The reaction of N-arylhydroxamic acids and N-aryl-N-alkylhydroxylamines with ynamines, α-chloroenamines, β-chloro-α,β-ethylenic esters, α,β-acetylenic esters, and α-allenic esters was investigated. N-Aryl-O-vinylhydroxylamines were presumably formed but underwent immediate [3,3] sigmatropic rearrangement at 0°C to α-aryl carbonyl compounds. These addition-rearrangement reactions afford a new synthetic approach for O-alkylation of aromatic rings and for the preparation of indoles.

The methylerythritol phosphate biosynthetic pathway, found in most Bacteria, some parasitic protists, and plant chloroplasts, converts D-glyceraldehyde phosphate and pyruvate to isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP), where it intersects with the mevalonate pathway found in some Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya, including the cytosol of plants. D-3-Methylerythritol-4-phosphate (MEP), the first pathway-specific intermediate in the pathway, is converted to IPP and DMAPP by the consecutive action of the IspD-H proteins. We synthesized five D-MEP analogues-D-erythritol-4-phosphate (EP), D-3-methylthrietol-4-phosphate (MTP), D-3-ethylerythritol-4-phosphate (EEP), D-1-amino-3-methylerythritol-4-phosphate (NMEP), and D-3-methylerythritol-4-thiolophosphate (MESP)-and studied their ability to function as alternative substrates for the reactions catalyzed by the IspDF fusion and IspE proteins from Agrobacterium tumefaciens, which covert MEP to the corresponding eight-membered cyclic diphosphate. All of the analogues, except MTP, and their products were substrates for the three consecutive enzymes.

Valerian is an herbal preparation from the roots of Valeriana officinalis used as an anxiolytic and sedative and in the treatment of insomnia. The biological activities of valerian are attributed to valerenic acid and its putative biosynthetic precursor valerenadiene, sesquiterpenes, found in V. officinalis roots. These sesquiterpenes retain an isobutenyl side chain whose origin has been long recognized as enigmatic because a chemical rationalization for their biosynthesis has not been obvious. Using recently developed metabolomic and transcriptomic resources, we identified seven V. officinalis terpene synthase genes (VoTPSs), two that were functionally characterized as monoterpene synthases and three that preferred farnesyl diphosphate, the substrate for sesquiterpene synthases. The reaction products for two of the sesquiterpene synthases exhibiting root-specific expression were characterized by a combination of GC-MS and NMR in comparison to the terpenes accumulating in planta. VoTPS7 encodes for a synthase that biosynthesizes predominately germacrene C, whereas VoTPS1 catalyzes the conversion of farnesyl diphosphate to valerena-1,10-diene. Using a yeast expression system, specific labeled [(13)C]acetate, and NMR, we investigated the catalytic mechanism for VoTPS1 and provide evidence for the involvement of a caryophyllenyl carbocation, a cyclobutyl intermediate, in the biosynthesis of valerena-1,10-diene. We suggest a similar mechanism for the biosynthesis of several other biologically related isobutenyl-containing sesquiterpenes.

A concise preparation of the pheromone secreted by the male Colorado potato beetle [viz. (3S)-1,3-dihydroxy-3,7-dimethyl-6-octen-2-one] was accomplished in four steps starting from 2-fluoronerol or 2-fluorogeraniol. The key step in the synthesis involves a 6-endo epoxide ring-opening with ester participation that simultaneously inverts the 3R-configuration of the (3R)-2,3-epoxy-2-fluoroprenyl acetate intermediate and installs the ketone functionality of the semiochemical. Extensive NMR studies validate the proposed 6-endo mechanism of the featured rearrangement, which under anhydrous conditions resulted in the formation of two bicyclic 1,3-dioxan-5-ones via an unprecedented intramolecular Prins cyclization.

