Design and synthesis of a template-assembled oligomannose cluster as an epitope mimic for human HIV-neutralizing antibody 2G12

The synthesis and antibody-binding affinity of a novel template-assembled oligomannose cluster as an epitope mimic for human anti-HIV antibody 2G12 are described. Cholic acid was chosen as the scaffold and three high-mannose type oligosaccharide (Man(9)GlcNAc(2)Asn) moieties were selectively attached at the 3alpha, 7alpha, and 12alpha-positions of the scaffold through a series of regioselective transformations. Binding studies revealed that the synthetic oligosaccharide cluster is 46-fold more effective than the subunit Man(9)GlcNAc(2)Asn in inhibiting 2G12-binding to immobilized gp120. The scaffold approach described in this paper provides an avenue to designing more effective epitope mimics for antibody 2G12 in the hope of developing a carbohydrate-based vaccine against HIV-1.     

A bacterial lipooligosaccharide that naturally mimics the epitope of the HIV-neutralizing antibody 2G12 as a template for vaccine design

The broadly neutralizing antibody 2G12 binds a fairly conserved cluster of oligomannose sugars on the HIV surface glycoprotein gp120, which has led to the hypothesis that these sugars pose potential vaccine targets. Here, we present the chemical analysis, antigenicity, and immunogenicity of?a bacterial lipooligosaccharide (LOS) comprised of?a manno-oligosaccharide sequence analogous to the 2G12 epitope. Antigenic similarity of the LOS to oligomannose was evidenced by 2G12 binding to the LOS and the inability of sera elicited against synthetic oligomannosides, but incapable of binding natural oligomannose, to bind the LOS. Immunization with heat-killed bacteria yielded epitope-specific serum antibodies with the capacity to bind soluble gp120. Although these sera did not exhibit specific anti-HIV activity, our data suggest that this LOS may find utility as a template for the design of glycoconjugates to target HIV.     

Binding of high-mannose-type oligosaccharides and synthetic oligomannose clusters to human antibody 2G12: implications for HIV-1 vaccine design

Human antibody 2G12 broadly neutralizes human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolates and shows protective activity against viral challenge in animal models. Previous mutational analysis suggested that 2G12 recognized a novel cluster of high-mannose type oligosaccharides on HIV-1 gp120. To explore the carbohydrate antigen for HIV-1 vaccine design, we have studied the binding of 2G12 to an array of HIV-1 high-mannose type oligosaccharides by competitive ELISAs and found that Man9GlcNAc is 210- and 74-fold more effective than Man5GlcNAc and Man6GlcNAc in binding to 2G12. The results establish that the larger high-mannose oligosaccharide on HIV-1 is the favorable subunit for 2G12 recognition. To mimic the putative epitope of 2G12, we have created scaffold-based multivalent Man9 clusters and found that the galactose-scaffolded bi-, tri-, and tetra-valent Man9 clusters are 7-, 22-, and 73-fold more effective in binding to 2G12 than the monomeric Man9GlcNAc2Asn. The experimental data shed light on further structural optimization of epitope mimics for developing a carbohydrate-based HIV-1 vaccine.     

Novel quinoxalinophenanthrophenazine-based molecules as sensors for anions: synthesis and binding investigations

The design and synthesis of two novel quinoxalinophenanthrophenazine-based anion sensors are reported. Binding studies of these sensors with an array of mono- and polyatomic anions using UV-vis, fluorescence, and NMR titrations have shown 1:1 and 1:2 sensor-to-anion ratios. Binding constants were calculated for anions, which exhibited high affinity for the sensors, including acetate, benzoate, cyanide, and fluoride ions.     

Molecularly imprinted polymers as antibody and receptor mimics for assays,sensors and drug discovery

Biological receptors play an important role in affinity-based drug assays, biosensors, and at different stages during the modern drug discovery process. The molecular imprinting technology that has recently emerged has shown great potential for producing biomimetic receptors that challenge their natural counterparts. In this paper, we will overview recent progress in the use of molecularly imprinted polymers for drug assays, assembly of biomimetic sensors, and screening of combinatorial libraries. In addition, examples of using artificially-created binding sites to control synthetic reactions will be discussed. The screening-of-building blocks approach is expected to accelerate generation of valuable lead compounds, without the costly synthesis of large chemical libraries.     

