Synthesis and Characterization of A Small Molecule CFTR Chloride Channel Inhibitor

A thiazolidinone CFTR inhibitor (CFTRinh-72) was synthesized by a three-step procedure with tri-fluromethylaniline as the starting material. The synthesized CFTR inhibitor was characterized structurally bymeans of ^1H NMR and functionally in a CFTR-expressing cell line FRT/hCFTR/EYFP-H148Q by both fluo-rescent and electrophysiological methods. A large amount(100g) of high-quality small molecule thiazolidi-none CFTR chloride channel inhibitor, CFTRinh-72, can be produced with this simple three-step synthetic pro-cedure. The structure of the final product 2-thioxo-3-(3-trifluromethylphenyl )-5-[4-carboxyphenyl-methylene]-4-thiazolidinone was confirmed by ^1H NMR. The overall yield was 58% with a purity over 99%as analyzed by HPLC. The synthesized CFTRinh-72 specifically inhibited CFTR chloride channel function in acell-based fluorescence assay(Kd≈1.5μmol/L) and in a Ussing chamber-based short-circuit current assay(Kd≈0. 2μmol/L), indicating better quality than that of the commercial combinatorial compound. The syn-thesized inhibitor is nontoxic to cultured cells at a high concentration and to mouse at a high dose. The syn-thetic procedure developed here can be used to produce a large amount of the high-quality CFTRinh-72 suitablefor antidiarrheal studies and for creation of cystic fibrosis models in large animals. The procedure can be usedto synthesize radiolabled CFTRinh-72 for in νiνo pharmacokinetics studies.     

Covalent Assembly and Characterization of Nonsymmetrical Single‐Molecule Nodes

The covalent linking of molecular building blocks on surfaces enables the construction of specific molecular nanostructures of well‐defined shape. Molecular nodes linked to various entities play a key role in such networks, but represent a particular challenge because they require a well‐defined arrangement of different building blocks. Herein, we describe the construction of a chemically and geometrically well defined covalent architecture made of one central node and three molecular wires arranged in a nonsymmetrical way and thus encoding different conjugation pathways. Very different architectures of either very limited or rather extended size were obtained depending on the building blocks used for the covalent linking process on the Au(111) surface. Electrical measurements were carried out by pulling individual molecular nodes with the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope. The results of this challenging procedure indicate subtle differences if the nodes are contacted at inequivalent termini.     

Identification of Chaulmoogric Acid as a Small Molecule Activator of Protein Phosphatase 5

Protein phosphatase 5 (PP5) is an important protein phosphatase that is abundantly expressed in the central nervous system. Recent studies showed that PP5 activity in the neocortex from patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is decreased significantly, suggesting that small molecule PP5 activator may have therapeutic potential for AD. We performed a biochemical screening for PP5 activators with the microsource compound library. Chaulmoogric acid was identified to be an effective activator with EC₅₀ value of 134.5 μM. Importantly, results from circular dichroism (CD) and limited proteolysis study showed that chaulmoogric acid binds to a region of tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) domain of PP5 resulting in complete loss of helical contents. These results demonstrate a different mechanism of action from that of arachidonic acid, a known activator for PP5 dephosphorylation activity. Synergistic activation of PP5 enzymatic activity was also observed with combined application of both compounds at relatively low concentrations. Therefore, further structure activity relationship study of chaulmoogric acid may facilitate the discovery of small molecules that can synergize with endogenous arachidonic acid for PP5 activation.     

Identification of Small Molecule Inhibitors against Mycobacteria in Activated Macrophages

Mycobacterial pathogens are intrinsically resistant to many available antibiotics, making treatment extremely challenging, especially in immunocompromised individuals and patients with underlying and chronic lung conditions. Even with lengthy therapy and the use of a combination of antibiotics, clinical success for non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is achieved in fewer than half of the cases. The need for novel antibiotics that are effective against NTM is urgent. To identify such new compounds, a whole cell high-throughput screen (HTS) was performed in this study. Compounds from the Chembridge DIVERSet library were tested for their ability to inhibit intracellular survival of M. avium subsp. hominissuis (MAH) expressing dtTomato protein, using fluorescence as a readout. Fifty-eight compounds were identified to significantly inhibit fluorescent readings of MAH. In subsequent assays, it was found that treatment of MAH-infected THP-1 macrophages with 27 of 58 hit compounds led to a significant reduction in intracellular viable bacteria, while 19 compounds decreased M. abscessus subsp. abscessus (Mab) survival rates within phagocytic cells. In addition, the hit compounds were tested in M. tuberculosis H37Ra (Mtb) and 14 compounds were found to exhibit activity in activated THP-1 cells. While the majority of compounds displayed inhibitory activity against both replicating (extracellular) and non-replicating (intracellular) forms of bacteria, a set of compounds appeared to be effective exclusively against intracellular bacteria. The efficacy of these compounds was examined in combination with current antibiotics and survival of both NTM and Mtb were evaluated within phagocytic cells. In time-kill dynamic studies, it was found that co-treatment promoted increased bacterial clearance when compared with the antibiotic or compound group alone. This study describes promising anti-NTM and anti-Mtb compounds with potential novel mechanisms of action that target intracellular bacteria in activated macrophages.     

