ABSTRACT
The α-ketoamide motif is widely found in many natural products and drug candidates with relevant biological activities. Furthermore, α-ketoamides are attractive candidates to synthetic chemists due to the ability of the motif to access a wide range of functional group transformations, including multiple bond-forming processes. For these reasons, a vast array of synthetic procedures for the preparation of α-ketoamides have been developed over the past decades, and the search for expeditious and efficient protocols continues unabated. The aim of this review is to give an overview of the diverse methodologies that have emerged since the 1990s up to the present. The different synthetic routes have been grouped according to the way the α-ketoamide moiety has been created. Thus, syntheses of α-ketoamides proceeding via C(2)-oxidation of amide starting compounds are detailed, as are amidation approaches installing the α-ketoamide residue through C(1)-N bond formation. Also discussed are the methodologies centered on C(1)-C(2) σ-bond construction and C(2)-R/Ar bond-forming processes. Finally, the literature regarding the synthesis of α-ketoamide compounds by palladium-catalyzed double-carbonylative amination reactions is discussed.
Subject(s)
Amides/chemical synthesis , Chemistry Techniques, Synthetic/trends , Ketones/chemical synthesis , Amides/chemistry , Amination , Amines/chemistry , Ketones/chemistry , Oxidation-ReductionABSTRACT
We describe the synthesis and biological activities of a series of methyl 3,4-epoxypiperidine-3-carboxylate tripeptide derivatives that inhibit the chymotryptic and tryptic active sites of the 20S proteasome. Of the series, compound 2 which contains 3-hydroxy-2-methylbenzoyl group at its N-terminal position, displayed the greatest inhibitory potency (IC(50) <1 microM). All derivatives showed favourable pharmacokinetic properties.
Subject(s)
Arecoline/chemistry , Multienzyme Complexes/antagonists & inhibitors , Oligopeptides/chemical synthesis , Oligopeptides/pharmacology , Protease Inhibitors/chemical synthesis , Protease Inhibitors/pharmacology , Arecoline/analogs & derivatives , Chymotrypsin/antagonists & inhibitors , Cysteine Endopeptidases , Humans , Molecular Structure , Oligopeptides/metabolism , Protease Inhibitors/metabolism , Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex , Structure-Activity RelationshipABSTRACT
The 26S proteasome is a multicatalytic protease complex that plays an essential role in intracellular protein degradation. We have synthesized and tested a series of arecoline peptide derivatives where the peptide portion derives from a screening of tripeptide sequences, and the arecoline moiety has been considered as a potential substrate for catalytic threonine. Derivatives 17-19 are the best compounds of the series, showing chymotryptic-like (beta5) inhibition (IC(50) congruent with 1 microM) and favorable pharmacokinetic properties.