The first solid-phase synthesis of the natural product gougerotin has been accomplished. The synthetic route is versatile and allows for diversification at position C-4 of the heterocycle, C-6' of the sugar ring, and both residues of the peptidic moiety at N-4' in a parallel fashion. [structure: see text]

We report on lead optimization of a compound that was originally discovered to bind bacterial 23S rRNA near the L11 binding site and inhibit translation in vitro, but lacked detectible antibacterial activity. In this study, we were able to generate compounds with antibacterial activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens, including a methicillin-resistant S. aureus strain.

A structure-activity relationship analysis was carried out on a high-throughput small molecule screening lead for HCV-IRES translation inhibition. The study led to the identification of a guanidine-based structure with low muM inhibitory activity. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The preparation and evaluation of 2-aminobenzimidazole dimers as antibacterial agents is described. Biological screening of the dimers indicated that compounds with multiple chloro substituents possessed optimal antibacterial activity.

Novel quinolone-macrocycle conjugates displayed submicromolar antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacterial strains. An analogous open-chain structure was not active at 100 microM against the same pathogenic strains.

A mixture-based combinatorial library of 14-membered macrocycles was synthesized to target ribosomal RNA and uncover a new class of antibacterial agents. High-throughput screening identified a macrocyclic mixture that inhibited cell-free-coupled transcription/translation in Escherichia coli-derived extracts, with an IC(50) value in the 25-50 microM range. In a follow-up library of 64 single macrocycles, 8 gave IC(50) values ranging from 12 to 50 microM in the cell-free protein synthesis inhibition assay. Some of the macrocycles were screened in a translation inhibition assay, and IC(50) values generally paralleled those obtained in the uncoupled transcription/translation assay. Additional analogues were prepared in a preliminary structure-activity relationship study, and more potent macrocycles were identified with low micromolar activity (IC(50) values = 2-3 microM). Some of these macrocycles displayed antibacterial activity against lipopolysaccharide mutant E. coli bacterial cells (IC(50) values = 12-50 microM).

A technique for lead discovery vs RNA targets utilizing mass spectrometry (MS) screening methods is described. The structure-activity relationships (SAR) derived from assaying weak binding motifs allows the pharmacophores discovered to be elaborated via "SAR by MS" to higher affinity ligands. Application of this strategy to a subdomain of the 23S rRNA afforded a new class of compounds with functional activity.

Slow kinetics of homopyrimidine PNA binding to single stranded DNA and RNA targets is manifested in significant hysteresis in thermal UV absorption experiments. We have compared temperatures of dissociation (Tdis) and reassociation (Tass) for triplexes formed by DNA and single or bis PNAs with K50 derived from gel mobility experiments. Results indicated there was no correlation between Tdis and K50 while reasonable correlation between Tass and K50 was found. This correlation enabled use of easy thermal UV absorption experiments for evaluation of PNA binding to DNA/RNA targets.

Chemical modification of pre-formed asymmetric polyazaphane scaffolds by simultaneous addition of Functionality (letters) in solution has been developed for the preparation of tertiary nitrogen-based combinatorial chemistry libraries. This approach has some significant advantages over the more commonly employed solid phase bead splitting/resction/mixing procedures for the preparation of libraries. Three novel, asymmetric polyazaphanes 32, 33, and 37 have been synthesized in high yields by an efficient cyclization of 2,6-bis(bronzomethyl)pyridine (31) with new orthogonally protected triamines 29, 30, and 35, respectively. Selective deprotection of 32, 33, and 37 provided mono-t-Boc-protected scaffolds 1-3 suitable for solution phase, simultaneous addition of functionalities. Model studies of small libraries of scaffold 2 using CZE analyses indicated that simultaneous addition of 10 benzylic bromide alkylating functionalities would result in libraries containing approximately equimolar amounts of all possible compounds. Sixteen purified tertiary amine libraries 4-19 (total complexity of 1600 compounds) were generated by this procedure from scaffold 2. A ''fix-last'' combinatorial method was devised to minimize chemical reactions. Several first-round sublibraries of scaffold 2, containing a mixture of 100 compounds, exhibited potent antimicrobial activities. Twenty single compounds 63-82 with uniform functionalities at the combinatorialized sites were synthesized. Some of these pure compounds were more active, while others were less active, compared with the parent mixtures 5 and 10.

