The immune status of the tumor microenvironment is a key indicator in determining the antitumor effectiveness of immunotherapies. Data support the role of activation and expansion of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in increasing the benefit of immunotherapies in patients with solid tumors. We found that intratumoral injection of a tumor-selective oncolytic vaccinia virus encoding interleukin-7 (IL-7) and IL-12 into tumor-bearing immunocompetent mice activated the inflammatory immune status of previously poorly immunogenic tumors and resulted in complete tumor regression, even in distant tumor deposits. Mice achieving complete tumor regression resisted rechallenge with the same tumor cells, suggesting establishment of long-term tumor-specific immune memory. Combining this virotherapy with anti–programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) or anti–cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA4) antibody further increased the antitumor activity as compared to virotherapy alone, in tumor models unresponsive to either of the checkpoint inhibitor monotherapies. These findings suggest that administration of an oncolytic vaccinia virus carrying genes encoding for IL-7 and IL-12 has antitumor activity in both directly injected and distant noninjected tumors through immune status changes rendering tumors sensitive to immune checkpoint blockade. The benefit of intratumoral IL-7 and IL-12 expression was also observed in humanized mice bearing human cancer cells. These data support further investigation in patients with non-inflamed solid tumors.

The selective synthesis of 1,2,3,4-tetrasubstituted carbazoles can be performed effectively through the palladium-catalyzed oxidative coupling reactions of N-substituted indoles or their carboxylic acid derivatives with alkynes. Unsymmetrically octasubstituted carbazoles can also be obtained by the stepwise couplings of 1-methylpyrrole-2-carboxylic acid with two different alkynes. In addition, the present coupling procedure is applicable to the synthesis of other various heteroarenes possessing di-, tri-, and tetracyclic cores. Some of the products exhibit intense fluorescence in the solid state.

The palladium-catalyzed oxidative coupling of indole-3-carboxylic acids with alkynes effectively proceeds in a 1:2 manner accompanied by decarboxylation to produce the corresponding 1,2,3,4-tetrasubstituted carbazoles, some of which exhibit solid-state fluorescence. Pyrrole-, benzofuran-, and furancarboxylic acids also undergo the decarboxylative coupling to afford highly substituted indole, dibenzofuran, and benzofuran derivatives, respectively.

Readily available cinnamic acid derivatives such as ferulic acid couple with beta-bromostyrenes and 1-bromo-4-phenylbutadiene under palladium catalysis accompanied by decarboxylation to produce the corresponding alpha,omega-diarylbutadienes and -hexatrienes, respectively. Some of the products exhibit solid-state fluorescence.

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Readily available cinnamic acids possessing a hydroxy group including ferulic acid efficiently undergo direct decarboxylative arylation under palladium catalysis to form hydroxylated stilbenes. The reaction of related acids is also described.

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