Origin of High Diastereoselectivity in Reactions of Seven-Membered-Ring Enolates.

Unlike many reactions of their six-membered-ring counterparts, the reactions of chiral seven-membered-ring enolates are highly diastereoselective. Diastereoselectivity was observed for a range of substrates, including lactam, lactone, and cyclic ketone derivatives. The stereoselectivity arises from torsional and steric interactions that develop when electrophiles approach the diastereotopic π-faces of the enolates, which are distinguished by subtle differences in the orientation of nearby atoms of the ring.

Biophysical Compatibility of a Heterotrimeric Tyrosinase-TYRP1-TYRP2 Metalloenzyme Complex.

Tyrosinase (TYR) is a copper-containing monooxygenase central to the function of melanocytes. Alterations in its expression or activity contribute to variations in skin, hair and eye color, and underlie a variety of pathogenic pigmentary phenotypes, including several forms of oculocutaneous albinism (OCA). Many of these phenotypes are linked to individual missense mutations causing single nucleotide variants and polymorphisms (SNVs) in TYR. We previously showed that two TYR homologues, TYRP1 and TYRP2, modulate TYR activity and stabilize the TYR protein. Accordingly, to investigate whether TYR, TYRP1, and TYRP2 are biophysically compatible with various heterocomplexes, we computationally docked a high-quality 3D model of TYR to the crystal structure of TYRP1 and to a high-quality 3D model of TYRP2. Remarkably, the resulting TYR-TYRP1 heterodimer was complementary in structure and energy with the TYR-TYRP2 heterodimer, with TYRP1 and TYRP2 docking to different adjacent surfaces on TYR that apposed a third realistic protein interface between TYRP1-TYRP2. Hence, the 3D models are compatible with a heterotrimeric TYR-TYRP1-TYRP2 complex. In addition, this heterotrimeric TYR-TYRP1-TYRP2 positioned the C-terminus of each folded enzymatic domain in an ideal position to allow their C-terminal transmembrane helices to form a putative membrane embedded three-helix bundle. Finally, pathogenic TYR mutations causing OCA1A, which also destabilize TYR biochemically, cluster on an unoccupied protein interface at the periphery of the heterotrimeric complex, suggesting that this may be a docking site for OCA2, an anion channel. Pathogenic OCA2 mutations result in similar phenotypes to those produced by OCA1A TYR mutations. While this complex may be difficult to detect in vitro, due to the complex environment of the vertebrate cellular membranous system, our results support the existence of a heterotrimeric complex in melanogenesis.

Corrigendum to "Triazolo[4,5-d]pyrimidines as validated general control nonderepressible 2 (GCN2) protein kinase inhibitors reduce growth of leukemia cells" [Comput. Struct. Biotechnol. J. 16 (2018) 350-360].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2018.09.003.].

Triazolo[4,5-d]pyrimidines as Validated General Control Nonderepressible 2 (GCN2) Protein Kinase Inhibitors Reduce Growth of Leukemia Cells.

Cellular stress signals activate adaptive signaling pathways of the mammalian integrated stress response (ISR), of which the unfolded protein response (UPR) is a subset. These pathways converge at the phosporylation of eIF2α. Drug-like, potent and selective chemical inhibitors (valid chemical probes) targeting major ISR kinases have been previously identified, with the exception of GCN2. We synthesized and evaluated a series of GCN2 inhibitors based on a triazolo[4,5-d]pyrimidine scaffold. Several compounds potently inhibited GCN2 in vitro and displayed good selectivity over the related kinases PERK, HRI, and IRE1. The compounds inhibited phosporylation of eIF2α in HEK293T cells with an IC50 < 150 nM, validating them as chemical probes for cellular studies. These probes were screened against the National Cancer Institute NCI-60 human cancer cell line panel. Uniform growth inhibition was observed in the leukemia group of cell lines. Growth inhibition in the most sensitive cell lines coincided with high GCN2 mRNA expression levels. Oncomine analysis revealed high GCN2 expression accompanied by lower asparagine synthetase (ASNS) expression in patient-derived acute lymphoblastic leukemias with B-Cell origins (B-ALL) as well. Notably, asparaginase, which depletes amino acids and triggers GCN2 activity, is a licensed, first-line B-ALL treatment. Thus, we hypothesize that leukemias exhibiting high GCN2 expression and low ASNS expression may be susceptible to pharmacologic GCN2 inhibition.

Stereoelectronic Model To Explain Highly Stereoselective Reactions of Seven-Membered-Ring Oxocarbenium-Ion Intermediates.

Nucleophilic attack on seven-membered-ring oxocarbenium ions is generally highly stereoselective. The preferred mode of nucleophilic attack forms the product in a conformation that minimizes transannular interactions, thus leading to different stereoselectivity as compared to that of reactions involving six-membered-ring oxocarbenium ions.

Effect of conformational rigidity on the stereoselectivity of nucleophilic additions to five-membered ring bicyclic oxocarbenium ion intermediates.

Nucleophilic substitution reactions of five-membered ring acetals bearing fused rings reveal that subtle changes in the structure of the fused ring can exert dramatic influences on selectivity. If the fused ring did not constrain the five-membered ring undergoing substitution, selectivity was comparable to what was observed for an unconstrained system (≥92% diastereoselectivity, favoring the product of inside attack on the oxocarbenium ion). If the ring were more constrained by including at least one oxygen atom in the ring, selectivity dropped considerably (to 60% diastereoselectivity in one case). Transition states of the nucleophilic addition of allyltrimethylsilane to selected oxocarbenium ions were calculated using DFT methods. These computational models reproduced the correlation between additional conformational rigidity and selectivity.

6-bromoindigo dye.

6-Bromoindigo (MBI) [systematic name: 6-bromo-2-(3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indol-2-ylidene)-2,3-dihydro-1H-indol-3-one], C(16)H(9)BrN(2)O(2), crystallizes with one disordered molecule in the asymmetric unit about a pseudo-inversion center, as shown by the Br-atom disorder of 0.682 (3):0.318 (3). The 18 indigo ring atoms occupy two sites which are displaced by 0.34 Šfrom each other as a result of this packing disorder. This difference in occupancy factors results in each atom in the reported model used to represent the two disordered sites being 0.08 Šfrom the higher-occupancy site and 0.26 Šfrom the lower-occupancy site. Thus, as a result of the disorder, the C-Br bond lengths in the disordered components are 0.08 and 0.26 Šshorter than those found in 6,6'-dibromoindigo (DBI) [Süsse & Krampe (1979). Naturwissenschaften, 66, 110], although the distances within the indigo ring are similar to those found in DBI. The crystals are also twinned by merohedry. Stacking interactions and hydrogen bonds are similar to those found in the structures of indigo and DBI. In MBI, an interaction of the type C-Br...C replaces the C-Br...Br interactions found in DBI. The interactions in MBI were calculated quantum mechanically using density functional theory and the quantum theory of atoms in molecules.

Theoretical study of the Bergman cyclization of 2,3-diethynyl-1-nitrotropylium ion: formation of a nitroxide radical amenable to EPR detection for biological applications.

We report a DFT study of a Bergman cyclization producing a stable triplet nitroxide diradical and monoradical (after H abstraction from an external source). The monoradical is predicted to be amenable to detection by EPR methods to potentially probe the structure and dynamics of enediyne molecules for drug interactions.