Cofactor-independent C–C bond cleavage reactions catalyzed by the AlpJ family of oxygenases in atypical angucycline biosynthesis

• Jinmin Gao,
• Liyuan Li,
• Shijie Shen,
• Guomin Ai,
• Bin Wang,
• Fang Guo,
• Tongjian Yang,
• Hui Han,
• Zhengren Xu,
• Guohui Pan and
• Keqiang Fan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1198–1206, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.102

• biological activities [1][2]. Notably, kinamycins demonstrate both antibacterial and antitumor activities, while lomaiviticin emerges as a potent antitumor agent, displaying remarkable IC50 values ranging from 0.007–72 nM against 25 cultured human cancer cell lines [3][4][5][6][7]. The pivotal B-ring

Bismuth(III) triflate: an economical and environmentally friendly catalyst for the Nazarov reaction

• Manoel T. Rodrigues Jr.,
• Aline S. B. de Oliveira,
• Ralph C. Gomes,
• Amanda Soares Hirata,
• Lucas A. Zeoly,
• Hugo Santos,
• João Arantes,
• Catarina Sofia Mateus Reis-Silva,
• João Agostinho Machado-Neto,
• Leticia Veras Costa-Lotufo and
• Fernando Coelho

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1167–1178, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.99

• 3-aryl-1-indanones) in good to excellent yield. The reaction did not require additives and was insensitive to both air and moisture. Preliminary biological evaluation of some indanones showed a promising profile against some human cancer line cells. Keywords: bismuth; catalysis; heterocycles

• reaction temperature. The initial biological profile of 20 indanones was assessed, revealing promising activity against certain human cancer cell lines in some cases. To enhance the anticancer potential of these compounds, it is imperative to carry out additional comprehensive studies. Examples of

Synthesis of 1,4-azaphosphinine nucleosides and evaluation as inhibitors of human cytidine deaminase and APOBEC3A

• Maksim V. Kvach,
• Stefan Harjes,
• Harikrishnan M. Kurup,
• Geoffrey B. Jameson,
• Elena Harjes and
• Vyacheslav V. Filichev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1088–1098, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.96

• nuclear and mitochondrial genomes [15]. This A3-induced mutational activity is used by viruses and cancer cells to increase the rates of mutagenesis, which allows them to escape adaptive immune responses and become drug resistant [16][17][18][19][20], leading to poor clinical outcomes. A range of genetic

• partially localised in the nucleus of cells and, in cancer cells, become genotoxic [24]. A3A and A3H are single-domain enzymes, whereas A3B is a double-domain enzyme, in which only the C-terminal domain (CTD) has catalytic activity, and the N-terminal domain (NTD) is responsible for binding of DNA and for

• with reduced tamoxifen sensitivity of tumours in those patients [19] and poor survival rates for estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer patients [21][29]. In line with these observations, A3B overexpression accelerates the development of tamoxifen resistance in murine xenograft with ER+ breast

Mild and efficient synthesis and base-promoted rearrangement of novel isoxazolo[4,5-b]pyridines

• Vladislav V. Nikol’skiy,
• Mikhail E. Minyaev,
• Maxim A. Bastrakov and
• Alexey M. Starosotnikov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1069–1075, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.94

• inhibitor of homeodomain-interacting protein kinases (HIPKs) [32], and combretastatin A-4 analogs evaluated for their anticancer properties against a panel of 60 human cancer cell lines [33] (Figure 2). The structures of all new compounds were confirmed by 1H and 13C NMR and HRMS. X-ray diffraction studies

A Diels–Alder probe for discovery of natural products containing furan moieties

• Alyssa S. Eggly,
• Namuunzul Otgontseren,
• Carson B. Roberts,
• Amir Y. Alwali,
• Haylie E. Hennigan and
• Elizabeth I. Parkinson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1001–1010, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.88

• -based probes; Introduction To date, natural products and their derivatives have served as the foundation of many pharmaceuticals used today. These compounds have activity against various diseases such as cancer, bacterial infections, and fungal infections, as well as other indications [1]. Specifically

