Total synthesis of desferrisalmycin B

An environmentally benign protocol for the synthesis of sugar 1,2-orthoesters in poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether (DMPE)

An environmentally benign procedure has been developed for the synthesis of sugar orthoesters using anhydrous sodium acetate in poly (ethylene glycol)dimethyl ether (DMPE). Various sugar orthoesers were prepared without using volatile organic solvent and quaternary ammonium salt. The sugar orthoesters were obtained in good to excellent yields.

Synthetic Optimizations for Gram-Scale Preparation of 1-O-Methyl d-Glycero-α-d-gluco-heptoside 7-Phosphate from d-Glucose

Heptose phosphates—unique linkers between endotoxic lipid A and O-antigen in the bacterial membrane—are pathogen-associated molecular patterns recognized by the receptors of the innate immune system. Understanding the mechanisms of immune system activation is important for the development of therapeutic agents to combat infectious diseases and overcome antibiotic resistance. However, in practice, it is difficult to obtain a substantial amount of heptose phosphates for biological studies due to the narrow scope of the reported synthetic procedures. We have optimized and developed an inexpensive and convenient synthesis for the first performed gram-scale production of 1-O-methyl d-glycero-α-d-gluco-heptoside 7-phosphate from readily available d-glucose. Scaling up to such amounts of the product, we have increased the efficiency of the synthesis and reduced the number of steps of the classical route through the direct phosphorylation of the O⁶,O⁷-unprotected heptose. The refined method could be of practical value for further biological screening of heptose phosphate derivatives.

Tracking Uptake and Metabolism of Xenometallomycins Using a Multi-Isotope Tagging Strategy

Synthetic and naturally occurring siderophores and their conjugates provide access to the bacterial cytoplasm via active membrane transport. Previously, we displaced iron with the radioactive isotope ⁶⁷Ga to quantify and track in vitro and in vivo uptake and distribution of siderophore Trojan Horse antibiotic conjugates. Here, we introduce a multi-isotope tagging strategy to individually elucidate the fate of metal cargo and the ligand construct with radioisotopes ⁶⁷Ga and ¹²⁴I. We synthesized gallium(III) model complexes of a ciprofloxacin-functionalized linear desferrichrome (Ga-D6) and deferoxamine (Ga-D7) incorporating an iodo-tyrosine linker to enable radiolabeling using the metal-binding (⁶⁷Ga) and the cargo-conjugation site (¹²⁴I). Radiochemical experiments with Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa wt strains show that ⁶⁷Ga-D6/D7 and Ga-D6-¹²⁴I/D7-¹²⁴I have comparable uptake, indicating intact complex import and siderophore-mediated uptake. In naive mice, ⁶⁷Ga-D6/D7 and Ga-D6-¹²⁴I/D7-¹²⁴I demonstrate predominantly renal clearance; urine metabolite analysis indicates in vivo dissociation of Ga(III) is a likely mechanism of degradation for ⁶⁷Ga-D6/D7 when compared to ligand radiolabeled compounds, Ga-D6-¹²⁴I/D7-¹²⁴I, which remain >60% intact in urine. Cumulatively, this work demonstrates that a multi-isotope tagging strategy effectively elucidates the in vitro uptake, pharmacokinetics, and in vivo stability of xenometallomycins with modular chemical structures.

Reducing the Toxicity of Designer Aminoglycosides as Nonsense Mutation Readthrough Agents for Therapeutic Targets

A significant proportion of genetic disease cases arise from truncation of proteins caused by premature termination codons. In eukaryotic cells some aminoglycosides cause readthrough of premature termination codons during protein translation. Inducing readthrough of these codons can potentially be of therapeutic value in the treatment of numerous genetic diseases. A significant drawback to the repeated use of aminoglycosides as treatments is the lack of balance between their readthrough efficacy and toxicity. The synthesis and biological testing of designer aminoglycoside compounds is documented herein. We disclose the implementation of a strategy to reduce cellular toxicity and maintain readthrough activity of a library of compounds by modification of the overall cationic charge of the aminoglycoside scaffold through ring I modifications.

