Design of the First‐in‐Class,Highly Potent Irreversible Inhibitor Targeting the Menin‐MLL Protein–Protein Interaction

The structure‐based design of M‐525 as the first‐in‐class, highly potent, irreversible small‐molecule inhibitor of the menin‐MLL interaction is presented. M‐525 targets cellular menin protein at sub‐nanomolar concentrations and achieves low nanomolar potencies in cell growth inhibition and in the suppression of MLL‐regulated gene expression in MLL leukemia cells. M‐525 demonstrates high cellular specificity over non‐MLL leukemia cells and is more than 30 times more potent than its corresponding reversible inhibitors. Mass spectrometric analysis and co‐crystal structure of M‐525 in complex with menin firmly establish its mode of action. A single administration of M‐525 effectively suppresses MLL‐regulated gene expression in tumor tissue. An efficient procedure was developed to synthesize M‐525. This study demonstrates that irreversible inhibition of menin may be a promising therapeutic strategy for MLL leukemia.     

6,7‐Dimethoxy‐quinazolin‐4‐yl‐amino‐thiophene‐2‐carboxamides as Potent Inhibitors of VEGF Receptors 1 and 2

The identification of agents with antiproliferative activity against endothelial cells has significant value for the treatment of many angiogenesis‐dependent pathologies. The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors have been implicated as key factors in tumor angiogenesis and are major targets in cancer therapy. A series of novel 6,7‐dimethoxy‐quinazolin‐4‐yl‐amino‐thiophene‐2‐carboxamides were synthesized and evaluated as antagonists of VEGFR‐1 and VEGFR‐2. More specifically, several analogues exhibited low micromolar to nanomolar potency in the inhibition of VEGFR‐1 and VEGFR‐2. The most potent compound in this series, compound 7b , was found to be a potent inhibitor of VEGFR‐2 in a homogeneous time‐resolved fluorescence enzymatic assay with an IC₅₀ as low as 87 nm.     

Mechanism‐Guided Design and Synthesis of a Mitochondria‐Targeting Artemisinin Analogue with Enhanced Anticancer Activity

Understanding the mechanism of action (MOA) of bioactive natural products will guide endeavor to improve their cellular activities. Artemisinin and its derivatives inhibit cancer cell proliferation, yet with much lower efficiencies than their roles in killing malaria parasites. To improve their efficacies on cancer cells, we studied the MOA of artemisinin using chemical proteomics and found that free heme could directly activate artemisinin. We then designed and synthesized a derivative, ART‐TPP, which is capable of targeting the drug to mitochondria where free heme is synthesized. Remarkably, ART‐TPP exerted more potent inhibition than its parent compound to cancer cells. A clickable probe ART‐TPP‐Alk was also employed to confirm that the attachment of the TPP group could label more mitochondrial proteins than that for the ART derivative without TPP (AP1). This work shows the importance of MOA study, which enables us to optimize the design of natural drug analogues to improve their biological activities.     

Synthesis of (E)‐5‐Methoxy‐2‐styryl‐4‐pyrones as Potent Growth‐Inhibitory Agents Against Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells

The present study a series of (E)‐5‐methoxy‐2‐styryl‐4H‐pyran‐4‐ones 6a , 6b , 6c , 6d , 6e , 6f , 6g , 6h , 6i , 6j was synthesized and evaluated for growth inhibitory inhibition against carcinoma cells. The growth inhibition study of eight carcinoma cell lines was examined and demonstrated that SKHep cells exhibit significant structure‐activity relationship in response to the tested compounds. Among them, 6f showed the most potent activity against SKHep, A549, AGS, and H460 cell lines with GI₅₀ values of 0.17, 8.3, 3.6, 8.0 μM, respectively.     

