Syntheses of (14β,17α)-14-Hydroxy- and (14β,17α)-2,14-Dihydroxyestradiols and Their Activities

Structure 1 is proposed for the Inagami-Tamura endogenous digitalis-like factor (EDLF), and (14β,17α)-14-hydroxy- and (14β, 17α)-2,14-dihydroxyestradiols (2 and 3) were synthesized as models for studies on 1. The latter compound was remarkably potent in inducing a contractile response in isolated rat aorta and guinea pig left atrium.     

Complement System Activation by Amyloid Aggregates of Aβ(1-40) and Aβ(1-42) Peptides: Facts and Hypotheses

Biophysics - Abstract—Here, we consider the problem of the activation of the complement system by amyloid aggregates, in particular, amyloid fibrils of the Aβ(1-40) and Aβ(1-42)...     

Preparation and Properties of the 5,6- and 4,6(5,7)-Dinitro Derivatives of Benzimidazole and their 1-β-D-Ribofuranosides

Abstract

Nitration of benzimidazole leads to the formation of the two isomeric 5,6- and 4,6(5,7)-dinitrobenzimidazoles, which may be isolated by fractional crystallization. The chloromercury salts of these were employed to synthesize the corresponding 1-β-D-ribofuranosides, unequivocally characterized by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Reference is made to the biological significance of these results.     

Chemical analysis of new water-soluble (1→6)-, (1→4)-α, β-glucan and water-insoluble (1→3)-, (1→4)-β-glucan (Calocyban) from alkaline extract of an edible mushroom, Calocybe indica (Dudh Chattu)

Two different glucans (PS-I, water-soluble; and PS-II, water-insoluble) were isolated from the alkaline extract of fruit bodies of an edible mushroom Calocybe indica. On the basis of acid hydrolysis, methylation analysis, periodate oxidation, and NMR analysis ((1)H, (13)C, DEPT-135, TOCSY, DQF-COSY, NOESY, ROESY, HMQC, and HMBC), the structure of the repeating unit of these polysaccharides were established as: PS-I: →6)-β-D-Glcp-(1→6)-β-D-glcp-(1→6)-)-β-D-Glcp-(1→ α-D=Glcp (Water-soluble glucan). PS-II: →3)-β-D-Glcp-(1→3)-β-D-glcp-(1→3)-)-β-D-Glcp-(1→3)-β-D-Glcp-(1→ β-D-Glcp (Water-insoluble glucan, Calocyban).     

Evolution of mixed-linkage (1 -> 3, 1 -> 4)-β-D-glucan (MLG) and xyloglucan in Equisetum (horsetails) and other monilophytes

Background and Aims

Horsetails (Equisetopsida) diverged from other extant eusporangiate monilophytes in the Upper Palaeozoic. They are the only monilophytes known to contain the hemicellulose mixed-linkage (1 → 3, 1 → 4)-β-d-glucan (MLG), whereas all land plants possess xyloglucan. It has been reported that changes in cell-wall chemistry often accompanied major evolutionary steps. We explored changes in hemicelluloses occurring during Equisetum evolution.

Methods

Hemicellulose from numerous monilophytes was treated with lichenase and xyloglucan endoglucanase. Lichenase digests MLG to di-, tri- and tetrasaccharide repeat-units, resolvable by thin-layer chromatography.

Key Results

Among monilophytes, MLG was confined to horsetails. Our analyses support a basal trichotomy of extant horsetails: MLG was more abundant in subgenus Equisetum than in subgenus Hippochaete, and uniquely the sister group E. bogotense yielded almost solely the tetrasaccharide repeat-unit (G4G4G3G). Other species also gave the disaccharide, whereas the trisaccharide was consistently very scarce. Tetrasaccharide : disaccharide ratios varied interspecifically, but with no consistent difference between subgenera. Xyloglucan was scarce in Psilotum and subgenus Equisetum, but abundant in subgenus Hippochaete and in the eusporangiate ferns Marattia and Angiopteris; leptosporangiate ferns varied widely. All monilophytes shared a core pattern of xyloglucan repeat-units, major XEG products co-chromatographing on thin-layer chromatography with non-fucosylated hepta-, octa- and nonasaccharides and fucose-containing nona- and decasaccharides.

