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The first effective synthetic approach to naphthofuroquinones via a reaction involving lawsone, various aldehydes, and three isocyanides under microwave irradiation afforded derivatives in moderate to good yields. In addition, for less-reactive aldehydes, two naphtho-enaminodione quinones were obtained for the first time, as result of condensation between lawsone and isocyanides. X-ray structure determination for 9 and 2D-NMR spectra of 28 confirmed the obtained structures. All compounds were evaluated for their anti-infectious activities against Plasmodium falciparum , Leishmania donovani , and Mycobacterium tuberculosis . Among the naphthofuroquinone series, 17 exhibited comparatively the best activity against P. falciparum (IC 50 = 2.5 μM) and M. tuberculosis (MIC = 9 μM) with better ( P. falciparum ) or equivalent ( M. tuberculosis ) values to already-known naphthofuroquinone compounds. Among the two naphtho-enaminodione quinones, 28 exhibited a moderate activity against P. falciparum with a good selectivity index (SI > 36) while also a very high potency against L. donovani (IC 50 = 3.5 μM and SI > 28), rendering it very competitive to the reference drug miltefosine. All compounds were studied through molecular modeling on their potential targets for P. falciparum , Pfbc1, and PfDHODH, where 17 showed the most favorable interactions., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

A series of novel hybrids of artemisinin (ART) with either a phytormone endoperoxide G factor analogue (GMeP) or chloroquine (CQ) and conjugates of the same compounds with the polyamines (PAs), spermidine (Spd), and homospermidine (Hsd) were synthesized and their antiplasmodial activity was evaluated using the CQ-resistant P. falciparum FcB1/Colombia strain. The ART-GMeP hybrid 5 and compounds 9 and 10 which are conjugates of Spd and Hsd with two molecules of ART and one molecule of GMeP, were the most potent with IC 50 values of 2.6, 8.4, and 10.6 nM, respectively. The same compounds also presented the highest selectivity indexes against the primary human fibroblast cell line AB943 ranging from 16 372 for the hybrid 5 to 983 for the conjugate 10 of Hsd., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society.)

Seven-transmembrane receptors (7TMRs), also termed G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), form the largest class of cell surface membrane receptors, involving several hundred members in the human genome. Nearly 30% of marketed pharmacological agents target 7TMRs. 7TMRs adopt multiple conformations upon agonist binding. Biased agonists, in contrast to non-biased agonists, are believed to stabilize conformations preferentially activating either G-protein- or β-arrestin-dependent signaling pathways. However, proof that cognate conformations of receptors display structural differences within their binding site where biased agonism initiates, are still lacking. Here, we show that a non-biased agonist, cholecystokinin (CCK) induces conformational states of the CCK2R activating Gq-protein-dependent pathway (CCK2R(G)) or recruiting β-arrestin2 (CCK2R(β)) that are pharmacologically and structurally distinct. Two structurally unrelated antagonists competitively inhibited both pathways. A third ligand (GV150013X) acted as a high affinity competitive antagonist on CCK2R(G) but was nearly inefficient as inhibitor of CCK2R(β). Several structural elements on both GV150013X and in CCK2R binding cavity, which hinder binding of GV150013X only to the CCK2R(β) were identified. At last, proximity between two conserved amino acids from transmembrane helices 3 and 7 interacting through sulfur-aromatic interaction was shown to be crucial for selective stabilization of the CCK2R(β) state. These data establish structural evidence for distinct conformations of a 7TMR associated with β-arrestin-2 recruitment or G-protein coupling and validate relevance of the design of biased ligands able to selectively target each functional conformation of 7TMRs.

Tuberculosis, HIV coinfection with TB, emergence of multidrug-resistant TB, and extensively drug-resistant TB are the major causes of death from infectious diseases worldwide. Because no new drug has been introduced in the last several decades, new classes of molecules as anti-TB drugs are urgently needed. Herein, we report the synthesis and structure-activity relationships of a series of thioester, amide, hydrazide, and triazolophthalazine derivatives of 4-alkoxy cinnamic acid. Many compounds exhibited submicromolar minimum inhibitory concentrations against Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain (H(37)Rv). Interestingly, compound 13e, a 4-isopentenyloxycinnamyl triazolophthalazine derivative, was found to be 100-1800 times more active than isoniazid (INH) when tested for its ability to inhibit the growth of INH-resistant M. tuberculosis strains. The results also revealed that 13e does not interfere with mycolic acid biosynthesis, thereby pointing to a different mode of action and representing an attractive lead compound for the development of new anti-TB agents.

