Lessons learned from macrolide synthesis

The highlights of three macrolide syntheses recently completed in our laboratory are described. In the epothilone B synthesis we developed the "early epoxide approach," which resulted in the first completely stereocontrolled synthesis of this natural product. In the laulimalide synthesis our contribution was the auxiliary controlled ene-macrocyclization and Sharpless' kinetic resolution for achieving a regioselective epoxidation of two pseudo-enantiomorphic allylic alcohol subunits. The tartrolon B synthesis was the first to be completed. In this case, a substrate controlled aldol addition was used to assemble the entire carbon skeleton of the compound.     

Musellactone,A New Lactone From Musella Lasiocarpa

A new lactone ( 1 ), named musellactone, was isolated from the aerial parts of Musella lasiocarpa, along with eight known compounds. The structures were chemically characterized by spectroscopic methods. Musellactone ( 1 ), and 2‐methyl‐9‐(4′‐hydroxyphenyl)‐phenalen‐1‐one ( 2 ), showed different effects against five bacteria strains, and 1,2,3,4‐tetrahydro‐1,2‐dimethyl‐6,7‐isoquinolinediol ( 3 ), showed significant cytotoxic activities in vitro against KB, HL‐60 and BEL‐7404 human carcinoma cell lines.     

Comparison of estramustine with its dihydroxy analogue,estradiol 3-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)carbamate

Estramustine is an antimicrotubule agent that is effective against prostate cancer when used in combination with other microtubule-binding drugs. It is a derivative of estradiol and has a nitrogen mustard group attached via an intervening carbamate group. The molecular dimensions published for estramustine from crystal structure analyses (Mol. Pharmacol. 41∶569, 1992) indicate that the carbamate group modifies the mustard group by giving considerable double-bond character to the C-N bond. As a result the mustard group cannot form an active aziridine ring and therefore does not show the expected alkylating function. The substitution at O(3) of the aromatic A ring of the steroid moiety has also modified its activity as a steroid. Geometric data are presented here on a compound in which the two chlorine atoms of the mustard group of estramustine are replaced by hydroxyl groups. The question was, why does the dihydroxy derivative not show biological activity when chlorine atoms do not appear to be activated in estramustine itself? A comparison of the molecular geometries of the two compounds shows that the dimensions of the carbamate group are similar in both compounds. Therefore it appears that it is the extensive hydrogen-bonding capability of the dihydroxy compound that destroys its estramustine-like activity. In crystals of both compounds there is a hydrogen bond between O(17) -H and O(19) of another molecule, but the dihydroxy compound can form two more hydrogen bonds. This may possibly prevent it from reaching the site of action of estramustine or, if it does reach that site, cause it to behave differently.     

Crystal Structure of Loliolide (5, 6,7a-Tetrahydro-6-hydroxy-4, 4, 7a-trimethyl-2 (4H)-benzofuranones)

1INTRODUCTIONThetitlecompound,C,,H,,O,(mp:146～148'C),forthefirsttime,wasiso-latedfromClinopodiumpolycephalum(Vant-)byC.Y.WuetHsuancalled"DuanXueliu"inChinesethatisusedinfolkmedicineforthetreatmentofhaemorrhagiadisease[1i.Itsstructurehasalreadybeendeterminedt2ibymeansofUV,lR,NMRandchemicalsynthesis.Sinceloliolideappearedtohaveantitumoractivity"'andim-munosuppressiveactivity'#'inrecentyears,weaffirmedthestructurebyX-raydiffractionanalysis.2EXPERIMENTALApaleyellowtransparentcry…     

Na〔Sb(cdta)〕·3H_2O的晶体结构与缺位配位多面体

报道Na[Sb（cdta）]·3H2O（cdta=1，2-环二胺四乙酸）的晶体结构并着重讨论了Sb（Ⅲ）原子的畸变五角双锥配住多面作的描述问题。根据分子力学计算，孤对电子不同取向引起的能量变化与一般氢键键能大小在同一数量级。基于缺位配位多面体的结构参数，对Sb-cdta，－edta和-Pdta等螯合物系列的螯合强度与抗肿瘤活性的关联进行了讨论指出Sb—N平均键长＞2．32与N…NJ距离＞2．88可作为这类Sb（Ⅲ）螯合物呈现抗肿瘤活性的直接判据。晶体数据：C14H24N2NaO11Sb，Mr=541，09，单斜晶系，空间群个可观测衍射用于最小二乘修正，最终偏离因子R=0．051。     

Competitive reactions of interstrand and intrastrand DNA-Pt adducts: A dinuclear-platinum complex preferentially forms a 1,4-interstrand cross-link rather than a 1,2 intrastrand cross-link on binding to a GG 14-mer duplex