Novel carbonyl iron-bismuth clusters - synthesis, structure, CO2 insertion and potential as molecular precursors for BiFeO3

The reaction of Fe₂(CO)₉ with Bi(OSiMe₂^tBu)₃ gave soluble [(CO)₄FeBi(OSiMe₂^tBu)]₂ (1) in moderate yield whereas in case of Bi(O^tBu)₃ used as starting material both [(CO)₄FeBi(O^tBu)]_n (2) and the bismuth-iron cluster [(CO)₃FeBi₃(O^tBu)₄{OCO(O^tBu)}]₂ (3) were isolated. The latter forms upon insertion of CO₂, released during reaction of diiron nonacarbonyl with bismuth tert-butoxide, into a Bi-O^tBu bond. The compounds were characterized by IR and ¹H NMR spectroscopy as well as thermogravimetric analyses. Additionally, the molecular structures of compounds 1 and 3 were elucidated by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The core structure of [(CO)₄FeBi(OSiMe₂^tBu)]₂ (1) is build up by a four-membered Bi₂Fe₂ ring whereas [(CO)₃FeBi₃(O^tBu)₄{OCO(O^tBu)}]₂ (3) is composed of two tetrahedral FeBi₃ cluster cores that dimerise via bridging -OCO(O^tBu) ligands. Analysis of the TGA residues by PXRD revealed that compound 2 is the best precursor for multiferroic BiFeO₃ among the compounds studied here, although Bi₂₅FeO₃₉ was detected as minor impurity.     

Design,synthesis and SAR study of 2-aminopyridine derivatives as potent and selective JAK2 inhibitors

The abnormal activation of JAK2 kinase is closely related to the occurrence and progression of myeloproliferative neoplasms（MPNs）. At present, there is still an obvious unmet medical need for selective JAK2 inhibitors in clinic. In this paper, a class of 2-aminopyridine derivatives as potent and selective JAK2 inhibitors was obtained by combining drug design, synthesis and structure-activity relationship studies based on the previously identified lead Crizotinib. Among them, 21 b exhibited high ...     

Novel dual inhibitors against FP-2 and PfDHFR as potential antimalarial agents: Design,synthesis and biological evaluation

A series of novel 2,4-diaminopyrimidine-modified compounds was designed and synthesized. Compound 14 showed micromolar dual inhibitory effect on both FP-2 and PfDHFR, and potential inhibition to the proliferation of P. falciparum 3D7 strain and chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum Dd2 strain.     

S-thiazolinyl (STaz) glycosides as versatile building blocks for convergent selective, chemoselective, and orthogonal oligosaccharide synthesis

In the aim of developing new procedures for efficient oligosaccharide assembly, a range of S-thiazolinyl (STaz) glycosides have been synthesized. These novel derivatives were evaluated against a variety of reaction conditions and were shown to be capable of being chemoselectively activated in the armed-disarmed fashion. Moreover, the S-thiazolinyl moiety exhibited a remarkable propensity for selective activation over other common leaving groups. Conversely, a variety of leaving groups could be selectively activated over the STaz moiety, which, in turn, allowed STaz/S-ethyl and STaz/S-phenyl orthogonal approaches. To demonstrate versatility of novel STaz derivatives, a number of oligosaccharide targets have been synthesized in a convergent selective, orthogonal, and chemoselective fashion.     

Novel aromatic carboxamides from dehydroabietylamine as potential fungicides: Design,synthesis and antifungal evaluation

The present study was carried out to design and synthesize a number of novel aromatic carboxamide derivatives of dehydroabietylamine. The preliminary antifungal assay indicated that most of title compounds displayed moderate to good antifungal activity toward the six fungal strains in vitro. Compounds 3i, 3q, 4b and 4d showed significant antifungal activity against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, with EC₅₀ values ranging from 0.067 ～ 0.393 mg/L. Compounds 3i, 4b and 4d also showed pronounced mycelial growth inhibition activities against B. cinerea and A. solani. Furthermore, in the in vivo assay, compound 4b exhibited brilliant protective activity against S. sclerotiorum-infected rape leaves. Meanwhile, the in vivo bioassay on tomato plants infected by B. cinerea showed that compound 3i and 4d displayed excellent protective activity at 200 mg/L, which were near to boscalid. Primary mechanistic study revealed that 4b could inhibit sclerotia formation as well as reduce the exopolysaccharide level. SEM and TEM analysis indicated that 4b possessed a strong ability to destroy the surface morphology of mycelia, cell structure and seriously interfere with the growth of the fungal pathogen. In addition, 4b exhibited good inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ = 23.3 ± 1.6 μM) toward succinate dehydrogenase (SDH). Molecular modeling study confirmed the binding modes between compound 4b and SDH. The above antifungal results and fungicidal mechanism study revealed that this class of dehydroabietylamine derivatives could be potential SDH inhibitors and lead compounds for novel fungicides development.     

