Discovery of Novel NLRP3 Inflammasome Inhibitors Composed of an Oxazole Scaffold Bearing an Acylsulfamide.

The NLRP3 inflammasome plays an important role in the defense mechanism of the innate immune system and has recently attracted much attention as a drug target for various inflammatory disorders. Among the strategies for generating the novel chemotype in current drug discovery, scaffold hopping and bioisosteric replacement are known to be attractive approaches. As the results of our medicinal chemistry campaign, which involved exploration of core motifs using a ring closing approach, a five-membered oxazole-based scaffold was identified, and subsequent implementation of bioisosteric replacement led to discovery of a novel chemical class of NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor bearing the acylsulfamide group. Further optimization of aniline and sulfamide moieties to improve potency in human whole blood assay led to the identification of the orally bioactive compound 32 in the LPS challenge model. Furthermore, compound 32 attenuated kidney injury in adriamycin-induced glomerulonephritis in mice. These investigations indicated that the NLRP3 inhibitor could be a potential therapeutic agent for glomerulonephritis.

Total Synthesis of Lajollamycin†B.

The first total synthesis of lajollamycin B, a structurally novel nitro-tetraene spiro-ß-lactone/γ-lactone antibiotic, is described. The convergent synthesis involves the construction of the C8'-C11' nitrodienylstannane and its coupling with the segment prepared from the C1'-C7' ω-iodoheptadienoic acid and the right-hand heterocyclic fragment, which has been utilized for our previous syntheses of oxazolomycin A. The revision of the geometry of the terminal Δ10', 11' -double bond from E to Z is also described for the structure of natural lajollamycin B.

Total synthesis of marinomycin A based on a direct dimerization strategy.

The asymmetric total synthesis of (+)-marinomycin A, a 44-membered macrodiolide antitumor agent and antibiotic isolated from a marine actinomycete, Marinispora strain CNQ-140, is reported. The key features of the synthesis include the highly convergent stereocontrolled construction of the monomeric hydroxy salicylate starting from asymmetric epoxidation of the σ-symmetrical dialkenyl carbinol, and an unprecedented direct dimerization through NaHMDS-promoted double transesterification.