Allosteric Hsp70 Modulator YM-1 Induces Degradation of BRD4.

YM-1, an allosteric modulator of heat-shock 70 kDa protein (Hsp70), inhibits cancer cell growth, but the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Here, we show that YM-1 induces the degradation of bromodomain containing 4 (BRD4), which mediates oncogene expression. Overall, our results indicate that YM-1 promotes the binding of HSP70 to BRD4, and this in turn promotes the ubiquitination of BRD4 by C-terminus of Hsc70-interacting protein (CHIP), an E3 ubiquitin ligase working in concert with Hsp70, leading to proteasomal degradation of BRD4. This YM-1-induced decrease of BRD4 would contribute at least in part to the inhibition of cancer cell growth.

Synthesis and Antiviral Activities of Neoechinulin B and Its Derivatives.

We have previously reported that neoechinulin B (1a), a prenylated indole diketopiperazine alkaloid, shows antiviral activities against hepatitis C virus (HCV) via the inactivation of the liver X receptors (LXRs) and the resultant disruption of double-membrane vesicles. In this study, a two-step synthesis of the diketopiperazine scaffold of 1a was achieved by the base-induced coupling of 1,4-diacetyl-3-{[(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)oxy]methyl}piperazine-2,5-dione with aldehydes, followed by the treatment of the resultant coupling products with tetra-n-butylammonium fluoride. Compound 1a and its 16 derivatives 1b-q were prepared using this method. Furthermore, variecolorin H, a related alkaloid, was obtained by the acid treatment of 1a in MeOH. The antiviral evaluation of 1a and its derivatives revealed that 1a, 1c, 1d, 1h, 1j, 1l, and 1o exhibited both anti-HCV and anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) activities. The results of this study indicate that the exomethylene moiety on the diketopiperazine ring is important for the antiviral activities. The antiviral compounds can inhibit the production of HCV and SARS-CoV-2 by inactivating LXRs.

Functionalization of Human Serum Albumin by Tyrosine Click.

Human serum albumin (HSA) is a promising drug delivery carrier. Although covalent modification of Cys34 is a well-established method, it is desirable to develop a novel covalent modification method that targets residues other than cysteine to introduce multiple functions into a single HSA molecule. We developed a tyrosine-selective modification of HSA. Three tyrosine selective modification methods, hemin-catalyzed, horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-catalyzed, and laccase-catalyzed reactions were performed, and the modification efficiencies and modification sites of the modified HSAs obtained by these methods were evaluated and compared. We found that the laccase-catalyzed method could efficiently modify the tyrosine residue of HSA under mild reaction conditions without inducing oxidative side reactions. An average of 2.2 molecules of functional groups could be introduced to a single molecule of HSA by the laccase method. Binding site analysis using mass spectrometry suggested Y84, Y138, and Y401 as the main modification sites. Furthermore, we evaluated binding to ibuprofen and found that, unlike the conventional lysine residue modification, the inhibition of drug binding was minimal. These results suggest that tyrosine-residue selective chemical modification is a promising method for covalent drug attachment to HSA.

Epo-C12 inhibits peroxiredoxin 1 peroxidase activity.

Epo-C12 is a synthetic derivative of epolactaene, isolated from Penicillium sp. BM 1689-P. Epo-C12 induces apoptosis in human acute lymphoblastoid leukemia BALL-1 cells. In our previous studies, seven proteins that bind to Epo-C12 were identified by a combination of pull-down experiments using biotinylated Epo-C12 (Bio-Epo-C12) and mass spectrometry. In the present study, the effect of Epo-C12 on peroxiredoxin 1 (Prx 1), one of the proteins that binds to Epo-C12, was investigated. Epo-C12 inhibited Prx 1 peroxidase activity. However, it did not suppress its chaperone activity. Binding experiments between Bio-Epo-C12 and point-mutated Prx 1s suggest that Epo-C12 binds to Cys52 and Cys83 in Prx 1. The present study revealed that Prx 1 is one of the target proteins through which Epo-C12 exerts an apoptotic effect in BALL-1 cells.

Synthesis and Cytotoxic Evaluation of N-Alkyl-2-halophenazin-1-ones.

