Targeting VLA4 integrin and CXCR2 mobilizes serially repopulating hematopoietic stem cells.

Mobilized peripheral blood has become the primary source of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) for stem cell transplantation, with a five-day course of granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) as the most common regimen used for HSPC mobilization. The CXCR4 inhibitor, plerixafor, is a more rapid mobilizer, yet not potent enough when used as a single agent, thus emphasizing the need for faster acting agents with more predictable mobilization responses and fewer side effects. We sought to improve hematopoietic stem cell transplantation by developing a new mobilization strategy in mice through combined targeting of the chemokine receptor CXCR2 and the very late antigen 4 (VLA4) integrin.

Antifungal Phenothiazines: Optimization, Characterization of Mechanism, and Modulation of Neuroreceptor Activity.

New classes of antifungal drugs are an urgent unmet clinical need. One approach to the challenge of developing new antifungal drugs is to optimize the antifungal properties of currently used drugs with favorable pharmacologic properties, so-called drug or scaffold repurposing. New therapies for cryptococcal meningitis are particularly important given its worldwide burden of disease and limited therapeutic options.

Hepatitis B virus genetic diversity has minimal impact on sensitivity of the viral ribonuclease H to inhibitors.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer, but the current therapies that employ either nucelos(t)ide analogs or (pegylated)interferon α do not clear the infection in the large majority of patients. Inhibitors of the HBV ribonuclease H (RNaseH) that are being developed with the goal of producing anti-HBV drugs are promising candidates for use in combination with the nucleos(t)ide analogs to improve therapeutic efficacy. HBV is genetically very diverse, with at least 8 genotypes that differ by ≥8% at the sequence level.

IL-13-induced airway mucus production is attenuated by MAPK13 inhibition.

Increased mucus production is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in inflammatory airway diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cystic fibrosis. However, the precise molecular mechanisms for pathogenic mucus production are largely undetermined. Accordingly, there are no specific and effective anti-mucus therapeutics.

Self-cleavage of human CLCA1 protein by a novel internal metalloprotease domain controls calcium-activated chloride channel activation.

The chloride channel calcium-activated (CLCA) family are secreted proteins that regulate both chloride transport and mucin expression, thus controlling the production of mucus in respiratory and other systems. Accordingly, human CLCA1 is a critical mediator of hypersecretory lung diseases, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cystic fibrosis, that manifest mucus obstruction. Despite relevance to homeostasis and disease, the mechanism of CLCA1 function remains largely undefined.

Aminopyridinecarboxamide-based inhaled IKK-2 inhibitors for asthma and COPD: Structure-activity relationship.

Installation of sites for metabolism in the lead compound PHA-767408 was the key focus of the IKK-2 inhaled program. This paper reports our efforts to identify a novel series of aminopyridinecarboxamide-based IKK-2 inhibitors, which display low nanomolar potency against IKK-2 with long duration of action (DOA), and metabolically labile to phase I and/or phase II metabolizing enzymes with potential capability for multiple routes of clearance. Several compounds have demonstrated their potential usefulness in the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Loss of alpha-tubulin polyglutamylation in ROSA22 mice is associated with abnormal targeting of KIF1A and modulated synaptic function.

Microtubules function as molecular tracks along which motor proteins transport a variety of cargo to discrete destinations within the cell. The carboxyl termini of alpha- and beta-tubulin can undergo different posttranslational modifications, including polyglutamylation, which is particularly abundant within the mammalian nervous system. Thus, this modification could serve as a molecular "traffic sign" for motor proteins in neuronal cells.

TTLL7 is a mammalian beta-tubulin polyglutamylase required for growth of MAP2-positive neurites.

Microtubules form a cytoskeletal framework that influences cell shape and provides structural support for the cell. Microtubules in the nervous system undergo a unique post-translational modification, polyglutamylation of the C termini of their tubulin subunits. The mammalian enzymes that perform beta-tubulin polyglutamylation as well as their physiological functions in the neuronal tissue remain elusive.

Mutation of a novel gene results in abnormal development of spermatid flagella, loss of intermale aggression and reduced body fat in mice.

ROSA22 male mice are sterile due to a recessive gene-trap mutation that affects development of the spermatid flagellum. The defect involves the flagellar axoneme, which becomes unstable around the time of its assembly. Despite a subsequent complete failure in flagellar assembly, development of the spermatid head appears normal and the spermatid head is released at the correct stage in spermatogenesis.

