Identification of new C27 and C24 bile acids in the bile of Alligator mississippiensis

Two Major Bile Acids in the Hornbills, (24R,25S)-3α,7α,24-Trihydroxy-5β-cholestan-27-oyl Taurine and Its 12α-Hydroxy Derivative

Two major bile acids were isolated from the gallbladder bile of two hornbill species from the Bucerotidae family of the avian order Bucerotiformes Buceros bicornis (great hornbill) and Penelopides panini (Visayan tarictic hornbill). Their structures were determined to be 3α,7α,24-dihydroxy-5β-cholestan-27-oic acid and its 12α-hydroxy derivative, 3α,7α,12α,24-tetrahydroxy-5β-cholestan-27-oic acid (varanic acid, VA), both present in bile as their corresponding taurine amidates. The four diastereomers of varanic acid were synthesized and their assigned structures were confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analysis. VA and its 12-deoxy derivative were found to have a (24R,25S)-configuration. 13 additional hornbill species were also analyzed by HPLC and showed similar bile acid patterns to B. bicornis and P. panini. The previous stereochemical assignment for (24R,25S)-VA isolated from the bile of varanid lizards and the Gila monster should now be revised to the (24S,25S)-configuration.

Chemical synthesis of the (25R)- and (25S)-epimers of 3α,7α,12α-trihydroxy-5α-cholestan-27-oic acid as well as their corresponding glycine and taurine conjugates

The (25R)- and (25S)-epimers of C(27) 3α,7α,12α-trihydroxy-5α-cholestan-27-oic acid as well as their corresponding N-acylamidate conjugates with glycine or taurine were prepared starting from cholic acid in 14 steps. The principal reactions involved were (1) reduction of a key intermediary C(24)allo-cholic acid performate with NaBH(4)/triethylamine/ethyl chloroformate, (2) iodination of the resulting 3,7,12-triformyloxy-5α-cholan-24-ol with I(2)/triphenylphosphine; (3) nucleophilic substitution of the iodo derivative with diethylmethyl malonate/NaH; and (4) hydrolysis of the resulting 3,7,12-triformyloxy-25-methyl-26,27-diethyl ester with KOH, followed by decarboxylation of the geminal dicarboxylic acid with LiCl. N-Acylamidation of the resulting (25R)/(25S)-3α,7α,12α-trihydroxy-5α-cholestan-27-oic acid mixture with glycine or taurine afforded the corresponding epimeric mixtures of the glycine and taurine conjugates. The (25R)- and (25S)-epimers of the three variants of unconjugated and conjugated 3α,7α,12α-trihydroxy-5α-cholestan-27-oic acid were efficiently separated by HPLC on a reversed-phase C(18) column and their structural characteristics, particularly the chiral center at C-25, delineated using (1)H and (13)C NMR. These synthetic compounds should be useful as authentic reference standards for establishing their presence in bile as well as being useful in studies on the biosynthesis of allo-bile acids from cholesterol.

A new, major C27 biliary bile acid in the red-winged tinamou (Rhynchotus rufescens):25R-1beta, 3alpha,7alpha-trihydroxy-5beta-cholestan-27-oic acid

The chemical structures of the three major bile acids present in the gallbladder bile of the Red-winged tinamou (Rhynchotus rufescens), an early evolving, ground-living bird related to ratites, were determined. Bile acids were isolated by preparative reversed-phase HPLC. Two of the compounds were identified as the taurine N-acylamidates of 25R-3alpha,7alpha-dihydroxy-5beta-cholestan-27-oic acid (constituting 22% of biliary bile acids) and 25R-3alpha,7alpha,12alpha-trihydroxy-5beta-cholestan-27-oic acid (constituting 51%). The remaining compound, constituting 21% of biliary bile acids, was an unknown C27 bile acid. Its structure was elucidated by LC/ESI-MS/MS and NMR and shown to be the taurine conjugate of 25R-1beta, 3alpha, 7alpha-trihydroxy-5beta-cholestan-27-oic acid, a C27 trihydroxy bile acid not previously reported. Although C27 bile acids with a 1beta-hydroxyl group have been identified as trace bile acids in the alligator, this is the first report of a major biliary C27 bile acid possessing a 1beta-hydroxyl group.

Synthesis and 29-14C-labeling of 3 alpha, 7 alpha, 12 alpha-trihydroxy-27-carboxymethyl-5 beta-cholestan-26-oic acid. A bile acid occurring in peroxisomal diseases

The synthesis and 14C-labeling of 3 alpha, 7 alpha, 12 alpha-trihydroxy-27-carboxymethyl-5 beta-cholestan-26-oic acid by two different approaches is described. One of them involves chain elongation of cholic acid via Wittig-Horner condensation of its formylated 24-aldehyde with tetraethyl phosphonoglutarate. The resulting cholestenoate, on deprotection and hydrogenation, affords the unusual C29 bile acid in good yield. An alternative procedure consists in a malonic ester synthesis starting from the formylated 24-alcohol which, after conversion into a mesylate, is reacted with sodium salt of 2-carboethoxy-gamma-butyrolactone. Alkaline hydrolysis, decarboxylation, esterification with diazomethane and selective tosylation of the newly introduced primary hydroxyl function give a C28 precursor, which is easily chain-elongated into a labeled or unlabeled C29 bile acid by reaction with cyanide and hydrolysis. Due to the easy lactonization of some of the C28 intermediates, the latter method provides a better way for introducing a C-29 label than the sequence usually employed for carboxyl labeling of bile acids and consisting in a decarboxylative halogenation of the parent acid followed by substitution of the norhalogenide with [14C]cyanide and hydrolysis. The structure of the synthesized acid or its dimethyl ester is confirmed by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, and is also shown by gas liquid chromatography to be identified with an authentic sample of biosynthetic C29 dioic bile acid extracted from body fluids of Zellweger patients.