Paclitaxel (PTX) is a microtubule-stabilizing agent that is widely used in cancer chemotherapy. This structurally complex natural product acts by binding to β-tubulin in assembled microtubules. The 2'-hydroxyl group in the flexible side chain of PTX is an absolute requirement for activity, but its precise role in the drug-receptor interaction has not been specifically investigated. The contribution of the 2'-OH group to the affinity and tubulin-assembly efficacy of PTX has been evaluated through quantitative analysis of PTX derivatives possessing side chain deletions: 2'-deoxy-PTX, N-debenzoyl-2'-deoxy-PTX, and baccatin III. The affinity of 2'-deoxy-PTX for stabilized microtubules was more than 100-fold lower than that of PTX and only ~3-fold greater than the microtubule affinity of baccatin III. No microtubule binding activity was detected for the analogue N-debenzoyl-2'-deoxy-PTX. The tubulin-assembly efficacy of each ligand was consistent with the microtubule binding affinity, as was the trend in cytotoxicities. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the 2'-OH group of PTX can form a persistent hydrogen bond with D26 within the microtubule binding site. The absence of this interaction between 2'-deoxy-PTX and the receptor can account for the difference in binding free energy. Computational analyses also provide a possible explanation for why N-debenzoyl-2'-deoxy-PTX is inactive, in spite of the fact that it is essentially a substituted baccatin III. We propose that the hydrogen bonding interaction between the 2'-OH group and D26 is the most important stabilizing interaction that PTX forms with tubulin in the region of the C-13 side chain. We further hypothesize that the substituents at the 3'-position function to orient the 2'-OH group for a productive hydrogen bonding interaction with the protein.

Martha M. Vaughan,a,1,2 Qiang Wang,a,1,3 Francis X. Webster,b Dave Kiemle,b Young J. Hong,c Dean J. Tantillo,c Robert M. Coates,d Austin T. Wray,a,4 Whitnee Askew,a,5 Christopher O’Donnell,a,6 James G. Tokuhisa,e and Dorothea Tholla,7 a Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 bDepartment of Chemistry, State University of New York–Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York 13210 cDepartment of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, California 95616 dDepartment of Chemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801 eDepartment of Horticulture, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061

Two crystal structures of a three-domain class II diterpene cyclase with substrate and product analogs provide new insights into the mechanistic pathway of this enzyme and illuminate evolutionary and functional relationships within terpenoid biosynthesis more generally. The structure of ent-copalyl diphosphate synthase reveals three α-helical domains (α, β and γ), as also observed in the related diterpene cyclase taxadiene synthase. However, active sites are located at the interface of the βγ domains in ent-copalyl diphosphate synthase but exclusively in the α domain of taxadiene synthase. Modular domain architecture in plant diterpene cyclases enables the evolution of alternative active sites and chemical strategies for catalyzing isoprenoid cyclization reactions.

The enantiomeric 2-azapinanes, aza analogues of the pinyl carbocation intermediates in pinene biosynthesis, were synthesized from (-)- and (+)-cis-pinonic acids. The individual reactions in the 5-step sequence were Beckmann rearrangement of the pinonic acid oximes, cyclization to the N-acetyl lactams, hydrolysis to the NH-lactams, N-methylations, and LiAlH(4) reductions. The anti stereochemistry of the N-methyl groups in the salts with respect to the gem-dimethyl bridge was established by NOE measurements and by X-ray diffraction analysis.