In this study, the synthesis of N-alkyl-2-halophenazin-1-ones has been established. Six N-alkyl-2-halophenazin-1-ones, including WS-9659 B and marinocyanins A and B, were synthesized by the direct oxidative condensation of 4-halo-1,2,3-benzenetriol with the corresponding N-alkylbenzene-1,2-diamines. One of the most significant features of the present method is that it can be successfully applied to the synthesis of N-alkyl-2-chlorophenazin-1-ones. The traditional chlorination of N-alkyl-phenazin-1-ones with N-chlorosuccinimide selectively occurs at the 4-position to afford the undesired N-alkyl-4-chlorophenazin-1-ones. Our synthetic route successfully circumvents this problem, culminating in the first chemical synthesis of WS-9659 B. The cytotoxicity of six N-alkyl-2-halophenazin-1-ones and three N-alkylphenazin-1-ones against human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60, human lung cancer A549, and normal MRC-5 cells was evaluated. Among the compounds tested in this study, 2-chloropyocyanin possesses significant selectivity toward A549 cells. The cytotoxic evaluation provides structural insights into the potency and selectivity of these compounds for cancer cells.

Investigation on the Epoxidation of Piperitenone, and Structure-activity Relationships of Piperitenone Oxide for Differentiation-inducing Activity.

Piperitenone oxide, a major chemical constituent of the essential oil of spearmint, Mentha spicata, induces differentiation in human colon cancer RCM-1 cells. In this study, piperitenone oxide and trans-piperitenone dioxide were prepared as racemic forms by epoxidation of piperitenone. The relative configuration between two epoxides in piperitenone dioxide was determined to be trans by 1H NMR analysis and nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY) in conjunction with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Optical resolution of (±)-piperitenone oxide by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using a chiral stationary phase (CSP) afforded both enantiomers with over 98% enantiomeric excess (ee). Evaluation of the differentiation-inducing activity of the synthetic compounds revealed that the epoxide at C-1 and C-6 in piperitenone oxide is important for the activity, and (+)-piperitenone oxide has stronger activity than (-)-piperitenone oxide. The results obtained in this study provide new information on the application of piperitenone oxide and spearmint for differentiation-inducing therapy. Furthermore, natural piperitenone oxide was isolated from M. spicata. The enantiomeric excess of the isolated natural piperitenone oxide was 66% ee. Epoxidation of piperitenone with hydrogen peroxide proceeded in a phosphate buffer under weak basic conditions to give (±)-piperitenone oxide. These results suggest that the nonenzymatic epoxidation of piperitenone, which causes a decrease in the enantiomeric excess of natural piperitenone oxide, is accompanied by an enzymatic epoxidation in the biosynthesis of piperitenone oxide.

Isolation, synthesis, and biological activities of a bibenzyl from Empetrum nigrum var. japonicum.

4-(2-Hydroxyphenethyl)-2,6-dimethoxyphenol, a bibenzyl, was isolated from the leaves of Empetrum nigrum var. japonicum, collected from Mount Tateyama. Japanese rock ptarmigans frequently eat the leaves and fruits of this plant. The structure of the bibenzyl was confirmed by NMR spectroscopic analysis and fully characterized. A synthesis of this compound was accomplished by coupling 2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid with syringaldehyde, decarboxylation of the resultant isoaurones, and hydrogenation of the double bond in the corresponding stilbene. This compound displayed cytotoxic activity against human cancer cells (HCT116 and Hela cells) and leukemia cells (HL-60 cells). The present study suggests that this plant serves as a source of biologically active natural products. Also, our findings provide information on the secondary metabolites in the diet of Japanese rock ptarmigans.

Synthetic and Biological Studies of Juglorubin and Related Naphthoquinones.

