Atropisomeric myristinins: selective COX-2 inhibitors and antifungal agents from Myristica cinnamomea

The first naturally occurring atropisomeric flavans, myristinins B (2), C (2a), E (4), and F (4a), together with their corresponding trans-isomers, myristinins A (1) and D (3), were isolated from the CH(2)Cl(2) extract of Myristica cinnamomea fruits. Compounds 1, the mixture of 2 and 2a, and the mixture of 4 and 4a, exhibited antifungal activity against Candida albicans with IC(50) values ranging from 5.9 to 8.8 microg/mL, and they selectively inhibited the enzyme cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2).     

2, 3-Diaryl-5-ethylsulfanylmethyltetrahydrofurans as a new class of COX-2 inhibitors and cytotoxic agents

2,3-Diaryl-5-ethylsulfanylmethyltetrahydrofuran-3-ols were designed and synthesized by the allylations of benzoins followed by iodocyclization and nucleophilic replacement reactions with ethanthiol. These molecules exhibit IC(50) for COX-2 at <10 nM concentration and exhibit average GI(50) over all the 59 human tumor cell lines at microM concentration.     

New triazole antifungal agents derived from mercaptomethylisoxazoles

Several new triazole antifungal agents derived from mercaptomethylisoxazoles of general structure 2(2,4-dihalogenophenyl)-3-((X-isoxazolyl)methylthio)-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-2-propanol, as well as some selected sulfoxides and sulfones derived thereof, have been synthesized and tested for antifungal activity. Some of these compounds showed good activity against yeasts and dermatophytes.     

Synthesis of 4,5-diaryl-1H-pyrazole-3-ol derivatives as potential COX-2 inhibitors

4,5-Diaryl-1H-pyrazole-3-ol was utilized as a versatile template to synthesize several classes of compounds such as pyrazolo-oxazines 7, pyrazolo-benzooxazines 9, pyrazolo-oxazoles 10, and its analogues 11a-c as potential COX-2 inhibitors. Compounds 11b,c were successfully synthesized with use of pyridinium p-toluenesulfonate mediated cyclization of the ketal intermediate. Diaryl-pyrazolo-benzooxazepine analogues were synthesized by using Cu-mediated cyclization of the O-alkylated arylbromide intermediate. Arylsulfonamides were synthesized efficiently on a large scale with 4-[4-(4-fluorophenyl)-5-hydroxy-2H-pyrazol-3-yl]benzenesulfonamide 31 template readily synthesized from commercially available 4-sulfamoyl benzoic acid 29. The structure of a representative compound from each class was confirmed by X-ray crystallography. Selected compounds tested for inhibitory activity against COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes showed good selectivity for COX-2 versus COX-1 enzyme.     

Synthesis of antifungal glucan synthase inhibitors from enfumafungin

An efficient, new, and scalable semisynthesis of glucan synthase inhibitors 1 and 2 from the fermentation product enfumafungin 3 is described. The highlights of the synthesis include a high-yielding ether bond-forming reaction between a bulky sulfamidate 17 and alcohol 4 and a remarkably chemoselective, improved palladium(II)-mediated Corey-Yu allylic oxidation at the highly congested C-12 position of the enfumafungin core. Multi-hundred gram quantities of the target drug candidates 1 and 2 were prepared, in 12 linear steps with 25% isolated yield and 13 linear steps with 22% isolated yield, respectively.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of 3-amino-2-pyrones as selective cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) inhibitors

A group of 3-amino-2-pyrones were synthesized and their biological activities were evaluated for inhibiting cyclooxygenase（COX） activity.This study has led to the identification of COX-1-selective inhibitors.Among the tested compounds,the compound 5j exhibited the most potent COX-1 inhibitory activity(IC₅₀ = 19.32μg/mL) and COX-1 selectivity index（SI = 41.98）.     

Preparation of 3-arylmethylindoles as selective COX-2 inhibitors

The 3-arylmethylation of indoles using TMSOTf/Et₃SiH with a wide variety of substituted benzaldehydes has been accomplished. Under these mild Lewis acid mediated reductive conditions, it was demonstrated that indoles bearing both 6-MeSO₂ and 2-methyl substituents could be 3-arylmethylated in good to excellent yields to afford the corresponding 3-arylmethyl indoles, effective as selective COX-2 inhibitors. In addition, the viability of this method for the reductive alkylation of indoles by ketones was demonstrated and shown to be C-3 regioselective. For indoles bearing both a 6-MeSO₂ and 2-cyano substituent where this indole reductive alkylation methodology was unsuccessful, an unprecedented Pd(0) mediated arylorganozinc coupling with the requisite substituted 3-methylcarbonatomethylindole proved successful in affording the desired 2-cyano-6-MeSO₂-3-arylmethylindoles effective as selective COX-2 inhibitors.     

Synthesis and antifungal activities of (2R,3R)-2-aryl-1-azolyl-3-(substituted amino)-2-butanol derivatives as topical antifungal agents.

