Synthesis of natural ecteinascidins (ET-729, ET-745, ET-759B, ET-736, ET-637, ET-594) from cyanosafracin B

The semisynthetic process initially described for the synthesis of 1 (ET-743) has been extended to the preparation of other natural ecteinascidins. For the synthesis of 2 (ET-729) a demethylation of a N-Me intermediate was carried out by a selective oxidation with MCPBA. Other natural ecteinascidins (ET-745, ET-759B, ET-736, ET-637, ET-594) were accessible from key intermediate 25. The described methodologies allow for the preparation of a wide variety of ecteinascidins by procedures that can be easily scaled up.     

Syntheses and biological activities of endothelin-1 analogs.

Endothelin-1 analogs replaced by various amino acids at position 21, namely [X21]-ET-1, were synthesized, and their agonistic vasoconstrictor activity on rat thoracic aortic strips and receptor binding activity on rat brain membrane fraction were examined to elucidate their structure-activity relationship. The vasoconstrictor activities of [Tyr21]- and [Phe21]-ET-1 were one order of magnitude smaller than that of ET-1, and those of [His21]-, [Gly21]-, [Ser21]-, [Ala21]- and [Lys21]-ET-1 were more than two orders of magnitude smaller than that of ET-1. On the other hand, the replacements by Ile, Glu, Gln and Pro resulted in distinguished losses of the vasoconstrictor activities. In addition, preincubation with these analogs did not blunt ET-1-induced vasoconstriction and showed no antagonistic activity. The binding inhibitory activities of these analogs against 125I-ET-1 were approximately conformable to the vasoconstrictor activities with only a slight exception. These findings demonstrate that the phenyl group at position 21 is important for both the vasoconstrictor activity and the receptor binding activity.     

Synthesis and antitumor activity of 2-(m-substituted-benzoyl)baccatin III analogs from taxinine

2-m-Azidobenzoyl and 2-m-chlorobenzoyl baccatin III analogs were prepared from taxinine, a major component in Japanese yew leaves. In this study, a novel acetyl migration from 13- to 4-hydroxyl group was observed. The antitumor activity of these compounds was evaluated.     

Interaction of asterriquinone with deoxyribonucleic acid in vitro

The interaction of asterriquinone (ARQ), a novel antitumor agent isolated from Aspergillus fungi, with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), has been studied. The binding of ARQ in vitro with DNA (calf thymus) was ascertained by its behavior in gel filtration using a Sephadex G-25 column at pH 5.4. Some ARQ analogs having no, or less, antitumor activity did not exhibit any evidence of interaction with DNA under the same condition. From the results obtained in this work, the pKa value of ARQs seemed to be critical between 6 and 7 for their binding to DNA and for exhibition of antitumor activity. Also, ARQ showed serious membrane deformations and an inhibitory effect on the membranous adenosine triphosphatase of Ehrlich carcinoma cells.     

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of simplified analogues of (+)-discodermolide. Additional insights on the importance of the diene, the C7 hydroxyl, and the lactone

[structure: see text] The design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of seven totally synthetic analogues of the antitumor agent (+)-discodermolide are reported. Saturation of the terminal diene system, alteration of the substituents on the lactone, and alkylation of the C7-hydroxyl group reveal significant structure-activity relationships.     

Synthesis and biological activities of lipid A analogs: modification of a glycosidically bound group with chemically stable polar acidic groups and lipophilic groups on the disaccharide backbone with tetradecanoyl or N-dodecanoylglycyl groups.

