Tricarboxylic acid cycle activity suppresses acetylation of mitochondrial proteins during early embryonic development in Caenorhabditis elegans.

The tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle (or citric acid cycle) is responsible for the complete oxidation of acetyl-CoA and formation of intermediates required for ATP production and other anabolic pathways, such as amino acid synthesis. Here, we uncovered an additional mechanism that may help explain the essential role of the TCA cycle in the early embryogenesis of Caenorhabditis elegans. We found that knockdown of citrate synthase (cts-1), the initial and rate-limiting enzyme of the TCA cycle, results in early embryonic arrest, but that this phenotype is not because of ATP and amino acid depletions. As a possible alternative mechanism explaining this developmental deficiency, we observed that cts-1 RNAi embryos had elevated levels of intracellular acetyl-CoA, the starting metabolite of the TCA cycle. Of note, we further discovered that these embryos exhibit hyperacetylation of mitochondrial proteins. We found that supplementation with acetylase-inhibiting polyamines, including spermidine and putrescine, counteracted the protein hyperacetylation and developmental arrest in the cts-1 RNAi embryos. Contrary to the hypothesis that spermidine acts as an acetyl sink for elevated acetyl-CoA, the levels of three forms of acetylspermidine, N1-acetylspermidine, N8-acetylspermidine, and N1,N8-diacetylspermidine, were not significantly increased in embryos treated with exogenous spermidine. Instead, we demonstrated that the mitochondrial deacetylase sirtuin 4 (encoded by the sir-2.2 gene) is required for spermidine's suppression of protein hyperacetylation and developmental arrest in the cts-1 RNAi embryos. Taken together, these results suggest the possibility that during early embryogenesis, acetyl-CoA consumption by the TCA cycle in C. elegans prevents protein hyperacetylation and thereby protects mitochondrial function.

Chemoselective Nucleophilic Functionalizations of Aromatic Aldehydes and Acetals via Pyridinium Salt Intermediates.

The development of a novel chemoselective functionalization can diversify the strategy for synthesizing the target molecules. The perfect chemoselectivity between aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes is difficult to achieve by the previous methods. The aromatic aldehyde-selective nucleophilic addition in the presence of aliphatic aldehydes was newly accomplished. Namely, the aromatic aldehyde-selective nucleophilic addition using arenes and allyl silanes proceeded in the presence of trialkylsilyl triflate and 2,2'-bipyridyl, while the aliphatic aldehydes completely remained unchanged. The reactive pyridinium-type salt intermediate derived from an aromatic aldehyde chemoselectively underwent the nucleophilic substitution. Moreover, the aromatic acetals as the protected aldehydes could be directly transformed into similar pyridinium salt intermediates, which reacted with various nucleophiles coexisting with the aliphatic aldehydes.

Design and synthesis of N1,N8-diacetylspermidine analogues having a linker with desired functional groups.

The synthesis of new N1,N8-diacetylspermidine (DiAcSpd) analogues having a linker with desired functional groups in the methylene skeleton, which have been designed by theoretical calculations, is described. We have also achieved the preparation of DiAcSpd supported on solid-phase resins, which have the potential to be used for the evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX).

Highly Discriminative and Chemoselective Deprotection/Transformations of Acetals with the Combination of Trialkylsilyl Triflate/2,4,6-Collidine.

Acetals are the most useful protecting groups for carbonyl functional groups. In addition to the role of protection, they can also be used as synthons of carbonyl functions. Previously, we developed a chemoselective deprotection and nucleophilic substitution of acetals from aldehydes in the presence of ketals. This article describes the highly discriminative and chemoselective transformations of acetals bearing different substitution patterns, different types of acetals, as well as mixed acetals. These reactions can achieve the transformations that cannot be attained by conventional methods, and their results strongly suggest the combination of R3SiOTf/2,4,6-collidine to promote such unprecedented phenomena.

Chemoselective Reduction and Alkylation of Carbonyl Functions Using Phosphonium Salts as an in Situ Protecting Groups.

Recent progress in the chemoselective reduction and alkylation of carbonyl functions using our in situ protection method is described. Methods that enable reversal or control of the reactivity of a carbonyl functional group are potentially useful. They open up new areas of synthetic organic chemistry and change the concept of retrosynthesis because they remove the need for complicated protection/deprotection sequences. In this account, we discuss the strategy and applications of our in situ protection method using phosphonium salts.

Beckmann Fragmentation and Successive Carbon-Carbon Bond Formation Using Grignard Reagents via Phosphonium Salt Intermediates.

The intermediates formed during the Beckmann fragmentation of α-alkoxy and α-alkoxy-α-alkyl oxime acetates have been successfully trapped as phosphonium salts, which were subsequently reacted with a variety of Grignard reagents to give the corresponding substituted products in good yields. Notably, this reaction proceeded smoothly even from α-alkoxy-α-alkyl oxime acetates.

Chemoselective Transformations of Aromatic Methoxymethyl Ethers Using Trialkylsilyl Triflate and 2,2'-Bipyridyl.

Aromatic methoxymethyl (MOM) ethers behave differently from aliphatic MOM ethers upon treatment with trialkylsilyl triflate (R3SiOTf) and 2,2'-bipyridyl. The aromatic MOM ethers are first converted to silyl ethers and subsequently deprotected by hydrolysis to give the mother alcohols when the R3SiOTf used is trimethylsilyl triflate (TMSOTf). Conversely, direct conversion of aromatic MOM ethers to aromatic triethylsilyl (TES) ethers is possible when the R3SiOTf used is triethylsilyl triflate (TESOTf).

Aromatic aldehyde-selective aldol addition with aldehyde-derived silyl enol ethers.

The aldol reaction using aldehyde-derived silyl enolates as nucleophiles with aromatic aldehydes chemoselectively proceeded in the presence of silyl triflate and 2,2'-bipyridyl to produce ß-siloxy aldehydes, while the aliphatic aldehydes were completely recovered. The unprecedented chemoselectivities depend on the reactivities of the pyridinium-type intermediates derived from the aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes.

Concise synthesis of oxacyclic compounds using highly discriminative two-way transformations of α,ß-unsaturated esters in the presence of enones.

Highly discriminative transformation of α,ß-unsaturated esters in the presence of enones using two types of phosphonium salts, and their application to the synthesis of oxacyclic compounds in six steps in one pot have been achieved.