Publications

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Journal covers

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Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, January 2021

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ACS Chemical Biology, July 2020

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ChemMedChem, January 2014

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ChemMedChem, March 2011

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Nature Chemical Biology, December 2006

Ferrous iron-dependent pharmacology and drug delivery

  1. Gonciarz RL, Jiang H, Tram L, Hugelshofer CL, Ekpenyong O, Knemeyer I, Aron AT, Chang CJ, Flygare JA, Collisson EA, Renslo AR. In vivo bioluminescence imaging of labile iron in xenograft models and liver using FeAL-1, an iron-activatable form of D-luciferin.  Cell Chem Biol. 2023 Oct 5:S2451-9456(23)00325-2.

  2. Blank BR, Gut J, Rosenthal PJ, Renslo, AR. Artefenomel Regioisomer RLA-3107 Is a Promising Lead for the Discovery of Next-Generation Endoperoxide Antimalarials. ACS Med. Chem. Lett. 2023, 14,493-498.

  3. Admasu TD, Kim K, Rae M, Avelar R, Gonciarz RL, Rebbaa A, Pedro de Magalhães J, Renslo AR, Stolzing A, Sharma A. Selective ablation of primary and paracrine senescent cells by targeting iron dyshomeostasis. Cell Rep. 2023 Feb 6;42(2):112058.

  4. Gonciarz RL, Sakhamuri S, Hooshdaran N, Kumar G, Kim H, Evans MJ, Renslo, AR. Elevated labile iron in castration-resistant prostate cancer is targetable with ferrous iron-activatable antiandrogen therapy. Eur J Med Chem. 2023, 249:115110.

  5. Jiang H, Muir RK, Gonciarz RL, Olshen AB, Yeh I, Hann BC, Zhao N, Wang YH, Behr SC, Korkola JE, Evans MJ, Collisson EA, Renslo AR. Ferrous iron-activatable drug conjugate achieves potent MAPK blockade in KRAS-driven tumors J. Exp. Med. 2022 e20210739. Featured in a JEM Insights article!

  6. Chen J, Gonciarz RL, Renslo AR. Expanded scope of Griesbaum co-ozonolysis for the preparation of structurally diverse sensors of ferrous iron. RSC Adv., 2021, 11, 34338-34342.

  7. Gonciarz RL and Renslo AR. Emerging role of ferrous iron in bacterial growth and host–pathogen interaction: New tools for chemical (micro)biology and antibacterial therapy. Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2021, 61, 170-178.

  8. Gonciarz RL, Collisson EC, Renslo AR. Ferrous Iron Dependent Pharmacology. Trends Pharmacol. Sci. 2021, 42, 7-18.

  9. Chen YC, Oses-Prieto JA, Pope LE, Burlingame AL, Dixon SJ, Renslo AR. Reactivity-Based Probe of the Iron(II)-Dependent Interactome Identifies New Cellular Modulators of Ferroptosis. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 19085. JACS featured 'Spotlight' Article!

  10. Zhao N, Huang Y, Wang YH, Muir RK, Chen YC, Hooshdaran N, Wei J, Viswanath P, Seo Y, Ruggero D, Renslo AR, Evans MJ. Ferronostics: Measuring Tumoral Ferrous Iron with PET to Predict Sensitivity to Iron-Targeted Cancer Therapies. J. Nuc. Med. 2020, jnumed.120.252460

  11. Blank BR, Gonciarz RL, Talukder P, Gut J, Legac J, Rosenthal PJ, Renslo AR. Antimalarial Trioxolanes with Superior Drug-Like Properties and In Vivo Efficacy. ACS Infect Dis. 2020 Jul 10;6(7):1827-1835.

  12. Huff TC, Camarena V, Sant DW, Wilkes Z, Van Booven , Aron AT, Muir RK, Renslo AR, Chang CJ, Monje PV, Wang G. cAMP signaling rapidly alters H3K4 methylation. Life Sci Alliance. 2019 Dec 27;3(1). doi: 10.26508/lsa.201900529.

