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Jianfeng Cai, PhD

Research Program: Molecular Medicine Program

Contact

  • Overview

    Associations

    • Molecular Oncology & Drug Discovery Program
    • Molecular Medicine Program

    Education & Training

    Graduate:

    • Washington University of St. Louis, PhD - Bioorganic Chemistry

    Fellowship:

    • Yale University - Bioorganic Chemistry
  • Research Interest

    The research in our laboratory ia focused on the expansion of interdisciplinary research at the interface of chemistry and biology to discover novel peptidomimetics and other small molecules that modulate protein-protein interactions involved in critical cellular processes.  Understanding how these compounds interact with proteins will help to reveal mechanisms governing cell activities.  We are particularly interested in developing compounds that lead to the design of novel therapeutics potentially targeting cancer, HIV, and Alzheimer's disease, etc.

  • Publications

    • Gu M, Yu Y, Xue M, Jiang J, Cai J. The discovery of cyclic γ-AApeptides as the promising ligands targeting EP2. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2023 May.87:129255. Pubmedid: 36965536. Pmcid: PMC10141659.
    • Abate SY, Yang Z, Jha S, Emodogo J, Ma G, Ouyang Z, Muhammad S, Pradhan N, Gu X, Patton D, Li D, Cai J, Dai Q. Promoting Large-Area Slot-Die-Coated Perovskite Solar Cell Performance and Reproducibility by Acid-Based Sulfono-γ-AApeptide. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2023 May.15(21):25495-25505. Pubmedid: 37201183.
    • Wang Y, Xue M, Gao R, Chakraborty S, Wang S, Zhao X, Gu M, Cao C, Sun X, Cai J. Short, Lipidated Dendrimeric γ-AApeptides as New Antimicrobial Peptidomimetics. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Mar.24(7). Pubmedid: 37047380. Pmcid: PMC10094648.
    • Wang L, Ma C, Sacco MD, Xue S, Mahmoud M, Calcul L, Chen Y, Wang J, Cai J. Development of the Safe and Broad-Spectrum Aldehyde and Ketoamide Mpro inhibitors Derived from the Constrained α, γ-AA Peptide Scaffold. Chemistry. 2023 Jun.29(35):e202300476. Pubmedid: 36920943. Pmcid: PMC10330001.
    • Alem D, Yang X, Beato F, Sarcar B, Tassielli AF, Dai R, Hogenson TL, Park MA, Jiang K, Cai J, Yuan Y, Fernandez-Zapico ME, Tan AC, Fleming JB, Xie H. Translational relevance of SOS1 targeting for KRAS-mutant colorectal cancer. Mol Carcinogen. 2023 Jul.62(7):1025-1037. Pubmedid: 37042566. Pmcid: PMC10330439.
    • Guo X, Yan T, Rao J, An Y, Yue X, Miao X, Wang R, Sun W, Cai J, Xie J. Novel Feleucin-K3-Derived Peptides Modified with Sulfono-γ-AA Building Blocks Targeting Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections. J Med Chem. 2023 Jan.66(2):1254-1272. Pubmedid: 36350686.
    • Ge X, Jiang F, Wang M, Chen M, Li Y, Phipps J, Cai J, Xie J, Ong J, Dubovoy V, Masters JG, Pan L, Ma S. Naringin@Metal-Organic Framework as a Multifunctional Bioplatform. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2023 Jan.15(1):677-683. Pubmedid: 36562661.
    • Zhou L, Jeong IH, Xue S, Xue M, Wang L, Li S, Liu R, Jeong GH, Wang X, Cai J, Yin J, Huang B. Inhibition of the Ubiquitin Transfer Cascade by a Peptidomimetic Foldamer Mimicking the E2 N-Terminal Helix. J Med Chem. 2023 Jan.66(1):491-502. Pubmedid: 36571278.
