Author Correction: Design of amidobenzimidazole STING receptor agonists with systemic activity.

Change history: In this Letter, author Ana Puhl was inadvertently omitted; this error has been corrected online.An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Design of amidobenzimidazole STING receptor agonists with systemic activity.

Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is a receptor in the endoplasmic reticulum that propagates innate immune sensing of cytosolic pathogen-derived and self DNA1. The development of compounds that modulate STING has recently been the focus of intense research for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases and as vaccine adjuvants2. To our knowledge, current efforts are focused on the development of modified cyclic dinucleotides that mimic the endogenous STING ligand cGAMP; these have progressed into clinical trials in patients with solid accessible tumours amenable to intratumoral delivery3. Here we report the discovery of a small molecule STING agonist that is not a cyclic dinucleotide and is systemically efficacious for treating tumours in mice. We developed a linking strategy to synergize the effect of two symmetry-related amidobenzimidazole (ABZI)-based compounds to create linked ABZIs (diABZIs) with enhanced binding to STING and cellular function. Intravenous administration of a diABZI STING agonist to immunocompetent mice with established syngeneic colon tumours elicited strong anti-tumour activity, with complete and lasting regression of tumours. Our findings represent a milestone in the rapidly growing field of immune-modifying cancer therapies.

Human rhinovirus promotes STING trafficking to replication organelles to promote viral replication.

Human rhinovirus (HRV), like coronavirus (HCoV), are positive-strand RNA viruses that cause both upper and lower respiratory tract illness, with their replication facilitated by concentrating RNA-synthesizing machinery in intracellular compartments made of modified host membranes, referred to as replication organelles (ROs). Here we report a non-canonical, essential function for stimulator of interferon genes (STING) during HRV infections. While the canonical function of STING is to detect cytosolic DNA and activate inflammatory responses, HRV infection triggers the release of STIM1-bound STING in the ER by lowering Ca2+, thereby allowing STING to interact with phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI4P) and traffic to ROs to facilitates viral replication and transmission via autophagy. Our results thus hint a critical function of STING in HRV viral replication and transmission, with possible implications for other RO-mediated RNA viruses.

Overcoming the Pregnane X Receptor Liability: Rational Design to Eliminate PXR-Mediated CYP Induction.

The pregnane X receptor (PXR) regulates expression of proteins responsible for all three phases required for the detoxification mechanism, which include CYP450 enzymes, phase II enzymes, and multidrug efflux pumps. Therefore, PXR is a prominent receptor that is responsible for xenobiotic excretion and drug-drug interactions. Pyrimidinone 1 is an antagonist of the calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) and a strong activator of PXR. Repeat oral administration revealed diminished exposures over time, which prohibited further progression. A medicinal chemistry campaign was initiated to understand and abolish activation of PXR in order to increase systemic exposures. Rational structure-activity relationship investigations utilizing cocrystal structures and a de novo pharmacophore model resulted in compounds devoid of PXR activation. These studies culminated in the first orally active CaSR antagonist 8 suitable for progression. Cocrystallography, the pharmacophore model employed, and additional observations reported herein supported rational elimination of PXR activation and have applicability across diverse chemical classes to help erase PXR-driven drug-drug interactions.

Discovery of GSK8612, a Highly Selective and Potent TBK1 Inhibitor.

The serine/threonine protein kinase TBK1 (Tank-binding Kinase-1) is a noncanonical member of the IkB kinase (IKK) family. This kinase regulates signaling pathways in innate immunity, oncogenesis, energy homeostasis, autophagy, and neuroinflammation. Herein, we report the discovery and characterization of a novel potent and highly selective TBK1 inhibitor, GSK8612. In cellular assays, this small molecule inhibited toll-like receptor (TLR)3-induced interferon regulatory factor (IRF)3 phosphorylation in Ramos cells and type I interferon (IFN) secretion in primary human mononuclear cells. In THP1 cells, GSK8612 was able to inhibit secretion of interferon beta (IFNß) in response to dsDNA and cGAMP, the natural ligand for STING. GSK8612 is a TBK1 small molecule inhibitor displaying an excellent selectivity profile and therefore represents an ideal probe to further dissect the biology of TBK1 in models of immunity, neuroinflammation, obesity, or cancer.

MALT1 Protease Activity Is Required for Innate and Adaptive Immune Responses.

