Comparative inhibition of tetrameric carbonyl reductase activity in pig heart cytosol by alkyl 4-pyridyl ketones.

Context And Objective: The present study is to elucidate the comparative inhibition of tetrameric carbonyl reductase (TCBR) activity by alkyl 4-pyridyl ketones, and to characterize its substrate-binding domain.

Materials And Methods: The inhibitory effects of alkyl 4-pyridyl ketones on the stereoselective reduction of 4-benzoylpyridine (4-BP) catalyzed by TCBR were examined in the cytosolic fraction of pig heart.

Results: Of alkyl 4-pyridyl ketones, 4-hexanoylpyridine, which has a straight-chain alkyl group of five carbon atoms, inhibited most potently TCBR activity and was a competitive inhibitor.

Synthesis of γ- and δ-lactone natural products by employing a trans-cis isomerization/lactonization strategy.

Alkaline hydrolysis of 4-hydroxy- or/and 5-hydroxy-(2E)-alkenoate followed by acid treatment gave the corresponding (2E)-alkenoic acids which were subjected to lactone formation reaction without further purification. The crude acids were treated with 2,4,6-trichlorobenzoyl chloride in pyridine to afford γ-lactone or δ-lactone, respectively, accompanied by trans-cis isomerization. By this procedure, (±)-(4,5)-trans-5-benzyloxy-2-hexen-4-olide (90% overall yield), (S)-5-hydroxy-2-penten-4-olide (86% overall yield), (4S,5R)-5-hydroxy-2-hexen-4-olide (86% overall yield), (4R,5S)-5-hydroxy-2-hexen-4-olide (82% overall yield), (S)-parasorbic acid (58% overall yield) and natural product, (5R,7S)-7-hydroxy-2-octen-5-olide (euscapholide: 20% overall yield) were synthesized.

The asymmetric syntheses of methyl D-digitoxoside, L-oleandrose and L-cymarose from methyl sorbate, an achiral precursor.

The addition of 4 eq of chloral to osmundalactone (4S,5R)-4 gave quantitative formation of the hemiacetal derivative (4S,5R)-8, which was treated with methane sulfonic acid to afford the intramolecular Micheal addition product (+)-(3S,4S,5R)-9 possessing a 3,4-cis-dihydroxy-δ-lactone in 78% overall yield from (4S,5R)-4. The obtained (+)-(3S,4S,5R)-9 was subsequently converted to methyl D-digitoxoside (pyranoside) (12) in 13% overall yield and methyl D-digitoxoside (furanoside) (12) in 20% overall yield. The reaction of benzyl-osmundalactone (4R,5S)-3 and MeOH in the presence of Amberlyst A-26 as a basic catalyst gave 3,4-trans-δ-lactone (-)-(3S,4R,5S)-20 in 28% yield and 3,4-cis-δ-lactone (-)-(3R,4R,5S)-21 in 45% yield.

Acid-promoted rearrangement of drimane type epoxy compounds and their application in natural product synthesis.

The reactions of (±)-α-epoxy drimenol (4) and (±)-α-epoxy drimenyl cyanide (6) with acids (proton acid or Lewis acid) selectively gave the rearranged aldehyde (±)-13 and (±)-15 having the hydroindane skeleton, respectively, while the reactions of (±)-4 and (±)-6 with Dibal-H selectively afforded the allyl alcohol (±)-14 and (±)-16, respectively. The reactions of (8aR)-6 and (8aS)-6 with Dibal-H were applied for the determination of the absolute structure of natural 7β-acetoxy-ent-labda-8(17),13(14)E-dien-15-ol (18). The reaction of (±)-α-epoxy bicyclofarnesol (5) and (8aS)-5 with proton acid selectively provided the rearranged ketol (±)- and (8aS)-31 having the hydroindane skeleton, respectively.

[Natural products syntheses based on the biotransformation using biocatalyst].

This review summarizes the chemoenzymatic synthesis of the biologically active natural products based on a combination of chemical diastereoselectivity and enzymatic enantioselectivity using biocatalyst. Asymmetric reduction of 2-methyl-3-keto ester with yeast gave the optically active syn-2-methyl-3-hydroxy ester, which was converted to natural product such as (-)-oudemansin B. Asymmetric hydrolysis of 3-acetoxy-2-methy esters possessing syn- or anti-structure afforded the optically active 3-hydroxy-2-methyl esters and 3-acetoxy-2-methy esters corresponding to the starting material.

