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Quantitative NMR in synthetic and combinatorial chemistry.

The applications of quantitative NMR to synthetic organic chemistry are reviewed with taking into account both the small libraries (100-150 compounds) and the single, well-characterized substance. The precision and accuracy which are obtained with state of the art instrumentation--both around 1%--rival with other classical tools of quantitative analytics, and qNMR does not require a specific method setup or a standard of the same substance. This characteristic makes it the method of choice in an environment where many different molecules are investigated and reliable quantification is required. NMR may effectively replace other standard characterization tools, such as CHNS analysis, or even complex, multi-determination results as commonly required for the assessment of absolute purity or strength of a substance, when no specific standard is available. Finally, because of the high precision and intrinsic accuracy, quantitative NMR appears the ideal reference method for the validation of other, more rapid, generic techniques for quantitative analysis.

Combinatorial Chemistry Techniques↗

Biomimetically inspired total synthesis and structure activity relationships of 1-O-methyllateriflorone. 6 pi electrocyclizations in organic synthesis.

The total synthesis of 1-O-methyllateriflorone (2) is described. The construction of the cage-like domain of the molecule involved a biomimetic Claisen/Diels-Alder cascade, whereas the novel spiroxalactone framework was generated by an intramolecular Michael reaction within precursor 16a involving the carboxylate residue as the nucleophile. This finding might bear on the biosynthetic pathway by which nature forms lateriflorone. Described herein is also an interesting cascade sequence involving facile 6 pi electrocyclizations which leads to complex benzopyran systems. The biological evaluation of a small library of lateriflorone analogues and related systems establishing the first SAR within this class of compounds is also included. Among the most active compounds against tumor cells are 2, 16b, 56, 58, and 59.

Benzopyrans↗

Evaluation of 3-carboxy-4(1H)-quinolones as inhibitors of human protein kinase CK2.

Due to the emerging role of protein kinase CK2 as a molecule that participates not only in the development of some cancers but also in viral infections and inflammatory failures, small organic inhibitors of CK2, besides application in scientific research, may have therapeutic significance. In this paper, we present a new class of CK2 inhibitors-3-carboxy-4(1H)-quinolones. This class of inhibitors has been selected via receptor-based virtual screening of the Otava compound library. It was revealed that the most active compounds, 5,6,8-trichloro-4-oxo-1,4-dihydroquinoline-3-carboxylic acid (7) (IC(50) = 0.3 microM) and 4-oxo-1,4-dihydrobenzo[h]quinoline-3-carboxylic acid (9) (IC(50) = 1 microM), are ATP competitive (K(i) values are 0.06 and 0.28 microM, respectively). Evaluation of the inhibitors on seven protein kinases shows considerable selectivity toward CK2. According to theoretical calculations and experimental data, a structural model describing the key features of 3-carboxy-4(1H)-quinolones responsible for tight binding to CK2 active site has been developed.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Identification of a motif for HLA-DR1 binding peptides using M13 display libraries.

Oligonucleotides encoding peptides known to bind to HLA-DR1 molecules have been inserted into the gene III of filamentous M13 phages. DR1 molecules purified from human lymphoblastoid cell lines could specifically bind to these peptide sequences expressed on the phage surface. A M13 phage peptide library was next constructed and screened with DR1 molecules. After four rounds of selection, more than 80% of the phages were able to bind to DR1. Competition experiments with both isolated phages and corresponding synthetic peptides showed that the binding was specific. Sequence analysis of the peptide encoding region of 60 phages binding to DR1 molecules and comparison with phages of the original library revealed two potential anchor positions. The first was an aromatic residue (Tyr, Phe, or Trp) at the NH2 terminus of the peptide sequences, and the second was located three residues downstream and consisted of Met or Leu. In addition, the negatively charged amino acids Asp and Glu were mostly excluded from the DR1 binding sequences, and the small amino acid residues Gly and Ala were enriched at position 6. As for DR1, this approach should enable one to easily determine the binding motifs of other MHC class II alleles and isotypes. Furthermore, it could have interesting applications in the design of major histocompatibility complex-specific antagonists.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Occurrence of PG-Lb, a leucine-rich small chondroitin/dermatan sulphate proteoglycan in mammalian epiphyseal cartilage: molecular cloning and sequence analysis of the mouse cDNA.

