Het(aryl)isatin to het(aryl)aminoindoline scaffold hopping: A route to selective inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a large family of zinc-dependent endoproteases known to exert multiple regulatory roles in tumor progression. A variety of chemical classes have been explored for targeting individual MMP isoforms. In the present study, we further developed our isatin based scaffold BB0223107 capable of binding to and inactivating MMP-2 in a zinc-independent manner (Agamennone et al., 2016). Forty four new compounds were synthesized based on the modified BB0223107. All compounds were tested in enzyme inhibition assays against MMP-2, ?8 and ?13. SAR studies demonstrated that 5-het(aryl)-3-aminoindolin-2-ones (37–39) were active toward MMP-2 and MMP-13. The most potent compounds 33 and 37 displayed an IC₅₀ of 3 µM against MMP-13 and showed a negligible activity toward MMP-8; almost all new compounds were inactive toward MMP-8. Replacement of the isatin ring with a biaryl system (compound 33) did not decrease the potency against MMP-13 but reduced the selectivity. Structure-based computational studies were carried out to rationalize the inhibitory activity data. The analysis of binding geometries confirmed that all fragments occupied the S1′ site in the three enzymes while no ligand was able to bind the catalytic zinc ion. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of 3-aminoindolin-2-one-based MMP inhibitors that, based on the computer modeling study, do not coordinate the zinc ion. Thus, the het(aryl)-3-aminoindolin-2-one derivatives emerge as a drug-like and promising chemotype that, along with the hetaryl variations, represents an alternative and thrifty tool for chemical space exploration aimed at MMP inhibitor design.     

Regularity of optimal sets for some functional involving eigenvalues of an operator in divergence form

In this paper we consider minimizers of the functional$\min \{{\lambda }_1(\mathrm{\Omega })+\cdots +{\lambda }_k(\mathrm{\Omega })+\mathrm{\Lambda }|\mathrm{\Omega }|,:\mathrm{\Omega }\subset D\text{ open}\}$ where $D\subset {\mathbb{R}}^d$ is a bounded open set and where $0<{\lambda }_1(\mathrm{\Omega })\le \cdots \le {\lambda }_k(\mathrm{\Omega })$ are the first k eigenvalues on Ω of an operator in divergence form with Dirichlet boundary condition and with Hölder continuous coefficients. We prove that the optimal sets ${\mathrm{\Omega }}^{⁎}$ have finite perimeter and that their free boundary $\partial {\mathrm{\Omega }}^{⁎}\cap D$ is composed of a regular part, which is locally the graph of a $C^{1,\alpha }$-regular function, and a singular part, which is empty if $d<d^{⁎}$, discrete if $d=d^{⁎}$ and of Hausdorff dimension at most $d-d^{⁎}$ if $d>d^{⁎}$, for some $d^{⁎}\in \{5,6,7\}$.     

Versatile Near-Infrared Super-Resolution Imaging of Amyloid Fibrils with the Fluorogenic Probe CRANAD-2

CRANAD-2 is a fluorogenic curcumin derivative used for near-infrared detection and imaging in vivo of amyloid aggregates, which are involved in neurodegenerative diseases. We explore the performance of CRANAD-2 in two super-resolution imaging techniques, namely stimulated emission depletion (STED) and single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM), with markedly different fluorophore requirements. By conveniently adapting the concentration of CRANAD-2, which transiently binds to amyloid fibrils, we show that it performs well in both techniques, achieving a resolution in the range of 45–55 nm. Correlation of SMLM with atomic force microscopy (AFM) validates the resolution of fine features in the reconstructed super-resolved image. The good performance and versatility of CRANAD-2 provides a powerful tool for near-infrared nanoscopic imaging of amyloids in vitro and in vivo.     

