In face of the everlasting battle toward COVID-19 and the rapid evolution of SARS-CoV-2, no specific and effective drugs for treating this disease have been reported until today. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a receptor of SARS-CoV-2, mediates the virus infection by binding to spike protein. Although ACE2 is expressed in the lung, kidney, and intestine, its expressing levels are rather low, especially in the lung. Considering the great infectivity of COVID-19, we speculate that SARS-CoV-2 may depend on other routes to facilitate its infection. Here, we first discover an interaction between host cell receptor CD147 and SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The loss of CD147 or blocking CD147 in Vero E6 and BEAS-2B cell lines by anti-CD147 antibody, Meplazumab, inhibits SARS-CoV-2 amplification. Expression of human CD147 allows virus entry into non-susceptible BHK-21 cells, which can be neutralized by CD147 extracellular fragment. Viral loads are detectable in the lungs of human CD147 (hCD147) mice infected with SARS-CoV-2, but not in those of virus-infected wild type mice. Interestingly, virions are observed in lymphocytes of lung tissue from a COVID-19 patient. Human T cells with a property of ACE2 natural deficiency can be infected with SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus in a dose-dependent manner, which is specifically inhibited by Meplazumab. Furthermore, CD147 mediates virus entering host cells by endocytosis. Together, our study reveals a novel virus entry route, CD147-spike protein, which provides an important target for developing specific and effective drug against COVID-19.

Several phthalocyanines carrying hydrophobic components have been synthesized and shown to bind to a group of cyclodextrin dimers with a carbon-carbon double bond in the linker. The complexes are soluble in water. On irradiation in the presence of oxygen, the singlet oxygen produced cleaves the olefinic linkers in the complexes, resulting in precipitation of the sensitizers. This process concentrates the sensitizers in the light beam, a process that has useful potential in photodynamic therapy.

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The Utah Surrogate Mechanism was extended in order to model a stoichiometric premixed cyclohexane flame (P = 30 Torr). Generic rates were assigned to reaction classes of hydrogen abstraction, beta scission, and isomerization, and the resulting mechanism was found to be adequate in describing the combustion chemistry of cyclohexane. Satisfactory results were obtained in comparison with the experimental data of oxygen, major products and important intermediates, which include major soot precursors of C2-C5 unsaturated species. Measured concentrations of immediate products of fuel decomposition were also successfully reproduced. For example, the maximum concentrations of benzene and 1,3-butadiene, two major fuel decomposition products via competing pathways, were predicted within 10% of the measured values. Ring-opening reactions compete with those of cascading dehydrogenation for the decomposition of the conjugate cyclohexyl radical. The major ring-opening pathways produce 1-buten-4-yl radical, molecular ethylene, and 1,3-butadiene. The butadiene species is formed via beta scission after a 1-4 internal hydrogen migration of 1-hexen-6-yl radical. Cascading dehydrogenation also makes an important contribution to the fuel decomposition and provides the exclusive formation pathway of benzene. Benzene formation routes via combination of C2-C4 hydrocarbon fragments were found to be insignificant under current flame conditions, inferred by the later concentration peak of fulvene, in comparison with benzene, because the analogous species series for benzene formation via dehydrogenation was found to be precursors with regard to parent species of fulvene.

A cyclodextrin dimer has been synthesized with two ␤-cyclodextrins linked by a flexible chain containing a carbon-carbon double bond. This dimer binds and solubilizes a phthalocyanine-based photosensitizer that generates singlet oxygen on irradiation. When the complex is irradiated, the singlet oxygen cleaves the carbon-carbon link, and the cyclodextrins are released, liberating the photosensitizer into the light path. Ideas about how this phenomenon could be used to make photodynamic tumor therapy into a more selective process are described. In photodynamic therapy, a dye such as a porphyrin or a phthalocyanine is used in conjunction with irradiation, e.g., by visible light. The excited-state dye converts triplet oxygen to the singlet, which is lethal to cells. Light directed into the area of a tumor can lead to the destruction of cancer cells (1, 2). One problem in this field is of course the accessibility of tumors to irradiation. Another problem has to do with the desirability of localizing the photosensitizer at the tumor site to prevent unwanted side reactions elsewhere. An approach to the latter problem has been to target the photosensitizer by using cancerspecific antibodies (3), but this use of a foreign protein may not be ideal.A different approach has been proposed by Moser et al. (4). If a quite hydrophobic photosensitizer is bound to a cyclodextrin (CD) dimer, the complex will become much more hydrophilic, and the strongly bound sensitizer may not be easily taken up by tissues, including those that are not the target tumor cells. However, if the linker in the CD dimer can be cleaved by singlet oxygen, the photosensitizer should be released from the dimer and then enter nearby cells.If this cleavage occurs in the tumor region that is being irradiated, there should be two results. First of all, cleavage of the CD dimer will deliver the photosensitizer to the affected cells, as proposed by Moser et al. (4). Perhaps more interestingly, the destruction of the dimer-sensitizer complex by light will cause more of it to diffuse into the irradiated region, concentrating the sensitizer where it is needed. In other words, the sensitizer will be concentrated into the directed light beam.We have tested this concept by using an electron-rich carboncarbon double bond as the group that is cleavable by singlet oxygen. The oxygen adds to the double bond to form a dioxetane, which fragments to form two carbonyl groups (5). Sulfur substituents at each end of the double bond increase its reactivity. Materials and MethodsCD dimer 1 was synthesized by conversion of cystamine to its N-t-butoxycarbonyl derivative, then reduction of the disulfide link with sodium in ammonia and reaction of the thiolate with cis-1,2-dichloroethylene to form 2 (Scheme 1). All compounds were characterized by NMR and MS, and this olefin 2 had the characteristic infrared signal at 627 cm Ϫ1 for a cis double bond. Acid deprotection of 2 and then acylation with iodoacetic acid anhydride afforded a bis-iodide that was converted to a bisthioacetate. ...

Pd-catalyzed decarboxylative cross-couplings of 2-(2-azaaryl)acetates with aryl halides and triflates have been discovered. This reaction is potentially useful for the synthesis of some functionalized pyridines, quinolines, pyrazines, benzoxazoles, and benzothiazoles. Theoretical analysis shows that the nitrogen atom at the 2-position of the heteroaromatics directly coordinates to Pd(II) in the decarboxylation transition state.

The present work describes modifications to an existing TLC bioautographic method for detecting acetylcholinesterase inhibitors from plant extracts. The basic principle of the method is that the enzyme converts 1-naphthyl acetate into naphthol which reacts with Fast Blue B salt to make a purple-colored background on the TLC plates. Inhibitors of acetylcholinesterases produced white spots on the background. Our modifications involve changes in the concentration of the enzyme, the reagents, and the time of the reaction. With these changes, the consumption of the enzyme was reduced by 85% and the detection limits were decreased remarkably.