The direct functionalization of C-H bonds in organic compounds has recently emerged as a powerful and ideal method for the formation of carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds. This Review provides an overview of C-H bond functionalization strategies for the rapid synthesis of biologically active compounds such as natural products and pharmaceutical targets.

The structure of acetonitrile−water mixtures has been investigated by X-ray diffraction with an imaging plate detector and IR spectroscopy over a wide range of acetonitrile mole fractions (0.0 ≤ X AN ≤ 1.0). Reichardt E T N and Sone-Fukuda D II,I values were also measured for the mixtures. It has been found from the X-ray data that in pure acetonitrile an acetonitrile molecule interacts with two nearest neighbors by antiparallel dipole−dipole interaction together with a small shift of the two molecular centers and that two acetonitrile molecules in the second-neighbor shell interact with a central molecule through parallel dipole−dipole interaction. Thus, acetonitrile molecules are alternately aligned to form a zigzag cluster. On addition of water into pure acetonitrile, water molecules interact with acetonitrile molecules through a dipole−dipole interaction in an antiparallel orientation. The IR spectra of O−D and C⋮N stretching vibrations, observed for mixtures of acetonitrile AN and water containing 20% D2O, suggested that hydrogen bonds are also formed between acetonitrile and water molecules in the mixtures at X AN ≤ 0.8. The average numbers of the first- and second-neighbor acetonitrile molecules gradually increase with increasing water content with an almost constant first-neighbor distance and slightly decreased second-neighbor ones. Thus, acetonitrile molecules are assembled to form three-dimensionally expanded clusters; the acetonitrile clusters are surrounded by water molecules through both hydrogen bonding and dipole−dipole interaction. The X-ray radial distribution functions and IR spectra suggest that the hydrogen bond network of water is enhanced in the mixtures at X AN < 0.6. The concentration dependence of E T N and D II,I values determined reflects well the above-mentioned behavior of water molecules in the mixtures. These findings suggest that both water and acetonitrile clusters coexist in the mixtures in the range of 0.2 ≤ X AN < 0.6, i.e., “microheterogeneity” occurs in the acetonitrile−water mixtures.

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Alternatively activated (also known as M2) macrophages are involved in the repair of various types of organs. However, the contribution of M2 macrophages to cardiac repair after myocardial infarction (MI) remains to be fully characterized. Here, we identified CD206+F4/80+CD11b+ M2-like macrophages in the murine heart and demonstrated that this cell population predominantly increases in the infarct area and exhibits strengthened reparative abilities after MI. We evaluated mice lacking the kinase TRIB1 (Trib1-/-), which exhibit a selective depletion of M2 macrophages after MI. Compared with control animals, Trib1-/- mice had a catastrophic prognosis, with frequent cardiac rupture, as the result of markedly reduced collagen fibril formation in the infarct area due to impaired fibroblast activation. The decreased tissue repair observed in Trib1-/- mice was entirely rescued by an external supply of M2-like macrophages. Furthermore, IL-1α and osteopontin were suggested to be mediators of M2-like macrophage-induced fibroblast activation. In addition, IL-4 administration achieved a targeted increase in the number of M2-like macrophages and enhanced the post-MI prognosis of WT mice, corresponding with amplified fibroblast activation and formation of more supportive fibrous tissues in the infarcts. Together, these data demonstrate that M2-like macrophages critically determine the repair of infarcted adult murine heart by regulating fibroblast activation and suggest that IL-4 is a potential biological drug for treating MI.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is known as a selective endothelial cell mitogen that promotes angiogenesis and increases blood vessel formation in vivo. Here we report that VEGF has protective effects on primary hippocampal neurons against glutamate toxicity by acting on phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3‐K)/Akt pathways and mitogen‐activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)/extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (ERK) pathways, operating independently of one another. Decrease in the VEGF's neuroprotective effect resulting from inhibition of either pathway alone was significantly enhanced by simultaneous inhibition of both pathways. However, adenovirus‐mediated expression of either the active form of Akt or of MEK significantly inhibited glutamate‐induced neuronal death. Treatment with antisense ODN against Flk‐1, but not against Flt‐1, blocked the effect of VEGF on the activation of Akt and ERK and glutamate‐induced neuronal death. These findings suggest that VEGF has a protective effect on hippocampal neurons against glutamate‐induced toxicity and that this effect is dependent on PI3‐ K/Akt and MEK/ERK signaling pathways mediated primarily through Flk‐1 receptor.

The rat homologue of a mitochondrial ATP-dependent protease Lon was cloned from cultured astrocytes exposed to hypoxia. Expression of Lon was enhanced in vitro by hypoxia or ER stress, and in vivo by brain ischemia. These observations suggested that changes in nuclear gene expression (Lon) triggered by ER stress had the potential to impact important mitochondrial processes such as assembly and/or degradation of cytochrome c oxidase (COX). In fact, steady-state levels of nuclear-encoded COX IV and V were reduced, and mitochondrial-encoded subunit II was rapidly degraded under ER stress. Treatment of cells with cycloheximide caused a similar imbalance in the accumulation of COX subunits, and enhanced mRNA for Lon and Yme1, the latter another mitochondrial ATP-dependent protease. Furthermore, induction of Lon or GRP75/mtHSP70 by ER stress was inhibited in PERK (−/−) cells. Transfection studies revealed that overexpression of wild-type or proteolytically inactive Lon promoted assembly of COX II into a COX I–containing complex, and partially prevented mitochondrial dysfunction caused by brefeldin A or hypoxia. These observations demonstrated that suppression of protein synthesis due to ER stress has a complex effect on the synthesis of mitochondrial-associated proteins, both COX subunits and ATP-dependent proteases and/or chaperones contributing to assembly of the COX complex.

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Survival factors suppress apoptosis by activating the serine/threonine kinase Akt. To investigate the molecular mechanism underlying activated Akt's ability to protect neurons from hypoxia or nitric oxide (NO) toxicity, we focused on the apoptosis-related functions of p53 and caspases. We eliminated p53 by employing p53-deficient neurons and increased p53 by infection with recombinant adenovirus capable of transducing p53 expression, and we now show that p53 is implicated in the apoptosis induced by hypoxia or NO treatments of primary cultured hippocampal neurons. Although hypoxia and NO induced p53, treatment with insulin-like growth factor-1 significantly inhibited caspase-3-like activation, neuronal death and transcriptional activity of p53. These insulin-like growth factor-1 effects are prevented by wortmannin, a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor. Adenovirus-mediated expression of activated-Akt kinase suppressed p53-dependent transcriptional activation of responsive genes such as Bax, suppressed caspase-3-like protease activity and suppressed neuronal cell death with no effect on the cellular accumulation and nuclear translocation of p53. In contrast, overexpression of kinase-defective Akt failed to suppress these same activities. These results suggest a mechanism where Akt kinase activation reduces p53's transcriptional activity that ultimately rescues neurons from hypoxia-or NO-mediated cell death.