The first example of direct and site-selective arylation of indoles at the C6 position has been reported. The key to this high regioselectivity is the appropriate choice of the N-P(O)(t)Bu2 directing group and the use of diaryliodonium triflate salts as the coupling partners in the presence of catalytic CuO. The protocol is distinguished by mild reaction system that avoids ligand and additives, exhibiting wide scope of indole and arene coupling components without compromising its efficiency and scalability, thus representing a significant advancement in the implementation of regioselective direct arylation of indoles.

In the past decade, direct C-H arylation of indoles has been developed with high selectivity at the C2 and C3 positions via transition-metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions. Here we show that C-H activation can be directed to the C7 position with high selectivity in Pd-catalyzed coupling of indoles with arylboronic acids. The key to this high regioselectivity is the appropriate choice of a phosphinoyl directing group and a pyridine-type ligand in the presence of Pd(OAc)2 catalyst. This previously elusive transformation should provide insight for the design of other cross-couplings as well.

An effective and practical strategy has been established for the direct and site-selective arylation of indoles at the C4 and C5 positions with the aid of a readily accessible, cheap, and removable pivaloyl directing group at the C3 position. This transformation shows good functional-group tolerance and could serve as a powerful synthetic tool for the synthesis of medicinally relevant compounds. This method and those developed in previous research together enable the regiocontrolled direct arylation of indole at each C-H bond without prefunctionalization of the reactive sites.

Venous hypertension(VH) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and is closely associated with the HIF-1α/VEGF signaling pathway. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(Nrf2) significantly influences angiogenesis; however, the interplay between Nrf2 and VEGF under VH in brain AVMs remains unclear. Therefore, our study aimed to investigate the interplay between Nrf2 and VEGF due to VH in brain AVMs. Immunohistochemistry indicated that Nrf2 and VEGF were highly expressed in human brain AVM tissues. In vivo, we established a VH model in both wild-type (WT) and siRNA-mediated Nrf2 knockdown rats. VH significantly increased the expression of Nrf2 and VEGF. Loss of Nrf2 markedly inhibited the upregulation of VEGF, as determined by Western blot analysis and qRT-PCR. In vitro, primary brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) were isolated from WT and Nrf2−/− mice, and a VEGF-Nrf2 positive feed-back loop was observed in BMECs. By trans well assay and angiogenesis assay, Nrf2 knockout significantly inhibited the migration and vascular tube formation of BMECs. These findings suggest that the interplay between Nrf2 and VEGF can contribute to VH-induced angiogenesis in brain AVMs pathogenesis.