The intramolecular S2 reaction tautomeric ent-Kauranoids isolated from the aerial parts of Isodon amethystoides.

As our ongoing searching for the bioactive natural terpenoids, nine ent-kauranoids (1-9), including three previously undescribed ones (1, 2, and 9), were isolated from the aerial parts of Isodon amethystoides. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data analysis, including NMR, MS, and ECD. Compounds 1 and 2 were a pair of tautomeric compounds, which was confirmed by the HPLC analysis and low temperature NMR testing.

Discovery of the Novel 1-Pyrrolo[2,3-]pyridine Derivative as a Potent Type II CDK8 Inhibitor against Colorectal Cancer.

Few targeted drugs were approved for treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). Cyclin-dependent kinase 8 played a vital role in regulating transcription and was a key colorectal oncogene associated to colorectal cancer. Here, through de novo drug design and in depth structure-activity relationship analysis, title compound , (3-(3-(1-pyrrolo[2,3-]pyridin-5-yl)phenyl)--(4-methyl-3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)propenamide), was discovered as a potent type II CDK8 inhibitor, which exhibited potent kinase activity with an IC value of 48.

Discovery and Anti-Inflammatory Activity Evaluation of a Novel CDK8 Inhibitor through Upregulation of IL-10 for the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease .

Increasing the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10) level is a promising strategy to suppress the progression of pathogenic inflammation including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Since cyclin-dependent kinase 8 (CDK8) inhibition can upregulate IL-10 abundance in activated myeloid-derived dendritic cells, it is considered to be an effective target for IBD treatment. Here, the complete discovery process of a novel CDK8 inhibitor as an anti-inflammatory agent was described.

Discovery of novel paeonol-based derivatives against skin inflammation and .

T-LAK-cell-originated protein kinase (TOPK), a novel member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase family, is considered an effective therapeutic target for skin inflammation. In this study, a series () of paeonol derivatives was designed and synthesised using a fragment growing approach, and their anti-inflammatory activities against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide production in RAW264.7 cells were tested.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel hybrids of phenylsulfonyl furoxan and phenstatin derivatives as potent anti-tumor agents.

Hybridization of nitric oxide (NO) donors with known anti-cancer agents have been emerged as a strategy to achieve improved therapeutic effect and to overcome chemo-resistance in cancer therapy. In this study, furoxan moiety as an efficient NO donor was introduced to phenstatin, a microtubule-interfering agent (MIA), leading to the design and synthesis of a series of furoxan-based NO-releasing arylphenones derivatives. In biological evaluation, the synthesized compounds showed moderate to potent anti-tumor activities against several human cancer cell lines.

Discovery and Anti-inflammatory Activity Evaluation of a Novel Non-peptidyl Non-covalent Cathepsin C Inhibitor.

Cathepsin C (Cat C) participates in inflammation and immune regulation by affecting the activation of neutrophil serine proteases (NSPs). Therefore, cathepsin C is an attractive target for treatment of NSP-related inflammatory diseases. Here, the complete discovery process of the first potent "non-peptidyl non-covalent cathepsin C inhibitor" was described with hit finding, structure optimization, and lead discovery.

Transition Metal-mediated Uncaging Chemistry in Prodrug Design.

Uncaging chemistry catalyzed by transition metals is developed from deprotection reactions and metal-organic catalytic reactions. Also, it has the characteristics of high efficiency, simplicity and rapidity in the living biological system. In the past decade, metal encapsulation systems (such as nanoparticles) and metal complexes have been developed to reveal the reactivity of transition metals (including palladium, ruthenium, and gold) in biological systems.

Discovery and development of novel pyrimidine and pyrazolo/thieno-fused pyrimidine derivatives as potent and orally active inducible nitric oxide synthase dimerization inhibitor with efficacy for arthritis.

