Terpendole E,a Kinesin Eg5 Inhibitor,Is a Key Biosynthetic Intermediate of Indole-Diterpenes in the Producing Fungus Chaunopycnis alba

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Highlights? The terpendole biosynthetic gene cluster was isolated ? Terpendole E is a key biosynthetic intermediate of indole-diterpenes ? Terpendole E was overproduced by gene knockout of the bispecific enzyme TerP ? Indole-diterpene biosynthetic pathways can be classified into two groups     

Evidence that monastrol is an allosteric inhibitor of the mitotic kinesin Eg5

Monastrol, a cell-permeable inhibitor of the kinesin Eg5, has been used to probe the dynamic organization of the mitotic spindle. The mechanism by which monastrol inhibits Eg5 function is unknown. We found that monastrol inhibits both the basal and the microtubule-stimulated ATPase activity of the Eg5 motor domain. Unlike many ATPase inhibitors, monastrol does not compete with ATP binding to Eg5. Monastrol appears to inhibit microtubule-stimulated ADP release from Eg5 but does not compete with microtubule binding, suggesting that monastrol binds a novel allosteric site in the motor domain. Finally, we established that (S)-monastrol, as compared to the (R)-enantiomer, is a more potent inhibitor of Eg5 activity in vitro and in vivo. Future structural studies should help in designing more potent Eg5 inhibitors for possible use as anticancer drugs and cell biological reagents.     

Stereoselective approach to the DEF ring system of terpendole E

Diastereoselective construction of a DEF ring model of terpendole E, a M phase-specific antimitotic natural product, has been achieved from a known bicyclic keto ester by a 10-step (or 12-step) sequence that features an efficient one-pot intramolecular etherification of an olefinic alcohol with mCPBA. The synthesis proceeded in an excellent overall yield of 36% through 10 steps or in 56% via 12 steps which involved a highly diastereoselective reduction of a ketone derived from an undesired diastereomeric alcohol intermediate.     

Negative Modulation of the Angiogenic Cascade Induced by Allosteric Kinesin Eg5 Inhibitors in a Gastric Adenocarcinoma In Vitro Model

Eg5 is a kinesin essential in bipolar spindle formation, overexpressed in tumours, thus representing a new target in cancer therapy. We aimed at evaluating the anti-cancer activity of Eg5 thiadiazoline inhibitors 2 and 41 on gastric adenocarcinoma cells (AGS), focusing on the modulation of angiogenic signalling. Docking studies confirmed a similar interaction with Eg5 to that of the parent compound K858. Thiadiazolines were also tested in combination with Hesperidin (HSD). Cell cycle analysis reveals a reduction of G1 and S phase percentages when 41 is administered as well as HSD in combination with K858. Western blot reveals Eg5 inhibitors capability to reduce PI3K, p-AKT/Akt and p-Erk/Erk expressions; p-Akt/Akt ratio is even more decreased in HSD+2 sample than the p-Erk/Erk ratio in HSD+41 or K858. VEGF expression is reduced when HSD+2 and HSD+41 are administered with respect to compounds alone, after 72 h. ANGPT2 gene expression increases in cells treated with 41 and HSD+2 compared to K858. The wound-healing assay highlights a reduction in the cut in HSD+2 sample compared to 2 and HSD. Thus, Eg5 inhibitors appear to modulate angiogenic signalling by controlling VEGF activity even better if combined with HSD. Overall, Eg5 inhibitors can represent a promising starting point to develop innovative anti-cancer strategies.     

Computational fragment-based drug design to explore the hydrophobic sub-pocket of the mitotic kinesin Eg5 allosteric binding site

Eg5, a mitotic kinesin exclusively involved in the formation and function of the mitotic spindle has attracted interest as an anticancer drug target. Eg5 is co-crystallized with several inhibitors bound to its allosteric binding pocket. Each of these occupies a pocket formed by loop 5/helix α2 (L5/α2). Recently designed inhibitors additionally occupy a hydrophobic pocket of this site. The goal of the present study was to explore this hydrophobic pocket with our MED-SuMo fragment-based protocol, and thus discover novel chemical structures that might bind as inhibitors. The MED-SuMo software is able to compare and superimpose similar interaction surfaces upon the whole protein data bank (PDB). In a fragment-based protocol, MED-SuMo retrieves MED-Portions that encode protein-fragment binding sites and are derived from cross-mining protein-ligand structures with libraries of small molecules. Furthermore we have excluded intra-family MED-Portions derived from Eg5 ligands that occupy the hydrophobic pocket and predicted new potential ligands by hybridization that would fill simultaneously both pockets. Some of the latter having original scaffolds and substituents in the hydrophobic pocket are identified in libraries of synthetically accessible molecules by the MED-Search software. Ksenia Oguievetskaia and Laetitia Martin-Chanas contributed equally to this work.     

