Search

AimTo investigate the in vivo effects of 3-indolylmethanamines 31B and PS121912 in treating ovarian cancer and leukemia, respectively.Materials and methodsTerminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) and western blotting were applied to demonstrate the induction of apoptosis. Xenografted mice were investigated to show the antitumor effects of 3-indolylmethanamines. (13)C-Nuclear magnetic resource (NMR) and western blotting were used to demonstrate inhibition of glucose metabolism.Results31B inhibited ovarian cancer cell proliferation and activated caspase-3, cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1), and phosphorylated mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK), JUN N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK/SAPK) and p38. 31B reduced ovarian cancer xenograft tumor growth and PS121912 inhibited the growth of HL-60-derived xenografts without any sign of toxicity. Compound 31B inhibited de novo glycolysis and lipogenesis mediated by the reduction of fatty acid synthase and lactate dehydrogenase-A expression.Conclusion3-Indolylmethanamines represent a new class of antitumor agents. We have shown for the first time the in vivo anticancer effects of 3-indolylmethanamines 31B and PS121912.

Nuclear receptor coregulators are master regulators of transcription and selectively interact with the vitamin D receptor (VDR) to modulate cell differentiation, cell proliferation and calcium homeostasis. Herein, we report the syntheses and evaluation of highly potent and selective VDR-coactivator inhibitors based on a recently identified 3-indolylmethanamine scaffold. The most active compound, PS121912, selectively inhibited VDR-mediated transcription among eight other nuclear receptors tested. PS121912 is also selectively disrupting the binding between VDR and the third nuclear receptor interaction domain of the coactivator SRC2. Genetic studies revealed that PS121912 behaves like a VDR antagonist by repressing 1,25-(OH)2D3 activated gene transcription. In addition, PS121912 induced apoptosis in HL-60.

A high-throughput screening campaign was conducted to identify small molecules with the ability to inhibit the interaction between the vitamin D receptor (VDR) and steroid receptor coactivator 2. These inhibitors represent novel molecular probes for modulating gene regulation mediated by VDR. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) δ agonist GW0742 was among the identified VDR-coactivator inhibitors and has been characterized herein as a pan nuclear receptor antagonist at concentrations of > 12.1 μM. The highest antagonist activity for GW0742 was found for VDR and the androgen receptor. Surprisingly, GW0742 behaved as a PPAR agonist and antagonist, activating transcription at lower concentrations and inhibiting this effect at higher concentrations. A unique spectroscopic property of GW0742 was identified as well. In the presence of rhodamine-derived molecules, GW0742 increased the fluorescence intensity and level of fluorescence polarization at an excitation wavelength of 595 nm and an emission wavelength of 615 nm in a dose-dependent manner. The GW0742-inhibited NR-coactivator binding resulted in a reduced level of expression of five different NR target genes in LNCaP cells in the presence of agonist. Especially VDR target genes CYP24A1, IGFBP-3, and TRPV6 were negatively regulated by GW0742. GW0742 is the first VDR ligand inhibitor lacking the secosteroid structure of VDR ligand antagonists. Nevertheless, the VDR-meditated downstream process of cell differentiation was antagonized by GW0742 in HL-60 cells that were pretreated with the endogenous VDR agonist 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3.

Three organic dyes designed as molecular dyads were prepared that feature a common naphthalimide acceptor and N-aryl donors. One of these incorporated an additional cyanoacrylic acid linker and conjugated thiophene bridge inserted between donor and acceptor groups. Electrochemical and photochemical characterizations have been carried out on nanocrystalline TiO2 dye-sensitized solar cells which were fabricated with these dyes as the sensitizing component. HOMO and LUMO energies were also calculated using TDDFT methods and validated by the cyclic voltammetry method. A key finding from this study indicates that computational methods can provide energy values in close agreement to experimental for the N-aryl-naphthalimide system. Relative to HOMO/LUMO energy levels of N719, the dyes based on naphthalimide chromophore are promising candidates for metal-free DSSCs.