Design of Monodisperse and Well‐Defined Polypeptide‐Based Polyvalent Inhibitors of Anthrax Toxin

The design of polyvalent molecules, presenting multiple copies of a specific ligand, represents a promising strategy to inhibit pathogens and toxins. The ability to control independently the valency and the spacing between ligands would be valuable for elucidating structure–activity relationships and for designing potent polyvalent molecules. To that end, we designed monodisperse polypeptide‐based polyvalent inhibitors of anthrax toxin in which multiple copies of an inhibitory toxin‐binding peptide were separated by flexible peptide linkers. By tuning the valency and linker length, we designed polyvalent inhibitors that were over four orders of magnitude more potent than the corresponding monovalent ligands. This strategy for the rational design of monodisperse polyvalent molecules may not only be broadly applicable for the inhibition of toxins and pathogens, but also for controlling the nanoscale organization of cellular receptors to regulate signaling and the fate of stem cells.     

Target‐Based Whole‐Cell Screening by 1H NMR Spectroscopy

An NMR‐based approach marries the two traditional screening technologies (phenotypic and target‐based screening) to find compounds inhibiting a specific enzymatic reaction in bacterial cells. Building on a previous study in which it was demonstrated that hydrolytic decomposition of meropenem in living Escherichia coli cells carrying New Delhi metallo‐β‐lactamase subclass 1 (NDM‐1) can be monitored in real time by NMR spectroscopy, we designed a cell‐based NMR screening platform. A strong NDM‐1 inhibitor was identified with cellular IC₅₀ of 0.51 μM , which is over 300‐fold more potent than captopril, a known NDM‐1 inhibitor. This new screening approach has great potential to be applied to targets in other cell types, such as mammalian cells, and to targets that are only stable or functionally competent in the cellular environment.     

N-取代苄基-4-羟基-4-取代哌啶衍生物的合成及初步抗白血病活性

为了寻找对白血病细胞系增殖有较高抑制活性的先导化合物,本文以取代苄胺为原料,经Michael加成,Dieckmann缩合,水解脱羧和与Grignard试剂反应合成了12个均未见文献报道的目标化合物6a─6l,结构均经过1H NMR、IR、MS及元素分析确证。并采用MTT法对目标化合物进行了对白血病K562细胞系增殖影响的初步测试,结果表明大部分具有较好的抑制细胞系增殖的活性,有潜在的抗白血病活性。     

Targeting Human C‐Type Lectin‐like Molecule‐1 (CLL1) with a Bispecific Antibody for Immunotherapy of Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which is the most common acute adult leukemia and the second most common pediatric leukemia, still has a poor prognosis. Human C‐type lectin‐like molecule‐1 (CLL1) is a recently identified myeloid lineage restricted cell surface marker, which is overexpressed in over 90 % of AML patient myeloid blasts and in leukemic stem cells. Here, we describe the synthesis of a novel bispecific antibody, αCLL1‐αCD3, using the genetically encoded unnatural amino acid, p‐acetylphenylalanine. The resulting αCLL1‐αCD3 recruits cytotoxic T cells to CLL1 positive cells, and demonstrates potent and selective cytotoxicity against several human AML cell lines and primary AML patient derived cells in vitro. Moreover, αCLL1‐αCD3 treatment completely eliminates established tumors in an U937 AML cell line xenograft model. These results validate the clinical potential of CLL1 as an AML‐specific antigen for the generation of a novel immunotherapeutic for AML.     