• . Alkhalaf (University of Warwick), and C. Corre (University of Warwick) for providing us with the Streptomyces strains. Funding This work was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (1R35GM138002-01 to E.I.P.). The authors acknowledge the support from the Purdue Center for Cancer

Innovative synthesis of drug-like molecules using tetrazole as core building blocks

• Jingyao Li,
• Ajay L. Chandgude,
• Qiang Zheng and
• Alexander Dömling

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 950–958, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.85

• research has been also supported (AD) through the ERA Chair grant ACCELERATOR (101087318). This study was supported by the National Institute for Cancer Research–Programme EXCELES (ID Project No. LX22NPO5102), funded by the Cancer Research Czech Republic.

Synthesis of new representatives of A₃B-type carboranylporphyrins based on meso-tetra(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin transformations

• Victoria M. Alpatova,
• Evgeny G. Rys,
• Elena G. Kononova and
• Valentina A. Ol'shevskaya

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 767–776, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.70

• biosensors, bioimaging probes, and especially as photosensitizers (PSs) in photodynamic therapy (PDT) [2]. PDT is a treatment modality that uses the combination of a non-toxic PS, oxygen, and light to treat diseases ranging from cancer to age-related macular degeneration and antibiotic-resistant infections

• molecules which have been also used for selective delivery of the drug to cancer cells [45]. Here, biotin was conjugated to porphyrin 12 which was obtained by alkylation of the amino group in compound 5 with chloroacetyl chloride (10) to give porphyrin biotin conjugate 14 in 76% yield (Scheme 4). We also

Methodology for awakening the potential secondary metabolic capacity in actinomycetes

• Shun Saito and
• Midori A. Arai

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 753–766, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.69

• for compounds that act directly on specific molecules). Imoto and colleagues constructed a reverse screening system that targets a malignant factor of prostate cancer and thereby identified several novel compounds from actinomycete strains [16][17][18][19]. Many researchers have focused on identifying

• . At a concentration of 182 μM, murecholamide exhibits biological activity in inhibiting the migration of HT29 cancer cells. The second HSM is noaoxazole (39), which was discovered in Streptomyces sp. HR41 [79]. This substance has a chemical structure with a methylated oxazole ring at the end of a

Research progress on the pharmacological activity, biosynthetic pathways, and biosynthesis of crocins

• Zhongwei Hua,
• Nan Liu and
• Xiaohui Yan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 741–752, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.68

• alleviate gestational hypertension. Therefore, crocins have the potential to prevent pregnancy-induced hypertension [45]. Anticancer Crocins exhibit potent anticancer activity against various cancer cell lines. Jiang et al. found that crocins reduce the survival and activity of cervical cancer cells [46

• ]. Mollaei et al. observed an increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in crocin-treated cancer cells. Therefore, crocins are proposed to exert anticancer activity by promoting apoptosis of cancer cells [47]. This mechanism is consistent with the results of Hoshyar et al., who observed the apoptosis-promoting activity of

• crocins in gastric adenocarcinoma cells [48]. In addition to the cervical cancer cell lines and gastric cancer cell lines, crocins also exhibit anticancer effects on breast, prostate, liver, colon, and leukemia cancer cell lines [49][50][51][52][53]. Besides regulating the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, crocins were

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of macrocyclic peptides and polyketides via thioesterase-catalyzed macrocyclization

• Senze Qiao,
• Zhongyu Cheng and
• Fuzhuo Li

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 721–733, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.66

• clinical trials for the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer and platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, but was halted in phase II due to dose-limiting peripheral neuropathy and limited efficacy in vivo [80]. However, this family of depsipeptides remains of therapeutic significance and has recently been

• cancer with an IC50 value of 8 pM [85]. Conclusion Macrocyclic peptides, polyketides, and their hybrids are natural products often used in different therapeutic areas. In the synthesis of these natural products and their analogs, more efficient macrocyclization strategies need to be developed to address

Green and sustainable approaches for the Friedel–Crafts reaction between aldehydes and indoles

