Nickel-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of heteroaryl ethers with arylboronic acids was described. Selective activation of the phenol C-O bonds was achieved by converting them into the corresponding aryl 2,4-dimethoxy-1,3,5-triazine-6-yl ethers, in which aryl C-O bond could be selectively cleaved with inexpensive, air-stable NiCl2(dppf) as a catalyst. Coupling of these readily accessible heteroaryl ethers proved tolerant of extensive functional groups.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major driver of hepatocarcinogenesis. Ferroptosis is a type of iron-mediated cell death that can suppress liver transformation. Previous studies have linked HBV to ferroptosis in liver fibrosis and acute liver failure. However, whether ferroptosis is involved in HBV-mediated liver cancer is poorly understood. Here, we identified heat shock protein family A member 8 (HSPA8) as a crucial host factor that modulates HBV replication and ferroptosis in liver cancer. Hepatitis B X protein (HBx) upregulated HSPA8 by coactivating the transcription factor heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) in cells. HSPA8 enhanced HBV replication by recruiting hepatitis B core protein (HBc) to the HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) minichromosome, forming a positive feedback loop. Moreover, HSPA8 suppressed ferroptosis in liver cancer cells by upregulating expression of SLC7A11/GPX4 and decreasing erastin-mediated ROS and Fe2+ accumulation in cells in vitro and in vivo. Inhibition of HSPA8 reduced the growth of HBV-positive liver tumors and increased sensitivity to erastin. In conclusion, HBx-elevated HSPA8 regulates both HBV replication and ferroptosis in liver cancer. Targeting HSPA8 could be a promising strategy for controlling HBV and hepatocarcinogenesis.

An efficient and transition-metal-free N-arylation of amides via the insertion of arynes into the N-H bonds in the N-alkoxy amides is described. A variety of the reactive functional groups including the reactive aldehyde carbonyl group, furan ring, carbon-carbon double bonds, and free N-H bond of indole are found to be compatible with this process. In particular, the protocol is applicable in the synthesis of structurally diverse N-aryl hydroxamates and hydroxamic acids derived from N-protecting amino acids and peptides. In the presence of multiple amide N-H bonds, the N-arylation reaction can proceed selectively in the N-H bonds of terminal N-OBn amides giving rise to the desired N-aryl hydroxamates.

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The scalable title synthesis is successfully performed starting from aryl, hetaryl alkenyl and alkyl amides as well as N‐protected amino acid and peptide derived amides.