PG-Lb is a chondroitin/dermatan sulphate proteoglycan first isolated from chick embryo limb cartilage. It had been assumed that osteoglycin represents its mammalian homologue. However, partial amino acid sequences of a novel proteoglycan from bovine epiphyseal cartilage showed high identity with those of chick PG-Lb (P. Neame, L. Rosenberg and M. Höök, personal communication). Reverse transcriptase PCR using degenerate oligonucleotide primers gave a cDNA fragment that might correspond to mouse PG-Lb. We isolated a clone from a cDNA library of newborn mouse epiphyseal cartilage using the cDNA fragment as a probe. The cloned cDNA was 1430 bp long and contained a 966 bp open reading frame which encoded the core protein consisting of 322 amino acid residues. The deduced amino acid sequence showed a high overall identity with chick PG-Lb (about 62%, reaching about 80% over the carboxyl two-thirds). In addition, the amino acid sequence contained a signal peptide, six cysteine residues at the invariant relative position to chick PG-Lb, six leucine-rich repeats at the carboxyl two-thirds, three possible glycosaminoglycan-attachment sites (two sites at the N-terminal side and one site at the C-terminus) and two possible Asn-glycosylation sites near the C-terminus. Northernblot analysis demonstrated the specific expression of a 1.5 kb message in cartilage and testis. These structural features and the characteristic expression suggest that the cloned molecule is mouse PG-Lb.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Cloning and characterization of the Aspergillus nidulans DNA topoisomerase I gene.

The topoisomerase I (TOP1) gene was cloned and sequenced from Aspergillus nidulans using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Genomic DNA was used as a template to obtain a 2987-bp gene containing five small introns. PCR from a cDNA library yielded a 2613-bp sequence which codes for an 871 amino acid protein. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence with other DNA topoisomerase I (topo I) protein sequences shows a somewhat higher degree of identity with other fungal amino acid sequences than with the human enzyme. Topo I is a ubiquitous enzyme which can be converted to a cytotoxic molecule in the presence of drugs that function as topo I poisons. The Aspergillus TOP1 cDNA will be used in an effort to identify novel cytotoxic antifungals which target this enzyme.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Murine leukemia RL male 1 and sarcoma Meth A antigens recognized by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL).

Peptide elution and expression cloning methods have been used to identify T cell-recognized antigens for which no molecular information is available. We identified a unique tumor antigen peptide pRL1a, IPGLPLSL that is recognized by CTL on BALB/c RL male 1 leukemia by peptide elution. The sequence of the peptide corresponded to the normally untranslated 5' region of akt. Cytotoxicity was generated in BALB/c spleen cells by in vivo and in vitro sensitization with pRL1a peptide in the form of multiple antigen peptide (MAP), but not the original form. pRL1a MAP immunization had a significant growth-inhibitory effect. pRL1a MAP was mostly internalized into the endosomal compartment of antigen-presenting cells, leaked to the cytosol, and degraded, and the pRL1a peptide produced was presented through the MHC class I pathway. In vivo depletion of CD4 T cells from tumor-inoculated BALB/c mice caused RL male 1 regression. Overexpression of the RLakt molecule seemed to induce CD4 immunoregulatory cells, which resulted in progressive RL male 1 growth in BALB/c mice. In vivo administration of anti-CD25 mAb (PC61) caused regression of RL male 1, suggesting that CD4(+) CD25(+) immunoregulatory cells were involved in the tumor growth. Recently, we improved the sensitivity and the efficacy of T cell antigen cloning from cDNA expression libraries by using large- and small-scale ELISPOT assays. Using the IFN-gamma ELISPOT method, we obtained a cDNA clone S35 of 937 bp recognized by AT-1 CTL on BALB/c Meth A sarcoma. S35 was a part of the retinoic acid-regulated nuclear matrix-associated protein (ramp). AT-1 CTL recognized the peptide LGAEAIFRL, which was derived from a newly created open reading frame due to the exon 14 extension.

Animals↗

Aptamers as reagents for high-throughput screening.

