Total synthesis of (±)-3-demethoxyerythratidinone via Tf2O-promoted cascade reaction of enaminone.

The tetracyclic rings with chiral quaternary center represent a formidable synthetic challenge for Erythrina alkaloids. We present a 6-step synthesis of the Erythrina alkaloid 3-demethoxyerythratidinone with a 16% overall yield. Our synthesis highlights a cascade reaction initiated by Tf2O-induced activation of an enaminone substrate, yielding an iminium species and an enol triflate, followed by a Pictet-Spengler reaction. This method efficiently constructs the tetracyclic core skeleton, featuring an N-substituted quaternary center. It exhibits versatility across diverse (hetero)arenes and enaminone structures, providing a general strategy for the rapid synthesis of fused or spiro ring systems including the core structure of homoerythrina alkaloids.

Total syntheses of Tetrodotoxin and 9-epiTetrodotoxin.

Tetrodotoxin and congeners are specific voltage-gated sodium channel blockers that exhibit remarkable anesthetic and analgesic effects. Here, we present a scalable asymmetric syntheses of Tetrodotoxin and 9-epiTetrodotoxin from the abundant chemical feedstock furfuryl alcohol. The optically pure cyclohexane skeleton is assembled via a stereoselective Diels-Alder reaction. The dense heteroatom substituents are established sequentially by a series of functional group interconversions on highly oxygenated cyclohexane frameworks, including a chemoselective cyclic anhydride opening, and a decarboxylative hydroxylation. An innovative SmI2-mediated concurrent fragmentation, an oxo-bridge ring opening and ester reduction followed by an Upjohn dihydroxylation deliver the highly oxidized skeleton. Ruthenium-catalyzed oxidative alkyne cleavage and formation of the hemiaminal and orthoester under acidic conditions enable the rapid assembly of Tetrodotoxin, anhydro-Tetrodotoxin, 9-epiTetrodotoxin, and 9-epi lactone-Tetrodotoxin.

Asymmetric Total Syntheses of Strychnos Alkaloids via Selective Fischer Indolization.

The complex structures and important biological functions of Strychnos alkaloids have attracted a great deal of attention from synthetic chemists. Herein, we describe the concise asymmetric total syntheses of the Strychnos alkaloids, (-)-dehydrotubifoline, (-)-tubifoline, and (-)-tubifolidine, as well as the formal total synthesis of (-)-strychnine. Our strategy features the construction of the common tetracyclic pyrrolo[2,3-d]carbazole structure using regioselective Fischer indolization on unsymmetrical cyclic ketones and late-stage functionalization for divergent synthesis. We developed a stepwise Fischer indolization featuring selective formation of enol triflate to solve the challenging regioselectivity problem, leading to the common tetracyclic ring skeleton in these Strychnos alkaloids. The regioselectivity of Fischer indolization on unsymmetrical cyclic ketones was studied on the basis of different types of ring systems and supported by density functional theory calculations. Overall, our success in the construction of this tetracyclic ring secured the syntheses of Strychnos alkaloids and may provide a general method for the total syntheses of various alkaloids containing this skeleton.

Flavin-Dependent Monooxygenase-Mediated 1,2-Oxazine Construction via Meisenheimer Rearrangement in the Biosynthesis of Paeciloxazine.

The [1,2]-Meisenheimer rearrangement is well known as the [1,2]-migration of an O-substituted hydroxylamine from a tertiary amine N-oxide, and it is frequently employed in organic synthesis to enforce adjacent carbon oxidation or install a 1,2-oxazine core, which is a prevalent structural feature and pharmacophore of many bioactive natural products. Although the [1,2]-Meisenheimer rearrangement was proposed to occur in the biosynthesis of a number of 1,2-oxazine-containing natural products, it has never been proved biosynthetically. Here, we identified the biosynthetic gene cluster of an insecticidal natural product, paeciloxazine (1), from Penicillium janthinellum and characterized a flavin-dependent monooxygenase, PaxA, as the first example that mediates the formation of a 1,2-oxazine moiety via Meisenheimer rearrangement. In vitro biochemical assays, site-directed mutations, docking and molecular dynamics simulations, and density functional theory calculations support the mechanism that PaxA first catalyzes N-oxidation to form an N-oxide intermediate, which undergoes [1,2]-Meisenheimer rearrangement with the assistance of an amino acid with proton transfer property. This study expands the repertoire of rearrangement reactions during the biosynthesis of natural products and provides a new strategy for discovering natural products with N-O tethers by genome mining.

Expeditious and Efficient ortho-Selective Trifluoromethane-sulfonylation of Arylhydroxylamines.

A metal- and oxidant-free, practical and efficient method for the synthesis of highly versatile and synthetically useful ortho-trifluoromethanesulfonylated anilines from arylhydroxylamines and trifluoromethanesulfinic chloride was developed. This rapid transformation proceeded smoothly with good yields and excellent ortho-selectivity in the absence of any metals or ligands. Mechanistically, the reaction comprised a noncanonical O-trifluoromethanesulfinylation of the arylhydroxylamine, and the subsequent [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement to afford ortho-trifluoromethanesulfonylated aniline derivatives. The practical application of this reaction was demonstrated by further conversion into a series of functional molecules under different reaction conditions.