Six novel lipid A analogs were synthesized. The first two analogs, 4 and 5, have an alpha-glycosidically bound carboxymethyl or 1,3-dicarboxyisopropyl group on the disaccharide backbone with four tetradecanoyl groups. The next three analogs, 6, 7 and 8, have two or four N-dodecanoylglycyl groups on the 1-alpha-O-phosphonooxyethylated disaccharide backbone. Analog 6 bears N-dodecanoylglycyl groups on the hydroxyl functions at positions 3 and 3', and tetradecanoyl groups on the amino functions at positions 2 and 2'. Analog 7 is a 2, 3, 2' and 3'-tetrakis(N-dodecanoylglycyl) derivative, and analog 8 resembles compound 6, but the binding of the N-dodecanoylglycyl and tetradecanoyl groups at positions 2, 2' and 3, 3' are reversed. The third analog, 9, has the same acyl group configuration as compound 6, but has a 1,3-dicarboxyisopropyl group at position C-1. Compounds 4 and 5 exhibited definite antitumor activity against Meth A fibrosarcoma, indicating that the phosphate group at the C-1 position in lipid A could be replaced by the carboxylic acid without reducing the antitumor activity. In rabbits, compounds 6 and 9 exhibited potent antitumor activity, but their toxicity was extremely low. On the other hand, compounds 7 and 8 showed no antitumor activity. The levels of antitumor activity of 6 and 9 were similar to those of the natural-type lipid A. The antitumor activities of analogs with a N-dodecanoylglycyl group on the disaccharide backbone depended on the connecting sites of the acyl groups.     

Preparation of new halogenated diphenyl pyrazine analogs in Escherichia coli by a mono-module fungal nonribosomal peptide synthetase from Penicillium herquei

Pyrazines are important structures widely found in many known drugs. The biological approaches for their synthesis were poorly applied. Herein, microbial production of several halogenated diphenyl pyrazines is reported. These compounds are accumulated via feeding corresponding precursor analogs to Escherichia coli expressing a fungal non-ribosomal peptide synthetase HqlA. Substrate specificity of HqlA was also determined by comparing substrate incorporation efficiencies. HqlA requires a C4-hydroxyl in the substrate and can tolerate certain degrees of size change on the substitution at the carbon next to the hydroxyl group.     

三价金配合物抗肿瘤活性研究*

三价金配合物具有潜在的抗肿瘤活性,是目前金属药物领域的研究热点。本文按配位原子的不同总结了稳定三价金配合物的结构特征,按其生物活性的构效关系、生物靶点和作用机制综述了三价金配合物抗肿瘤活性研究的最新成果：配体的结构特点以及离去基团对三价金配合物的体外细胞毒性影响较大;介绍了用于检测三价金配合物与可能的生物靶分子之间的相互作用的多种物理和生物学方法,重点关注了相互作用的模式,如嵌入/静电吸引/共价结合等,并解释了三价金配合物抗肿瘤活性的原因。最后提出了一些研究新思路,以期有助于设计得到靶标明确的具有良好药理活性的抗肿瘤药物。     

黄酮类化合物与α-羟乙基过氧自由基反应的脉冲辐解研究

由于脂质过氧化反应(LPO)是导致人体疾病(如肝炎、肝硬化、动脉硬化、脑溢血等)的主要原因, 而黄酮类化合物是一类很强的过氧化反应抑制剂, 因此有必要研究其化学结构与过氧化反应的关系及其抗氧化机理.本文选择α-羟乙基过氧自由基为脂质过氧自由基的模拟物, 采用脉冲辐解方法研究了乙醇溶液中4种典型的黄酮类化合物(槲皮素、芦丁、儿茶素以及黄岑甙)与α-羟乙基过氧自由基的反应动力学, 测得其反应活性顺序为:芦丁>槲皮素>黄岑甙>儿茶素. 同时以黄酮体和邻苯二酚为黄酮类化合物不同结构特征的模型化合物, 用脉冲辐解法测得二者与α-羟乙基过氧自由基的反应速率常数分别为(1.7±0.1)×10⁶和(2.9±0.1)×10⁵ mol^-1·dm³·s^-1.实验结果表明, 在黄酮类化合物与α-羟乙基过氧自由基的反应中, A环C₅位的羟基, C环C₂＝C₃或B-C环的大π键和B环邻二羟基共存时清除α-羟乙基过氧自由基活性最好, 而且C环C₂＝C₃或B-C环大π键的清除活性好于B环邻二羟基, 同时C环是否含有C₃-醣甙结构对清除作用没有明显影响. 因此我们推测在黄酮类化合物抑制脂质过氧化反应过程中, 起主要作用的是C环C₂＝C₃或B-C环的大π键与脂质过氧自由基的双键加成反应.     

