Discovery of N-(phenylsulfonyl)thiazole-2-carboxamides as potent α-glucosidase inhibitors.

In a search for novel nonsugar α-glucosidase inhibitors for diabetes treatment, a series of N-(phenylsulfonyl)thiazole-2-carboxamide derivatives were designed and synthesized, the α-glucosidase inhibitory activities were then evaluated. Several compounds with promising α-glucosidase inhibitory effects were identified. Among these, compound W24 which shows low cytotoxicity and good α-glucosidase inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 53.0 ± 7.7 µM, is more competitive compared with the commercially available drug acarbose (IC50 = 228.3 ± 9.2 µM). W24 was identified as a promising candidate in the development of α-glucosidase inhibitors. Molecular docking studies and molecular dynamics simulation were also performed to reveal the binding pattern of the active compound to α-glucosidase, and the binding free energy of the best compound W24 was 36.3403 ± 3.91 kcal/mol.

Novel Coumarin Derivatives Inhibit the Quorum Sensing System and Iron Homeostasis as Antibacterial Synergists against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is well-known to cause biofilm-associated drug resistance and infections that often lead to treatment failure. Herein, we reported a dual-acting antibiofilm strategy by inhibiting both the bacterial quorum sensing system and the iron uptake system. A series of coumarin derivatives were synthesized and evaluated, and compound 4t was identified as the most effective biofilm inhibitor (IC50 = 3.6 µM). Further mechanistic studies have confirmed that 4t not only inhibits the QS systems but also competes strongly with pyoverdine as an iron chelator, causing an iron deficiency in P. aeruginosa. Additionally, 4t significantly improved the synergistic antibacterial effects of ciprofloxacin and tobramycin by more than 200-1000-fold compared to the single-dose antibiotic treatments. Therefore, our study has shown that 4t is a potentially novel antibacterial synergist candidate to treat bacterial infections.

In Situ Tyrosinase Monitoring by Wearable Microneedle Patch toward Clinical Melanoma Screening.

Despite the potential indicating role of tyrosinase (TYR) in cutaneous melanoma, how to capture the real changes of TYR in suspicious skin remains a major challenge. Unlike the traditional human serum test, this study reports a sensing platform that incorporates a wearable microneedle (MN) patch and trimetallic Au@Ag-Pt nanoparticles (NPs) for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and colorimetric dual-mode detecting TYR in human skin in situ toward potential melanoma screening. In the presence of TYR, catechol immobilized on MN is preferentially oxidized to benzoquinone, which competitively impedes the interaction of MN and Au@Ag-Pt NPs, triggering the SERS-colorimetric signal reciprocal switch. Using a B16F10 mouse melanoma model, our platform is capable of noninvasively piercing the skin surface and detecting TYR levels before and during anti-PD-1 antibody treatment, which would be highly informative for prognostic judgment and illness monitoring of melanoma. Through in situ sensing for capturing the metabolic changes of TYR in advance, this platform was successfully applied to discriminate the melanoma subjects from skin moles and normal ones (p < 0.001), as well as screen potential melanoma from lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)-negative patients. Melanoma growth and prognosis can still be monitored through recording the continuous change of TYR levels. More importantly, the well-defined flexible and stretchable characteristics of the MN patch allow robustly adhering to the skin without inducing chemical or physical irritation. We believe this platform integrating MN-based in situ sensing, TYR responsiveness, and SERS/colorimetric dual-readout strategy will have high clinical importance in early diagnosis and monitoring of cutaneous melanoma.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 3-hydroxypyridin-4(1H)-ones based hybrids as Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm inhibitors.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is a gram-negative pathogenic bacterium, often causative drug-resistance related human infections, given its great capacity to form bioflm. It uses three major quorum sensing (QS) systems, las, rhl, and pqs, to regulate the expression of genes related to virulence and biofilm formation. Consequently, strategies for inhibiting QS have garnered considerable attention as antimicrobial therapies. In this study, we designed and synthesized several 3-hydroxypyridin-4(1H)-one hybrids and assessed their potential as the inhibitors of P. aeruginosa biofilm formation. The most active compound identified was 12h; it exhibited satisfactory biofilm inhibitory activity (IC50: 10.59 ± 1.17 µM). Mechanistic studies revealed that 12h significantly inhibited the fluorescence of the PAO1-lasB-gfp and PAO1-pqsA-gfp fluorescent reporter strains and the production of Las-regulated (elastase) and Pqs-regulated (pyocyanin) virulence factors. These findings indicate that 12h inhibited biofilm formation by suppressing the expression of lasB and pqsA, thereby inactivating the las and pqs pathways. Furthermore, 12h improved the antibiotic susceptibility of P. aeruginosa and reduced the acute virulence of this bacterium in the African green monkey kidney cell line Vero. In conclusion, 3-hydroxypyridin-4(1H)-one hybrids, such as 12h, represent a promising class of antibacterial agents against P. aeruginosa.

