Antileukemic effects of pseudoisocytidine, a new synthetic pyrimidine C-nucleoside

Pseudoisocytidine, a new synthetic pyrimidine C-nucleoside, which might be considered a more stable analog of 5-azacytidine, is active in vitro and in vivo, i.p. and p.o., against various 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine-resistant lines of mouse leukemia. This antileukemic activity is blocked by cytidine but not by deoxycytidine or thymidine.

Inhibitors of protein synthesis. 4. Studies on the structure-activity relationship of gougerotin and some of its analogs

Seventeen structural analogs of gougerotin have been compared with the parent compound as inhibitors of the growh of E. coli B and as inhibitors of N-acetylphenylalanylpuromycin formation. The analogs comprise compounds with (1) an intact sarcosyl-D-seryl moiety and modifications at various positions of the carbohydrate moiety, (2) compounds which lack the peptidyl residue, and (3) compounds in which the sarcosyl-D-seryl moiety has been replaced by other aminoacyl or peptidyl moieties and in which various sites in the carbohydrate moiety have been modified in addition. These comparisons revealed that (1) the 3'-hydroxyl group makes a strong contribution to inhibitory activity, (2) the introduction of a double bond between the 2' and 3' positions of the carbohydrate moiety causes a marked decrease in activity; however, if in addition the sarcosyl-D-seryl moiety is replaced by the epsilon-N-methyl-beta-L-arginyl side chain, full activity is restored, (3) there is a marked degree of stereospecificity around the alpha carbon of the seryl moiety (replacement of the sarcosyl-D-seryl residue with the sarcosyl-L-seryl residue results in greatly reduced activity), and (4) replacement of the carboxamide group at position 5' with a hydroxymethyl function resulsts in reduced activity which is further decreased by alterations in the sarcosyl-D-seryl moiety. These alterations include (a) replacement of the D-seryl residue of the sarcosyl-D-seryl moiety by the D-alanyl or the D-phenylalanyl residues and (b) replacement of the whole sarcosyl-D-seryl side chain by the D-seryl, D-alanyl, D-phenylalanyl, p-methoxy-D-phenylalanyl, or p-methoxy-L-phenylalanyl moieties; the replacement of the sarcosyl-D-seryl side chain with the various aminoacyl residues did not lead to acceptor (puromycin-like) activity with N-Ac-Phe-tRNA as the donor.

Acyloxy neighboring-group participation in the acid-catalyzed cleavage of methyl 2,3-anhydro-beta-D-ribofuranoside

The reaction of methyl 2,3-anhydro-beta-D-ribofuranoside with hydrogen bromide in an acetic acid-acetic anhydride solution leads to the formation of methyl 2,3-di-O-acetyl-5-bromo-5-deoxy-alpha,beta-D-xylofuranoside. Similar treatment of methyl 2,3-anhydro-5-O-benzoyl-beta-D-robofuranoside provided methyl 2-O-acetyl-3-O-benzoyl-5-bromo-5-deoxy-alpha,beta-D-xylofuranosides. The position of halogen substitution was ascertained by hydrogenolysis to the resultant 5-deoxy sugars, which were characterized by their n.m.r. spectra. Confirmation of the structural assignment for methyl 2-O-acetyl-3-O-benzoyl-5-deoxy-alpha,beta-D-xylofuranoside was obtained by synthesis from 1,2-O-isopropylidene-alpha-D-xylofuranose. The formation of the 5-bromo derivatives under the reported conditions probably occurred through the intermediacy of the 3,5-acyloxonium ions. Similar conversions were observed when the starting compound was treated with hydrogen chloride, acetyl bromide, or acetyl chloride in acetic acid-acetic anhydride solutions.

A practical synthesis of 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-arabinofuranose derivatives

A seven-step synthesis of 1,3-di-O-acetyl-5-O-benzoyl-2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-arabinofuranose, a versatile intermediate in the synthesis of chemotherapeutically important nucleosides, was achieved from 1,2:5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-3-O-tosyl-alpha-D-allofuranose. The crucial steps were the fluorination by use of potassium fluoride in acetamide and the conversion of 6-O-benzoyl-3-deoxy-3-fluoro-D-glucofuranose into 5-O-benzoyl-2-deoxy-2-fluoro-3-O-formyl-D-arabinofuranose by periodate oxidation. Also described is the synthesis of 1-(2-deoxy-2-fluoro-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)cytosine. This procedure affords good overall yields of products without formation of undesirable, isomeric intermediates and is suitable for large-scale preparations.

Nucleosides LXXXIX. Synthesis of 1-(2-chloro-2-deoxy-alpha- and -beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)cytosines

1-(2-Chloro-2-deoxy-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)cytosine (16) and its alpha anomer (18) were synthesized by direct condensation of 3,5-di-O-acetyl-2-chloro-2-deoxy-alpha-D-arabinofuranosyl bromide with trimethylsilylated N-4-acetylcytosine in the absence of catalyst. A new and convenient method for the synthesis of 1,3,5-tri-O-acetyl-2-chloro-2-deoxy-alpha-D-arabinofuranose from methyl 3,5-di-O-benzyl-alpha,beta-D-ribofuranoside is described.