Novel DNA bis-intercalators of isoquinolino[4,5-bc]acridines: design, synthesis and evaluation of cytotoxic activity

Mono- and dinuclear isoquinolino[4,5-bc]acridine derivatives were designed and facilely synthesized, their DNA-binding affinities and cytotoxic activities were evaluated. A4 induced unwinding of supercoiled plasmid pBR 322 DNA by (36±2)° while A6 induced that by (41±1)°, both of which were higher than the mono-analogue A1 ((19±2)°). A6 exhibited the highest in vitro antitumor activity against human lung cancer cell (A549) and A4 was the most active one against murine leukemia cell (P388). DNA binding constant and molecular model indicated that both the length of linker chain and the distance of interchromophore were key impact factors for DNA binding affinity and biological activity.     

2-[1-(4-甲酰氨基苯基乙酰氧)烷基]-1,4-二羟基-9,10-蒽醌类衍生物的 合成及其抗肿瘤作用研究

为寻找抗肿瘤作用强、毒性低并且对癌细胞具有靶向性的新蒽醌类化合物, 合成了未见报道的12个2-[1-(4-甲酰氨苯基乙酰氧)烷基]-1,4-二羟基-9,10-蒽醌类衍生物, 分别用L1210癌细胞进行细胞毒性实验及小鼠S180腹水癌做了体内抗肿瘤实验. 实验结果表明, 蒽醌侧链中引入对甲酰氨基苯乙酰基后细胞毒性增强. 随着侧链碳链数的增加细胞毒性随之逐渐减小, 当烷基侧链中的碳数超过7以上时, 细胞毒性消失. 当侧链R基为苯环时与脂肪烃链或环己基相比细胞毒性更大, 说明芳香环对癌细胞具有更强的抑制作用. S180小鼠抗肿瘤实验结果表明, 蒽醌侧链中引入对甲酰氨基苯甲酰基后活性无显著性变化.     

Novel synthetic acridine-based derivatives as topoisomerase Ⅰ inhibitors

Novel DNA binding agents against topoisomerases are needed for effective treatment of cancers. A series of new acridine-based derivatives 7a–7d were synthesized and their antiproliferative activity against K562 and HepG-2 cell lines were evaluated. Compound 7c with pyridin-2-yl-methanamino group substituted at the C9 position of acridine showed good antitumor activity against both cell lines. The DNA-binding affinity of compound 7c was evaluated by UV–vis absorption spectra and fluorescence emission spectra. DNA topoisomerase I mediated relaxation of plasmid pBR322 DNA was also tested. Our results suggested that compound 7c with good antitumor activity and topoisomerase I inhibition activity can be developed as a prime candidate for further chemical optimization.     

A structure-activity relationship study of brusatol, an antitumor quassinoid

Analogues of brusatol (2) were prepared and examined for their cytotoxic activity by using P-388 murine leukemia cells. The following structure-activity relationships were noted: (i) an enone carbonyl oxygen or an enolic oxygen at C-2 is essential, but an oxygen at C-3 not essential for the activity; (ii) the C-11 β-hydroxyl group is important for the activity; and (iii) the length of the ester alkoxy side chain at C-21 seems to have a slight effect on the activity.     

Kaempferol and kaempferol rhamnosides with depigmenting and anti-inflammatory properties

The objective of this study was to examine the biological activity of kaempferol and its rhamnosides. We isolated kaempferol (1), a-rhamnoisorobin (2), afzelin (3), and kaempferitrin (4) as pure compounds by far-infrared (FIR) irradiation of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) leaves. The depigmenting and anti-inflammatory activity of the compounds was evaluated by analyzing their structure-activity relationships. The order of the inhibitory activity with regard to depigmentation and nitric oxide (NO) production was kaempferol (1) > a-rhamnoisorobin (2) > afzelin (3) > kaempferitrin (4). However, a-rhamnoisorobin (2) was more potent than kaempferol (1) in NF-kB-mediated luciferase assays. From these results, we conclude that the 3-hydroxyl group of kaempferol is an important pharmacophore and that additional rhamnose moieties affect the biological activity negatively.     

