Global Health Priority Box─Proactive Pandemic Preparedness.

The coronavirus pandemic outbreak of 2019 highlighted the critical importance of preparedness for current and future public health threats (https://www.mmv.org/mmv-open/global-health-priority-box/about-global-health-priority-box).

Pain and Its Management in Patients Referred to a Geriatric Outpatient Clinic.

(1) Background: A major problem affecting geriatric patients is pain. In addition to pain, a significant problem of old age is dementia and depression, which can hinder the diagnosis and treatment of pain. The aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence of pain in patients treated in a geriatric outpatient clinic and the treatment used.

Discovery of Substituted Di(pyridin-2-yl)-1,2,4-thiadiazol-5-amines as Novel Macrofilaricidal Compounds for the Treatment of Human Filarial Infections.

Filarial diseases, including lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis, are considered among the most devastating of all tropical diseases, affecting about 145 million people worldwide. Efforts to control and eliminate onchocerciasis are impeded by a lack of effective treatments that target the adult filarial stage. Herein, we describe the discovery of a series of substituted di(pyridin-2-yl)-1,2,4-thiadiazol-5-amines as novel macrofilaricides for the treatment of human filarial infections.

Filarial nematode phenotypic screening cascade to identify compounds with anti-parasitic activity for drug discovery optimization.

Filarial diseases, including lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis, are considered among the most devastating of all tropical diseases, affecting over 86 million people worldwide. To control and more rapidly eliminate onchocerciasis requires treatments that target the adult stage of the parasite. Drug discovery efforts are challenged by the lack of preclinical animal models using the human-pathogenic filariae, requiring the use of surrogate parasites for Onchocerca volvulus for both ex vivo and in vivo evaluation.

Concerns of Quality and Reliability of Educational Videos Focused on Frailty Syndrome on YouTube Platform.

(1) Background: Evaluation of the quality and reliability of the frailty syndrome videos available on YouTube platform was the aim of this study. (2) Methods: The observational study included 75 videos retrieved by searching seven terms related to frailty syndrome on YouTube. The quality and reliability of the videos were measured using three different tools: quality criteria for consumer health information (DISCERN), the Global Quality Score (GQS), and the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA).

Dual mTORC1/mTORC2 Inhibition as a Host-Directed Therapeutic Target in Pathologically Distinct Mouse Models of Tuberculosis.

Efforts to develop more effective and shorter-course therapies for tuberculosis have included a focus on host-directed therapy (HDT). The goal of HDT is to modulate the host response to infection, thereby improving immune defenses to reduce the duration of antibacterial therapy and/or the amount of lung damage. As a mediator of innate and adaptive immune responses involved in eliminating intracellular pathogens, autophagy is a potential target for HDT in tuberculosis.

Potentiation of rifampin activity in a mouse model of tuberculosis by activation of host transcription factor EB.

Efforts at host-directed therapy of tuberculosis have produced little control of the disease in experimental animals to date. This is not surprising, given that few specific host targets have been validated, and reciprocally, many of the compounds tested potentially impact multiple targets with both beneficial and detrimental consequences. This puts a premium on identifying appropriate molecular targets and subjecting them to more selective modulation.

Macrofilaricides: An Unmet Medical Need for Filarial Diseases.

Neglected parasitic helminth diseases such as onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis affect an estimated 145 million people worldwide, creating a serious health burden in endemic areas such as sub-Saharan Africa and India. Although these diseases are not usually lethal, these filarial nematodes, transmitted by blood-feeding insect vectors, cause severe debilitation and cause chronic disability to infected individuals. The adult worms can reproduce from 5 to up to 14 years, releasing millions of microfilariae, juvenile worms, over an infected individual's lifetime.

Discovery of a Stress-Activated Protein Kinase Inhibitor for Lymphatic Filariasis.

Lymphatic filariasis infects over 120 million people worldwide and can lead to significant disfigurement and disease. Resistance is emerging with current treatments, and these therapies have dose limiting adverse events; consequently new targets are needed. One approach to achieve this goal is inhibition of parasitic protein kinases involved in circumventing host defense mechanisms.

Evidence for dispensability of protein kinase R in host control of tuberculosis.

Genetic deficiency of protein kinase R (PKR) in mice was reported to enhance macrophage activation in vitro in response to interferon-γ (IFNγ) and to reduce the burden of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) in vivo (Wu et al. PloS One. 2012 7:e30512).

1-Aryl-2-((6-aryl)pyrimidin-4-yl)amino)ethanols as competitive inhibitors of fatty acid amide hydrolase.

A series of 1-aryl-2-(((6-aryl)pyrimidin-4-yl)amino)ethanols have been found to be competitive inhibitors of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH). One member of this class, JNJ-40413269, was found to have excellent pharmacokinetic properties, demonstrated robust central target engagement, and was efficacious in a rat model of neuropathic pain.

Synthesis and Pharmacological Characterization of Two Novel, Brain Penetrating P2X7 Antagonists.

The synthesis and preclinical characterization of two novel, brain penetrating P2X7 compounds will be described. Both compounds are shown to be high potency P2X7 antagonists in human, rat, and mouse cell lines and both were shown to have high brain concentrations and robust receptor occupancy in rat. Compound 7 is of particular interest as a probe compound for the preclinical assessment of P2X7 blockade in animal models of neuro-inflammation.

Heteroaryl urea inhibitors of fatty acid amide hydrolase: structure-mutagenicity relationships for arylamine metabolites.