New abietane and tigliane diterpenoids from the roots of Euphorbia fischeriana and their cytotoxic activities.

Three new abietane and two new tigliane diterpenoids were isolated from the roots Euphorbia fischeriana. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods and quantum chemical calculation. Compounds 4 and 5 exhibited the inhibitory activities against human cancer cells HeLa and HepG2, with IC50 ranging from 3.54 to 11.45 µM.

Sesquiterpene lactones from Artemisia vulgaris L. as potential NO inhibitors in LPS-induced RAW264.7 macrophage cells.

Twelve new guaianolide sesquiterpene lactones (1-12), along with ten known analogs (13-22) were isolated from an EtOH extract of the dried aerial parts of Artemisia vulgaris L. The new structures were elucidated via abundant spectroscopic data analyses (HRESIMS, IR, 1D, and 2D NMR), and the absolute configurations of these compounds were determined by X-ray crystallography and ECD calculations. The compounds (1-22) were identified as guaiane-type sesquiterpenes with characteristic α-methylene-γ-lactone and α,ß-unsaturated carbonyl moieties. All compounds were tested for their inhibitory activity against NO production in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. The isolated sesquiterpenoids dose-dependently exhibited an NO production inhibitory activity by inhibiting the expression of inducible NO oxidase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) with IC50 values ranging from 1.0 to 3.6 µM. The inhibitory effect on the NO production of the compounds (1-4 and 6-22) is better than that of the positive control (dexamethasone). The different substitutions of compounds on C-8 influence anti-inflammatory effects, as evidenced by the in silico analysis of related binding interactions of new compounds (1-12) with iNOS.

New Pqs Quorum Sensing System Inhibitor as an Antibacterial Synergist against Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Development of new bacterial biofilm inhibitors as antibacterial synergists is an effective strategy to solve the resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In this paper, a series of 3-hydroxy-pyridin-4(1H)-ones were synthesized and evaluated, and the hit compound (20p) was identified with the effects of inhibiting the production of pyocyanin (IC50 = 8.6 µM) and biofilm formation (IC50 = 4.5 µM). Mechanistic studies confirmed that 20p inhibits the formation of bacterial biofilm by inhibiting the expression of pqsA, blocking pqs quorum sensing system quinolone biosynthesis. Moreover, we systematically investigated the bactericidal effects of combining currently approved antibiotics for CF including tobramycin, ciprofloxacin, and colistin E with 20p, which showed obvious antibacterial synergy to overcome antibiotics resistance in multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa biofilms. The result indicates that compound 20p may be used in the future as a potentially novel antibacterial synergist candidate for the treatment of P. aeruginosa infections.