2-Aryl-1-azolyl-3-(substituted amino)-2-butanol derivatives I were prepared by ring-opening reaction of epoxides II with excess amine, and their antifungal activities were evaluated as topical agents. Azolyl-cyclic amine derivatives with a methylene group showed extremely strong activity with a broad spectrum in vitro. In general, anti-Trichophyton mentagrophytes activities of most of the topical antifungal agents are substantially reduced by addition of keratin (a major constituent of the keratinized tissue). However, the triazole derivative (2R,3R)-2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-3-(4-methylenepiperidino)-1-(1H-1,2 ,4- triazol-1-yl)-2-butanol ((-)-40, KP-103) showed very little deactivation by addition of keratin. This biological characteristic of triazole derivative (-)-40 resulted in excellent therapeutic efficacy on dermatophytosis superior to that of the corresponding imidazole derivative ((-)-41).     

Crotoflavol, a new phenanthrene from Croton flavens

Phytochemical investigations of the leaves of Croton flavens L. var. balsamiferus (Jacq.) Muell. Arg. has led to the isolation of the novel 2,5-dihydroxy-3,6-dimethoxyphenanthrene crotoflavol. The structure was elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic evidence. This is the first report on the isolation of a phenanthrene from a Croton species.     

A comparative study of the COX-1 and COX-2 isozymes bound to lipid membranes

The monotopic proteins COX-1 and -2 in dimeric form bound to lipid bilayer membranes are studied using molecular dynamics simulations within an aqueous environment. The 25-ns simulations are performed for both isozymes with arachidonic acid bound in the cyclooxygenase sites. The interactions between the enzymes and the lipids are analyzed, providing insight into the attachment mechanism of monotopic proteins to membranes. Our study reveals some key differences between the two isozymes that include the orientations at which they sit on the surface of the membranes and the depths to which they embed within the membranes. The differences in membrane association of the isozymes indicate that they may integrate distinctively with the same membrane, and/or with different membranes or their lipid components. Our results indicate that arachidonic acid can be bound in the cyclooxygenase active site in distinct catalytically competent conformations that lead to certain hydroperoxy acids; and the arachidonic acid and/or cyclooxygenase sites undergo a conformational change which makes only one subunit of each homodimer catalytically active.     

New antitumor agents from inhibitors of folate-dependent enzymes

This lecture summarizes our recent investigations in folate analogue chemistry, which have resulted in the synthesis of several extremely promising chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of solid tumors. Much of this work has been published previously, this review lecture is concerned with some of the chemical developments of interest in the field of heterocyclic chemistry.Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, 08544. Published in Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 10, pp. 1332–1344, October, 1995. Original article submitted September 1, 1995.     

Synthesis of novel curcumin analogues and their evaluation as selective cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) inhibitors

Curcumin, a major yellow pigment and active component of turmeric, has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities. Recent studies have indicated that cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) plays an important role in inflammation and carcinogenesis. In order to find more selective COX-1 inhibitors a series of novel curcumin derivatives was synthesized and evaluated for their ability to inhibit this enzyme using in vitro inhibition assays for COX-1 and COX-2 by measuring PGE(2) production. All curcumin analogues showed a higher rate of COX-1 inhibition. The most potent curcumin compounds were (1E,6E)-1,7-di-(2,3,4-trimethoxyphenyl)-1,6-heptadien-3,5-dione (4) (COX-1: IC(50) = 0.06 microM, COX-2: IC(50) > 100 microM, selectivity index>1666) and (1E,6E)-methyl 4-[7-(4-methoxycarbonyl)phenyl]-3,5-dioxo-1,6-heptadienyl]benzoate (6) (COX-1: IC(50) = 0.05 microM, COX-2: IC(50) > 100 microM, selectivity index > 2000). Curcumin analogues therefore represent a novel class of highly selective COX-1 inhibitors and promising candidates for in vivo studies.     

Molecular modeling and structural analysis of some tetrahydroindazole and cyclopentanepyrazole derivatives as COX-2 inhibitors

In an attempt to rationalize the search for new potential anti-inflammatory compounds on the COX-2 enzyme, we carried out an in silico protocol that successfully combines the prediction of physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties, molecular docking, molecular dynamic simulation, and free energy calculation. Starting from a small library of compounds synthesized previously, it was found that 70% of the compounds analyzed satisfy with the associated values to physicochemical principles as key evaluation parameters for the drug-likeness; all the compounds presented good gastrointestinal absorption and cerebral permeability and they showed an interaction with the Arg 106 residue of the COX-2 isoenzyme. Finally, it was obtained that compound 3ab has a binding mode, binding energy, and stability in the active site of COX-2 like the reference drug celecoxib, suggesting that this compound could become a powerful candidate in the inhibition of the COX-2 enzyme. In addition, we realized the crystallographic analysis of compounds 3j, 3r, and 3t defining the crystal parameters and the Packing interactions.