Cross-linking mass spectrometry (XL-MS) is an attractive method for the proteome-wide characterization of protein structures and interactions. Currently, the depth of in vivo XL-MS studies is lagging behind the established applications to cell lysates, because cross-linking reagents that can penetrate intact cells and strategies to enrich cross-linked peptides lack efficiency. To tackle these limitations, we have developed a phosphonate-containing cross-linker, tBu-PhoX, that efficiently permeates various biological membranes and can be robustly enriched using routine immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography. We have established a tBu-PhoX-based in vivo XL-MS approach that enables cross-links in intact human cells to be identified in high numbers with substantially reduced analysis time. Collectively, the developed cross-linker and XL-MS approach pave the way for the comprehensive XL-MS characterization of living systems., (© 2021 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Only a small fraction of vitamin B 12 -requiring organisms are able to synthesize B 12 de novo, making it a common commodity in microbial communities. Initially recognized as an enzyme cofactor of a few enzymes, recent studies have revealed additional B 12 -binding enzymes and regulatory roles for B 12 Here we report the development and use of a B 12 -based chemical probe to identify B 12 -binding proteins in a nonphototrophic B 12 -producing bacterium. Two unexpected discoveries resulted from this study. First, we identified a light-sensing B 12 -binding transcriptional regulator and demonstrated that it controls folate and ubiquinone biosynthesis. Second, our probe captured proteins involved in folate, methionine, and ubiquinone metabolism, suggesting that it may play a role as an allosteric effector of these processes. These metabolic processes produce precursors for synthesis of DNA, RNA, and protein. Thereby, B 12 likely modulates growth, and by limiting its availability to auxotrophs, B 12 -producing organisms may facilitate coordination of community metabolism.

The development of renewable biofuels is a global priority, but success will require novel technologies that greatly improve our understanding of microbial systems biology. An approach with great promise in enabling functional characterization of microbes is activity-based protein profiling (ABPP), which employs chemical probes to directly measure enzyme function in discrete enzyme classes in vivo and/or in vitro, thereby facilitating the rapid discovery of new biocatalysts and enabling much improved biofuel production platforms. We review general design strategies in ABPP, and highlight recent advances that are or could be pivotal to biofuels processes including applications of ABPP to cellulosic bioethanol, biodiesel, and phototrophic production of hydrocarbons. We also examine the key challenges and opportunities of ABPP in renewable biofuels research. The integration of ABPP with molecular and systems biology approaches will shed new insight on the catalytic and regulatory mechanisms of functional enzymes and their synergistic effects in the field of biofuels production.

Herein we describe the evaluation of GW0742 analogs in respect to their ability to modulate transcription mediated by the vitamin D receptor (VDR) and the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) δ. The GW0742 analog bearing a carboxylic ester functionality in place of the carboxylic acid was partially activating both nuclear receptors at low concentration and inhibited transcription at higher compound concentrations. The GW0742 alcohol derivative was more active than the ester in respect to VDR but less active in regard to PPARδ. Importantly, the alcohol derivative was significantly more toxic than the corresponding acid and ester.

Herein, we described the development of two virtual screens to identify new vitamin D receptor (VDR) antagonists among nuclear receptor (NR) ligands. Therefore, a database of 14330 nuclear receptor ligands and their NR affinities was assembled using the online available "Binding Database". Two different virtual screens were carried out in conjunction with a reported VDR crystal structure applying a stringent and less stringent pharmacophore model to filter docked NR ligand conformations. The pharmacophore models were based on the spatial orientation of the hydroxyl functionalities of VDR's natural ligands 1,25(OH 2 )D 3 and 25(OH 2 )D 3 . The first virtual screen identified 32 NR ligands with a calculate free energy of VDR binding of more than -6.0 kJ/mol. All but nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) are VDR ligands, which inhibited the interaction between VDR and coactivator peptide SRC2-3 with an IC 50 value of 15.8 µM. The second screen identified 162 NR ligands with a calculate free energy of VDR binding of more than -6.0 kJ/mol. More than half of these ligands were developed to bind VDR followed by ERα/β ligands (26%), TRα/β ligands (7%) and LxRα/β ligands (7%). The binding between VDR and ERα ligand H6036 as well as TRα/β ligand triiodothyronine and a homoserine analog thereof was confirmed by fluorescence polarization.

