Tween 20-stabilized gold nanoparticles combined with adenosine triphosphate-BODIPY conjugates for the fluorescence detection of adenosine with more than 1000-fold selectivity

This study describes the development of a simple, enzyme-free, label-free, sensitive, and selective system for detecting adenosine based on the use of Tween 20-stabilized gold nanoparticles (Tween 20-AuNPs) as an efficient fluorescence quencher for boron dipyrromethene-conjugated adenosine 5′-triphosphate (BODIPY-ATP) and as a recognition element for adenosine. BODIPY-ATP can interact with Tween 20-AuNPs through the coordination between the adenine group of BODIPY-ATP and Au atoms on the NP surface, thereby causing the fluorescence quenching of BODIPY-ATP through the nanometal surface energy transfer (NSET) effect. When adenosine attaches to the NP surface, the attached adenosine exhibits additional electrostatic attraction to BODIPY-ATP. As a result, the presence of adenosine enhances the efficiency of AuNPs in fluorescence quenching of BODIPY-ATP. The AuNP-induced fluorescence quenching of BODIPY-ATP progressively increased with an increase in the concentration of adenosine; the detection limit at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 for adenosine was determined to be 60 nM. The selectivity of the proposed system was more than 1000-fold for adenosine over any adenosine analogs and other nucleotides. The proposed system combined with a phenylboronic acid-containing column was successfully applied to the determination of adenosine in urine.     

Metabolomic-based investigation of Yinlan alleviating hyperlipidemia by inhibiting blood stasis and phlegm turbidity through the PXR-CYP3A4-ABCB1-FXR pathway

Yinlan lipid regulatory capsule (YL) is a composite traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) new drug to alleviate hyperlipidemia, while its therapeutic mechanism in vivo was not clarified with nontargeted metabolomics investigation. An animal model was established in rats fed a high-fat diet, and their body weights, body mass index (BMI) and blood cholesterol levels were measured. Serum, liver and kidney tissue samples were also extracted for PXR-CYP3A4-ABCB1-FXR signaling pathway research using PCR and UHPLC–MS. The obtained plasma samples were analyzed by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS metabolomic investigation, which revealed PXR-CYP3A4-related metabolites and changes induced by YL. Finally, the key metabolites were chosen as index components, and their levels in the serum, liver, small intestine and bile were used for simultaneous UHPLC–MS-MS determination. The results indicated that YL was effective in rebalancing blood TG and TC levels (compared to controls). With respect to the PXR-CYP3A4-ABCB1 pathway, as a result of YL’s effect, gene expression or activity of the two targets decreased significantly in both the liver and kidney. The same trend was observed in the serum samples mentioned above. Metabolomics screening and data revealed that 44 metabolites can be regarded as biomarkers related to hyperlipidemia, fatty acids synthesis, and body energy consumption, as well as synthesis, transportation and exertion of cholesterol. YL’s treatment focused on 26 of them, primarily bile acids, indicating that the antihyperlipidemic effect of this drug lies in its inhibitory activity of cholesterol metabolism. Subsequent analysis of those in vivo components revealed that significant increases (compared to the model group) occurred in the blood, liver, small intestine and bile in groups that received medium and high doses of YL (while the low dose was relatively unchanged). Those target components exhibit a close relationship with PXR and/or CYP3A4. The use of YL repressed PXR expression and subsequently decreased CYP3A4 activity. As a result, synthesis of related bile acids increased, while cholesterol levels decreased, consequently leading to the attenuation of hyperlipidemia. This study comprehensively investigated the antihyperlipidemia mechanism of YL based on its repression of PXR-CYP3A4 activity and related metabolite yield, establishing an accurate method for evaluating the therapeutic effect of YL.     

The Pharmacophore Hypothesis of Novel Inhibitors for Aurora A Kinase

A three-dimensional pharmacophore model was developed from a series of inhibitors of Aurora A kinase to discover new potent anti-cancer agents using the HypoGen module in the Catalyst software. The pharmacophore model was developed based on the structure of 20 currently available inhibitors, which were carefully selected from the literature. The best hypothesis （Hypo 1） was defined by four features： one hydrogen-bond donor and three hy- drophobic points, with the best correlation coefficient of 0.909, the lowest rms deviation of 1.563, and the highest cost difference of 99.075. The Hypo 1 was then validated by a test set consisting of 24 compounds and by a cross-validation of 95% confidence level through randomizing the data using the CatScramble program, which suggested that a predictive pharmacophore model had been successfully obtained.     

Active Chemical Constituents from Sauropus androgynus

This paper describes the chemical investigation on BuOH-soluble EtOH extract from the aerial part of Sauropus androgynus. This study led to the characterization of six bioactive ingredients including three nucleosides—adenosine (1), 5′-deoxy-5′-methylsulphinyl-adenosine ( 2 ), and uridine ( 3 ), two flavonol dioside — 3-O-β-D-glucosyl-7-O-α-L-rhamnosyl-kaempferol ( 4 ), 3-O-β-D-glucosyl-(1→6)-β-D-glucosyl-kaempferol ( 5 ), and one rare flavonol trioside — 3-O-β-D-glucosyl-(1→6)-β-D-glucosyl-7-O-α-L-rhamno-syl-kaempferol ( 6 ). Their structures were determined on the basis of spectral analysis.     

