Cátia; Gut, Jiri; Rosenthal, Philip J; Gomes, José R B; Gomes, Paula

2012-09-01

Cinnamic acid derivatives containing a 4-amino-7-chloroquinoline scaffold (blue) and substituted cinnamoyl building blocks (green) linked through an alkylamine chain (red) were found to have potent (11-59 nM) in vitro activities against erythrocytic chloroquine- resistant Plasmodium falciparum. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Exhibition Spaces/Galleries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American School & University, 2003

2003-01-01

Presents educational exhibition space/galleries considered outstanding in a competition, which judged the most outstanding learning environments at educational institutions nationwide. Jurors spent two days reviewing projects, highlighting concepts and ideas that made them exceptional. For each citation, the article offers information on the firm,…

4-substituted cyclohexyl sulfones as potent, orally active gamma-secretase inhibitors.

PubMed

Churcher, Ian; Beher, Dirk; Best, Jonathan D; Castro, José L; Clarke, Earl E; Gentry, Amy; Harrison, Timothy; Hitzel, Laure; Kay, Euan; Kerrad, Sonia; Lewis, Huw D; Morentin-Gutierrez, Pablo; Mortishire-Smith, Russell; Oakley, Paul J; Reilly, Michael; Shaw, Duncan E; Shearman, Mark S; Teall, Martin R; Williams, Susie; Wrigley, Jonathan D J

2006-01-15

The protease gamma-secretase plays a pivotal role in the synthesis of pathogenic amyloid-beta in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we report a further extension to a series of cyclohexyl sulfone-based gamma-secretase inhibitors which has allowed the preparation of highly potent compounds which also demonstrate robust Abeta(40) lowering in vivo (e.g., compound 32, MED 1mg/kg p.o. in APP-YAC mice).

Fragment-Based Drug Discovery of Potent Protein Kinase C Iota Inhibitors.

PubMed

Kwiatkowski, Jacek; Liu, Boping; Tee, Doris Hui Ying; Chen, Guoying; Ahmad, Nur Huda Binte; Wong, Yun Xuan; Poh, Zhi Ying; Ang, Shi Hua; Tan, Eldwin Sum Wai; Ong, Esther Hq; Nurul Dinie; Poulsen, Anders; Pendharkar, Vishal; Sangthongpitag, Kanda; Lee, May Ann; Sepramaniam, Sugunavathi; Ho, Soo Yei; Cherian, Joseph; Hill, Jeffrey; Keller, Thomas H; Hung, Alvin W

2018-05-24

Protein kinase C iota (PKC-ι) is an atypical kinase implicated in the promotion of different cancer types. A biochemical screen of a fragment library has identified several hits from which an azaindole-based scaffold was chosen for optimization. Driven by a structure-activity relationship and supported by molecular modeling, a weakly bound fragment was systematically grown into a potent and selective inhibitor against PKC-ι.

Molecular Docking, Pharmacophore, and 3D-QSAR Approach: Can Adenine Derivatives Exhibit Significant Inhibitor Towards Ebola Virus?

PubMed Central

Rai, Amit; Aboumanei, Mohamed H.; Verma, Suraj P.; Kumar, Sachidanand; Raj, Vinit

2017-01-01

Introduction: Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is caused by Ebola virus, which is often accompanied by fatal hemorrhagic fever upon infection in humans. This virus has caused the majority of deaths in human. There are no proper vaccinations and medications available for EVD. It is pivoting the attraction of scientist to develop the potent vaccination or novel lead to inhibit Ebola virus. Methods & Materials: In the present study, we developed 3D-QSAR and the pharmacophoric model from the previous reported potent compounds for the Ebola virus. Results & Discussion: Results & Discussion: The pharmacophoric model AAAP.116 was generated with better survival value and selectivity. Moreover, the 3D-QSAR model also showed the best r2 value 0.99 using PLS factor. Thereby, we found the higher F value, which demonstrated the statistical significance of both the models. Furthermore, homological modeling and molecular docking study were performed to analyze the affinity of the potent lead. This showed the best binding energy and bond formation with targeted protein. Conclusion: Finally, all the results of this study concluded that 3D-QSAR and Pharmacophore models may be helpful to search potent lead for EVD treatment in future. PMID:29387271

Recreational runners with patellofemoral pain exhibit elevated patella water content.

PubMed

Ho, Kai-Yu; Hu, Houchun H; Colletti, Patrick M; Powers, Christopher M

2014-09-01

Increased bone water content resulting from repetitive patellofemoral joint overloading has been suggested to be a possible mechanism underlying patellofemoral pain (PFP). To date, it remains unknown whether persons with PFP exhibit elevated bone water content. The purpose of this study was to determine whether recreational runners with PFP exhibit elevated patella water content when compared to pain-free controls. Ten female recreational runners with a diagnosis of PFP (22 to 39years of age) and 10 gender, age, weight, height, and activity matched controls underwent chemical-shift-encoded water-fat magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to quantify patella water content (i.e., water-signal fraction). Differences in bone water content of the total patella, lateral aspect of the patella, and medial aspect of the patella were compared between groups using independent t tests. Compared with the control group, the PFP group demonstrated significantly greater total patella bone water content (15.4±3.5% vs. 10.3±2.1%; P=0.001), lateral patella water content (17.2±4.2% vs. 11.5±2.5%; P=0.002), and medial patella water content (13.2±2.7% vs. 8.4±2.3%; P<0.001). The higher patella water content observed in female runners with PFP is suggestive of venous engorgement and elevated extracellular fluid. In turn, this may lead to an increase in intraosseous pressure and pain. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New fluoroprostaglandin F(2alpha) derivatives with prostanoid FP-receptor agonistic activity as potent ocular-hypotensive agents.

PubMed

Nakajima, Tadashi; Matsugi, Takeshi; Goto, Wakana; Kageyama, Masaaki; Mori, Nobuaki; Matsumura, Yasushi; Hara, Hideaki

2003-12-01

To find new prostanoid FP-receptor agonists possessing potent ocular-hypotensive effects with minimal side effects, we evaluated the agonistic activities of newly synthesized prostaglandin F(2alpha) derivatives for the prostanoid FP-receptor both in vitro and in vivo. The iris constrictions induced by the derivatives and their effects on melanin content were examined using cat isolated iris sphincters and cultured B16 melanoma cells, respectively. The effects of derivative ester forms on miosis and intraocular pressure (IOP) were evaluated in cats and cynomolgus monkeys, respectively. Of these derivatives, 6 out of 12 compounds were more potent iris constrictors, with EC(50) values of 0.6 to 9.4 nM, than a carboxylic acid of latanoprost (EC(50)=13.6 nM). A carboxylic acid of latanoprost (100 microM) significantly increased the melanin content of cultured B16 melanoma cells, but some 15,15-difluoro derivatives, such as AFP-157 and AFP-172, did not. Topically applied AFP-168, AFP-169 and AFP-175 (isopropyl ester, methyl ester and ethyl ester forms, respectively, of AFP-172) induced miosis in cats more potently than latanoprost. AFP-168 (0.0005%) reduced IOP to the same extent as 0.005% latanoprost (for at least 8 h). These findings indicate that 15,15-difluoroprostaglandin F(2alpha) derivatives, especially AFP-168, have more potent prostanoid FP-receptor agonistic activities than latanoprost. Hence, AFP-168 may be worthy of further evaluation as an ocular-hypotensive agent.

Discovery of novel Tetrahydrobenzo[b]thiophene and pyrrole based scaffolds as potent and selective CB2 receptor ligands: The structural elements controlling binding affinity, selectivity and functionality.

PubMed

Osman, Noha A; Ligresti, Alessia; Klein, Christian D; Allarà, Marco; Rabbito, Alessandro; Di Marzo, Vincenzo; Abouzid, Khaled A; Abadi, Ashraf H

2016-10-21

CB2-based therapeutics show strong potential in the treatment of diverse diseases such as inflammation, multiple sclerosis, pain, immune-related disorders, osteoporosis and cancer, without eliciting the typical neurobehavioral side effects of CB1 ligands. For this reason, research activities are currently directed towards the development of CB2 selective ligands. Herein, the synthesis of novel heterocyclic-based CB2 selective compounds is reported. A set of 2,5-dialkyl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrrole-3-carboxamides, 5-subtituted-2-(acylamino)/(2-sulphonylamino)-thiophene-3-carboxylates and 2-(acylamino)/(2-sulphonylamino)-tetrahydrobenzo[b]thiophene-3-carboxylates were synthesized. Biological results revealed compounds with remarkably high CB2 binding affinity and CB2/CB1 subtype selectivity. Compound 19a and 19b from the pyrrole series exhibited the highest CB2 receptor affinity (Ki = 7.59 and 6.15 nM, respectively), as well as the highest CB2/CB1 subtype selectivity (∼70 and ∼200-fold, respectively). In addition, compound 6b from the tetrahydrobenzo[b]thiophene series presented the most potent and selective CB2 ligand in this series (Ki = 2.15 nM and CB2 subtype selectivity of almost 500-fold over CB1). Compound 6b showed a full agonism, while compounds 19a and 19b acted as inverse agonists when tested in an adenylate cyclase assay. The present findings thus pave the way to the design and optimization of heterocyclic-based scaffolds with lipophilic carboxamide and/or retroamide substituent that can be exploited as potential CB2 receptor activity modulators. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Synthesis of organic nitrates of luteolin as a novel class of potent aldose reductase inhibitors.

PubMed

Wang, Qi-Qin; Cheng, Ning; Zheng, Xiao-Wei; Peng, Sheng-Ming; Zou, Xiao-Qing

2013-07-15

Aldose reductase (AR) plays an important role in the design of drugs that prevent and treat diabetic complications. Aldose reductase inhibitors (ARIs) have received significant attentions as potent therapeutic drugs. Based on combination principles, three series of luteolin derivatives were synthesised and evaluated for their AR inhibitory activity and nitric oxide (NO)-releasing capacity in vitro. Eighteen compounds were found to be potent ARIs with IC50 values ranging from (0.099±0.008) μM to (2.833±0.102) μM. O(7)-Nitrooxyethyl-O(3'),O(4')-ethylidene luteolin (La1) showed the most potent AR inhibitory activity [IC50=(0.099±0.008) μM]. All organic nitrate derivatives released low concentrations of NO in the presence of l-cysteine. Structure-activity relationship studies suggested that introduction of an NO donor, protection of the catechol structure, and the ether chain of a 2-carbon spacer as a coupling chain on the luteolin scaffold all help increase the AR inhibitory activity of the resulting compound. This class of NO-donor luteolin derivatives as efficient ARIs offer a new concept for the development and design of new drug for preventive and therapeutic drugs for diabetic complications. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A sulforaphane analogue that potently activates the Nrf2-dependent detoxification pathway.

PubMed

Morimitsu, Yasujiro; Nakagawa, Yoko; Hayashi, Kazuhiro; Fujii, Hiroyuki; Kumagai, Takeshi; Nakamura, Yoshimasa; Osawa, Toshihiko; Horio, Fumihiko; Itoh, Ken; Iida, Katsuyuki; Yamamoto, Masayuki; Uchida, Koji

2002-02-01

Exposure of cells to a wide variety of chemoprotective compounds confers resistance to a broad set of carcinogens. For a subset of the chemoprotective compounds, protection is generated by an increase in the abundance of the protective phase II detoxification enzymes, such as glutathione S-transferase (GST). We have recently developed a cell culture system, using rat liver epithelial RL 34 cells, that potently responds to the phenolic antioxidants resulting in the induction of GST activity (Kawamoto, Y., Nakamura, Y., Naito, Y., Torii, Y., Kumagai, T., Osawa, T., Ohigashi, H., Satoh, K., Imagawa, M., and Uchida, K. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 11291-11299.) In the present study, we investigated the phase II-inducing potency of an isothiocyanate compound in vitro and in vivo and examined a possible induction mechanism. Based on an extensive screening of vegetable extracts for GST inducer activity in RL34 cells, we found Japanese horseradish, wasabi (Wasabia japonica, syn. Eutrema wasabi), as the richest source and identified 6-methylsulfinylhexyl isothiocyanate (6-HITC), an analogue of sulforaphane (4-methylsulfinylbutyl isothiocyanate) isolated from broccoli, as the major GST inducer in wasabi. 6-HITC potently induced both class alpha GSTA1 and class pi GSTP1 isozymes in RL34 cells. In animal experiments, we found that 6-MSHI was rapidly absorbed into the body and induced hepatic phase II detoxification enzymes more potently than sulforaphane. The observations that (i) 6-HITC activated the antioxidant response element (ARE), (ii) 6-HITC induced nuclear localization of the transcription factor Nrf2 that binds to ARE, and (iii) the induction of phase II enzyme genes by 6-HITC was completely abrogated in the nrf2-deficient mice, suggest that 6-HITC is a potential activator of the Nrf2/ARE-dependent detoxification pathway.

Oxime Ethers of (E)-11-Isonitrosostrychnine as Highly Potent Glycine Receptor Antagonists.

PubMed

Mohsen, Amal M Y; Mandour, Yasmine M; Sarukhanyan, Edita; Breitinger, Ulrike; Villmann, Carmen; Banoub, Maha M; Breitinger, Hans-Georg; Dandekar, Thomas; Holzgrabe, Ulrike; Sotriffer, Christoph; Jensen, Anders A; Zlotos, Darius P

2016-12-23

A series of (E)-11-isonitrosostrychnine oxime ethers, 2-aminostrychnine, (strychnine-2-yl)propionamide, 18-oxostrychnine, and N-propylstrychnine bromide were synthesized and evaluated pharmacologically at human α1 and α1β glycine receptors in a functional fluorescence-based and a whole-cell patch-clamp assay and in [ 3 H]strychnine binding studies. 2-Aminostrychnine and the methyl, allyl, and propargyl oxime ethers were the most potent α1 and α1β antagonists in the series, displaying IC 50 values similar to those of strychnine at the two receptors. Docking experiments to the strychnine binding site of the crystal structure of the α3 glycine receptor indicated the same orientation of the strychnine core for all analogues. For the most potent oxime ethers, the ether substituent was accommodated in a lipophilic receptor binding pocket. The findings identify the oxime hydroxy group as a suitable attachment point for linking two strychnine pharmacophores by a polymethylene spacer and are, therefore, important for the design of bivalent ligands targeting glycine receptors.

Human urotensin-II is a potent spasmogen of primate airway smooth muscle

PubMed Central

Hay, Douglas W P; Luttmann, Mark A; Douglas, Stephen A

2000-01-01

The contractile profile of human urotensin-II (hU-II) was examined in primate airway and pulmonary vascular tissues. hU-II contracted tissues from different airway regions with similar potencies (pD2s from 8.6 to 9.2). However, there were regional differences in the efficacy of hU-II, with a progressive increase in the maximum contraction from trachea to smaller airway regions (from 9 to 41% of the contraction to 10 μM carbachol). hU-II potently contracted pulmonary artery tissues from different regions with similar potencies and efficacies: pD2s=8.7 to 9.3 and maximal contractions=79 to 86% of 60 mM KCl. hU-II potently contracted pulmonary vein preparations taken proximal to the atria, but had no effect in tissues from distal to the atria. This is the first report describing the contractile activity of hU-II in airways and suggests that the potential pathophysiological role of this peptide in lung diseases warrants investigation. PMID:10960062

Bis-Aryl Urea Derivatives as Potent and Selective LIM Kinase (Limk) Inhibitors

PubMed Central

Yin, Yan; Zheng, Ke; Eid, Nibal; Howard, Shannon; Jeong, Ji-Hak; Yi, Fei; Guo, Jia; Park, Chul M; Bibian, Mathieu; Wu, Weilin; Hernandez, Pamela; Park, HaJeung; Wu, Yuntao; Luo, Jun-Li; LoGrasso, Philip V.; Feng, Yangbo

2015-01-01

The discovery/optimization of bis-aryl ureas as Limk inhibitors to obtain high potency and selectivity, and appropriate pharmacokinetic properties through systematic SAR studies is reported. Docking studies supported the observed SAR. Optimized Limk inhibitors had high biochemical potency (IC50 < 25 nM), excellent selectivity against ROCK and JNK kinases (> 400-fold), potent inhibition of cofilin phosphorylation in A7r5,PC-3, and CEM-SS T cells (IC50 < 1 μM), and good in vitro and in vivo pharmacokinetic properties. In the profiling against a panel of 61 kinases, compound 18b at 1 μM inhibited only Limk1 and STK16 with ≥ 80% inhibition. Compounds 18b and 18f were highly efficient in inhibiting cell-invasion/migration in PC-3 cells. In addition, compound 18w was demonstrated to be effective on reducing intraocular pressure (IOP) on rat eyes. Taken together, these data demonstrated that we had developed a novel class of bis-aryl urea derived potent and selective Limk inhibitors. PMID:25621531

A New Class of Antibody-Drug Conjugates with Potent DNA Alkylating Activity.

PubMed

Miller, Michael L; Fishkin, Nathan E; Li, Wei; Whiteman, Kathleen R; Kovtun, Yelena; Reid, Emily E; Archer, Katie E; Maloney, Erin K; Audette, Charlene A; Mayo, Michele F; Wilhelm, Alan; Modafferi, Holly A; Singh, Rajeeva; Pinkas, Jan; Goldmacher, Victor; Lambert, John M; Chari, Ravi V J

2016-08-01

The promise of tumor-selective delivery of cytotoxic agents in the form of antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) has now been realized, evidenced by the approval of two ADCs, both of which incorporate highly cytotoxic tubulin-interacting agents, for cancer therapy. An ongoing challenge remains in identifying potent agents with alternative mechanisms of cell killing that can provide ADCs with high therapeutic indices and favorable tolerability. Here, we describe the development of a new class of potent DNA alkylating agents that meets these objectives. Through chemical design, we changed the mechanism of action of our novel DNA cross-linking agent to a monofunctional DNA alkylator. This modification, coupled with linker optimization, generated ADCs that were well tolerated in mice and demonstrated robust antitumor activity in multiple tumor models at doses 1.5% to 3.5% of maximally tolerated levels. These properties underscore the considerable potential of these purpose-created, unique DNA-interacting conjugates for broadening the clinical application of ADC technology. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(8); 1870-8. ©2016 AACR. ©2016 American Association for Cancer Research.

Fragment-based discovery of a potent NAMPT inhibitor.