  13. Blank BR, Talukder P, Muir RK, Green ER, Skaar EP, Renslo AR. Targeting Mobilization of Ferrous Iron in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infection with an Iron(II)-Caged LpxC Inhibitor. ACS Infectious Diseases 2019, 5, 8, 1366-1375.
  14. Muir RK, Zhao N, Wei J, Wang YH, Moroz A, Huang Y, Chen YC, Sriram R, Kurhanewicz J, Ruggero D, Renslo AR, Evans MJ. Measuring Dynamic Changes in the Labile Iron Pool in Vivo with a Reactivity-Based Probe for Positron Emission Tomography. ACS Cent Sci. 2019 Apr 24; 5(4):727-736.
  15. Spangler B, Kline T, Hanson J, Li X, Zhou S, Wells JA, Sato, AK, Renslo AR Toward a Ferrous Iron-Cleavable Linker for Antibody-Drug Conjugates Mol. Pharmaceutics 2018, 15, 2054.
  16. Camarena V, Sant DW, Huff TC, Mustafi S, Muir RK, Aron AT, Chang CJ, Renslo AR, Monje PV, Wang G. cAMP signaling regulates DNA hydroxymethylation by augmenting the intracellular labile ferrous iron pool. Elife. 2017 Dec 14;6 pii: e29750.
  17. Aron AT, Heffern MC, Lonergan ZR, Vander Wal MN, Blank BR, Spangler B, Zhang Y, Park HM, Stahl A, Renslo AR, Skaar EP, Chang CJ. In vivo bioluminescence imaging of labile iron accumulation in a murine model of Acinetobacter baumannii infection. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Nov 28;114(48):12669-12674.
  18. Spangler B, Fontaine SD, Shi Y, Sambucetti L, Mattis AN, Hann B, Wells JA, Renslo AR. A Novel Tumor-Activated Prodrug Strategy Targeting Ferrous Iron Is Effective in Multiple Preclinical Cancer Models. J Med Chem. 2016 Dec 22;59(24):11161-11170.
  19. Spangler B, Morgan CW, Fontaine SD, Vander Wal MN, Chang CJ, Wells JA, Renslo AR. A reactivity-based probe of the intracellular labile ferrous iron pool. Nat Chem Biol. 2016 Jul 4.
  20. Lauterwasser EM, Fontaine SD, Li H, Gut J, Katneni K, Charman SA, Rosenthal PJ, Bogyo M, Renslo AR. Trioxolane-Mediated Delivery of Mefloquine Limits Brain Exposure in a Mouse Model of Malaria. ACS Med Chem Lett. 2015 Oct 2;6(11):1145-1149. eCollection 2015 Nov 12.
  21. Fontaine SD, Spangler B, Gut J, Lauterwasser EM, Rosenthal PJ, Renslo AR. Drug delivery to the malaria parasite using an arterolane-like scaffold. ChemMedChem. 2015 Jan;10(1):47-51.
  22. Fontaine SD, DiPasquale AG, Renslo AR. Efficient and stereocontrolled synthesis of 1,2,4-trioxolanes useful for ferrous iron-dependent drug delivery. Org Lett. 2014 Nov 7; 16(21):5776-9. View in: PubMed
  23. Deu E, Chen IT, Lauterwasser EM, Valderramos J, Li H, Edgington LE, Renslo AR, Bogyo M. Ferrous iron-dependent drug delivery enables controlled and selective release of therapeutic agents in vivo. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2013, 110, 18244-18249.
  24. Mahajan SS, Gut J, Rosenthal PJ, Renslo AR. Ferrous iron-dependent delivery of therapeutic agents to the malaria parasite. Future Med Chem. 2012 Dec; 4(18):2241-9. 
View in: PubMed
  25. Mahajan SS, Deu E, Lauterwasser EM, Leyva MJ, Ellman JA, Bogyo M, Renslo AR. A fragmenting hybrid approach for targeted delivery of multiple therapeutic agents to the malaria parasite. ChemMedChem. 2011 Mar 7; 6(3):415-9. 
View in: PubMed