Testing small molecules for their ability to modify cysteine residues of proteins in the early stages of drug discovery is expected to accelerate our ability to develop more selective drugs with lesser side effects. In addition, this approach also enables the rapid evaluation of the mode of binding of new drug candidates with respect to thiol reactivity and metabolism by glutathione. Herein, we describe the development of a fluorescence-based high-throughput assay that allows the identification of thiol-reactive compounds. A thiol-containing fluorescent probe, MSTI, was synthesized and used to evaluate small molecules from the Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds (LOPAC) collection of bioactive molecules. LOPAC compounds that are known to react with sulfur nucleophiles were identified with this assay, for example, irreversible protease inhibitors, nitric oxide-releasing compounds, and proton-pump inhibitors. The results confirm that both electrophilic and redox reactive compounds can be quickly identified in a high-throughput manner, enabling the assessment of screening libraries with respect to thiol-reactive compounds.

The vitamin D receptor (VDR) is a nuclear hormone receptor that regulates cell proliferation, cell differentiation, and calcium homeostasis. The receptor is activated by vitamin D analogues that induce the disruption of VDR-corepressor binding and promote VDR-coactivator interactions. The interactions between VDR and coregulators are essential for VDR-mediated transcription. Small molecule inhibition of VDR-coregulator binding represents an alternative method to the traditional ligand-based approach in order to modulate the expression of VDR target genes. A high throughput fluorescence polarization screen that quantifies the inhibition of binding between VDR and a fluorescently labeled steroid receptor coactivator 2 peptide was applied to discover the new small molecule VDR-coactivator inhibitors, 3-indolylmethanamines. Structure-activity relationship studies with 3-indolylmethanamine analogues were used to determine their mode of VDR-binding and to produce the first VDR-selective and irreversible VDR-coactivator inhibitors with the ability to regulate the transcription of the human VDR target gene TRPV6.

The synthesis and photophysical characterization of a new white-light fluorophore is described. The optimization of excitation wavelengths allows the naphthalimide (NI) dyes to display blue, green or white light emission depending on the excitation wavelength.

A ten element matrix of 5- and 6-substituted-(2,3)-naphthalimides was prepared for the appropriate placement of substituents necessary to promote dual fluorescence (DF). As prescribed by our balanced seesaw photophysical model this matrix yielded nine new DF dyes out of a possible ten compounds. From this set of nine DF dyes, 4-fluoronaphthalic amide (37) was selected as a probe for ratiometric detection of DNA and demonstration of panchromatic emission.

A 3 x 3 matrix of disubstituted N-aryl-1,8-naphthalimides was synthesized for the evaluation and discovery of dual fluorescence (DF). The matrix elements included for this study were based on a predictive model that is proposed as a seesaw balanced photophysical model. This model serves as a guide to optimize the dual fluorescence emission from N-phenyl-1,8-naphthalimides by appropriate placement of substituent groups at both the 4-position of the N-arene as well as the 4'-position of the naphthalene ring. Steady-state fluorescence studies under a variety of solvents indicate that four of the nine dyes in the matrix are dual fluorescent. To provide a more quantitative description of the model, cyclic voltammetry experiments were used to calculate HOMO/LUMO energies of the aromatic components that comprise these DF dyes and give evidence in support for potential mixing of S1 and S2 excited states. Given the difficulties in predicting excited state properties such as molecular fluorescence, this ratio of four out of nine "hits" for discovering DF signifies proof of principle for this proposed model and should provide a rational basis for the synthesis of future DF 1,8-naphthalimide systems.

The 3 x 3 matrix elements included for the evaluation of dual fluorescence are based on a predictive model described as a 'seesaw balanced' photophysical model.

Two highly water-soluble monoboronic acid probes that display the more desirable off-on fluorescence response were synthesized based on 4-sulfo-1,8-naphthalic anhydride and a remarkable sensitivity for glucose rather than fructose and galactose was also observed.