N-heterocyclic carbene catalyzed reaction of phthalaldehydes: controllable stereoselective synthesis of polyhydroxylated spiro- and fused indenones dictated by the structure of NHC catalysts.

The N-heterocyclic carbene catalyzed stereoselective dimerization reactions of phthalaldehydes produced polyhydroxylated spiro- or fused indenones. The reaction pathways were dictated by the structures of NHC catalysts. Under the catalysis of a imidazole carbene, phthalaldehydes produced dihydroxylspiro[indene-2,1'-isobenzofuran]-3-ones in good to excellent yields, whereas a triazole carbene catalyzed reaction of phthalaldehydes afforded fully cis-trihydroxylindeno[2,1-a]inden-5-ones in high yields. This work not only provides a highly efficient method for the construction of valuable polyhydroxyl substituted indene derivatives that are not easily assembled by other synthetic means but also reflects the versatility of organocatalysis using N-heterocyclic carbenes.

Orthogonal synthesis of densely functionalized pyrroles and thiophenes from the reactions of imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine carbene-derived zwitterions with electron-deficient alkynes.

1-Thiocarbamoyl imidazo[1,5-a]pyridinium inner salts, which were obtained readily from the addition of C,N-substituted heterocyclic carbenes imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine-1-ylidenes to isothiocyanates, are powerful ambident nucleophilic zwitterions. They acted as nitrogen nucleophiles toward ethyl propiolate to produce polyfunctionalized pyrrole derivatives in high yields. When treated with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate, they behaved exclusively as sulfur nucleophiles to afford fully substituted thiophenes in excellent yields. This work provides highly efficient orthogonal synthesis of polyfunctionalized pyrroles and thiophenes that were not easily obtained by other chemical means.

Silencing platelet-derived growth factor receptor-ß enhances the radiosensitivity of C6 glioma cells in vitro and in vivo.

Platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR)-ß is an important tyrosine kinase and its downregulation has been reported to alter the radiosensitivity of glioma cells, although the underlying mechanism is unclear. In order to investigate the effect of PDGFR-ß on the radiosensitivity of glioblastoma, the present study transfected C6 glioma cells with a PDGFR-ß-specific small interfering (si)RNA expression plasmid, and downregulation of the expression of PDGFR-ß in C6 glioma cells was confirmed by western blotting and immunohistochemical analysis. Clone formation assays and xenograft growth curves demonstrated that PDGFR-ß-siRNA enhanced the radiosensitivity of C6 glioma cells in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, MTT and xenograft growth curves demonstrated that PDGFR-ß-siRNA inhibited the proliferation of C6 glioma cells in vitro and in vivo, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end-labeling and immunohistochemical analyses demonstrated that PDGFR-ß-siRNA induced apoptosis and inhibited the expression of Ki-67, cyclin B1 and vascular endothelial growth factor in C6 glioma cell xenografts. Taken together, these results suggested that PDGFR-ß may be used as a target for the radiosensitization of glioblastoma.