Covalent and fragment-based lead discovery

  1. Deal PE, Lee H, Mondal A, Lolicato M, de Mendonca PRF, Black H, El-Hilali X, Bryant C, Isacoff EY, Renslo AR, Minor DL. Development of covalent chemogenetic K 2P channel activators bioRxiv. 2023 Oct 18:2023.10.15.561774.
  2. Konstantinidou M, Visser EJ, Vandenboorn E, Chen S, Jaishankar P, Overmans M, Dutta S, Neitz RJ, Renslo AR, Ottmann C, Brunsveld L, Arkin MR. Structure-Based Optimization of Covalent, Small-Molecule Stabilizers of the 14-3-3σ/ERα Protein-Protein Interaction from Nonselective Fragments.  J Am Chem Soc. 2023 Sep 20;145(37):20328-20343. 
  3. Visser EJ, Jaishankar P, Sijbesma E, Pennings MAM, Vandenboorn EMF, Guillory X, Neitz RJ, Morrow J, Dutta S, Renslo AR, Brunsveld L, Arkin MR, Ottmann C. From Tethered to Freestanding Stabilizers of 14-3-3 Protein-Protein Interactions through Fragment Linking.  Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2023 Sep 11;62(37):e202308004.
  4. Togo T, Tram L, Denton LG, ElHilali-Pollard X, Gu J, Jiang J, Liu C, Zhao Y, Zhao Y, Zheng Y, Zheng Y, Yang J, Fan P, Arkin MR, Härmä H, Sun D, Canan SS, Wheeler SE, Renslo AR. Systematic Study of Heteroarene Stacking Using a Congeneric Set of Molecular Glues for Procaspase-6. J Med Chem. 2023 asap 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00590.
  5. Van Horn KS, Wang D, Medina-Cleghorn D, Lee PS, Bryant C, Altobelli C, Jaishankar P, Leung KK, Ng RA, Ambrose AJ, Tang Y, Arkin MR, Renslo AR. Engaging a Non-catalytic Cysteine Residue Drives Potent and Selective Inhibition of Caspase-6. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 10015-10021. Covered in Drug Hunter and Practical Fragments
  6. Hulce KR, Jaishankar P, Lee GM, Bohn MF, Connelly EJ, Wucherer K, Ongpipattanakul C, Volk RF, Chuo SW, Arkin MR, Renslo AR, Craik CS. Inhibiting a dynamic viral protease by targeting a non-catalytic cysteine. Cell Chem. Biol. 2022, 29, 785. Covered in Derek Lowe's In The Pipeline Blog
  7. Jílková A, Rubešová P, Fanfrlík J, Fajtová P, Řezáčová P, Brynda J, Lepšík M, Mertlíková-Kaiserová H, Emal CD, Renslo AR, Roush WR, Horn M, Caffrey CR, Mareš M. Druggable Hot Spots in the Schistosomiasis Cathepsin B1 Target Identified by Functional and Binding Mode Analysis of Potent Vinyl Sulfone Inhibitors. ACS Infect. Dis. 2021 7(5):1077-1088.
  8. Bashore C, Jaishankar P, Skelton NJ, Fuhrmann J, Hearn BR, Liu PS, Renslo AR, Dueber EC. Cyanopyrrolidine Inhibitors of Ubiquitin Specific Protease 7 Mediate Desulfhydration of the Active-Site Cysteine. ACS Chem Biol. 2020 Jun 19;15(6):1392-1400. Featured on the Journal Cover!
  9. Kategaya L, Di Lello P, Rougé L, Pastor R, Clark KR, Drummond J, Kleinheinz T, Lin E, Upton JP, Prakash S, Heideker J, McCleland M, Ritorto MS, Alessi DR, Trost M, Bainbridge TW, Kwok MCM, Ma TP, Stiffler Z, Brasher B, Tang Y, Jaishankar P, Hearn BR, Renslo AR, Arkin MR, Cohen F, Yu K, Peale F, Gnad F, Chang MT, Klijn C, Blackwood E, Martin SE, Forrest WF, Ernst JA, Ndubaku C, Wang X, Beresini MH, Tsui V, Schwerdtfeger C, Blake RA, Murray J, Maurer T, Wertz IE. USP7 small-molecule inhibitors interfere with ubiquitin binding. Nature. 2017 Oct 26;550(7677):534-538.
  10. Gentile DR, Rathinaswamy MK, Jenkins ML, Moss SM, Siempelkamp BD, Renslo AR, Burke JE, Shokat KM. Ras Binder Induces a Modified Switch-II Pocket in GTP and GDP States. Cell Chem Biol. 2017 Dec 21;24(12):1455-1466.
  11. Hallenbeck KK, Davies JL, Merron C, Ogden P, Sijbesma E, Ottmann C, Renslo AR, Wilson C, Arkin MR. A Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry Method for Screening Disulfide Tethering Fragments. SLAS Discov. 2017 Sep 1:2472555217732072.
  12. Neitz RJ, Bryant C, Chen S, Gut J, Hugo Caselli E, Ponce S, Chowdhury S, Xu H, Arkin MR, Ellman JA, Renslo AR. Tetrafluorophenoxymethyl ketone cruzain inhibitors with improved pharmacokinetic properties as therapeutic leads for Chagas' disease. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2015 Nov 1;25(21):4834-7.
  13. Zhou Y, Vedantham P, Lu K, Agudelo J, Carrion R Jr, Nunneley JW, Barnard D, Pöhlmann S, McKerrow JH, Renslo AR, Simmons G. Protease inhibitors targeting coronavirus and filovirus entry.Antiviral Res. 2015 Apr;116:76-84.
  14. Nichols DA, Hargis JC, Sanishvili R, Jaishankar P, Defrees K, Smith EW, Wang KK, Prati F, Renslo AR, Woodcock HL, Chen Y. Ligand-Induced Proton Transfer and Low-Barrier Hydrogen Bond Revealed by X-ray Crystallography. J Am Chem Soc. 2015 Jul 1;137(25):8086.
  15. Chimenti MS, Bulfer SL, Neitz RJ, Renslo AR, Jacobson MP, James TL, Arkin MR, Kelly MJ. A Fragment-Based Ligand Screen Against Part of a Large Protein Machine: The ND1 Domains of the AAA+ ATPase p97/VCP. J Biomol Screen. 2015 Jul;20(6):788-800.
  16. Murray J, Giannetti AM, Steffek M, Gibbons P, Hearn BR, Cohen F, Tam C, Pozniak C, Bravo B, Lewcock J, Jaishankar P, Ly CQ, Zhao X, Tang Y, Chugha P, Arkin MR, Flygare J, Renslo AR. Tailoring Small Molecules for an Allosteric Site on Procaspase-6. ChemMedChem, 2014, 9, 73-77.
  17. Nishino M, Choy JW, Gushwa NN, Oses-Prieto JA, Koupparis K, Burlingame AL, Renslo AR, McKerrow JH, Taunton J. Hypothemycin, a fungal natural product, identifies therapeutic targets in Trypanosoma brucei. Elife. 2013; 2:e00712.
  18. Choy JW, Bryant C, Calvet CM, Doyle PS, Gunatilleke SS, Leung SS, Ang KK, Chen S, Gut J, Oses-Prieto JA, Johnston JB, Arkin MR, Burlingame AL, Taunton J, Jacobson MP, McKerrow JM, Podust LM, Renslo AR. Chemical-biological characterization of a cruzain inhibitor reveals a second target and a mammalian off-target. Beilstein J Org Chem. 2013; 9:15-25. 
View in: PubMed
  19. Nichols DA, Jaishankar P, Larson W, Smith E, Liu G, Beyrouthy R, Bonnet R, Renslo AR, Chen Y. Structure-based design of potent and ligand-efficient inhibitors of CTX-M class A ß-lactamase. J Med Chem. 2012 Mar 8; 55(5):2163-72. 
View in: PubMed
  20. Ang KK, Ratnam J, Gut J, Legac J, Hansell E, Mackey ZB, Skrzypczynska KM, Debnath A, Engel JC, Rosenthal PJ, McKerrow JH, Arkin MR, Renslo AR. Mining a cathepsin inhibitor library for new antiparasitic drug leads. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2011; 5(5):e1023. 
View in: PubMed
  21. Bryant C, Kerr ID, Debnath M, Ang KK, Ratnam J, Ferreira RS, Jaishankar P, Zhao D, Arkin MR, McKerrow JH, Brinen LS, Renslo AR. Novel non-peptidic vinylsulfones targeting the S2 and S3 subsites of parasite cysteine proteases. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2009 Nov 1; 19(21):6218-21. 
View in: PubMed

