Search

The abnormal activation of JAK2 kinase is closely related to the occurrence and progression of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). At present, there is still an obvious unmet medical need for selective JAK2 inhibitors in clinic. In this paper, a class of 2-aminopyridine derivatives as potent and selective JAK2 inhibitors was obtained by combining drug design, synthesis and structure-activity relationship studies based on the previously identified lead Crizotinib. Among them, 21bexhibited high inhibitory activity against JAK2 with an IC50of 9 nmol/L, moreover, it showed 276- and 184-fold selectivity over JAK1 and JAK3, respectively. Besides, 21bhad a significant antiproliferative activity against HEL cells, and also inhibited the phosphorylation of JAK2 and its down-stream signaling pathway. These results indicated that 2-aminopyridine compound 21bhad the potential to be developed as a selective JAK2 inhibitor for further study.

Experimental infection of hamsters with Punta Toro virus (PTV) produces a disease with clinical and pathological similarities to the severe human hemorrhagic fever caused by Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), thus providing an animal model for RVFV pathogenesis. In this model, hepatocytic apoptosis is the main pathological component of liver injuries that are responsible for severe hemorrhagic manifestations. To further elucidate whether viral replication in hepatocytes directly causes apoptosis, we studied the morphological and biochemical changes of apoptosis in HepG2 cells at different time points after PTV infection. Cellular viability began to decrease 12 hours after infection compared with controls. Caspases 3/7 were activated significantly at 48 and 72 hours after infection, and phosphatidylserine translocation and DNA fragmentation were also detected at 48 and 72 hours. Cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry showed that infected HepG2 cells were arrested at G0/G1phase. Furthermore, virus titer increased with apoptosis progression, suggesting that viral replication is necessary for the apoptotic process. These results indicate that PTV infection alone, without a secondary inflammatory cellular reaction, induces hepatocytic apoptosis and suggest that future therapeutics for RVFV hemorrhagic disease might target inhibition of cellular apoptotic pathways during the acute infection.