Purification and Characterization of Bowman‐Birk Protease Inhibitor from Rice Coleoptiles

A 15 kDa rice Bowman‐Birk inhibitor from fast elongating coleoptiles has been purified and identified using partial N‐terminal sequence, LC‐MS, and MALDI‐TOF MS as a 133 amino acid polypeptide (BBIrc 1). The kinetic study shows this protease inhibitor displays competitive inhibition toward trypsin with Ki of 4.0 × 10^?7 M and non‐competitive inhibition toward α‐chymotrypsin with Ki of 9.3 × 10^?6 M. The Western blotting results of the anti‐sera raised against this 15 kDa protein showed that this anti‐serum recognized two BBI proteins with molecular size around 15 kDa (BBIrc 1) and 25 kDa (BBIrc2) and the quantity of the expression of 15 kDa was nearly constant under both aerobic and hypoxia conditions; however, the 25 kDa expression was greatly up‐regulated when the fast elongating coleoptiles were transferred from hypoxia conditions to the aerobic conditions. The results indicate that the expression pattern of BBIs proteins correlated to the developmental stage in terms of morphological changes. The partial N‐terminal sequence of the first 9 amino acids of 25 kDa was AEAPPRPPK, which is the same as the amino acid sequence of 37th to 45th of RBBI3‐1 and LC‐MS study shows that several mass fragments fit to RBBI3‐1. The 25 kDa protein also shows specific binding to bovine trypsin. This expression pattern demonstrates for the first time that environmental factor, oxygen, can select and enhance specific BBI gene expression. The results of this study suggest BBI proteins might play multiple biological functions inside rice coleoptiles.     

A Potent,Selective and Cell‐Active Allosteric Inhibitor of Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 3 (PRMT3)

PRMT3 catalyzes the asymmetric dimethylation of arginine residues of various proteins. It is essential for maturation of ribosomes, may have a role in lipogenesis, and is implicated in several diseases. A potent, selective, and cell‐active PRMT3 inhibitor would be a valuable tool for further investigating PRMT3 biology. Here we report the discovery of the first PRMT3 chemical probe, SGC707, by structure‐based optimization of the allosteric PRMT3 inhibitors we reported previously, and thorough characterization of this probe in biochemical, biophysical, and cellular assays. SGC707 is a potent PRMT3 inhibitor (IC₅₀=31±2 nM , K_D=53±2 nM ) with outstanding selectivity (selective against 31 other methyltransferases and more than 250 non‐epigenetic targets). The mechanism of action studies and crystal structure of the PRMT3‐SGC707 complex confirm the allosteric inhibition mode. Importantly, SGC707 engages PRMT3 and potently inhibits its methyltransferase activity in cells. It is also bioavailable and suitable for animal studies. This well‐characterized chemical probe is an excellent tool to further study the role of PRMT3 in health and disease.     

A Potent,Selective and Cell‐Active Allosteric Inhibitor of Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 3 (PRMT3)

PRMT3 catalyzes the asymmetric dimethylation of arginine residues of various proteins. It is essential for maturation of ribosomes, may have a role in lipogenesis, and is implicated in several diseases. A potent, selective, and cell‐active PRMT3 inhibitor would be a valuable tool for further investigating PRMT3 biology. Here we report the discovery of the first PRMT3 chemical probe, SGC707, by structure‐based optimization of the allosteric PRMT3 inhibitors we reported previously, and thorough characterization of this probe in biochemical, biophysical, and cellular assays. SGC707 is a potent PRMT3 inhibitor (IC₅₀=31±2 nM , K_D=53±2 nM ) with outstanding selectivity (selective against 31 other methyltransferases and more than 250 non‐epigenetic targets). The mechanism of action studies and crystal structure of the PRMT3‐SGC707 complex confirm the allosteric inhibition mode. Importantly, SGC707 engages PRMT3 and potently inhibits its methyltransferase activity in cells. It is also bioavailable and suitable for animal studies. This well‐characterized chemical probe is an excellent tool to further study the role of PRMT3 in health and disease.     