The identification of new drug candidates from chemical libraries is a major component of discovery research in many pharmaceutical companies. Given the large size of many conventional and combinatorial libraries and the rapid increase in the number of possible therapeutic targets, the speed with which efficient high-throughput screening (HTS) assays can be developed can be a rate-limiting step in the discovery process. We show here that aptamers, nucleic acids that bind other molecules with high affinity, can be used as versatile reagents in competition binding HTS assays to identify and optimize small-molecule ligands to protein targets. To illustrate this application, we have used labeled aptamers to platelet-derived growth factor B-chain and wheat germ agglutinin to screen two sets of potential small-molecule ligands. In both cases, binding affinities of all ligands tested (small molecules and aptamers) were strongly correlated with their inhibitory potencies in functional assays. The major advantages of using aptamers in HTS assays are speed of aptamer identification, high affinity of aptamers for protein targets, relatively large aptamer-protein interaction surfaces, and compatibility with various labeling/detection strategies. Aptamers may be particularly useful in HTS assays with protein targets that have no known binding partners such as orphan receptors. Since aptamers that bind to proteins are often specific and potent antagonists of protein function, the use of aptamers for target validation can be coupled with their subsequent use in HTS.

Animals↗

A pentavalent single-domain antibody approach to tumor antigen discovery and the development of novel proteomics reagents.

Proteomics research has delivered many novel tumor targets. However, due to key limitations, it does not specifically identify targets that are most accessible for drug delivery, such as cell-surface antigens. A novel tumor antigen discovery platform based on screening a single domain antibody (sdAb) library against tumor cells and subsequently identifying the corresponding antigens of the isolated antibodies is described. An sdAb, AFAI, specific for non-small cell lung carcinoma (A549 cell line) was isolated from a phage library derived from the heavy chain antibody repertoire of a llama. The homopentamerization property of a non-toxic verotoxin B-subunit was exploited to make the ES1 pentabody, a pentameric form of AFAI. Pentamerization improved the binding of the AFAI to A549 cells dramatically and greatly facilitated antigen identification by a Western blotting/mass spectrometry approach. The antigen of ES1, which is present only in the hydrophobic, not in the hydrophilic, fraction of A549 cellular proteins, was identified as carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 6 (CEA6). CEA6 was observed to be acidic and highly glycosylated, and to exist in multiple glycoforms. The results show that the platform described here should find wide application in antigen discovery, and demonstrated that the pentabodies are very useful immunological reagents for proteomics.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Data management solutions for protein therapeutic research and development.

Protein therapeutics, including monoclonal antibodies, are a growing focus of drug discovery research organizations. High-throughput screening of large libraries of protein variants is therefore becoming increasingly important in R&D. As a result, there is a need to link large numbers of variant protein sequences with chemical and biological assay data. This integration will allow more efficient data mining and facilitate decision-making regarding hit identification, lead optimization and drug development. In this paper, we present an implementation in which a widely used small-molecule high-throughput screening data management system has been adapted to meet the unique needs of protein drug discovery and development.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

How to acquire new biological activities in old compounds by computer prediction.

Due to the directed way of testing chemical compounds' in drug research and development many projects fail because serious adverse effects and toxicity are discovered too late, and many existing prospective activities remain unstudied. Evaluation of the general biological potential of molecules is possible using a computer program PASS that predicts more than 780 pharmacological effects, mechanisms of action, mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, etc. on the basis of structural formulae of compounds, with average accuracy approximately 85%. PASS applications to both databases of available samples included hundreds of thousands compounds, and small collections of compounds synthesized by separate medicinal chemists are described. It is shown that 880 compounds from Prestwick chemical library represent a very diverse pharmacological space. New activities can be found in existing compounds by prediction. Therefore, on this basis, the selection of compounds with required and without unwanted properties is possible. Even when PASS cannot predict very new activities, it may recognize some unwanted actions at the early stage of R&D, providing the medicinal chemist with the means to increase the efficiency of projects.

Computer Simulation↗

Purification and characterization of a surface protein from Lactobacillus fermentum 104R that binds to porcine small intestinal mucus and gastric mucin.

