PITB: A high affinity transthyretin aggregation inhibitor with optimal pharmacokinetic properties.

The aggregation of wild-type transthyretin (TTR) and over 130 genetic TTR variants underlies a group of lethal disorders named TTR amyloidosis (ATTR). TTR chemical chaperones are molecules that hold great promise to modify the course of ATTR progression. In previous studies, we combined rational design and molecular dynamics simulations to generate a series of TTR selective kinetic stabilizers displaying exceptionally high affinities. In an effort to endorse the previously developed molecules with optimal pharmacokinetic properties, we conducted structural design optimization, leading to the development of PITB. PITB binds with high affinity to TTR, effectively inhibiting tetramer dissociation and aggregation of both the wild-type protein and the two most prevalent disease-associated TTR variants. Importantly, PITB selectively binds and stabilizes TTR in plasma, outperforming tolcapone, a drug currently undergoing clinical trials for ATTR. Pharmacokinetic studies conducted on mice confirmed that PITB exhibits encouraging pharmacokinetic properties, as originally intended. Furthermore, PITB demonstrates excellent oral bioavailability and lack of toxicity. These combined attributes position PITB as a lead compound for future clinical trials as a disease-modifying therapy for ATTR.

Development of a Highly Potent Transthyretin Amyloidogenesis Inhibitor: Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation.

Transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR) is a group of fatal diseases described by the misfolding and amyloid deposition of transthyretin (TTR). Discovering small molecules that bind and stabilize the TTR tetramer, preventing its dissociation and subsequent aggregation, is a therapeutic strategy for these pathologies. Departing from the crystal structure of TTR in complex with tolcapone, a potent binder in clinical trials for ATTR, we combined rational design and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to generate a series of novel halogenated kinetic stabilizers. Among them, M-23 displays one of the highest affinities for TTR described so far. The TTR/M-23 crystal structure confirmed the formation of unprecedented protein-ligand contacts, as predicted by MD simulations, leading to an enhanced tetramer stability both in vitro and in whole serum. We demonstrate that MD-assisted design of TTR ligands constitutes a new avenue for discovering molecules that, like M-23, hold the potential to become highly potent drugs to treat ATTR.

Conformationally Locked Carbocyclic Nucleosides Built on a 4'-Hydroxymethyl-3'-hydroxybicyclo[4.1.0]heptane Template. Stereoselective Synthesis and Antiviral Activity.

Two new families of enantiomerically pure carbocyclic nucleoside analogues based on a cyclohexane moiety with five chiral centers and a fused cyclopropyl ring have been synthesized. A highly regio- and stereoselective synthetic approach for the modular construction of the functionalized bicyclo[4.1.0]heptyl azide intermediate 6 has been established. Key steps to achieve this asymmetric synthesis involved highly diastereoselective allylic oxidation and hydroboration reactions. The first family of compounds, 1a,b and 2, presents different natural nucleobases, whereas the second one 3a-e bears functionalized 1,2,3-triazoles. These derivatives have been tested as antiviral agents, and compound 3d has shown to display moderate activity against coxsackie B4 virus.

Reduction of stress responses in honey bees by synthetic ligands targeting an allatostatin receptor.

Honey bees are of great economic and ecological importance, but are facing multiple stressors that can jeopardize their pollination efficiency and survival. Therefore, understanding the physiological bases of their stress response may help defining treatments to improve their resilience. We took an original approach to design molecules with this objective. We took advantage of the previous identified neuropeptide allatostatin A (ASTA) and its receptor (ASTA-R) as likely mediators of the honey bee response to a biologically relevant stressor, exposure to an alarm pheromone compound. A first series of ASTA-R ligands were identified through in silico screening using a homology 3D model of the receptor and in vitro binding experiments. One of these (A8) proved also efficient in vivo, as it could counteract two behavioral effects of pheromone exposure, albeit only in the millimolar range. This putative antagonist was used as a template for the chemical synthesis of a second generation of potential ligands. Among these, two compounds showed improved efficiency in vivo (in the micromolar range) as compared to A8 despite no major improvement in their affinity for the receptor in vitro. These new ligands are thus promising candidates for alleviating stress in honey bees.

Enantiocontrolled Preparation of ϒ-Substituted Cyclohexenones: Synthesis and Kinase Activity Assays of Cyclopropyl-Fused Cyclohexane Nucleosides.

