Synthesis and antifolate evaluation of the aminopterin analogue with a bicyclo

Nonconjugated Hydrocarbons as Rigid-Linear Motifs: Isosteres for Material Sciences and Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry

Nonconjugated hydrocarbons, like bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane, bicyclo[2.2.2]octane, triptycene, and cubane are a unique class of rigid linkers. Due to their similarity in size and shape they are useful mimics of classic benzene moieties in drugs, so-called bioisosteres. Moreover, they also fulfill an important role in material sciences as linear linkers, in order to arrange various functionalities in a defined spatial manner. In this Review article, recent developments and usages of these special, rectilinear systems are discussed. Furthermore, we focus on covalently linked, nonconjugated linear arrangements and discuss the physical and chemical properties and differences of individual linkers, as well as their application in material and medicinal sciences.

Structure-activity relationship study of betulinic acid, a novel and selective TGR5 agonist, and its synthetic derivatives: potential impact in diabetes

We describe here the biological screening of a collection of natural occurring triterpenoids against the G protein-coupled receptor TGR5, known to be activated by bile acids and which mediates some important cell functions. This work revealed that betulinic (1), oleanolic (2), and ursolic acid (3) exhibited TGR5 agonist activity in a selective manner compared to bile acids, which also activated FXR, the nuclear bile acid receptor. The most potent natural triterpenoid betulinic acid was chosen as a reference compound for an SAR study. Hemisyntheses were performed on the betulinic acid scaffold, and we focused on structural modifications of the C-3 alcohol, the C-17 carboxylic acid, and the C-20 alkene. In particular, structural variations around the C-3 position gave rise to major improvements of potency exemplified with derivatives 18 dia 2 (RG-239) and 19 dia 2. The best derivative was tested in vitro and in vivo, and its biological profile is discussed.

Novel boron-containing, nonclassical antifolates: synthesis and preliminary biological and structural evaluation

Two boron-containing, ortho-icosahedral carborane lipophilic antifolates were synthesized, and the crystal structures of their ternary complexes with human dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) and dihydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate were determined. The compounds were screened for activity against DHFR from six sources (human, rat liver, Pneumocystis carinii, Toxoplasma gondii, Mycobacterium avium, and Lactobacillus casei) and showed good to modest activity against these enzymes. The compounds were also tested for antibacterial activity against L. casei, M. tuberculosis H37Ra, and three M. avium strains and for cytotoxic activity against seven different human tumor cell lines. Antibacterial and cytotoxic activity was modest, with one sample, the closo-carborane 4, showing about 10-fold greater activity. The less toxic nido-carborane 2 was also tested as a candidate for boron neutron capture therapy, but showed poor tumor retention and low selectivity ratios for boron distribution in tumor tissue versus normal tissue.

A Highly Efficient Synthesis of Potent and Selective Butyrolactam Inhibitors of 11β-Hsd1

A convergent synthesis of structurally novel butyrolactam 11beta-HSD1 inhibitors is described. The approach features an efficient Ireland-Claisen reaction to construct a highly substituted aldehyde building block which is converted to a lactam via a tandem reductive amination/cyclization sequence. The generality of the synthetic sequence is demonstrated during the preparation of two additional potent 11beta-HSD1 inhibitors.