Novel neuropharmacology

  1. Kim GJ, Mo H, Liu H, Wu Z, Chen S, Zheng J, Zhao X, Nucum D, Shortland J, Peng L, Elepano M, Tang B, Olson S, Paras N, Li H, Renslo AR, Arkin MR, Huang B, Lu B, Sirota M, Guo S. A zebrafish screen reveals Renin-angiotensin system inhibitors as neuroprotective via mitochondrial restoration in dopamine neurons. Elife 2021 Sep 22;10:e69795.
  2. Bashore C, Jaishankar P, Skelton NJ, Fuhrmann J, Hearn BR, Liu PS, Renslo AR, Dueber EC. Cyanopyrrolidine Inhibitors of Ubiquitin Specific Protease 7 Mediate Desulfhydration of the Active-Site Cysteine. ACS Chem Biol. 2020 Jun 19;15(6):1392-1400. Featured on the Journal Cover!
  3. Griffin AL, Jaishankar P, Grandjean J-M, Olson SH, Renslo AR, Baraban SC. Zebrafish studies identify serotonin receptors mediating antiepileptic activity in Dravet syndrome Brain Commun. 2019;1(1):fcz008.
  4. Ehrnhoefer DE, Skotte NH, Reinshagen J, Qiu X, Windshügel B, Jaishankar P, Ladha S, Petina O, Khankischpur M, Nguyen YTN, Caron NS, Razeto A, Meyer Zu Rheda M, Deng Y, Huynh KT, Wittig I, Gribbon P, Renslo AR, Geffken D, Gul S, Hayden MR. Activation of Caspase-6 Is Promoted by a Mutant Huntingtin Fragment and Blocked by an Allosteric Inhibitor Compound. Cell Chem Biol. 2019, 26(9), 1295.
  5. Pope L, Arrigoni C, Lou H, Bryant C, Gallardo-Godoy A, Renslo AR, Minor DL Jr. Protein and Chemical Determinants of BL-1249 Action and Selectivity for K2P Channels. ACS Chem Neurosci. 2018, 9, 3153.
  6. Tsai JC, Miller-Vedam LE, Anand AA, Jaishankar P, Nguyen HC, Renslo AR, Frost A, Walter P. Structure of the nucleotide exchange factor eIF2B reveals mechanism of memory-enhancing molecule. Science. 2018, 359, 6373
  7. Lolicato M, Arrigoni C, Mori T, Bryant C, Clark KA, Minor DL K2P2.1 (TREK-1)-activator complexes reveal a cryptic selectivity filter binding site Nature. 2017 Jul 20; 547(7663):364-368.
  8. Gallagher CM, Garri C, Cain EL, Ang KK, Wilson CG, Chen S, Hearn BR, Jaishankar P, Aranda-Diaz A, Arkin MR, Renslo AR, Walter P. Ceapins are a new class of unfolded protein response inhibitors, selectively targeting the ATF6α branch. Elife. 2016 Jul 20;5. pii: e11878.
  9. Hearn BR, Jaishankar P, Sidrauski C, Tsai JC, Vedantham P, Fontaine SD, Walter P, Renslo AR. Structure-Activity Studies of Bis-O-Arylglycolamides: Inhibitors of the Integrated Stress Response. ChemMedChem. 2016 Apr 19;11(8):870-80.
  10. Sidrauski C, Tsai JC, Kampmann M, Hearn BR, Vedantham P, Jaishankar P, Sokabe M, Mendez AS, Newton BW, Tang EL, Verschueren E, Johnson JR, Krogan NJ, Fraser CS, Weissman JS, Renslo AR, Walter P. Pharmacological dimerization and activation of the exchange factor eIF2B antagonizes the integrated stress resp. Elife. 2015 Apr 15;4:e07314.
  11. Giles K, Berry DB, Condello C, Hawley RC, Gallardo-Godoy A, Bryant C, Oehler A, Elepano M, Bhardwaj S, Patel S, Silber BM, Guan S, DeArmond SJ, Renslo AR, Prusiner SB. Different 2-Aminothiazole Therapeutics Produce Distinct Patterns of Scrapie Prion Neuropathology in Mouse Brains. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2015 Oct;355(1):2-12.
  12. Silber BM, Gever JR, Rao S, Li Z, Renslo AR, Widjaja K, Wong C, Giles K, Freyman Y, Elepano M, Irwin JJ, Jacobson MP, Prusiner SB. Novel compounds lowering the cellular isoform of the human prion protein in cultured human cells. Bioorg Med Chem. 2014 Mar 15; 22(6):1960-72.
  13. Murray J, Giannetti AM, Steffek M, Gibbons P, Hearn BR, Cohen F, Tam C, Pozniak C, Bravo B, Lewcock J, Jaishankar P, Ly CQ, Zhao X, Tang Y, Chugha P, Arkin MR, Flygare J, Renslo AR. Tailoring Small Molecules for an Allosteric Site on Procaspase-6. ChemMedChem, 2014, 9, 73-77.
  14. Berry DB, Lu D, Geva M, Watts JC, Bhardwaj S, Oehler A, Renslo AR, DeArmond SJ, Prusiner SB, Giles K. Drug resistance confounding prion therapeutics. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2013, 110, E1460-4169.
  15. Silber BM, Gever JR, Li Z, Gallardo-Godoy A, Renslo AR, Widjaja K, Irwin JJ, Rao S, Jacobson MP, Ghaemmaghami S, Prusiner SB. Antiprion compounds that reduce PrP(Sc) levels in dividing and stationary-phase cells. Bioorg. Med. Chem. 2013, 21, 7999-8012.
  16. Lu D, Giles K, Li Z, Rao S, Dolghih E, Gever JR, Geva M, Elepano ML, Oehler A, Bryant C, Renslo AR, Jacobson MP, Dearmond SJ, Silber BM, Prusiner SB. Biaryl amides and hydrazones as therapeutics for prion disease in transgenic mice. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 2013, 347, 325-338
  17. Bagriantsev SN, Ang KH, Gallardo-Godoy A, Clark KA, Arkin MR, Renslo AR, Minor DL. A High-Throughput Functional Screen Identifies Small Molecule Regulators of Temperature- and Mechano-Sensitive K2P Channels. ACS Chem Biol. 2013, 8, 1841-2851.
  18. Fan P, Manoli DS, Ahmed OM, Chen Y, Agarwal N, Kwong S, Cai AG, Neitz J, Renslo A, Baker BS, Shah NM. Genetic and Neural Mechanisms that Inhibit Drosophila from Mating with Other Species. Cell 2013 Jul 3; 154, 89-102.
  19. Sidrauski C, Acosta-Alvear D, Khoutorsky A, Vedantham P, Hearn BR, Li H, Gamache K, Gallagher CM, Ang KK, Wilson C, Okreglak V, Ashkenazi A, Hann B, Nader K, Arkin MR, Renslo AR, Sonenberg N, Walter P. Pharmacological brake-release of mRNA translation enhances cognitive memory. Elife. 2013; 2:e00498.
  20. Li Z, Silber BM, Rao S, Gever JR, Bryant C, Gallardo-Godoy A, Dolghih E, Widjaja K, Elepano M, Jacobson MP, Prusiner SB, Renslo AR. 2-aminothiazoles with improved pharmacotherapeutic properties for treatment of prion disease. ChemMedChem. 2013 May; 8(5):847-57. 
View in: PubMed
  21. Silber BM, Rao S, Fife KL, Gallardo-Godoy A, Renslo AR, Dalvie DK, Giles K, Freyman Y, Elepano M, Gever JR, Li Z, Jacobson MP, Huang Y, Benet LZ, Prusiner SB. Pharmacokinetics and metabolism of 2-aminothiazoles with antiprion activity in mice. Pharm Res. 2013 Apr; 30(4):932-50. 
View in: PubMed
  22. Heise CE, Murray J, Augustyn KE, Bravo B, Chugha P, Cohen F, Giannetti AM, Gibbons P, Hannoush RN, Hearn BR, Jaishankar P, Ly CQ, Shah K, Stanger K, Steffek M, Tang Y, Zhao X, Lewcock JW, Renslo AR, Flygare J, Arkin MR. Mechanistic and structural understanding of uncompetitive inhibitors of caspase-6. PLoS One. 2012; 7(12):e50864. 
View in: PubMed
  23. Gallardo-Godoy A, Gever J, Fife KL, Silber BM, Prusiner SB, Renslo AR. 2-Aminothiazoles as therapeutic leads for prion diseases. J Med Chem. 2011 Feb 24; 54(4):1010-21. 
View in: PubMed
  24. Ghaemmaghami S, May BC, Renslo AR, Prusiner SB. Discovery of 2-aminothiazoles as potent antiprion compounds. J Virol. 2010 Apr; 84(7):3408-12. 
View in: PubMed