CARMA-BCL10-MALT1 signalosomes play important roles in antigen receptor signaling and other pathways. Previous studies have suggested that as part of this complex, MALT1 functions as both a scaffolding protein to activate NF-κB through recruitment of ubiquitin ligases, and as a protease to cleave and inactivate downstream inhibitory signaling proteins. However, our understanding of the relative importance of these two distinct MALT1 activities has been hampered by a lack of selective MALT1 protease inhibitors with suitable pharmacologic properties. To fully investigate the role of MALT1 protease activity, we generated mice homozygous for a protease-dead mutation in MALT1. We found that some, but not all, MALT1 functions in immune cells were dependent upon its protease activity. Protease-dead mice had defects in the generation of splenic marginal zone and peritoneal B1 B cells. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells displayed decreased T cell receptor-stimulated proliferation and IL-2 production while B cell receptor-stimulated proliferation was partially dependent on protease activity. In dendritic cells, stimulation of cytokine production through the Dectin-1, Dectin-2, and Mincle C-type lectin receptors was also found to be partially dependent upon protease activity. In vivo, protease-dead mice had reduced basal immunoglobulin levels, and showed defective responses to immunization with T-dependent and T-independent antigens. Surprisingly, despite these decreased responses, MALT1 protease-dead mice, but not MALT1 null mice, developed mixed inflammatory cell infiltrates in multiple organs, suggesting MALT1 protease activity plays a role in immune homeostasis. These findings highlight the importance of MALT1 protease activity in multiple immune cell types, and in integrating immune responses in vivo.

Total Synthesis of Vancomycin Aglycon-Part 1: Synthesis of Amino Acids 4-7 and Construction of the AB-COD Ring Skeleton.

A triazene-based synthetic strategy for the construction of the complex biaryl ethers and a Suzuki coupling reaction were the key steps in the synthesis of precursor 1 of the aglycon of vancomycin, which already contains the complete skeleton of the target compound. The cleavage of the triazene unit from the D ring and the removal of the other protecting groups led to the aglycon of vancomycin. These strategies should be particularly valuable for the synthesis of other naturally occurring glycopeptide antibiotics and offer opportunities for the synthesis of combinatorial libraries of compounds of the vancomycin family for chemical biology studies.

Total Synthesis of Vancomycin Aglycon-Part 2: Synthesis of Amino Acids 1-3 and Construction of the AB-COD-DOE Ring Skeleton.

A triazene-based synthetic strategy for the construction of the complex biaryl ethers and a Suzuki coupling reaction were the key steps in the synthesis of precursor 1 of the aglycon of vancomycin, which already contains the complete skeleton of the target compound. The cleavage of the triazene unit from the D ring and the removal of the other protecting groups led to the aglycon of vancomycin. These strategies should be particularly valuable for the synthesis of other naturally occurring glycopeptide antibiotics and offer opportunities for the synthesis of combinatorial libraries of compounds of the vancomycin family for chemical biology studies.

Total Synthesis of Vancomycin Aglycon-Part 3: Final Stages.

A triazene-based synthetic strategy for the construction of the complex biaryl ethers and a Suzuki coupling reaction were the key steps in the synthesis of precursor 1 of the aglycon of vancomycin, which already contains the complete skeleton of the target compound. The cleavage of the triazene unit from the D ring and the removal of the other protecting groups led to the aglycon of vancomycin. These strategies should be particularly valuable for the synthesis of other naturally occurring glycopeptide antibiotics and offer opportunities for the synthesis of combinatorial libraries of compounds of the vancomycin family for chemical biology studies.

Titanium(IV) isopropoxide mediated synthesis of pyrimidin-4-ones.

A novel, one-step method for the synthesis of tri- and tetrasubstituted pyrimidin-4-ones is reported. This method involves a titanium(IV)-mediated cyclization involving two sequential condensations of primary and beta-ketoamides. The reaction is operationally facile, readily scalable, and offers rapid entry into differentially substituted pyrimidin-4-one scaffolds. The high functional group compatibility allows for substantial diversification in the products generated from this transformation.

Synthesis and structure activity relationship of guanidines as NPY Y5 antagonists.

A series of bis-aryl substituted guanidines have been discovered as potent NPY Y5 antagonists. The SAR and in vitro metabolic stability of these compounds are discussed.