MECHANISM OF INACTIVATION OF S-ADENOSYL-L-HOMOCYSTEINE HYDROLASE BY 5′-DEOXY-5′-S-ALLENYLTHIOADENOSINE AND 5′-DEOXY-5′-S-PROPYNYLTHIOADENOSINE

5′-Deoxy-5′-S-allenylthioadenosine 1 and 5′-deoxy-5′-S-propnylthioadenosine 2, derived from adenosine, were prepared. 1 and 2 caused irreversible inactivation of AdoHcy hydrolase. ESI mass spectra analysis of the inactivated enzyme demonstrated that 1 and 2 were type II “mechanism-based” inhibitors.     

SYNTHESIS OF 2′-C-METHYL-4′-THIO RIBONUCLEOSIDES

Starting from 2-C-methyl-ribonolactone, 1,2,3,5-tetra-O-acetyl-2-C-methyl-4-thioribofuranose was synthesized and condensed with heterocyclic bases to afford 2′-C-methyl-4′-thioribonucleosides.     

INHIBITION OF HUMAN TELOMERASE BY L-ENANTIOMERS OF NATURAL 2′-DEOXYRIBONUCLEOSIDE 5′-TRIPHOSPHATES

In order to clarify whether L-enantiomers of natural 2′-deoxyribonucleoside 5′-triphosphates (dNTPs) are recognized by human telomerase, a quantitative telomerase assay based on the ‘stretch PCR’ method was developed and used for kinetic analysis. Among the four L-dNTPs, L-dTTP and L-dGTP inhibited telomerase activity and the others showed slight or no inhibitory effect. Lineweaver-Burk plot analysis showed that the inhibition mode L-dGTP was competitive with dGTP.     

HYDROLYSIS OF 2′-DEOXY AND 2′-FLUORONUCLEOSIDE-3′-PHOSPHODlESTERS

Abstract

Two nucleoside analogs were synthesized to test the ribose conformational and electronic effects on phosphate hydrolysis at the 3′ position. It was found that under alkaline conditions, a 2′-fluoro-nucleoside (C3′-endo) resulted in a phosphate degradation that was ten times faster than the 2′-deoxynucleoside analog (C2′-endo). In addition to kinetic differences, product distributions will be presented.     

REGIOSELECTIVE 1-ALKYLATION OF 2′-DEOXYGUANOSINE

ABSTRACT

A method has been found for the regioselective alkylation of the nitrogen at the 1-position of 2′-deoxyguanosine. This consists in the reaction, in tetrahydrofuran solution, of a fully protected form of dG, namely the 3′5′-O-bis(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-N ²-dimethylaminomethylene derivative, with an alkyl halide in the presence of cesium carbonate. The yields of these previously unavailable derivatives of 2′-deoxyguanosine range from good to excellent. Confirmation of the structure of these substances comes from a comparison of their spectroscopic properties with those of the known 1-methyl homologue. In particular, the UV spectra of these new derivatives and the known 1-methyl homologue are essentially identical.     

SYNTHESIS AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF 4′-C-HYDROXYMETHYL-2′-FLUORO-D-ARABINOFURANOSYLPURINE NUCLEOSIDES

A series of 4′-C-hydroxymethyl-2′-fluoro-D-arabinofuranosylpurine nucleosides was prepared and evaluated for cytotoxicity in human tumor cell lines. A convenient synthesis of the carbohydrate precursor 4-C-hydroxymethyl-3,5-di-O-benzoyl-2-fluoro-α-D-arabinofuranosyl bromide (13) was developed. Coupling of 13 with the sodium salt of 2,6-dichloropurine led to five target purine nucleosides.     

SYNTHESIS OF SOME 2′-FLUORO-2′-DEOXY-3′-C-ETHYNYL AND 3′-C-VINYL-β-D-LYXOFURANOSYL NUCLEOSIDES

1-(2-Fluoro-2-deoxy-β-D-arabinofuranosyl)uracil (5) and 1-(2-fluoro-2-deoxy-β-D-arabinofuranosyl)cytosine (6) were synthesized as reported earlier. Both of these compounds were converted into 2′-fluoro-2′-deoxy-3′-C-ethynyl and 3′-C-vinyl-β-D-lyxofuranosyl nucleosides (16–19) by a multistep sequence. All these new nucleosides were evaluated against seven human tumor cell lines in vitro.     