Synthesis of Bradyrhizose from d-Glucose

We describe the synthesis of the unusual bicyclic sugar bradyrhizose in 14 steps and a 6% overall yield from d-glucose. The synthesis involves the elaboration of a trans-fused carbocyclic ring onto the preexisting glucopyranose framework followed by adjustment of the oxidation levels. Key steps include radical extension of the glucopyranose side chain, ring closing metathesis, allylic oxidation, Luche reduction, hydroxy-directed epoxidation, and acid-catalyzed epoxide opening at the more substituted position.

Theranostic Gallium Siderophore Ciprofloxacin Conjugate with Broad Spectrum Antibiotic Potency

Pathogenic bacteria scavenge ferric iron from the host for survival and proliferation using small-molecular chelators, siderophores. Here, we introduce and assess the gallium(III) complex of ciprofloxacin-functionalized desferrichrome (D2) as a potential therapeutic for bacterial infection using an in vitro assay and radiochemical, tracer-based approach. Ga-D2 exhibits a minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.23 μM in Escherichia coli, in line with the parent fluoroquinolone antibiotic. Competitive and mutant strain assays show that Ga-D2 relies on FhuA-mediated transport for internalization. Ga-D2 is potent against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (3.8 μM), Staphylococcus aureus (0.94 μM), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (12.5 μM), while Fe-D2 is inactive in these strains. Radiochemical experiments with E. coli reveal that ⁶⁷Ga-D2 is taken up more efficiently than ⁶⁷Ga-citrate. In naive mice, ⁶⁷Ga-D2 clears renally and is excreted 13% intact in the urine. These pharmacokinetic and bacterial growth inhibitory properties qualify Ga-D2 for future investigations as a diagnosis and treatment tool for infection.

Synthetic sideromycins (skepticism and optimism): selective generation of either broad or narrow spectrum Gram-negative antibiotics

New or repurposed antibiotics are desperately needed since bacterial resistance has risen to essentially all of our current antibiotics, and few new antibiotics have been developed over the last several decades. A primary cause of drug resistance is the overuse of antibiotics that can result in alteration of microbial permeability, alteration of drug target binding sites, induction of enzymes that destroy antibiotics (i.e., β-lactamases) and even induction of efflux mechanisms. Research efforts are described that are designed to determine if the known critical dependence of iron assimilation by microbes for growth and virulence can be exploited for the development of new approaches to antibiotic therapy. Iron recognition and active transport relies on the biosyntheses and use of microbe-selective iron chelating compounds called siderophores. Several natural siderophore-antibiotic conjugates (sideromycins) have been discovered and studied. The natural sideromycins consist of an iron binding siderophore linked to a warhead that exerts antibiotic activity once assimilated by targeted bacteria. Inspired these natural conjugates, a combination of chemical syntheses, microbiological and biochemical studies have been used to generate semi-synthetic and totally synthetic sideromycin analogs. The results demonstrate that siderophores and analogs can be used for iron transport-mediated drug delivery ("Trojan Horse" antibiotics or sideromycins) and induction of iron limitation/starvation (development of new agents to block iron assimilation). While several examples illustrate that this approach can generate microbe selective antibiotics that are active in vitro, the scope and limitations of this approach, especially related to development of resistance, siderophore based molecular recognition requirements, appropriate linker and drug choices, will be described.

Immobilized FhuD2 Siderophore-Binding Protein Enables Purification of Salmycin Sideromycins from Streptomyces violaceus DSM 8286

Siderophores are a structurally diverse class of natural products common to most bacteria and fungi as iron(III)-chelating ligands. Siderophores, including trihydroxamate ferrioxamines, are used clinically to treat iron overload diseases and show promising activity against many other iron-related human diseases. Here, we present a new method for the isolation of ferrioxamine siderophores from complex mixtures using affinity chromatography based on resin-immobilized FhuD2, a siderophore-binding protein (SBP) from Staphylococcus aureus. The SBP-resin enabled purification of charge positive, charge negative, and neutral ferrioxamine siderophores. Treatment of culture supernatants from Streptomyces violaceus DSM 8286 with SBP-resin provided an analytically pure sample of the salmycins, a mixture of structurally complex glycosylated sideromycins (siderophore-antibiotic conjugates) with potent antibacterial activity toward human pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) = 7 nM). Siderophore affinity chromatography could enable the rapid discovery of new siderophore and sideromycin natural products from complex mixtures to aid drug discovery and metabolite identification efforts in a broad range of therapeutic areas.