Juglorubin, juglorescein, and juglocombins A/B are naturally occurring naphthoquinone dimers isolated from Streptomyces sp. These dimers are proposed to be biogenetically derived from juglomycin C, a monomeric naphthoquinone isolated from the same Streptomyces sp. In this study, the dimerization of a juglomycin C derivative, a key step in the total syntheses of these natural products, was investigated. Juglorubin was synthesized from the minor product of the dimerization via the formation of the juglocombin A/B stereoisomers. A mechanism for the dimerization reaction as well as a plausible biosynthetic pathway to obtain juglorubin from juglomycin C are proposed. Furthermore, the antibacterial and cytotoxic activities of five synthetic compounds were evaluated. Among the compounds tested in this study, 1'-O-methyljuglocombin B dimethyl ester and juglomycin C exhibited antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis. 1'-O-Methyljuglocombin B dimethyl ester and juglomycin C showed cytotoxicity against human colon carcinoma HCT116 cells and human leukemia HL-60 cells. 1'-O-Methyljuglocombin B dimethyl ester exhibited cytotoxicity against human normal MRC-5 cells as strong as that against human cancer cells. In contrast, juglomycin C was less toxic against normal MRC-5 cells, indicating a significant selectivity toward cancer cells.

Synthesis, antibacterial and cytotoxic evaluation of flavipucine and its derivatives.

The antibacterial and cytotoxic activity of seven racemic lactams and both enantiomers of flavipucine were evaluated. Of the compounds tested in this study, flavipucine and phenylflavipucine displayed bactericidal activity against Bacillus subtilis. These results indicate that the pyridione epoxide moiety is a pharmacophore for antibacterial activity against B. subtilis. Flavipucine showed cytotoxic activity against several cancer cells. The cytotoxic activity of flavipucine against human leukemia HL-60 cells is as strong as that of SN-38, the active metabolite of irinotecan. In contrast, the cytotoxic activity of flavipucine against nonneoplastic HEK293 cells and human normal MRC-5 cells is weaker than that of SN-38. No significant differences in the biological activity of the racemates or enantiomers of flavipucine were observed.

Efficient protein knockdown of HaloTag-fused proteins using hybrid molecules consisting of IAP antagonist and HaloTag ligand.

We previously reported a protein knockdown system for HaloTag-fused proteins using hybrid small molecules consisting of alkyl chloride, which binds covalently to HaloTag, linked to BE04 (2), a bestatin (3) derivative with an affinity for cellular inhibitor of apoptosis protein 1 (cIAP1, a kind of ubiquitin ligase). This system addressed several limitations of prior protein knockdown technology, and was applied to degrade two HaloTag-fused proteins. However, the degradation activity of these hybrid small molecules was not potent. Therefore, we set out to improve this system. We report here the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel hybrid compounds 4a and 4b consisting of alkyl chloride linked to IAP antagonist MV1 (5). Compounds 4a and 4b were confirmed to reduce the levels of HaloTag-fused tumor necrosis factor α (HaloTag-TNFα), HaloTag-fused cell division control protein 42 (HaloTag-Cdc42), and unfused HaloTag protein in living cells more potently than did BE04-linked compound 1b. Analysis of the mode of action revealed that the reduction of HaloTag-TNFα is proteasome-dependent, and is also dependent on the linker structure between MV1 (5) and alkyl chloride. These compounds appear to induce ubiquitination at the HaloTag moiety of HaloTag-fused proteins. Our results indicate that these newly synthesized MV1-type hybrid compounds, 4a and 4b, are efficient tools for protein knockdown for HaloTag-fused proteins.

Structure-activity relationships of bisphenol A analogs at estrogen receptors (ERs): discovery of an ERα-selective antagonist.

Our multi-template approach for drug discovery, focusing on protein targets with similar fold structures, has yielded lead compounds for various targets. We have also shown that a diphenylmethane skeleton can serve as a surrogate for a steroid skeleton. Here, on the basis of those ideas, we hypothesized that the diphenylmethane derivative bisphenol A (BPA) would bind to the ligand-binding domain of estrogen receptors (ERs) in a similar manner to estradiol and act as a steroid surrogate. To test this idea, we synthesized a series of BPA analogs and evaluated their structure-activity relationships, focusing on agonistic/antagonistic activities at ERs and ERα/ERß subtype selectivity. Among the compounds examined, 18 was found to be a potent ERα-antagonist with high selectivity over ERß and androgen receptor under our assay conditions. A computational docking study suggested that 18 would bind to the antagonistic conformation of ERα. ERα-selective antagonists, such as 18, are candidate agents for treatment of breast cancer.