Synthetic Routes to Coelenterazine and Other Imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazin-3-one Luciferins: Essential Tools for Bioluminescence-Based Investigations

An emphatic study on the luciferin-luciferase bioluminescence system of Benthosema pterotum

Approximately 80% of luminous organisms live in the oceans, and considerable diversity of life dependence on bioluminescence has been observed in marine organisms. Among vertebrates, luminous fish species are the only group of vertebrates that have the ability to emit bioluminescent light. Meanwhile, the lantern fish family (Myctophidae), with 33 genera all of which have the ability to emit light, is considered the most prominent family among the luminous fish of the deep oceans and seas. Lantern fish Benthosema pterotum has bioluminescence properties due to the presence of photophores scattered in its ventral-lateral region. However, no research has been performed on its bioluminescence system and light emission mechanism. The present research aimed to assess the type of bioluminescence, pigment, photoprotein, or luciferin-luciferase system in B. pterotum. In order to determine the type of light-emitting system in B. pterotum species, several specific experiments were designed and performed. It was shown that the light emission system in B. pterotum species is categorized into the luciferin-luciferase type. Conducting this research was not only innovative, but it also could be the beginning of further research in the field of marine biochemistry and production of the recombinant active forms of enzymes for industrial, commercial, medical, and pharmaceutical purposes.

Charting the Chemical Reaction Space around a Multicomponent Combination: Controlled Access to a Diverse Set of Biologically Relevant Scaffolds

Charting the chemical reaction space around the combination of carbonyls, amines, and isocyanoacetates allows the description of new multicomponent processes leading to a variety of unsaturated imidazolone scaffolds. The resulting compounds display the chromophore of the green fluorescent protein and the core of the natural product coelenterazine. Despite the competitive nature of the pathways involved, general protocols provide selective access to the desired chemotypes. Moreover, we describe unprecedented reactivity at the C-2 position of the imidazolone core to directly afford C, S, and N-derivatives featuring natural products (e.g. leucettamines), potent kinase inhibitors, and fluorescent probes with suitable optical and biological profiles.

Charting the Chemical Reaction Space around a Multicomponent Combination: Controlled Access to a Diverse Set of Biologically Relevant Scaffolds

Charting the chemical reaction space around the combination of carbonyls, amines, and isocyanoacetates allows the description of new multicomponent processes leading to a variety of unsaturated imidazolone scaffolds. The resulting compounds display the chromophore of the green fluorescent protein and the core of the natural product coelenterazine. Despite the competitive nature of the pathways involved, general protocols provide selective access to the desired chemotypes. Moreover, we describe unprecedented reactivity at the C-2 position of the imidazolone core to directly afford C, S, and N-derivatives featuring natural products (e.g. leucettamines), potent kinase inhibitors, and fluorescent probes with suitable optical and biological profiles.

A Low-Cost, Sensitive Reporter System Using Membrane-Tethered Horseradish Peroxidase for Efficient Gene Expression Analysis

Reporter gene assays are essential for high-throughput analysis, such as drug screening or determining downstream signaling activation/inhibition. However, use of this technology has been hampered by the high cost of the substrate (e.g., d-Luciferin (d-Luc)) in the most common firefly luciferase (FLuc) reporter gene assay. Although alternate luciferase is available worldwide, its substrate has remained expensive, and a more affordable option is still in demand. Here, we present a membrane-tethered horseradish peroxidase (mHRP), a new reporter system composed of a cell membrane expressing HRP that can preserve its enzymatic function on the cell surface, facilitates contact with HRP substrates (e.g., ABTS and TMB), and avoids the cell lysis process and the use of the high-priced luciferase substrate. An evaluation of the light signal sensitivity of mHRP compared to FLuc showed that both had comparable signal sensitivity. We also identified an extended substrate half-life of more than 5-fold that of d-Luc. Of note, this strategy provided a more stable detection signal, and the cell lysis process is not mandatory. Furthermore, with this strategy, we decreased the total amount of time taken for analysis and increased the time of detection limit of the reporter assay. Pricing analysis showed a one-third to one twenty-eighth price drop per single test of reporter assay. Given the convenience and stability of the mHRP reporter system, we believe that our strategy is suitable for use as an alternative to the luciferase reporter assay.

Synthetic Coelenterazine Derivatives and Their Application for Bioluminescence Imaging

Bioluminescence (BL), the emission light resulting from the enzyme-catalyzed oxidative reaction, is a powerful imaging modality for monitoring biological phenomena both in vitro and in vivo. Coelenterazine (CTZ), the known widespread luciferin found in bioluminescent organisms, develops bioluminescence imaging (BLI). Here, we describe an approach to synthesize a series of novel CTZ derivatives for diversifying the toolbox of the BL substrates. Furthermore, we exemplify some of them display excellent BL signals in vitro and in vivo, and thus should be noted as one of the ideal substrates for in vivo BLI compared with a well-known conventional substrate, DeepBlueC.