3D-QSAR studies of dihydropyrazole and dihydropyrrole derivatives as inhibitors of human mitotic kinesin Eg5 based on molecular docking

Human mitotic kinesin Eg5 plays an essential role in mitoses and is an interesting drug target against cancer. To find the correlation between Eg5 and its inhibitors, structure-based 3D-quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) studies were performed on a series of dihydropyrazole and dihydropyrrole derivatives using comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) and comparative molecular similarity indices analysis (CoMSIA) methods. Based on the LigandFit docking results, predictive 3D-QSAR models were established, with cross-validated coefficient values (q2) up to 0.798 for CoMFA and 0.848 for CoMSIA, respectively. Furthermore, the CoMFA and CoMSIA models were mapped back to the binding sites of Eg5, which could provide a better understanding of vital interactions between the inhibitors and the kinase. Ligands binding in hydrophobic part of the inhibitor-binding pocket were found to be crucial for potent ligand binding and kinases selectivity. The analyses may be used to design more potent EG5 inhibitors and predict their activities prior to synthesis.     

The first highly stereoselective approach to the mitotic kinesin Eg5 inhibitor HR22C16 and its analogues

A general method for the synthesis of the mitotic kinesin Eg5 inhibitor HR22C16 1 and its analogues based on protecting group (PG)-modulated highly diastereoselective Pictet–Spengler reaction of l-tryptophan methyl ester hydrochloride with meta-(RO)-benzaldehyde is described. By using the enantiomerically pure (1R,3S)-1,3-disubstituted tetrahydro-β-carboline trans-4c as a common chiral synthon, HR22C16 1 and its analogues 2 and 3 were synthesized in 90.1%, 90.2%, and 86.5% overall yields, respectively.     

Integration of high speed microwave chemistry and a statistical ‘design of experiment’ approach for the synthesis of the mitotic kinesin Eg5 inhibitor monastrol

The rapid preparation of the mitotic kinesin Eg5 inhibitor monastrol has been performed using multicomponent chemistry and combining microwave-assisted synthesis and a statistical design of experiments (DoEs) approach. By variation of the solvent, catalyst type and concentration, reaction time, and temperature a matrix of experiments for the DoE method was derived. As a result of 29 experiments with reaction times ranging from 10 to 30 min, an optimized procedure was derived that allowed the preparation of monastrol in 82%.     

Use of hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry and mutagenesis as a tool to identify the binding region of inhibitors targeting the human mitotic kinesin Eg5

An experimental procedure associating both hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (H/D-MS) and mutagenesis was developed to identify the protein-binding region of small inhibitors targeting the motor domain of the human mitotic kinesin Eg5. All the tested inhibitors decrease the deuterium incorporation rate of the same peptides corresponding to the following secondary structure elements: loop L5/helix alpha2 (region Tyr125-Glu145) and strand beta5/helix alpha3 (region Ile202-Leu227). Replacement of these two regions by the equivalent ones from N. crassa conventional kinesin heavy chain completely abolishes the modification of the deuterium incorporation rate by the inhibitors as well as their effects on the basal ATPase activity. The six tested inhibitors thus share a common binding site on Eg5. The strategy reported here allows the regions of a protein involved in ligand binding to be rapidly pinpointed and can be applied to other proteins and used as a general in vitro screening procedure to identify compounds targeting specific binding regions.     

Morphological Profiling Identifies the Motor Protein Eg5 as Cellular Target of Spirooxindoles

Oxindoles and iso-oxindoles are natural product-derived scaffolds that provide inspiration for the design and synthesis of novel biologically relevant compound classes. Notably, the spirocyclic connection of oxindoles with iso-oxindoles has not been explored by nature but promises to provide structurally related compounds endowed with novel bioactivity. Therefore, methods for their efficient synthesis and the conclusive discovery of their cellular targets are highly desirable. We describe a selective Rh^III-catalyzed scaffold-divergent synthesis of spirooxindole–isooxindoles and spirooxindole–oxindoles from differently protected diazooxindoles and N-pivaloyloxy aryl amides which includes a functional group-controlled Lossen rearrangement as key step. Unbiased morphological profiling of a corresponding compound collection in the Cell Painting assay efficiently identified the mitotic kinesin Eg5 as the cellular target of the spirooxindoles, defining a unique Eg5 inhibitor chemotype.     

