Research Foundation ITSUU Laboratory

Nitrones are pivotal in organic chemistry, especially for the synthesis of natural and biologically active compounds via 1,3‐dipolar cycloadditions and Kinugasa reactions. Although numerous methods have been reported for the synthesis of nitrones with an sp3 carbon connected to a nitrogen atom, the development of nitrones with an sp2 carbon linkage, including N‐vinyl, N‐aryl, and N‐alkoxycarbonyl nitrones, remains relatively underexplored. This review summarizes the current research trends and methodologies for the direct synthesis of nitrones, in which an sp2 carbon is directly bonded to a nitrogen atom, beginning with oximes.

Abstractδ,ϵ‐Unsaturated oximes, on heating with O‐alkyl S‐(pyridin‐2‐yl)carbonothioates (PySCO2R) in refluxing toluene, undergo intramolecular cycloaddition to give N‐alkoxycarbonylated multi‐cyclic compounds. Mechanistic studies indicate that the reaction involves direct generation of N‐alkoxycarbonyl nitrones followed by cycloaddition, instead of intramolecular oxime‐olefin cycloaddition (IOOC) followed by alkoxycarbonylation. DFT calculation indicates that N‐alkoxycarbonylation of oxime with PySCO2R is a concerted reaction. The reaction of oxime with a chiral alkoxycarbonylation reagent exhibits a reasonably high diastereo‐face selectivity.

Background: Whether acupuncture treatment employing multiple penetrating, skin-touch placebo, or no-touch placebo needles designed for double blinding actually do blind practitioners and patients has not been investigated. We aimed to investigate this question. Subjects: 120 patients with functional neck/shoulder stiffness but in otherwise healthy condition were randomly assigned to a treatment using four penetrating, four skin-touch placebo, or four no-touch placebo needles. Each of six acupuncturists applied four needles to four acupoints in the neck/shoulder of 20 patients. Acupuncturists and patients were asked to guess the treatment mode and their confidence in their guesses on 100 mm visual analog scales. Results: The kappa coefficients between practitioner guesses and treatment type and between patient guesses and treatment type were 0.15 and 0.44, respectively. The median score of practitioner confidence was 46.8, and no significant difference in confidence between correct and incorrect guesses was revealed for any treatment. The median score of patient confidence for correct guesses was 77.6. The kappa coefficient between practitioner and patient guesses was 0.06. Conclusions: The practitioners were blinded to the nature of treatment using the same multiple needles, but patient blinding was insufficient. Further improvement is necessary to achieve satisfactory patient blinding with these acupuncture needles.

Abstract Oxazolidinones (Vb), (VII), and (IX) show 2‐ to 3‐fold greater antibacterial activities against Gram‐positive, Gram‐negative and linezolid‐resistent pathogens than linezolid in a systemic mouse infection model.

Stimulation of retinoic acid receptors (RARs) protects midbrain dopaminergic neurons, presumably via up-regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression. The present study was focused on unexplored signaling mechanisms linking RAR stimulation to BDNF expression. Rat midbrain slice cultures treated with an RAR agonist Am80 showed increased tissue levels of BDNF mRNA and protein as compared to cultures without treatment. Am80-induced increase in BDNF expression was observed in dopaminergic neurons, which was blocked by inhibition of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation. We also found that Am80 increased neuronal nitric oxide synthase expression in dopaminergic neurons even during ERK inhibition, and this increase was accompanied by 8-nitro-cyclic GMP formation. Notably, the effect of Am80 on BDNF expression was attenuated by inhibitors of nitric oxide synthase, soluble guanylyl cyclase and cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG). Am80-induced ERK phosphorylation in dopaminergic neurons was also attenuated by inhibition of soluble guanylyl cyclase and PKG. Moreover, 8-Br-cyclic GMP induced ERK phosphorylation and BDNF expression in dopaminergic neurons. These results suggest that, by recruiting cyclic GMP and PKG, neuronal nitric oxide synthase-derived nitric oxide plays a novel and essential role in RAR signaling leading to ERK-dependent BDNF up-regulation in midbrain dopaminergic neurons.

Based on the structures of potent RXR agonists 2 and 3, novel dibenzodiazepine derivatives 4 ― 6, containing two diphenylamine substructures, were designed as RXR modulator candidates and synthesized by utilizing Pd-catalyzed and Cu-promoted diphenylamine-generating reactions as key reactions. These compounds showed retinoid-synergistic activity, enhancing the HL-60 cell differentiation-inducing ability of the RAR agonist Am80.

The major substrate underlying amphetamine (AMPH)-induced locomotor activity is associated with dopamine forebrain circuits. Brain regions associated with AMPH-induced locomotor activity express high levels of retinoid receptors. However, the role of these transcription factors in dopamine-mediated effects remains poorly understood. Two nuclear receptor families, the retinoic acid receptors (RAR) and the retinoid X receptors (RXR), transduce retinoic acid signal. RARs are specifically involved in retinoid signaling, whereas RXRs also participate in other signaling pathways as partners for other nuclear receptors such as Nur77, an orphan member of the nuclear receptor family expresses in dopamine system. To explore the role of retinoid receptors and Nur77 in AMPH-induced locomotor activity, we administered selective retinoid receptor drugs in combination with AMPH in adult wild-type and Nur77-deficient mice. At a low dose, AMPH similarly increased ambulatory activity in wild-type and Nur77-deficient mice, while it did not alter non-ambulatory activity. At a high dose, AMPH did not alter ambulatory activity anymore, while non-ambulatory activity strongly increased in wild-type mice. Nur77-deficient mice still displayed a higher ambulatory activity with no change in non-ambulatory activity. HX531, a synthetic RXR antagonist, blocks AMPH-induced ambulatory activity, whereas RAR drugs tested remained without effect. Interestingly, the effect of HX531 was abolished in Nur77-deficient mice, suggesting that this orphan nuclear receptor is essential for the action of the RXR drug. This study shows that RXR and Nur77 participate in AMPH-induced locomotor activity and prompts for further investigations on the role of Nur77 and RXR in addiction and reward-related behaviors.

In this study, the authors evaluated the psychophysiological effects of video games on users.Although video games affect users in various ways, this study focused on the shortterm and direct effects.In an experiment, subjects played five kinds of video games on portable game machines for fifteen minutes.While each subject played a game, the authors measured the potential skin reaction during game play and profiled the subject's mood states and stress markers before and after he or she played.The authors examined the differences between the various games, the players' skills, and the information to play the game.