Benzhydrylamines via base-mediated intramolecular sp(3) C-arylation of N-benzyl-2-nitrobenzenesulfonamides--advanced intermediates for the synthesis of nitrogenous heterocycles.

N-Benzyl-2-nitrobenzenesulfonamides underwent base-mediated intramolecular arylation at the benzyl sp(3) carbon to yield benzhydrylamines. The presence of electron withdrawing groups on the aromatic ring of the benzyl group was required to facilitate the C-arylation. Unsymmetrically substituted benzhydrylamines are advanced intermediates toward nitrogenous heterocycles, as exemplified in the syntheses of indazole oxides and quinazolines.

Base-mediated intramolecular C- and N-arylation of N,N-disubstituted 2-nitrobenzenesulfonamides: advanced intermediates for the synthesis of diverse nitrogenous heterocycles.

Structural and electronic features that facilitate and direct the intramolecular C- and N-arylation of 2-alkyl-2-{[N-(benzyl)-2-nitrophenyl]sulfonamido}acetic acid esters and amides were examined. The substitution pattern and amino acid carboxy-terminal functionality determined the arylation position. C/N-arylated products represent advanced intermediates for combinatorial synthesis of diverse nitrogenous heterocycles, including indazoles, quinazolinones, quinoxalinones, and 3-amino-2-oxindoles.

Effect of two simultaneous aza-ß3-amino acid substitutions on recognition of peptide substrates by cAMP dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit.

Peptidomimetic analogs of the hexapeptide RRASVA, containing simultaneously two aza-ß(3)-amino acid residues in different positions of this sequence, except for the phosphorylatable serine residue, were synthesized and tested as substrates for the cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit. All these peptidomimetics were phosphorylated by the enzyme and this reaction was characterized by the K(m) and k(cat) values as well as by the second-order rate constants k(II). Affinity and reactivity of all peptidomimetics was lower than that for the parent peptide RRASVA. The effect of backbone modification was dependent upon the positions where these two aza-ß(3) residues were located, although the sequence of amino acid side groups remained the same in all compounds. It was found that the influence of two backbone modifications in the substrate structure was not described additively, i.e. the effect of each structural alteration was dependent upon the position of the second modification. The results were in agreement with the concept of specificity-determining clusters in the sequence of peptide and peptidomimetic ligands, which predominantly determine the molecular recognition of these ligands by their target sites and therefore serve as major modification points for the design of activity of peptidomimetic ligands.

Nß-methylation changes the recognition pattern of aza-ß3-amino acid containing peptidomimetic substrates by protein kinase A.

The protein kinase A (PKA)-catalyzed phosphorylation of peptide substrate RRASVA analogs, containing Nß-Me-aza-ß3-amino acid residues in all subsequent positions, was studied. This work follows along the lines of our previous research of the phosphorylation of aza-ß3-analogs of RRASVA (the shortest active substrate of PKA) and allows characterizing the influence of Nß-methylation of aza-ß3-amino acid residues on substrate recognition by PKA on substrate binding and phosphorylation steps. It was found that the effect of Nß-methylation was dependent upon the position of the structure alteration. Moreover, the presence of a single Nß-methylation site in the substrate changed the recognition pattern of this series of peptidomimetics, strongly affecting the phosphorylation step. Structure modeling of aza-ß3- and Nß-Me-aza-ß3-containing substrates revealed that Nß-methylation of aza-ß3-moieties changed the peptide bond geometry from trans- to cis-configuration in -CO-NMe- fragments, with an exception for the N-terminally methylated Nß-Me-aza-ß3-RRRASVA (with the N-terminal amino group not participating in the peptide bond) and RRAS-Nß-Me-aza-ß3-VA. As has been shown in literature, this conformational preference of the backbone has a significant influence on the flexibility of the peptide substrate chain. Following our results, this property seems to have significant influence on the recognition of the amino acid side groups by the enzyme binding site, and in the case of PKA this structural modification was decisive for the phosphate transfer step of the catalytic process.

Aza-beta(3)-amino acid containing peptidomimetics as cAMP-dependent protein kinase substrates.

Peptidomimetic analogs of the peptide RRASVA, known as the "minimal substrate" of the catalytic subunit of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), were synthesized by consecutive replacement of natural amino acids by their aza-beta(3) analogs. The peptidomimetics were tested as PKA substrates and the kinetic parameters of the phosphorylation reaction were determined. It was found that the interaction of these peptidomimetics with the enzyme active center was sensitive to the location of the backbone modification, while the maximal rate of the reaction was practically not affected by the structure of substrates. The pattern of molecular recognition of peptidomimetics was in agreement with the results of structure modeling and also with the results of computational docking study of peptide and peptidomimetic substrates with the active center of PKA. It was concluded that the specificity determining factors which govern substrate recognition by the enzyme should be grouped along the phosphorylatable substrate, and such clustering might open new perspectives for pharmacophore design of peptides and peptide-like ligands.

Addition of arylboronic acids to symmetrical and unsymmetrical azo compounds.

[reaction: see text] The addition of aryl- and heteroarylboronic acids to azo compounds is described. Copper salt catalysis was necessary to perform the reaction under mild conditions and high yields. Excellent regioselectivity was observed in addition to unsymmetrical azo compounds.