Enhanced selectivity for inhibition of analog-sensitive protein kinases through scaffold optimization

The ability to inhibit any protein kinase of interest with a small molecule is enabled by a combination of genetics and chemistry. Genetics is used to modify the active site of a single kinase to render it distinct from all naturally occurring kinases. Next, organic synthesis is used to develop a small molecule, which does not bind to wild-type kinases but is a potent inhibitor of the engineered kinase. This approach, termed chemical genetics, has been used to generate highly potent mutant kinase-specific inhibitors based on a pyrazolopyrimidine scaffold. Here, we asked if the selectivity of the resulting pyrazolopyrimidines could be improved, as they inhibit several wild-type kinases with low-micromolar IC₅₀ values. Our approach to improve the selectivity of allele-specific inhibitors was to explore a second kinase inhibitor scaffold. A series of 6,9-disubstituted purines was designed, synthesized, and evaluated for inhibitory activity against several kinases in vitro and in vivo. Several purines proved to be potent inhibitors against the analog-sensitive kinases and exhibited greater selectivity than the existing pyrazolopyrimidines.     

表皮生长因子受体酪氨酸激酶抑制剂的药效团研究

根据一系列表皮生长因子受体酪氨酸激酶抑制剂的三维定量构效关系研究，得 到了该类抑制剂的药效团，研究结果与Novartis的药效团模型相当类似．药效团包 括一个氢键受体，一个氢键给体，一个疏水区和一个带有氯或溴原子药效团对于研 究表皮生长因子受体酪氨酸激酶抑制剂结构与活性的关系具有重要的意义．通过三 维数据库搜索可能会得到新的先导化合物．     

Asp746 to Glycine Change May have a Greater Influence than Cys751 to Serine Change in Accounting for Ligand Selectivity between EGFR and HER-2 at the ATP Site

Summary We have carried out up to 8.0 ns molecular dynamics simulation on the ATP-bound complexes of EGFR and HER-2 (homology model) receptor kinase domains to explore the possible consequences of amino acid residue changes in or close to the ATP site that might provide insights for selectivity of these kinases towards ATP site inhibitors. The simulation results show the formation of a channel under Thr766 following the movement of the side chain of Gln767 away from the hinge in EGFR. In HER-2, a similar movement of Gln799 occurs, but a simultaneous movement of Arg784 towards the hinge region occurs that tends to close the channel. The movement of Arg784 in HER-2 appears to result from the absence of an anchoring residue like Asp746 in EGFR, which has been changed to Gly778 in HER-2. In EGFR, this Arg784 is held away from the hinge region by interaction with Asp746, thereby leaving the channel open. This might be an important contributory factor to differences in selectivity of the ligands between the two kinases, probably more so than the conservative change of Cys751 of EGFR to serine in HER-2 at the ATP site.     

Synthesis of new pyrazolo[4,3-e]-1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-c]pyrimidines and related heterocycles

The reaction between 5-amino-4-imino-1(2)-substituted-1(2)H-4,5-dihydropyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidines and several commercially available reactants afforded new heterocycles with a conserved pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine nucleus. The key intermediates employed proved to be suitable compounds by virtue of their two vicinal amino and imino groups that were used to obtain five, six and seven-membered rings.     

Synthesis, conformation and PKC isozyme surrogate binding of indolinelactam-Vs, new conformationally restricted analogues of (−)-indolactam-V

New conformationally restricted analogues of tumor promoter (−)-indolactam-V (1), indolinelactam-Vs (8, 11) and their hexyl derivatives at position 1 or 7 (9, 10, 12, 13), were synthesized from 1. (3R)-Indolinelactam-V (8) adopted a conformation similar to the twist form of 1 with a cis amide, while the conformation of (3S)-indolinelactam-V (11) was close to that of the sofa form of 1 with a trans amide. 7-Hexyl derivatives of 8 and 11 (10, 13) showed binding affinities for C1 domains of protein kinase C (PKC) isozymes compared to 1, but exhibited little selectivity among these PKC isozymes. However, introduction of the hexyl group at position 1 of 8 and 11 significantly enhanced their binding selectivity for novel PKC isozymes. The best selectivity for novel PKC isozymes was observed in (3S)-1-hexylindolinelactam-V (12) with a sofa-like conformation. These results suggest that a sofa-restricted analogue of 1 with a hydrophobic chain at an appropriate position would be a promising lead for designing agents with a high selectivity for novel PKC isozymes.     

Nucleosides 4: Synthesis of 2′,3′-Didehydro-2′,3′-dideoxydoridosine and 2′,3′-Dideoxydoridosine as Potential Antihypertensive Agents

To measure the hydrophobic character of the ribose moiety of doridosine on the adenosine receptors, 2′,3′-didehydro-2′,3′-dideoxydoridosine (2) and 2′,3′-dideoxydoridosine (3) were prepared. Initial treatment of doridosine with N,N-dimethylformamide diethylacetal, and subsequently with tert-butyldimethylsilyl chloride gave 5. Compound 5 was then reacted with 1,1′-thiocarbonyldiimidazole and the resulting thionocarbonate 6 was heated with triethyl phosphite at 135°C to afford 7. Treatment of compound 7 with tetrabutylammonium fluoride and methanolic ammonia furnished compound 2 in good yield. Compound 2 was subjected to catalytic hydrogenation affording compound 3 in 85% yield.