Nucleophilic addition to 2,3-disubstituted butanal derivatives and their application to natural product synthesis.

The reaction of 2,3-anti-2-tert-butyldimethylsiloxy-3-substituted butanal derivative [anti-B, (±)-10 and (±)-16] derived from trans-(2,3)-epoxy butanoate (1) with carbon nucleophiles [α-furyl anion, acetate anion, and indium (In)-assisted allyl anion] has been investigated to give selectively the anti-, anti-adduct D. This anti-stereoselection could be explained by the Felkin-Anh transition state model. Thus obtained anti-, anti-adducts (±)-17 and (±)-38 were formally converted to natural products, (±)-asperlin (2) and (±)-olivose (4), respectively.

Synthesis of β-methoxyacrylate natural products based on box-Pd(II)-catalyzed intermolecular methoxycarbonylation of alkynoles.

Bis(oxazoline)-palladium(II) catalyzed carbonylation of homopropargyl alcohols afforded acyclic methoxyacrylate 2 and 6-membered lactone 3a-k in good combined yield. In the case of propargyl alcohols, 5-membered lactones 3p, 3q, 16 were obtained in moderate yields. The one-pot synthesis of kawa lactones 3a, 3r, 3s and formal synthesis of dihydroxycystothiazole A and dihydroxycystothiazole C are presented.

First syntheses of (-)-tauranin and antibiotic (-)-BE-40644 based on lipase-catalyzed optical resolution of albicanol.

First syntheses of sesquiterpene quinones (-)-tauranin and (-)-BE-40644 which exhibited strong cytotoxicity against several cancer cell lines, were achieved from (8aS)-albicanol obtained by enzymatic optical resolution. By comparison of the sign of specific rotation between synthetic (12bS)-BE-40644 and natural (-)-BE-40644, the absolute configurations of natural (-)-BE-40644 were determined to be 4aS, 6aS, 12aR, 12bS.

Intermolecular methoxycarbonylation of terminal alkynes catalyzed by palladium(II) bis(oxazoline) complexes.

Boxing clever: Direct conversion of a terminal alkyne group into a beta-methoxyacrylate is realized with the aid of the bis(oxazoline) ligand (box). Acetyl and ketal protecting groups, free hydroxy groups, and acid-sensitive glycosidic bonds are not affected under the reaction conditions. The one-pot synthesis of (+/-)-dihydrokawain from the homopropargyl alcohol is also achieved.

Conversion of optically active hydrindanone to (+)-bakkenolide-A.

A total synthesis of (+)-bakkenolide-A was carried out via the key intermediate 4, which was prepared based on an asymmetric cyclization-carbonylation reaction established in our laboratory. Diastereoselective construction of the spirolactone moiety was achieved using Mitsuhashi's protocol as a key step.

meso-Phbox-Pd(II) catalyzed tandem carbonylative cyclization of 1-ethynyl-1-propargyl acetate.

Palladium(II) catalyzed carbonylation of 1-ethynyl-1-propargyl acetate is described; in the absence of the bisoxazoline (box) ligand, the second triple bond did not react, affording cyclic orthoesters and . The use of meso-Phbox-Pd(ii) strikingly changed the course of the reaction, yielding bicyclic lactone by tandem carbonylative cyclization as a result of insertion of the second triple bond.

Concise syntheses of coronarin A, coronarin E, austrochaparol and pacovatinin A.

Total syntheses of (+)-coronarin A (1), (+)-coronarin E (2), (+)-austrochaparol (3) and (+)-pacovatinin A (4) were achieved from the synthetic (+)-albicanyl acetate (6). Dess-Martin oxidation of (+)-albicanol (5) derived from the chemoenzymatic product (6) gave an aldehyde (7), which was subjected to Julia one-pot olefination using beta-furylmethyl-heteroaromatic sulfones (8 or 9 ) gave (+)-trans coronarin E (2) and (+)-cis coronarin E (12) with high cis-selectivity. The synthesis of (+)-coronarin A (1) from (+)-trans coronarin E (2) was achiev-ed, while (+)-cis coronarin E (12) was converted to the natural products (+)-(5S,9S,10S)-15,16-epoxy-8(17),13(16),14-labdatriene (13) and (+)-austrochaparol (3).