Class II diterpene cyclases mediate the acid-initiated cycloisomerization reaction that serves as the committed step in biosynthesis of the large class of labdane-related diterpenoid natural products, which includes the important gibberellin plant hormones. Intriguingly, these enzymes are differentially susceptible to inhibition by their Mg2+ cofactor, with those involved in gibberellin biosynthesis being more sensitive to such inhibition than those devoted to secondary metabolism, which presumably limits flux toward the potent gibberellin phytohormones. Such inhibition has been suggested to arise from intrasteric Mg2+ binding to the DXDD motif that cooperatively acts as the catalytic acid, whose affinity must then be modulated in some fashion. While further investigating class II diterpene cyclase catalysis, we discovered a conserved basic residue that seems to act as a counter ion to the DXDD motif, enhancing the ability of aspartic acid to carry out the requisite energetically difficult protonation of a carbon-carbon double bond and also affecting inhibitory Mg2+ binding. Notably, this residue is conserved as a histidine in enzymes involved in gibberellin biosynthesis and as an arginine in those dedicated to secondary metabolism. Interchanging the identity of these residues is sufficient to switch the sensitivity of the parent enzyme to inhibition by Mg2+. These striking findings indicate that this is a single residue switch for Mg2+ inhibition, which not only supports the importance of this biochemical regulatory mechanism in limiting gibberellin biosynthesis, but the importance of its release, presumably to enable higher flux, into secondary metabolism.

KO (kaurene oxidase) is a multifunctional cytochrome P450 catalysing three sequential oxidations in gibberellin phytohormone biosynthesis. These serve to transform the C4α methyl of the ent-kaurene olefin intermediate into the carboxylic acid moiety of ent-kauren-19-oic acid. To investigate the unknown catalytic mechanism and properties of KO, we have engineered the corresponding CYP701A3 from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtKO) for functional recombinant expression in Escherichia coli, involving use of a fully codon-optimized construct, along with additional N-terminal deletion and modification. This recombinant AtKO (rAtKO) was used to carry out 18O2 labelling studies with ent-kaurene, and the intermediates ent-kaurenol and ent-kaurenal, to investigate the multifunctional reaction sequence; revealing catalysis of three hydroxylation reactions, which further requires dehydration at some stage. Accordingly, following initial hydroxylation, ent-kaurenol must then be further hydroxylated to a gem-diol intermediate, and our data indicate that the subsequent reactions proceed via dehydration of the gem-diol to ent-kaurenal, followed by an additional hydroxylation to directly form ent-kaurenoic acid. Kinetic analysis indicates that these intermediates are all retained in the active site during the course of the reaction series, with the first hydroxylation being rate-limiting. In addition, investigation of alternative substrates demonstrated that ent-beyerene, which differs in ring structure distal to the C4α methyl, is only hydroxylated by rAtKO, indicating the importance of the exact tetracyclic ring structure of kaurane for multifunctional KO activity. Thus the results of the present study clarify the reaction sequence and enzymatic mechanism of KO, as well as substrate features critical for the catalysed multiple reaction sequence.

Incubations of isotopically pure [2-(2)H(1)](E,E)-farnesyl diphosphate with recombinant patchoulol synthase (PTS) from Pogostemon cablin afforded a 65:35 mixture of monodeuterated and dideuterated patchoulols as well as numerous sesquiterpene hydrocarbons. Extensive NMR analyses ((1)H and (13)C NMR, (1)H homodecoupling NMR, HMQC, and (2)H NMR) of the labeled patchoulol mixture and comparisons of the spectra with those of unlabeled alcohol led to the conclusion that the deuterium label was located at positions (patchoulol numbering system) C5 (both isotopomers, ca. 100%) and C12 (minor isotopomer, 30-35%), that is, an approximately 2:1 mixture of [5-(2)H(1)]- and [5,12-(2)H(2)]-patchoulols. Low-resolution FIMS analyses and isotope ratio calculations further corroborated the composition of the mixture as mainly one singly deuterated and one doubly deuterated patchoulol. From a mechanistic point of view, the formation of [5,12-(2)H(2)]patchoulol is rationalized through the intermediacy of an unknown exocyclic [7,10:1,5]patchoul-4(12)-ene (15-d(1)), which could incorporate a deuteron at the C-12 position on the pathway to doubly labeled patchoulol. The corresponding depletion of deuterium content observed in the hydrocarbon coproducts, beta-patchoulene and alpha-guaiene (55% d(0)), identified the source of the excess label found in patchoulol-d(2). Comparison of the PTS amino acid sequence with those of other sesquiterpene synthases, and examination of an active site model, suggested that re-orientation of leucine 410 side chain in PTS might facilitate the creation of a 2-pocket active site where the observed deuteron transfers could occur. The retention of deuterium at C5 in the labeled patchoulol and its absence at C4 rule out an alternative mechanism involving two consecutive 1,2-hydride shifts and appears to confirm the previously proposed occurrence of a 1,3-hydride shift across the 5-membered ring. A new, semisystematic nomenclature is presented for the purpose of distinguishing the three different skeletal structures of the patchoulane sesquiterpenes.

