Although the brain functions of specific acetyltransferases such as the CREB-binding protein (CBP) and p300 have been well documented using mutant transgenic mice models, studies based on their direct pharmacological activation are still missing due to the lack of cell-permeable activators. Here we present a small-molecule (TTK21) activator of the histone acetyltransferases CBP/p300, which, when conjugated to glucosebased carbon nanosphere (CSP), passed the blood-brain barrier, induced no toxicity, and reached different parts of the brain. After intraperitoneal administration in mice, CSP-TTK21 significantly acetylated histones in the hippocampus and frontal cortex. Remarkably, CSP-TTK21 treatment promoted the formation of long and highly branched doublecortin-positive neurons in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus and reduced BrdU incorporation, suggesting that CBP/p300 activation favors maturation and differentiation of adult neuronal progenitors. In addition, mRNA levels of the neuroD1 differentiation marker and BDNF, a neurotrophin required for the terminal differentiation of newly generated neurons, were both increased in the hippocampus concomitantly with an enrichment of acetylated-histone on their proximal promoter. Finally, we found that CBP/p300 activation during a spatial training, while not improving retention of a recent memory, resulted in a significantextensionofmemoryduration.ThisreportisthefirstevidenceforCBP/p300-mediatedhistoneacetylationinthebrainbyanactivator molecule, which has beneficial implications for the brain functions of adult neurogenesis and long-term memory. We propose that direct stimulation of acetyltransferase function could be useful in terms of therapeutic options for brain diseases.

The functionalization of carbonyl compounds in the α-position has gathered much attention as a synthetic route because of the wide biological importance of such products. Through polarity reversal, or "umpolung", we show here that typical nucleophiles, such as oxygen, nitrogen, and even carbon nucleophiles, can be used for addition reactions after tethering them to enol ethers. Our findings allow novel retrosynthetic planning and rapid assembly of structures previously accessible only by multistep sequences.

Vicinal diamines constitute one the most important functional motif in organic chemistry because of its wide occurrence in a variety of biological and pharmaceutical molecules. We report an efficient metal‐free, highly stereoselective intramolecular diamination using a novel chiral hypervalent iodine reagent together with its application as an efficient catalyst for the synthesis of diamines.

PCAF (KAT2B) belongs to the GNAT family of lysine acetyltransferases (KAT) and specifically acetylates the histone H3K9 residue and several nonhistone proteins. PCAF is also a transcriptional coactivator. Due to the lack of a PCAF KAT-specific small molecule inhibitor, the exclusive role of the acetyltransferase activity of PCAF is not well understood. Here, we report that a natural compound of the hydroxybenzoquinone class, embelin, specifically inhibits H3Lys9 acetylation in mice and inhibits recombinant PCAF-mediated acetylation with near complete specificity in vitro. Furthermore, using embelin, we have identified the gene networks that are regulated by PCAF during muscle differentiation, further highlighting the broader regulatory functions of PCAF in muscle differentiation in addition to the regulation via MyoD acetylation.

A new chiral thiohydantoin catalyst is used for the stereoselective iodoamination of alkenes. N-iodosuccinimide as the source of the electrophilic iodine is activated by catalytic amounts of different additives which also influence the regioselectivity of some cyclizations.

An efficient thioamination of alkenes mediated by iodine(III) reagents is described. The use of different sulfur nucleophiles allows the flexible synthesis of 1,2-aminothiols from alkenes. By employing chiral iodine(III) reagents, a stereoselective version of the thioamination protocol has also been developed.

Background: 1,4-Naphthoquinone analogs, such as plumbagin, are toxic compounds due to their redox cycling and thiolreactive properties. Results: The p300 inhibitor PTK1, a plumbagin derivative with greatly reduced toxicity, was synthesized and characterized. Conclusion: PTK1 is a reversible, non-competitive inhibitor of p300 KAT activity with reduced toxicity. Significance: These studies provide insight into naphthoquinone-mediated KAT inhibition and describe the synthesis of a therapeutically important, non-toxic inhibitor.

Mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase (M1PDH) is a key enzyme in Staphylococcus aureus mannitol metabolism, but its roles in pathophysiological settings have not been established. We performed comprehensive structure-function analysis of M1PDH from S. aureus USA300, a strain of community-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus, to evaluate its roles in cell viability and virulence under pathophysiological conditions. On the basis of our results, we propose M1PDH as a potential antibacterial target. In vitro cell viability assessment of ΔmtlD knockout and complemented strains confirmed that M1PDH is essential to endure pH, high-salt, and oxidative stress and thus that M1PDH is required for preventing osmotic burst by regulating pressure potential imposed by mannitol. The mouse infection model also verified that M1PDH is essential for bacterial survival during infection. To further support the use of M1PDH as an antibacterial target, we identified dihydrocelastrol (DHCL) as a competitive inhibitor of S. aureus M1PDH (SaM1PDH) and confirmed that DHCL effectively reduces bacterial cell viability during host infection. To explain physiological functions of SaM1PDH at the atomic level, the crystal structure of SaM1PDH was determined at 1.7-Å resolution. Structure-based mutation analyses and DHCL molecular docking to the SaM1PDH active site followed by functional assay identified key residues in the active site and provided the action mechanism of DHCL. Collectively, we propose SaM1PDH as a target for antibiotic development based on its physiological roles with the goals of expanding the repertory of antibiotic targets to fight antimicrobial resistance and providing essential knowledge for developing potent inhibitors of SaM1PDH based on structure-function studies. IMPORTANCE Due to the shortage of effective antibiotics against drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, new targets are urgently required to develop next-generation antibiotics. We investigated mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase of S. aureus USA300 (SaM1PDH), a key enzyme regulating intracellular mannitol levels, and explored the possibility of using SaM1PDH as a target for developing antibiotic. Since mannitol is necessary for maintaining the cellular redox and osmotic potential, the homeostatic imbalance caused by treatment with a SaM1PDH inhibitor or knockout of the gene encoding SaM1PDH results in bacterial cell death through oxidative and/or mannitol-dependent cytolysis. We elucidated the molecular mechanism of SaM1PDH and the structural basis of substrate and inhibitor recognition by enzymatic and structural analyses of SaM1PDH. Our results strongly support the concept that targeting of SaM1PDH represents an alternative strategy for developing a new class of antibiotics that cause bacterial cell death not by blocking key cellular machinery but by inducing cytolysis and reducing stress tolerance through inhibition of the mannitol pathway.