In order to discover and develop drug-like anti-inflammatory agents against arthritis, based on "Hit" we found earlier and to overcome drawbacks of toxicity, twelve series of total 89 novel pyrimidine, pyrazolo[4,3-d]pyrimidine and thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidine derivatives were designed, synthesized and screened for their anti-inflammatory activity against NO and toxicity for normal liver cells (LO2). Relationships of balance toxicity and activity have been summarized through multi-steps, and title compounds 22o, 22l were found to show lower toxicity (against LO2: IC = 2934, 2301 μM, respectively) and potent effect against NO release (IR = 98.3, 97.

Novel paeonol derivatives: Design, synthesis and anti-inflammatory activity in vitro and in vivo.

Paeonol has been proved to have potential anti-inflammatory activity, but its clinical application is not extensive due to the poor anti-inflammatory activity (14.74% inhibitory activity at 20 μM). In order to discover novel lead compound with high anti-inflammatory activity, series of paeonol derivatives were designed and synthesized, their anti-inflammatory activities were screened in vitro and in vivo.

Therapeutic strategies for targeting telomerase in cancer.

Telomere and telomerase play important roles in abnormal cell proliferation, metastasis, stem cell maintenance, and immortalization in various cancers. Therefore, designing of drugs targeting telomerase and telomere is of great significance. Over the past two decades, considerable knowledge regarding telomere and telomerase has been accumulated, which provides theoretical support for the design of therapeutic strategies such as telomere elongation.

Design and synthesis of novel pyrazolo[4,3-]pyrimidines as potential therapeutic agents for acute lung injury.

Four series of total 35 new pyrazolo[4,3-]pyrimidine compounds were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their inhibitory activity against LPS-induced NO production in RAW264.7 macrophages. Among them, compound was found to be the most potent inhibitor, which decreased the production of cytokines , such as NO, IL-6 and TNF-α, with IC values of 2.

Novel resveratrol-based flavonol derivatives: Synthesis and anti-inflammatory activity in vitro and in vivo.

In order to discover novel anti-inflammatory agents, total thirty-seven new resveratrol-based flavonol derivatives were designed and synthesized. All compounds have been screened for their anti-inflammatory activity by evaluating their inhibition effect of LPS-induced NO production in RAW 264.7 macrophages.

Novel Pyrazolo[4,3- d]pyrimidine as Potent and Orally Active Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase (iNOS) Dimerization Inhibitor with Efficacy in Rheumatoid Arthritis Mouse Model.

In order to discover novel anti-inflammatory agents for treatment of arthritis and based on preliminary structure-activity relationships, four series (A-D) of total 90 new pyrazolo[4,3- d]pyrimidine compounds were designed and synthesized. All the compounds have been tested for their anti-inflammatory activities by inhibiting of LPS-induced NO production. A clear structure-activity relationship has been concluded step by step, and finally 3,4,5-trimethoxystyryl-1 H-pyrazolo[4,3- d]pyrimidine was found to be the most active scaffold.

Novel curcumin analogue hybrids: Synthesis and anticancer activity.

In this study, twenty curcumin analogue hybrids as potential anticancer agents through regulation protein of TrxR were designed and synthesized. Results of anticancer activity showed that 5,7-dimethoxy-3-(3-(2-((1E, 4E)-3-oxo-5-(pyridin-2-yl)penta-1,4-dien-1- yl)phenoxy)propoxy)-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-4H-chromen-4-one (compound 7d) could induce gastric cancer cells apoptosis by arresting cell cycle, break mitochondria function and inhibit TrxR activity. Meanwhile, western blot revealed that this compound could dramatically up expression of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and high expression of TrxR oxidation.

Tricyclic pyrazolo[1,5-d][1,4]benzoxazepin-5(6H)-one scaffold derivatives: Synthesis and biological evaluation as selective BuChE inhibitors.

BuChE inhibitors play important roles in treatment of patients with advanced Alzheimer's disease (AD). A series of tricyclic pyrazolo[1,5-d][1,4]benzoxazepin-5(6H)-one derivatives were synthesized and evaluated as acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) inhibitors. Some derivatives showed selective BuChE inhibitory activity, which was influenced by the volumes of the substituted groups at the C6 position and halogen substituents at the benzene ring of tricyclic scaffold.

Discovery of (4-bromophenyl)(3-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)methanone through upregulating hTERT induces cell apoptosis and ERS.