COMPARISON OF THE ANTIVIRAL ACTIVITY OF HYDROPHOBIC AMINO ACID PHOSPHORAMIDATE MONOESTERS OF 2′, 3′-DIDEOXYADENOSINE (DDA) AND 3′-AZIDO-3′-DEOXYTHYMIDINE (AZT)

A series of hydrophobic, water soluble and non-toxic amino acid phosphoramidate monoesters of dideoxyadenosine (ddA) and 3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine were shown to inhibit the replication of HIV-1 in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from two donors. The tryptophan methyl ester phosphoramidates of AZT and ddA were equally potent (EC₅₀S = 0.3–0.4 μM), while the phenyl methyl ester of ddA was 40- to 100- fold more potent than the AZT derivatives. The alaninyl methyl ester of AZT was found to be 70- fold more potent than the ddA derivative. The methyl amide derivatives were found to be 5–20 fold less active than the methyl esters for the ddA series, while for AZT the derivatives were found to be of similar potency or 60- to 166- fold more potent than the methylesters.     

SYNTHESIS OF A NEW 5′-O-TRIPHOSPHATE ANALOG OF 5-METHYL 2′-O-DEOXYCYTIDINE. PRELIMINARY IN VITRO LABELING FOR NON-RADIOACTIVE DETECTION OF DNA

We report the synthesis of the triphosphate of 5-methyl 4-N-[6-(p-bromobenzamido)hex-1-yl]-2′-O-deoxycytidine 3A . We also analyzed the formation of intramolecular H-bonds of 5-methyl 4-N-{n-[6-(p-bromobenzamido) caproyl amino]alk-1-yl}-2′-deoxycytidine compounds, and confirmed their presence by ¹H-NMR studies. In vitro DNA labeling with modified nucleotides is preliminarily evaluated.     

SYNTHESIS AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF 4′-C-HYDROXYMETHYL-2′-FLUORO- D-ARABINOFURANOSYLPURINE NUCLEOSIDES

A series of 4′-C-hydroxymethyl-2′-fluoro-D-arabinofuranosylpurine nucleosides was prepared and evaluated for cytotoxicity. The details of a convenient synthesis of the carbohydrate precursor 4-C-hydroxymethyl-3,5-di-O-benzoyl-2-fluoro-α-D-arabinofuranosyl bromide (13) are presented. Proof of the structure and configuration at all chiral centers of the sugars and the nucleosides were obtained by proton NMR. All five target nucleosides were evaluated for cytotoxicity in human tumor cell lines. The 4′-C-hydroxymethyl clofarabine analogue (16β) showed slight cytotoxicity in CCRF-CEM leukemia cells.     

A NEW APPROACH TO THE SYNTHESIS OF 4′-CARBON-SUBSTITUTED NUCLEOSIDES: DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGHLY ACTIVE ANTI-HIV AGENT 2′, 3′-DIDEHYDRO-3′-DEOXY-4′-ETHYNYLTHYMIDINE

Oxidation of 3′-O-TBDMS-4′,5′-unsaturated thymidine 3 with dimethyldioxirane (DMDO) allowed the isolation of the epoxide 4. Upon reacting with organosilicon reagents in the presence of SnCl₄, 4 underwent stereoselective ring opening to give 4′-α-allyl (6), 4′-α-(2-bromoallyl) (7), 4′-α-(cyclopenten-3-yl) (8), and 4′-α-cyano (9) derivatives of thymidine. Reactions of the 3′-epimer 12 with organoaluminum reagents gave 4′-α-methyl (13), 4′-α-vinyl (14), and 4′-α-ethynyl (15) analogues. Compounds 13–15 were transformed into corresponding 2′,3′-didehydro-3′-deoxy derivatives. Evaluation of their ability to inhibit the replication of HIV in cell culture showed that 4′-ethynyl-d4T (19) is more potent and less toxic than the parent compound d4T.     

SYNTHESIS AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF 4′-THIO-L-XYLOFURANOSYL NUCLEOSIDES

A series of 4′-thio-L-xylofuranosyl nucleosides were prepared and evaluated as potential anticancer and antiviral agents. The details of a convenient and high-yielding synthesis of the carbohydrate precursor 1-O-acetyl-2,3,5-tri-O-benzyl-4- thio-L-xylofuranose (6) are presented. Proof of structure and configuration at all chiral centers of the nucleosides was obtained by proton and carbon NMR. All target compounds were evaluated in a series of human cancer cell lines in culture and as antiviral agents.     

