Synthesis and biological activities of analogs of a lipid A biosynthetic precursor: 1-O-phosphonooxyethyl-4'-O-phosphono-disaccharides with (R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl or tetradecanoyl groups at positions 2, 3, 2' and 3'.

Two novel analogs of a biosynthetic precursor of lipid A (2) were synthesized. The one analog (3) has acyl groups identical to those of 2, and the other (4) has tetradecanoyl groups in place of the (R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl groups of 2. Both 3 and 4 possess an alpha-glycosidically-bound phosphonooxyethyl group in place of the alpha-glycosyl phosphate group of 2. Compounds 3 and 4 exhibited definite antitumor activity against Meth A fibrosarcoma and low toxicity in rabbits, as the original compound 2 does. The replacement of the hydroxytetradecanoyl groups with tetradecanoyl groups barely affected the antitumor activity, but slightly enhanced the toxicity in rabbits.     

Synthesis and antitumor activity of lipid A analogs having a phosphonooxyethyl group with alpha- or beta-configuration at position 1

Three novel lipid A analogs, which have an alpha- or beta-glycosidically bound phosphonooxyethyl group instead of the alpha-glycosyl phosphate group of natural lipid A, were synthesized. The first analog (2) had an alpha-phosphonooxyethyl group on the identical acylated disaccharide 4'-phosphate structure found in natural lipid A (from Escherichia coli) and hence differed from the latter only in the nature of the acidic group at position 1. The second one (3) had tetradecanoyl groups in place of the two (R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl groups bound to the 2- and 3-hydroxyl function of 2, retaining the alpha-phosphonooxyethyl group. The structure of the third analog (4) was the same as that of 3 except that the phosphonooxyethyl group of the former was beta-oriented. Compounds 2 and 3 exhibited potent activity against Meth A at the same level as natural lipid A, whereas 4 showed less activity. This fact revealed that the glycosidic phosphate is not a prerequisite for the antitumor activity of lipopolysaccharide. It can be replaced with a phosphonooxyethyl group without any loss of activity provided that the alpha-anomeric configuration at C-1 is retained. The replacement of the hydroxytetradecanoyl groups with tetradecanoyl groups does not change the activity either.     

A new, lipophilic p-alkoxybenzyl ether protecting group and its use in the synthesis of a disaccharide

[formula: see text] In contrast to major advances in the chemical synthesis of oligosaccharides, the methods of purification of the intermediates are essentially the same as they were decades ago. Here, the synthesis of p-(dodecyloxy)benzyl chloride is described and it is demonstrated that the new p-(dodecyloxy)benzyl ether protecting group can render a protected disaccharide sufficiently lipophilic for selective adsorption on C18 silica, thus sidestepping the expensive silica gel chromatography traditionally used for the isolation of protected oligosaccharides.     

Synthesis and properties of poly(phenylacetylenes) having two polar groups or one cyclic polar group on the phenyl ring

Phenylacetylene (PA) derivatives having two polar groups (ester, 2a – d ; amide, 4) or one cyclic polar group (imide, 5a – c ) were polymerized using (nbd)Rh⁺[(η⁶‐C₆H₅)B^?(C₆H₅)₃] catalyst to afford high molecular weight polymers (～1 × 10⁶ – 4 × 10⁶). The hydrolysis of ester‐containing poly(PA), poly( 2a) , provided poly(3,4‐dicarboxyPA) [poly ( 3 )], which could not be obtained directly by the polymerization of the corresponding monomer. The solubility properties of the present polymers were different from those of poly(PA) having no polar group; that is, poly( 2a )–poly( 2d ) dissolved in ethyl acetate and poly( 4 ) dissolved in N,N‐dimethylformamide, while poly(PA) was insoluble in such solvents. Ester‐group‐containing polymers [poly( 2a )–poly( 2d )] afforded free‐standing membranes by casting from THF solutions. The membrane of poly( 2a ) showed high carbon dioxide permselectivity against nitrogen (PCO₂/PN₂ = 62). © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 5943–5953, 2006     

Amino acids and peptides. LIII. Synthesis and biological activities of some pseudo-peptide analogs of PKSI-527, a plasma kallikrein selective inhibitor: the importance of the peptide backbone.

