Could chroman-4-one derivative be a better inhibitor of PTR1? – Reason for the identified disparity in its inhibitory potency in Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania major

Most notable Kinetoplastids are of the genus Trypanosoma and Leishmania, affecting several millions of humans in Africa and Latin America. Current therapeutic options are limited by several drawbacks, hence the need to develop more efficacious inhibitors. An investigation to decipher the mechanism behind greater inhibitory potency of a chroman-4-one derivative (compound 1) in Trypanosoma brucei pteridine reductase 1 (TbPTR1) and Leishmania major pteridine reductase 1 (LmPTR1) was performed. Estimation of ΔG_bind revealed that compound 1 had a greater binding affinity in TbPTR1 with a ΔG_bind value of −49.0507 Kcal/mol than −29.2292 Kcal/mol in LmPTR1. The ΔGbind in TbPTR1 were predominantly contributed by “strong” electrostatic energy compared to the “weak” van der Waals in LmPTR1. In addition to this, the NADPH cofactor contributed significantly to the total energy of TbPTR1. A characteristic weak aromatic π interaction common in PTR1 was more prominent in TbPTR1 than LmPTR1. The consistent occurrence of high-affinity conventional hydrogen bond interactions as well as a steady interaction of crucial active site residues like Arg14/Arg17, Ser95/Ser111, Phe97/Phe113 in TbPTR1/LmPTR1 with chroman-4-one moiety equally revealed the important role the moiety played in the activity of compound 1. Overall, the structural and conformational analysis of the active site residues in TbPTR1 revealed them to be more rigid than LmPTR1. This could be the mechanism of interaction TbPTR1 employs in exerting a greater potency than LmPTR1. These findings will further give insight that will be assistive in modifying compound 1 for better potency and the design of novel inhibitors of PTR1.     

Efficient total syntheses of natural pterin glycosides: limipterin and tepidopterin

The key, versatile precursors N²-(N,N-dimethylaminomethylene)-1′-O-(4-methoxybenzyl)-3-[2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethyl]biopterin (29a) and its ciliapterin analog (29b) were prepared, respectively, from d-xylose (in 14 steps) and l-xylose (in 11 steps). Treatment of 29a and 29b with 3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-2-deoxy-2-phthalimido-β-d-glucopyranosyl bromide in the presence of silver triflate and tetramethylurea, followed by removal of the protecting groups, led to the first selective syntheses of limipterin (3) and tepidopterin (5), respectively.     

Novel coordination behavior of a pteridine-benzoylhydrazone ligand (BZLMH): Theoretical calculations, XRD structures and luminescence studies

The XRD structure and the influence of the conformation in the molecular orbitals of the pteridine-benzoylhydrazone ligand (BZLMH = benzoylhydrazone of 6-acetyl-1,3,7-trimethyllumazine, lumazine = (1H,3H)-pteridin-2,4-dione) have been studied. Complexes of BZLMH with nickel(II), zinc(II) and mercury(II) have been prepared and spectroscopically characterized by IR, NMR and fluorescence spectroscopy; also XRD studies have allowed to establish two different coordinative patterns in the complexes [Ni₃(BZLMH)₃(OH)(H₂O)(CH₃CN)₂](ClO₄)₅ · 2H₂O · CH₃CN (2) and [Zn(NO₃)(BZLMH)(H₂O)](NO₃) (3). Compound (2) is a trinuclear hydroxo-centered complex with a central hydroxo group bridging the three nickel(II) ions. The [Ni₃(μ₃-OH)]⁵⁺ core is planar with the benzoylhydrazone ligands coordinated in the bis-bidentate [O(4),N(5)]-[N(61),O(63)] mode. The zinc(II) compound displays a BPT coordination geometry in which the BZLMH ligand acts in a tridentate fashion using N(5), N(61) and O(63) donor atoms. Fluorescence spectroscopic properties of benzoylhydrazone (BZLMH) are studied and the fluorescence band shift and changes in intensity is modulated by complexation with different metal ions (Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Hg²⁺), so the binding is signaled such a possible cause.     

