Zhiqiang Feng

Synthesis and activity in enhancing long-term potentiation (LTP) of clausenamide stereoisomers.

Clausenamide, isolated from aqueous extract of dry leaves of Clausena lansium, a Chinese folk medicine, was found to have potent activity in enhancing LTP and show nootropic activity in animal tests. In order to discovery more potent stereoisomers and to analyze the relationship of structure-activity, the synthesis of 16 (8 pairs) optically pure stereoisomers of clausenamide with four chiral centers was achieved. The results of LTP assay showed that the nootropic activity of the stereoisomers of clausenamide is closely related to the configuration of stereoisomers.

Synthesis and anti-inflammatory activity of the major metabolites of imrecoxib.

We have developed a novel and moderately selective COX-2 inhibitor, imrecoxib, as a new anti-inflammatory drug. We describe herein the preparation of the major metabolites M2 and M4 of imrecoxib, as well as the in vitro and in vivo activities of the two compounds. The results showed that both M2 and M4 are potential COXs inhibitors with a moderate COX-1/COX-2 selectivity, and their anti-inflammatory activity in vivo was equal to or slightly higher than the clinical celecoxib.

F84, a quinazoline derivative, exhibits high potent antitumor activity against human gynecologic malignancies

SummaryEGFR overexpression in gynecologic cancer has been associated with poor prognosis. Targeted inhibition of EGFR via its tyrosine kinase domain is a successful treatment in lung cancer. However, the results of existing clinical trials in gynecologic cancers do not show a significant clinical response to EGFR inhibition alone in unscreened patients. Novel EGFR-TKI might be beneficial for patients with gynecologic cancers. In this article, the in vitro and in vivo effects of a newly synthesized novel EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor N-(3-bromophenyl)-N-(7-methoxy-6-(3-morpholinopropoxy)quinazolin-4-yl)-3,3-dimethylbutanamide (F84) is being reported. In vitro, F84 and PD153035 significantly inhibited the growth of four different human gynecologic cancer cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. In vivo, F84 exhibited an inhibitory effect on gynecologic malignancies. While the mechanism of action is still unclear, it might be related to inhibition of EGFR signaling pathway, delay in cell cycle progression and a G1 arrest together with a partial G2/M block and induction of apoptosis. These results suggest that F84 could be a potential drug candidate for the treatment of human gynecologic malignancies.

The synthesis of puerarin derivatives and their protective effect on the myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury.

Puerarin is a naturally occurring isoflavone and is frequently used for the treatment of cardiovascular symptoms in China. By the structural modification of the puerarin molecule at different positions, seven new puerarin derivatives were obtained, and their cardioprotective activities (in vitro and in vivo) were respectively evaluated. The finding that the activities of 3 and 8 markedly exceeded puerarin suggested that the acylated modification of phenolic hydroxyl at C-7 in the puerarin molecule may improve the cardioprotective activity, which will be an important reference for further structural optimization.

Antidiabetic potential of a novel dual-target activator of glucokinase and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Glucokinase (GK) balances blood glucose levels via regulation of glucose metabolism and insulin secretion. Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) regulates gene expression in glucose and lipid metabolism. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effect of a novel compound, SHP289-03, which activates both GK and PPARγ. METHODS Glucose metabolism was tested in primary hepatocytes of normal ICR mice, and insulin secretion was measured in NIT-1 insulinoma cells as well as in primary islets of normal ICR mice. The in vivo pharmacodynamics of SHP289-03 was assessed using the spontaneous type 2 diabetic mouse model, KKA(y). KEY RESULTS In hepatocytes, SHP289-03 promoted glucose consumption. In NIT-1 cells, it increased the concentration of intracellular ATP and calcium, and subsequently enhanced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in both NIT-1 cells and primary islets. Moreover, SHP289-03 decreased the blood glucose level, improved glucose tolerance and reduced blood lipid levels in KKA(y) mice. It restored islet morphology and increased the beta cell/alpha cell mass ratio, in addition to up-regulating GK gene expression in the liver of KKA(y) mice. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS SHP289-03 has significant therapeutic potential for the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

Discovery of novel urea derivatives as dual-target hypoglycemic agents that activate glucokinase and PPARγ.