Pseudo-peptide analogs of trans-4-aminomethylcyclohexanecarbonyl-L-phenylalanyl-4-aminopheny l acetic acid (PKSI-527, plasma kallikrein selective inhibitor), in which an amide bond (peptide bond) has been replaced by a CH2-NH bond, i.e., trans-4-aminomethylcyclohexanecarbonyl-L-phenylalanyl-psi (CH2-NH)-4-aminophenyl acetic acid (I), trans-4-aminomethylcyclohexanecarbonyl-psi (CH2-NH)-L-phenylalanyl-4-aminophenyl acetic acid (II) and trans-4-aminomethylcyclohexanecarbonyl-D-phenylalanyl-psi (CH2-NH)-4-aminophenyl acetic acid (III) were synthesized. These pseudo-peptide analogs did not exhibit any detectable inhibitory activity against plasma kallikrein (PK), plasmin (PL), urokinase (UK), thrombine (TH) or trypsin (TRY). These results indicate that both carbonyl groups in the PKSI-527 are important for the manifestation of potent inhibitory activity against plasma kallikrein.     

Synthesis and biological property of alpha-human atrial natriuretic peptide analogs with a constrained or stereochemically modified cyclic moiety

Conformationally restricted analogs of alpha-human atrial natriuretic peptide (alpha-hANP) containing L- or D-penicillamine, or D-cysteine in place of cysteine residues at positions 7 and 23 were synthesized by the liquid phase procedure. Their biological properties in the assays of receptor binding and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) accumulation employing rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), vasorelaxant activity using rat isolated aorta were evaluated. We found that the constrained and/or stereochemically altered ring moiety generally did not influence the receptor binding activity, however, cGMP accumulation and vasorelaxant activities were quite sensitive to conformational perturbation. Furthermore, a lack of correlation between cGMP accumulation activity and vasorelaxant activity was observed. Dissociation between these activities was typical in the case of [DPen7,23]-alpha-hANP(7-28), which showed quite weak vasorelaxant activity in spite of its full cGMP accumulation and receptor binding potencies. This result suggests that cGMP accumulation alone is not sufficient to promote ANP-induced vasorelaxation, and that the other second messenger(s) may mediate this activity.     

Synthetic and modified isoflavonoids. VI. Synthesis of analogs of pseudobaptigenin with ester groups

Derivatives of pseudopbaptigenin and of its benzodioxane and benzodioxepane analogs containing an ethoxycarbonyl group in position 2 have been synthesized.     

Synthetic and modified isoflavonoids. VI. Synthesis of analogs of pseudobaptigenin with ester groups

Derivatives of pseudopbaptigenin and of its benzodioxane and benzodioxepane analogs containing an ethoxycarbonyl group in position 2 have been synthesized.Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 2, pp. 220–223, March–April, 1994.     

Nucleosides and nucleotides. 186. Synthesis and biological activities of pyrimidine carbocyclic nucleosides with a hydroxyamino group instead of a hydroxymethyl group at the 4'-position of the sugar moiety.

Pyrimidine carbocyclic nucleosides with a hydroxyamino group instead of a hydroxymethyl group at the 4'-position of the sugar moiety were designed as potential antitumor and/or antiviral agents. Pd (O)-catalyzed reactions of enantiomerically pure (+)-(1R,4S)-4-[(tert-butyldiphenylsilyl)oxy]-1-(ethoxycarbonylo xy)-2- cyclopentene (9) with N3-benzoylthymine and -uracil gave carbocyclic nucleosides 10 and 11. Subsequent Pd (O)-catalyzed reactions of N3-benzoyl-1-[(1R,4S)-4-(ethoxycarbonyloxy)-2-cyclopenten-1- yl]thymine (14) and -uracil (15) with O-benzylhydroxylamine smoothly gave the hydroxyamino-substituted carbocyclic nucleosides 16 and 17. From these nucleosides, the target compounds were prepared after deprotection or further reactions. The 2',3'-didehydro-2',3'-dideoxythymidine (D4T) analogue 20 was the most effective compound, with IC50 values of 27.3 and 34.5 microM against KB and L1210 cells in vitro. Carbocyclic analogues of uridine and cytidine (29 and 32) were less effective than 20 against both cell lines.     