Anti-fibrosis attributes: UHPLC-MS/MS-based pharmacokinetics profiling of a novel autotaxin inhibitor with excellent in vivo efficacy in rat

3,4-Difluorobenzyl(1-ethyl-5-(4-((4-hydroxypiperidin-1-yl)-methyl)thiazol-2-yl)-1H-indol-3-yl)carbamate (NAI59), a small molecule with outstanding therapeutic effectiveness to anti-pulmonary fibrosis, was developed as an autotaxin inhibitor candidate compound. To evaluate the pharmacokinetics and plasma protein binding of NAI59, a UPLC–MS/MS method was developed to quantify NAI59 in plasma and phosphate-buffered saline. The calibration curve linearity ranged from 9.95 to 1990.00 ng/mL in plasma. The accuracy was −6.8 to 5.9%, and the intra- and inter-day precision was within 15%. The matrix effect and recovery, as well as dilution integrity, were within the criteria. The chromatographic and mass spectrometric conditions were also feasible to determine phosphate-buffered saline samples, and it has been proved that this method exhibits good precision and accuracy in the range of 9.95–497.50 ng/mL in phosphate-buffered saline. This study is the first to determine the pharmacokinetics, absolute bioavailability, and plasma protein binding of NAI59 in rats using this established method. Therefore, the pharmacokinetic profiles of NAI59 showed a dose-dependent relationship after oral administration, and the absolute bioavailability in rats was 6.3%. In addition, the results of protein binding showed that the combining capacity of NAI59 with plasma protein attained 90% and increased with the increase in drug concentration.     

Unconventional Secondary Structure Mimics: Ladder-Rungs

Secondary structures tend to be recognizable because they have repeating structural motifs, but mimicry of these does not have to follow such well-defined patterns. Bioinformatics studies to match side-chain orientations of a novel hydantoin triazole chemotype ( 1 ) to protein-protein interfaces revealed it tends to align well across parallel and antiparallel sheets, like rungs on a ladder. One set of these overlays was observed for the protein-protein interaction uPA⋅uPAR. Consequently, chemotype 1 was made with appropriate side-chains to mimic uPA at this interface. Biophysical assays indicate these compounds did in fact bind uPAR, and elicit cellular responses that affected invasion, migration, and wound healing.     

四螺旋创新集群:研究型大学人工智能发展生态重构与路向探究——以加拿大多伦多大学为例

以人工智能为代表的知识迭代发展,促使知识生产模式发生重大转变,催生了“大学—产业—政府—公众”四螺旋动力结构的建立和研究型大学知识生产新生态重构。以多伦多大学人工智能发展为例,考察其四螺旋利益相关主体及实践。从内在机理看,4个主体在互动运作中不仅重新确定了各自角色,而且还建立了大学(知识)—产业(产品)—政府(治理)—公众(公益)的新型逻辑链条,平衡公私利益格局,把公益指向作为人工智能四螺旋运作的中心目标;从外在特征看,4个主体形成了以大学为中心的区域创新网络,并牵引其他主体形成环高校创新集群。当前,我国在人工智能发展中不断发力,已进入世界第一方阵,但仍需要在国际比较学习中不断提升自身竞争力。基于案例分析,我国研究型大学发展人工智能有必要把握4个方面:一是走进中心,塑造大学在人工智能发展中的领导地位;二是以专促通,创新研究型大学人工智能专业培养模式;三是引企入研,提升校企合作人工智能创新的转化升级;四是人本导向,突出大学在人工智能发展中的公共价值。总体来看,我国研究型大学发展人工智能不仅要面临技术上的挑战,更要面临来自治理的挑战。     

地理国情普查地表覆盖内业解译的质量问题研究

地表覆盖内业解译是地理国情普查的一道重要工序。地理国情地表覆盖内业解译现存图斑平面位置精度不足、分类错误多种多样等普遍问题,问题突出典型。文中针对这些问题图文并茂、清晰明了的进行了说明,并从多方面分析问题产生的原因,提出加强对技术指标和采集原则的学习和理解,加强内业与外业的结合,充分发挥解译样本的作用等建议,以有效提高内业解译的质量。