Radiometal Complexes as Pharmacokinetic Modifiers: A Potent 68Ga-Labeled Gastrin-Releasing Peptide Receptor Antagonist Based on the Macrocyclic Metal Chelator NODIA-Me.

The gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPr) is overexpressed in various cancer types including prostate and breast carcinomas, making it an attractive target for molecular imaging and therapy. In this work, we designed a novel GRPr antagonistic probe comprising metal chelator NODIA-Me. This 1,4,7-triazacyclononane-based chelator forms positively charged metal complexes due to its neutral methylimidazole arms. Because a positive charge at the N-terminus of GRPr conjugates is responsible for high receptor affinity as exemplified by the current gold standard DOTA-RM2, we investigated if a positively charged radiometal complex can be used as a pharmacokinetic modifier to also produce high-affinity GRPr conjugates. In this respect, the bioconjugate NODIA-Me-Ahx-JMV594 was prepared by a combination of solid-phase peptide synthesis and solution-based reactions in a 94% yield. Radiolabeling provided the 68Ga-labeled conjugate in radiochemical yields of >95% and radiochemical purities of >98% with mean molar activities of Am ∼17 MBq nmol-1. The competitive GRPr affinity of the metal-free and 69/71Ga-labeled conjugate was determined to be IC50 = 0.41 ± 0.06 and 1.45 ± 0.06 nM, respectively. The metal-free GRPr antagonist DOTA-RM2 and its corresponding 69/71Ga complex had IC50 values of 1.42 ± 0.07 and 0.98 ± 0.19 nM, respectively. Small-animal PET imaging of mice bearing GRPr(+) PC-3 tumors revealed high radioactivity accumulation in the tumors and in the pancreas as an organ with high levels of GRPr expression. These findings were corroborated by the corresponding ex vivo biodistribution data, in which the tumors and the pancreas exhibited the highest radioactivity accumulation. By coinjection of an excess of NODIA-Me-Ahx-JMV594, uptake in the tumors and GRPr(+) organs was significantly reduced, confirming specific receptor-mediated uptake. The estrogen receptor-positive tumor of a female breast cancer patient was clearly visualized by PET imaging using 68Ga-labeled NODIA-Me-Ahx-JMV594. To summarize, the positive charge at the N-terminus of the conjugate induced by the Ga(NODIA-Me) complex resulted in high GRPr affinity comparable to that of the potent antagonist DOTA-RM2. The conjugate NODIA-Me-Ahx-JMV594 is a promising probe for imaging of GRPr tumors that warrants further evaluation in larger patient cohorts as well as in combination with other radiometals.

Access to the Enantiopure Axially Chiral Cyclophane Isoplagiochin†D through Atropo-diastereoselective Heck Coupling.

Macrocyclization is typically the key step in the syntheses of cyclophane-type natural products. Considering cyclophanes with axially chiral biaryl moieties, the control of atroposelectivity is essential with biological activity and is synthetically challenging. We report an atroposelective approach involving Heck cyclization, which for the first time enables the total synthesis of an enantiopure macrocyclic bis(bibenzyl), namely isoplagiochin D. An enantiopure sulfinyl auxiliary in the ortho position of a biaryl axis (still flexible) was used to induce an atropo-diastereoselective Heck coupling (up to 98 % de). The traceless character of the sulfinyl auxiliary enables the introduction of a hydroxy group to give the target molecule with 98 % ee as well.

Ring strain and total syntheses of modified macrocycles of the isoplagiochin type.

Macrocycles of the bisbibenzyl-type are natural products that are found exclusively in bryophytes (liverworts). The molecular framework of the subtype "isoplagiochin" is of substantial structural interest because of the chirality of the entire molecule, which arises from two biaryl axes in combination with two helical two-carbon units in a cyclic arrangement. From a structural as well as a synthetic point of view we report on the total synthesis of compounds which possess more rigid two-carbon biaryl bridges like stilbene (E or Z) or even tolane moieties which were introduced starting with a Sonogashira protocol. The McMurry method proved to be a powerful tool for the cyclization to these considerably ring-strained macrocycles.

First detection of a chloroperoxidase in bryophytes.