On the basis of the 5,5'-bisvanillin scaffold, a series of compounds has been synthesized presenting symmetric or dissymmetric frames on each phenolic moiety. These frames are alpha,beta-unsaturated (fluoro)phosphonate and/or alpha,beta-unsaturated hydrazone(s) formed by coupling aldehydic with isoniazid or hydralazine. All compounds were tested for their ability to inhibit cell-mediated low-density lipoprotein oxidation. Oxidized low-density lipoprotein induced cytotoxicity was also evaluated along with the carbonyl scavenger properties of selected compounds. The most efficient agents were found to be those possessing at least one hydralazinone frame, with the most potent being the symmetrical compound: 4,4'-dihydroxy-3,3'-dimethoxy-5,5'-biphenyl-1,1'-(diphthalazin-1-yl)methylhydrazone hydrochloride.

A series of cinnamic and phosphonocinnamic derivatives have been synthesized and their ability to inhibit cell-mediated LDL oxidation and oxidized LDL-induced cytotoxicity was investigated. Electron-donating substituents surrounding the necessary 4-OH group of the aromatic ring showed the best results. Among the different series tested, amide 1, thioester 5c, phosphonoester 7c, and the fluorophosphonocinnamic analogue 12c exhibited a potent inhibitory effect against LDL oxidation (and subsequent toxicity) mediated by cultured human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1), with an efficacy comparable to that observed with probucol. Beside this indirect protective effect, these compounds exhibited a direct protective effect against the toxicity of previously oxidized LDL in HMEC-1. These data suggest that the newly synthesized cinnamic compounds should protect against early events (cell-mediated LDL oxidation) occurring within the vascular wall in atherosclerosis.

The behavior of G3 factor and of its methylated or fluorinated analogues G3Me and G3F, was studied under Fe(II) conditions. Degradation products were isolated and characterized in each case. The use of labelled compounds allowed us to propose mechanisms in which a tertiary radical is involved. This radical rearranges by 5-exo-trig cyclization, or disproportionates in the case of G3Me. A correlation between antiplasmodial activity and stability of this radical is proposed.

We developed a stereocontrolled route allowing potential access to the eight isomers of 4-benzylaminohex-5-ene-1,2,3-triol in two or four steps and ca. 50% yield from readily available chiral nonracemic cis- or trans-alpha,beta-epoxyimine precursors. A new (NH(4))(2)CO(3)-based carboxylation/intramolecular cyclization sequence allowed regio- and stereocontrolled C-3 epoxide opening while neat C-2 hydrolysis was ensured by simple aqueous acidic treatment.

The synthesis of the thymidine 2-deoxypolyoxin C analogue 10 from a noncarbohydrate precursor was achieved in 10 steps and 9% yield starting from a chiral gamma,delta-epoxy-beta-hydroxy ester 11 readily available from cis-2-butene-1,4-diol. The main steps concern the stereo- and regioselective opening of the epoxide ring by an azide anion, the stereoselective introduction of the thymine base, and the transformation of the primary alcohol to the acid functionality of the final product. Two other approaches have also been investigated.

Using recombinant cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase isoform 2 (CAD2, EC 1.1.1.195), an NADPH-dependent aromatic alcohol dehydrogenase involved in lignification in vascular plants, we have investigated the detailed steady-state kinetic mechanism of CAD2 and the role of a serine residue in determining the cofactor specificity of CAD2. Site-directed mutagenesis (S212D) and overexpression of the WT and mutant S212D forms of CAD2 in Escherichia coli, followed by kinetic studies on the purified WT and mutant proteins, confirmed the involvement of S212D in recognizing the phosphate group of NADPH and provided information on the structural requirements for NADPH specificity. From substrate kinetic patterns and product inhibition studies both WT and S212D mutant forms of CAD2 have been shown to follow rapid equilibrium random bireactant kinetics with the value of the interaction factor (alpha) for WT (0.25) being significantly less than that for S212D CAD2 (0.45). The changes in binding energy arising from the mutation on the binding of the 2'-phosphate site of the coenzyme were assessed. A marked degree of physical interaction was detected between the enzymatic binding sites of the coniferyl alcohol substrate and the 2'-phosphate binding region, which are quite distant in the three-dimensional structure. The inhibition by 2',5'-ADP and 5'-AMP was found to be weak for both WT and S212D CAD2. Strong substrate inhibition was detected for CAD2, and its implications for plant physiological studies were assessed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)