PubMed

Korepanova, Alla; Longenecker, Kenton L; Pratt, Steve D; Panchal, Sanjay C; Clark, Richard F; Lake, Marc; Gopalakrishnan, Sujatha M; Raich, Diana; Sun, Chaohong; Petros, Andrew M

2017-12-12

NAMPT expression is elevated in many cancers, making this protein a potential target for anticancer therapy. We have carried out both NMR based and TR-FRET based fragment screens against human NAMPT and identified six novel binders with a range of potencies. Co-crystal structures were obtained for two of the fragments bound to NAMPT while for the other four fragments force-field driven docking was employed to generate a bound pose. Based on structural insights arising from comparison of the bound fragment poses to that of bound FK866 we were able to synthetically elaborate one of the fragments into a potent NAMPT inhibitor. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exhibitions in Sight.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wasserman, Burton

1978-01-01

Early in the eighteenth century, Pompeii was discovered, a city that had been hidden for sixteen centuries by volcanic lava. There is a traveling exhibition of the sculptures, friezes, mosaics, and paintings being shown around the United States. Described is the history and contents of "Pompeii--A.D. 79." (RK)

Nanoporous frameworks exhibiting multiple stimuli responsiveness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kundu, Pintu K.; Olsen, Gregory L.; Kiss, Vladimir; Klajn, Rafal

2014-04-01

Nanoporous frameworks are polymeric materials built from rigid molecules, which give rise to their nanoporous structures with applications in gas sorption and storage, catalysis and others. Conceptually new applications could emerge, should these beneficial properties be manipulated by external stimuli in a reversible manner. One approach to render nanoporous frameworks responsive to external signals would be to immobilize molecular switches within their nanopores. Although the majority of molecular switches require conformational freedom to isomerize, and switching in the solid state is prohibited, the nanopores may provide enough room for the switches to efficiently isomerize. Here we describe two families of nanoporous materials incorporating the spiropyran molecular switch. These materials exhibit a variety of interesting properties, including reversible photochromism and acidochromism under solvent-free conditions, light-controlled capture and release of metal ions, as well reversible chromism induced by solvation/desolvation.

Targeting SYK kinase-dependent anti-apoptotic resistance pathway in B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) cells with a potent SYK inhibitory pentapeptide mimic.

PubMed

Uckun, Fatih M; Ek, Rauf O; Jan, Shyi-Tai; Chen, Chun-Lin; Qazi, Sanjive

2010-05-01

The present study found that the pentapeptide mimic C-61, targeting the substrate binding P-site of SYK tyrosine kinase acted as a potent inducer of apoptosis in chemotherapy-resistant SYK-expressing primary leukemic B-cell precursors taken directly from relapsed B-precursor leukaemia (BPL) patients (but not SYK-deficient infant pro-B leukaemia cells), exhibited favourable pharmacokinetics in mice and non-human primates, and eradicated in vivo clonogenic leukaemia cells in severe combined immunodeficient mouse xenograft models of chemotherapy-resistant human BPL at dose levels non-toxic to mice and non-human primates. These in vitro and in vivo findings provide proof of principle for effective treatment of chemotherapy-resistant BPL by targeting SYK-dependent anti-apoptotic blast cell survival machinery with a SYK P-Site inhibitor. Further development of C-61 may provide the foundation for therapeutic innovation against chemotherapy-resistant BPL.

Liposomal short-chain C6 ceramide induces potent anti-osteosarcoma activity in vitro and in vivo.

PubMed

Zhai, Lei; Sun, Nan; Han, Zhe; Jin, Hai-chao; Zhang, Bo

Osteosarcoma (OS) remains one deadly disease for many affected patients. The search for novel and more efficient anti-OS agents is urgent. In the current study, we demonstrated that liposome-packed C6 ceramide exerted potent cytotoxic effect against established (U2OS and MG-63 lines) and primary human OS cells. Meanwhile, the liposomal C6 (ceramide) induced caspase-mediated apoptotic death in OS cells. Liposomal C6 was significantly more potent than conventional free C6 in inhibiting OS cells, yet it was safe to non-cancerous bone cells (primary murine osteoblasts or human MLO-Y4 osteocytic cells). At the signaling level, we showed that liposomal C6 potently inhibited Akt activation in OS cells. Further studies revealed that a low dose of liposomal C6 dramatically sensitized the in vitro anti-OS activity of two conventional chemodrugs: methotrexate (MTX) and doxorubicin. In vivo, intravenous injection of liposomal C6 inhibited Akt activation and suppressed U2OS xenograft growth in nude mice without causing apparent toxicities. Meanwhile, when given at a low-dose (5 mg/kg body weight), liposomal C6 dramatically sensitized MTX's anti-U2OS activity in vivo. Collectively, our data demonstrate that liposomal C6 exerts potent anti-tumor activity in preclinical OS models. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Synthesis of Novel Compounds as New Potent Tyrosinase Inhibitors

PubMed Central

Hamidian, Hooshang

2013-01-01

In the present paper, we report the synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of a new series of azo compounds with different groups (1-naphthol, 2-naphthol, and N,N-dimethylaniline) and trifluoromethoxy and fluoro substituents in the scaffold. All synthesized compounds (5a–5f) showed the most potent mushroom tyrosinase inhibition (IC50 values in the range of 4.39 ± 0.76–1.71 ± 0.49 µM), comparable to the kojic acid, as reference standard inhibitor. All the novel compounds were characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and elemental analysis. PMID:24260737

Discovery of potent and selective CDK8 inhibitors through FBDD approach.

PubMed

Han, Xingchun; Jiang, Min; Zhou, Chengang; Zhou, Zheng; Xu, Zhiheng; Wang, Lisha; Mayweg, Alexander V; Niu, Rui; Jin, Tai-Guang; Yang, Song

2017-09-15

A fragment library screen was carried out to identify starting points for novel CDK8 inhibitors. Optimization of a fragment hit guided by co-crystal structures led to identification of a novel series of potent CDK8 inhibitors which are highly ligand efficient, kinase selective and cellular active. Compound 16 was progressed to a mouse pharmacokinetic study and showed good oral bioavailability. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fragment-based discovery of potent inhibitors of the anti-apoptotic MCL-1 protein.

PubMed

Petros, Andrew M; Swann, Steven L; Song, Danying; Swinger, Kerren; Park, Chang; Zhang, Haichao; Wendt, Michael D; Kunzer, Aaron R; Souers, Andrew J; Sun, Chaohong

2014-03-15

Apoptosis is regulated by the BCL-2 family of proteins, which is comprised of both pro-death and pro-survival members. Evasion of apoptosis is a hallmark of malignant cells. One way in which cancer cells achieve this evasion is thru overexpression of the pro-survival members of the BCL-2 family. Overexpression of MCL-1, a pro-survival protein, has been shown to be a resistance factor for Navitoclax, a potent inhibitor of BCL-2 and BCL-XL. Here we describe the use of fragment screening methods and structural biology to drive the discovery of novel MCL-1 inhibitors from two distinct structural classes. Specifically, cores derived from a biphenyl sulfonamide and salicylic acid were uncovered in an NMR-based fragment screen and elaborated using high throughput analog synthesis. This culminated in the discovery of selective and potent inhibitors of MCL-1 that may serve as promising leads for medicinal chemistry optimization efforts. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Exhibit for Touching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunt, Susan

1979-01-01

An exhibit designed for visually handicapped persons presented by the Kalamazoo (Michigan) Institute of Art included bronze sculptures and oil paintings from the institute's permanent collection. (CL)

Synthesis and SAR of highly potent and selective dopamine D3-receptor antagonists: variations on the 1H-pyrimidin-2-one theme.

PubMed

Geneste, Hervé; Amberg, Wilhelm; Backfisch, Gisela; Beyerbach, Armin; Braje, Wilfried M; Delzer, Jürgen; Haupt, Andreas; Hutchins, Charles W; King, Linda L; Sauer, Daryl R; Unger, Liliane; Wernet, Wolfgang

2006-04-01

In our efforts to further pursue one of the most selective dopamine D(3)-receptor antagonists reported to date, we now describe the synthesis and SAR of novel and highly selective dopamine D(3) antagonists based on a 1H-pyridin-2-one or on a urea scaffold. The most potent compounds exhibited K(i) values toward the D(3) receptor in the nano- to subnanomolar range and high selectivity versus the related D(2) dopamine receptor. Thus, 1H-pyridin-2-one 7b displays oral bioavailability (F=37%) as well as brain penetration (brain plasma ratio 3.7) in rat. Within the urea series, an excellent D(3) versus D(2) selectivity (>100-fold) could be achieved by removal of one NH group (compound 6), although bioavailability (rat) was suboptimal (F<10%). These data significantly enhance our understanding of the D(3) pharmacophore and are expected to lead to novel approaches for the treatment of schizophrenia.

Bioprospecting marine actinomycetes for multidrug-resistant pathogen control from Rameswaram coastal area, Tamil Nadu, India.

PubMed

Wahaab, Femina; Subramaniam, Kalidass

2018-01-01

A potent Streptomyces bacillaris strain RAM25C4 was isolated for controlling methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and multidrug-resistant bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A total of 131 actinomycetes were isolated from the Rameswaram coastal region, Tamil Nadu, India. Among 131 actinomycetes, maximum number of actinomycetes (55%) isolated at the distance of 3-6 m from seashore. Out of 131 actinomycetes, 85% of the actinomycetes exhibited different degree of antagonistic activity against test pathogens. The antagonistic activity evaluated using actinomycetes direct culture filtrate and culture filtrate extracts. Among these culture filtrate, extracts had supreme antagonistic activity against multidrug-resistant bacteria and the solvent ethyl acetate was the best for extracting secondary metabolites from actinomycetes. In HPTLC analysis, the presence of macrolides, terpenoids, and quinolones was identified in RAM25C4 extract. In GC-MS analysis, various potent compounds such as phenolic compound-2,6-di-tert-butylphenol, alkaloid compound-1H, 5H, pyrrolo (1' 2':3, 4) imidazo, and quinolone compound-1,4-benzenediol, 2,5-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl) were identified in the ethyl acetate extract of RAM25C4. The phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence of RAM25C4 isolate was deposited in NCBI with name Streptomyces bacillaris strain RAM25C4 and accession number KM513543.

Human metabolites of synthetic cannabinoids JWH-018 and JWH-073 bind with high affinity and act as potent agonists at cannabinoid type-2 receptors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rajasekaran, Maheswari; Brents, Lisa K.; Franks, Lirit N.

K2 or Spice is an emerging drug of abuse that contains synthetic cannabinoids, including JWH-018 and JWH-073. Recent reports indicate that monohydroxylated metabolites of JWH-018 and JWH-073 retain high affinity and activity at cannabinoid type-1 receptors (CB{sub 1}Rs), potentially contributing to the enhanced toxicity of K2 compared to marijuana. Since the parent compounds also bind to cannabinoid type-2 receptors (CB{sub 2}Rs), this study investigated the affinity and intrinsic activity of JWH-018, JWH-073 and several monohydroxylated metabolites at human CB{sub 2}Rs (hCB{sub 2}Rs). The affinity of cannabinoids for hCB{sub 2}Rs was determined by competition binding studies employing CHO-hCB{sub 2} membranes. Intrinsicmore » activity of compounds was assessed by G-protein activation and adenylyl cyclase (AC)-inhibition in CHO-hCB{sub 2} cells. JWH-073, JWH-018 and several of their human metabolites exhibit nanomolar affinity and act as potent agonists at hCB{sub 2}Rs. Furthermore, a major omega hydroxyl metabolite of JWH-073 (JWH-073-M5) binds to CB{sub 2}Rs with 10-fold less affinity than the parent molecule, but unexpectedly, is equipotent in regulating AC-activity when compared to the parent molecule. Finally, when compared to CP-55,940 and Δ{sup 9}-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ{sup 9}-THC), JWH-018, JWH-018-M5 and JWH-073-M5 require significantly less CB{sub 2}R occupancy to produce similar levels of AC-inhibition, indicating that these compounds may more efficiently couple CB{sub 2}Rs to AC than the well characterized cannabinoid agonists examined. These results indicate that JWH-018, JWH-073 and several major human metabolites of these compounds exhibit high affinity and demonstrate distinctive signaling properties at CB{sub 2}Rs. Therefore, future studies examining pharmacological and toxicological properties of synthetic cannabinoids present in K2 products should consider potential actions of these drugs at both CB{sub 1} and CB{sub 2}Rs. - Highlights: �

FGF-23 is a potent regulator of vitamin D metabolism and phosphate homeostasis.

PubMed

Shimada, Takashi; Hasegawa, Hisashi; Yamazaki, Yuji; Muto, Takanori; Hino, Rieko; Takeuchi, Yasuhiro; Fujita, Toshiro; Nakahara, Kazuhiko; Fukumoto, Seiji; Yamashita, Takeyoshi

2004-03-01

We analyzed the effects of an FGF-23 injection in vivo. FGF-23 caused a reduction in serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D by altering the expressions of key enzymes for the vitamin D metabolism followed by hypophosphatemia. This study indicates that FGF-23 is a potent regulator of the vitamin D and phosphate metabolism. The pathophysiological contribution of FGF-23 in hypophosphatemic diseases was supported by animal studies in which the long-term administration of recombinant fibroblast growth factor-23 reproduced hypophosphatemic rickets with a low serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D] level. However, there is no clear understanding of how FGF-23 causes these changes. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of the FGF-23 function, we investigated the short-term effects of a single administration of recombinant FGF-23 in normal and parathyroidectmized animals. An injection of recombinant FGF-23 caused a reduction in serum phosphate and 1,25(OH)2D levels. A decrease in serum phosphate was first observed 9 h after the injection and was accompanied with a reduction in renal mRNA and protein levels for the type IIa sodium-phosphate cotransporter (NaPi-2a). There was no increase in the parathyroid hormone (PTH) level throughout the experiment, and hypophosphatemia was reproduced by FGF-23 in parathyroidectomized rats. Before this hypophosphatemic effect, the serum 1,25(OH)2D level had already descended at 3 h and reached the nadir 9 h after the administration. FGF-23 reduced renal mRNA for 25-hydroxyvitamin D-1alpha-hydroxylase and increased that for 25-hydroxyvitamin D-24-hydroxylase starting at 1 h. In addition, an injection of calcitriol into normal mice increased the serum FGF-23 level within 4 h. FGF-23 regulates NaPi-2a independently of PTH and the serum 1,25(OH)2D level by controlling renal expressions of key enzymes of the vitamin D metabolism. In conclusion, FGF-23 is a potent regulator of phosphate and vitamin D homeostasis.

Starship 2040 Exhibit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

This photograph shows the Starship 2040 on display at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama. Developed by the Space Transportation Directorate at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), the Starship 2040 exhibit is housed in a 48-ft (14.6-m) tractor and trailer rig, permitting it to travel around the Nation, demonstrating NASA's vision of what commercial spaceflight might be like 40 years from now. All the irnovations suggested aboard the exhibit (automated vehicle health monitoring systems, high-energy propulsion drive, navigational aids, and emergency and safety systems) are based on concepts and technologies now being studied at NASA Centers and partner institutions around the Nation. NASA is the Nation's premier agency for development of the space transportation system, including future-generation reusable launch vehicles. Such systems, the keys to a 'real' Starship 2040, require revolutionary advances in critical aerospace technologies, from thermal, magnetic, chemical, and propellantless propulsion systems to new energy sources such as space solar power or antimatter propulsion. These and other advances are now being studied, developed, and tested at NASA field centers and partner institutions all over the Nation.

Antimicrobial Peptides Containing Unnatural Amino Acid Exhibit Potent Bactericidal Activity against ESKAPE Pathogens

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

compositions of these twobacteria’s cellmembranes are very differ- ent. The results of two 3D- QSARs (quantitative structure–activity relationship) studies...determined that there are five major physico- chemical descriptors necessary to define the activity of these AMPs in the S. aureus QSAR model.62 Five

4-aminoquinolone piperidine amides: noncovalent inhibitors of DprE1 with long residence time and potent antimycobacterial activity.

PubMed

Naik, Maruti; Humnabadkar, Vaishali; Tantry, Subramanyam J; Panda, Manoranjan; Narayan, Ashwini; Guptha, Supreeth; Panduga, Vijender; Manjrekar, Praveena; Jena, Lalit Kumar; Koushik, Krishna; Shanbhag, Gajanan; Jatheendranath, Sandesh; Manjunatha, M R; Gorai, Gopinath; Bathula, Chandramohan; Rudrapatna, Suresh; Achar, Vijayashree; Sharma, Sreevalli; Ambady, Anisha; Hegde, Naina; Mahadevaswamy, Jyothi; Kaur, Parvinder; Sambandamurthy, Vasan K; Awasthy, Disha; Narayan, Chandan; Ravishankar, Sudha; Madhavapeddi, Prashanti; Reddy, Jitendar; Prabhakar, Kr; Saralaya, Ramanatha; Chatterji, Monalisa; Whiteaker, James; McLaughlin, Bob; Chiarelli, Laurent R; Riccardi, Giovanna; Pasca, Maria Rosalia; Binda, Claudia; Neres, João; Dhar, Neeraj; Signorino-Gelo, François; McKinney, John D; Ramachandran, Vasanthi; Shandil, Radha; Tommasi, Ruben; Iyer, Pravin S; Narayanan, Shridhar; Hosagrahara, Vinayak; Kavanagh, Stefan; Dinesh, Neela; Ghorpade, Sandeep R

2014-06-26

4-Aminoquinolone piperidine amides (AQs) were identified as a novel scaffold starting from a whole cell screen, with potent cidality on Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Evaluation of the minimum inhibitory concentrations, followed by whole genome sequencing of mutants raised against AQs, identified decaprenylphosphoryl-β-d-ribose 2'-epimerase (DprE1) as the primary target responsible for the antitubercular activity. Mass spectrometry and enzyme kinetic studies indicated that AQs are noncovalent, reversible inhibitors of DprE1 with slow on rates and long residence times of ∼100 min on the enzyme. In general, AQs have excellent leadlike properties and good in vitro secondary pharmacology profile. Although the scaffold started off as a single active compound with moderate potency from the whole cell screen, structure-activity relationship optimization of the scaffold led to compounds with potent DprE1 inhibition (IC50 < 10 nM) along with potent cellular activity (MIC = 60 nM) against Mtb.

The exploration of the exhibition informatization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jiankang

2017-06-01

The construction and management of exhibition informatization is the main task and choke point during the process of Chinese exhibition industry’s transformation and promotion. There are three key points expected to realize a breakthrough during the construction of Chinese exhibition informatization, and the three aspects respectively are adopting service outsourcing to construct and maintain the database, adopting advanced chest card technology to collect various kinds of information, developing statistics analysis to maintain good cutomer relations. The success of Chinese exhibition informatization mainly calls for mature suppliers who can provide construction and maintenance of database, the proven technology, a sense of data security, advanced chest card technology, the ability of data mining and analysis and the ability to improve the exhibition service basing on the commercial information got from the data analysis. Several data security measures are expected to apply during the process of system developing, including the measures of the terminal data security, the internet data security, the media data security, the storage data security and the application data security. The informatization of this process is based on the chest card designing. At present, there are several types of chest card technology: bar code chest card; two-dimension code card; magnetic stripe chest card; smart-chip chest card. The information got from the exhibition data will help the organizers to make relevant service strategies, quantify the accumulated indexes of the customers, and improve the level of the customer’s satisfaction and loyalty, what’s more, the information can also provide more additional services like the commercial trips, VIP ceremonial reception.