Process development and large-scale synthesis of NK1 antagonist.

A scaleable synthetic route is described to obtain 2-(4-acetylpiperadin-1-yl)-6-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenylmethyl]-4-(2-methylphenyl)-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-5H-pyrimido[4,5-b][1,5]oxazocin-5-one (1, KRP-103) as a neurokinin (NK)(1) antagonist. The key step in the synthesis is the intramolecular cyclization of N-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenylmethyl]-N-(3-hydroxypropyl)-4-chloro-6-(2-methylphenyl)-2-methylthiopyrimidine-5-carboxamide (15) which was obtained by amide formation between 4-(2-methylphenyl)-2-methylthio-6-oxo-1,6-dihydropyrimidine-5-carboxylic acid (8) and 3-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenylmethylamino]-1-propanol (3). Treatment of 15 with 1,8-diazabicyclo[5,4,0]undec-7-ene provided 6-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenylmethyl]-4-(2-methylphenyl)-2-methylthio-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-5H-pyrimido[4,5-b][1,5]oxazocin-5-one (6).

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of (+)-alpha-polypodatetraene and methyl (5R,10R,13R)-labda-8-en-15-oate.

The reported enzymatic resolution products {acetate of (1S,4aS,8aS)-1,2,3,4,4a,5,6,7,8,8a-decahydro-5,5,8a-trimethyl-2-oxo-trans-naphthalene-1-methanol-2-ethylene acetal} (8aS)-5 (>99% ee)] and [(1R,4aR,8aR)-1,2,3,4,4a,5,6,7,8,8a-decahydro-5,5,8a-trimethyl-2-oxo-trans-naphthalene-1-methanol-2-ethylene acetal (8aR)-4 (98% ee) were converted to (+)-alpha-polypodatetraene (1) and methyl (5R,10R,13R)-labda-8-en-15-oate (2), respectively. For the synthesis of (5R,10R,13R)-2, chiral isoprene congener (3S)-26 corresponding to the right part of 2 was synthesized based on the lipase-assisted resolution of (+/-)-2-methyl-3- (p-methoxyphenyl)propanol (17).

Concise syntheses of cystothiazoles A, C, D, and melithiazol B.

A convergent synthesis of cystothiazoles C 1 and D 3 was achieved based on Julia coupling between the functionalized aldehyde 5b, corresponding to left half of the final molecule, and aryl sulfone 6 or 7, bearing a bithiazole moiety, corresponding to right half. Methylation of 1 and 3 gave cystothiazole A 2 and melithiazol B 4, respectively. The overall yield (5 steps from (2R,3S)-3-methylpent-4-yne-1,2-diol 10; 57%) of 5b via the present route was improved in comparison to that of the previously reported functionalized aldehyde 5a (7 steps from 10; 13%).

(R)-ACX, a pancreatic beta-cell selective sulfonylurea, does not aggravate myocardial ischemia-reperfusion damage.

The organ selectivity and the effect on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury of (R)-acetoxyhexamide ((R)-ACX), a novel sulfonylurea, were examined. (R)-ACX, as well as glibenclamide, concentration-dependently stimulated insulin release from INS-1 cell, a cell line derived from pancreatic beta-cells. The potency of (R)-ACX was about 1/10 of that of glibenclamide.

Control of chemoselectivity of microbial reaction with resin adsorbent: enhancement of Baeyer-Villiger oxidation over reduction.

Amberlite XAD-7, a hydrophobic polymer, was used to change microbial reaction of ketones from reduction to Baeyer-Villiger (BV) oxidation. Thus, D. magnusii NBRC 4600 and G.

Incoherent quasielastic neutron scattering study on the polymorphism of tristearin: dynamical properties of hydrocarbon chains.

Dynamical properties of acyl chains in the three polymorphic phases alpha, beta', and beta of tristearin [C(3)H(5)(OCOC(17)H(35))3] have been studied by means of incoherent quasielastic neutron scattering (IQNS) using selectively deuterated samples. The mean square displacement of hydrogen atoms, , was estimated from the scattering vector Q dependence of the elastic scattering component under the harmonic approximation. It was shown that the temperature dependence of was significantly different between the three phases.