A study of the kinetics and mechanism of the reaction between the dinuclear Pt complex [(trans-PtCl(NH(3))(2))(2)(mu-NH(2)(CH(2))(6)NH(2))](2+) (1) and the 14-mer duplex 5'-d(ATACATG(7)G(8)TACATA)-3'.5'-d(TATG(25)TACCATG(18)TAT)-3' is reported. [(1)H,(15)N]-HSQC NMR was used to follow the reaction at 298 K, pH 5.4. The product is primarily the 5'-5' 1,4-interstrand cross-link between G(8) and G(18) bases and exists in two conformational forms. No evidence for the possible 1,2-intrastrand G(7)G(8) adduct was seen, confirming the preferential formation of interstrand cross-links by these dinuclear complexes. An initial electrostatic association of (15)N-1 with the duplex is indicated by changes in its (1)H/(15)N chemical shifts, followed by aquation of 1 to form the monoaqua monochloro species 2, with a rate constant of 4.00+/-0.03x10(-5) s(-1). Monofunctional binding to the duplex occurs primarily at G(8), the 3' base of the nucleophilic GG grouping, with a rate constant of 1.5+/-0.7 M(-1) s(-1). Changes in the (1)H/(15)N shifts indicate there is an electrostatic interaction between the unbound (PtN(3)Cl) group of the monofunctional adduct and the duplex. No peaks for a transient aquated monofunctional species are seen and closure of 3 to form the 1,4-G(8)G(18) interstrand cross-link (5) was treated as direct, with a rate constant of 4.47+/-0.06x10(-5) s(-1). The G(8)G(18) cross-link was confirmed from analysis of the NOESY NMR spectrum of the final product. Structural perturbations for the 1,4-interstrand cross-link extend over approximately four base-pairs and are similar to those found for a 1,4-interstrand cross-link with a shorter 8-mer -GTAC- sequence. A major distortion was evident for the 5'T (T(17)) adjacent to the platinated G(18), consistent with the findings from the use of chemical probes to investigate the conformation of 1,4-interstrand cross-links.     

Crystal and Molecular Structure of N－Isopropyl－O－（p－Chlorophenyl）－O＇－（1，2：3，4－Di－O＂－isopropylidene－α－D－galactopyranosyl） Thiophosphoramidate

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Influence of dT20 and [d(AT)10]2 on cisplatin hydrolysis studied by two-dimensional [1H,15N] HMQC NMR spectroscopy

The influence of the presence of DNA on the kinetics of cisplatin (cis-[PtCl2(NH3)2]) aquation (replacement of Cl- by H2O) and anation (replacement of H2O by Cl-) involved in the hydrolysis of cisplatin have been determined by two-dimensional [1H,15N] HMQC NMR spectroscopy. Single-stranded dT20 and double-stranded [d(AT)10]2 oligonucleotides were used as DNA models, avoiding guanines which are known to react rapidly with aquated cisplatin forms. Reactions starting from cis-[PtCl2(15NH3)2], or from a stoichiometric mixture of cis-[Pt(15NH3)2(H2O)2]2+ and Cl- (all 0.5 mM Pt(II); in ionic strength, adjusted to 0.095 M or 0.011 M with NaClO4, pH between 3.0 and 4.0) were followed in an NMR tube in both the absence and presence of 0.7 mM dT20 or [d(AT)10]2. In the presence of dT20, we observed a slight and ionic-strength-independent decrease (15-20 %) of the first aquation rate constant, and a more significant decrease of the second anation rate constant. The latter was more important at low ionic strength, and can be explained by efficient condensation of cis-[Pt(15NH3)2(H2O)2]2+ on the surface of single-stranded DNA, in a region depleted of chloride anions. At low ionic strength, we observed an additional set of [1H,15N] HMQC spectral signals indicative of an asymmetric species of PtN2O2 coordination, and we assigned them to phosphate-bound monoadducts of cis-[Pt(15NH3)2(H2O)2]2+. Double-stranded [d(AT)10]2 slowed down the first aquation step also by approximately 15 %; however, we could not determine the influence on the second hydrolysis step because of a significant background reaction with cis-[Pt(NH3)2(H2O)2]2+.     

Re‐engineering the Immune Response to Metastatic Cancer: Antibody‐Recruiting Small Molecules Targeting the Urokinase Receptor

Developing selective strategies to treat metastatic cancers remains a significant challenge. Herein, we report the first antibody‐recruiting small molecule (ARM) that is capable of recognizing the urokinase‐type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR), a uniquely overexpressed cancer cell‐surface marker, and facilitating the immune‐mediated destruction of cancer cells. A co‐crystal structure of the ARM‐U2/uPAR complex was obtained, representing the first crystal structure of uPAR complexed with a non‐peptide ligand. Finally, we demonstrated that ARM‐U2 substantially suppresses tumor growth in vivo with no evidence of weight loss, unlike the standard‐of‐care agent doxorubicin. This work underscores the promise of antibody‐recruiting molecules as immunotherapeutics for treating cancer.     

Online extraction and enrichment coupling with high-speed counter-current chromatography for effective and target isolation of antitumor anthraquinones from seeds of Cassia obtusifolia

Traditional bioassay-guided investigation of bioactive compounds from natural products comprises critical steps, such as extraction, repeated column separation, and activity assay. Thus, the development of facile, rapid, and efficient technology is critically important. Here, a HepG2 cell-based extraction method was first developed to rapidly screen potential antitumor compounds from the seeds ofCassia obtusifolia. Then, an online extraction and enrichment–high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) strategy was fabricated to facilely and efficiently isolate target antitumor compounds, which included direct extraction from solid C. obtusifolia, removal of polar interferences, enrichment of target compounds, and preparative isolation by HSCCC using flow rate stepwise increasing mode. After further purification by Sephadex LH-20 column, five antitumor anthraquinones, aurantio-obtusin, 1-desmethylaurantio-obtusin, chryso-obtusin, obtusin, and questin, were obtained for structural characterization and bioassay verification. The results may not only provide new perspectives for facile and rapid investigation of bioactive compounds from complex natural products, but also offer a scientific basis for the potential applications of C. obtusifolia.