    • Fihurka O, Wang Y, Hong Y, Lin X, Shen N, Yang H, Brown B, Mommer M, Zieneldien T, Li Y, Kim J, Li M, Cai J, Zhou Q, Cao C. Multi-Targeting Intranasal Nanoformulation as a Therapeutic for Alzheimer's Disease. Biomolecules. 2023 Jan.13(2). Pubmedid: 36830601. Pmcid: PMC9953380.
    • Patel RS, Lui A, Hudson C, Moss L, Sparks RP, Hill SE, Shi Y, Cai J, Blair LJ, Bickford PC, Patel NA. Small molecule targeting long noncoding RNA GAS5 administered intranasally improves neuronal insulin signaling and decreases neuroinflammation in an aged mouse model. Sci Rep. 2023 Jan.13(1):317. Pubmedid: 36609440. Pmcid: PMC9822944.
    • Gao R, Li X, Xue M, Shen N, Wang M, Zhang J, Cao C, Cai J. Development of lipidated polycarbonates with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. Biomater Sci. 2023 Feb.11(5):1840-1852. Pubmedid: 36655904.
    • Teng P, Shao H, Huang B, Xie J, Cui S, Wang K, Cai J. Small Molecular Mimetics of Antimicrobial Peptides as a Promising Therapy To Combat Bacterial Resistance. J Med Chem. 2023 Feb.66(4):2211-2234. Pubmedid: 36739538.
    • Xue S, Wang X, Wang L, Xu W, Xia S, Sun L, Wang S, Shen N, Yang Z, Huang B, Li S, Cao C, Calcul L, Sun X, Lu L, Cai J, Jiang S. A novel cyclic γ-AApeptide-based long-acting pan-coronavirus fusion inhibitor with potential oral bioavailability by targeting two sites in spike protein. Cell Discov. 2022 Sep.8(1):88. Pubmedid: 36075899. Pmcid: PMC9453727.
    • Xue S, Wang L, Cai J. Sulfono-γ-AApeptides as Protein Helical Domain Mimetics to Manipulate the Angiogenesis. Chembiochem. 2022 Nov.23(22):e202200298. Pubmedid: 36006398. Pmcid: PMC9741949.
    • Fu J, Liu T, Feng X, Zhou Y, Chen M, Wang W, Zhao Y, Lu C, Quan G, Cai J, Pan X, Wu C. A Perfect Pair: Stabilized Black Phosphorous Nanosheets Engineering with Antimicrobial Peptides for Robust Multidrug Resistant Bacteria Eradication. Adv Healthc Mater. 2022 May.11(10):e2101846. Pubmedid: 35114076.
    • Teng P, Cai J. Using proteomimetics to switch angiogenic signaling. Acta Pharm Sin B. 2022 Mar.12(3):1534-1535. Pubmedid: 35530131. Pmcid: PMC9069461.
    • Jiang W, Wei L, Chen B, Luo X, Xu P, Cai J, Hu Y. Platinum prodrug nanoparticles inhibiting tumor recurrence and metastasis by concurrent chemoradiotherapy. J Nanobiotechnology. 2022 Mar.20(1):129. Pubmedid: 35279133. Pmcid: PMC8917711.
    • Wang Y, Hong Y, Yan J, Brown B, Lin X, Zhang X, Shen N, Li M, Cai J, Gordon M, Morgan D, Zhou Q, Cao C. Low-Dose Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol as Beneficial Treatment for Aged APP/PS1 Mice. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Mar.23(5). Pubmedid: 35269905. Pmcid: PMC8910894.
    • Pan M, Lu C, Zheng M, Zhou W, Song F, Chen W, Yao F, Liu D, Cai J. Unnatural Amino-Acid-Based Star-Shaped Poly(l-Ornithine)s as Emerging Long-Term and Biofilm-Disrupting Antimicrobial Peptides to Treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa-Infected Burn Wounds. Adv Healthc Mater. 2022 Jun.11(11):e2200944. Pubmedid: 35673888.