Synthesis and mesomorphic properties of tolane-based liquid crystals with a fluorinated polar end group

Three series of tolane-based liquid crystalline compounds with a fluorinated polar end group have been synthesized. Their phase transition temperatures were measured by texture observation in a polarizing microscope and confirmed by DSC. The all-fluorinated trifluoromethyl and trifluoromethoxy group have a tendency to promote the smectic A phase, but the difluoromethoxy group has the tendency to promote a wide nematic phase.     

Acyl group carriers. XVII. Synthesis of analogues of 3′-dephosphocoenzyme A with modified pyrophosphate groups

The synthesis has been performed of dephosphocoenzyme A, 4′,4″-di-0-(2′,3′-9-isopropylideneadenosineuronyl)pantethine, and of 4′,4″-di(2′,3′-isopropylideneadenosineuronylamino)-4′,4″-dideoxypantethine from 2′,3′-0-isopropylidene adenosineuronic acid, using as condensing agents the tert-butyl dicarbonatepyridine and the N,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide-N-hydroxysuccinimide systems, respectively.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of a lipid A derivative that contains an aminogluconate moiety

A highly convergent strategy for the synthesis of several derivatives of the lipid A of Rhizobium sin-1 has been developed. The synthetic derivatives are 2-aminogluconate 3 and 2-aminogluconolactone 4, both of which lack C-3 acylation. These derivatives were obtained by the preparation of disaccharides in which the two amino groups and the C-3' hydroxy group could be modified individually with acyl or beta-hydroxy fatty acyl groups. Detailed NMR spectroscopy and MS analysis of 3 and 4 revealed that, even under neutral conditions, the two compounds equilibrate. The synthetic compounds lack the proinflammatory effects of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS), as indicated by an absence of tumor necrosis factor production. Although 3 and 4 were able to antagonize E. coli LPS, they were significantly less potent than the synthetic compound 2, which is acylated at C-3, and R. sin-1 LPS; these results indicate that the beta-hydroxy fatty acyl group at C-3 contributes to the antagonistic properties of R. sin-1 LPS. Based on a comparison of the biological responses of the synthetic lipid A derivatives with those of the R. sin-1 LPS and lipid A, the 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonic moieties appear to be important for the optimal antagonization of enteric LPS-induced cytokine production.     

Squalene-hopene cyclase: insight into the role of the methyl group on the squalene backbone upon the polycyclization cascade. Enzymatic cyclization products of squalene analogs lacking a 26-methyl group and possessing a methyl group at C7 or C11

To provide deep insight into the polycyclization reaction of squalene, some analogs were synthesized and incubated with the cell-free homogenates of the recombinant Escherichia coli encoding the wild-type squalene cyclase. The presence of C6-Me leads to an efficient polycyclization cascade. Substitution of the C14-H and the C18-H with a methyl group halted the polycylization reaction at the tricyclic ring stage having a 6/6/6-fused ring system and the tetracycle with a 6/6/6/6-fused ring, respectively, both of which were produced according to a Markovnikov closure. Replacement of the C7-H and the C11-H with a methyl group led to no cyclization. These results, in conjunction with our previous reports, indicated that the methyl positions are important for bringing to completion of the normal polycylization reaction and further demonstrated that the precise steric bulk size at the methyl positions of squalene is critical to the correct folding and the strong binding of the substrate to the squalene cyclase.     

Synthesis and antitumor activity of new amphiphilic alkylglycerolipids substituted with a polar head group, 2-(2-trimethylammonioethoxy)ethyl or a congeneric oligo(ethyleneoxy)ethyl group