Children's Art Exhibit

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roselle, Marsha L.

1973-01-01

Within the past ten years, a sufficient number of specialists in art education have been added to the faculty of the Iowa City Community Schools to relieve the classroom teacher of the responsibility of teaching elementary art classes. The resultant improvement in the quality of the elementary art program led to the creation of the exhibit series.…

Synthesis and SAR studies of very potent imidazopyridine antiprotozoal agents.

PubMed

Biftu, Tesfaye; Feng, Dennis; Fisher, Michael; Liang, Gui-Bai; Qian, Xiaoxia; Scribner, Andrew; Dennis, Richard; Lee, Shuliang; Liberator, Paul A; Brown, Chris; Gurnett, Anne; Leavitt, Penny S; Thompson, Donald; Mathew, John; Misura, Andrew; Samaras, Samantha; Tamas, Tamas; Sina, Joseph F; McNulty, Kathleen A; McKnight, Crystal G; Schmatz, Dennis M; Wyvratt, Matthew

2006-05-01

Compounds 10a (IC50 110 pM) and 21 (IC50 40 pM) are the most potent inhibitors of Eimeria tenella cGMP-dependent protein kinase activity reported to date and are efficacious in the in vivo antiparasitic assay when administered to chickens at 12.5 and 6.25 ppm levels in the feed. However, both compounds are positive in the Ames microbial mutagenesis assay which precludes them from further development as antiprotozoal agents in the absence of negative lifetime rodent carcinogenicity studies.

In Vitro Antibacterial Activity of AZD0914, a New Spiropyrimidinetrione DNA Gyrase/Topoisomerase Inhibitor with Potent Activity against Gram-Positive, Fastidious Gram-Negative, and Atypical Bacteria

PubMed Central

Bradford, Patricia A.; Otterson, Linda G.; Basarab, Gregory S.; Kutschke, Amy C.; Giacobbe, Robert A.; Patey, Sara A.; Alm, Richard A.; Johnstone, Michele R.; Potter, Marie E.; Miller, Paul F.; Mueller, John P.

2014-01-01

AZD0914 is a new spiropyrimidinetrione bacterial DNA gyrase/topoisomerase inhibitor with potent in vitro antibacterial activity against key Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Streptococcus agalactiae), fastidious Gram-negative (Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria gonorrhoeae), atypical (Legionella pneumophila), and anaerobic (Clostridium difficile) bacterial species, including isolates with known resistance to fluoroquinolones. AZD0914 works via inhibition of DNA biosynthesis and accumulation of double-strand cleavages; this mechanism of inhibition differs from those of other marketed antibacterial compounds. AZD0914 stabilizes and arrests the cleaved covalent complex of gyrase with double-strand broken DNA under permissive conditions and thus blocks religation of the double-strand cleaved DNA to form fused circular DNA. Whereas this mechanism is similar to that seen with fluoroquinolones, it is mechanistically distinct. AZD0914 exhibited low frequencies of spontaneous resistance in S. aureus, and if mutants were obtained, the mutations mapped to gyrB. Additionally, no cross-resistance was observed for AZD0914 against recent bacterial clinical isolates demonstrating resistance to fluoroquinolones or other drug classes, including macrolides, β-lactams, glycopeptides, and oxazolidinones. AZD0914 was bactericidal in both minimum bactericidal concentration and in vitro time-kill studies. In in vitro checkerboard/synergy testing with 17 comparator antibacterials, only additivity/indifference was observed. The potent in vitro antibacterial activity (including activity against fluoroquinolone-resistant isolates), low frequency of resistance, lack of cross-resistance, and bactericidal activity of AZD0914 support its continued development. PMID:25385112

7-Nitro-4-(phenylthio)benzofurazan is a potent generator of superoxide and hydrogen peroxide.

PubMed

Patridge, Eric V; Eriksson, Emma S E; Penketh, Philip G; Baumann, Raymond P; Zhu, Rui; Shyam, Krishnamurthy; Eriksson, Leif A; Sartorelli, Alan C

2012-10-01

Here, we report on 7-nitro-4-(phenylthio)benzofurazan (NBF-SPh), the most potent derivative among a set of patented anticancer 7-nitrobenzofurazans (NBFs), which have been suggested to function by perturbing protein-protein interactions. We demonstrate that NBF-SPh participates in toxic redox-cycling, rapidly generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the presence of molecular oxygen, and this is the first report to detail ROS production for any of the anticancer NBFs. Oxygraph studies showed that NBF-SPh consumes molecular oxygen at a substantial rate, rivaling even plumbagin, menadione, and juglone. Biochemical and enzymatic assays identified superoxide and hydrogen peroxide as products of its redox-cycling activity, and the rapid rate of ROS production appears to be sufficient to account for some of the toxicity of NBF-SPh (LC(50) = 12.1 μM), possibly explaining why tumor cells exhibit a sharp threshold for tolerating the compound. In cell cultures, lipid peroxidation was enhanced after treatment with NBF-SPh, as measured by 2-thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, indicating a significant accumulation of ROS. Thioglycerol rescued cell death and increased survival by 15-fold to 20-fold, but pyruvate and uric acid were ineffective protectants. We also observed that the redox-cycling activity of NBF-SPh became exhausted after an average of approximately 19 cycles per NBF-SPh molecule. Electrochemical and computational analyses suggest that partial reduction of NBF-SPh enhances electrophilicity, which appears to encourage scavenging activity and contribute to electrophilic toxicity.

7-Nitro-4-(phenylthio)benzofurazan is a potent generator of superoxide and hydrogen peroxide

PubMed Central

Eriksson, Emma S. E.; Penketh, Philip G.; Baumann, Raymond P.; Zhu, Rui; Shyam, Krishnamurthy; Eriksson, Leif A.; Sartorelli, Alan C.

2013-01-01

Here, we report on 7-nitro-4-(phenylthio) benzofurazan (NBF-SPh), the most potent derivative among a set of patented anticancer 7-nitrobenzofurazans (NBFs), which have been suggested to function by perturbing protein–protein interactions. We demonstrate that NBF-SPh participates in toxic redox-cycling, rapidly generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the presence of molecular oxygen, and this is the first report to detail ROS production for any of the anticancer NBFs. Oxygraph studies showed that NBF-SPh consumes molecular oxygen at a substantial rate, rivaling even plumbagin, menadione, and juglone. Biochemical and enzymatic assays identified superoxide and hydrogen peroxide as products of its redox-cycling activity, and the rapid rate of ROS production appears to be sufficient to account for some of the toxicity of NBF-SPh (LC50 = 12.1 µM), possibly explaining why tumor cells exhibit a sharp threshold for tolerating the compound. In cell cultures, lipid peroxidation was enhanced after treatment with NBF-SPh, as measured by 2-thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, indicating a significant accumulation of ROS. Thioglycerol rescued cell death and increased survival by 15-fold to 20-fold, but pyruvate and uric acid were ineffective protectants. We also observed that the redox-cycling activity of NBF-SPh became exhausted after an average of approximately 19 cycles per NBF-SPh molecule. Electrochemical and computational analyses suggest that partial reduction of NBF-SPh enhances electrophilicity, which appears to encourage scavenging activity and contribute to electrophilic toxicity. PMID:22669514

A miR-29b Byproduct Sequence Exhibits Potent Tumor-Suppressive Activities via Inhibition of NF-κB Signaling in KRAS-Mutant Colon Cancer Cells.

PubMed

Inoue, Akira; Mizushima, Tsunekazu; Wu, Xin; Okuzaki, Daisuke; Kambara, Nanami; Ishikawa, Sho; Wang, Jiaqi; Qian, Yamin; Hirose, Haruka; Yokoyama, Yuhki; Ikeshima, Ryo; Hiraki, Masayuki; Miyoshi, Norikatsu; Takahashi, Hidekazu; Haraguchi, Naotsugu; Hata, Taishi; Matsuda, Chu; Doki, Yuichiro; Mori, Masaki; Yamamoto, Hirofumi

2018-05-01

We previously demonstrated that miR-29b-3p is a hopeful miRNA-based therapy against colorectal cancer. In this study, we aimed to clarify a value of miR-29b-1-5p as a next-generation treatment, especially for KRAS -mutant colorectal cancer. RT-PCR assay showed that the expression of miR-29b-3p was high, and its partner strand, miR-29b-1-5p, level was only negligible in clinical colorectal cancer samples. Mimic-miR-29b-1-5p significantly inhibited proliferation of KRAS -mutant colorectal cancer cell lines DLD1 and SW480 and KRAS wild-type HT29 cells. Proliferative activity was further examined by either miR-29b-1-5p strand or its opposite complementary sequence because miR-29b-1-5p is a passenger miRNA and may have no physiologic function. We found that completely opposite complementary strand to miR-29b-1-5p, but not miR-29b-1-5p, possessed a potent antitumor effect and named this byproduct miRNA sequence "MIRTX." MIRTX directly targeted the 3'-UTR of CXCR2 and PIK3R1 mRNA and suppressed the NF-κB signaling pathway in KRAS -mutated colorectal cancer cells. MIRTX induced apoptosis in DLD1 with downregulation of antiapoptotic BCL2, BCL-xL, and MCL1 and upregulation of cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved PARP. In mouse xenograft models, systemic administration of MIRTX using a super carbonate apatite as a delivery vehicle significantly inhibited tumor growth of DLD1 and HT29 cells without any particular toxicities. In conclusion, these findings indicate that inhibition of NF-κB signaling by this novel miRNA-based therapeutic could be a promising treatment against refractory KRAS -mutant colorectal cancer and KRAS wild-type colorectal cancer. Mol Cancer Ther; 17(5); 977-87. ©2018 AACR . ©2018 American Association for Cancer Research.

Indolyl-isoxazolidines attenuate LPS-stimulated pro-inflammatory cytokines and increase survival in a mouse model of sepsis: Identification of potent lead.

PubMed

Singh, Gagandeep; Singh, Gurjit; Bhatti, Rajbir; Gupta, Mehak; Kumar, Ajay; Sharma, Ankita; Singh Ishar, Mohan Paul

2018-06-10

A library of indolyl-isoxazolidines (6-9) has been synthesized by regio- and stereoselective microwave irradiated 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of C-(3-indolyl)-N-phenylnitrone (2') with variedly substituted dipolarophiles (3'-5') and screened for their anti-inflammatory activities through inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-6. Amongst the evaluated compounds (6-9), bicyclic isoxazolidine (9a) was found to exhibit significant inhibitory potential against LPS induced human IL-6 and TNF-α in THP-1 cells. Compound 9a was further assessed for in vivo analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities via acetic acid induced writhing and carrageenan induced paw edema models in mice, respectively. The results showed that compound possesses potent anti-inflammatory-analgesic activity comparable to indomethacin and did not show toxicity up to a 2000 mg kg -1 dose as evidenced by histopathological studies. Consequently, the most active compound 9a was also evaluated against LPS-induced septic death and exhibited a significant protection in in vivo mouse model. Taken all together, the results suggest that the compound 9a is able to attenuate pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-α; accelerate resolution of inflammation, and also increased survival rate of septic mice. Therefore, these "lead" isoxazolidines can be used as promising candidate for further analgesic/anti-inflammatory drug design and development. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Using Comparative Planetology in Exhibit Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dusenbery, P. B.; Harold, J. B.; Morrow, C. A.

2004-12-01

It is critically important for the public to better understand the scientific process. Museum exhibitions are an important part of informal science education that can effectively reach public audiences as well as school groups. They provide an important gateway for the public to learn about compelling scientific endeavors. The Space Science Institute (SSI) is a national leader in producing traveling science exhibitions and their associated educational programming (i.e. interactive websites, educator workshops, public talks, instructional materials). The focus of this presentation will be on three of its exhibit projects: MarsQuest (currently on tour), Alien Earths (in fabrication), and Giant Planets (in development). MarsQuest is enabling millions of Americans to share in the excitement of the scientific exploration of Mars and to learn more about their own planet in the process. Alien Earths will bring origins-related research and discoveries to students and the American public. It has four interrelated exhibit areas: Our Place in Space, Star Birth, PlanetQuest, and Search for Life. Exhibit visitors will explore the awesome events surrounding the birth of stars and planets; they will join scientists in the hunt for planets outside our solar system including those that may be in "habitable zones" around other stars; and finally they will be able to learn about how scientists are looking for signs of life beyond Earth. Giant Planets: Exploring the Outer Solar System will take advantage of the excitement generated by the Cassini mission and bring planetary and origins research and discoveries to students and the public. It will be organized around four thematic areas: Our Solar System; Colossal Worlds; Moons, Rings, and Fields; and Make Space for Kids. Giant Planets will open in 2007. This talk will focus on the importance of making Earth comparisons in the conceptual design of each exhibit and will show several examples of how these comparisons were manifested in

Virtual auditorium concepts for exhibition halls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evans, Jack; Himmel, Chad; Knight, Sarah

2002-11-01

Many communities lack good performance facilities for symphonic music, opera, dramatic and musical arts, but have basic convention, exhibition or assembly spaces. It should be possible to develop performance space environments within large multipurpose facilities that will accommodate production and presentation of dramatic arts. Concepts for moderate-cost, temporary enhancements that transform boxy spaces into more intimate, acoustically articulated venues will be presented. Acoustical criteria and design parameters will be discussed in the context of creating a virtual auditorium within the building envelope. Physical, economic, and logistical limitations affect implementation. Sound reinforcement system augmentation can supplement the room conversion. Acceptable control of reflection patterns, reverberation, and to some extent, ambient noise, may be achieved with an array of nonpermanent reflector and absorber elements. These elements can sculpture an enclosure to approach the shape and acoustic characteristics of an auditorium. Plan and section illustrations will be included.

Temporary and Travelling Exhibitions. Museums and Monuments, X.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daifuku, Hiroshi; And Others

The permanent exhibition, the most typical form of museum exhibition, has failed to attract repeated visitation, since visitors quickly become familiar with the objects shown. The temporary exhibition evolved as a result for the need of repeated visitation. The temporary exhibition, set up for a period of one to six months, introduces fresh…

Clostridium perfringens epsilon toxin: the third most potent bacterial toxin known.

PubMed

Alves, Guilherme Guerra; Machado de Ávila, Ricardo Andrez; Chávez-Olórtegui, Carlos Delfin; Lobato, Francisco Carlos Faria

2014-12-01

Epsilon toxin (ETX) is produced by Clostridium perfringens type B and D strains and causes enterotoxemia, a highly lethal disease with major impacts on the farming of domestic ruminants, particularly sheep. ETX belongs to the aerolysin-like pore-forming toxin family. Although ETX has striking similarities to other toxins in this family, ETX is often more potent, with an LD50 of 100 ng/kg in mice. Due to this high potency, ETX is considered as a potential bioterrorism agent and has been classified as a category B biological agent by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States. The protoxin is converted to an active toxin through proteolytic cleavage performed by specific proteases. ETX is absorbed and acts locally in the intestines then subsequently binds to and causes lesions in other organs, including the kidneys, lungs and brain. The importance of this toxin for veterinary medicine and its possible use as a biological weapon have drawn the attention of researchers and have led to a large number of studies investigating ETX. The aim of the present work is to review the existing knowledge on ETX from C. perfringens type B and D. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Targeting the genital tract mucosa with a lipopeptide/recombinant adenovirus prime/boost vaccine induces potent and long-lasting CD8+ T cell immunity against herpes: importance of MyD88.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiuli; Dervillez, Xavier; Chentoufi, Aziz Alami; Badakhshan, Tina; Bettahi, Ilham; Benmohamed, Lbachir

2012-11-01

Targeting of the mucosal immune system of the genital tract with subunit vaccines has failed to induce potent and durable local CD8(+) T cell immunity, which is crucial for protection against many sexually transmitted viral pathogens, including HSV type 2 (HSV-2), which causes genital herpes. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential of a novel lipopeptide/adenovirus type 5 (Lipo/rAdv5) prime/boost mucosal vaccine for induction of CD8(+) T cell immunity to protect the female genital tract from herpes. The lipopeptide vaccine and the rAdv5 vaccine express the immunodominant HSV-2 CD8(+) T cell epitope (gB(498-505)), and both were delivered intravaginally in the progesterone-induced B6 mouse model of genital herpes. Compared with mice immunized with the homologous lipopeptide/lipopeptide (Lipo/Lipo) vaccine, the Lipo/rAdv5 prime/boost immunized mice 1) developed potent and sustained HSV-specific CD8(+) T cells, detected in both the genital tract draining nodes and in the vaginal mucosa; 2) had significantly lower virus titers; 3) had decreased overt signs of genital herpes disease; and 4) did not succumb to lethal infection (p < 0.005) after intravaginal HSV-2 challenge. Polyfunctional CD8(+) T cells, producing IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-2 and exhibiting cytotoxic activity, were associated with protection (p < 0.005). The protective CD8(+) T cell response was significantly compromised in the absence of the adapter MyD88 (p = 0.0001). Taken together, these findings indicate that targeting of the vaginal mucosa with a Lipo/rAdv5 prime/boost vaccine elicits a potent, MyD88-dependent, and long-lasting mucosal CD8(+) T cell protective immunity against sexually transmitted herpes infection and disease.

Communicating Complex Sciences by Means of Exhibitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, S.

2011-12-01

Earth Sciences will have to take over the leading role in global sustainable policy and in discussions about climate change. Efforts to raise attention within the politically responsible communities as well as in the public are getting more and more support by executive and advisory boards all over the world. But how can you successfully communicate complex sciences? For example, to start communication about climate change, the first step is to encourage people to be concerned about climate change. After that, one has to start thinking about how to present data and how to include the presented data into an unprejudiced context. Therefore, the communication toolbox offers various methods to reach diverse audiences. The R&D programme GEOTECHNOLOGIEN conducts roving exhibitions as one of its most successful communication tools. With roving exhibitions GEOTECHNOLOGIEN is able to get in touch with different audiences at once. The main purpose and theme of these exhibitions is to convey the everyday means of climate change to the visitors. It is within the responsibility of science to communicate the effects of a phenomenon like climate change as well as the impact of research results to the everyday life of people. Currently, a GEOTECHNOLOGIEN roving exhibition on remote sensing with satellites deals with various issues of environmental research, including a chapter on climate change. By following the 3M-concept (Meaning - Memorable - Moving), exhibitions allow to connect the visitors daily environment and personal experiences with the presented issues and objects. Therefore, hands-on exhibits, exciting multimedia effects and high-tech artefacts have to be combined with interpretive text elements to highlight the daily significance of the scientific topics and the exhibition theme respectively. To create such an exhibition, strong conceptual planning has to be conducted. This includes the specification of stern financial as well as time wise milestones. In addition

Encountering Nanotechnology in an Interactive Exhibition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murriello, Sandra E.; Knobel, Marcelo

2008-01-01

This article offers findings from a learning sciences-informed evaluation of a nanoscience and nanotechnology exhibition called Nano-Aventura (NanoAdventure), based on four interactive-collaborative games and two narrated videos. This traveling exhibition was developed in Brazil by the Museu Exploratorio de Ciencias for children and teenagers…

Structural characterization of more potent alternatives to HAMLET, a tumoricidal complex of α-lactalbumin and oleic acid.