• Periklis X. Kolagkis,
• Eirini M. Galathri and
• Christoforos G. Kokotos

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 379–426, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.36

• most common applications being the treatment of breast cancer. Studies have shown that breast cancer is tied to the ratio of 16α-hydroxyestrone (16αOHE1) and 2-hydroxyestrone (2OHE1), which are products of the metabolism of the estrogen 17β-estradiol. BIMs can shift the process of estrogen metabolism

• towards the production of 2OHE1, thus reducing the risk for estrogen-sensitive cancers, especially in combination with tamoxifen, which is an estrogen receptor modulator used in the treatment of breast cancer [4]. BIMs increase the efficacy of the antitumor activity of tamoxifen and reduce the side

• -effects that it can cause in the more sensitive subgroups of patients. Specifically, when DIM was used in tandem with tamoxifen, the ratio between 2OHE1/16αOHE1 increased up to 229%, as well as the concentration of the sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) that inhibits the growth of breast cancer cells [4

Elucidating the glycan-binding specificity and structure of Cucumis melo agglutinin, a new R-type lectin

• Jon Lundstrøm,
• Emilie Gillon,
• Valérie Chazalet,
• Nicole Kerekes,
• Antonio Di Maio,
• Ten Feizi,
• Yan Liu,
• Annabelle Varrot and
• Daniel Bojar

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 306–320, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.31

• realm of therapeutics, lectins such as mistletoe lectins have shown promise in cancer therapy, by virtue of their ability to induce apoptosis in malignant cells [7]. Further, the creation of lectin arrays [8][9], which employ a diverse set of characterized lectins, has enabled high-throughput glycan

Chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed transfer hydrogenation of 3,3-difluoro-3H-indoles

• Yumei Wang,
• Guangzhu Wang,
• Yanping Zhu and
• Kaiwu Dong

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 205–211, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.20

• SHP2 inhibitor that has entered phase II clinical trials for the treatment of solid tumors and has been approved by the FDA as a rare drug for treating esophageal cancer (Figure 1) [4]. Among the fluoroalkyl moieties, the geminal difluoromethylene group has showcased its beneficial properties as an

Metal-catalyzed coupling/carbonylative cyclizations for accessing dibenzodiazepinones: an expedient route to clozapine and other drugs

• Amina Moutayakine and
• Anthony J. Burke

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 193–204, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.19

• disorders (Figure 1) [1][2]. Dibenzodiazepinones were also found to exhibit significant anticancer properties [3], as they were found to effectively inhibit tumor invasion in vitro [4], and induce apoptosis among several cancer cell lines [5]. Additionally, several dibenzodiazepinone-based structures were

Synthesis of the 3’-O-sulfated TF antigen with a TEG-N₃ linker for glycodendrimersomes preparation to study lectin binding

• Mark Reihill,
• Hanyue Ma,
• Dennis Bengtsson and
• Stefan Oscarson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 173–180, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.17

• -3, TEG-N3 glycosides of the TF antigen (β-ᴅ-Gal-(1→3)-α-ᴅ-GalNAc, 1) and its 3’-O-sulfated analogue (2, Figure 1) were required on a gram scale to allow efficient synthesis of the glycodendrisomes. The TF antigen is presented on the surface of most human cancer cell types and its interaction with

• galectins 1 and 3 leads to tumour cell aggregation and promotes cancer metastasis [3][4][5]. The 3’-O-sulfated analogue is known to bind to siglecs 1, 4, and 8 [6] as well as galectin 4 [7][8], but its biological role is not that well investigated. Compound 2 is a new compound but two syntheses of compound

Photoinduced in situ generation of DNA-targeting ligands: DNA-binding and DNA-photodamaging properties of benzo[c]quinolizinium ions

• Julika Schlosser,
• Olga Fedorova,
• Yuri Fedorov and
• Heiko Ihmels

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 101–117, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.11

• cancer [39], and bacterial, fungal, parasitic and viral infections [40][41]. In general, PDT operates on the basis of a photosensitizer, which generates reactive intermediates upon irradiation [42][43][44][45]. Hence, in the type-I mechanism the photosensitizer induces the formation of reactive oxygen

