Mechanistic Insights into the Chaperoning of Human Lysosomal-Galactosidase Activity: Highly Functionalized Aminocyclopentanes and -5a-Substituted Derivatives of 4--Isofagomine.

Glycosidase inhibitors have shown great potential as pharmacological chaperones for lysosomal storage diseases. In light of this, a series of new cyclopentanoid β-galactosidase inhibitors were prepared and their inhibitory and pharmacological chaperoning activities determined and compared with those of lipophilic analogs of the potent β-d-galactosidase inhibitor 4--isofagomine. Structure-activity relationships were investigated by X-ray crystallography as well as by alterations in the cyclopentane moiety such as deoxygenation and replacement by fluorine of a "strategic" hydroxyl group.

A Peroxodiiron(III/III) Intermediate Mediating Both -Hydroxylation Steps in Biosynthesis of the -Nitrosourea Pharmacophore of Streptozotocin by the Multi-domain Metalloenzyme SznF.

The alkylating warhead of the pancreatic cancer drug streptozotocin (SZN) contains an -nitrosourea moiety constructed from -methyl-l-arginine (l-NMA) by the multi-domain metalloenzyme SznF. The enzyme's central heme-oxygenase-like (HO-like) domain sequentially hydroxylates N and N' of l-NMA. Its C-terminal cupin domain then rearranges the triply modified arginine to -hydroxy-methyl--nitroso-l-citrulline, the proposed donor of the functional pharmacophore.

Synthesis of montbretin A analogues yields potent competitive inhibitors of human pancreatic α-amylase.

Simplified analogues of the potent human amylase inhibitor montbretin A were synthesised and shown to bind tightly, = 60 and 70 nM, with improved specificity over medically relevant glycosidases, making them promising candidates for controlling blood glucose. Crystallographic analysis confirmed similar binding modes and identified new active site interactions.

Substrate-Triggered Formation of a Peroxo-Fe(III/III) Intermediate during Fatty Acid Decarboxylation by UndA.

The iron-dependent oxidase UndA cleaves one C3-H bond and the C1-C2 bond of dodecanoic acid to produce 1-undecene and CO. A published X-ray crystal structure showed that UndA has a heme-oxygenase-like fold, thus associating it with a structural superfamily that includes known and postulated non-heme diiron proteins, but revealed only a single iron ion in the active site. Mechanisms proposed for initiation of decarboxylation by cleavage of the C3-H bond using a monoiron cofactor to activate O necessarily invoked unusual or potentially unfeasible steps.

Folding Then Binding vs Folding Through Binding in Macrocyclic Peptide Inhibitors of Human Pancreatic α-Amylase.

macrocyclic peptides, derived using selection technologies such as phage and mRNA display, present unique and unexpected solutions to challenging biological problems. This is due in part to their unusual folds, which are able to present side chains in ways not available to canonical structures such as α-helices and β-sheets. Despite much recent interest in these molecules, their folding and binding behavior remains poorly characterized.

Structural Dissection of Helianthamide Reveals the Basis of Its Potent Inhibition of Human Pancreatic α-Amylase.

Helianthamide is a potent inhibitor of human pancreatic α-amylase (HPA) ( K = 0.01 nM) produced by the Caribbean sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus. Helianthamide was previously shown to be structurally homologous to the β-defensins and represents a new structural class of protein inhibitors of α-amylase.

A new type of pharmacological chaperone for G-gangliosidosis related human lysosomal β-galactosidase: N-Substituted 5-amino-1-hydroxymethyl-cyclopentanetriols.

N-Functionalized amino(hydroxymethyl)cyclopentanetriols are potent inhibitors of β-d-galactosidases and, for the first time, could be shown to act as pharmacological chaperones for G-gangliosidosis-associated lysosomal acid β-galactosidase thus representing a new structural type of pharmacological chaperones for this lysosomal storage disease.