Synthesis of the metabolites of 4-(2-methyl-1H-imidazol-1-yl)-2,2-diphenylbutanamide (KRP-197/ONO-8025).

We synthesized the six presumed metabolites (2--7) of 4-(2-methyl-1H-imidazol-1-yl)-2,2-diphenylbutanamide [KRP-197/ONO-8025, 1], a urinary incontinence therapeutic agent, in order to confirm the structures of the metabolites. Metabolite (2) was synthesized via glucuronidaion of compound (1) and methyl 2,3,4-tri-O-benzoyl-1-methanesulfonyl-alpha-D-glucopyranuronate. Metabolite (3) was synthesized via 3-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)-2-methyl-1,3-imidazolidine-4,5-dione.

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of sacranosides a and B.

Direct beta-glucosidation between (-)-myrtenol and nerol and D-glucose (3) using the immobilized beta-glucosidase from almonds with the synthetic prepolymer ENTP-4000 gave myrtenyl O-beta-D-glucoside (4) and neryl O-beta-D-glucoside (10), respectively. The coupling of the myrtenyl or neryl O-beta-D-glucopyranoside congeners (7 or 13) and 2,3,4-tri-O-benzoyl-beta-L-arabinopyranosyl bromide (8) afforded the coupled products (9 or 14), respectively. Deprotection of the coupled products (9 or 14) afforded the synthetic myrtenyl 6-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside (Sacranoside A, 1) or neryl 6-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside (Sacranoside B, 2), respectively.

Solvolysis of (4,5)-anti-4-aryl-5-tosyloxy-2(E)-hexenoate derivatives.

The solvolysis reaction of (4,5)-anti-4-aryl-5-tosyloxy-2(E)-hexenoates 4a-k gave (4,5)-anti-4-aryl-5-hydroxy-2(E)-hexenoates 2a-k and (4,5)-anti-5-aryl-4-hydroxy-2(E)-hexenoates 5a-k along with the complete inversion. This 1,2-aryl migration was induced by treatment with heating in water-saturated nitromethane. On the basis of the substituent effect on the aromatic ring, this 1,2-aryl migration is thought to proceed via the sigma-bridged phenonium ion.

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of naturally occurring benzyl 6-O-glycosyl-beta-D-glucopyranosides.

Direct beta-glucosidation between benzyl alcohol and D-glucose (5) using the immobilized beta-glucosidase from almonds with the synthetic prepolymer ENTP-4000 gave a benzyl beta-D-glucoside (1) in 53% yield. The coupling of the benzyl beta-D-glucopyranoside congener (8) derived from 1 with phenyl 2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-1-thio-beta-D-xylopyranoside (9), ethyl 2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-1-thio-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside (13), and 2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl bromide (15) afforded 10, 14, and 16, respectively, as coupled products. Deprotection of 10, 14, and 16 provided the synthetic benzyl beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (2), benzyl alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (3), and benzyl alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (4), respectively.

Synthesis of methyl 1-O-(4-hydroxymethamphetaminyl)-alpha-D-glucopyranouronate.

For the purpose of the direct characterization of the intact conjugated form in the urine of a methamphetamine (MA) abuser, 4-hydroxymethamphetamine (4-OHMA) glucuronate, corresponding to one of the metabolites of MA, was synthesized from the commercially available methyl 4-hydroxyphenylacetate.

Enzymatic resolution of (+/-)-5-acetoxy-4-aryl-(2E)-pentenoate derivatives.

Enzymatic resolution of six (+/-)-5-acetoxy-4-aryl-(2E)-pentenoate derivatives, compounds 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, and 19 bearing a different aromatic substitution pattern, using lipase OF-360 from Candida rugosa was carried out. The absolute configurations of all hydrolyzed products and all unchanged acetates were found to be S and R, respectively. Moreover, the enantiomeric excess of the enzymatic resolution products from 9, 11, and 13 with the ortho-methoxyl group in the aromatic ring was higher than that of the substrates with no methoxyl group at the ortho-position in the aromatic ring.