PubMed

Nemashkalova, Ekaterina L; Kazakov, Alexei S; Khasanova, Leysan M; Permyakov, Eugene A; Permyakov, Sergei E

2013-09-10

HAMLET is a complex of human α-lactalbumin (hLA) with oleic acid (OA) that kills various tumor cells and strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae. More potent protein-OA complexes were previously reported for bovine α-lactalbumin (bLA) and β-lactoglobulin (bLG), and pike parvalbumin (pPA), and here we explore their structural features. The concentration dependencies of the tryptophan fluorescence of hLA, bLA, and bLG complexes with OA reveal their disintegration at protein concentrations below the micromolar level. Chemical cross-linking experiments provide evidence that association with OA shifts the distribution of oligomeric forms of hLA, bLA, bLG, and pPA toward higher-order oligomers. This effect is confirmed for bLA and bLG using the dynamic light scattering method, while pPA is shown to associate with OA vesicles. Like hLA binding, OA binding increases the affinity of bLG for small unilamellar dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine vesicles, while pPA efficiently binds to the vesicles irrespective of OA binding. The association of OA with bLG and pPA increases their α-helix and cross-β-sheet content and resistance to enzymatic proteolysis, which is indicative of OA-induced protein structuring. The lack of excess heat sorption during melting of bLG and pPA in complex with OA and the presence of a cooperative thermal transition at the level of their secondary structure suggest that the OA-bound forms of bLG and pPA lack a fixed tertiary structure but exhibit a continuous thermal transition. Overall, despite marked differences, the HAMLET-like complexes that were studied exhibit a common feature: a tendency toward protein oligomerization. Because OA-induced oligomerization has been reported for other proteins, this phenomenon is inherent to many proteins.

Potent Autologous and Heterologous Neutralizing Antibody Responses Occur in HIV-2 Infection across a Broad Range of Infection Outcomes

PubMed Central

Aasa-Chapman, Marlén; Cotten, Matthew; Hué, Stéphane; Robinson, James; Bibollet-Ruche, Frederic; Sarge-Njie, Ramu; Berry, Neil; Jaye, Assan; Aaby, Peter; Whittle, Hilton; Rowland-Jones, Sarah; Weiss, Robin

2012-01-01

Few studies have explored the role of neutralizing antibody (NAb) responses in controlling HIV-2 viremia and disease progression. Using a TZM-bl neutralization assay, we assessed heterologous and autologous NAb responses from a community cohort of HIV-2-infected individuals with a broad range of disease outcomes in rural Guinea-Bissau. All subjects (n = 40) displayed exceptionally high heterologous NAb titers (50% inhibitory plasma dilution or 50% inhibitory concentration [IC50], 1:7,000 to 1:1,000,000) against 5 novel primary HIV-2 envelopes and HIV-2 7312A, whereas ROD A and 3 primary envelopes were relatively resistant to neutralization. Most individuals also showed high autologous NAb against contemporaneous envelopes (78% of plasma-envelope combinations in 69 envelopes from 21 subjects), with IC50s above 1:10,000. No association between heterologous or autologous NAb titer and greater control of HIV-2 was found. A subset of envelopes was found to be more resistant to neutralization (by plasma and HIV-2 monoclonal antibodies). These envelopes were isolated from individuals with greater intrapatient sequence diversity and were associated with changes in potential N-linked glycosylation sites but not CD4 independence or CXCR4 use. Plasma collected from up to 15 years previously was able to potently neutralize recent autologous envelopes, suggesting a lack of escape from NAb and the persistence of neutralization-sensitive variants over time, despite significant NAb pressure. We conclude that despite the presence of broad and potent NAb responses in HIV-2-infected individuals, these are not the primary forces behind the dichotomous outcomes observed but reveal a limited capacity for adaptive selection and escape from host immunity in HIV-2 infection. PMID:22072758

Highly potent fibrinolytic serine protease from Streptomyces.

PubMed

Uesugi, Yoshiko; Usuki, Hirokazu; Iwabuchi, Masaki; Hatanaka, Tadashi

2011-01-05

We introduce a highly potent fibrinolytic serine protease from Streptomyces omiyaensis (SOT), which belongs to the trypsin family. The fibrinolytic activity of SOT was examined using in vitro assays and was compared with those of known fibrinolytic enzymes such as plasmin, tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), urokinase, and nattokinase. Compared to other enzymes, SOT showed remarkably higher hydrolytic activity toward mimic peptides of fibrin and plasminogen. The fibrinolytic activity of SOT is about 18-fold higher than that of plasmin, and is comparable to that of t-PA by fibrin plate assays. Furthermore, SOT had some plasminogen activator-like activity. Results show that SOT and nattokinase have very different fibrinolytic and fibrinogenolytic modes, engendering significant synergetic effects of SOT and nattokinase on fibrinolysis. These results suggest that SOT presents important possibilities for application in the therapy of thrombosis. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Lipophilic stinging nettle extracts possess potent anti-inflammatory activity, are not cytotoxic and may be superior to traditional tinctures for treating inflammatory disorders

PubMed Central

Johnson, Tyler A.; Sohn, Johann; Inman, Wayne D.; Bjeldanes, Leonard F.; Rayburn, Keith

2012-01-01

Extracts of four plant portions (roots, stems, leaves and flowers) of Urtica dioica, (the stinging nettle) were prepared using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) involving water, hexanes, methanol and dichloromethane. The extracts were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activity in an NF-κB luciferase and MTT assay using macrophage immune (RAW264.7) cells. A standardized commercial ethanol extract of nettle leaves were also evaluated. The methanolic extract of the flowering portions displayed significant anti-inflammatory activity on par with the standard anti-inflammatory agent celastrol (1) but was moderately cytotoxic. Alternatively, the polar extracts (water, methanol, ethanol) of the roots, stems and leaves plant portions displayed moderate to weak anti-inflammatory activity, while the methanol and especially the water soluble extracts exhibited noticeable cytotoxicity. In contrast, the lipophilic dichloromethane extracts of the roots, stems and leaves exhibited potent anti-inflammatory effects ≥ 1 with minimal cytotoxicity to RAW264.7 cells. Collectively these results suggest that using lipophilic extracts of the roots, stems or leaves of stinging nettle may be more effective then traditional tinctures (water, methanol, ethanol) to undergo clinical evaluations for the treatment of inflammatory disorders including arthritis. A chemical investigation into the lipophillic extracts of stinging nettle to identify the bioactive compound(s) responsible for their observed anti-inflammatory activity is further warranted. PMID:23092723

Lipophilic stinging nettle extracts possess potent anti-inflammatory activity, are not cytotoxic and may be superior to traditional tinctures for treating inflammatory disorders.

PubMed

Johnson, Tyler A; Sohn, Johann; Inman, Wayne D; Bjeldanes, Leonard F; Rayburn, Keith

2013-01-15

Extracts of four plant portions (roots, stems, leaves and flowers) of Urtica dioica (the stinging nettle) were prepared using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) involving water, hexanes, methanol and dichloromethane. The extracts were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activities in an NF-κB luciferase and MTT assay using macrophage immune (RAW264.7) cells. A standardized commercial ethanol extract of nettle leaves was also evaluated. The methanolic extract of the flowering portions displayed significant anti-inflammatory activity on par with a standard compound celastrol (1) but were moderately cytotoxic. Alternatively, the polar extracts (water, methanol, ethanol) of the roots, stems and leaves displayed moderate to weak anti-inflammatory activity, while the methanol and especially the water soluble extracts exhibited noticeable cytotoxicity. In contrast, the lipophilic dichloromethane extracts of the roots, stems and leaves exhibited potent anti-inflammatory effects greater than or equal to 1 with minimal cytotoxicity to RAW264.7 cells. Collectively these results suggest that using lipophilic extracts of stinging nettle may be more effective than traditional tinctures (water, methanol, ethanol) in clinical evaluations for the treatment of inflammatory disorders especially arthritis. A chemical investigation into the lipophilic extracts of stinging nettle to identify the bioactive compound(s) responsible for their observed anti-inflammatory activity is further warranted. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Memory and Mourning: An Exhibit History

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eberle, Scott G.

2005-01-01

Mounted by the Strong Museum in Rochester, New York, in 1993, and traveling nationally thereafter, the exhibit Memory and Mourning provided historical and contemporary perspectives to help museum guests explore their own reactions to loss and grief. In the process the exhibit's development team encountered a range of philosophical, historical,…

18 CFR 50.7 - Applications: exhibits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... elements or matters contained in the exhibit. (a) Exhibit A—Articles of incorporation and bylaws. If the applicant is not an individual, a conformed copy of its articles of incorporation and bylaws, or other... following information: (i) Number of circuits, with identification as to whether the circuit is overhead or...

18 CFR 50.7 - Applications: exhibits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... elements or matters contained in the exhibit. (a) Exhibit A—Articles of incorporation and bylaws. If the applicant is not an individual, a conformed copy of its articles of incorporation and bylaws, or other... following information: (i) Number of circuits, with identification as to whether the circuit is overhead or...

18 CFR 50.7 - Applications: exhibits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... elements or matters contained in the exhibit. (a) Exhibit A—Articles of incorporation and bylaws. If the applicant is not an individual, a conformed copy of its articles of incorporation and bylaws, or other... following information: (i) Number of circuits, with identification as to whether the circuit is overhead or...

Discovery of potent and selective rhodanine type IKKβ inhibitors by hit-to-lead strategy.

PubMed

Song, Hyeseung; Lee, Yun Suk; Roh, Eun Joo; Seo, Jae Hong; Oh, Kwang-Seok; Lee, Byung Ho; Han, Hogyu; Shin, Kye Jung

2012-09-01

Regulation of NF-κB activation through the inhibition of IKKβ has been identified as a promising target for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis. In order to develop novel IKKβ inhibitors, we performed high throughput screening toward around 8000 library compounds, and identified a hit compound containing rhodanine moiety. We modified the structure of hit compound to obtain potent and selective IKKβ inhibitors. Throughout hit-to-lead studies, we have discovered optimized compounds which possess blocking effect toward NF-κB activation and TNFα production in cell as well as inhibition activity against IKKβ. Among them, compound 3q showed the potent inhibitory activity against IKKβ, and excellent selectivity over other kinases such as p38α, p38β, JNK1, JNK2, and JNK3 as well as IKKα. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Potent Adjuvant Activity of Cationic Liposome-DNA Complexes for Genital Herpes Vaccines▿

PubMed Central

Bernstein, David I.; Cardin, Rhonda D.; Bravo, Fernando J.; Strasser, Jane E.; Farley, Nicholas; Chalk, Claudia; Lay, Marla; Fairman, Jeff

2009-01-01

Development of a herpes simplex virus (HSV) vaccine is a priority because these infections are common. It appears that potent adjuvants will be required to augment the immune response to subunit HSV vaccines. Therefore, we evaluated cationic liposome-DNA complexes (CLDC) as an adjuvant in a mouse model of genital herpes. Using a whole-virus vaccine (HVAC), we showed that the addition of CLDC improved antibody responses compared to vaccine alone. Most important, CLDC increased survival, reduced symptoms, and decreased vaginal virus replication compared to vaccine alone or vaccine administered with monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) plus trehalose dicorynomycolate (TDM) following intravaginal challenge of mice. When CLDC was added to an HSV gD2 vaccine, it increased the amount of gamma interferon that was produced from splenocytes stimulated with gD2 compared to the amount produced with gD2 alone or with MPL-alum. The addition of CLDC to the gD2 vaccine also improved the outcome following vaginal HSV type 2 challenge compared to vaccine alone and was equivalent to vaccination with an MPL-alum adjuvant. CLDC appears to be a potent adjuvant for HSV vaccines and should be evaluated further. PMID:19279167

Determinants of Fentanyl and other Potent μ Opioid Agonist Misuse in Opioid-Dependent Individuals

PubMed Central

Cicero, Theodore J.; Ellis, Matthew S.; Paradis, Alethea; Ortbal, Zachary

2010-01-01

Purpose Based on preclinical and clinical abuse liability assessments, fentanyl and other potent μ opioid agonists (e.g. hydromorphone and morphine) should be the most misused opioids if accessibility in the real world were not an issue. Since the latter is seldom true, we postulated that there would be a significant mismatch between actual and predicted rates of misuse. Methods We recruited 1,818 prescription-opioid dependent patients entering drug treatment programs to complete an anonymous survey, covering drug use and health related issues. Results Hydrocodone and oxycodone products were the drugs of choice in 75% of patients, whereas potent μ opioid agonists (fentanyl, hydromorphone and morphine), with the greatest predicted abuse potential, were very rarely chosen (<5% each). Most unexpectedly, the rank order of the actual drug of choice and the preferred drug in an ideal world were highly correlated. The reason most commonly given for the failure to endorse fentanyl, for example, as an actual or preferred drug, was fear of toxicity and overdose. We found few differences in drug use patterns between a subset of high-risk, impaired health care professionals (N=196) and all other patients other than source of drug, (forged prescriptions and doctors more common and dealers much less common in the HC sample). Conclusions These results indicate that it should not be assumed- particularly for new drug formulations- that a high potential for abuse will result in actual abuse; and, most importantly, that the hesitancy to use potent opioids because of fears of abuse may be misguided. PMID:20597128

Visible light-sensitive APTES-bound ZnO nanowire toward a potent nanoinjector sensing biomolecules in a living cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jooran; Choi, Sunyoung; Bae, Seon Joo; Yoon, Seok Min; Choi, Joon Sig; Yoon, Minjoong

2013-10-01

Nanoscale cell injection techniques combined with nanoscopic photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy have been important issues in high-resolution optical biosensing, gene and drug delivery and single-cell endoscopy for medical diagnostics and therapeutics. However, the current nanoinjectors remain limited for optical biosensing and communication at the subwavelength level, requiring an optical probe such as semiconductor quantum dots, separately. Here, we show that waveguided red emission is observed at the tip of a single visible light-sensitive APTES-modified ZnO nanowire (APTES-ZnO NW) and it exhibits great enhancement upon interaction with a complementary sequence-based double stranded (ds) DNA, whereas it is not significantly affected by non-complementary ds DNA. Further, the tip of a single APTES-ZnO NW can be inserted into the subcellular region of living HEK 293 cells without significant toxicity, and it can also detect the enhancement of the tip emission from subcellular regions with high spatial resolution. These results indicate that the single APTES-ZnO NW would be useful as a potent nanoinjector which can guide visible light into intracellular compartments of mammalian cells, and can also detect nanoscopic optical signal changes induced by interaction with the subcellular specific target biomolecules without separate optical probes.Nanoscale cell injection techniques combined with nanoscopic photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy have been important issues in high-resolution optical biosensing, gene and drug delivery and single-cell endoscopy for medical diagnostics and therapeutics. However, the current nanoinjectors remain limited for optical biosensing and communication at the subwavelength level, requiring an optical probe such as semiconductor quantum dots, separately. Here, we show that waveguided red emission is observed at the tip of a single visible light-sensitive APTES-modified ZnO nanowire (APTES-ZnO NW) and it exhibits great enhancement upon

Multi-Layer Identification of Highly-Potent ABCA1 Up-Regulators Targeting LXRβ Using Multiple QSAR Modeling, Structural Similarity Analysis, and Molecular Docking.

PubMed

Chen, Meimei; Yang, Fafu; Kang, Jie; Yang, Xuemei; Lai, Xinmei; Gao, Yuxing

2016-11-29

In this study, in silico approaches, including multiple QSAR modeling, structural similarity analysis, and molecular docking, were applied to develop QSAR classification models as a fast screening tool for identifying highly-potent ABCA1 up-regulators targeting LXRβ based on a series of new flavonoids. Initially, four modeling approaches, including linear discriminant analysis, support vector machine, radial basis function neural network, and classification and regression trees, were applied to construct different QSAR classification models. The statistics results indicated that these four kinds of QSAR models were powerful tools for screening highly potent ABCA1 up-regulators. Then, a consensus QSAR model was developed by combining the predictions from these four models. To discover new ABCA1 up-regulators at maximum accuracy, the compounds in the ZINC database that fulfilled the requirement of structural similarity of 0.7 compared to known potent ABCA1 up-regulator were subjected to the consensus QSAR model, which led to the discovery of 50 compounds. Finally, they were docked into the LXRβ binding site to understand their role in up-regulating ABCA1 expression. The excellent binding modes and docking scores of 10 hit compounds suggested they were highly-potent ABCA1 up-regulators targeting LXRβ. Overall, this study provided an effective strategy to discover highly potent ABCA1 up-regulators.

Ophiamides A-B, new potent urease inhibitory sphingolipids from Heliotropium ophioglossum.

PubMed

Firdous, Sadiqa; Ansari, Nida Hassan; Fatima, Itrat; Malik, Abdul; Afza, Nighat; Iqbal, Lubna; Lateef, Mehreen

2012-07-01

Ophiamides A (1) and B (2), two new sphingolipids have been isolated from the n-hexane subfraction of the MeOH extract of the whole plant of Heliotropium ophioglossum along with glycerol monopalmitate (3) and β-sitosterol 3-O-β-D: -glucoside (4) reported for the first time from this species. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic techniques including MS and 2D-NMR spectroscopy. Both the compounds 1 and 2 showed potent inhibitory activity against the enzyme urease.

Highly potent growth hormone secretagogues: hybrids of NN703 and ipamorelin.

PubMed

Hansen, T K; Ankersen, M; Raun, K; Hansen, B S

2001-07-23

A series of NN703 analogues with lysine mimetics combined with naphthyl- or biphenylalanine in the core has been prepared and tested in vitro in a rat pituitary cell based assay and subsequently in vivo in pigs in a single dose at 50 nmol/kg. Re-introduction of certain pharmacophores in the C-terminal of NN703, which were originally removed during optimisation for oral bioavailability, led to unexpectedly potent compounds in vitro as well as in vivo.