Synthesis and DNA cleavage activity of a novel bleomycin A(5) glycoconjugate

[structure in text] To explore the possibility of modifying bleomycin in a fashion that could alter its physiological distribution in a therapeutic setting, a new analogue of bleomycin has been prepared. This analogue is intended to target the asialoglycoprotein receptor on liver cells. Critically, despite the large C-substituent, the bleomycin conjugate was found to degrade DNA in the same fashion as bleomycin A(5) itself, and with only modestly decreased efficiency.     

A novel synthesis of 5-acylaminooxazoles

1,2-Diacylamino-1,2-di(benzotriazol-1-yl)ethanes 2 , easily prepared from the condensation of 1,2-di(benzotriazol-1-yl)ethane-1,2-diol (1) and primary amides, were converted to 5-acylaminooxazoles in good to moderate yields via intramolecular cyclization upon treatment with sodium hydride.     

A novel classification of Lewis acids on the basis of activity and selectivity

Group 3-15 metal chlorides (Lewis acids) were classified on the basis of activity and aldehyde- and aldimine-selectivity in an addition reaction of a silyl enol ether. Based on the experimental results, metal chlorides (Lewis acids) were classified as follows: A, active; B, weak; C, inactive for the activation of the aldehyde and/or aldimines. Groups A and B were further divided into A-1 or B-1 (aldehyde-selective), A-2 or B-2 (aldimine-selective), and A-3 or B-3 (neutral). The final classification is as follows: A-1, BCl3, AlCl3, TiCl4, GaCl3, ZrCl4, SnCl4, SbCl5, SbCl3, HfCl4, ReCl5; A-2, ScCl3, FeCl3, InCl3, BiCl3; A-3, NbCl5, MoCl3. MoCl5, SnCl2, TaCl5, WCl5. WCl6, ReCl3, TlCl3; B-1, none; B-2, SiCl4, FeCl2, CoCl2, CuCl, CuCl2, GeCl4, YCl3, OsCl3, PtCl2; B-3, ZnCl2, RuCl3; C, VCl3, CrCl3, MnCl2, NiCl2, RhCl3, PdCl2, AgCl, CdCl2, IrCl3, AuCl, HgCl2, HgCl, PbCl2. This classification has revealed several new fundamental aspects of elements (metal chlorides) as Lewis acids.     

Synthesis and cytotoxic activity of novel 4-amino-5-cyano-2-sulfonylpyrimidines

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A novel chemical modification at the 5-position of uridine derivatives

A novel chemical modification was achieved at the 5-position of 2′,3′-O-isopropylideneuridine (6) in a one-pot procedure and a remarkable effect of the base on the progress of the reaction was found.     

A novel water-in-ionic liquid microemulsion and its interfacial effect on the activity of laccase

It is of great significance to develop an appropriate water-in-ionic liquid (W/IL) microemulsion suitable for the expression of the catalytic activity of a given enzyme. In this paper, the phase diagram of a new AOT/Triton X-100/H(2)O/[Bmim][PF(6)] pseudo ternary system is presented. With the aid of nonionic surfactant Triton X-100, AOT could be dissolved in hydrophobic ionic liquid [Bmim][PF(6)], forming a large single phase microemulsion region. The water-in-[Bmim][PF(6)] (W/IL) microemulsion domain was identified electrochemically by using K(3)Fe(CN)(6) as a probe. The existence of W/IL microemulsions was demonstrated spectrophotometrically by using CoCl(2) as a probe. New evidences from the FTIR spectroscopic study, which was first introduced to the W/IL microemulsion by substituting D(2)O for H(2)O to eliminate the spectral interference, demonstrated that there existed bulk water at larger ω(0) values (ω(0) was defined as the molar ratio of water to the total surfactant) in the W/IL microemulsion, which had remained unclear before. In addition to the inorganic salts, biomacromolecule laccase could be solubilized in the W/IL microemulsion. The laccase hosted in the microemulsion exhibited a catalytic activity and the activity could be regulated by the composition of the interfacial membrane.     

A novel approach to the synthesis of 11,11-dimethyl-bisbenzopyran-5-ones

A facile route for the synthesis of 11,11-dimethyl-bisbenzopyran-5-ones ring system is described. The key step, the late stage oxidation of the allylic methylene group was achieved by benzyl(triethyl)ammonium permanganate in CH₂Cl₂.     

A combination of molecular docking,receptor-guided QSAR,and molecular dynamics simulation studies of S-trityl-l-cysteine analogues as kinesin Eg5 inhibitors

Structural Chemistry - Kinesin Eg5 plays an essential role in the early stages of mitosis, and it is an interesting drug target for the design of potent inhibitors. In this work, combined molecular...