Evidence for de novo Biosynthesis of the Luminous Substrate Coelenterazine in Ctenophores

Coelenterazine is a key substrate involved in marine bioluminescence which is used for light-production by at least nine phyla. Some luminous animals, such as the hydromedusa Aequorea, lack the ability to produce coelenterazine endogenously and instead depend on dietary sources. Little is known about the source organisms or the metabolic process of coelenterazine biosynthesis. Here, we present evidence that ctenophores are both producers and suppliers of coelenterazine in marine ecosystems. Using biochemical assays and mass spectrometry analyses, we detected coelenterazine from cultured ctenophores fed with a non-luminous coelenterazine-free diet. We propose that ctenophores are an emerging model organism to study coelenterazine biosynthesis and the origins of bioluminescence.

Stability Studies of New Caged bis-deoxy-coelenterazine Derivatives and Their Potential Use as Cellular pH Probes

The synthesis of new bis-deoxy-coelenterazine (1) derivatives bearing ester protective groups (acetate, propionate and butyrate esters) was accomplished. Moreover, their hydrolytic stability at room temperature was evaluated in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) as solvent, using the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of the key products at different time intervals. The results showed an increasing hydrolysis rate according to longest aliphatic chain, with a half-life of 24 days of the more stable acetate derivative (4a). Furthermore, the analysis of the experimental data revealed the greater stability of the enol tautomer in this aprotic polar solvent. This result was confirmed by theoretical calculations using the density functional theory (DFT) approach, which gave us the opportunity to propose a detailed decomposition mechanism. Additionally, the derivatives obtained were tested by bioluminescence luciferase assays to evaluate their potential use as extracellular pH-sensitive reporter substrates of luciferase. The biological data support the idea that further structural modifications of these molecules may open promising perspectives in this field of research.

Visible light promoted C–H functionalization of imidazoheterocycles

The present review summarizes the visible light mediated direct C–H functionalizations of pharmacologically active imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and other related heterocycles.

Gram-scale synthesis of luciferins derived from coelenterazine and original insights into their bioluminescence properties

An original three component synthetic access to coelenterazine and analogues can lead to grams of marine luciferins which are extensively used in bioluminescence-based assays.

Unnatural α-amino ethyl esters from diethyl malonate or ethyl β-bromo-α-hydroxyiminocarboxylate

We have explored here the scope of the age-old diethyl malonate-based accesses to α-amino esters involving Knoevenagel condensations of diethyl malonate on aldehydes, reductions of the resulting alkylidenemalonates, the preparation of the corresponding α-hydroxyimino esters and their final reduction. This synthetic pathway turned out to be general although some unexpected limitations were encountered. The synthetic modifications of some of the intermediates - using Suzuki-Miyaura coupling or cycloadditions - before undertaking the oximation step - provided accesses to further α-amino esters. Moreover, other pathways to α-hydroxyimino esters were explored including an attempt to improve the cycloadditions between ethyl β-bromo-α-hydroxyiminocarboxylate and various alkylfuranes.

Synthesis of unnatural α-amino esters using ethyl nitroacetate and condensation or cycloaddition reactions

We report here on the use of ethyl nitroacetate as a glycine template to produce α-amino esters. This started with a study of its condensation with various arylacetals to give ethyl 3-aryl-2-nitroacrylates followed by a reduction (NaBH₄ and then zinc/HCl) into α-amino esters. The scope of this method was explored as well as an alternative with arylacylals instead. We also focused on various [2 + 3] cycloadditions, one leading to a spiroacetal, which led to the undesired ethyl 5-(benzamidomethyl)isoxazole-3-carboxylate. The addition of ethyl nitroacetate on a 5-methylene-4,5-dihydrooxazole using cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate was also explored and the synthesis of other oxazole-bearing α-amino esters was achieved using gold(I) chemistry.

Identification of Primary Natural Killer Cell Modulators by Chemical Library Screening with a Luciferase-Based Functional Assay

Natural killer (NK) cells are essential players of the innate immune response that secrete cytolytic factors and cytokines such as IFN-γ when contacting virus-infected or tumor cells. They represent prime targets in immunotherapy as defects in NK cell functions are hallmarks of many pathological conditions, such as cancer and chronic infections. The functional screening of chemical libraries or biologics would greatly help identify new modulators of NK cell activity, but commonly used methods such as flow cytometry are not easily scalable to high-throughput settings. Here we describe an efficient assay to measure the natural cytotoxicity of primary NK cells where the bioluminescent enzyme NanoLuc is constitutively expressed in the cytoplasm of target cells and is released in co-culture supernatants when lysis occurs. We fully characterized this assay using either purified NK cells or total peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), including some patient samples, as effector cells. A pilot screen was also performed on a library of 782 metabolites, xenobiotics, and common drugs, which identified dextrometorphan and diphenhydramine as novel NK cell inhibitors. Finally, this assay was further improved by developing a dual-reporter cell line to simultaneously measure NK cell cytotoxicity and IFN-γ secretion in a single well, extending the potential of this system.