N-Substituted 5-amino-1-hydroxymethyl-cyclopentanetriols: A new family of activity promotors for a G-gangliosidosis related human lysosomal β-galactosidase mutant.

From 1,2;3,4-di-O-isopropylidene-α-D-galactopyranose, a series of highly functionalized (hydroxymethyl)cyclopentanes was easily available. In line with reports by Reymond and Jäger on similar structures, these amine containing basic carbasugars are potent inhibitors of β-D-galactosidases and, for the first time, could be shown to act as pharmacological chaperones for G-gangliosidosis-associated lysosomal acid β-galactosidase mutant R201C, thus representing a new structural type of pharmacological chaperones for this lysosomal storage disease.

A Morita-Baylis-Hillman based route to C-5a-chain-extended 4-epi-isofagomine type glycosidase inhibitors.

By Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction of 2,3-O-isopropylidene-D-glyceraldehyde with α,β-unsaturated carbonyl as well as hetero analogous carbonyl compounds such as acrylonitrile, suitable precursors of isofagomine and of 4-epi-isofagomine are available. Elaboration of the structures by amine introduction, followed by intramolecular ring closure and subsequent hydroboration of the double bond provides 4-epi-isofagomine derivatives featuring chain extensions at C-5a which are determined by the structures of the carbonyl compounds employed. As an example, the synthesis of C-(5aR)- and C-(5aS)-5a-C-pentyl-4-epi-isofagomines, powerful inhibitors of β-galactosidases, is outlined.

Rapid Discovery of Potent and Selective Glycosidase-Inhibiting De Novo Peptides.

Human pancreatic α-amylase (HPA) is responsible for degrading starch to malto-oligosaccharides, thence to glucose, and is therefore an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of diabetes and obesity. Here we report the discovery of a unique lariat nonapeptide, by means of the RaPID (Random non-standard Peptides Integrated Discovery) system, composed of five amino acids in a head-to-side-chain thioether macrocycle and a further four amino acids in a 3 helical C terminus. This is a potent inhibitor of HPA (K = 7 nM) yet exhibits selectivity for the target over other glycosidases tested.

C-5a-substituted validamine type glycosidase inhibitors.

A series of N-alkyl derivatives of the D-galactosidase inhibitor 1,4-di-epi-validamine featuring lipophilic substituents at position C-5a was prepared and screened for their glycosidase inhibitory properties. Products turned out selective for β-galactosidases as well as β-glucosidases.

Fungal Glycolipid Hydrolase Inhibitors and Their Effect on Cryptococcus neoformans.

Pathogenic fungi kill an estimated 1.3 million people each year. This number is predicted to rise as drug resistance spreads, thus antifungal drugs with novel modes of action are urgently required.

Glycosynthase mediated synthesis of psychosine.

Globoid cell leukodystrophy (GCL), or Krabbe disease, is a lysosomal storage disorder characterized by a deficiency in galactosylceramidase (GALC), which hydrolyses galactosylceramide and galactosylsphingosine (psychosine). Early detection of GCL in newborns is essential for timely therapeutic intervention and could be achieved by testing infant blood samples with isotopically labeled lysosmal enzyme substrates and mass spectrometry. While isotopically labeled psychosine would be a useful tool for the early diagnosis of GCL, its synthesis is lengthy and expensive.

The Staudinger/aza-Wittig/Grignard reaction as key step for the concise synthesis of 1-C-Alkyl-iminoalditol glycomimetics.

The scope of a one-pot tandem approach for the synthesis of C-1 alkyl iminoalditol derivatives with a Staudinger/aza-Wittig/Grignard cascade has been evaluated. The reaction conditions have been optimized for two azidodeoxy aldose substrates and a range of Grignard reagents. The nature of both, substrate as well as nucleophile, was found to control the stereoselectivity of the alkyl addition to the cyclic iminium intermediate at position C-1.

Potent Human α-Amylase Inhibition by the β-Defensin-like Protein Helianthamide.

