Biomedical subjects

Le Wang

Publications and source records attributed to Le Wang.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2003

Molecular basis of lithium action: integration of lithium-responsive signaling and gene expression networks.

The clinical efficacy of lithium in the prophylaxis of recurrent affective episodes in bipolar disorder is characterized by a lag in onset and remains for weeks to months after discontinuation. Thus, the long-term therapeutic effect of lithium likely requires reprogramming of gene expression. Protein kinase C and glycogen synthase kinase-3 signal transduction pathways are perturbed by chronic lithium at therapeutically relevant concentrations and have been implicated in modulating synaptic function in nerve terminals. These signaling pathways offer an opportunity to model critical signals for altering gene expression programs that underlie adaptive responses of neurons to long-term lithium exposure. While the precise physiological events critical for the clinical efficacy of lithium remain unknown, we propose that linking lithium-responsive genes as a regulatory network will provide a strategy to identify signature gene expression patterns that distinguish between therapeutic and nontherapeutic actions of lithium.

Antimanic Agents↗

PubMed2002

Transcriptional regulation of mouse MARCKS promoter in immortalized hippocampal cells.

Mouse MARCKS is a prominent myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate implicated in brain development, calcium/calmodulin signaling, and membrane cytoskeletal restructuring, and is developmentally regulated in a cell- and tissue-specific fashion. In this study, transcriptional regulation of mouse MARCKS promoter in the neuronally derived immortalized hippocampal cells (HN33) was examined for a portion of 5'-flanking genomic sequence from -993 to +1 relative to the translation start site. Transfection experiments carried out in this neural cell line identified, for the first time, that the distal promoter segment from -993 to -713 plays a crucial role as an enhancer/activator element in the up-regulation of the basal transcription activity driven by MARCKS core promoter sequence. Motif analyses revealed at least 12 overlapping potential transcription factor binding sites in this region, among which a prominent GA-rich sequence centered at -765 has been shown to be functionally important in the binding of Sp1 protein-like complex. Deletion of the GA-rich segment significantly reduced the MARCKS promoter activity. Further, competitive EMSA indicated two additional sites within the -993/-713 that may also interact with Sp1 protein, demonstrating that the activator function of -993/-713 is under control of multiple Sp1 transcription factors. Unlike the distal promoter sequence, the proximal core promoter sequence (-649/-438) contains a GC-rich box and a Z-DNA-forming segment and is critical to basal transcription. The deletion of -649/-438 segment has been shown to drastically impair the promoter activity even in the presence of -993/-713, suggesting that its presence is also important to the function of -993/-713. These data emphasize that the synergistic interaction between distal and proximal promoter sequences is indispensable for the optimal MARCKS promoter function in the immortalized hippocampal cells. The discovery of the activator function of the MARCKS distal promoter region, and its potential interaction with multiple Sp proteins may provide a new clue to the understanding of Macs transcriptional regulation in brain.

5' Flanking Region↗

PubMed2002

Potent, orally active heterocycle-based combretastatin A-4 analogues: synthesis, structure-activity relationship, pharmacokinetics, and in vivo antitumor activity evaluation.

The synthesis and structure-activity relationship study of a series of compounds with heterocycles in place of the cis double bond in combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) are described. Substituted tosylmethyl isocyanides were found to be the key intermediates in construction of the heterocycles. Cytotoxicities of the heterocycle-based CA-4 analogues were evaluated against NCI-H460 and HCT-15 cancer cell lines. 3-Amino-4-methoxyphenyl and N-methyl-indol-5-yl were the best replacements for the 3-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl in CA-4. 4,5-Disubstituted imidazole was found to be the best for the replacement of the cis double bond in CA-4. Medicinal chemistry efforts led to the discovery of compounds 24h and 25f that were found to be 32 and 82% bioavailable, respectively, in rat. Evaluation of 24h and 25f against murine M5076 reticulum sarcoma in mice revealed that both compounds were orally efficacious with an increase in life span of 38.5 and 40.5%, respectively.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMed1999

The Stille Reaction of 1,1-Dibromo-1-alkenes: Preparation of Trisubstituted Alkenes and Internal Alkynes.

The Stille reaction of 1,1-dibromo-1-alkenes 1 with aryl- and vinylstannanes produces different products depending on the reaction conditions. When the reaction is run in toluene or 1,4-dioxane with tris(2-furyl)phosphine (TFP) as the ligand, (Z)-bromoalkenes 2 are obtained stereospecifically in good to excellent yields with most substrates. However, 2-aryl-1,1-dibromo-1-alkenes (1e,1g) having an electron-donating methoxy group in the para- or ortho- position give poor yields. This method has been applied to the one-pot syntheses of stereospecifically trisubstituted alkenes 5. When the Stille reaction is conducted in a highly dipolar solvent (DMF), monobromides 2 and/or internal alkynes 4 are the products. The less reactive phenylstannane favors the formation of alkynes 4, regardless of which ligand is used. More reactive organostannanes (vinyl, furyl) require a very electron rich ligand, tris(4-methoxyphenyl)phosphine, for the formation of alkynes 4. This new method for internal alkyne preparation is general, requires very mild reaction conditions, and gives high yields.

Journal Article↗