Resveratrol and para-coumarate serve as ring precursors for coenzyme Q biosynthesis.

Coenzyme Q (Q or ubiquinone) is a redox-active polyisoprenylated benzoquinone lipid essential for electron and proton transport in the mitochondrial respiratory chain. The aromatic ring 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4HB) is commonly depicted as the sole aromatic ring precursor in Q biosynthesis despite the recent finding that para-aminobenzoic acid (pABA) also serves as a ring precursor in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Q biosynthesis. In this study, we employed aromatic (13)C6-ring-labeled compounds including (13)C6-4HB, (13)C6-pABA, (13)C6-resveratrol, and (13)C6-coumarate to investigate the role of these small molecules as aromatic ring precursors in Q biosynthesis in Escherichia coli, S. cerevisiae, and human and mouse cells. In contrast to S. cerevisiae, neither E. coli nor the mammalian cells tested were able to form (13)C6-Q when cultured in the presence of (13)C6-pABA. However, E. coli cells treated with (13)C6-pABA generated (13)C6-ring-labeled forms of 3-octaprenyl-4-aminobenzoic acid, 2-octaprenyl-aniline, and 3-octaprenyl-2-aminophenol, suggesting UbiA, UbiD, UbiX, and UbiI are capable of using pABA or pABA-derived intermediates as substrates. E. coli, S. cerevisiae, and human and mouse cells cultured in the presence of (13)C6-resveratrol or (13)C6-coumarate were able to synthesize (13)C6-Q. Future evaluation of the physiological and pharmacological responses to dietary polyphenols should consider their metabolism to Q.

Large ring-forming alkylations provide facile access to composite macrocycles.

Macrocyclic compounds have potential to enable drug discovery for protein targets with extended, solvent-exposed binding sites. Crystallographic structures of peptides bound at such sites show strong surface complementarity and frequent aromatic side-chain contacts. In an effort to capture these features in stabilized small molecules, we describe a method to convert linear peptides into constrained macrocycles based upon their aromatic content. Designed templates initiate the venerable Friedel-Crafts alkylation to form large rings efficiently at room temperature - routinely within minutes - and unimpeded by polar functional groups. No protecting groups, metals, or air-free techniques are required. Regiochemistry can be tuned electronically to explore diverse macrocycle connectivities. Templates with additional reaction capabilities can further manipulate macrocycle structure. The chemistry lays a foundation to extend studies of how the size, shape and constitution of peptidyl macrocycles correlate with their pharmacological properties.

Template-constrained macrocyclic peptides prepared from native, unprotected precursors.

Peptide-protein interactions are important mediators of cellular-signaling events. Consensus binding motifs (also known as short linear motifs) within these contacts underpin molecular recognition, yet have poor pharmacological properties as discrete species. Here, we present methods to transform intact peptides into stable, templated macrocycles. Two simple steps install the template. The key reaction is a palladium-catalyzed macrocyclization. The catalysis has broad scope and efficiently forms large rings by engaging native peptide functionality including phenols, imidazoles, amines, and carboxylic acids without the necessity of protecting groups. The tunable reactivity of the template gives the process special utility. Defined changes in reaction conditions markedly alter chemoselectivity. In all cases examined, cyclization occurs rapidly and in high yield at room temperature, regardless of peptide composition or chain length. We show that conformational restraints imparted by the template stabilize secondary structure and enhance proteolytic stability in vitro. Palladium-catalyzed internal cinnamylation is a strong complement to existing methods for peptide modification.

Template-induced macrocycle diversity through large ring-forming alkylations of tryptophan.

Macrocyclic peptidomimetics are valuable in research and serve as lead compounds in drug discovery efforts. New methods to prepare such structures are of considerable interest. In this pilot study, we show that an organic template harboring a latent cinnamyl cation participates in novel Friedel-Crafts macrocyclization reactions with tryptophan. Upon joining the template to Trp-Trp-Tyr, a single operation efficiently generates eight unique macrocycles. Each has been isolated and thoroughly characterized. Product distribution as a function of Brønsted and/or Lewis acidic conditions was explored, and outcomes were compared to rearrangements induced within a corresponding tyrosine-linked cyclic ether. The solution structure of a new macrocyclic pyrroloindoline was solved using a combination of two-dimensional NMR methods and molecular mechanics simulations. Template-induced structural diversification of peptide sequences harboring aromatic residues has potential to create myriad macrocycles that target surfaces involved in protein-protein interactions.

Substituted phenyl groups improve the pharmacokinetic profile and anti-inflammatory effect of urea-based soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors in murine models.

Soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors (sEHIs) are anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-hypertensive, cardio- and renal-protective in multiple animal models. However, the earlier adamantyl-containing urea-based inhibitors are rapidly metabolized. Therefore, new potent inhibitors with the adamantyl group replaced by a substituted phenyl group were synthesized to presumptively offer better pharmacokinetic (PK) properties. Here we describe the improved PK profile of these inhibitors and the anti-inflammatory effect of the most promising one in a murine model. The PK profiles of inhibitors were determined following p.o. administration and serial bleeding in mice. The anti-inflammatory effect of 1-trifluoromethoxyphenyl-3-(1-propionylpiperidin-4-yl)urea (TPPU), the most promising inhibitor among the five sEHIs tested, was investigated in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged murine model. The earlier broadly-used adamantyl-containing sEHI, trans-4-[4-(3-adamantan-1-yl-ureido)-cyclohexyloxy]-benzoic acid (t-AUCB), was used for comparison. Compared with the earlier adamantyl-containing urea-based inhibitors, substituted phenyl-containing urea-based inhibitors afford more favorable PK properties, such as higher Cmaxs, larger AUCs and longer t1/2s, which, as expected, show more stable metabolic stability. Moreover, oral administration of TPPU dramatically reversed the shifts caused by LPS-challenge in plasma levels of inflammatory cytokines, epoxides and corresponding diols, which is more potent than t-AUCB. The substituted phenyl-containing sEHIs are more metabolically stable than those with adamantyl group, resulting in more potent efficacy in vivo. This indicates a new strategy for development of sEHIs for further study toward clinical trials.

1-Aryl-3-(1-acylpiperidin-4-yl)urea inhibitors of human and murine soluble epoxide hydrolase: structure-activity relationships, pharmacokinetics, and reduction of inflammatory pain.

1,3-Disubstituted ureas possessing a piperidyl moiety have been synthesized to investigate their structure-activity relationships as inhibitors of the human and murine soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH). Oral administration of 13 1-aryl-3-(1-acylpiperidin-4-yl)urea inhibitors in mice revealed substantial improvements in pharmacokinetic parameters over previously reported 1-adamantylurea based inhibitors. For example, 1-(1-(cyclopropanecarbonyl)piperidin-4-yl)-3-(4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenyl)urea (52) showed a 7-fold increase in potency, a 65-fold increase in C(max), and a 3300-fold increase in AUC over its adamantane analogue 1-(1-adamantyl)-3-(1-propionylpiperidin-4-yl)urea (2). This novel sEH inhibitor showed a 1000-fold increase in potency when compared to morphine by reducing hyperalgesia as measured by mechanical withdrawal threshold using the in vivo carrageenan induced inflammatory pain model.