- Diflunisal Derivatives as Modulators of ACMS Decarboxylase Targeting the Tryptophan-Kynurenine Pathway
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In the kynurenine pathway for tryptophan degradation, an unstable metabolic intermediate, α-amino-β-carboxymuconate-?-semialdehyde (ACMS), can nonenzymatically cyclize to form quinolinic acid, the precursor for de novo biosynthesis of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+). In a competing reaction, ACMS is decarboxylated by ACMS decarboxylase (ACMSD) for further metabolism and energy production. Therefore, the inhibition of ACMSD increases NAD+ levels. In this study, an Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug, diflunisal, was found to competitively inhibit ACMSD. The complex structure of ACMSD with diflunisal revealed a previously unknown ligand-binding mode and was consistent with the results of inhibition assays, as well as a structure-activity relationship (SAR) study. Moreover, two synthesized diflunisal derivatives showed half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values 1 order of magnitude better than diflunisal at 1.32 ± 0.07 μM (22) and 3.10 ± 0.11 μM (20), respectively. The results suggest that diflunisal derivatives have the potential to modulate NAD+ levels. The ligand-binding mode revealed here provides a new direction for developing inhibitors of ACMSD.
- Yang, Yu,Borel, Timothy,De Azambuja, Francisco,Johnson, David,Sorrentino, Jacob P.,Udokwu, Chinedum,Davis, Ian,Liu, Aimin,Altman, Ryan A.
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- A modular synthesis of teraryl-based α-helix mimetics, part 1: Synthesis of core fragments with two electronically differentiated leaving groups
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Teraryl-based α-helix mimetics have proven to be useful compounds for the inhibition of protein-protein interactions (PPI). We have developed a modular and flexible approach for the synthesis of teraryl-based α-helix mimetics. Central to our strategy is the use of a benzene core unit featuring two leaving groups of differentiated reactivity in the Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling used for terphenyl assembly. With the halogen/diazonium route and the halogen/triflate route, two strategies have successfully been established. The synthesis of core building blocks with aliphatic (Ala, Val, Leu, Ile), aromatic (Phe), polar (Cys, Lys), hydrophilic (Ser, Gln), and acidic (Glu) amino acid side chains are reported. Turn on: Teraryl-based α-helix mimetics can be effectively produced by sequential Suzuki coupling of a central core fragment featuring electronically differentiated leaving groups with aryl boronic pinacol esters (see scheme; dppf=1,1′-bis(diphenylphosphino) ferrocene, DME=dimethoxyethane, Pin=pinacol, Tf=trifluoromethanesulfonyl). With a set of only 2×18 building blocks, all permutations of α-helix mimetics can be produced. Copyright
- Peters, Martin,Trobe, Melanie,Tan, Hao,Kleineweischede, Rolf,Breinbauer, Rolf
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p. 2442 - 2449
(2013/04/24)
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