Sesquiterpene skeletal complexity in nature originates from the enzyme-catalyzed ionization of (trans,trans)-farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) (1a) and subsequent cyclization along either 2,3-transoid or 2,3-cisoid farnesyl cation pathways. Tobacco 5-epi-aristolochene synthase (TEAS), a transoid synthase, produces cisoid products as a component of its minor product spectrum. To investigate the cryptic cisoid cyclization pathway in TEAS, we employed (cis,trans)-FPP (1b) as an alternative substrate. Strikingly, TEAS was catalytically robust in the enzymatic conversion of (cis,trans)-FPP (1b) to exclusively (≥99.5%) cisoid products. Further, crystallographic characterization of wild-type TEAS and a catalytically promiscuous mutant (M4 TEAS) with 2-fluoro analogues of both all-trans FPP (1a) and (cis,trans)-FPP (1b) revealed binding modes consistent with preorganization of the farnesyl chain. These results provide a structural glimpse into both cisoid and transoid cyclization pathways efficiently templated by a single enzyme active site, consistent with the recently elucidated stereochemistry of the cisoid products. Further, computational studies using density functional theory calculations reveal concerted, highly asynchronous cyclization pathways leading to the major cisoid cyclization products. The implications of these discoveries for expanded sesquiterpene diversity in nature are discussed.

Squalene synthase catalyzes the conversion of two molecules of (E,E)-farnesyl diphosphate to squalene via the cyclopropylcarbinyl intermediate, presqualene diphosphate (PSPP). Since this novel reaction constitutes the first committed step in sterol biosynthesis, there has been considerable interest and research on the stereochemistry and mechanism of the process and in the design of selective inhibitors of the enzyme. This paper reports the synthesis and characterization of five racemic and two enantiopure aziridine analogues of PSPP and the evaluation of their potencies as inhibitors of recombinant yeast squalene synthase. The key aziridine-2-methanol intermediates (6-OH, 7-OH, and 8-OH) were obtained by N-alkylations or by an N-acylation-reduction sequence of (+/-)-, (2R,3S)-, and (2S,3R)-2,3-aziridinofarnesol (9-OH) protected as tert-butyldimethylsilyl ethers. S(N)2 displacements of the corresponding methanesulfonates with pyrophosphate and methanediphosphonate anions afforded aziridine 2-methyl diphosphates and methanediphosphonates bearing N-undecyl, N-bishomogeranyl, and N-(alpha-methylene)bishomogeranyl substituents as mimics for the 2,6,10-trimethylundeca-2,5,9-trienyl side chain of PSPP. The 2R,3S diphosphate enantiomer bearing the N-bishomogeranyl substituent corresponding in absolute stereochemistry to PSPP proved to be the most potent inhibitor (IC(50) 1.17 +/- 0.08 muM in the presence of inorganic pyrophosphate), a value 4-fold less than that of its 2S,3R stereoisomer. The other aziridine analogues bearing the N-(alpha-methylene)bishomogeranyl and N-undecyl substituents, and the related methanediphosphonates, exhibited lower affinities for recombinant squalene synthase.