Conclusions

G4G4G3G is the ancestral repeat-unit of horsetail MLG. Horsetail evolution was accompanied by quantitative and qualitative modification of MLG; variation within subgenus Hippochaete suggests that the structure and biosynthesis of MLG is evolutionarily plastic. Xyloglucan quantity correlates negatively with abundance of other hemicelluloses; but qualitatively, all monilophyte xyloglucans conform to a core pattern of repeat-unit sizes.     

Purification and characterization of (1→3, 1→4)-β-glucan endohydrolases from germinated wheat (Triticum aestivum)

A (13, 14)--glucan 4-glucanohydrolase [(13, 14)--glucanase, EC 3.2.1.73] was purified to homogeneity from extracts of germinated wheat grain. The enzyme, which was identified as an endohydrolase on the basis of oligosaccharide products released from a (13, 14)--glucan substrate, has an apparent pI of 8.2 and an apparent molecular mass of 30 kDa. Western blot analyses with specific monoclonal antibodies indicated that the enzyme is related to (13, 14)--glucanase isoenzyme EI from barley. The complete primary structure of the wheat (13, 14)--glucanase has been deduced from nucleotide sequence analysis of cDNAs isolated from a library prepared using poly(A)⁺ RNA from gibberellic acid-treated wheat aleurone layers. One cDNA, designated LW2, is 1426 nucleotide pairs in length and encodes a 306 amino acid enzyme, together with a NH₂-terminal signal peptide of 28 amino acid residues. The mature polypeptide encoded by this cDNA has a molecular mass of 32085 and a predicted pI of 8.1. The other cDNA, designated LW1, carries a 109 nucleotide pair sequence at its 5 end that is characteristic of plant introns and therefore appears to have been synthesized from an incompletely processed mRNA. Comparison of the coding and 3-untranslated regions of the two cDNAs reveals 31 nucleotide substitutions, but none of these result in amino acid substitutions. Thus, the cDNAs encode enzymes with identical primary structures, but their corresponding mRNAs may have originated from homeologous chromosomes in the hexaploid wheat genome.     

Photobromination of 1,5-Anhydro-2,3-O-isopropylidene-β-d-ribofuranose and Synthesis of (5R) and (5S)-(5-2H1)-d-Riboses

The photobromination of 1,5-anhydro-2,3-O-isopropylidene-β-d-ribofuranose gave the corresponding (5S)-5-bromo compound. The reduction of the bromide with triphenyltindeuteride gave (5S)-(5-²H₁)-1,5-anhydro-2,3-O-isopropylidene-β-d-ribofuranose, with a chiral purity of 76% at C-5, which was converted to (5R)- and (5S)-(5-²H₁)-d-riboses and other ribofuranose derivatives.     

NMR and conformational studies of linear and cyclic oligo-(1→6)-β-D-glucosamines

The conformational behavior of a series of linear and cyclic oligo-(1→6)-β-D-glucosamines and their N-acetylated derivatives, which are related to fragments of natural poly-N-acetylglucosamine, was studied by theoretical molecular modeling and experimental determination of transglycosidic vicinal coupling constants (3)J(C,H) and (3)J(H,H). Molecular dynamics simulations were performed under several types of conditions varying in the consideration of ionization of amino groups, solvent effect, and temperature. Neural network clustering and asphericity calculations were performed on the basis of molecular dynamics data. It was shown that disaccharide fragments in the studied linear oligosaccharides were not rigid, and tended to have several conformers, thus determining the overall twisted shape with helical elements. In addition, it was found that the behavior of C5-C6 bond depended significantly upon the simulation conditions. The cyclic di-, tri-, and tetrasaccharides mostly had symmetrical ring-shaped conformations. The larger cycles tended to adopt more complicated shapes, and the conformational behavior of their disaccharide fragments was close to that in the linear oligosaccharides.     

