Maurocalcine interacts with the cardiac ryanodine receptor without inducing channel modification.

We have previously shown that MCa (maurocalcine), a toxin from the venom of the scorpion Maurus palmatus, binds to RyR1 (type 1 ryanodine receptor) and induces strong modifications of its gating behaviour. In the present study, we investigated the ability of MCa to bind to and modify the gating process of cardiac RyR2. By performing pull-down experiments we show that MCa interacts directly with RyR2 with an apparent affinity of 150 nM. By expressing different domains of RyR2 in vitro, we show that MCa binds to two domains of RyR2, which are homologous with those previously identified on RyR1. The effect of MCa binding to RyR2 was then evaluated by three different approaches: (i) [(3)H]ryanodine binding experiments, showing a very weak effect of MCa (up to 1 muM), (ii) Ca(2+) release measurements from cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles, showing that MCa up to 1 muM is unable to induce Ca(2+) release, and (iii) single-channel recordings, showing that MCa has no effect on the open probability or on the RyR2 channel conductance level. Long-lasting opening events of RyR2 were observed in the presence of MCa only when the ionic current direction was opposite to the physiological direction, i.e. from the cytoplasmic face of RyR2 to its luminal face. Therefore, despite the conserved MCa binding ability of RyR1 and RyR2, functional studies show that, in contrast with what is observed with RyR1, MCa does not affect the gating properties of RyR2. These results highlight a different role of the MCa-binding domains in the gating process of RyR1 and RyR2.

Efficient synthesis of [3H]-sanglifehrin A via selective oxidation/reduction of alcohols at C31 and C35.

[Reaction: see text]. Sanglifehrin A is a novel complex natural product showing strong immunosuppressive activity and remarkably high affinity for cyclophilin A. To assess its pharmacokinetic properties in vivo, an efficient synthetic route was developed to introduce a tritium label in position C35 of sangliferin A via an oxidation/reduction strategy. The synthetic approach is particularly attractive, because the C35-oxo intermediate 7 is available in good yield on large scale and the reducing agent, lithium tri-sec-butylborotritide, is readily available. An attempt to apply a similar strategy to the alcohol in position C31 led primarily to C31-epi-hydroxy sanglifehrin A under a variety of conditions.

Direct chemical synthesis of chiral methanol of 98% ee and its conversion to [(2)H1,(3)H]methyl tosylate and [(2)H1,(3)H-methyl]methionine.

This paper describes the synthesis of chiral methanols [(R)- and (S)-CHDTOH] in a total of 12 steps starting from (chloromethyl)dimethylphenylsilane. The metalated carbamates derived from (dimethylphenylsilyl)methanol and secondary amines were borylated at low temperatures (-78 or -94 degrees C) using borates derived from tert-butyl alcohol and (+)-pinane-2,3-diol or (R,R)-1,2-dicyclohexylethane-1,2-diol to give diastereomeric boronates (dr 1:1 to 5:1). The carbamoyloxy group could be replaced smoothly with inversion of configuration by an isotope of hydrogen using LiAlH(D)4 [or LiBEt3H(D,T)]. If the individual diastereomeric boronates were reduced with LiAlD4 and oxidized with H2O2/NaHCO3, monodeuterated (dimethylphenylsilyl)methanols of ee > 98% resulted. The absolute configurations of the boronates were based on a single-crystal X-ray structure analysis. Brook rearrangement of the enantiomers of (dimethylphenylsilyl)-[(2)H1,(3)H]methanol prepared similarly furnished the chiral methanols which were isolated as 3,5-dinitrobenzoates in 81% and 90% yield, respectively. For determination of the enantiomeric excesses (98%), the methyl groups were transferred to the nitrogen of (S)-2-methylpiperidine and (3)H{(1)H} NMR spectra were recorded. The Brook rearrangement is a stereospecific process following a retentive course. The chiral methanols were also transformed into methyl tosylates used to prepare [(2)H1,(3)H-methyl]methionines in high overall yields (>80%).

Sanglifehrin-cyclophilin interaction: degradation work, synthetic macrocyclic analogues, X-ray crystal structure, and binding data.

Sanglifehrin A (SFA) is a novel immunosuppressive natural product isolated from Streptomyces sp. A92-308110. SFA has a very strong affinity for cyclophilin A (IC(50) = 6.9 +/- 0.9 nM) but is structurally different from cyclosporin A (CsA) and exerts its immunosuppressive activity via a novel mechanism. SFA has a complex molecular structure consisting of a 22-membered macrocycle, bearing in position 23 a nine-carbon tether terminated by a highly substituted spirobicyclic moiety. Selective oxidative cleavage of the C(26)=C(27) exocyclic double bond affords the spirolactam containing fragment 1 and macrolide 2. The affinity of 2 for cyclophilin (IC(50) = 29 +/- 2.1 nM) is essentially identical to SFA, which indicates that the interaction between SFA and cyclophilin A is mediated exclusively by the macrocyclic portion of the molecule. This observation was confirmed by the X-ray crystal structure resolved at 2.1 A of cyclophilin A complexed to macrolide 16, a close analogue of 2. The X-ray crystal structure showed that macrolide 16 binds to the same deep hydrophobic pocket of cyclophilin A as CsA. Additional valuable details of the structure-activity relationship were obtained by two different chemical approaches: (1) degradation work on macrolide 2 or (2) synthesis of a library of macrolide analogues using the ring-closing metathesis reaction as the key step. Altogether, it appears that the complex macrocyclic fragment of SFA is a highly optimized combination of multiple functionalities including an (E,E)-diene, a short polypropionate fragment, and an unusual tripeptide unit, which together provide an extremely strong affinity for cyclophilin A.