Side-chain-modified analogs of calcitriol cause resistance of human HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells to drug-induced apoptosis

Calcitriol and some of its analogs have antiproliferative activity, but at the same time, can cause resistance to apoptosis induced by known cytostatic drugs. In this paper, we examined the effects of treatment with calcitriol or its side-chain-modified analogs, analog of Vitamin D2, coded PRI-1906, with monohomologated and unsaturated side-chain and the analog of Vitamin D3, coded PRI-2191, with (24R) hydroxyl group, and those of known cytostatics (genistein, etoposide, doxorubicin, cisplatin, and taxol) on the apoptosis of HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells. HL-60 cells were incubated in three different sequences: (1) pre-treatment with calcitriol or its analogs and then treatment with cytostatics; (2) pre-treatment with cytostatics and then treatment with calcitriol; (3) simultaneous treatment with calcitriol and cytostatics. Apoptosis was examined either by DNA fragmentation in agarose gel electrophoresis or by cell-cycle analysis in a FACS Calibur flow cytometer. We showed that pre-treatment with calcitriol or one of its side-chain-modified analogs PRI-1906 or PRI-2191 caused resistance of HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells to genistein-, doxorubicin-, cisplatin-, and taxol-induced apoptosis. Simultaneous exposure of HL-60 cells to calcitriol and drug caused a significant decrease in the apoptotic level of HL-60 cells compared with cells treated with drug alone. The pre-treatment of HL-60 cells with drug and then treatment with calcitriol did not increase the level of apoptosis compared with the drug effect alone. These results indicate the potential limitations of calcitriol analogs for treatment of leukemia.     

5'-Nucleotidases: specific assays for five different enzymes in cell extracts

Several mammalian 5'-nucleotidases (5-NTs), attached to membranes or present in the cytosol or in mitochondria, remove the phosphate from ribo- and deoxyribonucleotides with different specificities for the sugar and base moieties. Some enzymes probably participate in signaling functions by producing adenosine from AMP. A more general function may be to prevent overproduction of deoxyribonucleotides. 5-NTs may affect the pharmacological activity of nucleoside analogs and also be involved in their mitochondrial toxicity. Here we describe for five cloned 5-NT specific assays that largely rely on new inhibitors for some of the enzymes. The assays can be used to quantitate each enzyme in crude cell extracts. To ascertain their validity we applied each assay to extracts from genetically modified cells that overproduce separately each of the five enzymes. The methodology should be useful in further studies of the physiological function of 5-NTs and their influence on the clinical use of nucleoside analogs.     

Synthesis and receptor binding of oxytocin analogs containing conformationally restricted amino acids

We report the solid-phase synthesis and receptor-binding properties of eleven oxytocin analogs (Mpa-Xxx-Ile-Gln-Asn-Cys-Sar-Arg-Gly-NH₂) containing non-coded amino acids in position 2: D-- and L--(2-indanyl)glycine, R,S-6-methoxy-2-aminotetralin-2-carboxylic acid, D- and L-pentafluorophenylalanine, D,L-2,4-dimethylphenylalanine, D,L-2,4,6-trimethylphenylalanine, R,R- and S,S-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1-methyl--carboline-3-carboxylic acid and R- and S-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro--carboline-3-carboxylic acid. Some of these amino acid analogs (2-indanylglycine and D-pentafluorophenylalanine) were earlier successfully applied for the synthesis of potent bradykinin antagonists [1,2]. Their receptor bindings were tested on isolated guinea-pig uterus, rat liver and rat kidney inner medulla plasma membranes. The extent of binding of the peptides to the oxytocin receptor was in several cases was even higher than that of the parent hormone (oxytocin). However, the real pharmacological value of these analogs can be evaluated only after in vivo measurements of their inhibition of uterine motor activity.     