Synthesis and stability assay of 4-methylumbelliferyl (1→3)-β-D-pentaglucoside

The synthesis and stability of 4-methylumbelliferyl (1 → 3)-β-D-pentaglucoside 3 are described. The (1 → 3)-β-D-glucan isolated from the cell walls of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was recovered from the aqueous medium as water-insoluble particles by the spray drying (GS) method. The acid-solubilized (1 → 3)-β-D-oligoglucosides were prepared by partial acid hydrolysis of glucan. The peracetylated (1 → 3)-β-D-pentaglucoside 1 was obtained by isolation of peracetylated (1 → 3)-β-D-oligoglucoside mixture. The peracetylated 4-methylumbelliferyl (1 → 3)-β-D-pentaglucoside 2 was synthesized by treating compound 1 with the 4-methylumbelliferone and a Lewis acid (SnCl₄) catalyst. NaOMe in dry methanol was used for the deacetylation of the blocked derivative, to give the target compound 3 in an overall yield of 35%. Activity assays with β-glucosidase indicated that compound 3 was much more stable than the corresponding pentasaccharide.     

Synthesis of 1-(β-D-Glycopyranosyl)-3-Deazapyrimidines from 2-Hydroxy and 2-Mercaptopyridines

Abstract

The synthesis of new 4- and 5-substituted-3-cyanopyridine nucleosides has been performed by reacting the silylated pyridines and penta-O-acetyl-α -D-glycopyranose in dichloroethane in the presence of SnCl₄. The free nucleosides were tested for their potential activity against HIV and different types of tumor.     

Action of rat liver Galβ1-4GlcNAc α(2-6)-sialyltransferase on Manβ1-4GlcNAcβ-OMe,GalNAcβ1-4GlcNAcβ-OMe,Glcβ1-4GlcNAcβ-OMe and GlcNAcβ1-4GlcNAcβ-OMe as synthetic substrates

Incubation of synthetic Man\1-4GlcNAc-OMe, GalNAc1-4GlcNAc-OMe, Glc1-4GlcNAc-OMe, and GlcNAc1-4GlcNac-OMe with CMP-Neu5Ac and rat liver Gal1-4GlcNAc (2-6)-sialyltransferase resulted in the formation of Neu5Ac2-6Man1-4GlcNAc-OMe, Neu5Ac2-6GalNAc1-4GlcNAc-OMe, Neu5Ac2-6Glc1-4GlcNAc-OMe and Neu5Ac2-6GlcNAc1-4GlcNAc-OMe, respectively. Under conditions which led to quantitative conversion of Gal1-4GlcNAc-OEt into Neu5Ac2-6Gal1-4GlcNAc-OEt, the aforementioned products were obtained in yields of 4%, 48%, 16% and 8%, respectively. HPLC on Partisil 10 SAX was used to isolate the various sialyltrisaccharides, and identification was carried out using 1- and 2-dimensional 500-MHz¹H-NMR spectroscopy.Abbreviations 2D 2-dimensional - CMP cytidine 5-monophosphate - CMP-Neu5Ac cytidine 5-monophospho--N-acetylneuraminic acid - COSY correlation spectroscopy - DQF double quantum filtered - HOHAHA homonuclear Hartmann-Hahn - MLEV composite pulse devised by M. Levitt - Neu5Ac N-acetylneuraminic acid - Neu5Ac2en 2-deoxy-2,3-didehydro-N-acetylneuraminic acid     

Aluminum, copper, iron and zinc differentially alter amyloid-Aβ(1-42) aggregation and toxicity