We report the structures and stereochemistry of seven bisabolyl-derived sesquiterpenes arising from an unprecedented 1,6-cyclization (cisoid pathway) efficiently catalyzed by tobacco 5-epi-aristolochene synthase (TEAS). The use of (2Z,6E)-farnesyl diphosphate as an alternate substrate for recombinant TEAS resulted in a robust enzymatic cyclization to an array of products derived exclusively (>/=99.5%) from the cisoid pathway, whereas these same products account for ca. 2.5% of the total hydrocarbons obtained using (2E,6E)-farnesyl diphosphate. Chromatographic fractionations of extracts from preparative incubations with the 2Z,6E substrate afforded, in addition to the acyclic allylic alcohols (2Z,6E)-farnesol (6.7%) and nerolidol (3.6%), five cyclic sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and two cyclic sesquiterpene alcohols: (+)-2-epi-prezizaene (44%), (-)-alpha-cedrene (21.5%), (R)-(-)-beta-curcumene (15.5%), alpha-acoradiene (3.9%), 4-epi-alpha-acoradiene (1.3%), and equal amounts of alpha-bisabolol (1.8%) and epi-alpha-bisalolol (1.8%). The structures, stereochemistry, and enantiopurities were established by comprehensive spectroscopic analyses, optical rotations, chemical correlations with known sesquiterpenes, comparisons with literature data, and GC analyses. The major product, (+)-2-epi-prezizaene, is structurally related to the naturally occurring tricyclic alcohol, jinkohol (2-epi-prezizaan-7beta-ol). Cisoid cyclization pathways are proposed by which all five sesquiterpene hydrocarbons are derived from a common (7R)-beta-bisabolyl(+)/pyrophosphate(-) ion pair intermediate. The implications of the "cisoid" catalytic activity of TEAS are discussed.

Taxol-synthesizing enzyme structure The first step in the biosynthesis of the anticancer compound Taxol (paclitaxel) and many other natural C20 diterpenes is the cyclization of an isoprenoid, catalysed by taxadiene synthase. The X-ray crystal structure of this enzyme from the Pacific yew has now been determined. Its C-terminal catalytic domain binds and activates the substrate in a manner seen in class I terpenoid cyclases, but the N-terminal domain and a third 'insertion' domain adopt the fold of a class II terpenoid cyclase. This suggests that this enzyme could be the ancestral progenitor of all terpenoid cyclases.

Bioassay-guided fractionation of extracts from Acacia burkittii and A. acuminata heartwoods against an L1210 (mouse lymphoma) cell line led to the isolation of two flavan-3,4-diols, melacacidin (1) and isomelacacidin (2), and three flavonoids, 3,7,8,3′,4′-pentahydroxyflavone (3), 7,8,3′,4′-tetrahydroxyflavanone (4) and 3,7,8,3′,4′-pentahydroxyflavanone (5). HPLC analyses (280 nm) of the 70% acetone extracts of the two plants showed different profiles in terms of the relative concentration of the five identified compounds. When tested against L1210, compounds 1 and 2 were the most active, giving ID50 values of 2.5 and 4.5 μg/mL, respectively. The lower activity of the other isolated compounds indicated the importance of the 3,4-hydroxyl groups for the cytotoxic activity of these flavonoids. The isolated compounds were either non-toxic or had very low toxicities against the “normal” CV-1 cell line (green monkey kidney cells). The O-methyl and O-acetyl derivatives of these compounds were inactive. Ten commercially available phenolic compounds (6-15) were also tested for their activity against both CV-1 and L1210 cell lines. Flavan-3,4-diols 1 and 2 were more cytotoxic to L1210 cells than all tested compounds, including catechin and epicatechin, the most abundant flavan-3-ols in many fruits and vegetable.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains a widespread and devastating human pathogen, whose ability to infiltrate macrophage host cells from the human immune system is an active area of investigation. We have recently reported the discovery of a novel diterpene from M. tuberculosis, edaxadiene, whose ability to arrest phagosomal maturation in isolation presumably contributes to this critical process in M. tuberculosis infections. (Mann, F. M., Xu, M., Chen, X., Fulton, D. B., Russell, D. G., and Peters, R. J. (2009) J. Am. Chem. Soc., in press). Here, we present characterization of the class II diterpene cyclase that catalyzes the committed step in edaxadiene biosynthesis, i.e. the previously identified halimadienyl-diphosphate synthase (HPS; EC 5.5.1.16). Intriguingly, our kinetic analysis suggests a potential biochemical regulatory mechanism that triggers edaxadiene production upon phagosomal engulfment. Furthermore, we report characterization of potential HPS inhibitors: specifically, two related transition state analogs (15-aza-14,15-dihydrogeranylgeranyl diphosphate (7a) and 15-aza-14,15-dihydrogeranylgeranyl thiolodiphosphate (7b)) that exhibit very tight binding. Although arguably not suitable for clinical use, these nevertheless provide a basis for pharmaceutical design against this intriguing biosynthetic pathway. Finally, we provide evidence indicating that this pathway exists only in M. tuberculosis and is not functional in the closely related Mycobacterium bovis because of an inactivating frameshift in the HPS-encoding gene. Thus, we hypothesize that the inability to produce edaxadiene may be a contributing factor in the decreased infectivity and/or virulence of M. bovis relative to M. tuberculosis in humans.