Potent Oncolytic Herpes Simplex Virus for the Therapy of Advanced Prostate Cancer

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-07-01

are clearly needed to improve this situation. Conditionally replicating (oncolytic) viruses offer unique features as anticancer agents . In this funded...RESEARCH ACCOMPLISHMENTS • Both in vitro and in vivo studies show that the fusogenic oncolytic HSVs are potent antitumor agents against either primary...of fusogenic oncolytic HSVs in the presence of host’s anti -HSV immunity. • Co-administration of fusogenic oncolytic HSV-based virotherapy with

Rational Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Third Generation α-Noscapine Analogues as Potent Tubulin Binding Anti-Cancer Agents

PubMed Central

Manchukonda, Naresh Kumar; Naik, Pradeep Kumar; Santoshi, Seneha; Lopus, Manu; Joseph, Silja; Sridhar, Balasubramanian; Kantevari, Srinivas

2013-01-01

Systematic screening based on structural similarity of drugs such as colchicine and podophyllotoxin led to identification of noscapine, a microtubule-targeted agent that attenuates the dynamic instability of microtubules without affecting the total polymer mass of microtubules. We report a new generation of noscapine derivatives as potential tubulin binding anti-cancer agents. Molecular modeling experiments of these derivatives 5a, 6a-j yielded better docking score (-7.252 to -5.402 kCal/mol) than the parent compound, noscapine (-5.505 kCal/mol) and its existing derivatives (-5.563 to -6.412 kCal/mol). Free energy (ΔG bind) calculations based on the linear interaction energy (LIE) empirical equation utilizing Surface Generalized Born (SGB) continuum solvent model predicted the tubulin-binding affinities for the derivatives 5a, 6a-j (ranging from -4.923 to -6.189 kCal/mol). Compound 6f showed highest binding affinity to tubulin (-6.189 kCal/mol). The experimental evaluation of these compounds corroborated with theoretical studies. N-(3-brormobenzyl) noscapine (6f) binds tubulin with highest binding affinity (KD, 38 ± 4.0 µM), which is ~ 4.0 times higher than that of the parent compound, noscapine (KD, 144 ± 1.0 µM) and is also more potent than that of the first generation clinical candidate EM011, 9-bromonoscapine (KD, 54 ± 9.1 µM). All these compounds exhibited substantial cytotoxicity toward cancer cells, with IC50 values ranging from 6.7 µM to 72.9 µM; compound 6f showed prominent anti-cancer efficacy with IC50 values ranging from 6.7 µM to 26.9 µM in cancer cells of different tissues of origin. These compounds perturbed DNA synthesis, delayed the cell cycle progression at G2/M phase, and induced apoptotic cell death in cancer cells. Collectively, the study reported here identified potent, third generation noscapinoids as new anti-cancer agents. PMID:24205049

GNE-886: A Potent and Selective Inhibitor of the Cat Eye Syndrome Chromosome Region Candidate 2 Bromodomain (CECR2).

PubMed

Crawford, Terry D; Audia, James E; Bellon, Steve; Burdick, Daniel J; Bommi-Reddy, Archana; Côté, Alexandre; Cummings, Richard T; Duplessis, Martin; Flynn, E Megan; Hewitt, Michael; Huang, Hon-Ren; Jayaram, Hariharan; Jiang, Ying; Joshi, Shivangi; Kiefer, James R; Murray, Jeremy; Nasveschuk, Christopher G; Neiss, Arianne; Pardo, Eneida; Romero, F Anthony; Sandy, Peter; Sims, Robert J; Tang, Yong; Taylor, Alexander M; Tsui, Vickie; Wang, Jian; Wang, Shumei; Wang, Yongyun; Xu, Zhaowu; Zawadzke, Laura; Zhu, Xiaoqin; Albrecht, Brian K; Magnuson, Steven R; Cochran, Andrea G

2017-07-13

The biological function of bromodomains, epigenetic readers of acetylated lysine residues, remains largely unknown. Herein we report our efforts to discover a potent and selective inhibitor of the bromodomain of cat eye syndrome chromosome region candidate 2 (CECR2). Screening of our internal medicinal chemistry collection led to the identification of a pyrrolopyridone chemical lead, and subsequent structure-based drug design led to a potent and selective CECR2 bromodomain inhibitor (GNE-886) suitable for use as an in vitro tool compound.

Sex differences in science museum exhibit attraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arámbula Greenfield, Teresa

This study examines the relative attraction of hands-on, interactive science museum exhibits for females and males. Studies have demonstrated that such exhibits can be effective learning experiences for children, with both academic and affective benefits. Other studies have shown that girls and boys do not always experience the same science-related educational opportunities and that, even when they do, they do not necessarily receive the same benefits from them. These early differences can lead to more serious educational and professional disparities later in life. As interactive museum exhibits represent a science experience that is-readily available to both girls and boys, the question arose as to whether they were being used similarly by the two groups as well as by adult women and men. It was found that both girls and boys used all types of exhibits, but that girls were more likely than boys to use puzzles and exhibits focusing on the human body; boys were more likely than girls to use computers and exhibits illustrating physical science principles. However, this was less true of children accompanied by adults (parents) than it was of unaccompanied children on school field trips who roamed the museum more freely.Received: 16 February 1994; Revised: 3 February 1995;

Targeting the Genital Tract Mucosa with a Lipopeptide/Recombinant Adenovirus Prime/Boost Vaccine Induces Potent and Long-Lasting CD8+ T Cell Immunity Against Herpes: Importance of Myeloid Differentiation Factor 881

PubMed Central

Zhang, Xiuli; Dervillez, Xavier; Chentoufi, Aziz Alami; Badakhshan, Tina; Bettahi, Ilham; BenMohamed, Lbachir

2012-01-01

Targeting the mucosal immune system of the genital tract (GT) with subunit vaccines failed to induce potent and durable local CD8+ T cell immunity, crucial for protection against many sexually transmitted viral (STV) pathogens, including herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) that causes genital herpes. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential of a novel lipopeptide/adenovirus type 5 (Lipo/rAdv5) prime/boost mucosal vaccine for induction of CD8+ T cell immunity to protect the female genital tract from herpes. The lipopeptide and the rAdv5 vaccine express the immunodominant HSV-2 CD8+ T cell epitope (gB498-505) and both were delivered intravaginally (IVAG) in the progesterone-induced B6 mouse model of genital herpes. Compared to its homologous lipopeptide/lipopeptide (Lipo/Lipo); the Lipo/rAdv5 prime/boost immunized mice: (i) developed potent and sustained HSV-specific CD8+ T cells, detected in both the GT draining nodes (GT-DLN) and in the vaginal mucosa (VM); (ii) had significantly lower virus titers; (iii) had decreased overt signs of genital herpes disease; and (iv) did not succumb to lethal infection (p < 0.005), following intravaginal HSV-2 challenge. Polyfunctional CD8+ T cells, producing IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-2 and exhibiting cytotoxic activity, were associated with protection (p < 0.005). The protective CD8+ T cell response was significantly compromised in the absence of the adaptor myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) (p = 0.0001). Taken together, these findings indicate that targeting the VM with a Lipo/rAdv5 prime/boost vaccine elicits a potent, MyD88-dependent, and long-lasting mucosal CD8+ T cell protective immunity against sexually transmitted herpes infection and disease. PMID:23018456

Discovery of potent 2,4-difluoro-linker poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 inhibitors with enhanced water solubility and in vivo anticancer efficacy.

PubMed

Chen, Wen-Hua; Song, Shan-Shan; Qi, Ming-Hui; Huan, Xia-Juan; Wang, Ying-Qing; Jiang, Hualiang; Ding, Jian; Ren, Guo-Bin; Miao, Ze-Hong; Li, Jian

2017-11-01

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) is overexpressed in a variety of cancers, especially in breast and ovarian cancers; tumor cells that are deficient in breast cancer gene 1/2 (BRCA1/2) are highly sensitive to PARP1 inhibition. In this study, we identified a series of 2,4-difluorophenyl-linker analogs (15-55) derived from olaparib as novel PARP1 inhibitors. Four potent analogs 17, 43, 47, and 50 (IC 50 =2.2-4.4 nmol/L) effectively inhibited the proliferation of Chinese hamster lung fibroblast V-C8 cells (IC 50 =3.2-37.6 nmol/L) in vitro, and showed specificity toward BRCA-deficient cells (SI=40-510). The corresponding hydrochloride salts 56 and 57 (based on 43 and 47) were highly water soluble in pH=1.0 buffered salt solutions (1628.2 μg/mL, 2652.5 μg/mL). In a BRCA1-mutated xenograft model, oral administration of compound 56 (30 mg·kg -1 ·d -1 , for 21 d) exhibited more prominent tumor growth inhibition (96.6%) compared with the same dose of olaparib (56.3%); in a BRCA2-mutated xenograft model, oral administration of analog 43 (10 mg·kg -1 ·d -1 , for 28 d) significantly inhibited tumor growth (69.0%) and had no negative effects on the body weights. Additionally, compound 56 exhibited good oral bioavailability (F=32.2%), similar to that of olaparib (F=45.4%). Furthermore, the free base 43 of the hydrochloride salt 56 exhibited minimal hERG inhibition activity (IC 50 =6.64 μmol/L). Collectively, these data demonstrate that compound 56 may be an excellent drug candidate for the treatment of cancer, particularly BRCA-deficient tumors.

Extended substrate specificity and first potent irreversible inhibitor/activity-based probe design for Zika virus NS2B-NS3 protease.

PubMed

Rut, Wioletta; Zhang, Linlin; Kasperkiewicz, Paulina; Poreba, Marcin; Hilgenfeld, Rolf; Drąg, Marcin

2017-03-01

Zika virus is spread by Aedes mosquitoes and is linked to acute neurological disorders, especially to microcephaly in newborn children and Guillan-Barré Syndrome. The NS2B-NS3 protease of this virus is responsible for polyprotein processing and therefore considered an attractive drug target. In this study, we have used the Hybrid Combinatorial Substrate Library (HyCoSuL) approach to determine the substrate specificity of ZIKV NS2B-NS3 protease in the P4-P1 positions using natural and a large spectrum of unnatural amino acids. Obtained data demonstrate a high level of specificity of the S3-S1 subsites, especially for basic amino acids. However, the S4 site exhibits a very broad preference toward natural and unnatural amino acids with selected D-amino acids being favored over L enantiomers. This information was used for the design of a very potent phosphonate inhibitor/activity-based probe of ZIKV NS2B-NS3 protease. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Aurintricarboxylic acid is a potent inhibitor of phosphofructokinase.

PubMed Central

McCune, S A; Foe, L G; Kemp, R G; Jurin, R R

1989-01-01

Aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA) was found to be a very potent inhibitor of purified rabbit liver phosphofructokinase (PFK), giving 50% inhibition at 0.2 microM. The inhibition was in a manner consistent with interaction at the citrate-inhibitory site of the enzyme. The data suggest that inhibition of PFK by ATA was not due to denaturation of the enzyme or the irreversible binding of inhibitor, since the inhibition could be reversed by addition of allosteric activators of PFK, i.e. fructose 2,6-bisphosphate or AMP. Two other tricarboxylic acids, agaric acid and (-)-hydroxycitrate, were found to inhibit PFK. ATA at much higher concentrations (500 microM) was shown to inhibit fatty acid synthesis from endogenous glycogen in rat hepatocytes; however, protein synthesis was not altered. PMID:2525029

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide is a potent broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptide: Structure-activity relationships.

PubMed

Starr, Charles G; Maderdrut, Jerome L; He, Jing; Coy, David H; Wimley, William C

2018-06-01

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a naturally occurring cationic peptide with potent immunosuppressant and cytoprotective activities. We now show that full length PACAP38 and to a lesser extent, the truncated form PACAP27, and the closely related vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and secretin had antimicrobial activity against the Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli in the radial diffusion assay. PACAP38 was more potent than either the bovine neutrophil antimicrobial peptide indolicidin or the synthetic antimicrobial peptide ARVA against E. coli. PACAP38 also had activity against the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus in the same assay with comparable potency to indolicidin and ARVA. In the more stringent broth dilution assay, PACAP38 had moderate sterilizing activity against E. coli, and potent sterilizing activity against the Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa. PACAP27, VIP and secretin were much less active than PACAP38 in this assay. PACAP38 also had some activity against the Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus cereus in the broth dilution assay. Many exopeptidase-resistant analogs of PACAP38, including both receptor agonists and antagonists, had antimicrobial activities equal to, or better than PACAP38, in both assays. PACAP38 made the membranes of E. coli permeable to SYTOX Green, suggesting a classical membrane lytic mechanism. These data suggest that analogs of PACPAP38 with a wide range of useful biological activities can be made by judicious substitutions in the sequence. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Switch control pocket inhibitors of p38-MAP kinase. Durable type II inhibitors that do not require binding into the canonical ATP hinge region

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ahn, Yu Mi; Clare, Michael; Ensinger, Carol L.

Switch control pocket inhibitors of p38-alpha kinase are described. Durable type II inhibitors were designed which bind to arginines (Arg67 or Arg70) that function as key residues for mediating phospho-threonine 180 dependant conformational fluxing of p38-alpha from an inactive type II state to an active type I state. Binding to Arg70 in particular led to potent inhibitors, exemplified by DP-802, which also exhibited high kinase selectivity. Binding to Arg70 obviated the requirement for binding into the ATP Hinge region. X-ray crystallography revealed that DP-802 and analogs induce an enhanced type II conformation upon binding to either the unphosphorylated or themore » doubly phosphorylated form of p38-alpha kinase.« less

A review on cylindrospermopsin: The global occurrence, detection, toxicity and degradation of a potent cyanotoxin

EPA Science Inventory

Abstract: Cylindrospermopsin is now recognized as a potent cyanobacterial toxin found in water bodies worldwide. The ever-increasing and global occurrence of massive and prolonged blooms of cylindrospermopsin-producing cyanobacteria in freshwater poses a potential threat to both ...

Effect of Potent γ-Secretase Modulator in Human Neurons Derived From Multiple Presenilin 1–Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Mutant Carriers

PubMed Central

Liu, Qing; Waltz, Shannon; Woodruff, Grace; Ouyang, Joe; Israel, Mason A.; Herrera, Cheryl; Sarsoza, Floyd; Tanzi, Rudolph E.; Koo, Edward H.; Ringman, John M.; Goldstein, Lawrence S. B.; Wagner, Steven L.; Yuan, Shauna H.

2015-01-01

Importance Although considerable effort has been expended developing drug candidates for Alzheimer disease, none have yet succeeded owing to the lack of efficacy or to safety concerns. One potential shortcoming of current approaches to Alzheimer disease drug discovery and development is that they rely primarily on transformed cell lines and animal models that substantially overexpress wild-type or mutant proteins. It is possible that drug development failures thus far are caused in part by the limits of these approaches, which do not accurately reveal how drug candidates will behave in naive human neuronal cells. Objective To analyze purified neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells from patients carrying 3 different presenilin 1 (PS1) mutations and nondemented control individuals in the absence of any overexpression. We tested the efficacy of γ-secretase inhibitor and γ-secretase modulator (GSM) in neurons derived from both normal control and 3 PS1 mutations (A246E, H163R, and M146L). Design, Setting, and Participants Adult human skin biopsies were obtained from volunteers at the Alzheimer Disease Research Center, University of California, San Diego. Cell cultures were treated with γ-secretase inhibitor or GSM. Comparisons of total β-amyloid (Aβ) and Aβ peptides 38, 40, and 42 in the media were made between vehicle- vs drug-treated cultures. Main Outcomes and Measures Soluble Aβ levels in the media were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results As predicted, mutant PS1 neurons exhibited an elevated Aβ42:Aβ40 ratio (P <.05) at the basal state as compared with the nondemented control neurons. Treatment with a potent non–nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory druglike GSM revealed a new biomarker signature that differs from all previous cell types and animals tested. This new signature was the same in both the mutant and control neurons and consisted of a reduction in Aβ42, Aβ40, and Aβ38 and in the Aβ42:Aβ40 ratio, with no

Comparison of the effects of polysulfone and polyester-polymer alloy dialyzers on glycemic control in diabetic patients undergoing hemodialysis.

PubMed

Abe, M; Okada, K; Maruyama, T; Ikeda, K; Kikuchi, F; Kaizu, K; Matsumoto, K

2009-05-01

Though different high-flux dialyzers are available, there are no comparative studies on their glycemic control effects on diabetic hemodialysis (HD) patients. In this crossover study, we compared the effects of polysulfone (PS) and polyester-polymer alloy (PEPA) dialyzers. We recruited 47 diabetic HD patients. The conventional dialyzers were replaced with PS or PEPA dialyzers and the patients were treated for 16 weeks. Subsequently, after interchanging the PS and PEPA dialyzers, the treatment continued for another 16 weeks. For each dialyzer, we analyzed the glycemic control effect and measured their clearance and reduction rates of insulin. The PEPA dialyzer lowered the glycated albumin (GA) levels more significantly than the PS dialyzer. While the groups exhibited no differences in metabolic parameters, the clearance and reduction rates of insulin were more significant in the PS. A significant decrease was observed in the levels of GA, fasting plasma glucose, and glycated hemoglobin in patients with lower fasting C-peptide levels (< 6.0 ng/ml). Glycemic control in diabetic HD patients is affected by the type of dialyzer used. Our results indicate that the PEPA dialyzer is more potent in controlling glycemia than the PS dialyzer in diabetic HD patients.

SL-01, an oral gemcitabine derivative, inhibited human cancer growth more potently than gemcitabine

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhao, Cuirong; Yue, Bin; Liu, Huiping

2012-08-01

SL-01, an oral gemcitabine derivative, was synthesized by introducing the moiety of 3-(dodecyloxycarbonyl)pyrazine-2-carbonyl at the N4-position on the cytidine ring of gemcitabine. Our goal in this study was to evaluate the efficacy of SL-01 on the growth of human cancers with gemcitabine as control. Experiments were performed on human non-small cell lung cancer NCI-H460 and colon cancer HCT-116 both in vitro and in vivo. In vitro assays, SL-01 significantly inhibited the growth of cancer cells as determined by the 3-[4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Further studies indicated that SL-01 induced the cancer cells to apoptosis showing chromatin condensation andmore » externalization of phosphatidylserine. In in vivo studies, we evaluated the efficacy of SL-01 in nude mice bearing human cancer xenografts. SL-01 effectively delayed the growth of NCI-H460 and HCT-116 without significant loss of body weight. Molecular analysis indicated that the high efficacy of SL-01 was associated with its ability to induce apoptosis as evidenced by increase of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining cells, activation of caspase-9, caspase-3 and cleaved poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) in tumor tissues. SL-01 also increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in cancer cells. These biological activities of SL-01 were more potential than that of gemcitabine. Based on these in vitro and in vivo results, SL-01 is proposed as a potent oral anticancer agent that may supplant the use of gemcitabine in the clinic. -- Highlights: ► An oral gemcitabine derivative SL-01 was synthesized. ► The effects of SL-01 were evaluated and its efficacy was compared with gemcitabine. ► The biological activities of SL-01 were more potent than that of gemcitabine. ► SL-01 could replace gemcitabine for clinical use.« less

3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) analogues exhibit differential effects on synaptosomal release of 3H-dopamine and 3H-5-hydroxytryptamine

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McKenna, D.J.; Guan, X.M.; Shulgin, A.T.

