Metal-free iodination of arylaldehydes for total synthesis of aristogins A–F and hernandialFufang Wu, Chunmei Tang, Xuejian Li et al.|Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry|2024 Iodine is one of the most effective sources for iodination of aromatic compounds; however, its electrophilicity is insufficient for direct iodination. The selection of appropriate environmentally friendly and cost-effective oxidants in combination with iodine for the iodination of aromatic rings, along with its application in the synthesis of natural products, holds significant importance. A highly efficient method utilizing I(III) as the initiator has been successfully developed for monoiodination of arylaldehydes. The method demonstrates good compatibility with a wide range of (hetero)aromatic aldehydes, resulting in moderate to excellent yields, without the need for any toxic, volatile or explosive reagents. The synthesis of seven natural products, namely aristogins A-F and hernandial, was achieved through this iodination followed by Ullmann-type coupling.
Design and synthesis of novel cathepsin C inhibitors with anti-inflammatory activityXiaobao Shen, Nan Li, Miao Liu et al.|RSC Medicinal Chemistry|2024 value of 437 nM. It also showed a substantial enhancement in overall anti-inflammatory activity, achieving an inhibitory effect on NO release at 4.1 μM. Furthermore, molecular docking was conducted to analyze the mode of action with Cat C. And cell thermal shift analysis (CETSA) revealed that this compound increases the temperature tolerance of Cat C in a concentration-dependent manner, suggesting strong binding to the target Cat C. Prolonged pharmacological inhibition activity may result in the depletion of active NSPs.
Oral administration of probiotic colony-like micro-nano system for immunoregulation of rheumatoid arthritisFangke Zhang, Tao Ding, Jiancheng Zheng et al.|Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B|2025 Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease that requires long-term pharmacological management. Melittin, a peptide derived from bee venom, has shown promising therapeutic efficacy for RA by modulating immune balance. Given the critical role of the gut in immune regulation, oral administration of melittin could have significant clinical implications. However, this approach faces substantial challenges, including degradation by gastric fluids and off-target adverse effects, which compromise its efficacy and safety. To address these limitations, we developed an innovative orally administered, gut-targeted micro-nano system (SPM/AlgL) inspired by bacterial colonies. Herein, gas-shearing microfluidics is leveraged to monodisperse sialic acid-decorated peptide nanomedicines within calcium alginate microgels. These microspheres are then coated with probiotic biofilms, leveraging their acid resistance and intestinal adhesion properties. The biofilm coating effectively protects melittin from gastric degradation and enhances its accumulation in the mesenteric lymph nodes, thereby improving its targeting ability to inflammatory sites and reducing adverse effects. By modulating the Th1/Th2 and Th17/Treg ratios in the mesenteric lymph nodes and spleen tissues, this system successfully alleviates immune responses and efficiently mitigates the progression of arthritis. Overall, this oral therapeutic strategy demonstrates significant potential for advancing the immunotherapy of RA and other systemic autoimmune diseases.