The construction of a C-S bond is a powerful strategy for the synthesis of sulfur containing compounds including sulfides, sulfoxides, and sulfones. Recent methodological developments have revealed lots of novel protocols for C-S bond formation, providing easy access to sulfur containing compounds. Unlike traditional Ullmann typed C-S coupling reaction, the recently developed reactions frequently use non-halide compounds, such as diazo compounds and simple arenes/alkanes instead of aryl halides as substrates. On the other hand, novel C-S coupling reaction pathways involving thiyl radicals have emerged as an important strategy to construct C-S bonds. In this review, we focus on the recent advances on the synthesis of sulfides, sulfoxides, and sulfones from non-halide substrates involving C-S bond construction.

As one of the most lethal diseases, pancreatic cancer shows a dismal overall prognosis and high resistance to most treatment modalities. Furthermore, pancreatic cancer escapes early detection during the curable period because early symptoms rarely emerge and specific markers for this disease have not been found. Although combinations of new drugs, multimodal therapies, and adjuvants prolong survival, most patients still relapse after surgery and eventually die. Consequently, the search for more effective treatments for pancreatic cancer is highly relevant and justified. As a newly re-discovered mediator of gasotransmission, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) undertakes essential functions, encompassing various signaling complexes that occupy key processes in human biology. Accumulating evidence indicates that H2S exhibits bimodal modulation of cancer development. Thus, endogenous or low levels of exogenous H2S are thought to promote cancer, whereas high doses of exogenous H2S suppress tumor proliferation. Similarly, inhibition of endogenous H2S production also suppresses tumor proliferation. Accordingly, H2S biosynthesis inhibitors and H2S supplementation (H2S donors) are two distinct strategies for the treatment of cancer. Unfortunately, modulation of endogenous H2S on pancreatic cancer has not been studied so far. However, H2S donors and their derivatives have been extensively studied as potential therapeutic agents for pancreatic cancer therapy by inhibiting cell proliferation, inducing apoptosis, arresting cell cycle, and suppressing invasion and migration through exploiting multiple signaling pathways. As far as we know, there is no review of the effects of H2S donors on pancreatic cancer. Based on these concerns, the therapeutic effects of some H2S donors and NO–H2S dual donors on pancreatic cancer were summarized in this paper. Exogenous H2S donors may be promising compounds for pancreatic cancer treatment.

Phenols and aryl thiols are fundamental building blocks in organic synthesis and final products with interesting biological activities. Over the past decades, substantial progress has been made in transition-metal-catalyzed coupling reactions, which resulted in the emergence of new methods for the synthesis of phenols and aryl thiols. Aryl halides have been extensively studied as substrates for the synthesis of phenols and aryl thiols. In very recent years, C–H activation represents a powerful strategy for the construction of functionalized phenols directly from various arenes. However, the synthesis of aryl thiols through C–H activation has not been reported. In this review, a brief overview is given of the recent advances in synthetic strategies for both phenols and aryl thiols.

Thus far, there are more than known 150 modifications to RNA，in which common internal modifications of mRNA include N6-Methyladenosine(m6A), N1-methyladenosine(m1A) and 5-methylcytosine (5-mC). Among them, m6A RNA modification is one of the highest abundance modifications in eukaryotes, regulating mechanisms controlling gene expression at the molecular level. As an invertible and dynamic epigenetic marker, m6A base modification influences almost all vital biological processes, cellular components, and molecular functions. Once the m6A modification process is abnormal, a series of diseases -including cancer, neurological diseases, and growth disorders -will be caused. Besides, several base modification activities also have been existed by non-coding RNAs, for instance, microRNAs (miRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs) ，long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which dynamically regulated during Bone and cartilage Pathophysiology processes. Therefore，it has now been clear that dynamic modification on coding RNAs and non-coding RNAs represents a completely new way to modulate genetic information. In this review, we highlight up-to-date progress and applications of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification in bone and cartilage pathophysiology, and discuss the pathological roles and underlying molecular mechanism of m6A modifications in osteoarthritis and osteoporosis pathogenesis.

First stage human clinical trial (CTR20150246) for HAO472, the L-alanine-(14-oridonin) ester trifluoroacetate, was conducted by a Chinese company, Hengrui Medicine Co. Ltd, to develop a new treatment for acute myelogenous leukemia. Two patents, WO2015180549A1 and CN201410047904.X, covered the development of the I-type crystal, stability experiment, conversion rate research, bioavailability experiment, safety assessment, and solubility study. HAO472 hewed out new avenues to explore the therapeutic properties of oridonin derivatives and develop promising treatment of cancer originated from naturally derived drug candidates. Herein, we sought to overview recent progress of the synthetic, physiological, and pharmacological investigations of oridonin and its derivatives, aiming to disclose the therapeutic potentials and broaden the platform for the discovery of new anticancer drugs.