    • Sang P, Shi Y, Wei L, Cai J. Helical sulfono-γ-AApeptides with predictable functions in protein recognition. RSC Chem Biol. 2022 Jul.3(7):805-814. Pubmedid: 35866163. Pmcid: PMC9257604.
    • Song Q, Yang L, Han Z, Wu X, Li R, Zhou L, Liu N, Sui H, Cai J, Wang Y, Ji Q, Li Q. Corrigendum: Tanshinone IIA Inhibits Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition Through Hindering β-Arrestin1 Mediated β-Catenin Signaling Pathway in Colorectal Cancer. Front Pharmacol. 2022 Jul.13:929656. Pubmedid: 35847033. Pmcid: PMC9284105.
    • Huang B, Zhou L, Liu R, Wang L, Xue S, Shi Y, Jeong GH, Jeong IH, Li S, Yin J, Cai J. Activation of E6AP/UBE3A-Mediated Protein Ubiquitination and Degradation Pathways by a Cyclic γ-AA Peptide. J Med Chem. 2022 Feb.65(3):2497-2506. Pubmedid: 35045253. Pmcid: PMC8889547.
    • Bian Y, Alem D, Beato F, Hogenson TL, Yang X, Jiang K, Cai J, Ma WW, Fernandez-Zapico M, Tan AC, Lawrence NJ, Fleming JB, Yuan Y, Xie H. Development of SOS1 Inhibitor-Based Degraders to Target KRAS-Mutant Colorectal Cancer. J Med Chem. 2022 Dec.65(24):16432-16450. Pubmedid: 36459180. Pmcid: PMC10113742.
    • Li F, Lin L, Chi J, Wang H, Du M, Feng D, Wang L, Luo R, Chen H, Quan G, Cai J, Pan X, Wu C, Lu C. Guanidinium-rich lipopeptide functionalized bacteria-absorbing sponge as an effective trap-and-kill system for the elimination of focal bacterial infection. Acta Biomater. 2022 Aug.148:106-118. Pubmedid: 35671875.
    • Cai J, Wei L. Editorial of Special Column "Novel Peptides and Peptidomimetics in Drug Discovery". Acta Pharm Sin B. 2021 Sep.11(9):2606-2608. Pubmedid: 34589384. Pmcid: PMC8463287.
    • Sang P, Zeng H, Lee C, Shi Y, Wang M, Pan C, Wei L, Huang C, Wu M, Shen W, Li X, Cai J. α/Sulfono-γ-AApeptide Hybrid Analogues of Glucagon with Enhanced Stability and Prolonged In Vivo Activity. J Med Chem. 2021 Sep.64(18):13893-13901. Pubmedid: 34506138. Pmcid: PMC8903076.
    • Zheng M, Lin H, Zhang W, Tang S, Liu D, Cai J. Poly(l-ornithine)-Grafted Zinc Phthalocyanines as Dual-Functional Antimicrobial Agents with Intrinsic Membrane Damage and Photothermal Ablation Capacity. ACS Infect Dis. 2021 Oct.7(10):2917-2929. Pubmedid: 34570483.
    • Shi Y, Feng X, Lin L, Wang J, Chi J, Wu B, Zhou G, Yu F, Xu Q, Liu D, Quan G, Lu C, Pan X, Cai J, Wu C. Virus-inspired surface-nanoengineered antimicrobial liposome: A potential system to simultaneously achieve high activity and selectivity. Bioact Mater. 2021 Oct.6(10):3207-3217. Pubmedid: 33723524. Pmcid: PMC7947718.
    • Wei L, Gao R, Wang M, Wang Y, Shi Y, Gu M, Cai J. Dimeric lipo-α/sulfono-γ-AA hybrid peptides as broad-spectrum antibiotic agents. Biomater Sci. 2021 May.9(9):3410-3424. Pubmedid: 33949388. Pmcid: PMC8903075.
