Metal-ligand bond enthalpy data can afford invaluable insights into important reaction patterns in organometallic chemistry and catalysis. In this paper, the Fe-O and Fe-S homolytic bond dissociation energies [ΔH homo (Fe-O)'s and ΔH homo (Fe-S)'s] of two series of para-substituted phenoxydicarbonyl(h 5 -cyclopentadienyl) iron [p-G-C 6 H 4 OFp (1)] and (para-substituted benzenethiolato)dicarbonyl(h 5 -cyclopentadienyl) iron [p-G-C 6 H 4 SFp (2)] were studied using Hartree-Fock and density functional theory (DFT) methods with large basis sets. In this study, Fp is (h 5 -C 5 H 5 )Fe(CO) 2 , and G are NO 2 , CN, COMe, CO 2 Me, CF 3 , Br, Cl, F, H, Me, MeO, and NMe 2 . The results show that DFT methods can provide the best price/performance ratio and accurate predictions of ΔH homo (Fe-O)'s and ΔH homo (Fe-S)'s. The remote substituent effects on ΔH homo (Fe-O)'s and ΔH homo (Fe-S)'s [ΔΔH homo (Fe-O)'s and ΔΔH homo (Fe-S)'s] can also be satisfactorily predicted. The good correlations [r = 0.98 (g, 1), 0.98 (g, 2)] of ΔΔH homo (Fe-O)'s and ΔΔH homo (Fe-S)'s in series 1 and 2 with the substituent s p + constants imply that the para-substituent effects on ΔH homo (Fe-O)'s and ΔH homo (Fe-S)'s originate mainly from polar effects, but those on radical stability originate from both spin delocalization and polar effects. ΔΔH homo (Fe-O)'s (1) and ΔΔH homo (Fe-S)'s (2) conform to the captodative principle. Insight from this work may help the design of more effective catalytic processes.

The knowledge of accurate bond strengths is a fundamental basis for a proper analysis of chemical reaction mechanisms. Quantum chemical calculations at different levels of theory have been used to investigate heterolytic Fe–O and Fe–S bond energies of para‐substituted phenoxydicarbonyl(η5‐cyclopentadienyl) iron [p‐G‐C6H4O(η5‐C5H5)Fe(CO)2, abbreviated as p‐G‐C6H4OFp (1), where G = NO2, CN, COMe, CO2Me, CF3, Br, Cl, F, H, Me, MeO, and NMe2] and para‐substituted benzenethiolatodicarbonyl(η5‐cyclopentadienyl) iron [p‐G‐C6H4S(η5‐C5H5)Fe(CO)2, abbreviated as p‐G‐C6H4SFp (2)] complexes. The results show that BP86 and TPSSTPSS can provide the best price/performance ratio and more accurate predictions in the study of ΔHhet(Fe–O)'s and ΔHhet(Fe–S)'s. The excellent linear free‐energy relations [r = 0.99 (g, 1a), 1.00 (g, 2b)] among the ΔΔHhet (Fe–O)'s and Δpka's of O–H bonds of p‐G‐C6H4OH or ΔΔHhet(Fe‐S)'s and Δpka's of S–H bonds of p‐G‐C6H4SH imply that the governing structural factors for these bond scissions are similar. And the linear correlations [r = −0.99 (g, 1g), −0.98 (g, 2h)] among the ΔΔHhet (Fe‐O)'s or ΔΔHhet(Fe‐S)'s and the substituent σp− constants show that these correlations are in accordance with Hammett linear free‐energy relationships. The polar effects of these substituents and the basis set effects influence the accuracy of ΔHhet(Fe–O)'s or ΔHhet(Fe–S)'s. ΔΔHhet(Fe–O)'s(g) (1) and ΔΔHhet(Fe–S)'s(g)(2) follow the Capto‐dative principle. The substituent effects on the Fe–O bonds are much stronger than those on the less polar Fe–S bonds. Insight from this work may help the design of more effective catalytic processes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

BackgroundGreat progress has been achieved in the study of the aerobic glycolysis or the so-called Warburg effect in a variety of cancers; however, the regulation of the Warburg effect in Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has not been completely defined.MethodsGene expression pattern of NPC cells were used to test associations between Chibby and β-catenin expression. Chibby siRNAs and over-expression vector were transfected into NPC cells to down-regulate or up-regulate Chibby expression. Loss- and gain-of function assays were performed to investigate the role of Chibby in NPC cells. Western blot, cell proliferation, Glucose uptake, Lactate release, ATP level, and O2 consumption assays were used to determine the mechanism of Chibby regulation of underlying targets. Finally, immunohistochemistry assay of fresh NPC and nasopharyngeal normal tissue sample were used to detect the expression of Chibby, β-Catenin, and PDK1 by immunostaining.ResultsWe observed that Chibby, a β-catenin-associated antagonist, is down-regulated in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines and inhibits Wnt/β-Catenin signaling induced Warburg effect. Mechanism study revealed that Chibby regulates aerobic glycolysis in NPC cells through pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1(PDK1), an important enzyme involved in glucose metabolism. Moreover, Chibby suppresses aerobic glycolysis of NPC via Wnt/β-Catenin-Lin28/let7-PDK1 cascade. Chibby and PDK1 are critical for Wnt/β-Catenin signaling induced NPC cell proliferation both in vitro and in vivo. Finally, immunostaining assay of tissue samples provides an important clinical relevance among Chibby, Wnt/β-Catenin signaling and PDK1.ConclusionsOur study reveals an association between Chibby expression and cancer aerobic glycolysis, which highlights the importance of Wnt/β-catenin pathway in regulation of energy metabolism of NPC. These results indicate that Chibby and PDK1 are the potential target for NPC treatment.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13046-018-0769-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Aggregation of the amyloid beta-peptide (Abeta) into insoluble fibrils is a key pathological event in Alzheimer's disease. Cu(II) and Zn(II) ions were reported to be able to induce Abeta aggregation at nearly physiological concentrations in vitro. In this study, the binding modes of Cu(II) and Zn(II) in this process were explored by molecular modeling. In the pre-associated Abeta, Ntau atom of imidazole ring of His14, O atom of carbonyl of main-chain and two O atoms of water occupied the four ligand positions of the complex. While in the aggregated form of Abeta, the His13(N)-Metals-His14(N) bridges were formed through metal cross-linking action. These results would be helpful to put insight on revealing the formation mechanism of pathogenic Abeta aggregates in brain.

The stable conformations of both the trans- and cis-1,3-disubstituted Nb-benzyl stereoisomers of the Pictet - Spengler reaction have been determined by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography in order to better understand the C(1) -N(2) cis- to trans-isomerization process. In the Na-H series, the chair conformation was preferred for the trans-isomer 3a, while the cis-isomer 3b existed predominantly in the boat form. However, in the Na-methyl series (1a, 1b, 2a, 2b), both the cis (1b, 2b) and trans (1a, 2a) diastereomers existed in the chair conformation to relieve the A(1,2)-strain between the Na-methyl function and the substituent at C(1). The difference in the preferred conformations of the cis-isomers in the Na-H and Na-methyl series (as compared to the preferred conformations in the trans-isomers) can be employed to understand the reduced rate of epimerization of cis-2b into trans-2a as compared to 3b into 3a. This provides the structural basis for the carbocation-mediated intermediate in the C(1) - N(2) scission process.