Synthesis of (1α)-1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3with aβ-Positioned Seven-Carbon Side Chain at C(12)

The Centennial Collection of VDR Ligands: Metabolites, Analogs, Hybrids and Non-Secosteroidal Ligands

Since the discovery of vitamin D a century ago, a great number of metabolites, analogs, hybrids and nonsteroidal VDR ligands have been developed. An enormous effort has been made to synthesize compounds which present beneficial properties while attaining lower calcium serum levels than calcitriol. This structural review covers VDR ligands published to date.

Design, Synthesis, Biological Activity, and Structural Analysis of Novel Des-C-Ring and Aromatic-D-Ring Analogues of 1α,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3

The toxic calcemic effects of the natural hormone 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ (1,25D₃, 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol) in the treatment of hyperproliferative diseases demand the development of highly active and noncalcemic vitamin D analogues. We report the development of two highly active and noncalcemic analogues of 1,25D₃ that lack the C-ring and possess an m-phenylene ring that replaces the natural D-ring. The new analogues (3a, 3b) are characterized by an additional six-carbon hydroxylated side chain attached either to the aromatic nucleus or to the triene system. Both compounds were synthesized by the Pd-catalyzed tandem cyclization/cross coupling approach starting from alkyne 6 and diphenol 8. Key steps include a stereoselective Cu-assisted addition of a Grignard reagent to an aromatic alkyne and a Takai olefination of an aromatic aldehyde. The new compounds are noncalcemic and show transcriptional and antiproliferative activities similar to 1,25D₃. Structural analysis revealed that they induce a large conformational rearrangement of the vitamin D receptor around helix 6.

Synthesis and biological activity of two C-7 methyl analogues of vitamin D

Two novel vitamin D analogues of the hormone 1α,25-(OH)2D3 modified at C-7, namely, 7-methyl-1α,25-(OH)2D3 (12) and 7-methyl-1α,25-(OH)2-19-nor-D3 (26), were synthesized and biologically evaluated to gain further insights into the structure-function relationships of vitamin D. Key steps in the synthesis of 12 include the functionalization at C-7 by an efficient regioselective hydrostannylation of an allene precursor, and the construction of the triene framework by a palladium-catalyzed intramolecular cyclization-Suzuki-Miyaura coupling cascade. Since the calcitriol analogue 12 was prone to conversion into its previtamin D form by thermal equilibration, the corresponding 19-nor-compound 26 was also synthesized. The diene moiety of compound 26 was constructed by a modified Julia coupling. UV data as well as X-ray analysis indicate that introduction of the methyl group at C-7 results in a significant deviation from planarity of the 5,7-diene moiety. The new vitamin D analogues 12 and 26 retained good VDR binding ability.