Synthesis of sulfonium sulfate analogues of disaccharides and their conversion to chain-extended homologues of salacinol: new glycosidase inhibitors

Four chain extended homologues of salacinol, a naturally occurring glycosidase inhibitor, were prepared for evaluation as inhibitors of glucosidase enzymes involved in the breakdown of carbohydrates. The syntheses involved the reactions of 1,4-anhydro-2,3,5-tri-O-benzyl-4-thio-D-arabinitol with cyclic sulfate derivatives of different monosaccharides. Debenzylation of the products afforded the novel sulfonium sulfate derivatives of D-glucose, D-galactose, D-arabinose, and D-xylose that are of interest in their own right as glycosidase inhibitors. Reduction to the corresponding alditols then afforded the homologues of salacinol containing polyhydroxylated, acyclic chains of 5- and 6-carbons, differing in stereochemistry at the stereogenic centers. Three of the chain-extended homologues inhibited recombinant human maltase glucoamylase, one of the key intestinal enzymes involved in the breakdown of glucose oligosaccharides in the small intestine, with Ki values in the low micromolar range, of approximately the same magnitude as salacinol, thus providing lead candidates for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.     

Studies directed toward the stereochemical structure determination of the naturally occurring glucosidase inhibitor, kotalanol: synthesis and inhibitory activities against human maltase glucoamylase of seven-carbon, chain-extended homologues of salacinol

The synthesis of new seven-carbon, chain-extended sulfonium salts of 1,4-anhydro-4-thio- d-arabinitol, analogues of the naturally occurring glycosidase inhibitor salacinol, are described. These compounds were designed on the basis of the structure activity data of chain-extended analogues of salacinol, with the intention of determining the hitherto unknown stereochemical structure of kotalanol, the naturally occurring seven-carbon chain-extended analogue of salacinol. The target zwitterionic compounds were synthesized by means of nucleophilic attack of the PMB-protected 1,4-anhydro-4-thio- d-arabinitols at the least hindered carbon atom of two 1,3-cyclic sulfates differing in stereochemistry at only one stereogenic center. The desired cyclic sulfates were synthesized starting from d-glucose via Wittig olefination and Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation. Deprotection of the coupled products by using a two-step sequence afforded two sulfonium sulfates. Optical rotation data for one of our compounds indicated a correspondence with that reported for kotalanol. However, comparison of (1)H and (13)C NMR spectral data of the synthetic compounds with those of kotalanol indicated discrepancies. The collective data from this and published work were used to propose a tentative structure for the naturally occurring compound, kotalanol. Comparison of physical data of previously synthesized analogues with those for the recently isolated six-carbon chain analogue, ponkoranol or reticulanol, also led to elucidation of this structure. Interestingly, both our compounds inhibited recombinant human maltase glucoamylase (MGA), as expected from our previous structure activity studies of lower homologues, with K i values of 0.13 +/- 0.02 and 0.10 +/- 0.02 microM.     

New chain-extended analogues of salacinol and blintol and their glycosidase inhibitory activities. Mapping the active-site requirements of human maltase glucoamylase

The synthesis of new chain-extended sulfonium and selenonium salts of 1,4-anhydro-4-thio-(or 4-seleno)-d-arabinitol, analogues of the naturally occurring glycosidase inhibitor salacinol, is described. Nucleophilic attack at the least hindered carbon atom of 4,6-O-benzylidene-2,5-di-O-p-methoxybenzyl-d-mannitol-1,3-cyclic sulfate by 2,3,5-tri-O-p-methoxybenzyl-1,4-anhydro-4-thio-(or 4-seleno)-d-arabinitol gave the sulfonium and selenonium sulfates, respectively. Subsequent deprotection with trifluoroacetic acid yielded the target compounds. In these analogues, an extended polyhydroxylated aliphatic side chain has been incorporated while maintaining the stereochemistry of C-2' and C-3' of salacinol or blintol. These compounds were designed to probe the premise that they would bind with higher affinity to glucosidases than salacinol because the extra hydroxyl groups in the acyclic chain would make favorable polar contacts within the active site. Both target compounds inhibited recombinant human maltase glucoamylase, one of the key intestinal enzymes involved in the breakdown of glucose oligosaccharides in the small intestine, with Ki values in the low micromolar range. Comparison of these values to those of related compounds synthesized in previous studies has provided a better understanding of structure-activity relationships and the optimal stereochemistry at the different stereogenic centers required of an inhibitor of this enzyme. With respect to chain extension, the configurations at C-2' and C-4' are critical for activity, the configuration at C-3', bearing the sulfate moiety, being unimportant. The desired configuration at C-5' is also specified. However, comparison of the activities of the chain-extended analogues with those of salacinol and blintol indicates that there is no particular advantage of the chain-extension relative to salacinol or blintol. These results are similar to those reported earlier for kotalanol, a 7-carbon-extended derivative, versus salacinol against rat intestinal maltase, sucrase, and isomaltase.     