Quantification of receptor activation by oxytocin and vasopressin in endocytosis-coupled bioluminescence reduction assay using nanoKAZ

Oxytocin (OXT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) are structurally similar neuropeptide hormones that function as neurotransmitters in the brain, and have opposite key roles in social behaviors. These peptides bind to their G protein-coupled receptors (OXTR and AVPRs), inducing calcium ion-dependent signaling pathways and endocytosis of these receptors. Because selective agonists and antagonists for these receptors have been developed as therapeutic and diagnostic agents for diseases such as psychiatric disorders, facile methods are in demand for the evaluation of selectivity between these receptors. In this study, we developed a quantitative assay for OXT- and AVP-induced endocytosis of their receptors. The mutated Oplophorus luciferase, nanoKAZ, was fused to OXTR and AVPRs to enable rapid quantification of agonist-induced endocytosis by bioluminescence reduction. Agonist stimulation significantly decreases bioluminescence of nanoKAZ-fused receptors in living cells. Using this system, we evaluated clinically used OXTR antagonist atosiban and a reported pyrazinyltriazole derivative, hereby designated as PF13. Atosiban acted as an antagonist of AVPR1a, as well as an agonist for AVPR1b, whereas PF13 antagonized OXTR more selectively than atosiban, as reported previously. This paper shows a strategy for quantification of agonist-induced endocytosis of OXTR and AVPRs, and confirms its potent utility in the evaluation of agonists and antagonists.

Coelenterazine analogues emit red-shifted bioluminescence with NanoLuc

We report the synthesis and characterization of novel coelenterazine analogues that demonstrate a red-shift in their bioluminescent emission with NanoLuc luciferase. These coelenterazines can be tuned to shift the bioluminescent emission from blue light in the native system. In particular, direct attachment of an aryl moiety to the imidazopyrazinone core of furimazine at the C8 position provides a significant red-shift while maintaining reasonable light output. In addition, modification of the C6 aryl moiety provided additive red-shifts, and by combining the most promising modifications we report a coelenterazine with a maximum emission near 600 nm with NanoLuc. Finally, we show that this new bioluminescent system is capable of efficient BRET to far-red fluorophores. We anticipate these new principles of NanoLuc substrate design will impact applications that depend on shifting the colour of emission to the red, most notably in vivo bioluminescent imaging.

Copper-Catalyzed Oxidative Cyclization of 2-Amino-azaarenes with Lignin Models: Synthesis of 3-Phenoxy Imidazo Heterocycles

A catalytic oxidative cyclization of 2-aminopyridines or 2-aminobenzothiazole with 2-phenoxyacetophenones (a kind of lignin platform compound) was developed, efficiently providing valuable 3-phenoxy imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines or 3-phenoxy benzo[d]imidazo[2,1-b]thiazoles. The reaction was realized under oxygen by simply using inexpensive CuI as the catalyst.

Prolonged bioluminescence imaging in living cells and mice using novel pro-substrates forRenillaluciferase

The prodrug or caged-luciferin strategy affords an excellent platform for persistent bioluminescence imaging.

New bioluminescent coelenterazine derivatives with various C-6 substitutions

A series of new coelenterazine analogs with varying substituents at the C-6 position of the imidazopyrazinone core have been designed and synthesized for the extension of bioluminescence substrates.

Theoretical Analysis of the Effect Provoked by Bromine-Addition on the Thermolysis and Chemiexcitation of a Model Dioxetanone

Chemi-/bioluminescence are phenomena in which chemical energy is converted into electronically excited singlet states, which decay with light emission. Given this feature, along with high quantum yields and other beneficial characteristics, these systems have gained numerous applications in bioanalysis, in biomedicine, and in the pharmaceutical field. Singlet chemiexcitation is made possible by the formation of cyclic peroxides (as dioxetanones) as thermolysis provides a route for a ground state reaction to produce singlet excited states. However, such thermolysis can also lead to the formation of triplet states. While triplet states are not desired in the typical applications of chemi-/bioluminescence, the efficient production of such states can open the door for the use of these systems as sensitizers in photocatalysis and triplet-triplet annihilation, among other fields. Thus, the goal of this study is to assess the effect of heavy atom addition on the thermolysis and triplet chemiexcitation of a model dioxetanone. Monobromination does not affect the thermolysis reaction but can improve the efficiency of intersystem crossing, depending on the position of monobromination. Addition of bromine atoms to the triplet state reaction product has little effect on its properties, except on its electron affinity, in which monobromination can increase between 3.1 and 8.8 kcal mol−1.

Three Efficient Methods for Preparation of Coelenterazine Analogues

The growing popularity of bioluminescent assays has highlighted the need for coelenterazine analogues possessing properties tuned for specific applications. However, the structural diversity of known coelenterazine analogues has been limited by current syntheses. Known routes for the preparation of coelenterazine analogues employ harsh reaction conditions that limit access to many substituents and functional groups. Novel synthetic routes reported here establish simple and robust methods for synthesis and investigation of structurally diverse marine luciferase substrates. Specifically, these new routes allow synthesis of coelenterazine analogues containing various heterocyclic motifs and substituted aromatic groups with diverse electronic substituents at the R(2) position. Interesting analogues described herein were characterized by their physicochemical properties, bioluminescent half-life, light output, polarity and cytotoxicity. Some of the analogues represent leads that can be utilized in the development of improved bioluminescent systems.