Novel 2-Substituted 3-Hydroxy-1,6-dimethylpyridin-4(1H)-ones as Dual-Acting Biofilm Inhibitors of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

2-Heptyl-3-hydroxy-4(1H)-quinolone (PQS), a compound from P. aeruginosa, functions as both a quorum sensing (QS) regulator and a potent iron chelator to induce expression of pyoverdine and pyochelin which are involved in high-affinity iron transport systems. A potential dual-acting antibiofilm strategy requires molecules designed to interfere with iron uptake and the QS system of P. aeruginosa. A series of 2-substituted 3-hydroxy-1,6-dimethylpyridin-4-ones have been designed, synthesized, and tested as biofilm inhibitors of P. aeruginosa. One compound, N-((1,3,6-trimethyl-4-oxo-1,4-dihydropyridin-2-yl)methyl)hexanamide (10d), exhibits 68.67% biofilm inhibitory activity at 20 µM. Further mechanistic studies have confirmed that this compound not only inhibits the QS systems of P. aeruginosa but also acts as an iron chelator to compete strongly with pyoverdine, causing iron deficiency in bacteria. The pyoverdine receptor FpvA was revealed as the target of 10d by the Pvds mutant strain, fpvA-overexpressed strain, and in silico studies.

Electrochemical Oxidative Phosphorylation of Aldehyde Hydrazones.

The electrochemical phosphorylation of aldehyde hydrazones has been developed under exogenous oxidant-free conditions. The strategy provides expedient access to highly functionalized α-iminophosphine oxides with ample scope and broad functional group tolerance by means of mild, user-friendly electrolysis, in an undivided cell.

Design, synthesis and evaluation of halogenated furanone derivatives as quorum sensing inhibitors in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The biofilm formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is regulated by a phenomenon of quorum sensing (QS). With 5-hydroxyl-3,4-halogenated-5H-furan-2-ones as beginning, analogs bearing alkyl chains, vinyl bromide, or aromatic rings were designed and synthesized. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the compounds against P. aeruginosa was assayed and the biofilm inhibition ratio was determined at different concentrations lower than the MIC. C-5 aromatic substituted furanones showed remarkable biofilm formation as well as inhibition of virulence factor production in P. aeruginosa. Fluorescence report analysis identified the QS regulatory mechanism of the most active compound 29. This study provides us a novel candidate for combating drug resistant bacteria strains by merely inhibiting biofilm formation. Without suppressing the regular life cycle of the bacteria, bacterial resistance mechanisms may not be activated.

Design and synthesis of 2-hydroxyl-4-methoxyl-3-(3-methylbut-2-en-1-yl)-6-(4-phenylbenzoylamino)benzoic acid derivatives as antibacterial agents based on cajaninstilbene acid scaffold hopping.

The prevalence of multidrug resistance among clinically significant bacterial pathogens underlines a critical need for the development of new classes of antibacterial agents with novel structural scaffolds. Cajaninstilbene acid (CSA), which is isolated from pigeonpea leaves, has shown potent antibacterial activity. In this study, a series of 2-hydroxyl-4-methoxyl-3-(3-methylbut-2-en-1-yl)-6-(4-phenylbenzoylamino)benzoic acid derivatives derived from CSA were designed and synthesized, and their antibacterial activities were evaluated. Several synthesized compounds exhibit better antibacterial activity than CSA against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and two strains of methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Meanwhile, the results of 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assays illustrate the good selectivity between bacteria and normal cells of the most active compounds 6u and 6v. Furthermore, well combinations with bacterial RNA polymerase of 6u arising from docking study imply the possible mechanism of antibacterial activity of these synthetic compounds.

Novel 2, 8-bit derivatives of quinolines attenuate Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence and biofilm formation.

Signal molecules are stimulators of multiple quroum-sensing virulence and biofilm formation. Small molecule analogues have been suspected as a potent inhibitor in therapeutic strategy. Herein, we synthesized a series of small molecule compounds from the 2, 8-bit derivatives of quinoline by Suzuki coupling reaction. We found that these compounds have the biofilm inhibitory effect in normal condition instead of phosphate limitation state. Furthermore, lacZ reporter strain assay and rhamnolipids as well as pyocyanin experiments showed that these compounds did not affect las and pqs system but reduced the expression of rhl. All these results suggest that quinoline derivatives can be treated as potent inhibitors against biofilm and reduce virulence through the rhl system. This research will be useful in designing new quorum sensing inhibitors to attenuate the infection of bacteria.