Dominant-negative mutants of telomerase hTERT were demonstrated to have selective effects in tumor cells. However, no any effective and highly selective hTERT inhibitor has been developed so far. We focused on developing new hTERT modulators and synthesized a small molecular compound, named (4-bromophenyl)(3-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)methanone.

Novel unsaturated glycyrrhetic acids derivatives: Design, synthesis and anti-inflammatory activity.

To develop novel anti-inflammatory agents, a series of unsaturated glycyrrhetic acids were designed, synthesized and evaluated for anti-inflammatory activity using RAW264.7 cells. The structure-activity relationship (SAR) of NO inhibitory activity was analyzed.

New arylpyrazoline-coumarins: Synthesis and anti-inflammatory activity.

To develop new anti-inflammatory agents with improved pharmaceutical profiles, a series of new phenyl-pyrazoline-coumarin derivatives (4a∼4m) were designed and synthesized. Compounds 4a and 4b were determined by X-ray crystallography. All of the compounds have been screened for their anti-inflammatory activity characterized by evaluating their inhibition against LPS-induced IL-6 release.

Benzophenone-nucleoside derivatives as telomerase inhibitors: Design, synthesis and anticancer evaluation in vitro and in vivo.

Based on telomerase, thirteen novel phenstatin moiety linked stavudine derivatives (8a∼8e and 11a∼11f) were synthesized. The structures were determined by NMR and TOF-HRMS. The screening results showed that some compounds had better anti-cancer activity in vivo and in vitro.

Dihydropyrazole derivatives as telomerase inhibitors: Structure-based design, synthesis, SAR and anticancer evaluation in vitro and in vivo.

It is of our interest to generate and identify novel compounds with regulation telomerase for cancer therapy. In order to carry out more rational design, based on structure-based drug design, several series of N-substituted-dihydropyrazole derivatives, totally 78 compounds as potential human telomerase inhibitors were designed and synthesized. The results demonstrated that some compounds had potent anticancer activity against four tumor cell lines, and showed good selectivity on tumor cells over somatic cells.

Hesperetin derivatives: Synthesis and anti-inflammatory activity.

Sixteen novel hesperetin derivatives containing Mannich base moiety were designed and synthesized and their anti-inflammatory activities were evaluated by inhibiting tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in mouse RAW264.7 macrophages. Compounds 3a-3k showed better hydrophilic, while compounds 3l-3p with aromatic groups was hydrophobic.

Novel dihydropyrazole-chromen: Design and modulates hTERT inhibition proliferation of MGC-803.

Dominant-negative mutant of telomerase hTERT was demonstrated to show selective anticancer effects in tumor cells. But, an effective hTERT inhibitor with high selectivity has not been developed so far. Focused on hTERT, a novel dihydropyrazole-chromen (13k) controlling hTERT was designed.

Design and synthesis of celastrol derivatives as anticancer agents.

A series of celastrol derivatives as potential telomerase inhibitors were designed and synthesized. The bioassays demonstrated that title compounds displayed potent anticancer activities against SGC-7901, SMMC-7721, MGC-803 and HepG-2 cell lines, among them, compounds 3c and 3d which containing hydrophilicity moieties exhibited high anti-proliferative activities (IC50 = 0.10-1.

Novel pyrazole-5-carboxamide and pyrazole-pyrimidine derivatives: synthesis and anticancer activity.

A series of novel pyrazole-5-carboxamide and pyrazole-pyrimidine derivatives were designed and synthesized. All compounds have been screened for their antiproliferative activity against MGC-803, SGC-7901 and Bcap-37 cell lines in vitro. The results revealed that compounds 8a, 8c and 8e exhibited strong inhibitory activity against MGC-803 cell line.

Synthesis and discovery of 18α-GAMG as anticancer agent in vitro and in vivo via down expression of protein p65.

Glycyrrhizic acid (GA) is a natural product with favorable antitumor activity. But, glycyrrhetinic acid monoglucuronide (GAMG) showed stronger antitumor activity than GA. It is of our interest to generate and identify novel compounds with regulation telomerase for cancer therapy.