New synthetic routes to chain-extended selenium, sulfur, and nitrogen analogues of the naturally occurring glucosidase inhibitor salacinol and their inhibitory activities against recombinant human maltase glucoamylase

Six heteroanalogues (X = S, Se, NH) of the naturally occurring glucosidase inhibitor salacinol, containing polyhydroxylated, acyclic chains of 6-carbons, were synthesized for structure-activity studies with different glycosidase enzymes. The target zwitterionic compounds were synthesized by means of nucleophilic attack of the PMB-protected 1,4-anhydro-4-seleno-, 1,4-anhydro-4-thio-, and 1,4-anhydro-4-imino-D-arabinitols at the least hindered carbon atom of 1,3-cyclic sulfates. These 1,3-cyclic sulfates were derived from D-glucose and D-galactose, and significantly, they utilized butane diacetal as the protecting groups for the trans 2,3-diequatorial positions. Deprotection of the coupled products proceeded smoothly, unlike in previous attempts with different protecting groups, and afforded the target selenonium, sulfonium, and ammonium sulfates with different stereochemistry at the stereogenic centers. The four new heterosubstituted compounds (X = Se, NH) inhibited recombinant human maltase glucoamylase (MGA), one of the key intestinal enzymes involved in the breakdown of glucose oligosaccharides in the small intestine. The two selenium derivatives each had Ki values of 0.10 microM, giving the most active compounds to date in this general series of zwitterionic glycosidase inhibitors. The two nitrogen compounds also inhibited MGA but were less active, with Ki values of 0.8 and 35 microM. The compounds in which X = S showed Ki values of 0.25 and 0.17 microM. Comparison of these data with those reported previously for related compounds reinforces the requirements for an effective inhibitor of MGA. With respect to chain extension, the configurations at C-2' and C-4' are critical for activity, the configuration at C-3', bearing the sulfate moiety, being unimportant. It would also appear that the configuration at C-5' is important but the relationship is dependent on the heteroatom.     

Efficient synthesis of the glucosidase inhibitor blintol, the selenium analogue of the naturally occurring glycosidase inhibitor salacinol

An efficient synthesis of blintol, the selenium congener of the naturally occurring glycosidase inhibitor salacinol, and a potent glucosidase inhibitor itself, is described. Unlike our previously reported synthesis, this improved route makes use of p-methoxybenzyl ether protecting groups in the synthesis of one of the two key intermediates, 2,3,5-tri-O-p-methoxybenzyl-1,4-anhydro-4-seleno-D-arabinitol, from L-xylose. The other key intermediate, 2,4-O-benzylidene-L-erythritol-1,3-cyclic sulfate, was successfully prepared from D-glucose instead of the expensive L-glucose. All protecting groups in the resulting adducts were removed with trifluoroacetic acid to yield a mixture of stereoisomers, thereby obviating the problematic deprotection of benzyl ethers by hydrogenolysis. The major stereoisomer, blintol, was then obtained by fractional crystallization.     

Selection of a high-energy bioactive conformation of a sulfonium-ion glycosidase inhibitor by the enzyme glucoamylase G2

Transferred nuclear Overhauser effect and rotating-frame Overhauser enhancement NMR spectroscopies are used to probe the conformation of a bicyclic sulfonium ion, which is an analogue of the naturally occurring glycosidase inhibitor castanospermine, bound to the enzyme glucoamylase G2. Enzyme inhibition assays indicate that the bicyclic sulfonium ion is a slightly better inhibitor (K(i) = 1.32 mM) of glucoamylase G2 than the naturally occurring sulfonium-ion glycosidase inhibitor, salacinol, with a K(i) value of 1.7 mM. The NMR results are interpreted in terms of the selection by the enzyme of a high-energy conformation of the ligand that is already represented in the ensemble of free-ligand conformations.     

