Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of di-substituted noscapine analogs as potent and microtubule-targeted anticancer agents.

Noscapine is an opium-derived kinder-gentler microtubule-modulating drug, currently in Phase I/II clinical trials for cancer chemotherapy. Here, we report the synthesis of four more potent di-substituted brominated derivatives of noscapine, 9-Br-7-OH-NOS (2), 9-Br-7-OCONHEt-NOS (3), 9-Br-7-OCONHBn-NOS (4), and 9-Br-7-OAc-NOS (5) and their chemotherapeutic efficacy on PC-3 and MDA-MB-231 cells. The four derivatives were observed to have higher tubulin binding activity than noscapine and significantly affect tubulin polymerization. The equilibrium dissociation constant (KD) for the interaction between tubulin and 2, 3, 4, 5 was found to be, 55±6µM, 44±6µM, 26±3µM, and 21±1µM respectively, which is comparable to parent analog. The effects of these di-substituted noscapine analogs on cell cycle parameters indicate that the cells enter a quiescent phase without undergoing further cell division. The varying biological activity of these analogs and bulk of substituent at position-7 of the benzofuranone ring system of the parent molecule was rationalized utilizing predictive in silico molecular modeling. Furthermore, the immunoblot analysis of protein lysates from cells treated with 4 and 5, revealed the induction of apoptosis and down-regulation of survivin levels. This result was further supported by the enhanced activity of caspase-3/7 enzymes in treated samples compared to the controls. Hence, these compounds showed a great potential for studying microtubule-mediated processes and as chemotherapeutic agents for the management of human cancers.

Stereoselective synthesis of 2'-fluoro-6'-methylene carbocyclic adenosine via Vince lactam.

2'-Fluoro-6'-methylene carbocyclic adenosine (FMCA) is a potent and selective inhibitor of wild type as well as drug-resistant hepatitis B virus (HBV) mutants. FMCA demonstrated excellent anti-HBV activity against both adefovir-resistant and lamivudine-resistant double (rtL180M/rtM204V) mutants as well as in lamivudine/entecavir triple mutants (L180M+S202G+M204V) in vitro. Its monophosphate prodrug (FMCAP) demonstrated a greater than 12-fold increase of anti-HBV activity in comparison to that of the nucleoside without elevation of cellular toxicity. In the preliminary in vivo study in chimeric mice harboring the lamivudine/entecavir triple mutant, FMCAP effectively reduced HBV viral load, while entecavir was not effective. Therefore, it was of great interest to develop an efficient synthetic procedure to support the preclinical investigation. In this article, a new approach for the synthesis of FMCA from a readily available starting material (Vince lactam) in 16 steps is described. An efficient and practical methodology for stereospecific preparation of a versatile carbocyclic key intermediate, D-2'-fluoro-6'-methylene cyclopentanol 14, has been developed from diazotization, elimination, stereoselective epoxidation, fluorination, and oxidation-reduction sequence of the Vince lactam in 14 steps. The utility of D-2'-fluoro-6'-methylene cyclopentanol 14 is demonstrated in the preparation of FMCA using the Mitsunobu coupling to introduce the adenine base to synthesize the final nucleoside.

Carbohydrate based potential chemotherapeutic agents: recent developments and their scope in future drug discovery.

In addition to being valuable source of energy, carbohydrates, one of the main dietary components, are integral parts of the cell. As extra- & intracellular molecules they act as cell surface receptor and also as signaling molecules playing predominant role in molecular recognition and many other cellular processes. The clear understanding of their role in the various important biological events has led to the demand for easy access of diverse glycoconjugates for their complete chemical and biological investigations. Several carbohydrate-based molecules both of synthetic and natural origin are known for their wide range of pharmacological activities and even many of them are clinically used to treat different ailments. Due to their structural diversity in terms of functional groups, ring size and linkages they are valuable scaffolds in drug discovery processes. Because of the hydrophilic nature of monosaccharides they offer good water solubility, optimum pharmacokinetics and decreased toxicity. These naturally occurring molecules have therefore been extensively used to access diverse library of compounds with great chemotherapeutic importance. This review highlights an overview of development of carbohydrate-based molecules from others and our lab which have shown promising biological activity against front line diseases.

Evidence for the existence of a specific g†protein-coupled receptor activated by guanosine.

Guanosine, released extracellularly from neurons and glial cells, plays important roles in the central nervous system, including neuroprotection. The innovative DELFIA Eu-GTP binding assay was optimized for characterization of the putative guanosine receptor binding site at rat brain membranes by using a series of novel and known guanosine derivatives. These nucleosides were prepared by modifying the purine and sugar moieties of guanosine at the 6- and 5'-positions, respectively. Results of these experiments prove that guanosine, 6-thioguanosine, and their derivatives activate a G protein-coupled receptor that is different from the well-characterized adenosine receptors.