Synthetic Studies on Selectin Ligands/Inhibitors: A Systematic Synthesis of Sulfatide and Its Higher Congeners Carrying 2-(Tetradecyl)Hexadecyl Group as a Ceramide Substitute 1

Abstract

A systematic synthesis of sulfatide (I) and novel sulfatide analogs (II-VI) carrying 2-(tetradecyl)hexadecyl group as a ceramide substitute is described. The 3-O-, 4-O- and 3,4-di-O-levulinoyl derivatives of galactopyranosyl trichloroacetimidates (1, 12, and 13) were coupled with (2S,3R,4E)-3-O-acetyl-2-octadecanamido-4-octadecene-1,3-diol or 2-(tetradecyl)hexadecan-1-ol. The resulting glycolipids (2, 4, 14, and 15) were each transformed, by selective removal of the levulinoyl group(s), and successive sulfation and de-O-acylation, into the 3-sulfates (I, II), 4-sulfate (III), and 3,4-disulfate (IV). The 6-sulfate (V) was prepared from 2-(tetradecyl)hexadecyl β-D-galactopyranoside (21) via the 6-O-t-butyldimethylsilyl derivative, while the 3′-sulfate of 2-(tetradecyl)hexadecyl β-D-lactoside (VI) was synthesized from 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl 3′-O-benzyl-β-D-lactoside (26). The structures of the sulfated glycolipids (I-VI) were characterized by ion-spray MS, MS/MS, and ¹H NMR spectrometry.

     

Development of a cholesterol-conjugated fluorescent sensor for site-specific detection of zinc ion at the plasma membrane

A cholesterol-conjugated fluorescence Zn(2+) sensor based on the fluorescein platform was designed and synthesized. The cholesterol moiety is essential for localizing the Zn(2+) sensor to the cell membrane, allowing the sensor to probe changes in the Zn(2+) concentration in a localized area of the cell.     

Extended X-ray absorption fine structure and nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopy reveal that NifB-co, a FeMo-co precursor, comprises a 6Fe core with an interstitial light atom

NifB-co, an Fe-S cluster produced by the enzyme NifB, is an intermediate on the biosynthetic pathway to the iron molybdenum cofactor (FeMo-co) of nitrogenase. We have used Fe K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy together with (57)Fe nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopy (NRVS) to probe the structure of NifB-co while bound to the NifX protein from Azotobacter vinelandii. The spectra have been interpreted in part by comparison with data for the completed FeMo-co attached to the NafY carrier protein: the NafY:FeMo-co complex. EXAFS analysis of the NifX:NifB-co complex yields an average Fe-S distance of 2.26 A and average Fe-Fe distances of 2.66 and 3.74 A. Search profile analyses reveal the presence of a single Fe-X (X = C, N, or O) interaction at 2.04 A, compared to a 2.00 A Fe-X interaction found in the NafY:FeMo-co EXAFS. This suggests that the interstitial light atom (X) proposed to be present in FeMo-co has already inserted at the NifB-co stage of biosynthesis. The NRVS exhibits strong bands from Fe-S stretching modes peaking around 270, 315, 385, and 408 cm(-1). Additional intensity at approximately 185-200 cm(-1) is interpreted as a set of cluster "breathing" modes similar to those seen for the FeMo-cofactor. The strength and location of these modes also suggest that the FeMo-co interstitial light atom seen in the crystal structure is already in place in NifB-co. Both the EXAFS and NRVS data for NifX:NifB-co are best simulated using a Fe 6S 9X trigonal prism structure analogous to the 6Fe core of FeMo-co, although a 7Fe structure made by capping one trigonal 3S terminus with Fe cannot be ruled out. The results are consistent with the conclusion that the interstitial light atom is already present at an early stage in FeMo-co biosynthesis prior to the incorporation of Mo and R-homocitrate.     

Emission ratiometric imaging of intracellular zinc: design of a benzoxazole fluorescent sensor and its application in two-photon microscopy

Zinc and calcium are ubiquitous intracellular metals, and while a variety of quantitative probes have been developed for measuring intracellular changes in calcium concentration, the same is not true of zinc. We describe here the design, synthesis, and properties of the benzoxazole-based, ratiometric zinc probe, Zinbo-5. This bright fluorescent reporter has a quantum yield of 0.1 in the zinc-form, exhibits a Kd for Zn2+ in the nanomolar range, and shows significant changes in both excitation and emission maxima upon zinc binding. The utility of this cell permeable probe is demonstrated in fluorescence microscopy emission ratio imaging experiments on mammalian cells. We further show that Zinbo-5 is well suited for two-photon excitation microscopy ratio imaging and can readily reveal changes in intracellular zinc concentration within optical planes of single cells. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of two-photon excitation microscopy applied to ratio imaging of zinc. These methods can be applied to real-time emission or excitation ratio imaging studies of zinc physiology in living cells.     