    • Shi Y, Sang P, Cai J. Discovery of α-helix-mimicking sulfono-γ-AApeptides as p53-MDM2 inhibitors. Future Med Chem. 2021 Jun.13(12):1021-1023. Pubmedid: 33906432.
    • Wang M, Feng X, Gao R, Sang P, Pan X, Wei L, Lu C, Wu C, Cai J. Modular Design of Membrane-Active Antibiotics: From Macromolecular Antimicrobials to Small Scorpionlike Peptidomimetics. J Med Chem. 2021 Jul.64(14):9894-9905. Pubmedid: 33789422. Pmcid: PMC8886609.
    • Zheng M, Pan M, Zhang W, Lin H, Wu S, Lu C, Tang S, Liu D, Cai J. Poly(α-l-lysine)-based nanomaterials for versatile biomedical applications: Current advances and perspectives. Bioact Mater. 2021 Jul.6(7):1878-1909. Pubmedid: 33364529. Pmcid: PMC7744653.
    • Zheng M, Li C, Zhou M, Jia R, Cai G, She F, Wei L, Wang S, Yu J, Wang D, Calcul L, Sun X, Luo X, Cheng F, Li Q, Wang Y, Cai J. Discovery of Cyclic Peptidomimetic Ligands Targeting the Extracellular Domain of EGFR. J Med Chem. 2021 Aug.64(15):11219-11228. Pubmedid: 34297567.
    • Song Q, Han Z, Wu X, Wang Y, Zhou L, Yang L, Liu N, Sui H, Cai J, Ji Q, Li Q. β-Arrestin1 Promotes Colorectal Cancer Metastasis Through GSK-3β/β-Catenin Signaling- Mediated Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 Apr.9:650067. Pubmedid: 33996812. Pmcid: PMC8114940.
    • Sang P, Shi Y, Lu J, Chen L, Yang L, Borcherds W, Abdulkadir S, Li Q, Daughdrill G, Chen J, Cai J. Correction to α-Helix-Mimicking Sulfono-γ-AApeptide Inhibitors for p53-MDM2/MDMX Protein-Protein Interactions. J Med Chem. 2020 Sep.63(17):10087. Pubmedid: 32822169. Pmcid: PMC7853636.
    • Song G, Yang H, Shen N, Pham P, Brown B, Lin X, Hong Y, Sinu P, Cai J, Li X, Leon M, Gordon M, Morgan D, Zhang S, Cao C. An Immunomodulatory Therapeutic Vaccine Targeting Oligomeric Amyloid-β. J Alzheimers Dis. 2020 Oct.77(4):1639-1653. Pubmedid: 32925044.
    • Song R, Wang Y, Wang M, Gao R, Yang T, Yang S, Yang CG, Jin Y, Zou S, Cai J, Fan R, He Q. Design and synthesis of novel desfluoroquinolone-aminopyrimidine hybrids as potent anti-MRSA agents with low hERG activity. Bioorg Chem. 2020 Oct.103:104176. Pubmedid: 32891858.
    • Song Q, Yang L, Han Z, Wu X, Li R, Zhou L, Liu N, Sui H, Cai J, Wang Y, Ji Q, Li Q. Tanshinone IIA Inhibits Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition Through Hindering β-Arrestin1 Mediated β-Catenin Signaling Pathway in Colorectal Cancer. Front Pharmacol. 2020 Oct.11:586616. Pubmedid: 33192529. Pmcid: PMC7658606.
    • Pan M, Lu C, Zheng M, Zhou W, Song F, Chen W, Yao F, Liu D, Cai J. Unnatural Amino-Acid-Based Star-Shaped Poly(l-Ornithine)s as Emerging Long-Term and Biofilm-Disrupting Antimicrobial Peptides to Treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa-Infected Burn Wounds. Adv Healthc Mater. 2020 Oct.9(19):e2000647. Pubmedid: 32893500.
