Discovery of -Trifluoromethylated Noscapines as Novel and Potent Agents for the Treatment of Glioblastoma.

The search for new and effective chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of glioblastoma (GBM) represents an unmet need in drug discovery. Herein, a class of novel -trifluoromethylated noscapines has been disclosed. Among them, 9'-bromo--trifluoromethyl noscapine displayed superior anti-GBM potency.

Drug Repurposing of ACT001 to Discover Novel Promising Sulfide Prodrugs with Improved Safety and Potent Activity for Neutrophil-Mediated Antifungal Immunotherapy.

Neutrophil-mediated immunotherapy is a promising strategy for treating infection due to its potential in dealing with drug-resistant events. Our previous study found that ACT001 exhibited good antifungal immunotherapeutic activity by inhibiting PD-L1 expression in neutrophils, but its strong cytotoxicity and high BBB permeability hindered its antifungal application. To address these deficiencies, a series of novel sulfide derivatives were designed and synthesized based on a slow-release prodrug strategy.

Trilogy of drug repurposing for developing cancer and chemotherapy-induced heart failure co-therapy agent.

Chemotherapy-induced complications, particularly lethal cardiovascular diseases, pose significant challenges for cancer survivors. The intertwined adverse effects, brought by cancer and its complication, further complicate anticancer therapy and lead to diminished clinical outcomes. Simple supplementation of cardioprotective agents falls short in addressing these challenges.

Drug repurposing of propafenone to discover novel anti-tumor agents by impairing homologous recombination to delay DNA damage recovery of rare disease conjunctival melanoma.

Conjunctival melanoma (CM), a rare and fatal malignant ocular tumor, lacks proper diagnostic biomarkers and therapy. Herein, we revealed the novel application of propafenone, an FDA-approved antiarrhythmic medication, which was identified effective in inhibiting CM cells viability and homologous recombination pathway. Detailed structure-activity relationships generated D34 as one of the most promising derivatives, which strongly suppressed the proliferation, viability, and migration of CM cells at submicromolar concentrations.

Photocatalytic C-Si Bond Formations Using Pentacoordinate Silylsilicates as Silyl Radical Precursors: Synthetic Tricks Using Old Reagents.

A visible-light-induced photocatalytic C-Si formation strategy has been disclosed by uncovering the reactivity of Martin's spirosilane-derived pentacoordinate silylsilicates as silyl radical precursors. The hydrosilylation of a broad spectrum of alkenes and alkynes, as well as the C-H silylation of heteroarenes, has been demonstrated. Remarkably, Martin's spirosilane was stable and could be recovered via a simple workup process.

Cucurbitacin B-induced G2/M cell cycle arrest of conjunctival melanoma cells mediated by GRP78-FOXM1-KIF20A pathway.

Conjunctival melanoma (CM) is a rare and fatal malignant eye tumor. In this study, we deciphered a novel anti-CM mechanism of a natural tetracyclic compound named as cucurbitacin B (CuB). We found that CuB remarkably inhibited the proliferation of CM cells including CM-AS16, CRMM1, CRMM2 and CM2005.

Fangchinoline suppresses conjunctival melanoma by directly binding FUBP2 and inhibiting the homologous recombination pathway.

Conjunctival melanoma (CM) is a rare and fatal ocular tumour with poor prognosis. There is an urgent need of effective therapeutic drugs against CM. Here, we reported the discovery of a novel potential therapeutic target for CM.

Development of novel benzimidazole-derived neddylation inhibitors for suppressing tumor growth invitro and invivo.

Ubiquitin-like protein neddylation is overactivated in various human cancers and correlates with disease progression, and targeting this pathway represents a valuable therapeutic strategy. Our previous work disclosed an antihypertensive agent, candesartan cilexetic (CDC), serves as a novel neddylation inhibitor for suppressing tumor growth by targeting Nedd8-activating enzyme (NAE). In this study, 42 benzimidazole derivatives were designed and synthesized based on lead compound CDC to improve the neddylation inhibition and anticancer efficacy.

The risk of missed abortion associated with the levels of tobacco, heavy metals and phthalate in hair of pregnant woman: A case control study in Chinese women.

To assess the association between exposure to the tobacco, heavy metals and phthalate on early pregnancy and missed abortion.42 women with missed abortion and 57 matched controls (women with normal pregnancies) were recruited between March and May 2012, from the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University and the People Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The questionnaire survey was carried on to learn about the basic conditions, as well as smoking history of all participants.

Design, synthesis, and evaluation of benzofuran derivatives as novel anti-pancreatic carcinoma agents via interfering the hypoxia environment by targeting HIF-1α pathway.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most common type of pancreatic cancer, and has still been the medicinal mystery. New drugs and treatment strategies are urgently needed. In this study, 32 benzofuran derivatives are designed, synthesized and evaluated as potential agents against the pancreatic cancer.