Recombination System Based on Cre α Complementation and Leucine Zipper Fusions

A gene encoding β-1,3-1,4-glucanase was cloned by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from Bacillus subtilis MA139. Sequencing result showed 97% homology to the corresponding gene from Bacillus licheniformis. The open reading frame (ORF) of the gene contained 690 bp coding for a 226 amino-acid matured protein with the estimated molecular weight of 24.44 kDa. The β-1,3-1,4-glucanase gene was subcloned into an expression vector of pET28a and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 and then purified by metal affinity chromatography using a nickel–nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni–NTA) column. The purified β-1,3-1,4-glucanase demonstrated 24.05 and 12.52 U ml^-1 activities for the substrates of barley β-glucan and lichenan, respectively, and the specific activities were 728.79 and 379.1 U mg^-1 for them, respectively. The optimal temperature and pH of the purified enzyme were 40°C and 6.4, respectively. When barley β-glucan was used as the substrate, K _m was 5.34 mg ml^-1, and K _cat showed 7,206.71 S^-1, thus the ratio of K _cat and K _m was 1,349.67 ml s^-1 mg^-1. The activity of β-1,3-1,4-glucanase was affected by a range of metal ions or ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA).     

Oxidation mechanism of phenols by dicopper-dioxygen (Cu(2)/O(2)) complexes

The first systematic studies on the oxidation of neutral phenols (ArOH) by the mu-eta(2):eta(2)-peroxo)dicopper(II) complex (A) and the bis(mu-oxo)dicopper(III) complex (B) supported by the 2-(2-pyridyl)ethylamine tridentate and didentate ligands L(Py2) and L(Py1), respectively, have been carried out in order to get insight into the phenolic O-H bond activation mechanism by metal-oxo species. In both cases (A and B), the C-C coupling dimer was obtained as a solely isolable product in approximately 50% yield base on the dicopper-dioxygen (Cu(2)/O(2)) complexes, suggesting that both A and B act as electron-transfer oxidants for the phenol oxidation. The rate-dependence in the oxidation of phenols by the Cu(2)/O(2) complexes on the one-electron oxidation potentials of the phenol substrates as well as the kinetic deuterium isotope effects obtained using ArOD have indicated that the reaction involves a proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) mechanism. The reactivity of phenols for net hydrogen atom transfer reactions to cumylperoxyl radical (C) has also been investigated to demonstrate that the rate-dependence of the reaction on the one-electron oxidation potentials of the phenols is significantly smaller than that of the reaction with the Cu(2)O(2) complexes, indicative of the direct hydrogen atom transfer mechanism (HAT). Thus, the results unambiguously confirmed that the oxidation of phenols by the Cu(2)O(2) complex proceeds via the PCET mechanism rather than the HAT mechanism involved in the cumylperoxyl radical system. The reactivity difference between A and B has also been discussed by taking account of the existed fast equilibrium between A and B.     

Substituent effects on core structures and heterogeneous catalytic activities of Mn(III)(μ-O)2Mn(IV) dimers with 2,2':6',2″-terpyridine derivative ligands for water oxidation

[(OH(2))(R-terpy)Mn(μ-O)(2)Mn(R-terpy)(OH(2)) ](3+) (R-terpy = 4'-substituted 2,2':6',2″-terpyridine, R = butoxy (BuO), propoxy (PrO), ethoxy (EtO), methoxy (MeO), methyl (Me), methylthio (MeS), chloro (Cl)) have been synthesized as a functional oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) model and characterized by UV-vis and IR spectroscopic, X-ray crystallographic, magnetometric, and electrochemical techniques. The UV-vis spectra of derivatives in water were hardly influenced by the 4'-substituent variation. X-ray crystallographic data showed that Mn centers in the Mn(III)(μ-O)(2)Mn(IV) cores for derivatives with R = H, MeS, Me, EtO, and BuO are crystallographically indistinguishable, whereas the derivatives with R = MeO and PrO gave the significantly distinguishable Mn centers in the cores. The indistinguishable Mn centers could be caused by rapid electron exchange between the Mn centers to result in the delocalized Mn(μ-O)(2)Mn core. The exchange integral values (J = -196 to -178 cm(-1)) for delocalized cores were lower than that (J = -163 to -161 cm(-1)) for localized cores, though the Mn···Mn distances are nearly the same (2.707-2.750 ?). The half wave potential (E(1/2)) of a Mn(III)-Mn(IV)/Mn(IV)-Mn(IV) pair of the derivatives decreased with an increase of the electron-donating ability of the substituted groups for the delocalized core, but it deviated from the correlation for the localized cores. The catalytic activities of the derivatives on mica for heterogeneous water oxidation were remarkably changed by the substituted groups. The second order rate constant (k(2)/mol(-1) s(-1)) for O(2) evolution was indicated to be correlated to E(1/2) of a Mn(III)-Mn(IV)/Mn(IV)-Mn(IV) pair; k(2) increased by a factor of 29 as E(1/2) increased by 28 mV.     

Network structure of fine silica particles

The network structure of silica aerogels heated at 300, 400 and 500°C in dried air have been determined by neutron total scattering measurements using a pulsed spallation neutron source. SANS experiments were also performed to obtain the particle size of the silica constituting aerogel. The elementary particle size obtained is about 13Å in diameter. The distances of the Si-O and O-O interactions in such fine silica particles are 1.61 and 2.64 Å, respectively, which are the same as those of fused silica. The coordination numbers of these pairs are found to be less evident than those of fused silica. In addition, the distances of the Si-Si pairs in the aerogels are slightly longer than that of fused silica. According to the heat treatment temperature, the coordination numbers of the Si-O and O-O interactions increase and the distance of the Si-Si pair decreases. These results indicate that although the network structure of fine silica particles treated at lower temperature is loose and imperfect, such structure can be changed by heating at relatively low temperature. The Raman spectra and the skeletal density measurements of the aerogels support also these results.