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An efficient method for construction of 3-arylquinolin-4(1 H )-ones via in situ Meinwald rearrangement/intramolecular reductive cyclization of 2′-nitrochalcone epoxides has been developed. The practical approach is of excellent functional groups compatibility with as high as 98% yield under mild reaction conditions. Trapping and NMR analysis about the key intermediates of the transformation provided insights to propose a plausible mechanism for the intramolecular reductive cyclization. Moreover, further derivation successfully furnished hydroxyl substituted and N -methyl substituted derivatives which may provide a promising potential application in exploring biologically active compounds of 3-arylquinolin-4(1 H )-ones.

To address the emergency caused by multi-drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a series of novel capsaicin derivatives with nitrothiophene substituents have been designed and evaluated for the antibacterial activities against S. aureus Newman and multidrug-resistant strains (NRS-1, NRS-70, NRS-100, NRS-108, and NRS-271). The structure-activity relationship was further revealed. Compound 13c, 13f, and 13g were highly active against staphylococcal growth, with minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) values of 0.39–1.56 μg/mL. The oxadiazole-derived compound 21, a bioisostere of ester 13f, is the most potent candidate for anti-growth of five multidrug-resistant S. aureus strains with MICs of 0.20–0.78 μg/mL, which is more active compared with vancomycin in vitro. Notably, these anti-staphylococcal compounds are much less cytotoxic to the normal kidney epithelial cell line (HK293T).

An efficient and practical method for construction of 2-arylbenzo[b]furans from 2-methoxychalcone epoxides has been reported. Catalyzed by 2 mol % of BF3·Et2O, 2-methoxychalcone epoxides went through the Meerwein rearrangement, followed by deformylation in one-pot to successfully afforded 2-methoxydeoxybenzoins. Afterward, 2-arylbenzo[b]furans were obtained in high yields (87%–100%) via intermolecular cyclodehydration of 2-methoxydeoxybenzoins with 48% HBr. By utilization of this approach, the natural product stemofuran A and the key intermediate of eupomatenoid 6 have been synthesized conveniently.

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which is a pivotal guardian of whole-body energy metabolism, has become an attractive therapeutic target for metabolic syndrome. Previously, using a homogeneous scintillation proximity assay, we identified the small-molecule AMPK activator C24 from an optimization based on the original allosteric activator PT1. In this paper, the AMPK activation mechanism of C24 and its potential beneficial effects on glucose and lipid metabolism on db/db mice were investigated. C24 allosterically stimulated inactive AMPK α subunit truncations and activated AMPK heterotrimers by antagonizing autoinhibition. In primary hepatocytes, C24 increased the phosphorylation of AMPK downstream target acetyl-CoA carboxylase dose-dependently without changing intracellular AMP/ATP ratio, indicating its allosteric activation in cells. Through activating AMPK, C24 decreased glucose output by down-regulating mRNA levels of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) in primary hepatocytes. C24 also decreased the triglyceride and cholesterol contents in HepG2 cells. Due to its improved bioavailability, chronic oral treatment with multiple doses of C24 significantly reduced blood glucose and lipid levels in plasma, and improved the glucose tolerance of diabetic db/db mice. The hepatic transcriptional levels of PEPCK and G6Pase were reduced. These results demonstrate that this orally effective activator of AMPK represents a novel approach to the treatment of metabolic syndrome.

LF-3-88 (2-[5-[5-(2(S)-azetidinylmethoxyl)-3-pyridyl]-3-isoxazolyl] ethanol) was identified as a highly selective α4β2-nAChRs partial agonist, with a Ki value of 0.4 nM and EC50 value of 110 nM. A sensitive and selective ultra high pressure liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS-MS) method was developed and validated to study the pharmacokinetics profile of this compound in mice. Protein precipitation with acetonitrile was used to prepare the plasma and brain samples, and the recovery was greater than 90%. The inter-day and intra-day accuracy and precision of the quantitative method ranged from 95 % to 106 % for plasma and from 93 % to 105 % for brain homogenates. The precision of the assay was 93 %) for 24 h on the bench top at room temperature, and for at least 3 weeks at 4 °C and −80 °C. The UHPLC-MS-MS assay was applied to the measurement of plasma and brain levels of LF-3-88 following oral administration to male Balb/c mice. Plasma concentrations of LF-3-88 and brain levels were dose-dependent with half-lives of approximately 60 min and 180 min, respectively, indicating good oral bioavailability and penetration of the blood-brain barrier.

The fate of neural stem cells (NSCs), including their proliferation, differentiation, survival, and death, is regulated by multiple intrinsic signals and the extrinsic environment. We had previously reported that 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-beta-D-ribofuranoside (AICAR) directly induces astroglial differentiation of NSCs by activation of the Janus kinase (JAK)/Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway independently of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Here, we reported the observation that AICAR inhibited NSC proliferation and its underlying mechanism. Analysis of caspase activity and cell cycle showed that AICAR induced G1/G0 cell cycle arrest in NSCs, associated with decreased levels of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, phospho-retinoblastoma protein (Rb), and cyclin D but did not cause apoptosis. Iodotubericidin and Compound C, inhibitors of adenosine kinase and AMPK, respectively, or overexpression of a dominant-negative mutant of AMPK, but not JAK inhibitor, were able to reverse the anti-proliferative effect of AICAR. Glucose deprivation also activated the AMPK pathway, induced G0/G1 arrest, and suppressed the proliferation of NSCs, an effect associated with decreased levels of phospho-Rb and cyclin D protein. Furthermore, Compound C and overexpression of dominant-negative AMPK in C17.2 NSCs could block the glucose deprivation-mediated down-regulation of cyclin D and partially reverse the suppression of proliferation. These results suggest that AICAR and glucose deprivation might induce G1/G0 cell cycle arrest and suppress proliferation of NSCs via phospho-Rb and cyclin D down-regulation. AMPK, but not JAK/STAT3, activation is key for this inhibitory effect and may play an important role in the responses of NSCs to metabolic stresses such as glucose deprivation.