Insight into crucial inhibitor–enzyme interaction of arylamides as novel direct inhibitors of the enoyl ACP reductase (InhA) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis: computer-aided molecular design

Abstract  

The enoyl ACP reductase enzyme (InhA) involved in the type II fatty acid biosynthesis pathway of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an attractive target enzyme for antitubercular drug development. Arylamide derivatives are a novel class of InhA inhibitors used to overcome the drug-resistance problem of isoniazid, the frontline drug for tuberculosis treatment. Their remarkable property of inhibiting the InhA enzyme directly without requiring any coenzyme, makes them especially appropriate for the design of new antibacterials. In order to find a sound binding conformation for the different arylamide analogs, molecular docking experiments were performed with subsequent QSAR investigations. The X-ray conformation of one arylamide within its cocrystallized complex with InhA was used as a starting conformation for the docking experiments. The results thus obtained are perfectly consistent (rmsd = 0.73 ?) with the results from X-ray analysis. A thorough investigation of the arylamide binding modes with InhA provided ample information about structural requirements for appropriate inhibitor–enzyme interactions. Three different QSAR models were established using two three-dimensional (CoMFA and CoMSIA) and one two-dimensional (HQSAR) techniques. With statistically ensured models, the QSAR results obtained had high correlation coefficients between molecular structure properties of 28 arylamide derivatives and their biological activity. Molecular fragment contributions to the biological activity of arylamides could be obtained from the HQSAR model. Finally, a graphic interpretation designed in different contour maps provided coincident information about the ligand–receptor interaction thus offering guidelines for syntheses of novel analogs with enhanced biological activity.     

Antitumor agents. I. DNA topoisomerase II inhibitory activity and the structural relationship of podophyllotoxin derivatives as antitumor agents.

Various podophyllotoxin derivatives from desoxypodophyllotoxin (DPT) were synthesized to examine the structural relationships between the biological significance (cytotoxic effect, effects on DNA topoisomerase II and tubulin polymerization) in vitro and antitumor activity in vivo (L 1210). An intact 6,7-methylenedioxy group of DPT is necessary to inhibit tubulin polymerization and topoisomerase II. 4'-Phenolic hydroxyl group of DPT is essential to inhibit DNA topoisomerase II and the inhibitory effect on DNA topoisomerase II contributes to a high cytotoxicity. The introduction of an aminoalkoxy group at 1-position of DPT enhances the inhibitory activity against DNA topoisomerase II and cytotoxic effect, causing the inhibitory activity against tubulin polymerization to disappear. The results of antitumor test in mice bearing L 1210 on podophyllotoxin derivatives suggest the following: 1) the strong cytotoxic effect itself is not a good indication of antitumor activity in vivo as long as it is associated with inhibition of tubulin polymerization. DNA topoisomerase II inhibitory effect contributes to an antitumor activity in vivo; 2) detailed measurements of cytotoxicity and inhibition on DNA topoisomerase II and tubulin polymerization in vitro are necessary to evaluate podophyllotoxin derivatives.     

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.     

Interaction of epothilone analogs with the paclitaxel binding site: relationship between binding affinity, microtubule stabilization, and cytotoxicity

The interactions of epothilone analogs with the paclitaxel binding site of microtubules were studied. The influence of chemical modifications in the C15 side chain and in C12 on binding affinity and microtubule elongation was characterized. Modifications favorable for binding affinity are (1). a thiomethyl group at C21 of the thiazole side chain, (2). a methyl group at C12 in S configuration, (3). a pyridine side chain with C15 in S configuration, and (4). a cyclopropyl moiety between C12 and C13. The same modification in different ligands has similar effect on affinity, allowing good structure-affinity characterization. The correlation between binding, microtubule stabilization, and cytotoxicity of the compounds has been determined, showing differential effects of the modifications. The binding constants correlate well with IC(50) values, demonstrating that affinity measurements are a useful tool for drug design.     

The glyco-regioisomerism effect on dynamic interactions between glycopolymers with galactose pendants and benzoxaborole-containing polymer

This work investigated the effect of glyco-regioisomerism of glycopolymers on their dynamic interaction with benzoxaborole-containing polymers. Two kinds of glycopolymers, P-1-Gal and P-6-Gal, i.e. galactoside pendant group linked to the identical main chain through its anomeric (C1) and C6-hydroxyl group position, respectively, were studied. We found that P-6-Gal showed stronger binding strength to the PNIPAM-co-PBOB polymer than P-1-Gal did, which controlled the macroscopic property of the resultant hydrogels at a molecular level.