Efficient Synthesis of Some New 1,3,4‐Thiadiazoles and 1,2,4‐Triazoles Linked to Pyrazolylcoumarin Ring System as Potent 5α‐Reductase Inhibitors

The current study in this article concerned with construction of five‐membered heterocycles with multiple heteroatoms as nitrogen and sulfur from readily available starting materials and reagents. Treatment of 1‐(2‐oxo‐2H‐chromene‐3‐carbonyl)‐3‐phenyl‐1H‐pyrazol‐5(4H)‐one with each of phenylisothiocyanate in alcoholic potassium hydroxide and carbon disulfide in basic medium gave rise to a thioanilide and methylthio derivatives, respectively. Treatment of the latter compounds with a variety of hydrazonoyl halides resulted in construction of thiadiazole moiety linked to pyrazole ring. Furthermore, triazole derivatives were synthesized from the thioanilide derivative through its reaction with methyl iodide followed by reaction with hydrazonoyl halides. 5α‐Reductase inhibition activity for the prepared compounds was investigated against the reference drug anastrozole, and the results showed that the inhibition activity of compounds 5g and 11g is more potent than anastrozole. Also compounds bearing triazole moiety is more potent than compounds bearing thiadiazole one. Moreover, the anti‐prostate cancer screening anti‐androgenic bioassay in human prostate cancer cells for the tested compounds was evaluated, and the results showed great inhibition growth and potential antiandrogens.     

Synthesis and antiproliferative evaluation of oxime,methyloxime, and amide‐containing quinazolinones

Certain oxime, methyloxime, and amide‐containing quinazolinone derivatives were synthesized and evaluated in vitro for their antiproliferative activities against a panel of human cancer cell lines including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC‐TW01), lung carcinoma (NCI‐H226), and leukemia (Jurkat). Quinazolinone 2 was inactive against all three cell lines tested, while quinazolinone 4 was weakly active against both Jurkat and H226 cancer cells with IC₅₀ values of 6.55 and 12.27 μM, respectively, indicating that the oxime derivative 4 is more favorable than its ketone precursor 2 . Our results have also indicated that quinazolinone 8g and its biphenyl counterpart 8f exhibited more potent antiproliferative activities than the positive control methotrexate against all three cancer cell lines tested. Among these quinazolinone derivatives, 8g was the most active against NPC‐TW01 with an IC₅₀ value of 4.78 μM. Further study on NPC‐TW01 cell cycle distribution indicated that the compound 8g induced cell arrest at the G1/G0 phase in a time‐ and concentration‐dependent manner. Moreover, a characteristic hypo‐diploid DNA content peak (sub‐G1) was found to increase from 1 to 4% in NPC‐TW01 cells treated with 8g for 72 hr. These results indicate that 8g can induce cells arrest in the G1/G0 phase and cause cell death. Further structural optimization of 8g and detailed study of its antiproliferative mechanism are going on.     

Structure‐Based Design of Platinum(II) Complexes as c‐myc Oncogene Down‐Regulators and Luminescent Probes for G‐Quadruplex DNA