A semisynthesis of 3'-O-ethyl-5,6-dihydrospinosyn J based on the spinosyn A aglycone

Spinetoram, a mixture of 3'-O-ethyl-5,6-dihydrospinosyn J (XDE-175-J, major component) and 3'-O-ethylspinosyn L (XDE-175-L, minor component), is a novel kind of green and efficient insecticide with a broad range of action against various insects. Nowadays, spinetoram is widely used in agriculture and food storage. This work reports a 7-step semisynthesis of 3'-O-ethyl-5,6-dihydrospinosyn J from spinosyn A aglycone. The C9-OH and C17-OH of the aglycone are successively connected to 3-O-ethyl-2,4-di-O-methylrhamnose and D-forosamine after selective protection and deprotection steps. Then, with 10% Pd/C as catalyst, the 5,6-double bond of the macrolide was selectively reduced to afford 3'-O-ethyl-5,6-dihydrospinosyn J. In addition, the 3-O-ethyl-2,4-di-O-methylrhamnose is synthesized from rhamnose which is available commercially, while the D-forosamine and aglycone are obtained via the hydrolysis of spinosyn A. High yields were obtained in each step, and all intermediates in the synthesis were characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and MS techniques. This study can be helpful for developing an efficient chemical synthesis of spinetoram, and it also offers opportunities to synthesize spinosyn analogues and rhamnose derivatives.

Structural Basis for Xenosiderophore Utilization by the Human Pathogen Staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococcus aureus produces a cocktail of metallophores (staphylopine, staphyloferrin A, and staphyloferrin B) to scavenge transition metals during infection of a host. In addition, S. aureus displays the extracellular surface lipoproteins FhuD1 and FhuD2 along with the ABC transporter complex FhuCBG to facilitate the use of hydroxamate xenosiderophores such as desferrioxamine B (DFOB) for iron acquisition. DFOB is used as a chelation therapy to treat human iron overload diseases and has been linked to an increased risk of S. aureus infections. We used a panel of synthetic DFOB analogs and a FhuD2-selective trihydroxamate sideromycin to probe xenosiderophore utilization in S. aureus and establish structure-activity relationships for Fe(III) binding, FhuD2 binding, S. aureus growth promotion, and competition for S. aureus cell entry. Fe(III) binding assays and FhuD2 intrinsic fluorescence quenching experiments revealed that diverse chemical modifications of the terminal ends of linear ferrioxamine siderophores influences Fe(III) affinity but not FhuD2 binding. Siderophore-sideromycin competition assays and xenosiderophore growth promotion assays revealed that S. aureus SG511 and ATCC 11632 can distinguish between competing siderophores based exclusively on net charge of the siderophore-Fe(III) complex. Our work provides a roadmap for tuning hydroxamate xenosiderophore scaffolds to suppress (net negative charge) or enhance (net positive or neutral charge) uptake by S. aureus for applications in metal chelation therapy and siderophore-mediated antibiotic delivery, respectively.

Trihydroxamate siderophore-fluoroquinolone conjugates are selective sideromycin antibiotics that target Staphylococcus aureus