Exploring structure-promiscuity relationships using dual-site promiscuity cliffs and corresponding single-site analogs

Currently available volumes of compounds and biological activity data enable large-scale analyses of compound promiscuity (multi-target activity). To aid in the exploration of structure-promiscuity relationships, promiscuity cliffs (PCs) were introduced previously. In analogy to activity cliffs, PCs were defined as pairs of structurally analogous compounds with large differences in the number of targets they are active against. Hence, PCs reveal small chemical modifications that are implicated in promiscuity. As introduced originally, PCs were identified by applying the matched molecular pair formalism and were thus confined to changes at a single substitution site. Herein, PCs with multiple substitution sites are introduced and a pilot study on a large collection of protein kinase inhibitors is reported, which provide excellent test cases for promiscuity analysis. For dual-site PCs (dsPCs), which dominated the distribution of multi-site PCs, an extended data structure was generated comprising a dsPC and two single-site analogs accounting for individual substitutions. Using a canonical representation, extended dsPCs are intuitive and easy to interpret from a chemical perspective. The analog quartet representing an extended dsPC is rich in structure-promiscuity relationship information and makes it possible to evaluate the potential interplay of chemical modifications implicated in promiscuity. Furthermore, extended dsPCs provide insights into possible experimental causes of apparent differences in analog promiscuity such as varying test frequencies. Hence, the newly introduced PC format should be of interest for exploring origins of compound promiscuity in medicinal chemistry and for formulating experimentally testable target hypotheses for analogs.     

Design and Synthesis of Acyclic Nucleoside Analogs with Chlorinated Imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine Bases

Abstract

A series of acyclic C-nucleoside analogs of 2,6-dichloro- and 2,6,7-trichloroimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine were synthesized and tested for antiviral activity. The appropriate hydroxymethyl-substituted heterocycles were treated successively with thionyl chloride, an appropriate nucleophile, then diisopropylethylamine to obtain the desired acyclic nucleoside analogs. These compounds were evaluated for activity against human cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus, type 1. Two of the dichloro analogs, but none of the trichloro analogs demonstrated slight antiviral activity (IC₅₀'s = 20–45 µM) at non-cytotoxic concentrations.     

Synthesis of a Novel,Optically Active Uridine Analog Containing a 1,4-Dioxane Sugar Moiety. Synthesis of the Corresponding Dinucleotide

A new optically active uridine nucleoside analogue in which a substituted 1,4-dioxane ring functioned as the sugar analogue was prepared from L-tartaric acid. The nucleoside analogue was further converted into the corresponding protected dinucleotide.     

Synthesis and Antiviral Activity of 2-Substituted Analogs of Triciribine

Abstract

Triciribine (TCN) and triciribine monophosphate (TCN-P) have antiviral and antineoplastic activity at low or submicromolar concentrations. In an effort to improve and better understand this activity, we have conducted a structure-activity relationship study to explore the effect of substitutions at the 2-position of triciribine. 2-Methyl-(2-Me-TCN), 2-ethyl-(2-Et-TCN), 2-phenyl-(2-Ph-TCN), 2-chloro-(2-Cl-TCN), and 2-aminotriciribine(2-NH₂-TCN) were designed and synthesized to determine the effects of substitutions at the 2-position which change the steric, electronic, and hydrophobic properties of TCN, while maintaining the integrity of the tricyclic ring system. These compounds were evaluated for activity against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1), herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and were found to be either less active than TCN and TCN-P or inactive at the highest concentrations tested, 100 µM. We conclude that substitutions at the 2-position of triciribine adversely affect the antiviral activity most likely because these analogs are not phosphorylated to active metabolites.     

Fast DNA Interstrand Cross-Linking Reaction by 6-Vinylpurine

Oligonucleotides that incorporate a reactive moiety to form an interstrand cross-link have been widely studied for their potential toward inhibiting gene expression or as basic tools for chemical biology studies. The 6-vinylpurine (2) newly designed in the current study serves well as a new purine-base moiety for increasing cross-link reactivity to target cytosine. Thus, oligonucleotides containing 6-vinylpurine exhibit a more selective and much smoother DNA cross-linking ability to cytosine than the oligonucleotide analogs derived from 2-amino-6-vinylpurine (1) previously explored.     

Synthesis and Characterization of C8 Analogs of c-di-GMP

We have synthesized five analogs of c-di-GMP with different substituents at the guanine C8 position, to study their effects on the metal-dependent polymorphism we had previously demonstrated for the parent compound. Of these, only the K⁺ salt of c-di-Br-GMP, 2, forms higher order complexes, predominantly two different syn octamolecular ones. Its Na⁺ salt, as well as both the K⁺ and Na⁺ salts of c-di-thio-GMP, 3, c-di-methylthio-GMP, 4, c-di-phenyl-GMP, 5, and c-di-acetylphenyl-GMP, 6, all form primarily a syn bimolecular structure.