Amyloid-β(1-42) (Aβ) is believed to play a crucial role in the ethiopathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). In particular, its interactions with biologically relevant metal ions may lead to the formation of highly neurotoxic complexes. Here we describe the species that are formed upon reacting Aβ with several biometals, namely copper, zinc, iron, and with non-physiological aluminum to assess whether different metal ions are able to differently drive Aβ aggregation. The nature of the resulting Aβ-metal complexes and of the respective aggregates was ascertained through a number of biophysical techniques, including electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, dynamic light scattering, fluorescence, transmission electron microscopy and by the use of conformation-sensitive antibodies (OC, αAPF). Metal binding to Aβ is shown to confer highly different chemical properties to the resulting complexes; accordingly, their overall aggregation behaviour was deeply modified. Both aluminum(III) and iron(III) ions were found to induce peculiar aggregation properties, ultimately leading to the formation of annular protofibrils and of fibrillar oligomers. Notably, only Aβ-aluminum was characterized by the presence of a relevant percentage of aggregates with a mean radius slightly smaller than 30 nm. In contrast, both zinc(II) and copper(II) ions completely prevented the formation of soluble fibrillary aggregates. The biological effects of the various Aβ-metal complexes were studied in neuroblastoma cell cultures: Aβ-aluminum turned out to be the only species capable of triggering amyloid precursor and tau181 protein overproduction. Our results point out that Al can effectively interact with Aβ, forming "structured" aggregates with peculiar biophysical properties which are associated with a high neurotoxicity.     

Reaction of Azide Ion with 1-(2,3-Anhydrolyxofuranosyl)Uracil. Isolation of 1-(2-Amino-2-deoxy-β-D-Xylo-Furanosyl)uracil and 1-(3-Amino-3-deoxy-β-D-arabinofuranosyl)uracil

Abstract

The reaction of the 2′,3′-lyxoepoxide (1) with ammonium azide gives two products; namely, the 3′-arabino azide (2a) and in low yield 2′-xylo azide (3a). After debenzoylation and reduction the resulting mixture of amines was resolved by chromatography on a weak cation exchanger, Amberlite IRC-50, and afforded crystalline 1-(3-amino-3-deoxy-β-D-arabinofuranosyl)uracil (2c) and 1-(2-amino-2-deoxy-β-D-xylofuranosyl)uracil (3c) in the ratio of 4:1.     

Synthesis and structure–activity relationship of 3β-(4-alkylthio, -methylsulfinyl,and -methylsulfonylphenyl)tropane and 3β-(4-alkylthiophenyl)nortropane derivatives for monoamine transporters

Early studies led to the identification of 3β-(4-methoxyphenyl)tropane-2β-carboxylic acid methyl ester (5) with high affinity at the DAT (IC₅₀ = 6.5 nM) and 5-HTT (K_i = 4.3 nM), while having much less affinity at the NET (K_i = 1110 nM). In the present study, we replaced the 4′-methoxy group of the 3β-phenyl ring with a bioisosteric 4′-methylthio group to give 7a. We also synthesized a number of 3β-(4-alkylthiophenyl)tropanes 7b–e, 3β-(4-methylsulfinylphenyl) and 3β-(4-methylsulfonylphenyl)tropane analogues 7f–h as well as the 3β-(4-alkylthiophenyl)nortropane derivatives 8–11 to further characterize the structure–activity relationship of this type of compound for binding at monoamine transporters. With exception of the 4′-methylsulfonyl analogue 7h, all the tested compounds possessed high binding affinities at the 5-HTT. The K_i values ranged from 0.19 nM to 49 nM. The 3β-(4-methylthiophenyl)tropane 7a and its N-(3-fluoropropyl) analogue 9a and N-allyl analogue 10a are the most selective compounds for the 5-HTT over the NET (NET/5-HTT = 314–364) in the series. However, none of the compounds showed selectivity similar to 5 for both the DAT and 5-HTT relative to the NET. This study provided useful SAR information for rational design of potent and selective monoamine transporter inhibitors.     

