Stability, vigor, and inherent versatility of novel amino linker and spacer phosphoramidites.

Novel amino linker and spacer phosphoramidites were synthesized from methoxyoxalamido (MOX) percursors possessing a secondary hydroxyl, which when phosphitylated endowed stability to the corresponding phosphoramidites. The synthetic strategy is robust, and the chemistry is reactive towards a variety of primary aliphatic diamines and amino alcohols to produce distinctly unique phosphoramidites. The selection of building blocks determines the length and physico-chemical properties of the phosphoramidite tethering arms, and the synthesis can be specifically tailored to suit individual requirement.

Novel biotin phosphoramidites with super-long tethering arms.

A number of novel biotin phosphoramidites, possessing exceptionally long and uncharged tethering arms, were synthesized from methoxyoxalamido (MOX) and succinimido (SUC) precursors. Included among these monomers is a uridine derivative with the biotin moiety attached through the 2'-position. Some of these phosphoramidites were used to make 5'-biotinylated primers, which were applied in direct sequencing of genomic DNA and capture of Sanger fragment pools.

The gastroprokinetic and antiemetic drug metoclopramide is a substrate and inhibitor of cytochrome P450 2D6.

Metoclopramide is increasingly prescribed for conditions previously treated with cisapride, but its metabolic enzymology and drug interactions are poorly understood. Using human liver microsomes (HLMs) and recombinant human cytochromes P450 (P450), we identified the major route of metoclopramide oxidation and the P450 isoforms involved. We also documented the ability of metoclopramide to inhibit the P450 system, using isoform-specific substrate reaction probes of CYP1A2, 2C19, 2C9, 2D6, 2E1, and 3A4. Metoclopramide was predominantly N-dealkylated to monodeethylmetoclopramide, a metabolite that has not so far been described in humans. Formation rate of this metabolite followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics (K(m), 68 +/- 16 microM; V(max), 183 +/- 57 pmol/min/mg of protein; n = 3 HLMs). Of the isoform-specific inhibitors tested, 1 microM quinidine was a potent inhibitor of metoclopramide (25 microM) monodeethylation [by an average of 58.2%; range, approximately 38% (HL09-14-99) to 78.7% (HL161)] with K(i) values highly variable among the HLMs tested (K(i), mean +/- S.D., 2.7 +/- 2.8 microM; range, 0.15 microM in HL66, 2.4 microM in HL09-14-99, and 5.7 microM in HLD). Except troleandomycin, which inhibited metoclopramide metabolism in only one HLM (by approximately 23% in HL09-14-99), the effect of other inhibitors was minimal. Among the recombinant human P450 isoforms examined, monodeethylmetoclopramide was formed at the highest rate by CYP2D6 (V = 4.5 +/- 0.3 pmol/min/pmol of P450) and to a lesser extent by CYP1A2 (0.97 +/- 0.15 pmol/min/pmol of P450). The K(m) value derived (approximately 53 microM) was close to that from HLMs (68 microM). Metoclopramide is a potent inhibitor of CYP2D6 at therapeutically relevant concentrations (K(i) = 4.7 +/- 1.3 microM), with negligible effect on other isoforms tested. Further inhibition of CYP2D6 was observed when metoclopramide was preincubated with HLMs and NADPH-generating system before the substrate probe was added (maximum rate of inactivation, K(inact) = 0.02 min(-1), and the concentration required to achieve the half-maximal rate of inactivation, K'(i) = 0.96 microM), suggesting mechanism-based inhibition. Metoclopramide elimination is likely to be slowed in poor metabolizers of CYP2D6 or in patients taking inhibitors of this isoform, whereas metoclopramide itself could reduce the clearance of CYP2D6 substrate drugs.

Stereoselective metabolism of cisapride and enantiomer-enantiomer interaction in human cytochrome P450 enzymes: major role of CYP3A.