A series of platinum(II) complexes with tridentate ligands was synthesized and their interactions with G‐quadruplex DNA within the c‐myc gene promoter were evaluated. Complex 1 , which has a flat planar 2,6‐bis(benzimidazol‐2‐yl)pyridine (bzimpy) scaffold, was found to stabilize the c‐myc G‐quadruplex structure in a cell‐free system. An in silico G‐quadruplex DNA model has been constructed for structure‐based virtual screening to develop new Pt^II‐based complexes with superior inhibitory activities. By using complex 1 as the initial structure for hit‐to‐lead optimization, bzimpy and related 2,6‐bis(pyrazol‐3‐yl)pyridine (dPzPy) scaffolds containing amine side‐chains emerge as the top candidates. Six of the top‐scoring complexes were synthesized and their interactions with c‐myc G‐quadruplex DNA have been investigated. The results revealed that all of the complexes have the ability to stabilize the c‐myc G‐quadruplex. Complex 3 a ([Pt^II L2R ] ⁺ ; L2 =2,6‐bis[1‐(3‐piperidinepropyl)‐1H‐enzo[d]imidazol‐2‐yl]pyridine, R =Cl) displayed the strongest inhibition in a cell‐free system (IC₅₀=2.2 μM ) and was 3.3‐fold more potent than that of 1 . Complexes 3 a and 4 a ([Pt^II L3R ]⁺; L3 =2,6‐bis[1‐(3‐morpholinopropyl)‐1H‐pyrazol‐3‐yl]pyridine, R =Cl) were found to effectively inhibit c‐myc gene expression in human hepatocarcinoma cells with IC₅₀ values of ≈17 μM , whereas initial hit 1 displayed no significant effect on gene expression at concentrations up to 50 μM . Complexes 3 a and 4 a have a strong preference for G‐quadruplex DNA over duplex DNA, as revealed by competition dialysis experiments and absorption titration; 3 a and 4 a bind G‐quadruplex DNA with binding constants (K) of approximately 10⁶–10⁷ dm³ mol^?1, which are at least an order of magnitude higher than the K values for duplex DNA. NMR spectroscopic titration experiments and molecular modeling showed that 4 a binds c‐myc G‐quadruplex DNA through an external end‐stacking mode at the 3′‐terminal face of the G‐quadruplex. Intriguingly, binding of c‐myc G‐quadruplex DNA by 3 b is accompanied by an increase of up to 38‐fold in photoluminescence intensity at λ_max=622 nm.     

Selenadiazole Derivatives Inhibit Angiogenesis‐Mediated Human Breast Tumor Growth by Suppressing the VEGFR2‐Mediated ERK and AKT Signaling Pathways

Selenadiazole derivatives (SeDs) have been found to show promise in chemo‐/radiotherapy applications by activating various downstream signaling pathways. However, the functional role of SeDs on angiogenesis, which is pivotal for tumor progression and metastasis, has not yet been elucidated. In the present study, we have examined the antiangiogenic activities of SeDs and elucidated their underlying mechanisms. The results showed that the as‐synthesized SeDs not only enhanced their anticancer activities against several human cancer cells but also showed more potent inhibition on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The in vitro results suggested that SeDs, especially 1 a , dose‐dependently inhibited the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)‐induced cell migration, invasion, and capillary‐like structure formation of HUVECs. Compound 1 a also significantly suppressed VEGF‐induced angiogenesis in a Matrigel plug assay as part of a C57/BL6 mice assay by means of down regulation of VEGF. Furthermore, we found that 1 a significantly inhibited MCF‐7 human breast tumor growth in nude mice without severe systematic cytotoxicity. Compound 1 a was more effective in inhibiting cell proliferation and induced a much more pronounced apoptosis effect in endothelial cells than MCF‐7 cells, which implies that endothelial cells might be the primary target of 1 a . Further mechanistic studies on tumor growth inhibition effects and neovessel formation suppression demonstrated that 1 a inhibited cell viability of MCF‐7 and HUVECs by induction of cell apoptosis, accompanied by poly(adenosine diphosphate ribose)polymerase (PARP) cleavage and caspase activation. Additionally, the 1 a ‐induced antiangiogenesis effect was achieved by abolishing the VEGF‐VEGFR2‐ERK/AKT (ERK=extracellular signal–regulated kinases; AKT=protein kinease B) signal axis and enhanced the apoptosis effect by triggering reactive oxygen species (ROS)‐mediated DNA damage. Taken together, these results clearly demonstrate the antiangiogenic potency of SeDs and the underlying molecular mechanisms.     

Synthesis and Pharmacological Evaluation of 4‐Aryloxyquinazoline Derivatives as Potential Cytotoxic Agents

In the present study, novel 4‐aryloxyquinazoline derivatives were synthesized and screened for in vitro cytotoxicity on human cancer cell lines at 10 μM. Some of the synthesized compounds displayed moderate to significant and selective cytotoxic activity against various leukemia, melanoma, ovarian, breast, and colon cancer cell lines. (E)‐3‐(3,4‐Dimethoxyphenyl)‐1‐(4‐(quinazolin‐4‐yloxy)phenyl)prop‐2‐en‐1‐one ( 9b ) was the most potent compound among all with an average growth inhibition of 70% against leukemia cancer cell lines. The compound also produced strong inhibition (75%) of colon cancer cell lines with 42.58% lethality of HCT‐116 cell line.     