Siderophores are multidentate iron(III) chelators used by bacteria for iron assimilation. Sideromycins, also called siderophore-antibiotic conjugates, are a unique subset of siderophores that enter bacterial cells via siderophore uptake pathways and deliver the toxic antibiotic in a "Trojan horse" fashion. Sideromycins represent a novel antibiotic delivery technology with untapped potential for developing sophisticated microbe-selective antibacterial agents that limit the emergence of bacterial resistance. The chemical synthesis of a series of mono-, bis-, and trihydroxamate sideromycins are described here along with their biological evaluation in antibacterial susceptibility assays. The linear hydroxamate siderophores used for the sideromycins in this study were derived from the ferrioxamine family and inspired by the naturally occurring salmycin sideromycins. The antibacterial agents used were a β-lactam carbacepholosporin, Lorabid, and a fluoroquinolone, ciprofloxacin, chosen for the different locations of their biological targets, the periplasm (extracellular) and the cytoplasm (intracellular). The linear hydroxamate-based sideromycins were selectively toxic toward Gram-positive bacteria, especially Staphylococcus aureus SG511 (MIC = 1.0 μM for the trihydroxamate-fluoroquinolone sideromycin). Siderophore-sideromycin competition assays demonstrated that only the fluoroquinolone sideromycins required membrane transport to reach their cytoplasmic biological target and that a trihydroxamate siderophore backbone was required for protein-mediated active transport of the sideromycins into S. aureus cells via siderophore uptake pathways. This work represents a comprehensive study of linear hydroxamate sideromycins and teaches how to build effective hydroxamate-based sideromycins as Gram-positive selective antibiotic agents.

Syntheses of Siderophore-Drug Conjugates Using a Convergent Thiol-Maleimide System

Three siderophore-drug conjugates (sideromycins) were synthesized by preparation of a maleimide linked derivative of the siderophore desferrioxamine B and reacting the corresponding Ga(3+)-complex with freshly prepared thiol-containing antibiotics: loracarbef, ciprofloxacin and nadifloxacin. The conjugates and their synthetic precursors were tested against a broad panel of bacteria and were found to display Gram-positive selective, growth inhibitory activity (µM) indicating that this approach is suitable for the convergent synthesis and screening of novel sideromycins.

Exploiting bacterial iron acquisition: siderophore conjugates

Siderophores are chelators synthesized by bacteria and fungi to sequester iron, which is essential for virulence and pathogenicity. Since the process involves active transport, which is highly regulated, remarkably efficient and often microbially selective, it has been exploited as a Trojan Horse method for development of microbe-selective antibiotics. Siderophores also have significant potential for the development of imaging contrast agents and diagnostics for pathogen-selective detection. These promising results demonstrate the versatility of natural and synthetic microbial iron chelators and their potential therapeutic applications.

A facile method for the preparation of sugar orthoesters promoted by anhydrous sodium bicarbonate

A facile and eco-friendly method for the preparation of sugar orthoesters by using anhydrous sodium bicarbonate is described. Various sugar orthoesers, including sugar–sugar orthoesters, were synthesized in good-to-excellent yields by the reaction of a protected glycosyl bromide with an alcohol or sugar.

Is drug release necessary for antimicrobial activity of siderophore-drug conjugates? Syntheses and biological studies of the naturally occurring salmycin "Trojan Horse" antibiotics and synthetic desferridanoxamine-antibiotic conjugates

The recent rise in drug resistance found amongst community acquired infections has sparked renewed interest in developing antimicrobial agents that target resistant organisms and limit the natural selection of immune variants. Recent discoveries have shown that iron uptake systems in bacteria and fungi are suitable targets for developing such therapeutic agents. The use of siderophore-drug conjugates as "Trojan Horse" drug delivery agents has attracted particular interest in this area. This review will discuss efforts in our research group to study the salmycin class of "Trojan Horse" antibiotics. Inspired by the natural design of the salmycins, a series of desferridanoxamine-antibiotic conjugates were synthesized and tested in microbial growth inhibition assays. The results of these studies will be related to understanding the role of drug release in siderophore-mediated drug delivery with implications for future siderophore-drug conjugate design.

Utilization of microbial iron assimilation processes for the development of new antibiotics and inspiration for the design of new anticancer agents

Pathogenic microbes rapidly develop resistance to antibiotics. To keep ahead in the "microbial war", extensive interdisciplinary research is needed. A primary cause of drug resistance is the overuse of antibiotics that can result in alteration of microbial permeability, alteration of drug target binding sites, induction of enzymes that destroy antibiotics (ie., beta-lactamase) and even induction of efflux mechanisms. A combination of chemical syntheses, microbiological and biochemical studies demonstrate that the known critical dependence of iron assimilation by microbes for growth and virulence can be exploited for the development of new approaches to antibiotic therapy. Iron recognition and active transport relies on the biosyntheses and use of microbe-selective iron-chelating compounds called siderophores. Our studies, and those of others, demonstrate that siderophores and analogs can be used for iron transport-mediated drug delivery ("Trojan Horse" antibiotics) and induction of iron limitation/starvation (Development of new agents to block iron assimilation). Recent extensions of the use of siderophores for the development of novel potent and selective anticancer agents are also described.

