Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune T cell-dependent B cell-mediated disorder of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) characterized by fluctuating skeletal muscle weakness, most commonly attributed to pathogenic autoantibodies against postsynaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs). Although MG pathogenesis is well-documented, there are no objective biomarkers that could effectively correlate with disease severity or MG clinical subtypes, and current treatment approaches are often ineffective. The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is a multiligand cell-bound receptor highly implicated in proinflammatory responses and autoimmunity. Preclinical evidence demonstrates that RAGE and its ligand S100B are upregulated in rat models of experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG). S100B-mediated RAGE activation has been shown to exacerbate EAMG, by enhancing T cell proinflammatory responses, aggravating T helper (Th) subset imbalance, increasing AChR-specific T cell proliferative capacity, and promoting the production of antibodies against AChRs from the spleen. Soluble sRAGE and esRAGE, acting as decoys of RAGE ligands, are found to be significantly reduced in MG patients. Moreover, MG has been associated with increased serum levels of S100A12, S100B and HMGB1. Several studies have shown that the presence of thymic abnormalities, the onset age of MG, and the duration of the disease may affect the levels of these proteins in MG patients. Herein, we discuss the emerging role of RAGE and its ligands in MG immunopathogenesis, their clinical significance as promising biomarkers, as well as the potential therapeutic implications of targeting RAGE signaling in MG treatment.
The brain neurotransmitter level is associated with the pathology of various neurodegenerative diseases, and age-dependent increase in the blood level of vasopressin, human brain monoamine oxidase (hMAO) level, oxidative stress, and imbalance in aminergic signaling are common disease-modifying factors leading to various neurodegenerative disorders. Based on the reports of emodin in hMAO inhibition and antagonist effect on the vasopressin V1A receptor, in this study we synthesized six emodin derivatives and evaluated their effects on MAO activity and G protein-coupled receptors. Among them, 4-hydroxyemodin and 5-hydroxyemodin were potent inhibitors of hMAO, and 2-hydroxyemodin and 5-hydroxyemodin were good V1AR antagonists. In silico molecular docking simulation revealed that the hydroxyl group at C2, C4, and C5 of the respective compounds interacted with prime residues, which corroborates the in vitro effect. Likewise, these three derivatives were predicted to have good drug-like properties. Overall, our study demonstrates that the hydroxyl derivatives of emodin are multi-target-directed ligands that may act as leads for the design and development of a therapy for central nervous system disorders.
Density functional theory computational investigation was performed to study the electronic structures, muon sites, and the associated hyperfine interactions in [Au25(SR)18]0 and [Au25(SeR)18]0 where R is phenylethane. The calculated electronic structures show inhomogeneous spin density distribution and are also affected by different ligands. The two most stable muon sites near Au atoms in the thiolated system are MAu11 and MAu6. When the thiolate ligands were replaced by selenolate ligands, the lowest energy positions of muons moved to MAu6 and MAu5. Muons prefer to stop inside the Au12 icosahedral shell, away from the central Au and the staple motifs region. Muonium states at phenyl ring and S/Se atoms in the ligand were found to be stable and the Fermi contact fields are much larger as compared to the field experienced by muons near Au atoms.
Highly active natural pandanus-extracted cellulose-supported poly(hydroxamic acid)-Cu(II) complex 4 was synthesized. The surface of pandanus cellulose was modified through graft copolymerization using purified methyl acrylate as a monomer. Then, copolymer methyl acrylate was converted into a bidentate chelating ligand poly(hydroxamic acid) via a Loosen rearrangement in the presence of an aqueous solution of hydroxylamine. Finally, copper species were incorporated into poly(hydroxamic acid) via the adsorption process. Cu(II) complex 4 was fully characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. The cellulose-supported Cu(II) complex 4 was successfully applied (0.005 mol %) to the Ullmann etherification of aryl, benzyl halides, and phenacyl bromide with a number of aromatic phenols to provide the corresponding ethers with excellent yield [benzyl halide (70-99%); aryl halide (20-90%)]. Cu(II) complex 4 showed high stability and was easily recovered from the reaction mixture. It could be reused up to seven times without loss of its original catalytic activity. Therefore, Cu(II) complex 4 can be commercially utilized for the preparation of various ethers, and this synthetic technique could be a part in the synthesis of natural products and medicinal compounds.
