Structure-based redesigning of pentoxifylline analogs against selective phosphodiesterases to modulate sperm functional competence for assisted reproductive technologies.

Phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors, such as pentoxifylline (PTX), are used as pharmacological agents to enhance sperm motility in assisted reproductive technology (ART), mainly to aid the selection of viable sperm in asthenozoospermic ejaculates and testicular spermatozoa, prior to intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). However, PTX is reported to induce premature acrosome reaction (AR) and, exert toxic effects on oocyte function and early embryo development. Additionally, in vitro binding studies as well as computational binding free energy (ΔGbind) suggest that PTX exhibits weak binding to sperm PDEs, indicating room for improvement. Aiming to reduce the adverse effects and to enhance the sperm motility, we designed and studied PTX analogues. Using structure-guided in silico approach and by considering the physico-chemical properties of the binding pocket of the PDEs, designed analogues of PTX. In silico assessments indicated that PTX analogues bind more tightly to PDEs and form stable complexes. Particularly, ex vivo evaluation of sperm treated with one of the PTX analogues (PTXm-1), showed comparable beneficial effect at much lower concentration-slower AR, higher DNA integrity and extended longevity of  spermatozoa and  superior embryo quality. PTXm-1 is proposed to be a better pharmacological agent for ART than PTX for sperm function enhancement.

Green synthesis of therapeutically active 1,3,4-oxadiazoles as antioxidants, selective COX-2 inhibitors and their in silico studies.

A modest, competent and green synthetic procedure for novel coumarinyl-1,3,4-oxadiazolyl-2-mercaptobenzoxazoles 8i-t has been reported. Analysis of the docked (PDB ID: 5IKR; A-Chain) poses of the compounds illustrated that they adopt identical conformations to the extremely selective COX-2 inhibitor. The biological outcomes as well as computational study suggested that the compounds originated to have elevated resemblance towards COX-2 enzyme than COX-1. The compounds 8i, 8l, 8q, 8r, 8s and 8t emerged as most potent and selective COX-2 inhibitors in contrast with Mefenamic acid. The selectivity index of 8l, 8n and 8r was respectively found to be 33.95, 20.25 and 24.98 which manifested their high selectivity against COX-2. Interestingly, the compounds which were active as COX-2 inhibitors were also active as antioxidant agents.

Crystal structure, DFT calculation, Hirshfeld surface analysis and energy framework study of 6-bromo-2-(4-bromo-phen-yl)imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine.

The title imidazo[1,2-a] pyridine derivative, C13H8Br2N2, was synthesized via a single-step reaction method. The title mol-ecule is planar, showing a dihedral angle of 0.62 (17)° between the phenyl and the imidazo[1,2-a] pyridine rings. An intra-molecular C-H⋯N hydrogen bond with an S(5) ring motif is present. In the crystal, a short H⋯H contact links adjacent mol-ecules into inversion-related dimers. The dimers are linked in turn by weak C-H⋯π and slipped π-π stacking inter-actions, forming layers parallel to (110). The layers are connected into a three-dimensional network by short Br⋯H contacts. Two-dimensional fingerprint plots and three-dimensional Hirshfeld surface analysis of the inter-molecular contacts reveal that the most important contributions for the crystal packing are from H⋯Br/Br⋯H (26.1%), H⋯H (21.7%), H⋯C/C⋯H (21.3%) and C⋯C (6.5%) inter-actions. Energy framework calculations suggest that the contacts formed between mol-ecules are largely dispersive in nature. Analysis of HOMO-LUMO energies from a DFT calculation reveals the pure π character of the aromatic rings with the highest electron density on the phenyl ring, and σ character of the electron density on the Br atoms. The HOMO-LUMO gap was found to be 4.343 eV.

Haploid parthenotes express differential response to in vitro exposure of ammonia compared to normally fertilized embryos.

In the present study, we assessed whether absence of paternal genome imparts any differential response in embryos to chemical stress such as ammonia. Parthenogenesis was induced in MII stage oocytes using 10 mM SrCl2 in M16 medium. Parthenotes and normally fertilized embryos at 2 cell stage were exposed to different concentrations of ammonia and cultured till blastocyst. Exposure of ammonia to normally fertilized embryos resulted in significant decrease in the developmental potential (p < 0.0001) and blastocyst quality (p < 0.001). Whereas, in parthenotes, even though lower concentrations of ammonia did not have any effect, at 200 µM concentration the blastocyst rate was two times higher than control. The baseline apoptotic index was higher in parthenotes compared to normally fertilized embryos, which further increased after ammonium exposure (p < 0.001). Unlike in normally fertilized embryos ammonia exposure altered the mitochondrial distribution pattern and lead to increased expression of Oct4, Nanog and Na+/K+ ion exchange channel, while the cytochrome C expression was downregulated. This indicates that haploidy and/or absence of paternal factors in the embryo results in differential tolerance to stress induced by ammonia.

Synthesis of novel thiadiazolotriazin-4-ones and study of their mosquito-larvicidal and antibacterial properties.

A series of novel 3-tert-butyl-7-(aryloxymethyl)-4H-[1,3,4]thiadiazolo[2,3-c][1,2,4]triazin-4-ones (5a-5n) were synthesized by refluxing 3,3-dimethyl-2-oxobutanoic acid (trimethyl pyruvic acid) (1) and thiocarbohydrazide (2) in ethanol as solvent for 12 h, to yield 3-mercapto-4-amino-6-tert-butyl-1,2,4-triazine-5(4H)-one (3) (Scheme 1), then the compound (3) was condensed with different substituted aryloxyacetic acids (4) in POCl3 at 90 °C for 8 h (Scheme 2). The structures of the newly synthesized compounds were confirmed by IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, elemental analyses and mass spectroscopic studies. Few of the synthesized compounds exhibited moderate mosquito-larvicidal and antibacterial activities. Among the novel derivatives, the compound (5f) showed relatively high larvicidal activity against a malaria vector. Compounds (5i) and (5m) exhibited a broad spectrum antibacterial activity against Gram positive and Gram negative species and hence they may be considered as drug candidates for bacterial pathogens.