Synthesis of 4-amino-4,5-dideoxy-L-lyxofuranose derivatives and their evaluation as fucosidase inhibitors.

The nitrone 4 (4,5-dideoxy-4-hydroxylamino-3,4-O-isopropylidene-L-lyxofuranose) was synthesised from D-ribose and used as key intermediate for the preparation of fucosidase inhibitors. We describe two transformations of 4. Hydrolysis with aqueous sulfur dioxide gave the known potent nanomolar inhibitor 4-amino-4,5-dideoxy-L-lyxofuranose (3).

Extra binding region induced by non-zinc chelating inhibitors into the S1' subsite of matrix metalloproteinase 8 (MMP-8).

The mode of binding and the activity of the first two non-zinc chelating, potent, and selective inhibitors of human neutrophil collagenase are reported. The crystal structures of the catalytic domain of MMP-8, respectively complexed with each inhibitor, reveals that both ligands are deeply inserted into the primary specificity subsite S(1)', where they induce a similar conformational change of the surrounding loop that is endowed with the main specificity determinants of MMPs. Accord to this rearrangement, both inhibitors remove the floor of the pocket formed by the Y227 side-chain, rendering available an extra binding region never explored before.

Total synthesis of iejimalide A-D and assessment of the remarkable actin-depolymerizing capacity of these polyene macrolides.

A concise and convergent total synthesis of the highly cytotoxic marine natural products iejimalide A-D (1-4) is reported, which relies on an effective ring-closing metathesis (RCM) reaction of a cyclization precursor containing no less than 10 double bonds. Because of the exceptional sensitivity of this polyunsaturated intermediate and its immediate precursors toward acid, base, and even gentle warming, the assembly process hinged upon the judicious choice of protecting groups and the careful optimization of all individual transformations. As a consequence, particularly mild protocols for Stille as well as Suzuki reactions of elaborate coupling partners have been developed that hold considerable promise for applications in other complex settings.

Synthesis and evaluation of amino-threoses in D- and L-series: are five membered ring amino-sugars more potent glycosidase inhibitors than the six membered ones?

Cyclic D- and L-4-aminothreose were synthesised from ethyl D- and L-tartrate, respectively. D-aminothreose was a potent inhibitor of alpha-glucosidase and of alpha-mannosidase. From the glycosidase inhibition potencies of the four 4-amino-4-deoxy-tetroses, the contribution of binding of each functionality of the 5 and 6 membered ring amino-sugars towards the various glycosidases is discussed.