An adhesion-promoting protein involved in the binding of Lactobacillus fermentum strain 104R to small intestinal mucus from piglets and to partially purified gastric mucin was isolated and characterized. Spent culture supernatant fluid and bacterial cell wall extracts were fractionated by ammonium sulfate precipitation and gel filtration. The active fraction was purified by affinity chromatography. The adhesion-promoting protein was detected in the fractions by adhesion inhibition and dot blot assays and visualized by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), sodium dodecyl sulfate-PAGE, and Western blotting with horseradish peroxidase-labeled mucus and mucin. The active fraction was characterized by estimating the relative molecular weight and by assessing the presence of carbohydrates in, and heat sensitivity of, the active region of the adhesion-promoting protein. The purified protein was digested with porcine trypsin, and the peptides were purified in a SMART system. The peptides were tested for adhesion to horseradish peroxidase-labeled mucin by using the dot blot adhesion assay. Peptides which bound mucin were sequenced. It was shown that the purified adhesion-promoting protein on the cell surface of L. fermentum 104R is extractable with 1 M LiCl and low concentrations of lysozyme but not with 0.2 M glycine. The protein could be released to the culture supernatant fluid after 24 h of growth and had affinity for both small intestinal mucus and gastric mucin. In the native state this protein was variable in size, and it had a molecular mass of 29 kDa when denatured. The denatured protein did not contain carbohydrate moieties and was not heat sensitive. Alignment of amino acids of the adhering peptides with sequences deposited in the EMBL data library showed poor homology with previously published sequences. The protein represents an important molecule for development of probiotics.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Uncompetitive antagonism of AMPA receptors: Mechanistic insights from studies of polyamine toxin derivatives.

Philanthotoxins are uncompetitive antagonists of Ca2+-permeable AMPA receptors presumed to bind to the pore-forming region, but a detailed molecular mechanism for this interaction is missing. Here a small library of novel philanthotoxins was designed and synthesized using a solid-phase strategy. The biological activities were investigated at cloned and "native" AMPA receptors using electrophysiological techniques. A distinct relationship between length of the polyamine moiety and the location of a secondary amino group was observed. Fitting the data to the Woodhull equation allowed the first experimental demonstration of the relative location and orientation of the philanthotoxin molecule in the receptor. These results were corroborated by in silico studies using a homology model of the AMPA receptor ion channel. Together these studies provide strong evidence for a molecular mechanism by which polyamine toxins antagonize the AMPA receptor ion channel and provide the basis for rational development of uncompetitive antagonists of AMPA receptors.

Animals↗

Commercial potential of RNAi.

The commercial potential of RNAi is assessed on the basis of successful translation of technology into applications in three areas: (1) drug discovery and research-currently the biggest segment; (2) potential therapeutic applications; and (3) the role of microRNA in molecular diagnostics. RNAi is an important method for analyzing gene function and identifying new drug targets that use dsRNA to knock down or silence specific genes. Sets of siRNAs focused on a specific gene class (siRNA libraries) have the capacity to greatly increase the pace of pathway analysis and functional genomics. RNAi plays an important role in drug discovery by facilitating target validation. The discovery of the role of microRNA (miRNAs) in various pathological processes opens up possible applications in molecular diagnostics, particularly that of cancer. The advantages of RNAi-based therapeutics over traditional pharmaceuticals include the capability for more specific therapies with small molecule siRNA. Drawbacks include the development of resistance in cancer and viral infections as well as the interferon effect. RNAi is closely related to gene therapy and the vectors developed for gene therapy are also being used for delivery of siRNAs. RNAi, along with other related technologies, will contribute to the development of personalised medicine. Although none of the RNAi-based drugs is in the market yet, some are in clinical trials. By the year 2010 the market for RNAi-based drugs is expected to be worth 3.5 billion dollars and is expected to expand to 10.5 billion dollars by the year 2015.

Chemistry, Pharmaceutical↗

One-step single-chain Fv recombinant antibody-based purification of gp96 for vaccine development.

Heat shock proteins such as gp96 (grp94) isolated from tumor or infected cells are able to induce specific cytotoxic T-cell responses and protective immunity. To facilitate rapid and efficient isolation, we generated gp96-specific recombinant single-chain Fv (scFv) antibodies from a semisynthetic phage display library. When immobilized on Sepharose beads, these antibodies allow a high-yield, one-step purification of native gp96 molecules from both mouse and human tumor cell lysates. gp96 molecules eluted from these affinity columns under mild conditions are still capable of generating antigen-specific CTL responses in mice. Thus, scFv-purified gp96 is still associated with peptides; however, in contrast to conventionally purified gp96, scFv-isolated gp96 is free of contaminating material such as mitogenic concanavalin A and proteolytic cathepsins. With the help of these high-yield antibody columns, it is now possible to rapidly isolate immunogenic gp96-peptide complexes from small amounts of tumor material to a purity that allows their use in cancer immunotherapy protocols.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The centroidal algorithm in molecular similarity and diversity calculations on confidential datasets.