Synthesis of nitrogen analogues of salacinol and their evaluation as glycosidase inhibitors.

The syntheses of two nitrogen analogues (11 and 12) of the naturally occurring sulfonium ion, salacinol (7) are described. The latter compound is one of the active principles in the aqueous extracts of Salacia reticulata that are traditionally used in Sri Lanka and India for the treatment of diabetes. The synthetic strategy relies on the nucleophilic attack of a 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-D- or L-arabinitol at the least hindered carbon of 2,4-O-benzylidene D- or L-erythritol-1,3-cyclic sulfate. The nitrogen analogues bear a permanent positive charge and serve as mimics of the sulfonium ion. We reasoned that these ammonium derivatives should function in a manner similar to that of known glycosidase inhibitors of the alkaloid class such as castanospermine (4) and deoxynojirimycin (5). Enzyme inhibition assays indicate that salacinol (7) is a weak (K(i) = 1.7 mM) inhibitor of glucoamylase, whereas compounds 11 and 12 inhibit glucoamylase with K(i) values in the range approximately 10-fold higher. The nitrogen analogues 11 and 12 showed no significant inhibitory effect of either barley alpha-amylase (AMY1) or porcine pancreatic alpha-amylase (PPA) at concentrations of 5 mM. In contrast, salacinol (7) inhibited AMY1 and PPA in the micromolar range, with K(i) values of 15 +/- 1 and 10 +/- 2 microM, respectively.     

Attempted synthesis of 2-acetamido and 2-amino derivatives of salacinol. Ring opening reactions

The attempted synthesis of the 2-acetamido and 2-amino derivatives of salacinol, a naturally occurring glycosidase inhibitor, is described. Reaction of the protected acetamidothioarabinitol unit with the cyclic sulfate derived from L-erythritol gave the corresponding sulfonium sulfate, which underwent ring opening to give an acyclic amido sulfate. The corresponding reaction of the protected azidothioarabinitol unit with the cyclic sulfate proceeded to give the sulfonium sulfate. However, upon reduction of the azido function to an amine it formed an acyclic ammonium sulfate.     

Synthesis of new nitrogen analogues of salacinol and deoxynojirimycin and their evaluation as glycosidase inhibitors

The synthesis of two enantiomerically pure iminosugars, analogues of 1-L-deoxynojirimycin (l-DNJ) and 1-D-deoxymannojirimycin (DMJ), was achieved using cyclic sulfate substituted isoxazoline derivatives. The piperidine ring was formed via the reduction of an isoxazoline into an amine which underwent a spontaneous intramolecular cyclization by reaction with the cyclic sulfate moiety. The nucleophilic attack of these two trisubstituted piperidines and morpholine on L- and D-erythritol-1,3-cyclic sulfates gave six new nitrogen analogues of salacinol. The inhibitory properties of the synthesized salacinol analogues were evaluated on several commercial glycosidases.     

Generalized anomeric effect in action: synthesis and evaluation of stable reducing indolizidine glycomimetics as glycosidase inhibitors

A series of aminoketalic castanospermine analogues incorporating a stereoelectronically anchored axial hydroxy group at the pseudoanomeric stereocenter (C-5) have been synthesized to satisfy the need for glucosidase inhibitors that are highly selective for alpha-glucosidases. The polyhydroxylated bicyclic system was built from readily available hexofuranose derivatives through a synthetic scheme that involved (i) the construction of a five-membered cyclic (thio)carbamate or (thio)urea moiety at the nonreducing end and (ii) the intramolecular nucleophilic addition of the heterocyclic thiocarbamic nitrogen atom to the masked aldehyde group of the monosaccharide. A biological screening of the resulting reducing 2-oxa- and 2-azaindolizidines against several glycosidase enzymes is reported.     

