Fluorous mixture synthesis of (-)-dictyostatin and three stereoisomers.

[reaction: see text] A mixture of four stereoisomers whose configurations are encoded by fluorous silyl protecting groups has been prepared and converted over 22 steps to a mixture of protected dictyostatins. Demixing by fluorous HPLC followed by removal of the fluorous protecting groups (detagging) provides dictyostatin and three C6,C7 stereoisomers. Biological evaluation showed that the monoepimers of the natural product retained highly potent activity.

Tubulin assembly, taxoid site binding, and cellular effects of the microtubule-stabilizing agent dictyostatin.

(-)-Dictyostatin is a sponge-derived, 22-member macrolactone natural product shown to cause cells to accumulate in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle, with changes in intracellular microtubules analogous to those observed with paclitaxel treatment. Dictyostatin also induces assembly of purified tubulin more rapidly than does paclitaxel, and nearly as vigorously as does dictyostatin's close structural congener, (+)-discodermolide (Isbrucker et al. (2003), Biochem. Pharmacol. 65, 75-82). We used synthetic (-)-dictyostatin to study its biochemical and cytological activities in greater detail. The antiproliferative activity of dictyostatin did not differ greatly from that of paclitaxel or discodermolide. Like discodermolide, dictyostatin retained antiproliferative activity against human ovarian carcinoma cells resistant to paclitaxel due to beta-tubulin mutations and caused conversion of cellular soluble tubulin pools to microtubules. Detailed comparison of the abilities of dictyostatin and discodermolide to induce tubulin assembly demonstrated that the compounds had similar potencies. Dictyostatin inhibited the binding of radiolabeled discodermolide to microtubules more potently than any other compound examined, and dictyostatin and discodermolide had equivalent activity as inhibitors of the binding of both radiolabeled epothilone B and paclitaxel to microtubules. These results are consistent with the idea that the macrocyclic structure of dictyostatin represents the template for the bioactive conformation of discodermolide.

Ring-closing metathesis approach to dictyostatin.

[reaction: see text] An esterification/ring-closing metathesis approach to dictyostatin and discodermolide is introduced. The approach provides for facile fragment coupling of two main segments of these natural products at the C10-C11 alkene with high to complete Z-selectivity.