The enantioselective preparation of the two isomers of 4-hydroxy-2-cyclohexanone derivatives 1a,b was achieved, starting from a common cyclohexenone, through asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH) reactions using bifunctional ruthenium catalysts. From these versatile intermediates, a stereoselective route to a cytosine analogue built on a bicyclo [4.1.0]heptane scaffold is described. Nucleoside kinase activity assays with this cyclopropyl-fused cyclohexane nucleoside, together with other related nucleosides (2a-e), were performed, showing that thymine- and guanine- containing compounds have affinity for herpes simplex virus Type 1 (HSV-1) thymidine kinase (TK) but not for human cytosolic TK-1, thus pointing to their selectivity for herpetic TKs but not cellular TKs.

Design and synthesis of a novel non peptide CN-NFATc signaling inhibitor for tumor suppression in triple negative breast cancer.

The Ca2+/calmodulin-mediated phosphatase activity of calcineurin (CN) integrates calcium-mediated signaling with gene expression programs involved in the control of essential cellular processes in health and disease, such as the immune response and the pathogenesis of cancer progression and metastasis. In addition, CN is the target of the immunosuppressive drugs cyclosporine A (CsA) and FK-506 which are the cornerstone of immunosuppressant therapy. Unfortunately, long-term administration of these drugs results in severe side effects. Herein, we describe the design, synthesis and evaluation of new synthetic compounds that are capable of inhibiting NFATc activity in a dose-dependent manner, without interfering on CN phosphatase activity. These compounds were designed using the structure-based pharmacophore model of a peptide-derived PxIxIT sequence binding to calcineurin A subunit. Moreover, these compounds inhibit NFATc-dependent cytokine gene expression, secretion and proliferation of human T CD4+ cells. More importantly, compound 5a reduces tumor weight and shows a tendency to reduce tumor angiogenesis in an orthotopic immunocompetent mouse model of triple negative breast cancer, suggesting that 5a has tumor suppressor activity. These findings validate compound 5a as an agent with therapeutic activity against CN-NFATc and highlight its potential as a tool for drug development with therapeutic purposes.

Mussel-Inspired Lego Approach for Controlling the Wettability of Surfaces with Colorless Coatings.

The control of surface wettability with polyphenol coatings has been at the forefront of materials research since the late 1990s, when robust underwater adhesion was linked to the presence of L-DOPA-a catecholic amino acid-in unusually high amounts, in the sequences of several mussel foot proteins. Since then, several successful approaches have been reported, although a common undesired feature of most of them is the presence of a remnant color and/or the intrinsic difficulty in fine-tuning and controlling the hydrophobic character. We report here a new family of functional catechol-based coatings, grounded in the oxidative condensation of readily available pyrocatechol and thiol-capped functional moieties. The presence of at least two additional thiol groups in their structure allows for polymerization through the formation of disulfide bonds. The synthetic flexibility, together with its modular character, allowed us to: (I) develop coatings with applications exemplified by textiles for oil-spill water treatment; (II) develop multifunctional coatings, and (III) fine-tune the WCA for flat and textile surfaces. All of this was achieved with the application of colorless coatings.

Design of Negative and Positive Allosteric Modulators of the Cannabinoid CB2 Receptor Derived from the Natural Product Cannabidiol.

Cannabidiol (CBD), the second most abundant of the active compounds found in the Cannabis sativa plant, is of increasing interest because it is approved for human use and is neither euphorizing nor addictive. Here, we design and synthesize novel compounds taking into account that CBD is both a partial agonist, when it binds to the orthosteric site, and a negative allosteric modulator, when it binds to the allosteric site of the cannabinoid CB2 receptor. Molecular dynamic simulations and site-directed mutagenesis studies have identified the allosteric site near the receptor entrance. This knowledge has permitted to perform structure-guided design of negative and positive allosteric modulators of the CB2 receptor with potential therapeutic utility.

Bioinspired Functional Catechol Derivatives through Simple Thiol Conjugate Addition.

The combination of the surface-adhesive properties of catechol rings and functional moieties conveying specific properties is very appealing to materials chemistry, but the preparation of catechol derivatives often requires elaborate synthetic routes to circumvent the intrinsic reactivity of the catechol ring. In this work, functional catechols are synthesized straightforwardly by using the bioinspired reaction of several functional thiols with o-benzoquinone. With one exception, the conjugated addition of the thiol takes place regioselectively at the 3-position of the quinone, and is rationalized by DFT calculations. Overall, this synthetic methodology provides a general and straightforward access to functional and chain-extended catechol derivatives, which are later tested with regard to their hydro-/oleophobicity, colloidal stability, fluorescence, and metal-coordinating capabilities in proof-of-concept applications.