A potent bicyclic inhibitor of a family 27 alpha-galactosidase

Two isomeric bicyclo[4.1.0]heptane analogues of the glycosidase inhibitor galacto-validamine, (1R*,2S,3S,4S,5S,6S*)-5-amino-1-(hydroxymethyl)bicyclo[4.1.0]heptane-2,3,4-triol, have been synthesized in 13 steps from 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzyl-D-galactose. The inhibitory activities of the two conformationally restricted amines, and their corresponding acetamides, were measured against commercial alpha-galactosidase enzymes from coffee bean and E. coli. The activity of the glycosyl hydrolase family GH27 enzyme (coffee bean) was competitively inhibited by the 1R,6S-amine (7), a binding interaction that was characterized by a K(i) value of 0.541 microM. The GH36 E. coli alpha-galactosidase exhibited a much weaker binding interaction with the 1R,6S-amine (IC(50)= 80 microM). The diastereomeric 1S,6R-amine (9) bound weakly to both galactosidases, (coffee bean, IC(50)= 286 microM) and (E. coli, IC(50)= 2.46 mM).     

A new class of glycosidase inhibitor: synthesis of salacinol and its stereoisomers

Salacinol (4) is one of the active principles in the aqueous extracts of Salacia reticulata that are traditionally used in Sri Lanka and India for the treatment of diabetes. The syntheses of salacinol (4), the enantiomer of salacinol (5), and a diastereomer (7) are described. The synthetic strategy relies on the selective nucleophilic attack of 2,3,5-tri-O-benzyl-1,4-anhydro-4-thio-D- or L-arabinitol at C-1 of 2,4-O-benzylidene D- or L-erythritol-1,3-cyclic sulfate. The work serves to resolve the ambiguity about the exact structure of salacinol and establishes conclusively the structure of the natural product.     

Synthesis of selenium analogues of the naturally occurring glycosidase inhibitor salacinol and their evaluation as glycosidase inhibitors

The syntheses of two selenium analogues (10 and 11) of the naturally occurring sulfonium ion, salacinol (3), are described. Salacinol is one of the active principles in the aqueous extracts of Salacia reticulata that are traditionally used in Sri Lanka and India for the treatment of diabetes. The synthetic strategy relies on the nucleophilic attack of a 2,3,5-tri-O-benzyl-1,4-anhydro-4-seleno-D-arabinitol at the least hindered carbon of benzyl- or benzylidene-protected D- or L-erythritol-1,3-cyclic sulfate. The use of 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol as a solvent in the coupling reaction proves to be beneficial. Enzyme inhibition assays indicate that 10 is a better inhibitor (K(i) = 0.72 mM) of glucoamylase than 3, which has a K(i) value of 1.7 mM. In contrast, 11 showed no significant inhibition of glucoamylase. Compounds 10 and 11 showed no significant inhibition of barley-alpha-amylase or porcine pancreatic-alpha-amylase.     

Synthesis of isofagomine and some new azasugars as glycosidase inhibitors from d-mannitol derived nitroolefins

The synthesis of isofagomine, epi-isofagomine and isofagomine analogues along with some new azasugars from two different vinyl nitro compounds, that were derived from d-mannitol, has been carried out. Two different synthetic strategies were followed for each of the vinyl-nitro precursors. Many of the azasugars synthesized showed inhibition in the micromolar range when tested against various glycosidase enzymes, opening up the possibility of modifying structural features for better and selective inhibition.     

Identification of novel nt-MGAM inhibitors for potential treatment of type 2 diabetes: Virtual screening,atom based 3D-QSAR model,docking analysis and ADME study

In this study, a virtual screening procedure was applied to identify new potential nt-MGAM inhibitors as a possible medication for type 2 diabetes. To this aim, a series of salacinol analogues were first investigated by docking analysis for their binding to the X-ray structure of the biological target nt-MGAM. Key interactions for ligand binding into the receptor active site were identified which shared common features to those found for other known inhibitors, which strengthen the results of this study. 3D QSAR model was then built and showed to be statistically significant and with a good predictive power for the training (R² = 0.99, SD = 0.17, F = 555.3 and N = 27) and test set (Q² = 0.81, Pearson(r) = 0.92, RMSE = 0.52, N = 08). The model was then used to virtually screen the ZINC database with the aim of identifying novel chemical scaffolds as potential nt-MGAM inhibitors. Further, in silico predicted ADME properties were investigated for the most promising molecules. The outcome of this investigation sheds light on the molecular characteristics of the binding of salacinol analogues to nt-MGAM enzyme and identifies new possible inhibitors which have the potential to be developed into drugs, thus significantly contributing to the design and optimization of therapeutic strategies against type 2 diabetes.     

