Synthetic studies on spider neurotoxins (I): total synthesis of nephilatoxins (NPTX-9) and NPTX-11), new neurotoxins of Joro spider (Nephila clavata)

Design and characterization of a selenium-containing inhibitor of activated thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFIa), a zinc-containing metalloprotease

Available therapies for thromboembolic disorders include thrombolytics, anticoagulants, and antiplatelets, but these are associated with complications such as bleeding. To develop an alternative drug which is clinically safe, we focused on activated thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFIa) as the target molecule. TAFIa is a zinc-containing carboxypeptidase that significantly inhibits fibrinolysis. Here we designed and synthesized selenium-containing compounds 5-13 to discover novel TAFIa inhibitors having a superior zinc-coordinating group. Compounds 5-13 significantly inhibited TAFIa activity (IC(50) 2.2 × 10(-12) M - 2.6 × 10(-6) M). We found that selenol is a better functional group than thiol for coordinating to zinc at the active site of TAFIa. Furthermore, compound 12, which has an amino-chloro-pyridine ring, was found to be a potent and selective TAFIa inhibitor that lacks carboxypeptidase N inhibitory activity. Therefore, compound 12 is a promising candidate for the treatment of thromboembolic disorders. This is the first report of a selenium-containing inhibitor for TAFIa.

Polymethyleneamine alkaloids of animal origin: II. polyamine neurotoxins

Information on the structure and biological activity of animal alkaloids, polymethyleneamine components of spider and wasp venoms, is considered and systematized. These natural compounds are used for the development and modification of medicines for treating the functional disturbances in the central nervous system of humans.

Enantioselective total syntheses of manzamine a and related alkaloids

As a prelude to undertaking the total syntheses of the complex manzamine alkaloids, a series of model studies were conducted to establish the scope and limitations of intramolecular [4 + 2] cycloadditions of N-acylated vinylogous ureas with the trienic substrates 17a,b, 28a,b, and 34. These experiments clearly demonstrated that the geometry of the internal double bond and the presence of an electron-withdrawing group on the diene moiety were essential for the facile and stereoselective formation of the desired cycloadducts. The enantioselective syntheses of the manzamine alkaloids ircinol A (75), ircinal A (5), and manzamine A (1) were then completed by employing a convergent strategy that featured a novel domino Stille/Diels-Alder reaction to construct the tricyclic ABC ring core embodied in these alkaloids. Thus, the readily accessible chiral dihydropyrrole 58 was first converted in a single chemical operation into the key tricyclic intermediate 60. Two ring-closing metathesis reactions were then used to form the 13- and 8-membered rings leading to Z-72 and 74, the latter of which was quickly elaborated into ircinal A (5) via ircinol A (75). The synthetic 5 thus obtained was converted into manzamine A (1) following literature precedent. This concise synthesis of ircinal A required a total of 24 operations from commercially available starting materials with the longest linear sequence being 21 steps.