The existence of surface organic capping ligands on quantum dots (QDs) has limited the potential in QDs emission properties and energy band gap structure alteration as well as the carrier localization. This drawback can be addressed via depositing a thin layer of a semiconductor material on the surface of QDs. Herein, we report on the comparative study for photoluminescent (PL) properties of PbS and PbS/MnS QDs. The carrier localization effect due to the alteration of energy band gap structure and carrier recombination mechanism in the QDs were investigated via PL measurements in a temperature range of 10-300 K with the variation of the excitation power from 10 to 200 mW. For PbS QDs, the gradient of integrated PL intensity (IPL) as a function of excitation power density graph was less than unity. When the MnS shell layer was deposited onto the PbS core, the PL emission exhibited a blue shift, showing dominant carrier recombination. It was also found that the full width half-maximum showed a gradual broadening with the increasing temperature, affirming the electron-phonon interaction.
Aripiprazole (ARP), a quinolinone derivative, is an atypical antipsychotic drug that is used in the treatment of schizophrenia. ARP has an extensive distribution and more than 99% of the ARP and dehydro-ARP, the main active metabolite, is bound to plasma proteins. However, information regarding the protein binding of ARP is limited. In this study, we report on a systematic study of the protein binding of ARP. The interaction of ARP and structurally related compounds with human serum albumin (HSA) was examined using equilibrium dialysis, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, fluorescent probe displacement, and an X-ray crystallographic analysis. The binding affinities (nK) for ARP and its main metabolite, dehydro-ARP with HSA were found to be significantly higher than other structurally related compounds. The results of equilibrium dialysis experiments and CD spectral data indicated that the chloro-group linked to the phenylpiperazine ring in the ARP molecule plays a major role in the binding of these ligands to HSA. Furthermore, fluorescent probe displacement results indicated that ARP appears to bind at the site II pocket in subdomain III. A detailed CD spectral analysis suggests that the chloro-group linked to the phenylpiperazine ring may control the geometry of the ARP molecule when binding in the site II binding pocket. X-ray crystallographic analysis of the ARP-HSA complex revealed that the distance between the chlorine atom at the 3-positon of dichlorophenyl-piperazine on ARP and the sulfur atom of Cys392 in HSA was 3.4-3.6 Å. A similar halogen bond interaction has also been observed in the HSA structure complexed with diazepam, which also contains a chloro-group. Thus, the mechanism responsible for the binding of ARP to a protein elucidated here should be relevant for assessing the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ARP in various clinical situations and for designing new drugs.
In the title compound, [SbCl(2)(C(4)H(8)N(2)S)(2)]Cl, the coordination around the Sb atom can be described as distorted pseudo-octahedral. Both rings of the trimethylenethiourea ligands [alternatively 3,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidine-2(1H)-thione] adopt an envelope conformation. The molecules are connected into dimers in the ab plane by two intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The dimers are arranged into infinite one-dimensional chains along the a axis as a result of the Cl(-) ions forming intermolecular hydrogen bonds with three NH groups.
One half of the molecule of the title complex, [Mn(C(14)H(13)N(4)S)(2)], is related to the other half by a twofold axis passing through the Mn atom. This high-spin Mn atom is six-coordinated, in an octahedral geometry, by the azomethine N, the pyridyl N and the thiolate S atom of two planar 1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethanone N(4)-phenylthiosemicarbazone ligands. In the crystal, the molecules are interconnected by N-H.S and C-H.N interactions, forming a three-dimensional network.
In the ternary title compound, catena-poly[[silver(I)-mu-ethylenediamine-kappa(2)N:N'] 3-nitrobenzoate monohydrate], [[Ag(C(2)H(8)N(2))](C(7)H(4)NO(4)) x H(2)O](n), the Ag atom is bicoordinated in a linear configuration by two different N atoms from two symmetry-related ethylenediamine ligands, thus giving linear polymeric chains with an [-Ag-N-C-C-N-](n) backbone running parallel to the a axis. In the crystal packing, these linear chains are interconnected by N-H...O and O-H...O hydrogen bonds to form layers parallel to the ab plane.
In the crystal of the title complex, [Co(C(9)H(6)NO)(3)].C(2)H(5)OH, the central Co atom has a distorted octahedral coordination comprised of three N atoms and three O atoms from the three 8-quinolinolato ligands. The three Co-O bond distances are in the range 1.887 (2)-1.910 (2) A, while the three Co-N bond distances range from 1.919 (2) to 1.934 (2) A. The solvent ethanol molecule forms an intermolecular O-H.O hydrogen bonding with a quinolinolato ligand.