Multivalent Effect in Glycosidase Inhibition: The End of the Beginning

Glycosidases are ubiquitous enzymes involved in a diversity of key biological processes such as energy uptake or cell wall degradation. The design of specific glycosidase inhibitors has been therefore the subject of intense research efforts in academia and pharmaceutical industry. However, until recently, the study of the impact of multivalency on glycosidase inhibition was almost completely neglected. The following account will review our ten year journey on the design of multivalent glycomimetics within our research group, from the discovery of the first strong multivalent effect in glycosidase inhibition to the high‐resolution crystal structures of Jack bean α‐mannosidase in complex with the multimeric inhibitor displaying the largest binding enhancements reported so far.     

N-alkyl-3-decarboxy-3-hydroxymethylsiastatin B, a new family of glycosidase inhibitors of gem-diamine 1-N-iminosugars

N-Alkyl-3-decarboxy-3-hydroxymethylsiastatin B, N-alkyl analogues of gem-diamine 1-N-iminosugars, is a new family of glycosidase inhibitors that have been synthesized from siastatin B isolated from Streptomyces culture. These compounds were evaluated as glycosidase inhibitors.     

Synthesis and bio-assay of RCM-derived Bowman-Birk inhibitor analogues

Bowman-Birk inhibitor analogues containing 2, 3 and 4-carbon analogues of the natural disulfide were synthesised via solid phase microwave-assisted RCM and found to have K(i) values against chymotrypsin in the low to sub-micromolar range, the best replacement for the disulfide arising from the linkage by RCM of two l-homoallylglycine residues.     

One-pot synthesis of cyclic nitrones and their conversion to pyrrolizidines: 7a-epi-crotanecine inhibits alpha-mannosidases

[reaction: see text] A new straightforward and inexpensive one-pot procedure is described for the preparation of enantiopure five-membered cyclic nitrones starting from the corresponding lactols. Its efficiency relies on the condensation of unprotected hydroxylamine with readily available lactols and on the chemoselectivity of the subsequent esterification with methanesulfonyl chloride. The targeted enantiomerically pure pyrroline N-oxides are versatile synthetic intermediates: one of the nitrones so-obtained has been converted into new polyhydroxypyrrolizidines, analogues of the alkaloids rosmarinecine and crotanecine, which were assayed for their inhibitory activities toward 22 commercially available glycosidase enzymes. One of them ((-)-7a-epi-crotanecine) is a potent and selective inhibitor of alpha-mannosidases from jack beans and almonds.     

Use of fluorinated functionality in enzyme inhibitor development: Mechanistic and analytical advantages

On the one hand, owing to its electronegativity, relatively small size, and notable leaving group ability from anionic intermediates, fluorine offers unique opportunities for mechanism-based enzyme inhibitor design. On the other, the “bio-orthogonal” and NMR-active 19-fluorine nucleus allows the bioorganic chemist to follow the mechanistic fate of fluorinated substrate analogues or inhibitors as they are enzymatically processed. This article takes an overview of the field, highlighting key developments along these lines. It begins by highlighting new screening methodologies for drug discovery that involve appropriate tagging of either the substrate or an array of potential substrates (i.e. in proteomics screens) with ¹⁹F-markers that then report back on turnover and function, respectively, via the NMR screen. Taking this one step further, substrate-tagging with fluorine can be done in such a manner as to provide stereochemical information on enzyme mechanism. For example, substitution of one of the terminal hydrogens in phosphoenolpyruvate, provides insight into the, otherwise latent, facial selectivity of CC bond formation in KDO synthase. Perhaps, most importantly, from the point of view of this discussion, appropriately tailored fluorinated functionality can be used to form stabilized “transition state analogue” complexes with target enzymes. Thus, 5-fluorinated pyrimidines, α-fluorinated ketones, and 2-fluoro-2-deoxysugars each lead to covalent adduction of catalytic active site residues in thymidylate synthase (TS), serine protease and glycosidase enzymes, respectively. In all such cases, ¹⁹F NMR allows the bioorganic chemist to spectrally follow “transition state analogue” formation. Finally, the use of specific fluorinated functionality to engineer “suicide substrates” is highlighted in a discussion of the development of the α-(2′Z-fluoro)vinyl trigger for amino acid decarboxylase inactivation. Here ¹⁹F NMR allows the bioorganic chemist to glean useful partition ratio data directly from the NMR tube.