1991-03-01

The effect of various analogues of the neurotoxic amphetamine derivative, MDA (3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine) on carrier-mediated, calcium-independent release of 3H-5-HT and 3H-DA from rat brain synaptosomes was investigated. Both enantiomers of the neurotoxic analogues MDA and MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) induce synaptosomal release of 3H-5-HT and 3H-DA in vitro. The release of 3H-5-HT induced by MDMA is partially blocked by 10(-6) M fluoxetine. The (+) enantiomers of both MDA and MDMA are more potent than the (-) enantiomers as releasers of both 3H-5-HT and 3H-DA. Eleven analogues, differing from MDA with respect to the nature and number of ring and/or side chain substituents, alsomore » show some activity in the release experiments, and are more potent as releasers of 3H-5-HT than of 3H-DA. The amphetamine derivatives {plus minus}fenfluramine, {plus minus}norfenfluramine, {plus minus}MDE, {plus minus}PCA, and d-methamphetamine are all potent releasers of 3H-5-HT and show varying degrees of activity as 3H-DA releasers. The hallucinogen DOM does not cause significant release of either 3H-monoamine. Possible long-term serotonergic neurotoxicity was assessed by quantifying the density of 5-HT uptake sites in rats treated with multiple doses of selected analogues using 3H-paroxetine to label 5-HT uptake sites. In the neurotoxicity study of the compounds investigated, only (+)MDA caused a significant loss of 5-HT uptake sites in comparison to saline-treated controls. These results are discussed in terms of the apparent structure-activity properties affecting 3H-monoamine release and their possible relevance to neurotoxicity in this series of MDA congeners.« less

Design and synthesis of potent, orally-active DGAT-1 inhibitors containing a dioxino[2,3-d]pyrimidine core.

PubMed

Dow, Robert L; Andrews, Melissa; Aspnes, Gary E; Balan, Gayatri; Michael Gibbs, E; Guzman-Perez, Angel; Karki, Kapil; Laperle, Jennifer L; Li, Jian-Cheng; Litchfield, John; Munchhof, Michael J; Perreault, Christian; Patel, Leena

2011-10-15

A novel series of potent DGAT-1 inhibitors was developed originating from the lactam-based clinical candidate PF-04620110. Incorporation of a dioxino[2,3-d]pyrimidine-based core afforded good alignment of pharmacophore features and resulted in improved passive permeability. Development of an efficient, homochiral synthesis of these targets facilitated confirmation of predictions regarding the stereochemical-dependence of DGAT-1 inhibition for this series. Compound 10 was shown to be a potent inhibitor of human DGAT-1 (10 nM) and to suppress triglyceride synthesis at oral doses of <3mg/kg. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Structure-Based Design of Novel Dihydroalkoxybenzyloxopyrimidine Derivatives as Potent Nonnucleoside Inhibitors of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Reverse Transcriptase

PubMed Central

Sudbeck, Elise A.; Mao, Chen; Vig, Rakesh; Venkatachalam, T. K.; Tuel-Ahlgren, Lisa; Uckun, Fatih M.

1998-01-01

Two highly potent dihydroalkoxybenzyloxopyrimidine (DABO) derivatives targeting the nonnucleoside inhibitor (NNI) binding site of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reverse transcriptase (RT) have been designed based on the structure of the NNI binding pocket and tested for anti-HIV activity. Our lead DABO derivative, 5-isopropyl-2-[(methylthiomethyl)thio]-6-(benzyl)-pyrimidin-4-(1H)-one, elicited potent inhibitory activity against purified recombinant HIV RT and abrogated HIV replication in peripheral blood mononuclear cells at nanomolar concentrations (50% inhibitory concentration, <1 nM) but showed no detectable cytotoxicity at concentrations as high as 100 μM. PMID:9835518

Controlled assembly of silver nano-fluid in Heliotropium crispum extract: A potent anti-biofilm and bactericidal formulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Faria; Hashmi, Muhammad Uzair; Khalid, Nauman; Hayat, Muhammad Qasim; Ikram, Aamer; Janjua, Hussnain A.

2016-11-01

The study describes the optimized method for silver nanoparticle (AgNPs) synthesis using Heliotropium crispum (HC) plant extract. Optimization of physicochemical parameters resulted in stable and rapidly assembled AgNPs. FTIR results suggest presence of plant phytochemicals that helped in the reduction, stabilization and capping of AgNPs. The assembled Ag nano-composites displayed the peak surface plasmon resonance (SPR) around 428 nm. The presence of uniquely assembled Ag-biomolecule composites, cap and stabilize nanoparticles in aqueous plant suspension. Spherical, uniform-shaped AgNPs with low poly-dispersion and average particle size of 42 nm and was determined through dynamic light scattering (DLS) and scanning election microscopy (SEM) which present robust interaction with microbes. The study also evaluates the antimicrobial and anti-biofilm properties of biologically synthesized AgNPs on clinical isolates of MRSA, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii. Minimum inhibitory concentration (0.5 mg mL-1) of nanoparticles that presented bactericidal effect was made through inhibition assays on bacterial strains. The concentration which presented potent bactericidal response was then evaluated through growth inhibition in liquid medium for anti-biofilm studies at 2.0 mg mL-1. HC-Ag nanoparticles mediated anti-biofilm effects on Pseudomonas aeruginosa was revealed through SEM. Complete breakdown of biofilm's extracellular polymeric substances resulted after incubation with AgNPs. Peptidoglycan cell wall destruction was also revealed on planktonic bacterial images after 24 h of incubation.

Potent Neutralization of Vaccinia Virus by Divergent Murine Antibodies Targeting a Common Site of Vulnerability in L1 Protein

PubMed Central

Kaever, Thomas; Meng, Xiangzhi; Matho, Michael H.; Schlossman, Andrew; Li, Sheng; Sela-Culang, Inbal; Ofran, Yanay; Buller, Mark; Crump, Ryan W.; Parker, Scott; Frazier, April; Crotty, Shane; Zajonc, Dirk M.; Peters, Bjoern

2014-01-01

ABSTRACT Vaccinia virus (VACV) L1 is an important target for viral neutralization and has been included in multicomponent DNA or protein vaccines against orthopoxviruses. To further understand the protective mechanism of the anti-L1 antibodies, we generated five murine anti-L1 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), which clustered into 3 distinct epitope groups. While two groups of anti-L1 failed to neutralize, one group of 3 MAbs potently neutralized VACV in an isotype- and complement-independent manner. This is in contrast to neutralizing antibodies against major VACV envelope proteins, such as H3, D8, or A27, which failed to completely neutralize VACV unless the antibodies are of complement-fixing isotypes and complement is present. Compared to nonneutralizing anti-L1 MAbs, the neutralization antibodies bound to the recombinant L1 protein with a significantly higher affinity and also could bind to virions. By using a variety of techniques, including the isolation of neutralization escape mutants, hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry, and X-ray crystallography, the epitope of the neutralizing antibodies was mapped to a conformational epitope with Asp35 as the key residue. This epitope is similar to the epitope of 7D11, a previously described potent VACV neutralizing antibody. The epitope was recognized mainly by CDR1 and CDR2 of the heavy chain, which are highly conserved among antibodies recognizing the epitope. These antibodies, however, had divergent light-chain and heavy-chain CDR3 sequences. Our study demonstrates that the conformational L1 epitope with Asp35 is a common site of vulnerability for potent neutralization by a divergent group of antibodies. IMPORTANCE Vaccinia virus, the live vaccine for smallpox, is one of the most successful vaccines in human history, but it presents a level of risk that has become unacceptable for the current population. Studying the immune protection mechanism of smallpox vaccine is important for understanding the basic

Synthesis, evaluation, and metabolism of novel [6]-shogaol derivatives as potent Nrf2 activators.

PubMed

Zhu, Yingdong; Wang, Pei; Zhao, Yantao; Yang, Chun; Clark, Anderson; Leung, TinChung; Chen, Xiaoxin; Sang, Shengmin

2016-06-01

Oxidative stress is a central component of many chronic diseases. The Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1)-nuclear factor erythroid 2 p45-related factor 2 (Nrf2) system is a major regulatory pathway of cytoprotective genes against oxidative and electrophilic stress. Activation of the Nrf2 pathway plays crucial roles in the chemopreventive effects of various inducers. In this study, we developed a novel class of potent Nrf2 activators derived from ginger compound, [6]-shogaol (6S), using the Tg[glutathione S-transferase pi 1 (gstp1):green fluorescent protein (GFP)] transgenic zebrafish model. Investigation of structure-activity relationships of 6S derivatives indicates that the combination of an α,β-unsaturated carbonyl entity and a catechol moiety in one compound enhances the Tg(gstp1:GFP) fluorescence signal in zebrafish embryos. Chemical reaction and in vivo metabolism studies of the four most potent 6S derivatives showed that both α,β-unsaturated carbonyl entity and catechol moiety act as major active groups for conjugation with the sulfhydryl groups of the cysteine residues. In addition, we further demonstrated that 6S derivatives increased the expression of Nrf2 downstream target, heme oxygenase-1, in both a dose- and time-dependent manner. These results suggest that α,β-unsaturated carbonyl entity and catechol moiety of 6S derivatives may react with the cysteine residues of Keap1, disrupting the Keap1-Nrf2 complex, thereby liberating and activating Nrf2. Our findings of natural product-derived Nrf2 activators lead to design options of potent Nrf2 activators for further optimization. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Computational design of environmental sensors for the potent opioid fentanyl

DOE PAGES

Bick, Matthew J.; Greisen, Per J.; Morey, Kevin J.; ...

2017-09-19

Here, we describe the computational design of proteins that bind the potent analgesic fentanyl. Our approach employs a fast docking algorithm to find shape complementary ligand placement in protein scaffolds, followed by design of the surrounding residues to optimize binding affinity. Co-crystal structures of the highest affinity binder reveal a highly preorganized binding site, and an overall architecture and ligand placement in close agreement with the design model. We also use the designs to generate plant sensors for fentanyl by coupling ligand binding to design stability. The method should be generally useful for detecting toxic hydrophobic compounds in the environment.

Discovery of a highly potent series of TLR7 agonists.

PubMed

Jones, Peter; Pryde, David C; Tran, Thien-Duc; Adam, Fiona M; Bish, Gerwyn; Calo, Frederick; Ciaramella, Guiseppe; Dixon, Rachel; Duckworth, Jonathan; Fox, David N A; Hay, Duncan A; Hitchin, James; Horscroft, Nigel; Howard, Martin; Laxton, Carl; Parkinson, Tanya; Parsons, Gemma; Proctor, Katie; Smith, Mya C; Smith, Nicholas; Thomas, Amy

2011-10-01

The discovery of a series of highly potent and novel TLR7 agonist interferon inducers is described. Structure-activity relationships are presented, along with pharmacokinetic studies of a lead molecule from this series of N9-pyridylmethyl-8-oxo-3-deazapurine analogues. A rationale for the very high potency observed is offered. An investigation of the clearance mechanism of this class of compounds in rat was carried out, resulting in aldehyde oxidase mediated oxidation being identified as a key component of the high clearance observed. A possible solution to this problem is discussed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Computational design of environmental sensors for the potent opioid fentanyl

PubMed Central

Morey, Kevin J; Antunes, Mauricio S; La, David; Sankaran, Banumathi; Reymond, Luc; Johnsson, Kai; Medford, June I

2017-01-01

We describe the computational design of proteins that bind the potent analgesic fentanyl. Our approach employs a fast docking algorithm to find shape complementary ligand placement in protein scaffolds, followed by design of the surrounding residues to optimize binding affinity. Co-crystal structures of the highest affinity binder reveal a highly preorganized binding site, and an overall architecture and ligand placement in close agreement with the design model. We use the designs to generate plant sensors for fentanyl by coupling ligand binding to design stability. The method should be generally useful for detecting toxic hydrophobic compounds in the environment. PMID:28925919

Discovery of Tertiary Sulfonamides as Potent Liver X Receptor Antagonists

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zuercher, William J.; Buckholz†, Richard G.; Campobasso, Nino

2010-08-12

Tertiary sulfonamides were identified in a HTS as dual liver X receptor (LXR, NR1H2, and NR1H3) ligands, and the binding affinity of the series was increased through iterative analogue synthesis. A ligand-bound cocrystal structure was determined which elucidated key interactions for high binding affinity. Further characterization of the tertiary sulfonamide series led to the identification of high affinity LXR antagonists. GSK2033 (17) is the first potent cell-active LXR antagonist described to date. 17 may be a useful chemical probe to explore the cell biology of this orphan nuclear receptor.

Computational design of environmental sensors for the potent opioid fentanyl

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bick, Matthew J.; Greisen, Per J.; Morey, Kevin J.

Here, we describe the computational design of proteins that bind the potent analgesic fentanyl. Our approach employs a fast docking algorithm to find shape complementary ligand placement in protein scaffolds, followed by design of the surrounding residues to optimize binding affinity. Co-crystal structures of the highest affinity binder reveal a highly preorganized binding site, and an overall architecture and ligand placement in close agreement with the design model. We also use the designs to generate plant sensors for fentanyl by coupling ligand binding to design stability. The method should be generally useful for detecting toxic hydrophobic compounds in the environment.

Discovery of tertiary sulfonamides as potent liver X receptor antagonists.

PubMed

Zuercher, William J; Buckholz, Richard G; Campobasso, Nino; Collins, Jon L; Galardi, Cristin M; Gampe, Robert T; Hyatt, Stephen M; Merrihew, Susan L; Moore, John T; Oplinger, Jeffrey A; Reid, Paul R; Spearing, Paul K; Stanley, Thomas B; Stewart, Eugene L; Willson, Timothy M

2010-04-22

Tertiary sulfonamides were identified in a HTS as dual liver X receptor (LXR, NR1H2, and NR1H3) ligands, and the binding affinity of the series was increased through iterative analogue synthesis. A ligand-bound cocrystal structure was determined which elucidated key interactions for high binding affinity. Further characterization of the tertiary sulfonamide series led to the identification of high affinity LXR antagonists. GSK2033 (17) is the first potent cell-active LXR antagonist described to date. 17 may be a useful chemical probe to explore the cell biology of this orphan nuclear receptor.

Design and Synthesis of N6-Substituted-4′-thioadenosine-5′-uronamides As Potent and Selective Human A3 Adenosine Receptor Agonists

PubMed Central

Choi, Won Jun; Lee, Hyuk Woo; Kim, Hea Ok; Chinn, Moshe; Gao, Zhan-Guo; Patel, Amit; Jacobson, Kenneth A.; Moon, Hyung Ryong; Jung, Young Hoon; Jeong, Lak Shin

2009-01-01

On the basis of a bioisosteric rationale, 4′-thionucleoside analogues of IB-MECA, which is a potent and selective A3 adenosine receptor agonist (AR), were synthesized from d-gulonic acid γ-lactone. The 4′-thio analogue (5h) of IB-MECA showed extremely high binding affinity (Ki = 0.25 nM) at the human A3AR and was more potent than IB-MECA (Ki = 1.4 nM). Bulky substituents at the 5′-uronamide position, such as cyclohexyl and 2- methylbenzyl, in this series of 2-H nucleoside derivatives were tolerated in A3AR binding, although small alkyl analogues were more potent. PMID:19879151

[Transformation of natural products into more potent compounds: chemical modification of monensin].

PubMed

Nagatsu, A; Sakakibara, J

1997-09-01

Monensin (1) is a representative compound of polyether ionophore antibiotics, which selectively transport Na+ ions. In order to obtain potent Na+ ionophores, the modification of the carboxyl group of monensin was carried out to yield monensylamino acids (2) and monensylamino acid-1,29-lactones (3). The Na+ permeability of ion through the erythrocyte membrane of 2 and 3 was evaluated by the 23Na-NMR method. Compound 2 showed less Na+ ion transport activity than monensin, probably due to the lower lipophilicity caused by the conformational change of the chain moiety of the molecules. Although 3 showed higher lipophilisity than 1, 3 had no Na+ ion permeability, probably due to loss of the carboxyl group. As more lipophilic compounds possessing a carboxyl group was supposed to have more ion transport activity, 7-O-acylmonensins (8) and 7-O-alkylmonensins (11) were synthesized. Among these compounds, the value of Na+ ion permeability of 7-O-benzylmonensin (11c) was 1.4 time that of 1. Further investigation was carried out by preparing various 7-O-(substituted benzyl)monensins (13), and 7-O-(p-ethylbenzyl)monensin (13b) exhibited the largest Na+ ion permeability, about twice the value of 1. In order to convert monensin (1) to Ca2+ ionophore, 7-carboxylmethylmonensin (18) via protected 7-oxomonensin (15), and 25-carboxylmonensin (26) were prepared. In the course of the synthesis, 15 was clarified as a useful intermediate to give 7-amino and 7-alkyl derivatives. Ca2+ ion transport activities of 18 and 26 were determined by a CHCl3 liquid membrane system. 25-carboxylmonensin (26) showed 70% of the activity of Ca2+ ionophore, lasalocid A, and compound 26 could be the lead compound for the preparation of a new Ca2+ ionophore.

75 FR 3862 - Photography in Public Exhibit Space

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-25

... exhibit cases for displaying the Charters and other NAE documents to provide better clarity for viewing... documents from damaging exposure to light sources. NARA used filters in earlier exhibit cases. Although... exhibit lighting at its source to remove all ultraviolet and high energy visible light. One commenter...

Individuals with Asperger's disorder exhibit difficulty in switching attention from a local level to a global level.

PubMed

Katagiri, Masatoshi; Kasai, Tetsuko; Kamio, Yoko; Murohashi, Harumitsu

2013-02-01

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether individuals with Asperger's disorder exhibit difficulty in switching attention from a local level to a global level. Eleven participants with Asperger's disorder and 11 age- and gender-matched healthy controls performed a level-repetition switching task using Navon-type hierarchical stimuli. In both groups, level-repetition was beneficial at both levels. Furthermore, individuals with Asperger's disorder exhibited difficulty in switching attention from a local level to a global level compared to control individuals. These findings suggested that there is a problem with the inhibitory mechanism that influences the output of enhanced local visual processing in Asperger's disorder.

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of orally administered acetylenic tricyclic bis(cyanoenone), a highly potent Nrf2 activator with a reversible covalent mode of action

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kostov, Rumen V.; Knatko, Elena V.; McLaughlin, Lesley A.