Hybrids of arenobufagin and benzoisoselenazol reducing the cardiotoxicity of arenobufagin.

Arenobufagin is a naturally occurring bufadienolide showing promising antitumor activity accompanied however with apparent cardiac toxicity. Following the recent discovery that oxidative damage possibly be an important cause of the cardiac toxicity of cardenolides, a strategy fusing the antitumor agent arenobufagin with a benzoisoselenazol fragment, a reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger, has been developed. Six novel hybrids were synthesized and their ROS scavenging activities as well as their in vitro cytotoxicity against the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HepG2, an adriamycin-resistant subline HepG2/ADM, and the human myocardial cell line AC16 were evaluated. The results indicate that the hybrids exhibit various degrees of in vitro ROS scavenging activities, and weaker cytotoxicity than that of arenobufagin against the myocardial cell line AC16. These findings suggest the feasibility of a strategy in which the cardiotoxicity of the potential antitumor agent arenobufagin is reduced.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of 2-substituted 3-hydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one derivatives as Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm inhibitors.

Drug-resistant bacteria associated with biofilm formation are rapidly on the rise, requiring novel therapeutic options to combat biofilm induced drug-resistance. In this study, a class of 3-hydroxy-2-(phenylhydroxy-methyl)-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one derivatives (1a-1e) were found by screening of an in-house compound library to be potential Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm inhibitors. Thirty one novel 2-substituted 3-hydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one derivatives were synthesized and assayed for their biofilm inhibitory activity. A promising biofilm inhibitor 6a was identified, and showed an obvious biofilm inhibitory effect even at a concentration of 2.5 µM. Further mechanism studies revealed that 6a only shows inhibitory effects on the expression of pqsA-gfp in a fluorescent reporter strain, and the production of a PQS- regulated virulence factor, pyocyanin. This indicates that this type of compound exercises its anti-biofilm activity specifically through the PQS pathway. Novel chemical biofilm inhibitors are described here and guard against biofilm formation associated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections.

Strigolactones: a plant phytohormone as novel anti-inflammatory agents.

Strigolactones (SLs) are a novel class of plant hormones with enormous potential for the prevention and treatment of inflammation. To further investigate the anti-inflammatory activities of SLs, a representative SL, GR24, and the reductive products of its D-ring were synthesized and their anti-inflammatory activities were fully evaluated on both in vitro and in vivo models. Among these compounds, the two most active optical isomers (2a and 6a) demonstrated strong inhibitory activity on the release of inflammatory cytokines, including nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) by blocking the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways; they also greatly inhibited the migration of neutrophils and macrophages in fluorescent protein labeled zebrafish larvae. These results identified the promising anti-inflammatory effects of SLs, and suggested that both the absolute configuration of SL and the α,ß-unsaturated D-ring structure are essential for the observed anti-inflammatory activity.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 5-hydroxy-2-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one derivatives as antiglioma agents.

d-2-Hydroxyglutarate (d-2HG) is frequently found in human brain cancers. Approximately 50-80% of grade II glioma patients have a high level of d-2HG production, which can lead to cancer initiation. In this study, a series of novel 5-hydroxy-2-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one derivatives were designed and synthesized as antiglioma agents, and their related structure-activity relationships are discussed. Among these novel compounds, 4a exhibited promising anti-proliferative activity against glioma HT1080 cells and U87 cells with an IC50 of 1.43 µM and 4.6 µM, respectively. Further studies found that the most active compound (4a) shows an 86.3% inhibitory rate against the intracellular production of d-2HG at 1 µM, and dramatic inhibitory effects, even at 1 µM on the colony formation and migration of U87 and HT1080 cells.

4-arylamidobenzyl substituted 5-bromomethylene-2(5H)-furanones for chronic bacterial infection.