原癌蛋白KRas的表达和纯化及其与小分子抑制剂ZCL1688的分子对接分析

经过特殊设计的小分子抑制剂可共价结合KRas蛋白的催化结构域,从而抑制KRas与下游效应蛋白的结合.本研究采用镍柱亲和层析、酶切标签、凝胶过滤层析等步骤制备了高纯度的KRas催化结构域(氨基酸残基1-169)蛋白;等温滴定量热(ITC)实验证明了KRas蛋白通过K42残基与小分子抑制剂ZCL1688进行结合;通过分子对...     

Identification of Potent Natural Resource Small Molecule Inhibitor to Control Vibrio cholera by Targeting Its Outer Membrane Protein U: An In Silico Approach

Vibrio cholerae causes the diarrheal disease cholera which affects millions of people globally. The outer membrane protein U (OmpU) is the outer membrane protein that is most prevalent in V. cholerae and has already been recognized as a critical component of pathogenicity involved in host cell contact and as being necessary for the survival of pathogenic V. cholerae in the host body. Computational approaches were used in this study to screen a total of 37,709 natural compounds from the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) database against the active site of OmpU. Following a sequential screening of the TCM database, we report three lead compounds—ZINC06494587, ZINC85510056, and ZINC95910434—that bind strongly to OmpU, with binding affinity values of −8.92, −8.12, and −8.78 kcal/mol, which were higher than the control ligand (−7.0 kcal/mol). To optimize the interaction, several 100 ns molecular dynamics simulations were performed, and the resulting complexes were shown to be stable in their vicinity. Additionally, these compounds were predicted to have good drug-like properties based on physicochemical properties and ADMET assessments. This study suggests that further research be conducted on these compounds to determine their potential use as cholera disease treatment.     

RNA and the Small Molecule World

A key role in essential cellular processes is played by RNA molecules, and these are attractive targets for drug design. The functional diversity of RNA can be attributed to the sophisticated three-dimensional structures it assumes. These intricate folds create potential binding pockets for ions, low molecular weight ligands, and proteins. Recent experiments have demonstrated that small molecules such as tobramycin ( 1 ) can regulate gene expression in living cells through specific interactions with a messenger RNA (mRNA).     

一种新型八极分子的合成、表征及性能研究

设计合成了一种以均三嗪为核,苯乙烯基、氮碳双键共轭键为桥,羟乙氧基为供电子基团的八极分子,用IR、EA、1H MNR、UV-Vis和DSC-TG等对其结构和性能进行了表征,采用粉末倍频法对其二阶非线性光学性能进行了测试.实验表明:在N,N-二甲基甲酰胺(DMF)中该八极分子的最大吸收波长为411.5 nm,热分解温度为397℃,倍频效应强度为磷酸二氢钾(KDP)晶体的1.7倍,具有较好的热稳定性和透明性,可用于制备性能优异的非线性光学材料.     

Computational Characterization of Binding of Small Molecule Inhibitors to HIV‐1 gp41

Developing orally available small molecule inhibitors of HIV‐1 fusion has attracted significant interest over many years. Frey had recently reported several synthetic compounds which are experimentally shown to inhibit cell‐cell fusion in the low micromolar range. We carried out computational study to help identify possible binding modes by docking these compounds onto the hydrophobic pocket on gp41 and to characterize structures of binding complexes. The detailed gp41‐molecule binding interactions and free energies of binding are obtained through molecular dynamics simulation and MM‐PBSA calculation. Specific molecular interactions in the gp41‐inhibitor complexes are identified. The present computational study complements the corresponding experimental investigation and helps establish a good starting point for further refinement of small molecular gp41 inhibitors.     

分子筛材料在小分子吸附分离中的应用

吸附分离技术与工艺在工业上具有重要意义. 常见的吸附剂包括沸石分子筛、 金属有机框架材料、 活性炭等材料. 分子筛具有比表面积大、 稳定性高、 生产成本低等优势, 可以满足吸附分离技术中高效、 节能和环保的需求, 是一种非常有应用前景的小分子混合物分离吸附剂. 本文综合评述了吸附分离领域中常用的吸附剂材料的特点和吸附分离机理与评价方法, 总结了分子筛在空气分离、 烃类分离、 二氧化碳吸附、 芳香硫化物脱除、 一氧化碳吸附、 氮氧化物吸附、 氢气储存吸附及氢同位素分离等领域的应用, 并对基于分子筛膜的小分子混合物分离现状进行了介绍. 此外, 本文还系统分析了分子筛对不同混合物的吸附分离性能与其拓扑结构、 骨架组成及改性方法之间的关系, 并对未来的研究前景进行了展望.