Cisapride is a chiral molecule that is marketed as a racemate consisting of two optical isomers, but little is known about its stereoselective metabolism. Studies with (-)-, (+)-, and (+/-)-cisapride were undertaken in human liver microsomes (HLMs) and recombinant cytochrome P450s (P450s) to determine the stereoselective metabolism and enantiomer-enantiomer interaction. Each enantiomer and racemic cisapride were N-dealkylated to norcisapride (NORCIS) and hydroxylated to 3-fluoro-4-hydroxycisapride (3-F-4-OHCIS) and 4-fluoro-2-hydroxycisapride (4-F-2-OHCIS). The kinetics for the formation of NORCIS from (-)-cisapride (Km = 11.9 +/- 4.8 microM; Vmax = 203 +/- 167 pmol/min/mg of protein) or (+)-cisapride (Km = 18.5 +/- 4.7 microM; Vmax = 364 +/- 284 pmol/min/mg of protein) in HLMs exhibited simple Michaelis-Menten kinetics, while a sigmoidal model characterized those of 3-F-4-OHCIS and 4-F-2-OHCIS. In vitro, NORCIS appears to be the major metabolite of both enantiomers. NORCIS and 3-F-4-OHCIS were preferentially formed from (+)-cisapride rather than (-)-cisapride, but that of 4-F-2-OHCIS was the reverse, suggesting regio- and stereoselective metabolism. The formation rate of each metabolite from each enantiomer (20 microM) in 18 HLMs was highly variable (e.g., NORCIS, >35-fold) and correlated with the activity of CYP3A (r = 0.6-0.85; p < 0.05). Coincubation of troleandomycin (50 microM) with cisapride enantiomers (15 microM) in HLMs resulted in potent inhibition of NORCIS formation (by 75-80%), while other inhibitors showed negligible effect. Of 10 recombinant human P450s tested, CYP3A4 catalyzed the formation of NORCIS, 3-F-4-OHCIS, and 4-F-2-OHCIS from each enantiomer and racemic cisapride (15 microM) with the highest specific activity (Km values close to those in HLMs). We noted that the rate of racemic cisapride metabolism by HLMs and recombinant human CYP3A4 is slower compared with equimolar concentrations of each enantiomer. When incubated simultaneously in HLMs, the enantiomers inhibit each other's metabolism. In conclusion, our data demonstrate for the first time the stereoselective metabolism and enantiomer-enantiomer interaction of cisapride. Provided that the potency or the response of the enantiomers differ, understanding the factors that control their disposition as opposed to that of racemic cisapride may better predict adverse drug interactions and the resulting prokinetic efficacy and cardiac safety of cisapride.

Synthesis of phosphorothioate-methylphosphonate oligonucleotide co-polymers.

We describe the synthesis and characterization of novel phosphorothioate-methylphosphonate backbone-modified oligodeoxynucleotide co-polymers. These may have potential use as antisense constructs.

On the rapid deprotection of synthetic oligonucleotides and analogs.

The efficiency of oligodeoxynucleotide deprotection is greatly enhanced using a combination of: (a) ethanolamine, and especially a mixture of hydrazine, ethanolamine and methanol, in place of the usual aqueous ammonia; (b) tert-butylphenoxyacetyl amino protecting groups, and (c) oxalyl link between the first nucleotide and the polymeric support. The extent of base modification, particularly of C, is shown to be extremely low, and the quality of deprotected oligonucleotides is as high as in the case of ammonia deprotection. This method is also shown to be applicable to the preparation of phosphorothioate and methylphosphonate oligodeoxynucleotides and oligoribonucleotides.

Phospholipids chiral at phosphorus. Stereochemical mechanism for the formation of inositol 1-phosphate catalyzed by phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C.

The phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) from mammalian sources catalyzes the simultaneous formation of both inositol 1,2-cyclic phosphate (IcP) and inositol 1-phosphate (IP). It has not been established whether the two products are formed in sequential or parallel reactions, even though the latter has been favored in previous reports. This problem was investigated by using a stereochemical approach. Diastereomers of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-(1D- [16O,17O]phosphoinositol) ([16O,17O]DPPI) and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-(1D-thiophosphoinositol) (DPPsI) were synthesized, the latter with known configuration. Desulfurization of the DPPsI isomers of known configurations in H2(18)O gave [16O,18O]DPPI with known configurations, which allowed assignment of the configurations of [16O,17O]DPPI on the basis of 31P NMR analyses of silylated [16O,18O]DPPI and [16O,17O]DPPI (the inositol moiety was fully protected in this operation). (Rp)- and (Sp)-[16O,17O]DPPI were then converted into trans- and cis-[16O,17O]IcP, respectively, by PI-PLC from Bacillus cereus, which had been shown to proceed with inversion of configuration at phosphorus [Lin, G., Bennett, F. C., & Tsai, M.-D. (1990) Biochemistry 29, 2747-2757]. 31P NMR analysis was again used to differentiate the silylated products of the two isomers of IcP, which then permitted assignments of IcP with unknown configuration derived from transesterification of (Rp)- and (Sp)-[16O,17O]DPPI by bovine brain PI-PLC-beta 1. The results indicated inversion of configuration, in agreement with the steric course of the same reaction catalyzed by PI-PLCs from B. cereus and guinea pig uterus reported previously. For the steric course of the formation of inositol 1-phosphate catalyzed by PI-PLC, (Rp)- and (Sp)-[16O,17O]DPPI were hydrolyzed in H2(18)O to afford 1-[16O,17O,18O]IP, which was then converted to IcP chemically and analyzed by 31P NMR. The results indicated that both B. cereus PI-PLC and the PI-PLC-beta 1 from bovine brain catalyze conversion of DPPI to IP with overall retention of configuration at phosphorus. These results suggest that both bacterial and mammalian PI-PLCs catalyze the formation of IcP and IP by a sequential mechanism. However, the conversion of IcP to IP was detectable by 31P NMR only for the bacterial enzyme. Thus an alternative mechanism in which IcP and IP are formed by totally independent pathways, with formation of IP involving a covalent enzyme-phosphoinositol intermediate, cannot be ruled out for the mammalian enzyme. It was also found that both PI-PLCs displayed lack of stereo-specifically toward the 1,2-diacylglycerol moiety, which suggests that the hydrophobic part of phosphatidylinositol is not recognized by PI-PLC.