Design,synthesis and characterization of artificial phospholipids as model membrane receptors for specific binding of rabbit C-reactive protein

C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase reactive protein, which has been shown to specifically bind to phosphorylcholine (PC) and phosphorylethanoamine (PE) moieties in the presence of calcium. In order to investigate the effect of steric hindrance on the specific binding of CRP to membranes, we designed and synthesized six phospholipids, each containing a long-arm spacer of 3, 6 or 8 atoms between the head group and hydrophobic tail. By mixing synthesized lipids and natural lipids the ligand-containing monolayers were prepared, which have PC or PE groups protruding out of the membrane surface. To characterize of the synthesized phospholipids, the thickness of the lipid monolayers was measured by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technique, the phase behavior of the lipid monolayer at air/water interface was studied by pressure–area analysis, and the specific binding of rabbit C-reactive protein to the synthesized lipid containing membranes was studied by imaging ellipsometry.     

Theoretical study of isomerism of compounds of CO and CO2 molecules with aluminum clusters Al13, Al12Ti,and Al12Ni

Structural characteristics, vibrational frequencies, and energies of isomers of compounds of CO and CO₂ molecules with the centered aluminum cluster Al₁₃ and its doped analogues Al₁₂M (M = Ti and Ni) have been calculated by the density functional theory method. For the Al₁₂MCO compounds, the most favor-able are two “fragment” isomers in which the C and O atoms are separated and built into the cluster cage, completing it to a 14-vertex polyhedron. In one of them, the C and O atoms are in the capping positions over adjacent trigonal MAl₂ faces; in the second isomer, there is the five-coordinate C* atom located in the center of a tetragonal MAl3 face and bound to the central Al atom through the long fifth bond. The “coordinated” isomers, in which the CO molecule is coordinated as a ligand to a cluster vertex, edge, or face, are unstable to removal of CO for Al₁₃CO, close in energy to the fragment isomers for Al₁₂NiCO, and considerably higher on the energy scale than the fragment isomers but remain stable to CO removal for Al₁₂TiCO. For the Al₁₂MCO₂ compounds, the most favorable is the fragment isomer in which both oxygen atoms are in the capping positions over adjacent faces and the C* atom is five-coordinate. The alternative oxo carbonyl isomer Al₁₂MO(CO) is close to the lowest-lying one in the case of M = Ni and is ～56 kcal/mol higher on the energy scale in the case of M= Ti. The less stable Al₁₂M(CO₂) isomer is the complex in which the CO₂ ligand is coordinated to an M-Al edge. According to calculations, addition of CO to Al₁₂MO and addition of CO₂ to Al₁₂M to form, respectively, Al₁₂MO(CO) and Al₁₂M(CO₂) can occur without noticeable barrier. The Al₁₂M(CO₂) and Al₁₂MO(CO) isomers are separated by a barrier, moderate for M = Ti (～16 kcal/mol) and small for M = Ni (～6 kcal/mol).     

Directing-protecting groups for carbohydrates. Design, conformational study, synthesis and application to regioselective functionalization

A novel concept of regioselective transformation of secondary hydroxyl groups in carbohydrates is presented. First, the relative reactivity of the free hydroxyl groups of onoprotected d-glucose derivatives was assessed using acetylation as a model reaction. As a result, acylation of these polyols gave a mixture of monosubstituted products in which the 3-O functionalized derivatives predominated. Novel hydrogen bond acceptor protecting groups were next designed to modulate the 4-OH and 3-OH reactivity in the hope to mediate higher regioselective transformations. A molecular modeling study later validated by spectroscopic analysis predicted additional intramolecular hydrogen bonds between the hydroxyl groups and pyridyl-containing protecting groups. Taking advantage of this induced hydrogen bond network, we achieved regioselective acetylation of the hydroxyl group at position 3 without protecting any secondary hydroxyl groups of the carbohydrate moiety. This designed protecting/directing group increased the nucleophilicity and the steric hindrance of position 3. As a result, optimization of the reaction conditions enabled the monoacetylation (not affected by steric hindrance) of 6-O-protected glucopyranosides at position 3 and selective silylation (affected by steric hindrance) of position 2 in high isolated yields and regioselectivities. This result certainly opens doors to the regioselective open glycosylation of carbohydrates.     

Design,synthesis and evaluation of PPAR gamma binding activity of 2-thioxo-4-thiazolidinone derivatives

We designed and synthesized a series of 2-thioxo-4-thiazolidinone derivatives and evaluated them on peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ(PPARγ) binding activities.Through the biological assays,compounds 18 and 38 were highlighted with K_i values of 12.15 nmol/Land 14.46 nmol/L,respectively.Then structure-activity relationship(SAR) was analyzed to screen privileged structural modifications.Moreover,molecular fitting of these compounds onto the approved drug Rosightazone in the PPARγligand binding domain was performed to elucidate the SAR and explore potential receptor-ligand interactions.These results demonstrate that the 2-thioxo-4-thiazolidinones can be considered as new promising molecular probes with excellent binding activities to PPARγ.     