Lead discovery for parasitic and viral disease

  1. Blank BR, Gut J, Rosenthal PJ, Renslo, AR. Artefenomel Regioisomer RLA-3107 Is a Promising Lead for the Discovery of Next-Generation Endoperoxide Antimalarials. ACS Med. Chem. Lett. 2023, 14,493-498.

  2. Gahbauer S, Correy GJ, Schuller M, Ferla MP, Doruk YU, Rachman M, Wu T, Diolaiti M, Wang S, Neitz RJ, Fearon D, Radchenko DS, Moroz YS, Irwin JJ, Renslo AR, Taylor JC, Gestwicki JE, von Delft F, Ashworth A, Ahel I, Shoichet BK, Fraser JS. Iterative computational design and crystallographic screening identifies potent inhibitors targeting the Nsp3 macrodomain of SARS-CoV-2. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023, 120(2):e2212931120.

  3. Hulce KR, Jaishankar P, Lee GM, Bohn MF, Connelly EJ, Wucherer K, Ongpipattanakul C, Volk RF, Chuo SW, Arkin MR, Renslo AR, Craik CS. Inhibiting a dynamic viral protease by targeting a non-catalytic cysteine. Cell Chem. Biol. 2022, online publication ahead of print. Featured by Derek Lowe in his In The Pipeline Blog

  4. Gunderson EL, Bryant C, Bulman CA, Fischer C, Luo M, Vogel I, Lim KC, Jawahar S, Tricoche N, Voronin D, Corbo C, Ayiseh RB, Manfo FPT, Mbah GE, Cho-Ngwa F, Beerntsen B, Renslo AR, Lustigman S, Sakanari JA. Pyrvinium Pamoate and Structural Analogs Are Early Macrofilaricide Leads. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2022, 15, 189.