Concise Synthesis and Biological Assessment of (+)‐Neopeltolide and a 16‐Member Stereoisomer Library of 8,9‐Dehydroneopeltolide: Identification of Pharmacophoric Elements

We describe herein a concise synthesis of (+)‐neopeltolide, a marine macrolide natural product that elicits a highly potent antiproliferative activity against several human cancer cell lines. Our synthesis exploited the powerful bond‐forming ability and high functional group compatibility of olefin metathesis and esterification reactions to minimize manipulations of oxygen functionalities and to maximize synthetic convergency. Our findings include a chemoselective olefin cross‐metathesis reaction directed by H‐bonding, and a ring‐closing metathesis conducted under non‐high dilution conditions. Moreover, we developed a 16‐member stereoisomer library of 8,9‐dehydroneopeltolide to systematically explore the stereostructure–activity relationships. Assessment of the antiproliferative activity of the stereoisomers against A549 human lung adenocarcinoma, MCF‐7 human breast adenocarcinoma, HT‐1080 human fibrosarcoma, and P388 murine leukemia cell lines has revealed marked differences in potency between the stereoisomers. This study provides comprehensive insights into the structure–activity relationship of this important antiproliferative agent, leading to the identification of the pharmacophoric structural elements and the development of truncated analogues with nanomolar potency.     

Cell‐ and Tissue‐Based Proteome Profiling and Bioimaging with Probes Derived from a Potent AXL Kinase Inhibitor

AXL has been defined as a novel target for cancer therapeutics. However, only a few potent and selective inhibitors targeting AXL are available to date. Recently, our group has developed a lead compound, 9im, capable of displaying potent and specific inhibition of AXL. To further identify the cellular on/off targets, in this study, competitive affinity‐based proteome profiling was carried out, leading to the discovery of several unknown cellular targets such as BCAP31, LPCAT3, POR, TM9SF3, SCCPDH and CANX. In addition, trans‐cyclooctene (TCO) and acedan‐containing probes were developed to image the binding between 9im and its target proteins inside live cells and tumor tissues. These probes would be useful tools in the detection of AXL in various biosystems.     

Mono‐ and Dinuclear Phosphorescent Rhenium(I) Complexes: Impact of Subcellular Localization on Anticancer Mechanisms

Elucidation of relationship among chemical structure, cellular uptake, localization, and biological activity of anticancer metal complexes is important for the understanding of their mechanisms of action. Organometallic rhenium(I) tricarbonyl compounds have emerged as potential multifunctional anticancer drug candidates that can integrate therapeutic and imaging capabilities in a single molecule. Herein, two mononuclear phosphorescent rhenium(I) complexes ( Re1 and Re2 ), along with their corresponding dinuclear complexes ( Re3 and Re4 ), were designed and synthesized as potent anticancer agents. The subcellular accumulation of Re1–Re4 was conveniently analyzed by confocal microscopy in situ in live cells by utilizing their intrinsic phosphorescence. We found that increased lipophilicity of the bidentate ligands could enhance their cellular uptake, leading to improved anticancer efficacy. The dinuclear complexes were more potent than the mononuclear counterparts. The molecular anticancer mechanisms of action evoked by Re3 and Re4 were explored in detail. Re3 with a lower lipophilicity localizes to lysosomes and induces caspase‐independent apoptosis, whereas Re4 with higher lipophilicity specially accumulates in mitochondria and induces caspase‐independent paraptosis in cancer cells. Our study demonstrates that subcellular localization is crucial for the anticancer mechanisms of these phosphorescent rhenium(I) complexes.