Bacterial quorum-sensing (QS) can cause bacterial biofilm formation, thus induce antibiotic resistance and inflammation in chronic bacterial infections. A series of novel 4-arylamidobenzyl substituted 5-bromomethylene-2(5H)-furanones were designed by introducing of brominated furanones into rosiglitazone skeleton, and their potential application in the treatment of chronic bacterial infection was evaluated with regard to their disruption of quorum sensing and anti-inflammatory activities in vitro as well as in animal infection model. Compound 2e displayed both potent QS inhibitory activity and anti-inflammatory activity. Further mechanism studies revealed that the biological effects of 2e and 2k could be attributed, at least in part, to their interaction with PPARγ, and consequent suppression of the activation of NF-κB and MAPK cascades. Importantly, pretreatment with 2e significantly protects mice from lethal-dose LPS challenge. Thus, these data suggest that the dual effective derivative 2e may serve as a valuable candidate for the treatment of chronic bacterial infection.

Novel 4-(4-substituted amidobenzyl)furan-2(5H)-one derivatives as topoisomerase I inhibitors.

In this study, two series of novel 4-(4-substituted amidobenzyl)furan-2(5H)-one derivatives containing an α,ß-unsaturated lactone fragment were synthesized and screened for Topo I inhibition and antitumor activity. The topoisomerase I inhibitory activities and cytotoxicities against three human cancer cell lines (MCF-7,Hela,A549) were evaluated. The results revealed that series 2, compounds bearing an exocyclic double bond on the furanone ring, generally showed more potent activity than series 1, compounds lacking an exocyclic double bond. Several compounds of series 2 possess significant Topo I inhibitory activity and potent antiproliferative activity against cancer cell lines. Further mechanism studies of the most active compound of series 2 (B-15) indicated that synthetic compounds can not only stabilize the drug-enzyme-DNA covalent ternary complex as well as camptothecin, but also interfere with the binding between Topo I and DNA. The binding patterns of these compounds with Topo I and structure-activity relationships are discussed.

Novel bivalent securinine mimetics as topoisomerase I inhibitors.

A series of novel bivalent securinine mimetics incorporating different linkers between C-15 and C-15' were synthesized and their topoisomerase I (Topo I) inhibitory activities evaluated. It was thus revealed that mimetic R2 incorporating a rigid m-substituted benzene linker exhibits Topo I inhibitory activity three times that of parent securinine. Comprehensive structure-activity relationship analyses in combination with docking studies were used to rationalize the potent activity of these bivalent mimetics. Mechanistic studies served to confirm the deductions arising from docking studies that the active bivalent mimetics not only inhibited complexation between Topo I and DNA but also stabilized the Topo I-DNA complex itself.

Prediction and evaluation of the lipase inhibitory activities of tea polyphenols with 3D-QSAR models.

The extraordinary hypolipidemic effects of polyphenolic compounds from tea have been confirmed in our previous study. To gain compounds with more potent activities, using the conformations of the most active compound revealed by molecular docking, a 3D-QSAR pancreatic lipase inhibitor model with good predictive ability was established and validated by CoMFA and CoMISA methods. With good statistical significance in CoMFA (r2cv = 0.622, r2 = 0.956, F = 261.463, SEE = 0.096) and CoMISA (r2cv = 0.631, r2 = 0.932, F = 75.408, SEE = 0.212) model, we summarized the structure-activity relationship between polyphenolic compounds and pancreatic lipase inhibitory activities and find the bulky substituents in R2, R4 and R5, hydrophilic substituents in R1 and electron withdrawing groups in R2 are the key factors to enhance the lipase inhibitory activities. Under the guidance of the 3D-QSAR results, (2R,3R,2'R,3'R)-desgalloyloolongtheanin-3,3'-O-digallate (DOTD), a potent lipase inhibitor with an IC50 of 0.08 µg/ml, was obtained from EGCG oxidative polymerization catalyzed by crude polyphenol oxidase. Furthermore, DOTD was found to inhibit lipid absorption in olive oil-loaded rats, which was related with inhibiting the activities of lipase in the intestinal mucosa and contents.