  5. Jílková A, Rubešová P, Fanfrlík J, Fajtová P, Řezáčová P, Brynda J, Lepšík M, Mertlíková-Kaiserová H, Emal CD, Renslo AR, Roush WR, Horn M, Caffrey CR, Mareš M. Druggable Hot Spots in the Schistosomiasis Cathepsin B1 Target Identified by Functional and Binding Mode Analysis of Potent Vinyl Sulfone Inhibitors. ACS Infect. Dis. 2021 7(5):1077-1088.
  6. Blank BR, Gonciarz RL, Talukder P, Gut J, Legac J, Rosenthal PJ, Renslo AR. Antimalarial Trioxolanes with Superior Drug-Like Properties and In Vivo Efficacy. ACS Infect Dis. 2020 Jul 10;6(7):1827-1835.
  7. Acker TM, Gable JE, Bohn MF, Jaishankar P, Thompson MC, Fraser JS, Renslo AR, Craik CS. Allosteric Inhibitors, Crystallography, and Comparative Analysis Reveal Network of Coordinated Movement across Human Herpesvirus Proteases. J Am Chem Soc. 2017 Aug 30;139(34):11650-11653.
  8. Blank BR, Gut J, Rosenthal PJ, Renslo AR. Enantioselective Synthesis and in Vivo Evaluation of Regioisomeric Analogues of the Antimalarial Arterolane. J Med Chem. 2017 Jul 27;60(14):6400-6407.
  9. Nakamura RL, Burlingame MA, Yang S, Crosby DC, Talbot DJ, Chui K, Frankel AD, Renslo AR. Identification and Optimization of Thienopyridine Carboxamides as Inhibitors of HIV Regulatory Complexes. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2017 Jun 27;61(7) pii: e02366-16
  10. Lauterwasser EM, Fontaine SD, Li H, Gut J, Katneni K, Charman SA, Rosenthal PJ, Bogyo M, Renslo AR. Trioxolane-Mediated Delivery of Mefloquine Limits Brain Exposure in a Mouse Model of Malaria. ACS Med Chem Lett. 2015 Oct 2;6(11):1145-1149. eCollection 2015 Nov 12.
  11. Mott BT, Eastman RT, Guha R, Sherlach KS, Siriwardana A, Shinn P, McKnight C, Michael S, Lacerda-Queiroz N, Patel PR, Khine P, Sun H, Kasbekar M, Aghdam N, Fontaine SD, Liu D, Mierzwa T, Mathews-Griner LA, Ferrer M, Renslo AR, Inglese J, Yuan J, Roepe PD, Su XZ, Thomas CJ. High-throughput matrix screening identifies synergistic and antagonistic antimalarial drug combinations. Sci Rep. 2015 Sep 25;5:13891.
  12. Peniche AG, Renslo AR, Melby PC, Travi BL. Antileishmanial Activity of Disulfiram and Thiuram Disulfide Analogs in an Ex Vivo Model System Is Selectively Enhanced by the Addition of Divalent Metal Ions. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2015 Oct;59(10):6463-70.
  13. Neitz RJ, Bryant C, Chen S, Gut J, Hugo Caselli E, Ponce S, Chowdhury S, Xu H, Arkin MR, Ellman JA, Renslo AR. Tetrafluorophenoxymethyl ketone cruzain inhibitors with improved pharmacokinetic properties as therapeutic leads for Chagas' disease. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2015 Nov 1;25(21):4834-7.
  14. Zhou Y, Vedantham P, Lu K, Agudelo J, Carrion R Jr, Nunneley JW, Barnard D, Pöhlmann S, McKerrow JH, Renslo AR, Simmons G. Protease inhibitors targeting coronavirus and filovirus entry.Antiviral Res. 2015 Apr;116:76-84.
  15. Fontaine SD, Spangler B, Gut J, Lauterwasser EM, Rosenthal PJ, Renslo AR. Drug delivery to the malaria parasite using an arterolane-like scaffold. ChemMedChem. 2015 Jan;10(1):47-51.
  16. Neitz RJ, Chen S, Supek F, Yeh V, Kellar D, Gut J, Bryant C, Gallardo-Godoy A, Molteni V, Roach SL, Chatterjee AK, Robertson S, Renslo AR, Arkin M, Glynne R, McKerrow J, Siqueira-Neto JL. Lead identification to clinical candidate selection: drugs for Chagas disease. J Biomol Screen. 2015 Jan;20(1):101-11.
  17. Gable JE, Lee GM, Jaishankar P, Hearn BR, Waddling CA, Renslo AR, Craik CS. Broad-spectrum allosteric inhibition of herpesvirus proteases. Biochemistry. 2014 Jul 22; 53(28):4648-60. View in: PubMed
  18. Debnath A, Shahinas D, Bryant C, Hirata K, Miyamoto Y, Hwang G, Gut J, Renslo AR, Pillai DR, Eckmann L, Reed SL, McKerrow JH. Hsp90 inhibitors as new leads to target parasitic diarrheal diseases. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2014 Jul; 58(7):4138-44. View in: PubMed
  19. Peniche AG, Osorio Y, Renslo AR, Frantz DE, Melby PC, Travi BL. Development of an ex vivo lymph node explant model for the identification of novel molecules active against Leishania (L.) major. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 2014, 58, 78-87.
  20. Nishino M, Choy JW, Gushwa NN, Oses-Prieto JA, Koupparis K, Burlingame AL, Renslo AR, McKerrow JH, Taunton J. Hypothemycin, a fungal natural product, identifies therapeutic targets in Trypanosoma brucei. Elife. 2013; 2:e00712.
  21. Choy JW, Bryant C, Calvet CM, Doyle PS, Gunatilleke SS, Leung SS, Ang KK, Chen S, Gut J, Oses-Prieto JA, Johnston JB, Arkin MR, Burlingame AL, Taunton J, Jacobson MP, McKerrow JM, Podust LM, Renslo AR. Chemical-biological characterization of a cruzain inhibitor reveals a second target and a mammalian off-target. Beilstein J Org Chem. 2013; 9:15-25. 
View in: PubMed
  22. Mahajan SS, Gut J, Rosenthal PJ, Renslo AR. Ferrous iron-dependent delivery of therapeutic agents to the malaria parasite. Future Med Chem. 2012 Dec; 4(18):2241-9. 
View in: PubMed
  23. Hartwig CL, Lauterwasser EM, Mahajan SS, Hoke JM, Cooper RA, Renslo AR. Investigating the antimalarial action of 1,2,4-trioxolanes with fluorescent chemical probes. J Med Chem. 2011 Dec 8; 54(23):8207-13. 
View in: PubMed
  24. Ang KK, Ratnam J, Gut J, Legac J, Hansell E, Mackey ZB, Skrzypczynska KM, Debnath A, Engel JC, Rosenthal PJ, McKerrow JH, Arkin MR, Renslo AR. Mining a cathepsin inhibitor library for new antiparasitic drug leads. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2011; 5(5):e1023. 
View in: PubMed
  25. Osorio Y, Travi BL, Renslo AR, Peniche AG, Melby PC. Identification of small molecule lead compounds for visceral leishmaniasis using a novel ex vivo splenic explant model system. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2011; 5(2):e962. 
View in: PubMed
  26. Bryant C, Kerr ID, Debnath M, Ang KK, Ratnam J, Ferreira RS, Jaishankar P, Zhao D, Arkin MR, McKerrow JH, Brinen LS, Renslo AR. Novel non-peptidic vinylsulfones targeting the S2 and S3 subsites of parasite cysteine proteases. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2009 Nov 1; 19(21):6218-21. 
View in: PubMed
  27. Ferreira RS, Bryant C, Ang KK, McKerrow JH, Shoichet BK, Renslo AR. Divergent modes of enzyme inhibition in a homologous structure-activity series. J Med Chem. 2009 Aug 27; 52(16):5005-8. 
View in: PubMed
  28. Abdulla MH, Ruelas DS, Wolff B, Snedecor J, Lim KC, Xu F, Renslo AR, Williams J, McKerrow JH, Caffrey CR. Drug discovery for schistosomiasis: hit and lead compounds identified in a library of known drugs by medium-throughput phenotypic screening. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2009; 3(7):e478. 
View in: PubMed
  29. Jaishankar P, Hansell E, Zhao DM, Doyle PS, McKerrow JH, Renslo AR. Potency and selectivity of P2/P3-modified inhibitors of cysteine proteases from trypanosomes. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2008 Jan 15; 18(2):624-8. 
View in: PubMed