Chlorinated cyclic bisbibenzyls of the isoplagiochin type are the first verified halometabolites from bryophytes. They could be obtained by in vitro chlorination of isoplagiochin C with chloroperoxidase from Caldariomyces fumago. Furthermore, an enzyme of this type was detected for the first time in bryophytes namely in the liverwort Bazzania trilobata using the monochlorodimedon assay.

Atroposelective Heck macrocyclization: enantioselective synthesis of bis(bibenzylic) natural products.

The Heck protocol was applied for the first time to the atroposelective synthesis of macrocyclic natural products. As ring closure to bis(bibenzyls) of the isoplagiochin type leads to a configurationally stable biaryl axis in the molecule, cyclization could be conducted atroposelectively in the presence of a chiral BINAP ligand.

Syntheses of marchantins C, O and P as promising highly bioactive compounds.

Recently, remarkable microtubule inhibitor and anti-tumor activities of the bis(bibenzyl) marchantin C--isolated from liverworts like Marchantia polymorpha since 1983--were found. In this paper we describe the efficient total synthesis of this subtype of bis(bibenzylic) compounds with two biarylether connections. Two selectively methylated derivatives known as natural compounds marchantin O and P were synthesized for the first time by modification of the arene subunits and can now be considered as promising highly bioactive compounds.

Bisbibenzyls, a new type of antifungal agent, inhibit morphogenesis switch and biofilm formation through upregulation of DPP3 in Candida albicans.

The yeast-to-hypha transition plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of C. albicans. Farnesol, a quorum sensing molecule (QSM) secreted by the fungal itself, could prevent the formation of hyphae and subsequently lead to the defect of biofilm formation. The DPP3, encoding phosphatase, is a key gene in regulating farnesol synthesis. In this study, we screened 24 bisbibenzyls and 2 bibenzyls that were isolated from bryophytes or chemically synthesized by using CLSI method for antifungal effect. Seven bisbibenzyls were found to have antifungal effects with IC(80) less than 32 µg/ml, and among them, plagiochin F, isoriccardin C and BS-34 were found to inhibit the hyphae and biofilm formation of C. albicans in a dose-dependent manner. To uncover the underlying relationship between morphogenesis switch and QSM formation, we measured the farnesol production by HPLC-MS and quantified Dpp3 expression by detecting the fluorescent intensity of green fluorescent protein tagged strain using Confocal Laser Scanning microscopy and Multifunction Microplate Reader. The DPP3 transcripts were determined by real-time PCR. The data indicated that the bisbibenzyls exerted antifungal effects through stimulating the synthesis of farnesol via upregulation of Dpp3, suggesting a potential antifungal application of bisbibenzyls. In addition, our assay provides a novel, visual and convenient method to measure active compounds against morphogenesis switch.

Stereochemistry of isoplagiochin C, a macrocyclic bisbibenzyl from liverworts.

Cyclic bisbibenzyls, like isoplagiochins C (1) and D (2), are stereochemically intriguing molecules: Although not equipped with any of the traditional stereogenic elements that render molecules conformationally stable per se, they are sometimes isolated in an optically active form and are thus chiral at room temperature. The paper describes quantum chemical calculations, in particular investigations of the conformational space and molecular dynamics simulations, showing that the helicity is a property of the entire molecule, whose ring strain makes the molecule configurationally stable overall, with (formally) three stereogenic elements (two biaryl axes and one helical stilbene unit). Only one of the biaryl axes (the 'upper' one, joining C-12' and C-14) has a stable configuration, leading to a population of four interconverting diastereomers, yet without racemization at room temperature. On the basis of these conformational and dynamic calculations, the circular dichroism spectrum of isoplagiochin C (1) was calculated, leading to the first assignment of the absolute configuration of a cyclic bisbibenzyl. Accordingly, 1 has the P-configuration at the stereochemically stable biaryl axis and constitutes a mixture of diastereomers with respect to the other biaryl axis and the helical stilbene unit. From the temperature dependence of the racemization rates, an enantiomerization barrier of 101.6 kJ/mol was determined. Likewise, for the first time for cyclic bisbibenzyls, the enantiomeric ratio of this natural product was determined, by chromatography on a chiral phase with CD-coupling. Accordingly, 1 from Plagiochila deflexa is not enantiomerically pure, but occurs in a 85:15 ratio in favor of the enantiomer that has the P-configuration at the stereochemically stable axis.