Pyrrolo-dihydropteridines via a cascade reaction consisting of iminium cyclization and O-N Smiles rearrangement

The reactions of 5-pyrrolyl-pyrimidinyloxyacetaldehyde or methyl ketone with primary amines yielded hydroxymethylpyrrolopteridine derivatives via a cascade of iminium cyclization and O-N Smiles rearrangement. The present cascade exhibited a different profile compared to the previously reported ones, which consisted of N-N Smiles rearrangement. Lewis acid (TiCl₄) under carefully controlled conditions was employed to suppress the competing formation of imine dimers to give the desired heterocycles. A plausible mechanism involving the iminium cyclization and Smiles rearrangement is proposed. This methodology has been used to generate a series of 6-hydroxymethylpyrrolo[1,2-f]pteridine derivatives with potential biological activities.     

Synthetic studies on pterin glycosides: the first synthesis of 2′-O-(α-d-glucopyranosyl)biopterin

l-Rhamnose was led, in a 14-step-sequence, to N²-(N,N-dimethylaminomethylene)-1′-O-(4-methoxybenzyl)-3-[2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethyl]biopterin (23), an appropriately protected precursor for 2′-O-glycosylation, while 4,6-di-O-acetyl-2,3-di-O-(4-methoxybenzyl)-α-d-glucopyranosyl bromide (32), a novel glycosyl donor, was efficiently prepared from d-glucose in 8 steps. The first synthesis of 2′-O-(α-d-glucopyranosyl)biopterin (2a) was achieved by treatment of the key intermediate 23 with 32 in the presence of silver triflate and tetramethylurea, followed by successive removal of the protecting groups.     

High-throughput intracellular pteridinic profiling by liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Pteridines are a diverse family of endogenous metabolites that may serve as useful diagnostic biomarkers for disease. While many preparative and analytical techniques have been described for analysis of selected pteridines in biological fluids, broad intracellular pteridine detection remains a significant analytical challenge. In this study, a novel, specific and sensitive extraction and high performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC–QTOF MS) method was developed to simultaneously quantify seven intracellular pteridines and monitor 18 additional, naturally-occurring intracellular pteridines. The newly developed method was validated through evaluation of spiked recoveries (84.5–109.4%), reproducibility (2.1–5.4% RSD), method detection limits (0.1–3.0 μg L⁻¹) and limits of quantitation (0.1–1 μg L⁻¹), and finally application to non-small cell lung cancer A549 cells. Twenty-three pteridine derivatives were successfully detected from cell lysates with an average RSD of 12% among culture replicates. Quantified intracellular pteridine levels ranged from 1 to 1000 nM in good agreement with previous studies. Finally, this technique may be applied to cellular studies to generate new biological hypotheses concerning pteridine physiological and pathological functions as well as to discovery new pteridine-based biomarkers.     

Condensation of 1‐(Dicyanomethylene)acenaphthene‐2‐one with Aromatic Diamines

1‐(Dicyanomethylene)acenaphthene‐2‐one ( 1 ) reacts with 1,8‐diaminonaphthalene ( 2 ) to yield two products, identified as acenaphtho[1,2‐b]naphtho[1,8‐ef][1,4]diazepine ( 3 ) and (Z)‐2‐(8‐aminonaphthalen‐1‐ylamino)‐2‐(2‐oxoacenaphthylen‐1(2H)‐ylidene)acetonitrile ( 4 ). On the other hand, (2Z,2′Z)‐2,2′‐(hydrazine‐1,2‐diylidene)diacenaphthylen‐1(2H)‐one ( 6 ) was obtained during the condensation process of 1 with hydrazine hydrate ( 5 ). Reaction of 1 with 3,4‐diaminotoluene ( 8b ) produces 9‐methylacenaphtho[1,2‐b]quinoxaline ( 9b ) and (Z)‐2‐(2‐amino‐5‐methylphenyl‐amino)‐2‐(2‐oxoacenaphthylen‐1(2H)‐ylidene)acetonitrile ( 10b ). However, treatment of 5,6‐diamino‐pyrimidine‐2,4‐diol hemisulphate ( 11 ) with 1 affords acenaphtho[1,2‐g]pteridine‐9,11‐diol ( 12 ).