Novel linear pyridinopolyamine derivatives 1-3, 7, and 8 have been synthesized as scaffolds for combinatorial drug discovery. The mono-t-Boc- and monotosyl-protected linear scaffolds 1 and 2 were obtained by a Schiff base type cyclization of 2,6-pyridinedicarboxaldehyde (24) with monoprotected triamines 22 and 23 using Ni2+ as a metal template, followed by reductive cleavage and decomplexation in a one-pot procedure. The unprotected linear scaffold 3 was obtained by treating 1 with TFA, Scaffold 1 was also synthesized from the orthogonally protected pyridinopolyamine 7 which was constructed from 2,6-bis(bromomethylipyridine (29) in four steps. Selective deprotection of the key intermediate 7 afforded 8, which was further selectively deprotected to give scaffold 1. A combinatorial chemistry strategy involving solution phase simultaneous addition of functionalities (SPSAF) is described. Thirteen high-purity tertiary amine libraries 19-21) (total 1638 compounds) were synthesized by the SPSAF and fix last methodologies from linear polyamine scaffolds 1 and 2. All libraries were examined by TLC, purified by chromatographic techniques, and characterized by H-1 NMR and ESI RIS spectral data. A fur last methodology was utilized to minimize chemical reactions and perform SAR studies directly on libraries. Several first-round sublibraries of scaffold 1 containing 126 compounds each, exhibited potent antibacterial activity with MICs of 1-12 mu M against Streptococcus pyogenes and Escherichia coli imp(-).

The thermal stabilities of the duplexes formed between 4'-thio-modified oligodeoxynucleotides and their DNA and RNA complementary strands were determined and compared with those of the corresponding unmodified oligodeoxynucleotides. A 16mer oligodeoxynucleotide containing 10 contiguous 4'-thiothymidylate modifications formed a less stable duplex with the DNA target (Delta T-m/modification -1.0 degrees C) than the corresponding unmodified oligodeoxynucleotide. However, when the same oligodeoxynucleotide was bound to the corresponding RNA target, a small increase in T-m was observed (Delta T-m/modification +0.16 degrees C) when compared with the unmodified duplex, A study to identify the specificity of an oligodeoxynucleotide containing a 4'-thiothymidylate modification when forming a duplex with DNA or RNA containing a single mismatch opposite the modification found the resulting T(m)s to be almost identical to the wild-type duplexes, demonstrating that the 4'-thio-modification in oligodeoxynucleotides has no deleterious effect on specificity. The nuclease stability of 4'-thio-modified oligodeoxynucleotides was examined using snake venom phosphodiesterase (SVPD) and nuclease S1. No significant resistance to degradation by the exonuclease SVPD was observed when compared with the corresponding unmodified oligodeoxynucleotide. However, 4'-thio-modified oligodeoxynucleotides were found to be highly resistant to degradation by the endonuclease S1. It was also demonstrated that 4'-thio-modified oligodeoxynucleotides elicit Escherichia coli RNase H hydrolysis of the RNA target only at high enzyme concentration.

The nuclease stability and melting temperatures (Tm) were compared for fully modified oligoribonucleotide sequences containing 2'-fluoro, 2'-O-methyl, 2'-O-propyl and 2'-O-pentyl nucleotides. Duplexes formed between 2' modified oligoribonucleotides and RNA have typical A-form geometry as observed by circular dichroism spectroscopy. Modifications, with the exception of 2'-O-pentyl, were observed to increase the Tm of duplexes formed with complementary RNA. Modified homoduplexes showed significantly higher Tms, with the following Tm order: 2'-fluoro:2'fluoro > 2'-O-propyl:2'-O-propyl > 2'-O-methyl:2'-O- methyl > RNA:RNA > DNA:DNA. The nuclease stability of 2'-modified oligoribonucleotides was examined using snake venom phosphodiesterase (SVPD) and nuclease S1. The stability imparted by 2' modifications was observed to correlate with the size of the modification. An additional level of nuclease stability was present in oligoribonucleotides having the potential for forming secondary structure, but only for 2' modified oligoribonucleotides and not for 2'-deoxy oligoribonucleotides.

Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) strand invasion offers an attractive alternative to DNA oligonucleotide directed triplex formation as a potential tool for gene inhibition. Peptide nucleic acid has been shown to interact with duplex DNA in a process which involves strand invasion of the duplex and binding of one of the DNA strands with two PNA oligomers. By blocking the interaction of a transcription factor with 5' regulatory sequences, PNA might specifically down-regulate gene activity. Here we demonstrate that PNA is capable of specifically blocking interaction of the transcription factor NF-kappa B with the IL2-R alpha NF kappa-B binding site in vitro. We further demonstrate that this interaction is sufficient to prevent transcriptional transactivation both in vitro and when transfected into cells in culture.

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVArticleNEXTSingle and Bis Peptide Nucleic Acids as Triplexing Agents: Binding and StoichiometryMichael C. Griffith, Lisa M. Risen, Michael J. Greig, Elena A. Lesnik, Kelly G. Sprankle, Rich H. Griffey, John S. Kiely, and Susan M. FreierCite this: J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1995, 117, 2, 831–832Publication Date (Print):January 1, 1995Publication History Published online1 May 2002Published inissue 1 January 1995https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ja00107a033https://doi.org/10.1021/ja00107a033research-articleACS PublicationsRequest reuse permissionsArticle Views538Altmetric-Citations119LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail Other access optionsGet e-AlertscloseSupporting Info (2)»Supporting Information Supporting Information Get e-Alerts