Negamycin analogue with readthrough-promoting activity as a potential drug candidate for duchenne muscular dystrophy.

A series of (+)-negamycin 1 analogues were synthesized, and their readthrough-promoting activity was evaluated for nonsense mutations in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). A structure-activity relationship study indicated that 11b was the most potent drug candidate. Immunohistochemical analyses suggested that treatment with 11b restored dystrophin expression in mdx mice, a DMD mouse model.