Chemical structure provides exhaustive description of a compound, but it is often proprietary and thus an impediment in the exchange of information. For example, structure disclosure is often needed for the selection of most similar or dissimilar compounds. Authors propose a centroidal algorithm based on structural fragments (screens) that can be efficiently used for the similarity and diversity selections without disclosing structures from the reference set. For an increased security purposes, authors recommend that such set contains at least some tens of structures. Analysis of reverse engineering feasibility showed that the problem difficulty grows with decrease of the screen's radius. The algorithm is illustrated with concrete calculations on known steroidal, quinoline, and quinazoline drugs. We also investigate a problem of scaffold identification in combinatorial library dataset. The results show that relatively small screens of radius equal to 2 bond lengths perform well in the similarity sorting, while radius 4 screens yield better results in diversity sorting. The software implementation of the algorithm taking SDF file with a reference set generates screens of various radii which are subsequently used for the similarity and diversity sorting of external SDFs. Since the reverse engineering of the reference set molecules from their screens has the same difficulty as the RSA asymmetric encryption algorithm, generated screens can be stored openly without further encryption. This approach ensures an end user transfers only a set of structural fragments and no other data. Like other algorithms of encryption, the centroid algorithm cannot give 100% guarantee of protecting a chemical structure from dataset, but probability of initial structure identification is very small-order of 10(-40) in typical cases.

Algorithms↗

Recent developments in the combinatorial synthesis of nitrogen heterocycles using solid phase technology.

Recognizing the potential of combinatorial chemistry to accelerate drug discovery and development, most pharmaceutical and related industries are seriously looking toward combinatorial synthesis of compounds in order to facilitate the identification of 'lead' molecules. In particular, solid phase synthesis is the core technology for combinatorial chemistry and is widely used for generating libraries of structurally related compounds. Since many drugs contain the nitrogen heterocyclic component and since heterocycles possess a high order of structural diversity, a precise overview of recent progress in the combinatorial synthesis of nitrogen heterocycles using solid phase methodology would be useful. Since the progress in solid phase synthesis of organic molecules has been reviewed regularly from 1992 to 1998, only the development of solid phase combinatorial synthetic approaches of small nitrogen heterocycles since 1999 will be reviewed here. This review describes the solid phase synthesis of azepanes, benzodiazepines, benzimidazoles, benzothiazepines, cinnolines, indolizines, beta lactams, oxazepins, oxazoles including benzisooxazoles, hydantoins, piperidines, pyrimidines, pyrazolones, quinolones, trizolopyridazines and thiazoles.

Combinatorial Chemistry Techniques↗

Acquisition of a specific and potent PTP1B inhibitor from a novel combinatorial library and screening procedure.

Protein-tyrosine phosphatases (PTPases) form a large family of enzymes that serve as key regulatory components in signal transduction pathways. Defective or inappropriate regulation of PTPase activity leads to aberrant tyrosine phosphorylation, which contributes to the development of many human diseases including cancers and diabetes. For example, recent gene knockout studies in mice identify PTP1B as a promising target for anti-diabetes/obesity drug discovery. Thus, there is intense interest in obtaining specific and potent PTPase inhibitors for biological studies and pharmacological development. However, given the highly conserved nature of the PTPase active site, it is unclear whether selectivity in PTPase inhibition can be achieved. We describe a combinatorial approach that is designed to target both the active site and a unique peripheral site in PTP1B. Compounds that can simultaneously associate with both sites are expected to exhibit enhanced affinity and specificity. We also describe a novel affinity-based high-throughput assay procedure that can be used for PTPase inhibitor screening. The combinatorial library/high-throughput screen protocols furnished a small molecule PTP1B inhibitor that is both potent (K(i) = 2.4 nm) and selective (little or no activity against a panel of phosphatases including Yersinia PTPase, SHP1, SHP2, LAR, HePTP, PTPalpha, CD45, VHR, MKP3, Cdc25A, Stp1, and PP2C). These results demonstrate that it is possible to acquire potent, yet highly selective inhibitors for individual members of the large PTPase family of enzymes.

Animals↗