Selective inhibitors of human pancreatic α-amylase (HPA) are an effective means of controlling blood sugar levels in the management of diabetes. A high-throughput screen of marine natural product extracts led to the identification of a potent ( = 10 pM) peptidic HPA inhibitor, helianthamide, from the Caribbean sea anemone Active helianthamide was produced in via secretion as a barnase fusion protein. X-ray crystallographic analysis of the complex of helianthamide with porcine pancreatic α-amylase revealed that helianthamide adopts a β-defensin fold and binds into and across the amylase active site, utilizing a contiguous YIYH inhibitory motif.

Synthesis of C-5a-substituted derivatives of 4-epi-isofagomine: notable β-galactosidase inhibitors and activity promotors of GM1-gangliosidosis related human lysosomal β-galactosidase mutant R201C.

From an easily available partially protected analog of 1-deoxy-L-gulo-nojirimycin, by chain-branching at C-4 and suitable modification, lipophilic analogs of the powerful β-D-galactosidase inhibitor 4-epi-isofagomine have been prepared. New compounds exhibit considerably improved inhibitory activities when compared with the unsubstituted parent compound and may serve as leads toward new pharmacological chaperones for GM1-gangliosidosis and Morquio B disease.

The amylase inhibitor montbretin A reveals a new glycosidase inhibition motif.

The complex plant flavonol glycoside montbretin A is a potent (Ki = 8 nM) and specific inhibitor of human pancreatic α-amylase with potential as a therapeutic for diabetes and obesity. Controlled degradation studies on montbretin A, coupled with inhibition analyses, identified an essential high-affinity core structure comprising the myricetin and caffeic acid moieties linked via a disaccharide. X-ray structural analyses of the montbretin A-human α-amylase complex confirmed the importance of this core structure and revealed a novel mode of glycosidase inhibition wherein internal π-stacking interactions between the myricetin and caffeic acid organize their ring hydroxyls for optimal hydrogen bonding to the α-amylase catalytic residues D197 and E233.

Concise synthesis of C-1-cyano-iminosugars via a new Staudinger/aza Wittig/Strecker multicomponent reaction strategy.

A new Staudinger/aza Wittig/Strecker multicomponent reaction sequence to C-1-cyano iminoalditols has been developed. When applied to 5-azidodeoxy-d-xylose and -d-glucose as substrates the method leads smoothly in good yield and with excellent stereoselectivity to respectively, 1,5-dideoxy-1,5-imino-d-idurono nitrile and 2,6-didesoxy-2,6-imino-d-glycero-d-ido-heptononitrile.

Fluorinated mechanism-based inhibitors: common themes and recent developments.

Mechanism-based inhibitors are relatively chemically inert compounds that become activated when processed by their target enzyme, leading to covalent enzyme inactivation. Fluorine substitution confers a number of properties that are beneficial to the chemistry of such inhibitors and to their potential use as pharmaceuticals, and indeed several fluorinated mechanism-based inhibitors have made it to clinical usage over the past 50 years. Well-known examples are the 5- fluorouracil metabolite, 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine-5'-monophosphate, which is used in the treatment of cancer, and α- difluoromethylornithine for the treatment of African sleeping sickness.

Rapid assembly of a library of lipophilic iminosugars via the thiol-ene reaction yields promising pharmacological chaperones for the treatment of Gaucher disease.

A highly divergent route to lipophilic iminosugars that utilizes the thiol-ene reaction was developed to enable the rapid synthesis of a collection of 16 dideoxyiminoxylitols bearing various different lipophilic substituents. Enzyme kinetic analyses revealed that a number of these products are potent, low-nanomolar inhibitors of human glucocerebrosidase that stabilize the enzyme to thermal denaturation by up to 20 K. Cell based assays conducted on Gaucher disease patient derived fibroblasts demonstrated that administration of the compounds can increase lysosomal glucocerebrosidase activity levels by therapeutically relevant amounts, as much as 3.