Synthetic Photoswitchable Neurotransmitters Based on Bridged Azobenzenes.

Photoswitchable neurotransmitters of ionotropic kainate receptors were synthesized by tethering a glutamate moiety to disubstituted C2-bridged azobenzenes, which were prepared through a novel methodology that allows access to diazocines with higher yields and versatility. Because of the singular properties of these photochromes, photoisomerizable compounds were obtained with larger thermal stability for their inert cis isomer than for their biologically activity trans state. This enabled selective neuronal firing upon irradiation without background activity in the dark.

Rationally designed azobenzene photoswitches for efficient two-photon neuronal excitation.

Manipulation of neuronal activity using two-photon excitation of azobenzene photoswitches with near-infrared light has been recently demonstrated, but their practical use in neuronal tissue to photostimulate individual neurons with three-dimensional precision has been hampered by firstly, the low efficacy and reliability of NIR-induced azobenzene photoisomerization compared to one-photon excitation, and secondly, the short cis state lifetime of the two-photon responsive azo switches. Here we report the rational design based on theoretical calculations and the synthesis of azobenzene photoswitches endowed with both high two-photon absorption cross section and slow thermal back-isomerization. These compounds provide optimized and sustained two-photon neuronal stimulation both in light-scattering brain tissue and in Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes, displaying photoresponse intensities that are comparable to those achieved under one-photon excitation. This finding opens the way to use both genetically targeted and pharmacologically selective azobenzene photoswitches to dissect intact neuronal circuits in three dimensions.

Versatile iron-catechol-based nanoscale coordination polymers with antiretroviral ligand functionalization and their use as efficient carriers in HIV/AIDS therapy.

A novel chemical approach integrating the benefits of nanoparticles with versatility of coordination chemistry is reported herein to increase the effectiveness of well-known HIV antiretroviral drugs. The novelty of our approach is illustrated using a catechol ligand tethered to the known antiretroviral azidothymidine (AZT) as a constitutive building block of the nanoparticles. The resulting nanoscale coordination polymers (NCPs) ensure good encapsulation yields and equivalent antiretroviral activity while significantly diminishing its cytotoxicity. Moreover, this novel family of nanoparticles also offers (i) long-lasting drug release that is dissimilar inside and outside the cells depending on pH, (ii) triggered release in the presence of esterases, activating the antiviral activity in an on-off manner due to a proper chemical design of the ligand and (iii) improved colloidal stabilities and cellular uptakes (up to 50-fold increase). The presence of iron nodes also adds multifunctionality as possible contrast agents. The present study demonstrates the suitability of NCPs bearing pharmacologically active ligands as an alternative to conventional antiretroviral treatments.

Intramolecular Photocycloaddition of 2(5 H)-Furanones to Temporarily Tethered Terminal Alkenes as a Stereoselective Source of Enantiomerically Pure Polyfunctionalyzed Cyclobutanes.

Allyloxymethyloxymethyl and 4-pentenoyloxymethyl substituents have been used as tethering groups to study the intramolecular [2 + 2] photocycloaddition of chiral 5-substituted 2(5 H)-furanones. The photoreactions proceed in good yield and provide the expected regio- and diastereoselective tricyclic compounds with complementary regioselectivity, which depends on whether the vinyl chain is attached to the furanone by an acetal or an ester linkage. Computational simulations agree with experimental observations and indicate that the origin of the different observed regioselectivity in the intramolecular photochemical reaction of lactones 5 and 6 arises from the relative stability of the initial conformers. The synthetic potential of the enantiomerically pure photoadducts is illustrated by preparing an all- cis 1,2,3-trisubstituted cyclobutane bearing fully orthogonally protected hydroxyl groups.

A Study on the Photoreaction of 2(5H)-Furanones with Substituted Acetylenes: Evidence for a Mechanistic Reformulation.

The photoreaction of 2(5H)-furanones with alkynes has been investigated. The complexity of this process is evidenced by the variety of isolated products, which have allowed disclosing interesting mechanistic aspects. When the reaction is performed in acetonitrile under direct excitation, in addition to the primary [2+2] cycloadducts, products derived from an 1,3-acyl shift rearrangement are also formed. For unsymmetrical alkynes, the rearrangement of the head-to-tail primary adducts produces new regioisomers and, when the starting furanone is chiral, this rearrangement inverts the relative anti/syn geometry of the primary cycloadducts. In the reactions performed in acetone under photosensitized conditions, rearranged products were never detected, supporting that the 1,3-acyl shift takes place from the singlet excited state S1 of the ß,γ-unsaturated lactone. When bis(trimethylsilyl)acetylene is used as the alkyne partner, the major photoproducts are monocyclic bis(trimethylsilyl)lactones.