Antibacterial discovery

  1. Sacco MD, Defrees K, Zhang X, Lawless W, Nwanochie E, Balsizer A, Darch SE, Renslo AR, Chen Y. Structure-Based Ligand Design Targeting Pseudomonas aeruginosa LpxA in Lipid A Biosynthesis. ACS Infect Dis. 2022, 8(7):1231-1240.
  2. Kemp MT, Nichols DA, Zhang X, Defrees K, Na I, Renslo AR, Chen Y. Mutation of the conserved Asp-Asp pair impairs the structure, function, and inhibition of CTX-M Class A β-lactamase. FEBS Lett. 2021 Oct 26. doi: 10.1002/1873-3468.14215.
  3. Pemberton OA, Jaishankar P, Akhtar A, Adams JL, Shaw LN, Renslo AR, Chen Y. Heteroaryl Phosphonates as Noncovalent Inhibitors of Both Serine- and Metallocarbapenemases. J Med Chem. 2019, 62, 8480-8496.
  4. DeFrees K, Kemp MT, ElHilali-Pollard X, Zhang X, Mohamed A, Chen Yu, Renslo AR. An empirical study of amide–heteroarene π-stacking interactions using reversible inhibitors of a bacterial serine hydrolase. Org. Chem. Front. 2019, 6, 1749.
  5. Blank BR, Talukder P, Muir RK, Green ER, Skaar EP, Renslo AR. Targeting Mobilization of Ferrous Iron in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infection with an Iron(II)-Caged LpxC Inhibitor. ACS Infectious Diseases 2019, 5, 8, 1366-1375.
  6. Torelli NJ, Akhtar A, DeFrees K, Jaishankar P, Pemberton OA, Zhang X, Johnson C, Renslo AR, Chen Y. Active-Site Druggability of Carbapenemases and Broad-Spectrum Inhibitor Discovery. ACS Infect Dis. 2019 Jun 14; 5(6):1013-1021.
  7. Pemberton OA, Zhang X, Nichols DA, DeFrees K, Jaishankar P, Bonnet R, Adams J, Shaw LN, Renslo AR, Chen Y. Antibacterial spectrum of a tetrazole-based inhibitor of serine β-lactamases. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2018, 62, e02563-17.
  8. Nichols DA, Jaishankar P, Larson W, Smith E, Liu G, Beyrouthy R, Bonnet R, Renslo AR, Chen Y. Structure-based design of potent and ligand-efficient inhibitors of CTX-M class A ß-lactamase. J Med Chem. 2012 Mar 8; 55(5):2163-72. 
View in: PubMed
  9. Renslo AR, Atuegbu A, Herradura P, Jaishankar P, Ji M, Leach KL, Huband MD, Dermyer MR, Wu L, Vara Prasad JV, Gordeev MF. A distal methyl substituent attenuates mitochondrial protein synthesis inhibition in oxazolidinone antibacterials. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2007 Sep 15; 17(18):5036-40. 
View in: PubMed
  10. Renslo AR, Luehr GW, Lam S, Westlund NE, Gómez M, Hackbarth CJ, Patel DV, Gordeev MF. Synthesis and structure-activity studies of antibacterial oxazolidinones containing dihydrothiopyran or dihydrothiazine C-rings. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2006 Jul 1; 16(13):3475-8. 
View in: PubMed
  11. Renslo AR, Gao H, Jaishankar P, Venkatachalam R, Gómez M, Blais J, Huband M, Vara Prasad JV, Gordeev MF. Conformational constraint in oxazolidinone antibacterials. Part 2: Synthesis and structure-activity studies of oxa-, aza-, and thiabicyclo[3.1.0]hexylphenyl oxazolidinones. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2006 Mar 1; 16(5):1126-9. 
View in: PubMed
  12. Renslo AR, Jaishankar P, Venkatachalam R, Hackbarth C, Lopez S, Patel DV, Gordeev MF. Conformational constraint in oxazolidinone antibacterials. Synthesis and structure-activity studies of (azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexylphenyl)oxazolidinones. J Med Chem. 2005 Jul 28; 48(15):5009-24. 
View in: PubMed

Synthetic and other methodology

  1. Shimizu H, Renslo AR. Systematic Exploration of Passive Permeability in Tetrapeptides with Hydrogen-Bond-Accepting Amino Acid Side Chains. ChemMedChem. 2022, 17(16):e202200204.
  2. Chen J, Gonciarz RL, Renslo AR. Expanded scope of Griesbaum co-ozonolysis for the preparation of structurally diverse sensors of ferrous iron. RSC Adv., 2021, 11, 34338-34342.
  3. Fontaine SD, DiPasquale AG, Renslo AR. Efficient and stereocontrolled synthesis of 1,2,4-trioxolanes useful for ferrous iron-dependent drug delivery. Org Lett. 2014 Nov 7; 16(21):5776-9. View in: PubMed
  4. Turner DM, Tom CT, Renslo AR. Simple Plate-Based, Parallel Synthesis of Disulfide Fragments using the CuAAC Click Reaction. ACS Comb Sci. 2014 Oct 29. View in: PubMed
  5. Rafi SB, Hearn BR, Vedantham P, Jacobson MP, Renslo AR. Predicting and improving the membrane permeability of peptidic small molecules. J Med Chem. 2012 Apr 12; 55(7):3163-9. 
View in: PubMed
  6. Dolghih E, Bryant C, Renslo AR, Jacobson MP. Predicting binding to p-glycoprotein by flexible receptor docking. PLoS Comput Biol. 2011 Jun; 7(6):e1002083. 
View in: PubMed
  7. Burlingame MA, Tom CT, Renslo AR. Simple one-pot synthesis of disulfide fragments for use in disulfide-exchange screening. ACS Comb Sci. 2011 May 9; 13(3):205-8. 
View in: PubMed
  8. Gao H, Renslo AR. A practical synthesis of differentially protected 2-(hydroxymethyl)piperazines. J Org Chem. 2007 Oct 26; 72(22):8591-2. 
View in: PubMed
  9. Renslo AR, Gao H, Jaishankar P, Venkatachalam R, Gordeev MF. Synthesis of aza-, oxa-, and thiabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane heterocycles from a common synthetic intermediate. Org Lett. 2005 Jun 23; 7(13):2627-30. 
View in: PubMed

