Function-Oriented Studies Targeting Pectenotoxin 2: Synthesis of the GH-Ring System and a Structurally Simplified Macrolactone.

A chemical foundation for function-oriented studies of pectenotoxin 2 (PTX2) is described. A synthesis of the bicyclic GH-system, and the design and synthesis of a PTX2-analogue, is presented. While maintaining critical features for actin binding, and lacking the Achilles' heel for the natural product's anticancer activity (the AB-spiroketal), this first-generation analogue did not possess the anticancer properties of PTX2, an observation that indicates the molecular significance of features present in the natural product's CDEF-tetracycle.

Synthesis of Highly Oxygenated Carbocycles by Stereoselective Coupling of Alkynes to 1,3- and 1,4-Dicarbonyl Systems.

Densely substituted and highly oxygenated carbocycles are challenging targets for synthesis. In particular, those possessing numerous contiguous, fully substituted carbon atoms (i.e., tertiary alcohols and quaternary centers) are often not accessible in a direct fashion, necessitating the strategic decoupling of ring-formation from the establishment of functionality about the system. Here, we describe an approach to the construction of highly oxygenated mono-, di-, and polycyclic carbocycles from the reaction of disubstituted alkynes with ß- or γ-dicarbonyl systems. These processes embrace a variant of metallacycle-mediated annulation chemistry where initial alkyne-carbonyl coupling is followed by a second, now intramolecular, stereoselective C-C bond-forming event. In addition to revealing the basic reactivity pattern in intermolecular settings, we demonstrate that this class of reactivity is quite powerful in a fully intramolecular context and, when terminated by a stereoselective oxidation process, can be used to generate polycyclic systems containing a fully substituted and highly oxygenated five-membered ring.

Effects of Isx-9 and stress on adult hippocampal neurogenesis: Experimental considerations and future perspectives.

The development of synthetic small molecules capable of promoting neuronal fate in stem cells is a promising strategy to prevent the decline of hippocampal function caused by several neurological disorders. Within this context, isoxazole 9 (Isx-9) has been shown to strongly induce cell proliferation and neuronal differentiation in the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG), while also improving hippocampal function in healthy mice. We have recently demonstrated that Isx-9 is able to restore normal neurogenesis levels after procedural stress. Here, we further discuss these findings highlighting the importance of including a naïve group in studies investigating the effects of either restraint stress or mild chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) on adult hippocampal neurogenesis.

ISX-9 can potentiate cell proliferation and neuronal commitment in the rat dentate gyrus.

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis can be modulated by various physiological and pathological conditions, including stress, affective disorders, and several neurological conditions. Given the proposed role of this form of structural plasticity in the functioning of the hippocampus (namely learning and memory and affective behaviors), it is believed that alterations in hippocampal neurogenesis might underlie some of the behavioral deficits associated with these psychiatric and neurological conditions. Thus, the search for compounds that can reverse these deficits with minimal side effects has become a recognized priority. In the present study we tested the pro-neurogenic effects of isoxazole 9 (Isx-9), a small synthetic molecule that has been recently identified through the screening of chemical libraries in stem cell-based assays. We found that administration of Isx-9 for 14days was able to potentiate cell proliferation and increase the number of immature neurons in the hippocampal DG of adult rats. In addition, Isx-9 treatment was able to completely reverse the marked reduction in these initial stages of the neurogenic process observed in vehicle-treated animals (which were submitted to repeated handling and exposure to daily intraperitoneal injections). Based on these results, we recommend that future neurogenesis studies that require repeated handling and manipulation of animals should include a naïve (non-manipulated) control to determine the baseline levels of hippocampal cell proliferation and neuronal differentiation. Overall, these findings demonstrate that Isx-9 is a promising synthetic compound for the mitigation of stress-induced deficits in adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Future studies are thus warranted to evaluate the pro-neurogenic properties of Isx-9 in animal models of affective and neurological disorders associated with impaired hippocampal structural plasticity.

Cyclopropenes in Metallacycle-Mediated Cross-Coupling with Alkynes: Convergent Synthesis of Highly Substituted Vinylcyclopropanes.

Stereodivergent metallacycle-mediated cross-coupling reactions are described for the synthesis of densely functionalized vinylcyclopropanes from the union of alkynes with cyclopropenes. Strategies explored include hydroxyl-directed and nondirected processes, with the latter of these delivering vinylcyclopropanes with exquisite levels of regio- and stereoselectivity. Challenges inherent to these coupling reactions include diastereoselectivity (with respect to the cyclopropene) and regioselectivity (with respect to both coupling partners).

Crystal structure of tetra-kis-(µ-n-butyrato-κ(2) O:O')bis-[chlorido-rhenium(III)](Re-Re).

With an inversion center at the mid-point of the two Re(III) atoms, the title compound, [Re2Cl2{O2C(CH2)2CH3}4], exhibits a paddle-wheel or lantern-type structure with four n-butyrate groups bridging two Re(III) atoms in a syn-syn fashion. The axial chloride ligands together with the Re-Re quadruple bond [2.2330 (3) Å] complete an essentially octa-hedral geometry around each Re(III) atom. There is little distortion, with an Re-Re-Cl bond angle of 176.18 (3)° and typical cis-O-Re-O bond angles ranging from 89.39 (11) to 90.68 (11)°. There are two mol-ecules in the unit cell, and no significant inter-molecular inter-actions were noticed between mol-ecules in the crystal.

Investigation of quantitative structure-reactivity relationships in the aliphatic Claisen rearrangement of bis-vinyl ethers reveals a dipolar, dissociative mechanism.

Kinetic investigations of substituent effects in the thermal rearrangement of bis-vinyl ether substrates are reported. Findings indicate that the influence of the various substituent patterns on the rate of rearrangement in these compounds differs from that documented in the literature for the analogous [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of allyl vinyl ethers. In addition, the thermochemical data collected suggests the existence of a dissociative transition state with significant dipolar character. These findings provide a unique contribution to the already extensive body of literature dedicated to mechanistic investigation of the Claisen rearrangement of aliphatic allyl vinyl ethers.

Cascading radical cyclization of bis-vinyl ethers: mechanistic investigation reveals a 5-exo/3-exo/retro-3-exo/5-exo pathway.

We recently described an iterative synthesis of oligo-vinyl ethers, followed by a radical cascade to provide a family of hexahydro-2H-furo[3,4-b]pyrans. Our results for the radical cascade were consistent with either a direct 6-endo-trig addition of a vinyl radical onto the first vinyl ether function or an initial 5-exo-trig addition, followed by rearrangement to the more stable anomeric radical intermediate. In this report, we describe our further mechanistic studies aimed at distinguishing between these two possibilities and conclude that the 5-exo/3-exo/retro-3-exo pathway is dominant.