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  2. Elastase Inhibitor Cyclotheonellazole A: Total Synthesis and In Vivo Biological Evaluation for Acute Lung Injury

Elastase Inhibitor Cyclotheonellazole A: Total Synthesis and In Vivo Biological Evaluation for Acute Lung Injury

  • J Med Chem. 2022 Feb 24;65(4):2971-2987. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c01583.
Yingjun Cui 1 Mengyi Zhang 1 Honglei Xu 1 Tingrong Zhang 1 Songming Zhang 1 Xiuhe Zhao 1 Peng Jiang 1 Jing Li 1 2 Baijun Ye 1 Yuanjun Sun 1 Mukuo Wang 1 Yangping Deng 2 Qing Meng 1 Yang Liu 1 Qiang Fu 3 Jianping Lin 1 4 Liang Wang 1 2 Yue Chen 1 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300353, People's Republic of China.
  • 2 College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, People's Republic of China.
  • 3 Tianjin 4th Centre Hospital, Tianjin 300140, People's Republic of China.
  • 4 Biodesign Center, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, People's Republic of China.
Abstract

Acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS) is one of the most common complications in COVID-19. Elastase has been recognized as an important target to prevent ALI/ARDS in the patient of COVID-19. Cyclotheonellazole A (CTL-A) is a natural macrocyclic peptide reported to be a potent Elastase Inhibitor. Herein, we completed the first total synthesis of CTL-A in 24 linear steps. The key reactions include three-component MAC reactions and two late-stage oxidations. We also provided seven CTL-A analogues and elucidated preliminary structure-activity relationships. The in vivo ALI mouse model further suggested that CTL-A alleviated acute lung injury with reductions in lung edema and pathological deterioration, which is better than sivelestat, one approved Elastase Inhibitor. The activity of CTL-A against Elastase, along with its cellular safety and well-established synthetic route, warrants further investigation of CTL-A as a candidate against COVID-19 pathogeneses.

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