THE NMR CONFORMATION STUDY OF THE COMPLEXES OF DEOXYCYTIDINE KINASE (dCK) AND 2′-DEOXYCYTIDINE/2′-DEOXYADENOSINE

The structures of the bound ¹³C/²H double-labelled 2′(R/S), 5′(R/S)-²H₂-1′,2′,3′,4′,5′-¹³C₅-2′-deoxyadenosine and the corresponding 2′-deoxycytidine moieties in the complexes with human deoxycytidine kinase (dCK) have been characterized for the first time by the solution NMR spectroscopy, using Transferred Dipole-Dipole Cross-correlated Relaxation and Transferred nOe experiments. It has been shown that the ligand adopts a South-type sugar conformation when bound to dCK.     

SYNTHESIS OF 3′-THIOAMIDO-MODIFIED 3′-DEOXYTHYMIDINE-5′-TRIPHOSPHATES AND THEIR USE AS CHAIN TERMINATORS IN SANGER-DNA SEQUENCING

The thioamide derivatives 3′-deoxy-5′-O-(4,4′-dimethoxytrityl)-3′-[(2-methyl-1-thioxo-propyl)amino]thymidine 1 and 3′-deoxy-5′-O-(4,4′-dimethoxytrityl)-3′-{{6-{[(9H-(fluo-ren-9-ylmethoxy)carbonyl]-amino}-1-thioxohexyl}amino} thymidine 2 were synthesized by regioselective thionation of their corresponding amides 7 and 8 with 2,4-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-1,3,2,4-dithiadiphosphet-ane-2,4-disulfide (Lawesson's reagent). The thioamides were converted into the corresponding 5′-triphosphates 3 and 4. Compound 3 was chosen for DNA sequencing experiments and 4 was further labelled with fluorescein.     

REACTION OF ANHYDRONUCLEOSIDES WITH MAGNESIUM ALKOXIDES: REGIOSPECIFIC SYNTHESIS OF 2′-O-ALKYLPYRIMIDINE NUCLEOSIDES.

Abstract

A novel approach to 2′-O-alkylpyrimidine nucleosides involving a 3′- hydroxyl assisted intramolecular delivery of a divalent metal alkoxide leads to a regiospecific opening of the anhydropyrimidine linkage at the 2′-position. Thus, reaction of 5′-protected 2,2′-anhydrouridine with magnesium or calcium alkoxides in DMF affords exclusively the corresponding 2′-O-alkyluridines in reasonable yields.     

SYNTHESIS,HYDROLYSIS AND ANTI-EBV ACTIVITY OF A SERIES OF 3′-MODIFIED cycloSal-BVDUMP PRONUCLEOTIDES

A series of cycloSal-BVDUMP phosphate triesters has been prepared. The prototype compound was 3-methyl-cycloSal-BVDUMP 2. Furthermore, a series of 3′-O-acyl-modified derivatives having carboxylic acids with different lipophilicity or a L-configurated α-amino acid (phenylalanine) was prepared. The hydrolysis properties in phosphate buffer PBS as well as in PBS containing pig liver esterase (PLE) will be described. Finally, the biological activity against EBV has been determined.     

SYNTHESIS OF OLIGONUCLEOTIDES BEARING AN ARYLAMINE MODIFICATION IN THE C8-POSITION OF 2′-DEOXYGUANOSINE

C8-Arylamine-dG adducts were converted into their corresponding 5′-O-DMTr-3′-O-phosphoramidite-C8-arylamine-dG derivatives. These compounds were used for the automated synthesis of site-specifically modified oligonucleotides. The oligonucleotides were studied for their CD properties, T_m values, and their effects on primer extension assays using human DNA-polymerase β.     

SYNTHESIS AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF 2′-DEOXY-4′-THIO-PYRAZOLO[3,4-d]PYRIMIDINE NUCLEOSIDES

The coupling of 4-aminopyrazolo [3, 4-d]pyrimidine with the appropriate thio sugar gave a 3:1 ratio of α,β blocked 4-amino-1-(2-deoxy-4-thio-D-erythropentofuranosyl)- 1H pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine nucleosides. The mixture was deblocked, both the anomers were separated, and the β-anomer was readily deaminated by adenosine deaminase. The nucleosides have been characterized, and their anomeric configurations have been determined by proton NMR. All three nucleosides were evaluated against a panel of human tumor cell lines for cytotoxicity in vitro. The details of a convenient and high yielding synthesis of these nucleosides are described.