    • Sang P, Shi Y, Huang B, Xue S, Odom T, Cai J. Sulfono-γ-AApeptides as Helical Mimetics: Crystal Structures and Applications. Acc Chem Res. 2020 Oct.53(10):2425-2442. Pubmedid: 32940995. Pmcid: PMC8903043.
    • Shi Y, Sang P, Lu J, Higbee P, Chen L, Yang L, Odom T, Daughdrill G, Chen J, Cai J. Rational Design of Right-Handed Heterogeneous Peptidomimetics as Inhibitors of Protein-Protein Interactions. J Med Chem. 2020 Nov.63(21):13187-13196. Pubmedid: 33140956. Pmcid: PMC8170677.
    • Zhou M, Zheng M, Cai J. Small Molecules with Membrane-Active Antibacterial Activity. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2020 May.12(19):21292-21299. Pubmedid: 31944092.
    • Sang P, Zhou Z, Shi Y, Lee C, Amso Z, Huang D, Odom T, Nguyen-Tran VTB, Shen W, Cai J. The activity of sulfono-γ-AApeptide helical foldamers that mimic GLP-1. Sci Adv. 2020 May.6(20):eaaz4988. Pubmedid: 32440547. Pmcid: PMC7228743.
    • Wang M, Odom T, Cai J. Challenges in the development of next-generation antibiotics: opportunities of small molecules mimicking mode of action of host-defense peptides. Expert Opin Ther Pat. 2020 Mar.30(5):303-305. Pubmedid: 32149532.
    • Ji Q, Zhou L, Sui H, Yang L, Wu X, Song Q, Jia R, Li R, Sun J, Wang Z, Liu N, Feng Y, Sun X, Cai G, Feng Y, Cai J, Cao Y, Cai G, Wang Y, Li Q. Primary tumors release ITGBL1-rich extracellular vesicles to promote distal metastatic tumor growth through fibroblast-niche formation. Nat Commun. 2020 Mar.11(1):1211. Pubmedid: 32139701. Pmcid: PMC7058049.
    • Wang M, Gao R, Sang P, Odom T, Zheng M, Shi Y, Xu H, Cao C, Cai J. Dimeric γ-AApeptides With Potent and Selective Antibacterial Activity. Front Chem. 2020 Jun.8:441. Pubmedid: 32596202. Pmcid: PMC7304243.
    • Shi Y, Sang P, Yin G, Gao R, Liang X, Brzozowski R, Odom T, Eswara P, Zheng Y, Li X, Cai J. Aggregation-Induced Emissive and Circularly Polarized Homogeneous Sulfono-γ-AApeptide Foldamers. Adv Opt Mater. 2020 Jul.8(14). Pubmedid: 33072491. Pmcid: PMC7567131.
    • Bolarinwa O, Li C, Khadka N, Li Q, Wang Y, Pan J, Cai J. γ-AApeptides-based Small Molecule Ligands That Disaggregate Human Islet Amyloid Polypeptide. Sci Rep. 2020 Jan.10(1):95. Pubmedid: 31919432. Pmcid: PMC6952368.
    • Sang P, Shi Y, Lu J, Chen L, Yang L, Borcherds W, Abdulkadir S, Li Q, Daughdrill GW, Chen J, Cai J. α-Helix-Mimicking Sulfono-γ-AApeptide Inhibitors for p53-MDM2/MDMX Protein-Protein Interactions. J Med Chem. 2020 Feb.63(3):975-986. Pubmedid: 31971801. Pmcid: PMC7025332.
    • Cai J, Liu R. Introduction to Antibacterial Biomaterials. Biomater Sci. 2020 Dec.8(24):6812-6813. Pubmedid: 33185214.
    • Wang M, Gao R, Zheng M, Sang P, Li C, Zhang E, Li Q, Cai J. Development of Bis-cyclic Imidazolidine-4-one Derivatives as Potent Antibacterial Agents. J Med Chem. 2020 Dec.63(24):15591-15602. Pubmedid: 32914977. Pmcid: PMC8903082.