• , unlike type-II photosensitizers. In fact, the representative compound 3f is a more efficient DNA-damaging photosensitizer under anaerobic conditions, which may be an advantage for applications in hypoxic cancer cells. Preliminary investigations of the mechanism of the DNA damage revealed the involvement

GlAIcomics: a deep neural network classifier for spectroscopy-augmented mass spectrometric glycans data

• Thomas Barillot,
• Baptiste Schindler,
• Baptiste Moge,
• Elisa Fadda,
• Franck Lépine and
• Isabelle Compagnon

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1825–1831, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.134

• spectra for cancer classification [8] and many research groups focused their efforts on using machine learning for simulating molecular structures; generating vibrational spectra; and classifying chemical groups based on vibrational features [9][10]. In a recent publication, the random forest approach was

Synthetic approach to 2-alkyl-4-quinolones and 2-alkyl-4-quinolone-3-carboxamides based on common β-keto amide precursors

• Yordanka Mollova-Sapundzhieva,
• Plamen Angelov,
• Danail Georgiev and
• Pavel Yanev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1804–1810, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.132

• monoamine oxidase [14], cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines [15], activity against nuclear factor of activated T cells [16], and anti-inflammatory activity [17]. Alkaloids with similar structure and anti-inflammatory activity have been isolated from another member of the Rutaceae family – Zanthoxylum

Effects of the aldehyde-derived ring substituent on the properties of two new bioinspired trimethoxybenzoylhydrazones: methyl vs nitro groups

• Dayanne Martins,
• Roberta Lamosa,
• Talis Uelisson da Silva,
• Carolina B. P. Ligiero,
• Sérgio de Paula Machado,
• Daphne S. Cukierman and
• Nicolás A. Rey

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1713–1727, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.125

• cell membrane integrity [21]. In the context of cancer therapy development, metal complexes of N-acylhydrazones stand out. For example, Firmino et al. demonstrated that gallium(III) complexes of isoniazid-derived hydrazones exhibit strong cytotoxicity against HL-60 and HCT-116 cancer cell lines [22

• ]. The study also found that those coordination compounds were selective towards abnormal cells, exhibiting lower toxicity for healthy human hepatocytes. On the other hand, an important development in cancer research is the use of physiological metal ion complexes, which afford more biocompatibility and

• thus less side-effects in therapy [23]. In this sense, we have reported dicopper(II) complexes from different N-acylhydrazonic binucleating ligands with potent antiproliferative activity against a panel of cancer cell lines [24][25][26]. On the field of neurodegeneration, our research group was the

Morpholine-mediated defluorinative cycloaddition of gem-difluoroalkenes and organic azides

• Tzu-Yu Huang,
• Mario Djugovski,
• Sweta Adhikari,
• Destinee L. Manning and
• Sudeshna Roy

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1545–1554, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.111

• -trisubstituted-1,2,3-triazoles, with a pendant morpholine at the C-4 position are formed with complete regiocontrol via β-fluoride elimination in an SNV-like transformation (Figure 1C). 1,2,3-Triazoles are a privileged scaffold in medicinal chemistry with a myriad of pharmacological activities against cancer [11

Synthesis and biological evaluation of Argemone mexicana-inspired antimicrobials

• Jessica Villegas,
• Bryce C. Ball,
• Katelyn M. Shouse,
• Caleb W. VanArragon,
• Ashley N. Wasserman,
• Hannah E. Bhakta,
• Allen G. Oliver,
• Danielle A. Orozco-Nunnelly and
• Jeffrey M. Pruet

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1511–1524, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.108

• explored screening methanol and hexane extracts of various parts of the A. mexicana plant (seeds, leaves, inner vs outer roots) for biological activity with the outer root methanol extract showing the highest activity against Gram-positive bacteria as well as inhibitory effects against human colon cancer

