Regulation of HuR structure and function by dihydrotanshinone-I

The Human antigen R protein (HuR) is an RNA-binding protein that recognizes U/AU-rich elements in diverse RNAs through two RNA-recognition motifs, RRM1 and RRM2, and post-transcriptionally regulates the fate of target RNAs. The natural product dihydrotanshinone-I (DHTS) prevents the association of HuR and target RNAs in vitro and in cultured cells by interfering with the binding of HuR to RNA. Here, we report the structural determinants of the interaction between DHTS and HuR and the impact of DHTS on HuR binding to target mRNAs transcriptome-wide. NMR titration and Molecular Dynamics simulation identified the residues within RRM1 and RRM2 responsible for the interaction between DHTS and HuR. RNA Electromobility Shifts and Alpha Screen Assays showed that DHTS interacts with HuR through the same binding regions as target RNAs, stabilizing HuR in a locked conformation that hampers RNA binding competitively. HuR ribonucleoprotein immunoprecipitation followed by microarray (RIP-chip) analysis showed that DHTS treatment of HeLa cells paradoxically enriched HuR binding to mRNAs with longer 3'UTR and with higher density of U/AU-rich elements, suggesting that DHTS inhibits the association of HuR to weaker target mRNAs. In vivo, DHTS potently inhibited xenograft tumor growth in a HuR-dependent model without systemic toxicity

Introduction to combinatorial chemistry and technologies : principles and methods

An introduction to the huse of high throughput technologies (HTS, combinatorial chemistry, virtual screening, etc) in various areas was presented and exemplified

Overview of Combinatorial Technologies in Modern Natural Products Research

The use of high throughput technologies (HTS, combinatorial chemistry) to facilitate the discovery and structural optimization of natural products in South East Asian Countries, and particularly in Thailand, was discussed and exemplified

The Effects of Combinatorial Chemistry and Technologies on Drug Discovery and Biotechnology – a Mini Review

The review will focus on the aspects of combinatorial chemistry and technologies that are more relevant in the modern pharmaceutical process. An historical, critical introduction is followed by three chapters, dealing with the use of combinatorial chemistry/high throughput synthesis in medicinal chemistry; the rational design of combinatorial libraries using computer-assisted combinatorial drug design; and the use of combinatorial technologies in biotechnology. The impact of “combinatorial thinking” in drug discovery in general, and in the examples reported in details, is critically discussed. Finally, an expert opinion on current and future trends in combinatorial chemistry and combinatorial technologies is provided

(4S)-p.Hydroxybenzyl-1,3-Oxazolidin-2-one as Solid Supported Chiral Auxiliary in Asymmetric 1,3-Dipolar Cycloadditions

Evans' chiral auxiliary was grafted onto both Merrifield and Wang resins and, after functionalisation, they were used as chiral dipolarophiles in a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition involving both a nitrile oxide and a nitrone. The cycloadducts were cleaved and analysed by chiral HPLC: the recovered supported chiral oxazolidinone was functionalised and reused in further cycloadditions. The stereochemical results as well as the possibility of recycling the chiral linker supports the applicability of solid-supported chiral auxiliaries

Solid supported chiral auxiliaries in asymmetric synthesis. Part 2: Catalysis of 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions by Mg(II) cation

1,3-Dipolar cycloadditions of supported Evans' chiral auxiliary with nitrile oxides and nitrones in the presence of Mg(II) cation as catalyst were evaluated. The presence of acetonitrile as co-solvent was found to be fundamental for the Lewis acid catalysis on solid-phase. The regio- and stereochemical outcome of nitrile oxide cycloadditions is influenced by nearly stoichiometric quantities of the cation, whilst catalytic amounts of Mg(II) influence both the reactivity and the stereoselectivity of the nitrone cycloadditions. The results obtained support a reaction mechanism involving the coordination of the Mg(II) to the dicarbonyl fragment of the chiral auxiliary