Review articles and perspectives

  1. Foss CA, Renslo AR. Imaging-Selected Host Responses in the Context of Infections.  J Infect Dis. 2023 Oct 3;228(Suppl 4):S302-S310

  2. Natale AM, Deal PE, Minor DL. Structural Insights into the Mechanisms and Pharmacology of K2P Potassium Channels. J Mol Biol. 2021 433(17), 166995

  3. Gonciarz RL and Renslo AR. Emerging role of ferrous iron in bacterial growth and host–pathogen interaction: New tools for chemical (micro)biology and antibacterial therapy. Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol. 2021, 61, 170-178.

  4. Gonciarz RL, Collisson EC, Renslo AR. Ferrous Iron Dependent Pharmacology. Trends Pharmacol. Sci. 2021, 42, 7-18.

  5. Hallenbeck KK, Turner DM, Renslo AR, Arkin MR. Targeting Non-Catalytic Cysteine Residues Through Structure-Guided Drug Discovery. Curr Top Med Chem. 2017;17(1):4-15. Review.
  6. Ghaemmaghami S, Russo M, Renslo AR. Successes and challenges in phenotype-based lead discovery for prion diseases. J Med Chem. 2014 Aug 28; 57(16):6919-29. View in: PubMed
  7. Nichols DA, Renslo AR, Chen Y. Fragment-based inhibitor discovery against ß-lactamase. Future Med Chem. 2014 Mar; 6(4):413-27.
  8. Murray, J and Renslo, AR. Modulating caspase activity: beyond the active site. Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol. 2013, 23, 812-819.
  9. Renslo, AR. Antimalarial Drug Discovery: From Quinine to the Dream of Eradication. ACS Med. Chem. Lett. 2013, 4, 1126-1128.
  10. Robertson SA, Renslo AR. Drug discovery for neglected tropical diseases at the Sandler Center. Future Med Chem. 2011 Aug; 3(10):1279-88. 
View in: PubMed
  11. Renslo AR. Antibacterial oxazolidinones: emerging structure-toxicity relationships. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2010 May; 8(5):565-74. 
View in: PubMed
  12. Renslo, AR. When Medical Need is not Matched by Market Opportunity. Pharma Focus Asia. 2008; 9:24-26. 

  13. Renslo, AR. The Echinocandins: Total and Semi-Synthetic Approaches in Anti-fungal Drug Discovery. Anti-infective Agents in Medicinal Chemistry. 2007; 6:201-212. 

  14. Renslo AR, McKerrow JH. Drug discovery and development for neglected parasitic diseases. Nat Chem Biol. 2006 Dec; 2(12):701-10. 
View in: PubMed
  15. Renslo AR, Luehr GW, Gordeev MF. Recent developments in the identification of novel oxazolidinone antibacterial agents. Bioorg Med Chem. 2006 Jun 15; 14(12):4227-40. 
View in: PubMed

Textbook

  1. Renslo, A The Organic Chemistry of Medicinal Agents, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, 2016

Supervised work (graduate and postdoctoral)​

  1. Wash, PL, Renslo, AR, and Rebek, J. Isolation of an Acid/Base Complex in Solution Puts the Brakes on Nitrogen Inversion. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2001; 40:1221-1222. 

  2. Tucci, FC, Renslo, AR, Rudkevich, DM, and Rebek, J. Nanoscale Container Structures and their Host–Guest Properties. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2000; 39:1076-1079.
  3. Renslo, AR, Tucci, FC, Rudkevich, DM, and Rebek, J. Synthesis and Assembly of Self-Complementary Cavitands. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000; 122:4573-4582. 

  4. Renslo, AR and Rebek, J. Molecular Recognition with Introverted Functionality. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2000; 39:3281-3283. 

  5. Renslo, AR, Rudkevich, DM, and Rebek, J. Self-Complementary Cavitands. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999; 121:7459-7460. 

  6. Lützen, A, Renslo, AR, Schalley, CA, O’Leary, BM, and Rebek, J. Encapsulation of Ion-Molecule Complexes: Second-Sphere Supramolecular Chemistry. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999; 121:7455-7456.
  7. Amos DT, Renslo AR, Danheiser RL. Intramolecular [4 + 2] cycloadditions of iminoacetonitriles: a new class of azadienophiles for hetero Diels-Alder reactions. J Am Chem Soc. 2003 Apr 30; 125(17):4970-1. 
View in: PubMed
  8. Danheiser, RL, Renslo, AR, Amos, DT, and Wright, GT. Preparation of Substituted Pyridines via Regiocontrolled [4+2] Cycloadditions of Oximinosulfonates: Methyl 5-Methylpyridine-2-Carboxylate. Org. Syn. 2003; 80:133-143. 

  9. Weinstein, RD, Renslo, AR, Danheiser, RL, and Tester, JW. Silica-Promoted Diels–Alder Reactions in Carbon Dioxide from Gaseous to Supercritical Conditions. J. Phys. Chem. B. 1999; 103:2878-2887. 

  10. Renslo, AR and Danheiser, RL. Synthesis of Substituted Pyridines via Regiocontrolled [4+2] Cycloadditions of Oximinosulfonates. J. Org. Chem. 1998; 63:7840-7850. 

  11. Renslo, AR, Weinstein, RD, Tester, JW, and Danheiser, RL. Concerning the Regiochemical Course of the Diels–Alder Reaction in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide. J. Org. Chem. 1997; 62:4530-4533. 

  12. Weinstein, RD, Renslo, AR, Danheiser, RL, Harris, JG, and Tester, JW. Kinetic Correlation of Diels-Alder Reactions in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide J. Phys. Chem. 1996; 100:12337-12341.