• cells [9]. The quantification of c-MYC (oncogene) and APC (tumor suppressor) mRNA levels helped begin to elucidate how the A. mexicana root methanol extract may be affecting colon cancer cells. After chromatographic separations, UPLC–MS, and subsequent nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of the root and

• A. mexicana extract [9]. All variants were assessed against T84 colon cancer cells, using the MTT colorimetric assay, and compared to the parent compounds berberine or chelerythrine. As seen in Figure 5, several berberine variants showed fairly dynamic effects on the cancer cell viability, while

N-Sulfenylsuccinimide/phthalimide: an alternative sulfenylating reagent in organic transformations

• Fatemeh Doraghi,
• Seyedeh Pegah Aledavoud,
• Mehdi Ghanbarlou,
• Bagher Larijani and
• Mohammad Mahdavi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1471–1502, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.106

• synthesis, medicinal chemistry, and materials science [1][2][3][4][5]. For example, they are used in the treatment of cancer [6][7][8], inflammation [9][10][11], human immunodeficiency virus [12][13], Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases [14][15]. Scheme 1 shows selected examples of sulfur-containing

Visible-light-induced nickel-catalyzed α-hydroxytrifluoroethylation of alkyl carboxylic acids: Access to trifluoromethyl alkyl acyloins

• Feng Chen,
• Xiu-Hua Xu,
• Zeng-Hao Chen,
• Yue Chen and
• Feng-Ling Qing

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1372–1378, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.98

• experiments showed that trifluoromethyl acyloins can selectively induce apoptosis in human oral cancer cells [22][23] and have therefore attracted much more attention. However, trifluoromethyl acyloins were not widely used due to the challenge associated with their synthesis. Certain progress has been made in

Synthesis of ether lipids: natural compounds and analogues

• Marco Antônio G. B. Gomes,
• Alicia Bauduin,
• Chloé Le Roux,
• Romain Fouinneteau,
• Wilfried Berthe,
• Mathieu Berchel,
• Hélène Couthon and
• Paul-Alain Jaffrès

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1299–1369, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.96

• generally more abundant in cancer tissues than in normal human tissues [14]. It was also reported that the rate of neutral ether lipids in cancer cell line (quantified in vitro) was correlated to the tumorigenicity of the cancer cell lines in vivo [15]. However, the improvement of the analytical technics

• that now produces more accurate quantification of lipids with a distinction of neutral EL and phosphoglycero ELs produced contradictory data. Indeed, a recent study that focused on ether glycerophospholipids (alkyl and alkenyl ether lipids) indicates that in breast cancer cells (average of 9 breast

• cancer cell lines) the PC and PE ether lipids (alkyl and alkenyl together) were down regulated when compared to normal cells (MCF10A) with some variation in the different classes of lipid (PC, PE, PI, PS) [16]. However, alkylglyceronephosphate synthase (AGPS) is highly expressed in aggressive breast

Two new lanostanoid glycosides isolated from a Kenyan polypore Fomitopsis carnea

• Winnie Chemutai Sum,
• Sherif S. Ebada,
• Didsanutda Gonkhom,
• Cony Decock,
• Rémy Bertrand Teponno,
• Josphat Clement Matasyoh and
• Marc Stadler

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1161–1169, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.84

• (L929) (IC50 = 15.2 µM), breast cancer cells (MCF-7) (17.6 µM), and prostate cancer cells (PC-3) (18.9 µM). Discussion The introduction of a hydroxy group at C-2 rendered forpinioside C (2) inactive in antimicrobial assays compared to forpinioside B (1), however; both compounds were not active in the

• potency against cancer cells in the presence of a 3-OH group. Notably, hydrolysis of the C3-acetoxy group in pachymic acid to tumulosic acid increased the activity of the compound compared to the positive control (cisplatin), in some instances [36]. Concomitantly, the oxidation of the hydroxy group at C-3

• used in determining the cytotoxicity (IC50) of the isolated compounds as previously established [38][39]. The mammalian cell lines (mouse fibroblasts L929, adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial cells A549, HeLa cells KB-3-1, breast cancer cells MCF-7, epidermoid carcinoma cells (A431), and