Synthesis and evaluation of N-(benzofuran-5-yl)aromaticsulfonamide derivatives as novel HIF-1 inhibitors that possess anti-angiogenic potential.

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) as a key mediator in tumor metastasis, angiogenesis, and poor patient prognosis has been recognized as an important cancer drug target. A novel series of N-(benzofuran-5-yl)aromaticsulfonamide derivatives were synthesized and evaluated as HIF-1 inhibitor. Among these compounds, 7q exhibited specific inhibitory effects on HIF-1 by downregulating the expression of HIF-1α under hypoxic conditions.

Recent Advances in the Discovery of HIF-1α-p300/CBP Inhibitors as Anti-Cancer Agents.

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), a heterodimeric (containing α and β subunits) transcription factor, is involved in hypoxia response pathway that regulates the expression of many tumorrelated genes. The stabilized HIF-1 heterodimer couples to the general co-activators p300/CBP (CREB binding protein), forming an active transcription factor to initiate hypoxic responses. Inhibiting the transcription factor-coactivator HIF-1α-p300/CBP interaction represents an attractive approach for blocking hypoxia pathway in tumors.

Discovery and optimization of new benzofuran derivatives against p53-independent malignant cancer cells through inhibition of HIF-1 pathway.

p53-independent malignant cancer is still severe health problem of human beings. HIF-1 pathway is believed to play an important role in the survival and developing progress of such cancers. In the present study, with the aim to inhibit the proliferation of p53-independent malignant cells, we disclose the optimization of 6a, the starting compound which is discovered in the screening of in-house compound collection.

CPUY201112, a novel synthetic small-molecule compound and inhibitor of heat shock protein Hsp90, induces p53-mediated apoptosis in MCF-7 cells.

Heat-shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is highly expressed in many tumor cells and is associated with the maintenance of malignant phenotypes. Targeting Hsp90 has had therapeutic success in both solid and hematological malignancies, which has inspired more studies to identify new Hsp90 inhibitors with improved clinical efficacy. Using a fragment-based approach and subsequent structural optimization guided by medicinal chemistry principles, we identified the novel compound CPUY201112 as a potent Hsp90 inhibitor.

Escape, or Vanish: Control the Fate of p53 through MDM2-Mediated Ubiquitination.

p53 protein is a prominent tumor suppressor to induce cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and senescence, which attracts significant interest to cancer treatment. Therefore, it would be particularly important to restore the wild-type p53 that retains latent functions in the approximately 50% of tumors. MDM2 (murine double minute 2), the principal cellular antagonist of p53, has long been believed to suppress p53 activity through two main mechanisms: promoting degradation via its E3 ligase activity and masking p53 transcriptional activation by direct binding.

Discovery and Modification of in Vivo Active Nrf2 Activators with 1,2,4-Oxadiazole Core: Hits Identification and Structure-Activity Relationship Study.

Induction of phase II antioxidant enzymes by activation of Nrf2/ARE pathway has been recognized as a promising strategy for the regulation of oxidative stress-related diseases. Herein we report our effort on the discovery and optimization of Nrf2 activators with 1,2,4-oxadiazole core. Screening of an in-house collection containing 7500 compounds by ARE-luciferase reporter assay revealed a moderate Nrf2 activator, 1.

Discovery of 1-aryloxyethyl piperazine derivatives as Kv1.5 potassium channel inhibitors (part I).

Kv1.5 potassium channel is an efficacious and safe therapeutic target for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common arrhythmia that threatens human. Herein, by modifying the hit compound 7k from an in-house database, 48 derivatives were synthesized for the assay of their Kv1.

Effective screening strategy using ensembled pharmacophore models combined with cascade docking: application to p53-MDM2 interaction inhibitors.

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) play a crucial role in cellular function and form the backbone of almost all biochemical processes. In recent years, protein-protein interaction inhibitors (PPIIs) have represented a treasure trove of potential new drug targets. Unfortunately, there are few successful drugs of PPIIs on the market.

Identification, design and bio-evaluation of novel Hsp90 inhibitors by ligand-based virtual screening.

Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), whose inhibitors have shown promising activity in clinical trials, is an attractive anticancer target. In this work, we first explored the significant pharmacophore features needed for Hsp90 inhibitors by generating a 3D-QSAR pharmacophore model. It was then used to virtually screen the SPECS databases, identifying 17 hits.

[Effects of nighttime temperature increase at different growth stages on double season rice grain yield].

Two experimental glass-houses were utilized to study the effects of nighttime temperature increase (NTI) at different growth stages on the grain yield of double season rice. The NTI from the stage of sowing to panicle differentiation (primary branch differentiation) improved the tillering of rice, and increased the effective panicles. An average 1 degrees C rise in the minimum nighttime temperature (MNT) at this stage increased the grain yield of early and late rice by 10.