Cholesterol and Clioquinol modulation of Aβ(1-42) interaction with phospholipid bilayers and metals

The β-sheet plaques that are the most obvious pathological feature of Alzheimer's disease are composed of amyloid-β peptides and are highly enriched in the metal ions Zn, Fe and Cu. The interaction of the full-length amyloid peptide, Aβ(1-42), with phospholipid lipid bilayers was studied in the presence of the metal-chelating drug, Clioquinol (CQ). The effect of cholesterol and metal ions was also determined using solid-state ³¹P and ²H NMR. CQ modulated the effect of metal ions on the integrity of the bilayer and although CQ perturbed the phospholipid membrane, the bilayer integrity was maintained. Model membranes enriched in cholesterol were studied under conditions of peptide association and incorporation. Solid-state NMR showed that the bilayer integrity was preserved in cholesterol-enriched membranes in comparison to phosphatidylcholine-phosphatidylserine bilayers. Changes in peptide structure, consistent with an increase in β-sheet, were observed using specifically ¹³C-labelled Aβ(1-42) by magic angle spinning NMR. Results using aligned phosphatidylcholine bilayers and completely ¹⁵N-labelled peptide indicated that the peptide aggregated. The results are consistent with oligomeric β-sheet structured peptides only partially penetrating the bilayer and cholesterol reducing the membrane disruption.     

Synthesis and screening of (E)-1-(β-D-galactopyranosyl)-4-(aryl)but-3-ene-2-one against Mycobacterium tuberculosis

A series of galactose-derived aryl enones were synthesised and screened against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H₃₇Rv. Preliminary results were promising with MIC values in the range 1.56-12.5 μg/mL.     

Discovery of 3-hydroxy-4-cyano-isoquinolines as novel, potent, and selective inhibitors of human 11β-hydroxydehydrogenase 1 (11β-HSD1)

Derived from the HTS hit 1, a series of hydroxyisoquinolines was discovered as potent and selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitors with good cross species activity. Optimization of substituents at the 1 and 4 positions of the isoquinoline group in addition to the core modifications, with a special focus on enhancing metabolic stability and aqueous solubility, resulted in the identification of several compounds as potent advanced leads.     

Synthesis and biological activity of O-(N-acetyl-β-muramoyl-l-alanyl-d-isoglutamine)-(1→6)-2-acylamino-2-deoxy-d-glucoses

Benzoylation of benzyl 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-4,6-O-isopropylidene-α-d-glucopyranoside, benzyl 2-deoxy-2-(dl-3-hydroxytetradecanoylamino)-4,6-O-isopropylidene-α-d-glucopyranoside, and benzyl 2-deoxy-4,6-O-isopropylidene-2-octadecanoylamino-β-d-glucopyranoside, with subsequent hydrolysis of the 4,6-O-isopropylidene group, gave the corresponding 3-O-benzoyl derivatives (4, 5, and 7). Hydrogenation of benzyl 2-acetamido-4,6-di-O-acetyl-2-deoxy-3-O-[d-1-(methoxycarbonyl)ethyl]-α-d-glucopyranoside, followed by chlorination, gave a product that was treated with mercuric actate to yield 2-acetamido-1,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-2-deoxy-3-O-[d-1-(methoxycarbonyl)ethyl]-β-d-glucopyranose (11). Treatment of 11 with ferric chloride afforded the oxazoline derivative, which was condensed with 4, 5, and 7 to give the (1→6)-β-linked disaccharide derivatives 13, 15, and 17. Hydrolysis of the methyl ester group in the compounds derived from 13, 15, and 17 by 4-O-acetylation gave the corresponding free acids, which were coupled with l-alanyl-d-isoglutamine benzyl ester, to yield the dipeptide derivatives 19–21 in excellent yields. Hydrolysis of 19–21, followed by hydrogenation, gave the respective O-(N-acetyl-β-muramoyl-l-alanyl-d-isoglutamine)-(1→6)-2-acylamino-2-deoxy-d-glucoses in good yields. The immunoadjuvant activity of these compounds was examined in guinea-pigs.