The acetylenic tricyclic bis(cyanoenone) TBE-31 is a highly potent cysteine targeting compound with a reversible covalent mode of action; its best-characterized target being Kelch-like ECH-associated protein-1 (Keap1), the cellular sensor for oxidants and electrophiles. TBE-31 reacts with cysteines of Keap1, impairing its ability to target nuclear factor-erythroid 2 p45-related factor 2 (Nrf2) for degradation. Consequently, Nrf2 accumulates and orchestrates cytoprotective gene expression. In this study we investigated the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of TBE-31 in C57BL/6 mice. After a single oral dose of 10 μmol/kg (∼200 nmol/animal), the concentration of TBE-31 in blood exhibited two peaks, at 22.3 nM and at 15.5 nM, 40 minmore » and 4 h after dosing, respectively, as determined by a quantitative stable isotope dilution LC-MS/MS method. The AUC{sub 0–24h} was 195.5 h/nmol/l, the terminal elimination half-life was 10.2 h, and the k{sub el} was 0.068 h{sup −1}. To assess the pharmacodynamics of Nrf2 activation by TBE-31, we determined the enzyme activity of its prototypic target, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) and found it elevated by 2.4- and 1.5-fold in liver and heart, respectively. Continuous feeding for 18 days with diet delivering the same daily doses of TBE-31 under conditions of concurrent treatment with the immunosuppressive agent azathioprine had a similar effect on Nrf2 activation without any indications of toxicity. Together with previous reports showing the cytoprotective effects of TBE-31 in animal models of carcinogenesis, our results demonstrate the high potency, efficacy and suitability for chronic administration of cysteine targeting reversible covalent drugs. - Highlights: • TBE-31 is a cysteine targeting compound with a reversible covalent mode of action. • After a single oral dose, the blood concentration of TBE-31 exhibits two peaks. • Oral TBE-31 is a potent activator of Nrf2-dependent enzymes

Considering High-Tech Exhibits?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Routman, Emily

1994-01-01

Discusses a variety of high-tech exhibit media used in The Living World, an educational facility operated by The Saint Louis Zoo. Considers the strengths and weaknesses of holograms, video, animatronics, video-equipped microscopes, and computer interactives. Computer interactives are treated with special attention. (LZ)

Supramolecular assembly of multifunctional maspin-mimetic nanostructures as a potent peptide-based angiogenesis inhibitor

DOE PAGES

Zha, R. Helen; Sur, Shantanu; Boekhoven, Job; ...

2014-11-08

Aberrant angiogenesis plays a large role in pathologies ranging from tumor growth to macular degeneration. Anti-angiogenic proteins have thus come under scrutiny as versatile, potent therapeutics but face problems with purification and tissue retention. We report here on the synthesis of supramolecular nanostructures that mimic the anti-angiogenic activity of maspin, a class II tumor suppressor protein. These maspin-mimetic nanostructures are formed via self-assembly of small peptide amphiphiles containing the g-helix motif of maspin. Using tubulogenesis assays with human umbilical vein endothelial cells, we demonstrate that maspin-mimetic nanostructures show anti-angiogenic activity at concentrations that are significantly lower than those necessary formore » the g-helix peptide. Furthermore, in vivo assays in the chick chorioallantoic membrane show maspin-mimetic nanostructures to be effective over controls at inhibiting angiogenesis. Thus, in conclusion, the nanostructures investigated here offer an attractive alternative to the use of anti-angiogenic recombinant proteins in the treatment of cancer or other diseases involving abnormal blood vessel formation.« less

Chimpanzees and Bonobos Exhibit Emotional Responses to Decision Outcomes

PubMed Central

Rosati, Alexandra G.; Hare, Brian

2013-01-01

The interface between cognition, emotion, and motivation is thought to be of central importance in understanding complex cognitive functions such as decision-making and executive control in humans. Although nonhuman apes have complex repertoires of emotional expression, little is known about the role of affective processes in ape decision-making. To illuminate the evolutionary origins of human-like patterns of choice, we investigated decision-making in humans' closest phylogenetic relatives, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus). In two studies, we examined these species' temporal and risk preferences, and assessed whether apes show emotional and motivational responses in decision-making contexts. We find that (1) chimpanzees are more patient and more risk-prone than are bonobos, (2) both species exhibit affective and motivational responses following the outcomes of their decisions, and (3) some emotional and motivational responses map onto species-level and individual-differences in decision-making. These results indicate that apes do exhibit emotional responses to decision-making, like humans. We explore the hypothesis that affective and motivational biases may underlie the psychological mechanisms supporting value-based preferences in these species. PMID:23734175

Triazolophostins: a library of novel and potent agonists of IP3 receptors.

PubMed

Vibhute, Amol M; Konieczny, Vera; Taylor, Colin W; Sureshan, Kana M

2015-06-28

IP3 receptors are channels that mediate the release of Ca(2+) from the intracellular stores of cells stimulated by hormones or neurotransmitters. Adenophostin A (AdA) is the most potent agonist of IP3 receptors, with the β-anomeric adenine contributing to the increased potency. The potency of AdA and its stability towards the enzymes that degrade IP3 have aroused interest in AdA analogs for biological studies. The complex structure of AdA poses problems that have necessitated optimization of synthetic conditions for each analog. Such lengthy one-at-a-time syntheses limit access to AdA analogs. We have addressed this problem by synthesizing a library of triazole-based AdA analogs, triazolophostins, by employing click chemistry. An advanced intermediate having all the necessary phosphates and a β-azide at the anomeric position was reacted with various alkynes under Cu(i) catalysis to yield triazoles, which upon deprotection gave triazolophostins. All eleven triazolophostins synthesized are more potent than IP3 and some are equipotent with AdA in functional analyses of IP3 receptors. We show that a triazole ring can replace adenine without compromising the potency of AdA and provide facile routes to novel AdA analogs.

Synthesis of (S)-(+)-decursin and its analogues as potent inhibitors of melanin formation in B16 murine melanoma cells.

PubMed

Lee, Kyeong; Lee, Jee-Hyun; Boovanahalli, Shanthaveerappa K; Choi, Yongseok; Choo, Soo-Jin; Yoo, Ick-dong; Kim, Dong Hee; Yun, Mi Young; Lee, Gye Won; Song, Gyu-Yong

2010-12-01

We report the synthesis of a novel series of highly potent melanin inhibitors which were obtained through structural modification of an anticancer compound S-(+)-decursinol. The in vitro inhibitory potencies of the newly synthesized compounds were evaluated against α-MSH induced melanin production in B16 murine melanoma cells. Among the compounds evaluated, compounds 2, 3, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a and 8b emerged as highly potent inhibitors of melanin production. Besides, these compounds demonstrated significantly low cytotoxicity. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Copper Complexation Screen Reveals Compounds with Potent Antibiotic Properties against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

PubMed Central

Haeili, Mehri; Moore, Casey; Davis, Christopher J. C.; Cochran, James B.; Shah, Santosh; Shrestha, Tej B.; Zhang, Yaofang; Bossmann, Stefan H.; Benjamin, William H.

2014-01-01

Macrophages take advantage of the antibacterial properties of copper ions in the killing of bacterial intruders. However, despite the importance of copper for innate immune functions, coordinated efforts to exploit copper ions for therapeutic interventions against bacterial infections are not yet in place. Here we report a novel high-throughput screening platform specifically developed for the discovery and characterization of compounds with copper-dependent antibacterial properties toward methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). We detail how one of the identified compounds, glyoxal-bis(N4-methylthiosemicarbazone) (GTSM), exerts its potent strictly copper-dependent antibacterial properties on MRSA. Our data indicate that the activity of the GTSM-copper complex goes beyond the general antibacterial effects of accumulated copper ions and suggest that, in contrast to prevailing opinion, copper complexes can indeed exhibit species- and target-specific activities. Based on experimental evidence, we propose that copper ions impose structural changes upon binding to the otherwise inactive GTSM ligand and transfer antibacterial properties to the chelate. In turn, GTSM determines target specificity and utilizes a redox-sensitive release mechanism through which copper ions are deployed at or in close proximity to a putative target. According to our proof-of-concept screen, copper activation is not a rare event and even extends to already established drugs. Thus, copper-activated compounds could define a novel class of anti-MRSA agents that amplify copper-dependent innate immune functions of the host. To this end, we provide a blueprint for a high-throughput drug screening campaign which considers the antibacterial properties of copper ions at the host-pathogen interface. PMID:24752262

GSH- and pH-responsive drug delivery system constructed by water-soluble pillar[5]arene and lysine derivative for controllable drug release.

PubMed

Wu, Xuan; Li, Yan; Lin, Chen; Hu, Xiao-Yu; Wang, Leyong

2015-04-21

Novel GSH- and pH-responsive supramolecular vesicles constructed by an amphiphilic inclusion complex formed from water-soluble pillar[5]arene and lysine derivative have been successfully developed, which can efficiently encapsulate anticancer drug MTZ and show rapid MTZ-release in a simulated acidic tumor environment with high GSH concentration, and exhibit potent antitumor activity.

A Salamander Tale: Effective Exhibits and Attitude Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rollins, Jeffrey; Watson, Sunnie Lee

2017-01-01

Little information exists regarding intention behind the design and development of Extension outreach and educational exhibits. An evaluation of response to the exhibit "A Salamander Tale" indicates that the methods used to develop the exhibit resulted in an effective way to present information to an adult audience. Survey questions were…

Asia: A Guide to Traveling Exhibitions and Displays.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ASIA Society, New York, NY.

The resource guide provides information on sources of exhibitions and materials for display which depict the peoples and culture of Asia. The major portion of the booklet represents one of the original Asia Society's exhibitions. The first section suggests several organizations which offer traveling exhibitions. Under each organization the kinds…

Dual-Use Space Technology Transfer Conference and Exhibition. Volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krishen, Kumar (Compiler)

1994-01-01

This is the second volume of papers presented at the Dual-Use Space Technology Transfer Conference and Exhibition held at the Johnson Space Center February 1-3, 1994. Possible technology transfers covered during the conference were in the areas of information access; innovative microwave and optical applications; materials and structures; marketing and barriers; intelligent systems; human factors and habitation; communications and data systems; business process and technology transfer; software engineering; biotechnology and advanced bioinstrumentation; communications signal processing and analysis; medical care; applications derived from control center data systems; human performance evaluation; technology transfer methods; mathematics, modeling, and simulation; propulsion; software analysis and decision tools; systems/processes in human support technology; networks, control centers, and distributed systems; power; rapid development; perception and vision technologies; integrated vehicle health management; automation technologies; advanced avionics; and robotics technologies.

Potent activity of nobiletin-rich Citrus reticulata peel extract to facilitate cAMP/PKA/ERK/CREB signaling associated with learning and memory in cultured hippocampal neurons: identification of the substances responsible for the pharmacological action.

PubMed

Kawahata, Ichiro; Yoshida, Masaaki; Sun, Wen; Nakajima, Akira; Lai, Yanxin; Osaka, Naoya; Matsuzaki, Kentaro; Yokosuka, Akihito; Mimaki, Yoshihiro; Naganuma, Akira; Tomioka, Yoshihisa; Yamakuni, Tohru

2013-10-01

cAMP/PKA/ERK/CREB signaling linked to CRE-mediated transcription is crucial for learning and memory. We originally found nobiletin as a natural compound that stimulates this intracellular signaling and exhibits anti-dementia action in animals. Citrus reticulata or C. unshiu peels are employed as "chinpi" and include a small amount of nobiletin. We here provide the first evidence for beneficial pharmacological actions on the cAMP/PKA/ERK/CREB cascade of extracts from nobiletin-rich C.reticulata peels designated as Nchinpi, the nobiletin content of which was 0.83 ± 0.13% of the dry weight or 16-fold higher than that of standard chinpi extracts. Nchinpi extracts potently facilitated CRE-mediated transcription in cultured hippocampal neurons, whereas the standard chinpi extracts showed no such activity. Also, the Nchinpi extract, but not the standard chinpi extract, stimulated PKA/ERK/CREB signaling. Interestingly, treatment with the Nchinpi extract at the concentration corresponding to approximately 5 μM nobiletin more potently facilitated CRE-mediated transcriptional activity than did 30 μM nobiletin alone. Consistently, sinensetin, tangeretin, 6-demethoxynobiletin, and 6-demethoxytangeretin were also identified as bioactive substances in Nchinpi that facilitated the CRE-mediated transcription. Purified sinensetin enhanced the transcription to a greater degree than nobiletin. Furthermore, samples reconstituted with the four purified compounds and nobiletin in the ratio of each constituent's content in the extract showed activity almost equal to that of the Nchinpi extract to stimulate CRE-mediated transcription. These findings suggest that above four compounds and nobiletin in the Nchinpi extract mainly cooperated to facilitate potently CRE-mediated transcription linked to the upstream cAMP/PKA/ERK/CREB pathway in hippocampal neurons.

Poster exhibitions at national conferences: education or farce?

PubMed

Salzl, Gabriele; Gölder, Stefan; Timmer, Antje; Marienhagen, Jörg; Schölmerich, Jürgen; Grossmann, Johannes

2008-02-01

The so-called poster exhibition is an established element of medical meetings which often receives little attention. The aim of this study was to analyze the organization, acceptance and value of poster exhibitions. Interview based study conducted during the annual meeting of a German specialist medical conference. A total of 247 attendees, poster authors and "poster chairpersons" were interviewed. Attendance at poster exhibitions was documented, the poster review and award process analyzed, and abstracts assessed for redundancy of presentation. Participation in poster exhibitions was very low. Despite this, their scientific value was esteemed high by young authors and the poster chairpersons. Almost a third (29.4%) of posters had been displayed at other meetings. Several attendees (55.4%) and poster presenters (49.1%) say they would welcome the opportunity for personal one-on-one discussion at the poster in addition to poster viewing. The option of additional personal discussion with the poster presenter may lead to an increase of the rather modest participation of attendees at poster exhibitions. Poster exhibitions are of value in particular for young scientists and poster chairpersons.

Binding ability of impromidine, a potent H2 agonist of histamine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anouar, A.; Lhadi, E.; Decock, P.; Kozlowskyinst4, H.

1999-09-01

Impromidine (fig.1) is a potent and selective histamine H2 receptor agonist and its structure comprises a strongly basic guanidine group containing two different imidazole-containing side chains. The present work deals with the study of coordination equilibria between impromidine and Cu(II) and Ni(II) in aqueous solution at 25 circC. Potentiometric, UV-Visible and EPR studies on Cu(II) complexes with impromidine have shown that this anti-ulcerogenic drug is a very potent chelating agent. This drug is found to be a very effective ligand for Ni(II) ions also. The effective coordination of impromidine to metal ions may have significant biological implications. L'impromidine est un agoniste H2 de l'histamine, sa structure possède un groupement guanidinique de forte basicité et dont l'environne ment des deux groupements imidazoliques est différent. Le présent travail consiste en l'étude de la coordination de l'impromidine avec le Cu(II) et le Ni(II) en milieu aqueux à 25 circC. La potentiométrie, LíUV-Visible et la RPE montrent que le cuivre se coordine très fortement avec l'impromidine. Nous avons trouvé que ce médicament se coordine aussi fortement avec le nickel(II). La coordination de l'impromidine avec les métaux pourrait avoir des applications importantes en médecine.

Optimization of potent hepatitis C virus NS3 helicase inhibitors isolated from the yellow dyes thioflavine S and primuline.

PubMed

Li, Kelin; Frankowski, Kevin J; Belon, Craig A; Neuenswander, Ben; Ndjomou, Jean; Hanson, Alicia M; Shanahan, Matthew A; Schoenen, Frank J; Blagg, Brian S J; Aubé, Jeffrey; Frick, David N

2012-04-12

A screen for hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3 helicase inhibitors revealed that the commercial dye thioflavine S was the most potent inhibitor of NS3-catalyzed DNA and RNA unwinding in the 827-compound National Cancer Institute Mechanistic Set. Thioflavine S and the related dye primuline were separated here into their pure components, all of which were oligomers of substituted benzothiazoles. The most potent compound (P4), a benzothiazole tetramer, inhibited unwinding >50% at 2 ± 1 μM, inhibited the subgenomic HCV replicon at 10 μM, and was not toxic at 100 μM. Because P4 also interacted with DNA, more specific analogues were synthesized from the abundant dimeric component of primuline. Some of the 32 analogues prepared retained ability to inhibit HCV helicase but did not appear to interact with DNA. The most potent of these specific helicase inhibitors (compound 17) was active against the replicon and inhibited the helicase more than 50% at 2.6 ± 1 μM. © 2012 American Chemical Society

Herbal creams used for atopic eczema in Birmingham, UK illegally contain potent corticosteroids.

PubMed

Ramsay, H M; Goddard, W; Gill, S; Moss, C

2003-12-01

To determine whether "herbal creams" reported as being effective for the treatment of childhood atopic eczema contained corticosteroids. Patients attending the paediatric dermatology clinic at Birmingham Children's Hospital, April 2001 to March 2002, and who reported using "herbal creams" with good effect for atopic eczema were asked to submit the cream for analysis. Hydrocortisone, clobetasone butyrate, betamethasone valerate, and clobetasol propionate were analysed by HPLC. Twenty four creams from 19 patients, median (interquartile range) age 3.82 (0.69-7.98) years were analysed. All five creams labelled Wau Wa and the two labelled Muijiza cream contained clobetasol propionate. Thirteen of 17 unnamed creams contained corticosteroids: clobetasol proprionate (n = 4), clobetasol proprionate + hydrocortisone (n = 1), betamethasone valerate (n = 2), clobetasone butyrate (n = 3), and hydrocortisone (n = 2); there was an unidentified peak in one. Further analysis suggested Wau Wa cream contained approximately 20% proprietary Dermovate Cream in a paraffin base. No parents were aware that the creams contained steroid. The majority of herbal creams analysed illegally contained potent or very potent topical steroids. There is an urgent need for tighter regulation of herbal creams and for increased public education about the potential dangers of alternative therapies.

Application of computerised penile arterial waveform analysis in the diagnosis of arteriogenic impotence. An initial study in potent and impotent men.

PubMed

Desai, K M; Gingell, J C; Skidmore, R; Follett, D H

1987-11-01

A new method is described for evaluating arteriogenic impotence by means of noninvasive quantification of penile Doppler arterial waveforms using computerised analysis based on the Laplace Transform model. The haemodynamic changes occurring during a papaverine-induced erection in healthy potent volunteers have been recorded by this technique, which has also been shown to be capable of discriminating between a normal and an abnormal penile arterial supply in an initial study of potent and impotent men.

Benzenesulfonamide bearing 1,2,4-triazole scaffolds as potent inhibitors of tumor associated carbonic anhydrase isoforms hCA IX and hCA XII.