Stereoselective glycal fluorophosphorylation: synthesis of ADP-2-fluoroheptose, an inhibitor of the LPS biosynthesis

Heptosides are found in important bacterial glycolipids such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the biosynthesis of which is targeted for the development of novel antibacterial agents. This work describes the synthesis of a fluorinated analogue of ADP-L-glycero-beta-D-manno-heptopyranose, the donor substrate of the heptosyl transferase WaaC, which catalyzes the incorporation of this carbohydrate into LPS. Synthetically, the key step for the preparation of ADP-2F-heptose is the simultaneous and stereoselective installation of both the fluorine atom at C-2 and the phosphoryl group at C-1 through a selectfluor-mediated (selectfluor=1-chloromethyl-4-fluorodiazoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octane bis(triflate)) electrophilic addition/nucleophilic substitution involving a heptosylglycal. Therefore, we detail in this article 1) the stereoselective preparation of the key intermediates heptosylglycals, 2) the development of a new fluorophosphorylation procedure allowing an excellent beta-gluco stereoselectivity with "all-equatorial" glycals, 3) the synthesis of the target ADP-2F-heptose, and 4) some comments on the contacts observed between the fluorine atom of the final molecule and the protein in the crystallographic structure of heptosyltransferase WaaC.

Synthesis and absolute structures of Mycoplasma pneumoniae beta-glyceroglycolipid antigens

Just recently, a pair of beta-glycolipids was isolated from the cell membrane of Mycoplasma pneumoniae as a mixture of the two compounds. They are the major immunodeterminants of this pathogenic Mycoplasma and indicate high medicinal potential. They have a beta-(1-->6)-linked disaccharide structure close to each other; one has beta-d-galactopyranoside (beta-Gal-type 1) at the non-reducing terminal, and another has beta-d-glucopyranoside (beta-Glc-type 2). In the present study, the first stereoselective synthesis was conducted for each of the two beta-glycolipids 1 and 2. (1)H NMR and TLC-immunostaining studies of the synthetic compounds enable us to establish the absolute structures having the beta-(1-->6)-linked disaccharides at the glycerol sn-3 position.

Synthesis of (+)-didemniserinolipid B: application of a 2-allyl-4-fluorophenyl auxiliary for relay ring-closing metathesis

The synthesis of didemniserinolipid B utilizing a ketalization/ring-closing metathesis (K/RCM) strategy is described. In the course of this work, a novel 2-allyl-4-fluorophenyl auxiliary for relay ring-closing metathesis (RRCM) was developed, which increased the yield of the RCM. The resulting 6,8-dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octene core was selectively functionalized by complimentary dihydroxylation and epoxidation routes to install the C10 axial alcohol. This bicyclic ketal core was further functionalized by etherification and an alkene cross metathesis with an unsaturated alpha-phenylselenyl ester en route to completing the total synthesis.

Block synthesis of tetra- and hexasaccharides (beta-D-glycero-D-manno-Hep p-(1-->4)-[alpha-l-Rha p-(1-->3)-beta-D-glycero-D-manno-Hep p-(1-->4)]n-alpha-L-Rha p-OMe (n = 1 and 2)) corresponding to multiple repeat units of the glycan from the surface-layer glycoprotein from Bacillus thermoaerophilus

A fully stereocontrolled block synthesis of the title tetra- and hexasaccharides has been achieved taking advantage of the ability of the 4,6-O-benzylidene acetal to control the stereochemistry of the beta-D-glycero-D-mannoheptopyranoside unit and of a 2,3-O-diphenylmethylene acetal to install the alpha-L-rhamnopyranosidic linkages. Comparison of the spectral data for the hexasaccharide with that of the natural isolate confirms the structure of this very unusual and structurally challenging glycan.

