Probing the ribosomal RNA A-site with functionally diverse analogues of paromomycin—synthesis of ring I mimetics

My 50-Plus Years of Academic Research Collaborations with Industry. A Retrospective

A retrospective is presented highlighting the synthesis of selected "first-in-kind" natural products, their synthetic analogues, structure elucidations, and rationally designed bioactive synthetic compounds that were accomplished because of collaborations with past and present pharmaceutical and agrochemical companies. Medicinal chemistry projects involving structure-based design exploiting cocrystal structures of small molecules with biologically relevant enzymes, receptors, and bacterial ribosomes with synthetic small molecules leading to marketed products, clinical candidates, and novel drug prototypes were realized in collaboration. Personal reflections, historical insights, behind the scenes stories from various long-term projects are shared in this retrospective article.

Synthesis of a Pseudodisaccharide Suitable for Synthesis of Ring I Modified 4,5-2-Deoxystreptamine Type Aminoglycoside Antibiotics

To facilitate the synthesis of paromomycin and/or neomycin analogues, we describe a cleavage of ring I from paromomycin that proceeds in the presence of azides and affords a glycosyl acceptor for the installation of a modified ring I. A paromomycin 4',6'-diol is oxidized by the Dess-Martin periodinane followed by m-chloroperoxybenzoic acid. Base treatment then affords a protected pseudodisaccharide, which functions as a glycosyl acceptor. The method should also apply to the cleavage of pyranosyl 4,6-diols from oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates.

Comprehensive review of chemical strategies for the preparation of new aminoglycosides and their biological activities

A systematic analysis of all synthetic and chemoenzymatic methodologies for the preparation of aminoglycosides for a variety of applications (therapeutic and agricultural) reported in the scientific literature up to 2017 is presented. This comprehensive analysis of derivatization/generation of novel aminoglycosides and their conjugates is divided based on the types of modifications used to make the new derivatives. Both the chemical strategies utilized and the biological results observed are covered. Structure-activity relationships based on different synthetic modifications along with their implications for activity and ability to avoid resistance against different microorganisms are also presented.

Asymmetric stereodivergent strategy towards aminocyclitols

A concise asymmetric synthesis of aminocyclitols, such as diastereomeric 2-deoxystreptamine analogues and conduramine A, is described. The Pd-catalyzed asymmetric desymmetrization of meso 1,4-dibenzolate enables the synthesis of highly oxidized cyclohexane architectures. These scaffolds can potentially be used to access new aminoglycoside antibiotics and enantiomerically pure α-glucosidase inhibitors.

Structural basis of APH(3')-IIIa-mediated resistance to N1-substituted aminoglycoside antibiotics

Butirosin is unique among the naturally occurring aminoglycosides, having a substituted amino group at position 1 (N1) of the 2-deoxystreptamine ring with an (S)-4-amino-2-hydroxybutyrate (AHB) group. While bacterial resistance to aminoglycosides can be ascribed chiefly to drug inactivation by plasmid-encoded aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes, the presence of an AHB group protects the aminoglycoside from binding to many resistance enzymes, and hence, the antibiotic retains its bactericidal properties. Consequently, several semisynthetic N1-substituted aminoglycosides, such as amikacin, isepamicin, and netilmicin, were developed. Unfortunately, butirosin, amikacin, and isepamicin are not resistant to inactivation by 3'-aminoglycoside O-phosphotransferase type IIIa [APH(3')-IIIa]. We report here the crystal structure of APH(3')-IIIa in complex with an ATP analog, AMPPNP [adenosine 5'-(beta,gamma-imido)triphosphate], and butirosin A to 2.4-A resolution. The structure shows that butirosin A binds to the enzyme in a manner analogous to other 4,5-disubstituted aminoglycosides, and the flexible antibiotic-binding loop is key to the accommodation of structurally diverse substrates. Based on the crystal structure, we have also constructed a model of APH(3')-IIIa in complex with amikacin, a commonly used semisynthetic N1-substituted 4,6-disubstituted aminoglycoside. Together, these results suggest a strategy to further derivatize the AHB group in order to generate new aminoglycoside derivatives that can elude inactivation by resistance enzymes while maintaining their ability to bind to the ribosomal A site.