Spiro beta-lactams as beta-turn mimetics. Design, synthesis, and NMR conformational analysis

Molecular modeling calculations using high-level ab initio methods (MP2/6-31+G) of a new type of spiro beta-lactams predict that these systems could adopt a beta-turn secondary structure in solution. Strong intramolecular hydrogen bonds stabilize the beta-turn conformation with a geometry that is very close to the ideal type II beta-turns. The synthesis of the spiro beta-lactams is achieved by Staudinger reaction of a cyclic ketene derived from N-bencyloxycarbonyl-L-proline acid chloride with an imine. This reaction allows the formation of the spiranic backbone in a single-step with high diastereoselectivity and good yields. The new spiro beta-lactams obtained are the core for the preparation of different types of peptidomimetics using well-established peptide chemistry. The NMR conformational analysis shows that these compounds adopt beta-turn conformation as predicted by the theoretical studies.     

Design, synthesis and biological activity of cyclohexane-bearing C-glucoside derivatives as SGLT2 inhibitors

Seven cyclohexane-bearing C-glucoside derivatives (7, 9, 12, 13 and 17-19) were designed and synthesized as SGLT2 inhibitors starting from a potent SGLT2 inhibitor we discovered in earlier work, (1S)-1-deoxy-1-[4-methoxy-3-(trans-n-propylcyclohexyl)methylphenyl]-D-glucose (1). The in vitro and in vivo biological activities were evaluated by hSGLT2/hSGLT1 inhibition and urinary glucose excretion (UGE), respectively. Among the synthesized compounds 12, the 6-deoxy derivative of 1 was the most active and selective SGLT2 inhibitor (IC50 = 1.4 nmol/L against hSGLT2; selectivity = 1576). Compound 12 was a potent SGLT2 inhibitor, which could induce more urinary glucose than 1 and dapagliflozin in UGE.     

Design,Synthesis, and Mechanistic Study of 2-Pyridone-Bearing Phenylalanine Derivatives as Novel HIV Capsid Modulators

The AIDS pandemic is still of importance. HIV-1 and HIV-2 are the causative agents of this pandemic, and in the absence of a viable vaccine, drugs are continually required to provide quality of life for infected patients. The HIV capsid (CA) protein performs critical functions in the life cycle of HIV-1 and HIV-2, is broadly conserved across major strains and subtypes, and is underexploited. Therefore, it has become a therapeutic target of interest. Here, we report a novel series of 2-pyridone-bearing phenylalanine derivatives as HIV capsid modulators. Compound FTC-2 is the most potent anti-HIV-1 compound in the new series of compounds, with acceptable cytotoxicity in MT-4 cells (selectivity index HIV-1 > 49.57; HIV-2 > 17.08). However, compound TD-1a has the lowest EC₅₀ in the anti-HIV-2 assays (EC₅₀ = 4.86 ± 1.71 μM; CC₅₀ = 86.54 ± 29.24 μM). A water solubility test found that TD-1a showed a moderately increased water solubility compared with PF74, while the water solubility of FTC-2 was improved hundreds of times. Furthermore, we use molecular simulation studies to provide insight into the molecular contacts between the new compounds and HIV CA. We also computationally predict drug-like properties and metabolic stability for FTC-2 and TD-1a. Based on this analysis, TD-1a is predicted to have improved drug-like properties and metabolic stability over PF74. This study increases the repertoire of CA modulators and has important implications for developing anti-HIV agents with novel mechanisms, especially those that inhibit the often overlooked HIV-2.     

Novel findings regarding photoinduced commitments of G1-, S- and G2-phase cells to cell-cycle transitions in darkness and dark-induced G1-, S- and G2-phase arrests in Euglena.

Effects of light and darkness on cell-cycle progression were studied in the log-linear photoautotrophic growth mode of Euglena gracilis. We found that there are light-dependent restriction points in the post-G1 phases, quite in contrast to Chlamydomonas, where a light-dependent restriction is known to exist only in the G1 phase. Thus, in E. gracilis, there are photoinduced commitments of G1-, S- and G2-phase cells that allow them to progress to the G1, S and G2 phases in darkness, and there are dark-induced G1-, S- and G2-phase arrests. In darkness, only committed cells were able to progress to the committed phases (G1, S or G2), whereas uncommitted cells were unable to undergo a cell-cycle transition. Whether or not cells were induced to commit by irradiation, they were eventually arrested somewhere in the G1, S or G2 (but not M) phase within 14 h of being transferred to darkness. We also describe the dependence of photoinduced commitment on light intensity and discuss the results as they relate to cell-cycle progression in continuous light.