A Convergent, Scalable Synthesis of HIV Protease Inhibitor PNU-140690.

PNU-140690, an inhibitor of the HIV protease enzyme undergoing clinical evalution as a chemotherapeutic agent for treatment of AIDS, was synthesized by a convergent approach amenable to large-scale preparation in a pilot plant environment. The key step is the aldol addition of nitroaromatic ester (+)-8 to aldehyde 19e. The two stereocenters present in the target molecule were each set independently by resolution of enantiomers.

Synthesis and biological activities of (R)-5,6-dihydro-N,N-dimethyl-4H-imidazo[4,5,1-ij]quinolin-5-amine and its metabolites.

The imidazoquinoline (R)-5,6-Dihydro-N,N-dimethyl-4H-imidazo[4,5,1-ij]quinolin-5-amine [(R)-3] is a potent dopamine agonist when tested in animals but surprisingly shows very low affinity in in vitro binding assays. When incubated with mouse or monkey liver S9 microsomes, (R)-3 is metabolized by N-demethylation and oxidation to (R)-5,6-dihydro-5-(methylamino)-4H-imidazo[4,5,1-ij]quinolin-2(1H) -one [(R)-6], intermediate metabolites, where N-demethylation to the imidazoquinoline (R)-4 and where oxidation to the imidazoquinolinone (R)-5 has taken place, are also observed in these incubates. A cross-species study on the metabolism of (R)-3 in vitro has shown large variations in the extent of metabolism from species to species.

Medicinal chemistry of imidazoquinolinone dopamine receptor agonists.

(R)-5-(Dipropylamino)-5,6-dihydro-4H-imidazo[4,5,1-ij]-quinolin-2( 1H)-on e (1a, U-86170), a potent high intrinsic activity dopamine (D2) agonist, has been prepared in eleven steps from quinoline. In several tests, the compound showed dopamine autoreceptor agonist activity at low doses. It showed postsynaptic agonist activity at somewhat higher doses, reversing the effects of reserpine in mice and increasing striatal acetylcholine levels.

Dopaminergic and serotonergic activities of imidazoquinolinones and related compounds.

The synthesis of 5-(dipropylamino)-5,6-dihydro-4H-imidazo[4,5,1-ij] quinolin-2(1H)-one (5), a potent dopamine D2 agonist showing high dopamine/serotonin (5HT1A) selectivity, is described. Dopaminergic activity is associated with the (R)-enantiomer of 5; the (S)-enantiomer shows no dopaminergic activity. A series of analogues where the imidazolone ring was modified to various 5- or 6-membered heterocyclic rings were prepared.

alpha-Methyl analogues of acetylenic amines as striatal muscarinic antagonists.

The effect of acetylenic amines, with or without alpha-methyl substitution, on striatal acetylcholine (ACh) concentration in rats was investigated. Oxotremorine, oxotremorine-1, and U-77053 (trimethyl (4-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-2 butynyl)-urea), the unsubstituted amines, increased striatal ACh concentration. On the other hand, the corresponding alpha-methyl substituted analogues, alpha-methyl-oxotremorine, BM-5, and alpha-methyl U-77053, decreased the concentration of ACh in the striatum.

Cholinergic activity of acetylenic imidazoles and related compounds.

A series of acetylenic imidazoles related to oxotremorine (1a) were prepared and evaluated as cholinergic agents with in vitro binding assays and in vivo pharmacological tests in mice. 1-[4-(1H-Imidazol-1-yl)-2-butynyl]-2-pyrrolidinone (1b) was a cholinergic agonist with one-half the potency of oxotremorine. Analogues of 1b with a 5- or 2-methyl substituent in the imidazole ring (compounds 1c and 1g) were cholinergic partial agonists.

Potential alteration of precipitation chemistry by epiphytic lichens.

Epiphytic lichen growth is abundant on the boles and branches of balsam fir trees at high elevations in New Hampshire. These lichens absorb elements needed for growth from solutions flowing over their surfaces and from direct impaction of water droplets. This study describes how epiphytic lichens and fir needles altered the chemistry of simulated rain water solutions under laboratory conditions.