Design and synthesis of a novel protected mixed ligand siderophore

A novel siderophore analog (4) has been designed to facilitate iron transport-mediated drug delivery and drug release. This mixed ligand siderophore analog includes three bidentate ligands intended to octahedrally coordinate iron (III). The ligands include a 2,3-dihydroxy benzoic acid moiety, N(5)-acetyl-N(5)-hydroxy-l-ornithine, and a β-N-hydroxy-α,β-diaminopropionic acid derivative. The total synthesis of 15, a form of 4 that is suitably protected, yet contains a free carboxylic acid for subsequent drug conjugation, is described.

Solvent-controlled regioselective protection of allyl-4,6-benzylidene glucopyranosides

We wish to report a simple synthetic procedure, which permits the regiospecific mono-acylation, alkylation and silylation at the 2-position of allyl 4,6-O-benzylidene alpha-D-glucopyranoside in high yields and which does not require the use of catalysts.

Regio- and stereoselective anomeric esterification of glucopyranose 1,2-diols and a facile preparation of 2-O-acetylated glucopyranosyl trichloroacetimidates from the corresponding 1,2-diols

A highly regio- and stereoselective anomeric esterification of 3-O-allyl (or benzyl, or benzoyl)-4,6-O-isopropylidene-alpha,beta-d-glucopyranose with acetyl chloride, or allyl chloroformate, or ethyl chloroformate gave the corresponding 2-OH, 1-beta-acetates or -carbonates in excellent yields. The 2-OH, 1-beta-acetates were readily converted to the corresponding 2-O-acetylated glucopyranosyl trichloroacetimidates by reaction with trichloroacetonitrile via base promoted acetyl migration, while the 2-OH, 1-beta-carbonates were good glycosyl acceptors for the synthesis of (1-->2)-linked oligosaccharides.

Stereocontrolled synthesis of the D- and L-glycero-beta-D-manno-heptopyranosides and their 6-deoxy analogues. Synthesis of methyl alpha-l-rhamno-pyranosyl-(1-->3)-D-glycero-beta-D-manno-heptopyranosyl- (1-->3)-6-deoxy-glycero-beta-D-manno-heptopyranosyl-(1-->4)-alpha-L- rhamno-pyranoside, a tetrasaccharide subunit of the lipopolysaccharide from Plesimonas shigelloides

The synthesis of d- and l-glycero-alpha-manno-thioheptopyranosides, protected with 4,6-O-alkylidene-type acetals is described. In glycosylations carried out with preactivation with the 1-benzenesulfinylpiperidine/trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride couple, both the D- and L-glycero series exhibit excellent beta-selectivity with a range of glycosyl acceptors. In contrast, a 4,7-O-alkylidene acetal was found not to afford beta-selectivity. With a 4,6-O-[1-cyano-2-(2-iodophenyl)ethylidene] acetal protected thioglycoside, excellent beta-selectivity was obtained in glycosylation reactions, and subsequent treatment with tributyltin hydride and azoisobutyronitrile brought about clean fragmentation to the 6-deoxy-glycero-beta-D-manno-heptopyranosides. This chemistry was applied to the stereocontrolled synthesis of methyl alpha-L-rhamno-pyranosyl-(1-->3)-D-glycero-beta-D-manno-heptopyranosyl-(1-->3)-6-deoxy-glycero-beta-D-manno-heptopyranosyl-(1-->4)-alpha-L-rhamno-pyranoside, a component of the lipopolysaccharide from Plesimonas shigelloides.

Synthesis and stereoselective glycosylation of D- and L-glycero-beta-D-manno-heptopyranoses

[reaction: see text] A method for the direct stereocontrolled synthesis of D- and L-glycero-beta-D-manno-heptopyranosides such as those found in the repeating unit of the O-specific polysaccharide from the CNCTC 113/92 LPS (serotype 54) is described. The method relies on the presence of a 4,6-O-benzylidene acetal to effect stereocontrol at the anomeric center; the configuration at C6 (L- or D-glycero) is of minimal importance.