Identification of Formaldehyde-Induced DNA-RNA Cross-Links in the A/J Mouse Lung Tumorigenesis Model.

4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) is a potent lung carcinogen present in tobacco products, and exposure to it is likely one of the factors contributing to the development of lung cancer in cigarette smokers. To exert its carcinogenic effects, NNK must be metabolically activated into highly reactive species generating a wide spectrum of DNA damage. We have identified a new class of DNA adducts, DNA-RNA cross-links found for the first time in NNK-treated mice lung DNA using our improved high-resolution accurate mass segmented full scan data-dependent neutral loss MS3 screening strategy. The levels of these DNA-RNA cross-links were found to be significantly higher in NNK-treated mice compared to the corresponding controls, which is consistent with higher levels of formaldehyde due to NNK metabolism as compared to endogenous levels. We hypothesize that this DNA-RNA cross-linking occurs through reaction with NNK-generated formaldehyde and speculate that this phenomenon has broad implications for NNK-induced carcinogenesis. The structures of these cross-links were characterized using high-resolution LC-MS2 and LC-MS3 accurate mass spectral analysis and comparison to a newly synthesized standard. Taken together, our data demonstrate a previously unknown link between DNA-RNA cross-link adducts and NNK and provide a unique opportunity to further investigate how these novel NNK-derived DNA-RNA cross-links contribute to carcinogenesis in the future.

Broadening the Scope of the Zwitterionic 1,3-Diaza-Claisen Rearrangement through a Tethering Strategy.

Expansion of the scope of the 1,3-diaza-Claisen rearrangement beyond bridged-bicyclic tertiary allylic amines has been investigated through a tethering strategy. Isothioureas tethered to tertiary allylic amines are converted to carbodiimides through a reaction with AgOTf/Et3N. Intramolecular cyclization of the tertiary allylic amine to the carbodiimide equilibrates with a zwitterionic intermediate. Heating the carbodiimide/zwitterion affords a rearrangement product. Heating carbodiimide/zwitterion with a deuterated allyl group results in the scrambling of the deuterium label, which is consistent with an ionic mechanism involving heterolytic cleavage of the allylic C-N bond, followed by trapping of the allyl cation at either terminal carbon. The ionic mechanism is attributed to silver salt contamination since pushing deuterium-labeled carbodiimide/zwitterion through silica gel prior to heating results in clean deuterium transposition consistent with a sigmatropic mechanism, and adding back silver salts results in deuterium scrambling. Overall, the tethering strategy broadens the scope of the rearrangement to simpler allylic substrates. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the sigmatropic rearrangement are in agreement with reactivity trends observed with reactions run under silver-free conditions.

Hypervalent iodine catalyzed Hofmann rearrangement of carboxamides using oxone as terminal oxidant.

Hofmann rearrangement of carboxamides to carbamates using Oxone as an oxidant can be efficiently catalyzed by iodobenzene. This reaction involves hypervalent iodine species generated in situ from catalytic amount of PhI and Oxone in the presence of 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) in aqueous methanol solutions. Under these conditions, Hofmann rearrangement of various carboxamides affords corresponding carbamates in high yields.

(Tosylimino)phenyl-λ3-iodane as a reagent for the synthesis of methyl carbamates via Hofmann rearrangement of aromatic and aliphatic carboxamides.

A new, mild procedure for the Hofmann rearrangement of aromatic and aliphatic carboxamides using (tosylimino)phenyl-λ(3)-iodane, PhINTs, as a reagent is reported. Because of the mild reaction conditions, this method is particularly useful for the Hofmann rearrangement of substituted benzamides, which usually afford complex reaction mixtures with other hypervalent iodine oxidants. The mild reaction conditions and high selectivity in the reaction of carboxamides with PhINTs allow the isolation of the initially formed labile isocyanates or their subsequent conversion to stable carbamates by treatment with alcohols.