Chu, JenniferZhang, WenhanCencic, ReginaDevine, William G.Beglov, DmitriHenkel, ThomasBrown, Lauren E.Vajda, SandorPorco, John A.Pelletier, Jerry2020-12-152020-12-152019-11-21Jennifer Chu, Wenhan Zhang, Regina Cencic, William G Devine, Dmitri Beglov, Thomas Henkel, Lauren E Brown, Sandor Vajda, John A Porco, Jerry Pelletier. 2019. "Amidino-Rocaglates: A Potent Class of eIF4A Inhibitors.." Cell Chem Biol, Volume 26, Issue 11, pp. 1586 - 1593.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2019.08.0082451-9448https://hdl.handle.net/2144/41805Published in final edited form as: Cell Chem Biol. 2019 November 21; 26(11): 1586–1593.e3. doi:10.1016/j.chembiol.2019.08.008.Rocaglates share a common cyclopenta[b]benzofuran core that inhibits eukaryotic translation initiation by modifying the behavior of the RNA helicase, eIF4A. Working as interfacial inhibitors, rocaglates stabilize the association between eIF4A and RNA, which can lead to the formation of steric barriers that block initiating ribosomes. There is significant interest in the development and expansion of rocaglate derivatives, as several members of this family have been shown to possess potent anti-neoplastic activity in vitro and in vivo. To further our understanding of rocaglate diversity and drug design, herein we explore the RNA clamping activity of >200 unique rocaglate derivatives. Through this, we report on the identification and characterization of a potent class of synthetic rocaglates called amidino-rocaglates. These compounds are among the most potent rocaglates documented to date and, taken together, this work offers important information that will guide the future design of rocaglates with improved biological properties.p. 1586 - 1593.e3en-USAmidino-rocaglateseIF4AeIF4FInterfacial inhibitorTranslation initiationAmidinesAnimalsAntineoplastic agentsBenzofuransCell survivalDEAD-box RNA helicasesDrug designEukaryotic initiation factor-4AFemaleHumansLymphomaMiceMice, inbred C57BLProtein biosynthesisRNARecombinant proteinsRibosomesStructure-activity relationshipArticle10.1016/j.chembiol.2019.08.008488421