PubMed

SitaRam; Celik, Gulsah; Khloya, Poonam; Vullo, Daniela; Supuran, Claudiu T; Sharma, Pawan K

2014-03-15

Three series of novel heterocyclic compounds (3a-3g, 4a-4g and 5a-5g) containing benzenesulfonamide moiety and incorporating a 1,2,4-triazole ring, have been synthesized and investigated as inhibitors against four isomers of the α-class carbonic anhydrases (CAs, EC 4.2.1.1), comprising hCAs I and II (cytosolic, ubiquitous isozymes) and hCAs IX and XII (transmembrane, tumor associated isozymes). Against the human isozymes hCA I and II, compounds of two series (3a-3g and 4a-4g) showed Ki values in the range of 84-868 nM and 5.6-390 nM, respectively whereas compounds of series 5a-5g were found to be poor inhibitors (Ki values exceeding 10,000 nM in some cases). Against hCA IX and XII, all the tested compounds exhibited excellent to moderate inhibitory potential with Ki values in the range of 2.8-431 nM and 1.3-63 nM, respectively. Compounds 3d, 3f and 4f exhibited excellent inhibitory potential against all of the four isozymes hCA I, II, IX and XII, even better than the standard drug acetazolamide (AZA) whereas compound of the series 5a-5g were comparatively less potent but more selective towards hCA IX and XII. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

BRP-187: A potent inhibitor of leukotriene biosynthesis that acts through impeding the dynamic 5-lipoxygenase/5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP) complex assembly.

PubMed

Garscha, Ulrike; Voelker, Susanna; Pace, Simona; Gerstmeier, Jana; Emini, Besa; Liening, Stefanie; Rossi, Antonietta; Weinigel, Christina; Rummler, Silke; Schubert, Ulrich S; Scriba, Gerhard K E; Çelikoğlu, Erşan; Çalışkan, Burcu; Banoglu, Erden; Sautebin, Lidia; Werz, Oliver

2016-11-01

The pro-inflammatory leukotrienes (LTs) are formed from arachidonic acid (AA) in activated leukocytes, where 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) translocates to the nuclear envelope to assemble a functional complex with the integral nuclear membrane protein 5-LO-activating protein (FLAP). FLAP, a MAPEG family member, facilitates AA transfer to 5-LO for efficient conversion, and LT biosynthesis critically depends on FLAP. Here we show that the novel LT biosynthesis inhibitor BRP-187 prevents the 5-LO/FLAP interaction at the nuclear envelope of human leukocytes without blocking 5-LO nuclear redistribution. BRP-187 inhibited 5-LO product formation in human monocytes and polymorphonuclear leukocytes stimulated by lipopolysaccharide plus N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (IC 50 =7-10nM), and upon activation by ionophore A23187 (IC 50 =10-60nM). Excess of exogenous AA markedly impaired the potency of BRP-187. Direct 5-LO inhibition in cell-free assays was evident only at >35-fold higher concentrations, which was reversible and not improved under reducing conditions. BRP-187 prevented A23187-induced 5-LO/FLAP complex assembly in leukocytes but failed to block 5-LO nuclear translocation, features that were shared with the FLAP inhibitor MK886. Whereas AA release, cyclooxygenases and related LOs were unaffected, BRP-187 also potently inhibited microsomal prostaglandin E 2 synthase-1 (IC 50 =0.2μM), another MAPEG member. In vivo, BRP-187 (10mg/kg) exhibited significant effectiveness in zymosan-induced murine peritonitis, suppressing LT levels in peritoneal exudates as well as vascular permeability and neutrophil infiltration. Together, BRP-187 potently inhibits LT biosynthesis in vitro and in vivo, which seemingly is caused by preventing the 5-LO/FLAP complex assembly and warrants further preclinical evaluation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

77 FR 31909 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-30

... exhibition ``50th Anniversary Remembrance of the Tragedy at Orly,'' imported from abroad by the High Museum of Art for temporary exhibition within the United States, is of cultural significance. The object is... exhibition or display of the exhibit object at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia from on or about...

Discovery of 4-Methyl-N-(4-((4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)methyl)-3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-3-((1-nicotinoylpiperidin-4-yl)oxy)benzamide (CHMFL-ABL/KIT-155) as a Novel Highly Potent Type II ABL/KIT Dual Kinase Inhibitor with a Distinct Hinge Binding.

PubMed

Wang, Qiang; Liu, Feiyang; Wang, Beilei; Zou, Fengming; Qi, Ziping; Chen, Cheng; Yu, Kailin; Hu, Chen; Qi, Shuang; Wang, Wenchao; Hu, Zhenquan; Liu, Juan; Wang, Wei; Wang, Li; Liang, Qianmao; Zhang, Shanchun; Ren, Tao; Liu, Qingsong; Liu, Jing

2017-01-12

The discovery of a novel potent type II ABL/c-KIT dual kinase inhibitor compound 34 (CHMFL-ABL/KIT-155), which utilized a hydrogen bond formed by NH on the kinase backbone and carbonyl oxygen of 34 as a unique hinge binding, is described. 34 potently inhibited purified ABL (IC 50 : 46 nM) and c-KIT kinase (IC 50 : 75 nM) in the biochemical assays and displayed high selectivity (S Score (1) = 0.03) at the concentration of 1 μM among 468 kinases/mutants in KINOMEscan assay. It exhibited strong antiproliferative activities against BCR-ABL/c-KIT driven CML/GISTs cancer cell lines through blockage of the BCR-ABL/c-KIT mediated signaling pathways, arresting cell cycle progression and induction of apoptosis. 34 possessed a good oral PK property and effectively suppressed the tumor progression in the K562 (CML) and GIST-T1 (GISTs) cells mediated xenograft mouse model. The distinct hinge-binding mode of 34 provided a novel pharmacophore for expanding the chemical structure diversity for the type II kinase inhibitors discovery.

Proliferative Glioblastoma Cancer Cells Exhibit Persisting Temporal Control of Metabolism and Display Differential Temporal Drug Susceptibility in Chemotherapy.

PubMed

Wagner, Paula M; Sosa Alderete, Lucas G; Gorné, Lucas D; Gaveglio, Virginia; Salvador, Gabriela; Pasquaré, Susana; Guido, Mario E

2018-06-07

Even in immortalized cell lines, circadian clocks regulate physiological processes in a time-dependent manner, driving transcriptional and metabolic rhythms, the latter being able to persist without transcription. Circadian rhythm disruptions in modern life (shiftwork, jetlag, etc.) may lead to higher cancer risk. Here, we investigated whether the human glioblastoma T98G cells maintained quiescent or under proliferation keep a functional clock and whether cells display differential time responses to bortezomib chemotherapy. In arrested cultures, mRNAs for clock (Per1, Rev-erbα) and glycerophospholipid (GPL)-synthesizing enzyme genes, 32 P-GPL labeling, and enzyme activities exhibited circadian rhythmicity; oscillations were also found in the redox state/peroxiredoxin oxidation. In proliferating cells, rhythms of gene expression were lost or their periodicity shortened whereas the redox and GPL metabolisms continued to fluctuate with a similar periodicity as under arrest. Cell viability significantly changed over time after bortezomib treatment; however, this rhythmicity and the redox cycles were altered after Bmal1 knock-down, indicating cross-talk between the transcriptional and the metabolic oscillators. An intrinsic metabolic clock continues to function in proliferating cells, controlling diverse metabolisms and highlighting differential states of tumor suitability for more efficient, time-dependent chemotherapy when the redox state is high and GPL metabolism low.

3,4-Dihydro-2H-benzoxazinones are 5-HT(1A) receptor antagonists with potent 5-HT reuptake inhibitory activity.

PubMed

Atkinson, Peter J; Bromidge, Steven M; Duxon, Mark S; Gaster, Laramie M; Hadley, Michael S; Hammond, Beverley; Johnson, Christopher N; Middlemiss, Derek N; North, Stephanie E; Price, Gary W; Rami, Harshad K; Riley, Graham J; Scott, Claire M; Shaw, Tracey E; Starr, Kathryn R; Stemp, Geoffrey; Thewlis, Kevin M; Thomas, David R; Thompson, Mervyn; Vong, Antonio K K; Watson, Jeannette M

2005-02-01

Starting from a high throughput screening hit, a series of 3,4-dihydro-2H-benzoxazinones has been identified with both high affinity for the 5-HT(1A) receptor and potent 5-HT reuptake inhibitory activity. The 5-(2-methyl)quinolinyloxy derivative combined high 5-HT(1A/1B/1D) receptor affinities with low intrinsic activity and potent inhibition of the 5-HT reuptake site (pK(i)8.2). This compound also had good oral bioavailability and brain penetration in the rat.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of a novel series of quercetin diacylglucosides as potent anti-MRSA and anti-VRE agents.

PubMed

Hossion, Abugafar M L; Otsuka, Nao; Kandahary, Rafiya K; Tsuchiya, Tomofusa; Ogawa, Wakano; Iwado, Akimasa; Zamami, Yoshito; Sasaki, Kenji

2010-09-01

A series of novel quercetin diacylglucosides were designed and first synthesized by Steglich esterification on the basis of MRSA strains inhibiting natural compound A. The in vitro inhibition of different multi-drug resistant bacterial strains and Escherichia coli DNA gyrase B was investigated. In the series, compound 10h was up to 128-fold more potent against vancomycin-resistant enterococci and more effective than A, which represents a promising new candidate as a potent anti-MRSA and anti-VRE agent. Copyright 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Class II obese and healthy pregnant controls exhibit indistinguishable pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory immune responses to Caesarian section

PubMed Central

Graham, Caroline; Thorleifson, Mullein; Stefura, William P.; Funk, Duane J.

2017-01-01

Abstract Introduction Obesity during pregnancy is associated with meta‐inflammation and an increased likelihood of clinical complications. Surgery results in intense, acute inflammatory responses in any individual. Because obese individuals exhibit constitutive inflammatory responses and high rates of Caesarian section, it is important to understand the impact of surgery in such populations. Whether more pronounced pro‐inflammatory cytokine responses and/or counterbalancing changes in anti‐inflammatory immune modulators occurs is unknown. Here we investigated innate immune capacity in vivo and in vitro in non‐obese, term‐pregnant controls versus healthy, term‐pregnant obese women (Class II, BMI 35–40). Methods Systemic in vivo induction of eleven pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory biomarkers and acute phase proteins was assessed in plasma immediately prior to and again following Caesarian section surgery. Independently, innate immune capacity was examined by stimulating freshly isolated PBMC in vitro with a panel of defined PRR‐ligands for TLR4, TLR8, TLR3, and RLR 24 h post‐surgery. Results The kinetics and magnitude of the in vivo inflammatory responses examined were indistinguishable in the two populations across the broad range of biomarkers examined, despite the fact that obese women had higher baseline inflammatory status. Deliberate in vitro stimulation with a range of PRR ligands also elicited pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory cytokine responses that were indistinguishable between control and obese mothers. Conclusions Acute in vivo innate immune responses to C‐section, as well as subsequent in vitro stimulation with a panel of microbial mimics, are not detectably altered in Class II obese women. The data argue that while Class II obesity is undesirable, it has minimal impact on the in vivo inflammatory response, or innate immunomodulatory capacity, in women selecting C‐section. PMID:28544689

Salicylate, diflunisal and their metabolites inhibit CBP/p300 and exhibit anticancer activity.

PubMed

Shirakawa, Kotaro; Wang, Lan; Man, Na; Maksimoska, Jasna; Sorum, Alexander W; Lim, Hyung W; Lee, Intelly S; Shimazu, Tadahiro; Newman, John C; Schröder, Sebastian; Ott, Melanie; Marmorstein, Ronen; Meier, Jordan; Nimer, Stephen; Verdin, Eric

2016-05-31

Salicylate and acetylsalicylic acid are potent and widely used anti-inflammatory drugs. They are thought to exert their therapeutic effects through multiple mechanisms, including the inhibition of cyclo-oxygenases, modulation of NF-κB activity, and direct activation of AMPK. However, the full spectrum of their activities is incompletely understood. Here we show that salicylate specifically inhibits CBP and p300 lysine acetyltransferase activity in vitro by direct competition with acetyl-Coenzyme A at the catalytic site. We used a chemical structure-similarity search to identify another anti-inflammatory drug, diflunisal, that inhibits p300 more potently than salicylate. At concentrations attainable in human plasma after oral administration, both salicylate and diflunisal blocked the acetylation of lysine residues on histone and non-histone proteins in cells. Finally, we found that diflunisal suppressed the growth of p300-dependent leukemia cell lines expressing AML1-ETO fusion protein in vitro and in vivo. These results highlight a novel epigenetic regulatory mechanism of action for salicylate and derivative drugs.

Effect of potent endomorphin degradation blockers on analgesic and antidepressant-like responses in mice.

PubMed

Cravezic, Aurore; Fichna, Jakub; Gach, Katarzyna; Wyrebska, Anna; Perlikowska, Renata; Costentin, Jean; Bonnet, Jean-Jacques; Janecka, Anna; do Rego, Jean-Claude

2011-12-01

The biological effects of endomorphins (EMs) are short-lasting due to their rapid degradation by endogenous enzymes. Competing enzymatic degradation is an approach to prolong EM bioavailability. In the present study, a series of tetra- and tripeptides of similar to EMs structure was synthesized and tested in vitro and in vivo for their ability to inhibit degradation of EMs. The obtained results indicated that, among the series of analogs, the tetrapeptide Tyr-Pro-d-ClPhe-Phe-NH(2) and the tripeptide Tyr-Pro-Ala-NH(2), which did not bind to the μ-opioid receptors, were potent inhibitors of EM catabolism in rat brain homogenate. In vivo, these two peptides significantly prolonged the analgesic and antidepressant-like effects, induced by exogenous EMs, by blocking EM degrading enzymes. These new potent inhibitors may therefore increase the level and the half life of endogenous EMs and could be used in a new therapeutic strategy against pain and mood disorders, based on increasing of EM bioavailability. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Structure guided design of potent and selective ponatinib-based hybrid inhibitors for RIPK1

PubMed Central

Najjar, Malek; Suebsuwong, Chalada; Ray, Soumya S.; Thapa, Roshan J.; Maki, Jenny L.; Nogusa, Shoko; Shah, Saumil; Saleh, Danish; Gough, Peter J.; Bertin, John; Yuan, Junying; Balachandran, Siddharth; Cuny, Gregory D.; Degterev, Alexei

2015-01-01

Summary RIPK1 and RIPK3, two closely related RIPK family members, have emerged as important regulators of pathologic cell death and inflammation. In the current work, we report that the Bcr-Abl inhibitor and anti-leukemia agent ponatinib is also a first-in-class dual inhibitor of RIPK1 and RIPK3. Ponatinib potently inhibited multiple paradigms of RIPK1- and RIPK3-dependent cell death and inflammatory TNFα gene transcription. We further describe design strategies that utilize the ponatinib scaffold to develop two classes of inhibitors (CS and PN series), each with greatly improved selectivity for RIPK1. In particular, we detail the development of PN10, a highly potent and selective ‘hybrid’ RIPK1 inhibitor, capturing the best properties of two different allosteric RIPK1 inhibitors, ponatinib and necrostatin-1. Finally, we show that RIPK1 inhibitors from both classes are powerful blockers of TNF-induced injury in vivo. Altogether, these findings outline promising candidate molecules and design approaches for targeting RIPK1/3-driven inflammatory pathologies. PMID:25801024

Substituted 4-carboxymethylpyroglutamic acid diamides as potent and selective inhibitors of fibroblast activation protein.

PubMed

Tsai, Ting-Yueh; Yeh, Teng-Kuang; Chen, Xin; Hsu, Tsu; Jao, Yu-Chen; Huang, Chih-Hsiang; Song, Jen-Shin; Huang, Yu-Chen; Chien, Chia-Hui; Chiu, Jing-Huai; Yen, Shih-Chieh; Tang, Hung-Kuan; Chao, Yu-Sheng; Jiaang, Weir-Torn

2010-09-23

Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) belongs to the prolyl peptidase family. FAP inhibition is expected to become a new antitumor target. Most known FAP inhibitors often resemble the dipeptide cleavage products, with a boroproline at the P1 site; however, these inhibitors also inhibit DPP-IV, DPP-II, DPP8, and DPP9. Potent and selective FAP inhibitor is needed in evaluating that FAP as a therapeutic target. Therefore, it is important to develop selective FAP inhibitors for the use of target validation. To achieve this, optimization of the nonselective DPP-IV inhibitor 8 led to the discovery of a new class of substituted 4-carboxymethylpyroglutamic acid diamides as FAP inhibitors. SAR studies resulted in a number of FAP inhibitors having IC(50) of <100 nM with excellent selectivity over DPP-IV, DPP-II, DPP8, and DPP9 (IC(50) > 100 μM). Compounds 18a, 18b, and 19 are the only known potent and selective FAP inhibitors, which prompts us to further study the physiological role of FAP.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of pyrazolylaminoquinazoline derivatives as highly potent pan-fibroblast growth factor receptor inhibitors.

PubMed

Fan, Jun; Dai, Yang; Shao, Jingwei; Peng, Xia; Wang, Chen; Cao, Sufen; Zhao, Bin; Ai, Jing; Geng, Meiyu; Duan, Wenhu

2016-06-01

Fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) are important oncology targets due to the dysregulation of this signaling pathway in a wide variety of human cancers. We identified a series of pyrazolylaminoquinazoline derivatives as potent FGFR inhibitors with low nanomolar potency. The representative compound 29 strongly inhibited FGFR1-3 kinase activity and suppressed FGFR signaling transduction in FGFR-addicted cancer cells; FGFRs-driven cell proliferation was also strongly inhibited regardless of mechanistic complexity implicated in FGFR activation, which further confirmed that 29 was a potent pan-FGFR inhibitor. The flexibility of our structure offered the potential to preserve good affinity for mutant FGFR, which is important for developing TKIs with long-term efficacy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Discovery of potent and selective inhibitors of human aminopeptidases ERAP1 and ERAP2 by screening libraries of phosphorus-containing amino acid and dipeptide analogues.

PubMed

Węglarz-Tomczak, Ewelina; Vassiliou, Stamatia; Mucha, Artur

2016-08-15

A collection of fifty phosphonic and phosphinic acids was screened for inhibition of ERAP1 and ERAP2, the human endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidases. The cooperative action of these enzymes is manifested by trimming a variety of antigenic precursors to be presented on the cell surface by major histocompatibility class I. The SAR studies revealed several potent compounds, particularly among the phosphinic dipeptide analogues, that were strong inhibitors of ERAP2 (Ki=100-350nM). A wide structural diversity of the applied organophosphorus compounds, predominantly non-proteinogenic analogues, allowed identification of representatives selective toward only one form of ERAP. For example, N'-substituted α,β-diaminophosphonates and phosphinates exhibited potency only toward ERAP2, which is in agreement with the P1 basic substrate-oriented specificity. Such discriminating ligands are invaluable tools for elucidating the precise role of a particular aminopeptidase in the concerted function of antigen processing and in human diseases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.