    • Sang P, Shi Y, Higbee P, Wang M, Abdulkadir S, Lu J, Daughdrill GW, Chen J, Cai J. Rational Design and Synthesis of Right-Handed d-Sulfono-γ-AApeptide Helical Foldamers as Potent Inhibitors of Protein-Protein Interactions. J Org Chem. 2020 Aug.85(16):10552-10560. Pubmedid: 32700908. Pmcid: PMC8204676.
    • Wang J, Lu C, Shi Y, Feng X, Wu B, Zhou G, Quan G, Pan X, Cai J, Wu C. Structural Superiority of Guanidinium-Rich, Four-Armed Copolypeptides: Role of Multiple Peptide-Membrane Interactions in Enhancing Bacterial Membrane Perturbation and Permeability. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2020 Apr.12(16):18363-18374. Pubmedid: 32242658.
    • Shi Y, Patel NA, Cai J. Discovery of a macrocyclic γ-AApeptide binding to lncRNA GAS5 and its therapeutic implication in Type 2 diabetes. Future Med Chem. 2019 Sep.11(17):2233-2235. Pubmedid: 31581909.
    • Chu W, Yang Y, Cai J, Kong H, Bai M, Fu X, Qin S, Zhang E. Synthesis and Bioactivities of New Membrane-Active Agents with Aromatic Linker: High Selectivity and Broad-Spectrum Antibacterial Activity. ACS Infect Dis. 2019 Sep.5(9):1535-1545. Pubmedid: 31328496.
    • Su M, Wang M, Hong Y, Nimmagadda A, Shen N, Shi Y, Gao R, Zhang E, Cao C, Cai J. Polymyxin derivatives as broad-spectrum antibiotic agents. Chem Commun (Camb). 2019 Oct.55(87):13104-13107. Pubmedid: 31612170.
    • Jiang W, Zhang C, Ahmed A, Zhao Y, Deng Y, Ding Y, Cai J, Hu Y. H2 O2 -Sensitive Upconversion Nanocluster Bomb for Tri-Mode Imaging-Guided Photodynamic Therapy in Deep Tumor Tissue. Adv Healthc Mater. 2019 Oct.8(20):e1900972. Pubmedid: 31566306.
    • Wei L, Wang M, Gao R, Fatirkhorani R, Cai J. Antibacterial activity of lipo-α/sulfono-γ-AA hybrid peptides. Eur J Med Chem. 2019 Nov.186:111901. Pubmedid: 31771826. Pmcid: PMC6939128.
    • Shen N, Song G, Yang H, Lin X, Brown B, Hong Y, Cai J, Cao C. Identifying the Pathological Domain of Alpha- Synuclein as a Therapeutic for Parkinson's Disease. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 May.20(9). Pubmedid: 31083520. Pmcid: PMC6539124.
    • Sang P, Zhang M, Shi Y, Li C, Abdulkadir S, Li Q, Ji H, Cai J. Inhibition of β-catenin/B cell lymphoma 9 protein-protein interaction using α-helix-mimicking sulfono-γ-AApeptide inhibitors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 May.116(22):10757-10762. Pubmedid: 31088961. Pmcid: PMC6561201.
    • Shi Y, Parag S, Patel R, Lui A, Murr M, Cai J, Patel NA. Stabilization of lncRNA GAS5 by a Small Molecule and Its Implications in Diabetic Adipocytes. Cell Chem Biol. 2019 Mar.26(3):319-330.e6. Pubmedid: 30661991.
    • Teng P, Gray GM, Zheng M, Singh S, Li X, Wojtas L, van der Vaart A, Cai J. Orthogonal Halogen-Bonding-Driven 3D Supramolecular Assembly of Right-Handed Synthetic Helical Peptides. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2019 Jun.58(23):7778-7782. Pubmedid: 30957356. Pmcid: PMC6534470.