The structure-activity relationships for a series of heteroaryl urea inhibitors of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) are described. Members of this class of inhibitors have been shown to inactivate FAAH by covalent modification of an active site serine with subsequent release of an aromatic amine from the urea electrophile. Systematic Ames II testing guided the optimization of urea substituents by defining the structure-mutagenicity relationships for the released aromatic amine metabolites.

Discovery of a novel series of selective HCN1 blockers.

The discovery of a series of novel, potent, and selective blockers of the cyclic nucleotide-modulated channel HCN1 is disclosed. Here we report an SAR study around a series of selective blockers of the HCN1 channel. Utilization of a high-throughput VIPR assay led to the identification of a novel series of 2,2-disubstituted indane derivatives, which had moderate selectivity and potency at HCN1.

Discovery and synthesis of 6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-5H-pyrimido-[4,5-d]azepines as novel TRPV1 antagonists.

Utilization of a tetrahydro-pyrimdoazepine core as a bioisosteric replacement for a piperazine-urea resulted in the discovery a novel series of potent antagonists of TRPV1. The tetrahydro-pyrimdoazepines have been identified as having good in vitro and in vivo potency and acceptable physical properties.

1,2-diamino-ethane-substituted-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-5H-pyrimido[4,5-d]azepines as TRPV1 antagonists with improved properties.

Based upon a previously reported lead compound 1, a series of 1,2-diamino-ethane-substituted-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-5H-pyrimido[4,5-d]azepines were synthesized and evaluated for improved physiochemical and pharmacokinetic properties while maintaining TRPV1 antagonist activity. Structure-activity relationship studies directed toward improving the aqueous solubility (pH 2 and fasted-state simulated intestinal fluid (SIF)) and rat pharmacokinetics led to the discovery of compound 13. Aqueous solubility of compound 13 (pH 2 ≥237 μg/mL and SIF=11 μg/mL) was significantly improved over compound 1 (pH 2=5 μg/mL and SIF=0.

A new chiral Rh(II) catalyst for enantioselective [2 + 1]-cycloaddition. mechanistic implications and applications.

A novel chiral Rh(II) catalyst (1) is introduced for the [2 + 1]-cycloaddition of ethyl diazoacetate to terminal acetylenes and olefins with high enantioselectivity. The catalyst 1 consists of one acetate bridging group and three mono-N-triflyldiphenylimidazoline-2-one bidentate ligands (DPTI) spanning the Rh(II)-Rh(II) metallic center in a structure that was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. A rational mechanism is advanced that provides a straightforward explanation for the enantioselectivity and absolute stereochemical course of the [2 + 1]-cycloaddition reactions.

Formal synthesis of (+/-)-guanacastepene A.

A 17 step synthesis of 55, a late intermediate in Danishefsky's guanacastepene A synthesis, has been completed in 4% overall yield. Key features include the use of vinylmagnesium bromide in the Pd-catalyzed coupling with triflate 13 to give triene 16 without the formation of Heck products, a novel extension of the Stork-Jung vinylsilane Robinson annulation that provides tricyclic 2-hydroxymethylcyclohexenone 42 from 23b in four steps and 51% yield, the ability to obtain almost exclusively alpha'-alkylation of 35ba by the proper choice of protecting groups, and the ability to obtain the desired beta-alcohol selectively by reduction of keto alcohol 42 rather than keto ester 53.

Complexation-induced unfolding of heterocyclic ureas. Simple foldamers equilibrate with multiply hydrogen-bonded sheetlike structures.

The synthesis and conformational studies of heterocyclic ureas (amides) 1-7 and their concentration-dependent unfolding to form multiply hydrogen-bonded complexes are described. Ureas 1 and 7 were prepared by reacting 2-aminopyridine and aminonaphthyridine 25, respectively, with triphosgene and 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine (DMAP). Amine 25, in turn, was synthesized by a Knorr condensation of 2,6-diaminopyridine and 4,6-nonanedione.

Identification and characterization of a novel class of interleukin-1 post-translational processing inhibitors.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated monocytes and macrophages produce large quantities of pro-interleukin (IL)-1beta but externalize little mature cytokine. Efficient post-translational processing of the procytokine occurs in vitro when these cells encounter a secretion stimulus such as ATP, cytolytic T cells, or hypotonic stress. Each of these stimuli promotes rapid conversion of 31-kDa pro-IL-1beta to its mature 17-kDa species and release of the 17-kDa cytokine.

Synthesis of the hydroazulene ring system of guanacastepene.

[reaction: see text] A 12-step synthesis of 26, the functionalized hydroazulenone ring of guanacastepene (1), has been completed using the EtAlCl(2)-initiated cyclization of gamma,delta-unsaturated ketone 13 to construct 2,2,3-trisubstituted cyclopentanone 14, the palladium-catalyzed coupling of vinylmagnesium bromide with enol triflate 17 to prepare triene 21, and olefin metathesis of triene 21 to form the key hydroazulene 20.

Synthesis of (-)-dysiherbaine.

[reaction: see text] The first synthesis of (-)-dysiherbaine has been accomplished using intramolecular SN2 substitutions of a carbamate anion on an epoxide and an alkoxide on a secondary mesylate to efficiently construct the bicyclic skeleton stereospecifically from xylose. A general sequence has been developed to introduce an allyl group and convert it to the alanine side chain that should be useful for the construction of dysiherbaine analogues.