The title compound, [Sn(CH3)2(C5H8NOS2)2], has the Sn(IV) atom bound by two methyl groups which lie over the weaker Sn-S bonds formed by two asymmetrically chelating di-thio-carbamate ligands so that the coordination geometry is skew-trapezoidal bipyramidal. The most prominent feature of the mol-ecular packing are secondary Sn⋯S inter-actions [Sn⋯S = 3.5654 (7) Å] that lead to centrosymmetric dimers. These are connected into a three-dimensional architecture via methyl-ene-C-H⋯S and methyl-C-H⋯O(morpholino) inter-actions. The Sn⋯S inter-actions are clearly evident in the Hirshfeld surface analysis of the title compound along with a number of other inter-molecular contacts.
The complete mol-ecule of the title compound, [Sn(C4H9)2(C5H10NOS2)2], is generated by a crystallographic mirror plane, with the SnIV atom and the two inner methyl-ene C atoms of the butyl ligands lying on the mirror plane; statistical disorder is noted in the two terminal ethyl groups, which deviate from mirror symmetry. The di-thio-carbamate ligand coordinates to the metal atom in an asymmetric mode with the resulting C2S4 donor set defining a skew trapezoidal bipyramidal geometry; the n-butyl groups are disposed to lie over the longer Sn-S bonds. Supra-molecular chains aligned along the a-axis direction and sustained by methyl-ene-C-H⋯S(weakly coordinating) inter-actions feature in the mol-ecular packing. A Hirshfeld surface analysis reveals the dominance of H⋯H contacts in the crystal.
The title compound, [Re(C3H6NS2)(C2H3N)(CO)3], features an octa-hedrally coordinated Re(I) atom within a C3NS2 donor set defined by three carbonyl ligands in a facial arrangement, an aceto-nitrile N atom and two S atoms derived from a symmetrically coordinating di-thio-carbamate ligand. In the crystal, di-thio-carbamate-methyl-H⋯O(carbon-yl) inter-actions lead to supra-molecular chains along [36-1]; both di-thio-carbamate S atoms participate in intra-molecular methyl-H⋯S inter-actions. Further but weaker aceto-nitrile-C-H⋯O(carbonyl) inter-actions assemble mol-ecules in the ab plane. The nature of the supra-molecular assembly was also probed by a Hirshfeld surface analysis. Despite their weak nature, the C-H⋯O contacts are predominant on the Hirshfeld surface and, indeed, on those of related [Re(CO)3(C3H6NS2)L] structures.
The title compound, [Cd2(C8H8NS2)4], is a centrosymmetric dimer with both chelating and μ2-tridentate di-thio-carbamate ligands. The resulting S5 donor set defines a Cd(II) coordination geometry inter-mediate between square-pyramidal and trigonal-bipyramidal, but tending towards the former. The packing features C-H⋯S and C-H⋯π inter-actions, which generate a three-dimensional network. The influence of these inter-actions, along with intra-dimer π-π inter-actions between chelate rings, has been investigated by an analysis of the Hirshfeld surface.
The title phosphanegold(I) thiol-ate compound, [Au(C9H9N2O3S)(C21H21P)], is a second monoclinic polymorph (space group P21/c) that complements a previously reported Cc polymorph [Broker & Tiekink (2008 ▸). Acta Cryst. E64, m1582]. An SP donor set defines an approximately linear geometry about the gold atom in both forms. The key distinguishing feature between the present structure and the previously reported polymorph rests with the relative disposition of the thiol-ate ligand. In the title compound, the orientation is such to place the oxygen atom in close contact with the gold atom [Au⋯O = 2.915 (2) Å], in contrast to the aryl ring in the original polymorph. In the crystal, linear supra-molecular chains along the a-axis direction mediated by C-H⋯π and nitro-O⋯π inter-actions are found. These pack with no directional inter-actions between them. The analysis of the Hirshfeld surfaces for both forms of [Au(C9H9N3O3S)(C21H21P)] indicates quite distinctive inter-action profiles relating to the differences in inter-molecular contacts found in their respective crystals.