    • Terzyan SS, Shen T, Liu X, Huang Q, Teng P, Zhou M, Hilberg F, Cai J, Mooers BHM, Wu J. Structural basis of resistance of mutant RET protein-tyrosine kinase to its inhibitors nintedanib and vandetanib. J Biol Chem. 2019 Jul.294(27):10428-10437. Pubmedid: 31118272. Pmcid: PMC6615680.
    • Nimmagadda A, Shi Y, Cai J. γ-AApeptides as a New Strategy for Therapeutic Development. Curr Med Chem. 2019 Jul.26(13):2313-2329. Pubmedid: 29110596. Pmcid: PMC5936681.
    • Li C, Cai G, Song D, Gao R, Teng P, Zhou L, Ji Q, Sui H, Cai J, Li Q, Wang Y. Development of EGFR-targeted evodiamine nanoparticles for the treatment of colorectal cancer. Biomater Sci. 2019 Jul.7(9):3627-3639. Pubmedid: 31328737.
    • Chu W, Yang Y, Qin S, Cai J, Bai M, Kong H, Zhang E. Low-toxicity amphiphilic molecules linked by an aromatic nucleus show broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and low drug resistance. Chem Commun (Camb). 2019 Feb. Pubmedid: 30789174.
    • Yan H, Zhou M, Bhattarai U, Song Y, Zheng M, Cai J, Liang FS. Cyclic Peptidomimetics as Inhibitor for miR-155 Biogenesis. Mol Pharm. 2019 Feb.16(2):914-920. Pubmedid: 30601666. Pmcid: PMC8513084.
    • Su M, Shi Y, Wang M, Gao R, Wu J, Xu H, Xi C, Cai J. The Activity of Small Urea-γ-AApeptides Toward Gram-Positive Bacteria. Chemmedchem. 2019 Dec.14(23):1963-1967. Pubmedid: 31677239. Pmcid: PMC6939633.
    • Yin Q, Han T, Fang B, Zhang G, Zhang C, Roberts ER, Izumi V, Zheng M, Jiang S, Yin X, Kim M, Cai J, Haura EB, Koomen JM, Smalley KSM, Wan L. K27-linked ubiquitination of BRAF by ITCH engages cytokine response to maintain MEK-ERK signaling. Nat Commun. 2019 Apr.10(1):1870. Pubmedid: 31015455. Pmcid: PMC6478693.
    • Bolarinwa O, Zhang M, Mulry E, Lu M, Cai J. Sulfono-γ-AA modified peptides that inhibit HIV-1 fusion. Org Biomol Chem. 2018 Oct.16(42):7878-7882. Pubmedid: 30306175. Pmcid: PMC6209519.
    • Sun X, Ren Y, Gunawan S, Teng P, Chen Z, Lawrence HR, Cai J, Lawrence NJ, Wu J. Selective inhibition of leukemia-associated SHP2 mutant by the allosteric SHP2 inhibitor SHP099. Leukemia. 2018 May.32(5):1246-1249. Pubmedid: 29568093. Pmcid: PMC6166654.
    • Wang H, Qian X, Wang K, Su M, Haoyang WW, Jiang X, Brzozowski R, Wang M, Gao X, Li Y, Xu B, Eswara P, Hao XQ, Gong W, Hou JL, Cai J, Li X. Supramolecular Kandinsky circles with high antibacterial activity. Nat Commun. 2018 May.9(1):1815. Pubmedid: 29739936. Pmcid: PMC5940903.
    • Teng P, Li C, Peng Z, Anne Marie V, Nimmagadda A, Su M, Li Y, Sun X, Cai J. Facilely accessible quinoline derivatives as potent antibacterial agents. Bioorg Med Chem. 2018 Jul.26(12):3573-3579. Pubmedid: 29858158. Pmcid: PMC6084461.
