Lamin B receptor (LBR) is involved in the induction of cellular senescence in human cells.

Cellular senescence is a phenomenon of irreversible growth arrest in mammalian somatic cells in culture. Various stresses induce cellular senescence and indeed, we have found that excess thymidine effectively induces cellular senescence in human cells. Further, many reports indicate the implication of chromatin proteins in cellular senescence. Here we analysed the role of lamin B receptor (LBR), a nuclear envelope protein that regulates heterochromatin organization, in cellular senescence induced by excess thymidine. We then found that the LBR protein was down-regulated and showed aberrant localization in cells upon induction of cellular senescence by excess thymidine. Additionally, we also found that knock-down of LBR facilitated the induction of cellular senescence by excess thymidine in cancerous HeLa cells, and importantly, it induced cellular senescence in normal human diploid fibroblast TIG-7 cells. These results suggested that decreased LBR function is involved in the induction of cellular senescence in human cells.

Formal catalytic asymmetric total synthesis of fostriecin.

The common synthetic intermediate of a potent and promising anticancer agent, fostriecin, was synthesized using a unique method that combines four catalytic asymmetric reactions as shown above.

Key role of the Lewis base position in asymmetric bifunctional catalysis: design and evaluation of a new ligand for chiral polymetallic catalysts.

New chiral ligands for asymmetric polymetallic catalysts were designed on the basis of the assumption that the higher-order assembly structure is stabilized by modifying the modular unit. The designed ligands 6 and 7 contained a scaffolding cyclohexane ring with a Lewis base phosphine oxide directly attached to the scaffold. A module in the polymetallic complex contains two metals per ligand, and a stable 6-, 5-, 5-membered fused chelation ring system should be generated. Synthesis of these ligands is simple and high yielding, using a catalytic dynamic kinetic resolution promoted by the Trost catalyst as a key step. Ligand function was assessed in a catalytic asymmetric ring-opening reaction of meso-aziridines with TMSCN, a useful reaction for the synthesis of optically active beta-amino acids. The Gd complex generated from Gd(OiPr)3 and the ligand was a highly active and enantioselective catalyst in this reaction. Enantioselectivity was reversed compared to the previously reported d-glucose-derived catalyst containing the same chirality of the individual module. ESI-MS analysis and X-ray crystallographic studies indicate that the assembly state of the modules in the polymetallic catalysts differs depending on the chiral ligand. The difference in the higher-order structure stems from a subtle change (one carbon) in the position of the Lewis base relative to the Gd metal. The change in the higher-order structure of the polymetallic complex led to a dramatic reversal of the enantioselectivity and increased catalyst activity.

Catalyst-controlled asymmetric synthesis of fostriecin and 8-epi-fostriecin.

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of the natural antibiotic fostriecin (CI-920) and its analogue 8-epi-fostriecin and evaluation of their biological activity are described. We used four catalytic asymmetric reactions to construct all of the chiral centers of fostriecin and 8-epi-fostriecin; cyanosilylation of a ketone, Yamamoto allylation, direct aldol reaction, and Noyori reduction, two of which were developed by our group. Catalytic enantioselective cyanosilylation of ketone 13 produced the chiral tetrasubstituted carbon at C-8. Both enantiomers of the product cyanohydrin were obtained with high enantioselectivity by switching the center metal of the catalyst from titanium to gadolinium. Yamamoto allylation constructed the C-5 chiral carbon in the alpha,beta-unsaturated lactone moiety. A direct catalytic asymmetric aldol reaction of an alkynyl ketone using LLB catalyst constructed the chirality at C-9 with the introduction of a synthetically versatile alkyne moiety, which was later converted to cis-vinyl iodide, the substrate for the subsequent Stille coupling for the triene synthesis. Noyori reduction produced the secondary alcohol at C-11 from the acetylene ketone 6 with excellent selectivity. Importantly, all the stereocenters were constructed under catalyst control in this synthesis. This strategy should be useful for rapid synthesis of stereoisomers of fostriecin.

Practical synthesis of chiral ligands for catalytic enantioselective cyanosilylation of ketones and ketoimines.

A practical synthesis of chiral ligands that are useful for catalytic enantioselective cyanosilylation of ketones and ketoimines is described. Compared with the previous synthetic route, the number of total steps is decreased and the total yield is greatly improved. Furthermore, both (+)- and (-)-ligands are readily available by this new synthetic route.

Dehydroabietic acid derivatives as a novel scaffold for large-conductance calcium-activated K+ channel openers.

We found that the dehydroabietic acid structure is a new scaffold for chemical modulators of large-conductance calcium-activated K+ channels (BK channels). Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies of the dehydroabietic acid derivatives and related non-aromatic compounds such as pimaric acid revealed the importance of the carboxyl functionality and an appropriate hydrophobic moiety of the molecules for BK channel-opening ability.