Synthesis of conformationally North-locked pyrimidine nucleosides built on an oxabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane scaffold.

Beginning with a known 3-oxabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane scaffold (I), the relocation of the fused cyclopropane ring bond and the shifting of the oxygen atom to an alternative location engendered a new 2-oxabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane template (II) that mimics more closely the tetrahydrofuran ring of conventional nucleosides. The synthesis of this new class of locked nucleosides involved a novel approach that required the isocyanate II (B = NCO) with a hydroxyl-protected scaffold as a pivotal intermediate that was obtained in 11 steps from a known dihydrofuran precursor. The completion of the nucleobases was successfully achieved by quenching the isocyanate with the lithium salts of the corresponding acrylic amides that led to the uracil and thymidine precursors in a single step. Ring closure of these intermediates led to the target, locked nucleosides. The anti-HIV activity of 29 (uridine analogue), 31 (thymidine analogue), and 34 (cytidine analogue) was explored in human osteosarcoma (HOS) cells or modified HOS cells (HOS-313) expressing the herpes simplex virus 1 thymidine kinase (HSV-1 TK). Only the cytidine analogue showed moderate activity in HOS-313 cells, which means that the compounds are not good substrates for the cellular kinases.

Activation of glycosyl trichloroacetimidates with perchloric acid on silica (HClO(4)-SiO(2)) provides enhanced alpha-selectivity.

Obtaining high stereoselectivity in glycosylation reactions is often challenging in the absence of neighboring group participation. In this study, we demonstrate that activation of glycosyl trichloroacetimidate donors with immobilized perchloric acid on silica (HClO(4)-SiO(2)) provides higher alpha-selectivity than trimethylsilyl triflate (TMSOTf) for reactions that do not involve neighboring group participation.

Synthesis and conformational analysis of locked carbocyclic analogues of 1,3-diazepinone riboside, a high-affinity cytidine deaminase inhibitor.

Cytidine deaminase (CDA) catalyzes the deamination of cytidine via a hydrated transition-state intermediate that results from the nucleophilic attack of zinc-bound water at the active site. Nucleoside analogues where the leaving NH(3) group is replaced by a proton and prevent conversion of the transition state to product are very potent inhibitors of the enzyme. However, stable carbocyclic versions of these analogues are less effective as the role of the ribose in facilitating formation of hydrated species is abolished. The discovery that a 1,3-diazepinone riboside (4) operated as a tight-binding inhibitor of CDA independent of hydration provided the opportunity to study novel inhibitors built as conformationally locked, carbocyclic 1,3-diazepinone nucleosides to determine the enzyme's conformational preference for a specific form of sugar pucker. This work describes the synthesis of two target bicyclo[3.1.0]hexane nucleosides, locked as north (5) and south (6) conformers, as well as a flexible analogue (7) built with a cyclopentane ring. The seven-membered 1,3-diazepinone ring in all the three targets was built from the corresponding benzoyl-protected carbocyclic bis-allyl ureas by ring-closing metathesis. The results demonstrate CDA's binding preference for a south sugar pucker in agreement with the high-resolution crystal structures of other CDA inhibitors bound at the active site.

Contrasting behavior of conformationally locked carbocyclic nucleosides of adenosine and cytidine as substrates for deaminases.

In addition to the already known differences between adenosine deaminase (ADA) and cytidine deaminase (CDA) in terms of their tertiary structure, the sphere of Zn(+2) coordination, and their reverse stereochemical preference, we present evidence that the enzymes also differ significantly in terms of the North/South conformational preferences for their substrates and the extent to which the lack of the O(4') oxygen affects the kinetics of the enzymatic deamination of carbocyclic substrates. The carbocyclic nucleoside substrates used in this study have either a flexible cyclopentane ring or a rigid bicyclo[3.1.0]hexane scaffold.

A greener enantioselective synthesis of the antiviral agent North-methanocarbathymidine (N-MCT) from 2-deoxy-d-ribose.

An enantioselective synthesis of suitably protected (1R,2S,4S,5S)-4-amino-1-(hydroxymethyl)bicyclo[3.1.0]hexan-2-ol, a key starting material for the synthesis of conformationally locked carbocyclic nucleosides, including the antiviral active North-methanocarba thymidine, is reported. Starting from 2-deoxyribose the target Boc-protected amine was prepared in 33% overall yield under condition that are ecologically friendlier than previous methods.

Synthesis of conformationally locked carbocyclic 1,3-diazepinone nucleosides as inhibitors of cytidine deaminase.

We synthesized a series of carbocyclic nucleoside inhibitors of cytidine deaminase (CDA) based on a seven-membered 1,3-diazepin-2-one moiety. In the key step, the seven-membered ring was formed by a ring-closing-metathesis reaction. Therefore, the bis-allyl-urea moiety had to be protected by benzoylation in order to obtain an orientation suitable for ring closure. To our surprise, the analogue built on a flexible sugar template (4) showed a 100-fold stronger inhibition of CDA than the derivative with the preferred south-conformation.