A new series of amphiphilic 1-octadecyl glycerolipids (eleven compounds, 1a-k) were designed and synthesized, in which the 3-phosphocholine portion of platelet-activating factor (1-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, PAF) was replaced by the 2-(2-trimethylammonioethoxy)ethyl group and congeneric groups having oligo(ethyleneoxy)ethyl bridges of various lengths at position 3, together with modification at position 2 (lower alkyl, acetonyl, acetoacetyl, carboxymethyl and pyrimidin-2-yl groups). These ether lipids, characterized by a nonphosphorus lysoglycerolipid structure, showed potent antitumor activity in vitro (human promyelocytic leukemia cells, HL-60, and human epidermoid carcinoma cells, KB) and in vivo (mouse sarcoma S180 and mouse mammary carcinoma MM46). Maximal in vitro potency was obtained with 1-O-octadecyl-2-O-(2-pyrimidinyl)-3-O-[2-(2-trimethylammonioethoxy )ethyl] glycerol (1g; IC50 values for both HL-60 and KB were 0.32 microgram/ml, indicating a higher activity than alkyl-lysophospholipid, ET18-OMe). Several appropriately 2-substituted 1-octadecylglycerolipids with the 3-[2-(2-trimethylammonioethoxy)ethyl] group (e.g., methyl, 1b; butyl, 1f; 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl, 1j; and acetonyl, 1k) showed a potent life-span-prolonging effect on mice with ascites sarcoma S180 and on those with mammary carcinoma MM46, when administered intraperitoneally at 16.5 and 12.5 mg/kg/d, respectively. Compounds 1b and 1k showed definite tumor growth inhibition against solid sarcoma S180 in mice, whether given p.o. or i.v. at 16.5 mg/kg/d. Studies on the structure-activity relationships indicate that the metabolic stability to phospholipase C or related enzymes is at least partly responsible for the potent antitumor activity of this series of ether lipids.     

Syntheses of cerulenin and its analogs. II. Synthesis and biological activity of dl-carbacerulenin, a carbocyclic analog of cerulenin.

2,3-Epoxy-4-hydroxy-4-((E,E)-3,6-octadienyl)cyclopentanone (dl-carbacerulenin 5) was synthesized via the epoxyketones 15a and 15b as a mimic of the active form of the antibiotics cerulenin 1, a potent inhibitor of fatty acid synthetase (FAS). The monobenzyl ethers (12 and 13), synthetic intermediates of 15, were prepared by direct benzylation of the epoxycyclopentene (7). Inhibitory activity of synthesized 5 toward yeast FAS was less than that of cerulenin by a factor of 1000.     

Study of photopolymer. XVII. Synthesis of novel photosensitive polymers with pendant photosensitive group and photosensitizer groups

Novel photosensitive polymers with pendant photosensitive group, such as cinnamic ester, and photosensitizer groups, such as N-carbamoyl-p-nitroaniline and N-carbamoly-4-nitro-1-naphthylamine, were synthesized from radical copolymerizations of (2-cinnamoyloxy)ethylmethacrylate with photosensitizer monomers, such as p-nitrophenylmethacrylamide and 4-nitro-1-na-phthylmethacrylamide, by using asobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) in benzene and from the copolymerizations of (2-hydroxy)ethylmethacrylate or (2-hydroxy)ethylacrylate with photosensitizer monomers by using AIBN in DMF. This procedure was followed by condensation reactions of the copolymers with cinnamoyl chloride with pyridine as HCL acceptor in the same reaction flask. The photoreactivities of the polymers obtained were influenced by the concentration of photosensitive group and photosensitizer groups and their ratio in the polymer matrix. In addition, the photosensitivity of cinnamic ester groups attached to a soft polymer segment was higher than that of cinnamic ester group attached to a hard polymer segment when these polymers had the same pendant N-carbamoyl-p-nitroaniline group as photosensitizer. Furthermore, the spacer length between the polymer chain and photosensitizer group was important for increasing the photoreactivity of the photosensitive group in the polymers with pendant cinnamic ester and N-carbamoyl-p-nitroaniline groups.     

Synthesis and biochemical properties of oligodeoxynucleotides acylated by the chemically stable 2-(trimethylsilyl)benzoyl (TMSBz) group at the 5′ or 3′ terminus

Oligodeoxynucleotides acylated with a 2-(trimethylsilyl)benzoyl (TMSBz) group at the 5′ or 3′ terminus were synthesized according to the general method used for DNA synthesis. The acylated DNA oligomers could be easily purified due to the high lipophilicity of the TMSBz group and showed enhanced hybridization ability and resistance to exonucleases.