The crystal and mol-ecular structures of the two title organotin di-thio-carbamate compounds, [Sn(C4H9)2(C7H14NO2S2)2], (I), and [Sn(C6H5)3(C5H10NOS2)], (II), are described. Both structures feature asymmetrically bound di-thio-carbamate ligands leading to a skew-trapezoidal bipyramidal geometry for the metal atom in (I) and a distorted tetra-hedral geometry in (II). The complete mol-ecule of (I) is generated by a crystallographic twofold axis (Sn site symmetry 2). In the crystal of (I), mol-ecules self-assemble into a supra-molecular array parallel to (10-1) via methyl-ene-C-H⋯O(meth-oxy) inter-actions. In the crystal of (II), supra-molecular dimers are formed via pairs of weak phenyl-C-H⋯π(phen-yl) contacts. In each of (I) and (II), the specified assemblies connect into a three-dimensional architecture without directional inter-actions between them. Hirshfeld surface analyses confirm the importance of H⋯H contacts in the mol-ecular packing of each of (I) and (II), and in the case of (I), highlight the importance of short meth-oxy-H⋯H(but-yl) contacts between layers.
The full mol-ecule of the binuclear title compound, [Cd2Cl2(C6H8O4)(C6H8N2)2(H2O)2], is generated by the application of a centre of inversion located at the middle of the central CH2-CH2 bond of the adipate dianion; the latter chelates a CdII atom at each end. Along with two carboxyl-ate-O atoms, the CdII ion is coordinated by the two N atoms of the chelating benzene-1,2-di-amine ligand, a Cl- anion and an aqua ligand to define a distorted octa-hedral CdClN2O3 coordination geometry with the monodentate ligands being mutually cis. The disparity in the Cd-N bond lengths is related to the relative trans effect exerted by the Cd-O bonds formed by the carboxyl-ate-O and aqua-O atoms. The packing features water-O-H⋯O(carboxyl-ate) and benzene-1,2-di-amine-N-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds, leading to layers that stack along the a-axis direction. The lack of directional inter-actions between the layers is confirmed by a Hirshfeld surface analysis.
The common feature of the title compounds, [Zn(C5H10NO2S2)2(C10H8N2)]·2H2O, (I), and [Zn(C6H12NOS2)2(C10H8N2)], (II), is the location of the Zn(II) atoms on a twofold rotation axis. Further, each Zn(II) atom is chelated by two symmetry-equivalent and symmetrically coordinating di-thio-carbamate ligands and a 2,2'-bi-pyridine ligand. The resulting N2S4 coordination geometry is based on a highly distorted octa-hedron in each case. In the mol-ecular packing of (I), supra-molecular ladders mediated by O-H⋯O hydrogen bonding are found whereby the uprights are defined by {⋯HO(water)⋯HO(hy-droxy)⋯} n chains parallel to the a axis and with the rungs defined by 'Zn[S2CN(CH2CH2)2]2'. The water mol-ecules connect the ladders into a supra-molecular layer parallel to the ab plane via water-O-H⋯S and pyridyl-C-H⋯O(water) inter-actions, with the connections between layers being of the type pyridyl-C-H⋯S. In (II), supra-molecular layers parallel to the ab plane are sustained by hy-droxy-O-H⋯S hydrogen bonds with connections between layers being of the type pyridyl-C-H⋯S.
The title compound, [Cd(C6H12NOS2)2(C4H10N2)], features a distorted square-pyramidal coordination geometry about the central Cd(II) atom. The di-thio-carbamate ligands are chelating, forming similar Cd-S bond lengths and define the approximate basal plane. One of the N atoms of the piperazine mol-ecule, which adopts a chair conformation, occupies the apical site. In the crystal, supra-molecular layers propagating in the ac plane are formed via hy-droxy-O-H⋯O(hy-droxy), hy-droxy-O-H⋯N(terminal-piperazine) and coordinated-piperazine-N-H⋯O(hy-droxy) hydrogen bonds; the layers also feature methine-C-H⋯S inter-actions and S⋯S [3.3714 (10) Å] short contacts. The layers stack along the b-axis direction with very weak terminal-piperazine-N-H⋯O(hy-droxy) inter-actions between them. An evaluation of the Hirshfeld surfaces confirms the importance of inter-molecular inter-actions involving oxygen and sulfur atoms.
In the asymmetric unit of the title complex, [Ni(C16H14N3OS)2], the nickel ion is tetra-coordinated in a distorted square-planar geometry by two independent mol-ecules of the ligand which act as mononegative bidentate N,S-donors and form two five-membered chelate rings. The ligands are in trans (E) conformations with respect to the C=N bonds. The close approach of hydrogen atoms to the Ni(2+) atom suggests anagostic inter-actions (Ni⋯H-C) are present. The crystal structure is built up by a network of two C-H⋯O inter-actions. One of the inter-actions forms inversion dimers and the other links the mol-ecules into infinite chains parallel to [100]. In addition, a weak C-H⋯π inter-action is also present.