A Minimalist Approach to the Design of Complexity-Enriched Bioactive Small Molecules: Discovery of Phenanthrenoid Mimics as Antiproliferative Agents

Development of an Improved Guanidine-Based Rac1 Inhibitor with in vivo Activity against Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

The Rho GTPase Rac1 is involved in the control of cytoskeleton reorganization and other fundamental cellular functions. Aberrant activity of Rac1 and its regulators is common in human cancer. In particular, deregulated expression/activity of Rac GEFs, responsible for Rac1 activation, has been associated to a metastatic phenotype and drug resistance. Thus, the development of novel Rac1-GEF interaction inhibitors is a promising strategy for finding new preclinical candidates. Here, we studied structure-activity relationships within a new family of N,N'-disubstituted guanidine as Rac1 inhibitors. We found that compound 1D-142, presents superior antiproliferative activity in human cancer cell lines and higher potency as Rac1-GEF interaction inhibitor in vitro than parental compounds. In addition, 1D-142 reduces Rac1-mediated TNFα-induced NF-κB nuclear translocation during cell proliferation and migration in NSCLC. Notably, 1D-142 allowed us to show for the first time the application of a Rac1 inhibitor in a lung cancer animal model.

Construction of Highly Functionalized Piperazinones via Post-Ugi Cyclization and Diastereoselective Nucleophilic Addition

A novel method for the generation of uniquely functionalized piperazinones by utilizing post-Ugi functionalization is described. The method involves an Ugi reaction with aminoacetaldehyde dimethyl acetal, followed by acid-mediated cyclization to generate the iminium precursor that was subjected to nucleophilic addition in a diastereoselective manner. The method was also employed to synthesize trans-dragmacidine C and praziquantel-like molecules.