Chemoselective Cross-Coupling of gem-Borazirconocene Alkanes with Aryl Halides.

The direct and chemoselective conversion of the carbon-metal bond of gem-dimetallic reagents enables rapid and sequential formation of multiple carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds, thus representing a powerful method for efficiently increasing structural complexity. Herein, we report a visible-light-induced, nickel-catalyzed, chemoselective cross-coupling reaction between gem-borazirconocene alkanes and diverse aryl halides, affording a wide range of alkyl Bpin derivatives in high yields with excellent regioselectivity. This practical method features attractively simple reaction conditions and a broad substrate scope. Additionally, we systematically investigated a Bpin-directed chain walking process underlying the regioselectivity of alkylzirconocenes, thus uncovering the mechanism of the remote functionalization of internal olefins achieved with our method. Finally, DFT calculations indicate that the high regioselectivity of this reaction originates from the directing effect of the Bpin group.

A copper-catalyzed reaction of 3-diazoindolin-2-imines with 2-(phenylamino)ethanols: convenient access to spiro[indoline-3,2'-oxazolidin]-2-imines.

3-Diazoindolin-2-imines reacted with chiral 2-(phenylamino)ethanols under copper catalysis to furnish chiral spiro[indoline-3,2'-oxazolidin]-2-imines in good yields with excellent diastereoselectivity. The reaction undergoes a copper-catalyzed cascade process involving the formation of copper carbene, C-N coupling, and C-O coupling.

Rh-Catalyzed Conversion of 3-Diazoindolin-2-imines to 5H-Pyrazino[2,3-b]indoles with Photoluminescent Properties.

A rhodium-catalyzed reaction between 3-diazoindolin-2-imines and 2H-azirines, followed by treatment with a base, furnishes 5H-pyrazino[2,3-b]indoles in excellent yields. A number of functional groups tolerate the reaction conditions, and the resulting 5H-pyrazino[2,3-b]indoles present strong photoluminecence in solutions, powders, and films.

Preparation of 2-Amino-3-arylindoles via Pd-Catalyzed Coupling between 3-Diazoindolin-2-imines and Arylboronic Acids as well as Their Extension to 3-Aryl-3-fluoroindolin-2-imines.

2-Amino-3-arylindoles were conveniently prepared from 3-diazoindolin-2-imines and arylboronic acids through palladium carbene intermediates in moderate to excellent yields. The synthesized 2-amino-3-arylindoles could be fluorinated with NFSI to afford 3-aryl-3-fluoroindolin-2-imines.

Cloning and characterization of miRNAs and their targets, including a novel miRNA-targeted NBS-LRR protein class gene in apple (Golden Delicious).

MicroRNA (miRNA) has emerged as an important regulator of gene expression in plants. 146 miRNAs were identified from apple (Malus domestica cv. Golden Delicious) by bioinformatic analysis and RNA library sequencing. From these, 135 were conserved and 11 were novel miRNAs. Target analysis predicted one of the novel miRNAs, Md-miRLn11 (Malus domestica microRNA Ln11), targeted an apple nucleotide-binding site (NBS)-leucine-rich repeat (LRR) class protein coding gene (Md-NBS). 5' RACE assay confirmed the ability of Md-miRLn11 to cleave Md-NBS at the 11-12-nt position. Analysis of the expression of Md-miRLn11 and Md-NBS during the optimum invasion period in 40 apple varieties showed that the expression of Md-NBS gene in resistant varieties is higher than in susceptible varieties, with an inverse pattern for Md-miRLn11. Seedlings from the resistant apple variety 'JiGuan' were used to carry out an Agrobacterium infiltration assay, and then inoculated with the apple leaf spot disease. The result showed a clear decline of disease resistance in JiGuan apples. In contrast, the susceptible variety 'FuJi' infiltrated with the Md-NBS gene showed a significant increase in disease resistance. Based on the above results, we propose that Md-miRLn11 regulates Md-NBS gene expression in particular under the condition of pathogen infection, and that the Md-miRLn11 targeting P-loop site may regulate many NBS-LRR protein class genes in woody plants.

[Evaluation on HBeAg conversion time when treating chronic hepatitis B patients with combination of lamivudine and traditional Chinese medicine].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of the combined use of traditional Chinese medicine and lamivudine (LMD) in treating chronic hepatitis B patients, and to follow the serological response for six months or longer. METHODS: CNKI, Wanfang data, VIP data, CBMdisk, MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials database and literature were searched, to include randomized controlled trails (RCT) that used LMD alone or combined with traditional Chinese medicine. RevMan 4.2 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: The Meta analysis of 7 trails demonstrated that the HBeAg conversion rate in treatment group was higher than those from the control group, and the differences were statistically significant at 6, 9, 12 months. CONCLUSION: Data demonstrated that early intervention of traditional Chinese medicine might increase the HBeAg conversion rate but conclusion needs to be more specific to the types of trials.