Amino steroids as antimalarial agents

Arylmethylamino steroids as antiparasitic agents

In search of antiparasitic agents, we here identify arylmethylamino steroids as potent compounds and characterize more than 60 derivatives. The lead compound 1o is fast acting and highly active against intraerythrocytic stages of chloroquine-sensitive and resistant Plasmodium falciparum parasites (IC₅₀ 1–5 nM) as well as against gametocytes. In P. berghei-infected mice, oral administration of 1o drastically reduces parasitaemia and cures the animals. Furthermore, 1o efficiently blocks parasite transmission from mice to mosquitoes. The steroid compounds show low cytotoxicity in mammalian cells and do not induce acute toxicity symptoms in mice. Moreover, 1o has a remarkable activity against the blood-feeding trematode parasite Schistosoma mansoni. The steroid and the hydroxyarylmethylamino moieties are essential for antimalarial activity supporting a chelate-based quinone methide mechanism involving metal or haem bioactivation. This study identifies chemical scaffolds that are rapidly internalized into blood-feeding parasites.

Steroid units can facilitate membrane permeation and bioavailability in drugs. Here, using a medicinal chemistry program, Krieg et al. identify an arylmethylamino steroid that kills Plasmodium parasites, likely through a chelate-based quinone methide mechanism, and has activity against Schistosoma mansoni.

Synthesis of novel α-aminoecdysteroids via regio- and stereoselective oximation/hydrogenation of 20-hydroxyecdysone derivatives

Oximation of 20-hydroxyecdysone oxo derivatives proceeds regio- and stereoselectively and provides (E)-configured oximes in quantitative yields. The Ni–Ra-catalyzed hydrogenation of the oximes affords novel α-aminoecdysteroids with the unchanged 14α-hydroxy-7-en-6-on native chromophore of ecdysteroids. The structures of synthesized compounds were confirmed by the means of homo- and heteronuclear one-dimensional and two-dimensional 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography.

Chemical Synthesis of the Epimeric (23R)- and (23S)-Fluoro Derivatives of Bile Acids via Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons Reaction

A method for the synthesis of two (23R)- and (23S)-epimeric pairs of 23-fluoro-3α,7α,12α-trihydroxy-5β-cholan-24-oic acid and 23-fluoro-3α,7α-dihydroxy-5β-cholan-24-oic acid is described. The key intermediates, 23,24-dinor-22-aldehyde peracetates were prepared from cholic and chenodeoxycholic acids via the 24-nor-22-ene, 24-nor-22ξ,23-epoxy, and 23,24-dinor-22-aldehyde derivatives. The Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction of the 23,24-dinor-22-aldehydes using triethyl 2-fluoro-2-phosphonoacetate in the presence of LiCl and 1,8-diazabicyclo[5,4,0]undec-7-ene (DBU), and subsequent hydrogenation of the resulting 23ξ-fluoro-22-ene ethyl esters, followed by hydrolysis, gave a mixture of the epimeric (23R)- and (23S)-fluorinated bile acids which were resolved efficiently by preparative RP-HPLC. The stereochemical configuration of the fluorine atom at C-23 in the newly synthesized compounds was confirmed directly by the X-ray crystallographic data. The (1)H and (13)C NMR spectral differences between the (23R)- and (23S)-epimers were also discussed.

Improved chemical synthesis, X-ray crystallographic analysis, and NMR characterization of (22R)-/(22S)-hydroxy epimers of bile acids

We report an improved synthesis of the (22R)- and (22S)-epimers of 3α,7α,12α,22-tetrahydroxy-5β-cholan-24-oic acid and 3α,7α,22-trihydroxy-5β-cholan-24-oic acid from cholic acid (CA) and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA), respectively. The principal reactions involved were as follows: (1) oxidative decarboxylation of the bile acid peracetates with lead tetraacetate, and (2) subsequent Reformatsky reaction of the 23,24-dinor-22-aldehydes with ethyl bromoacetate in the presence of activated Zn as a catalyst with the reaction temperature maintained precisely at 75 °C. The absolute configuration of the chiral center at C-22 of each epimer was established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction data using its ethyl ester-peracetate derivative. The (1)H- and (13)C-NMR spectra that permit the (22R)- and (22S)-epimers to be distinguished are reported as well as the specific (1)H shift effects induced by C(5)D(5)N. Bile acids having hydroxyl groups at C-22 are present in a variety of animal biles, previously have been difficult to identify, and are known to have distinctive physicochemical and biological properties.

Isolation of acetylated bile acids from the sponge Siphonochalina fortis and DNA damage evaluation by the comet assay

From the organic extracts of the sponge Siphonochalina fortis, collected at Bahía Bustamante, Chubut, Argentina, three major compounds were isolated and identified as deoxycholic acid 3, 12-diacetate (1), cholic acid 3, 7, 12-triacetate (2) and cholic acid, 3, 7, 12-triacetate. (3). This is the first report of acetylated bile acids in sponges and the first isolation of compound 3 as a natural product. The potential induction of DNA lesions by the isolated compounds was investigated using the comet assay in lymphocytes of human peripheral blood as in vitro model. The results showed that the administration of the bile acid derivatives would not induce DNA damages, indicating that acetylated bile acids are nontoxic metabolites at the tested concentrations. Since the free bile acids were not detected, it is unlikely that the acetylated compounds may be part of the sponge cells detoxification mechanisms. These results may suggest a possible role of acetylated bile acids as a chemical defense mechanism, product of a symbiotic relationship with microorganisms, which would explain their seasonal and geographical variation, and their influence on the previously observed genotoxicity of the organic extract of S. fortis.