Low-Dose Chemotherapy Preferentially Shapes the Ileal Microbiome and Augments the Response to Immune Checkpoint Blockade by Activating AIM2 Inflammasome in Ileal Epithelial Cells.

Intervention of the gut microbiome is a promising adjuvant strategy in cancer immunotherapy. Chemotherapeutic agents are recognized for their substantial impacts on the gut microbiome, yet their therapeutic potential as microbiome modulators remains uncertain, due to the complexity of microbiome-host-drug interactions. Here, it is showed that low-dose chemotherapy preferentially shapes the ileal microbiome to augment the extraintestinal immune response to anti-programmed death-1 (anti-PD-1) therapy without causing intestinal toxicity. Mechanistically, low-dose chemotherapy causes DNA damage restricted to highly-proliferative ileal epithelial cells, resulting in the accumulation of cytosolic dsDNA and the activation of the absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) inflammasome. AIM2-dependent IL-18 secretion triggers the interplay between proximal Th1 cells and Paneth cells in ileal crypts, impairing the local antimicrobial host defense and resulting in ileal microbiome change. Intestinal epithelium-specific knockout of AIM2 in mice significantly attenuates CPT-11-caused IL-18 secretion, Paneth cell dysfunction, and ileal microbiome alteration. Moreover, AIM2 deficiency in mice or antibiotic microbial depletion attenuates chemotherapy-augmented antitumor responses to anti-PD1 therapy. Collectively, these findings provide mechanistic insights into how chemotherapy-induced genomic stress is transduced to gut microbiome change and support the rationale of applying low-dose chemotherapy as a promising adjuvant strategy in cancer immunotherapy with minimal toxicity.

Phosphine-Catalyzed (4 + 2) Cycloaddition of Conjugated Dienes with Enones and Its Asymmetric Variant.

Herein we reported a novel phosphine-catalyzed (4 + 2) cyclization reaction of electron-deficient conjugated dienes with enones to generate functionalized dihydropyran skeletons. A mechanistic investigation reveals that the reaction produces a new phosphonium zwitterion, which undergoes consecutive reactions. In addition, an asymmetric variant was developed by efficient and economical chiral phosphine catalysis.

Phosphine-catalyzed regiodivergent annulations of γ-substituted allenoates with conjugated dienes.

A phosphine catalyzed regiodivergent annulation of γ-substituted allenoates with conjugated dienes is reported, and highly functionalized cyclohexenes or cyclopentenes were obtained in high yields and regioselectivities. This transformation takes advantage of mild conditions, wide substrate scope and significant functional group tolerance. The high regioselectivity can be achieved by tuning the nucleophilicity of the phosphine catalyst.

Ag/P-Stereogenic Phosphine-Catalyzed Enantioselective 1,3-Dipolar Cycloadditions: A Method to Optically Active Pyrrolidines.

A Ag/P-stereogenic phosphine-complex-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides with electron-deficient olefins is reported. In this reaction, highly functionalized pyrrolines with a spiro-quaternary stereogenic center were obtained in good yields (up to 99%) with excellent levels of diastereo- (up to >20:1 dr) and enantioselectivities (up to >99% ee). The chirality of adducts was controlled predominantly by the P-stereogenic phosphines.

P-Stereogenic Phosphines Directed Copper(I)-Catalyzed Enantioselective 1,3-Dipolar Cycloadditions.

A new pair of P-stereogenic ligands with multiple chiral centers were synthesized and used in the copper(I)-catalyzed enatioselective [3 + 2] cycloaddition of iminoesters with alkenes. A variety of highly functionalized pyrrolidines were obtained in excellent yield and enatioselectivity. This is the first example of a pair of P-stereogenic ligands working as pseudoenantiomers to tune the enantio- and diastereoselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition, and providing a pair of enantiomerically pure pyrrolidines, respectively.

Planar Polycyclic Oxaphosphoranes Incorporating a Benzophosphole Unit.

A facile method to synthesize quaternized benzophospholes on gram scale was reported, and the products were isolated by simple filtration. During this research, a series of σ5-oxaphosphoranes incorporating polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were obtained. The grafting of α-phenolate groups on the phosphorus center enhances the coplanarity of the system.

Intramolecular, Pd/Cu-Co-catalyzed P-C Bond Cleavage and Addition onto an Alkyne: A Route to Benzophospholes.

Under Pd(II)/CuI cocatalysis, o-diarylphosphinophenylalkynes cyclize in boiling toluene via C-P bond cleavage and arylphosphination of the C≡C bond. This protocol provides an unprecedented atom- and step-efficient access to optoelectronically and biologically interesting benzophospholes.

Versatile synthesis of phospholides from open-chain precursors. Application to annelated pyrrole- and silole-phosphole rings.

Phospholides are easily obtained by treatment of the open-chain acetylenic phosphines shown by an excess of lithium at room temperature in THF (12 examples).