Motivated by the discovery of a potential ligand that activates both glucokinase (GK) and perioxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ), this work presents the rational design and synthesis of a series of novel urea derivatives as potent dual-target ligands of GK and PPARγ. The derivatives obtained, particularly compounds 14j, 14m, 15g, 15j, and 15s, showed relatively high enzyme activity and moderate blood glucose-lowering efficacy in normal ICR mice (GK activation fold >1.7, PPARγ activation percentage >38.8%, relative to rosiglitazone). The discovery of a dual-acting agent may provide an effective approach for treating type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Activity of FB2, a novel dual Abl/Src tyrosine kinase inhibitor, against imatinib-resistant chronic myeloid leukemia in vivo and in vitro.

FB2 is a novel Abl/Src dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor which is designed to overcome imatinib resistance. Besides imatinib-sensitive cell lines (K562), FB2 significantly inhibited the growth of imatinib-resistant cell lines of different resistance mechanisms (K562/G5.0 and K562/G01), and decreased the expression of autophosphorylation of Bcr/Abl, c-Src and Lyn kinases on them. It also inhibited the proliferation of Src over activated cells DU145 and MDA-MB-231. Furthermore, FB2 potently prolonged the survival time of non-obese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient mice harboured K562/G5.0 cells. These results indicated that FB2, an Abl/Src dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is a promising candidate for imatinib-resistant CML and Src over activated cancer.

Design, Synthesis, and Activity Evaluation of GK/PPARγ Dual-Target-Directed Ligands as Hypoglycemic Agents

Based on the multi‐target strategy to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), glucokinase/peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ (GK/PPARγ) dual‐target molecules were constructed by the rational combination of pharmacophores from known GK activators and PPARγ agonists. A series of dual‐target agents were designed and synthesized, and their capacities to induce GK and PPARγ transcriptional activity were evaluated. Three of these compounds showed particularly high potency toward GK, moderate activity toward PPARγ, and their structure–activity relationships were preliminarily analyzed. The putative binding modes of one of the most promising compounds were also explored by molecular docking simulations with GK and PPARγ.

Activity of the potent dual Abl/Src tyrosine kinase inhibitor FB2 against Bcr–Abl positive cell lines in vitro and in vivo

We have previously shown the inhibition of the small-molecule inhibitor FB2 on imatinib-sensitive and resistance CML cell lines with the wild-type Bcr-Abl fusion gene. Here we report the potent and selective antiproliferation on FB2 on transfected Ba/F3 p210 cell lines expressing various isoforms of Bcr-Abl (wild-type, Y253F, T315I). FB2 which orients Bcr-Abl and Src kinase activities, is shown to override imatinib-resistance CML involving Y253F mutation in the Abl kinase domain of the fusion protein except T315I in vivo and in vitro. Thus, we present FB2 that displays potency toward Bcr-Abl and Src as the molecular target, and which could potentially be used to override drug resistance in CML.

Stereoselective Synthesis and Characterization of (Z)-(−)-4-(1′-Alkoxyl-1′-alkyloxycarbonyl-methylidene)-5(R)-[(1R)-menthyloxy]-γ-butyrolactones

Abstract A series of enantiomerically pure (Z)-(−)-4-(1′-alkyloxy-1′-alkyloxycarbonyl-methylidene)-5(R)-[(1R)-menthyloxy]-γ-butyrolactones were synthesized and characterized in good to excellent yields via O-alkylation of (4R,5R)-(−)-4-ethoxyoxalyl-5-[(1R)-menthyloxy]-γ-butyrolactone with alkyl halides in the presence of K2CO3 in acetone at room temperature.