Synthesis of Novel Nucleoside Analogues Built on a Bicyclo[4.1.0]heptane Scaffold.

A new class of carbocyclic nucleoside analogues built on a bicyclo[4.1.0]heptane scaffold, a perspective novel pseudosugar pattern, have been conceived as anti-HSV agents on the basis of initial protein-ligand docking studies. The asymmetric synthesis of a series of these compounds incorporating different nucleobases has been efficiently completed starting from 1,4-cyclohexanedione.

Intramolecular Photoreactions of (5S)-5-Oxymethyl-2(5H)-furanones as a Tool for the Stereoselective Generation of Diverse Polycyclic Scaffolds.

The photoactivated evolution of a series of enantiomerically pure 5-oxymethyl-2(5H)-furanones has been investigated. The observed intramolecular photoreactions have proven to be a straightforward entry to diverse and stereochemically rich fragment-molecules, most of which contain the privileged tetrahydropyran (THP) scaffold. The formation of the THP involves a 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer process, leading to a diradical intermediate that recombines to form a new σ C-C bond. These reactions take place under both sensitized and nonsensitized conditions, and they are highly stereoselective. When the substrate contains an allyl residue, the intramolecular [2 + 2] cycloaddition leading to cyclobutanes competes advantageously. When the substrate contains a THP residue, the cyclization involves the concomitant formation of [6,6]-spiroketals with nonanomeric relationships.

An Optimized Glutamate Receptor Photoswitch with Sensitized Azobenzene Isomerization.

A new azobenzene-based photoswitch, 2, has been designed to enable optical control of ionotropic glutamate receptors in neurons via sensitized two-photon excitation with NIR light. In order to develop an efficient and versatile synthetic route for this molecule, a modular strategy is described which relies on the use of a new linear fully protected glutamate derivative stable in basic media. The resulting compound undergoes one-photon trans-cis photoisomerization via two different mechanisms: direct excitation of its azoaromatic unit and irradiation of the pyrene sensitizer, a well-known two-photon sensitive chromophore. Moreover, 2 presents large thermal stability of its cis isomer, in contrast to other two-photon responsive switches relying on the intrinsic nonlinear optical properties of push-pull substituted azobenzenes. As a result, the molecular system developed herein is a very promising candidate for evoking large photoinduced biological responses during the multiphoton operation of neuronal glutamate receptors with NIR light, which require accumulation of the protein-bound cis state of the switch upon repeated illumination.

Mussel-inspired hydrophobic coatings for water-repellent textiles and oil removal.

A series of catechol derivatives with a different number of linear alkyl chain substituents, and different length, have been shown to polymerize in the presence of aqueous ammonia and air, yielding hydrophobic coatings that present the ability to provide robust and efficient water repellency on weaved textiles, including hydrophilic cotton. The polymerization strategy presented exemplifies an alternative route to established melanin- and polydopamine-like functional coatings, affording designs in which all catechol (adhesive) moieties support specific functional side chains for maximization of the desired (hydrophobic) functionality. The coatings obtained proved effective in the transformation of polyester and cotton weaves, as well as filter paper, into reusable water-repellent, oil-absorbent materials capable of retaining roughly double their weight in model compounds (n-tetradecane and olive oil), as well as of separating water/oil mixtures by simple filtration.

Two-photon neuronal and astrocytic stimulation with azobenzene-based photoswitches.

Synthetic photochromic compounds can be designed to control a variety of proteins and their biochemical functions in living cells, but the high spatiotemporal precision and tissue penetration of two-photon stimulation have never been investigated in these molecules. Here we demonstrate two-photon excitation of azobenzene-based protein switches and versatile strategies to enhance their photochemical responses. This enables new applications to control the activation of neurons and astrocytes with cellular and subcellular resolution.

How a diversity-oriented approach has inspired a new hypothesis for the gabosine biosynthetic pathway. A new synthesis of (+)-gabosine C.

A new synthesis of (+)-gabosine C has been accomplished as part of a general diversity-oriented approach that also delivered the previously unknown (-)-4-epi-gabosine C. The identification of the unexpected intermediate (+)-8, together with the isolation of ketones 9 and 10 in previous investigations, prompted us to formulate a new hypothesis for the biosynthesis of gabosines, based on a keto-enol equilibrium cascade pathway starting from 2-epi-5-epi-valiolone, along which the necessary precursors for all the different types of gabosines are generated.