A series of seven cyclopent-3-en-1-ylmethylamines bearing one, two, or three methyl substituents at the C2, C3, C4, or C-alpha positions, including the unsubstituted parent, was accessed by ring-closing metatheses of alpha,alpha-diallylacetonitrile (or methallyl variants) and alpha,alpha-diallylacetone followed by hydride reductions or reductive amination, or by Curtius degradations of alpha,alpha-dimethyl- and 2,2,3-trimethylcyclopent-3-enylacetic acids. Oxidation of the primary amines with Pb(OAc)(4) in CH2Cl2, CHCl3 or benzene in the presence of K2CO3 effected efficient intramolecular aziridinations, in all cases except the alpha-methyl analogue (16), to form the corresponding 1-azatricyclo[2.2.1.0(2,6)]heptanes, including the novel monoterpene analogues, 1-azatricyclene and the 2-azatricyclene enantiomers. The cumulative rate increases of aziridination reactions observed by H-1 NMR spectroscopy in CDCl3 resulting from the presence of one or two methyl groups on the cyclopentene double bond, in comparison to the rate of the unsubstituted parent amine (1:17.5:>280), indicate a highly electrophilic intermediate as the nitrene donor and a symmetrical aziridine-like transition state. A mechanism is outlined in which the amine displaces an acetate ligand from Pb(OAc)(4) to form a lead(IV) amide intermediate RNHPb(OAc)(3) proposed as the actual aziridinating species.

The universal sesquiterpene precursor, farnesyl diphosphate (FPP), is cyclized in an Mg2+-dependent reaction catalyzed by the tetrameric aristolochene synthase from Aspergillus terreus to form the bicyclic hydrocarbon aristolochene and a pyrophosphate anion (PPi) coproduct. The 2.1-Å resolution crystal structure determined from crystals soaked with FPP reveals the binding of intact FPP to monomers A-C, and the binding of PPi and Mg2+B to monomer D. The 1.89-Å resolution structure of the complex with 2-fluorofarnesyl diphosphate (2F-FPP) reveals 2F-FPP binding to all subunits of the tetramer, with Mg2+Baccompanying the binding of this analogue only in monomer D. All monomers adopt open activesite conformations in these complexes, but slight structural changes in monomers C and D of each complex reflect the very initial stages of a conformational transition to the closed state. Finally, the 2.4-Å resolution structure of the complex with 12,13-difluorofarnesyl diphosphate (DF-FPP) reveals the binding of intact DF-FPP to monomers A-C in the open conformation and the binding of PPi, Mg2+B, and Mg2+C to monomer D in a predominantly closed conformation. Taken together, these structures provide 12 independent “snapshots” of substrate or product complexes that suggest a possible sequence for metal ion binding and conformational changes required for catalysis.