    • Li C, Teng P, Peng Z, Sang P, Sun X, Cai J. Bis-Cyclic Guanidines as a Novel Class of Compounds Potent against Clostridium difficile. Chemmedchem. 2018 Jul.13(14):1414-1420. Pubmedid: 29768720. Pmcid: PMC6121702.
    • Singh S, Nimmagadda A, Su M, Wang M, Teng P, Cai J. Lipidated α/α-AA heterogeneous peptides as antimicrobial agents. Eur J Med Chem. 2018 Jul.155:398-405. Pubmedid: 29906686. Pmcid: PMC6059979.
    • She F, Teng P, Peguero-Tejada A, Wang M, Ma N, Odom T, Zhou M, Gjonaj E, Wojtas L, van der Vaart A, Cai J. De Novo Left-Handed Synthetic Peptidomimetic Foldamers. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2018 Jul.57(31):9916-9920. Pubmedid: 29889349. Pmcid: PMC6182766.
    • Peng Z, Wang S, Gide M, Zhu D, Lamabadu Warnakulasuriya Patabendige HM, Li C, Cai J, Sun X. A Novel Bacteriophage Lysin-Human Defensin Fusion Protein Is Effective in Treatment of Clostridioides difficile Infection in Mice. Front Microbiol. 2018 Jan.9:3234. Pubmedid: 30687250. Pmcid: PMC6336692.
    • Gide M, Nimmagadda A, Su M, Wang M, Teng P, Li C, Gao R, Xu H, Li Q, Cai J. Nano-Sized Lipidated Dendrimers as Potent and Broad-Spectrum Antibacterial Agents. Macromol Rapid Commun. 2018 Dec.39(24):e1800622. Pubmedid: 30408252.
    • Bolarinwa O, Cai J. Developments with investigating descriptors for antimicrobial AApeptides and their derivatives. Expert Opin Drug Discov. 2018 Aug.13(8):727-739. Pubmedid: 29933702. Pmcid: PMC6301047.
    • Niu Y, Wang M, Cao Y, Nimmagadda A, Hu J, Wu Y, Cai J, Ye XS. Rational Design of Dimeric Lysine N-Alkylamides as Potent and Broad-Spectrum Antibacterial Agents. J Med Chem. 2018 Apr.61(7):2865-2874. Pubmedid: 29569910.
    • Sui H, Zhao J, Zhou L, Wen H, Deng W, Li C, Ji Q, Liu X, Feng Y, Chai N, Zhang Q, Cai J, Li Q. Tanshinone IIA inhibits β-catenin/VEGF-mediated angiogenesis by targeting TGF-β1 in normoxic and HIF-1α in hypoxic microenvironments in human colorectal cancer. Cancer Lett. 2017 Sep.403:86-97. Pubmedid: 28602978.
    • Teng P, Nimmagadda A, Su M, Hong Y, Shen N, Li C, Tsai LY, Cao J, Li Q, Cai J. Novel bis-cyclic guanidines as potent membrane-active antibacterial agents with therapeutic potential. Chem Commun (Camb). 2017 Oct.53(87):11948-11951. Pubmedid: 29052670. Pmcid: PMC5690803.
    • Khadka NK, Teng P, Cai J, Pan J. Modulation of lipid membrane structural and mechanical properties by a peptidomimetic derived from reduced amide scaffold. Biochim Biophys Acta Biomembr. 2017 May.1859(5):734-744. Pubmedid: 28132901. Pmcid: PMC5365377.
    • Bolarinwa O, Nimmagadda A, Su M, Cai J. Structure and Function of AApeptides. Biochemistry-Us. 2017 Jan.56(3):445-457. Pubmedid: 28029249. Pmcid: PMC5359774.
    • Zhang C, Cheng X, Chen M, Sheng J, Ren J, Jiang Z, Cai J, Hu Y. Fluorescence guided photothermal/photodynamic ablation of tumours using pH-responsive chlorin e6-conjugated gold nanorods. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2017 Dec.160:345-354. Pubmedid: 28961542.
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