Search

This work describes novel in vitro inhibitors of human mitochondrial (mdN) and cytosolic (cdN) 5'(3')-deoxynucleotidases. We designed a series of derivatives of the lead compound (S)-1-[2-deoxy-3,5-O-(phosphonobenzylidene)-β-d-threo-pentofuranosyl]thymine bearing various substituents in the para position of the benzylidene moiety. Detailed kinetic study revealed that certain para substituents increase the inhibitory potency (iodo derivative; K = 2.71 μM) and some induce a shift in selectivity toward cdN (carboxy derivative, K = 11.60 μM; iodoxy derivative, K = 6.60 μM). Crystal structures of mdN in complex with three of these compounds revealed that various para substituents lead to two alternative inhibitor binding modes within the enzyme active site. Two binding modes were also identified for cdN complexes by heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy.

A series of conformationally constrained uridine-based nucleoside phosphonic acids containing annealed 1,3-dioxolane and 1,4-dioxane rings and their "open-structure" isosteres were synthesized and evaluated as potential multisubstrate-like inhibitors of the human recombinant thymidine phosphorylase (TP, EC 2.4.2.4) and TP obtained from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). From a large set of tested nucleoside phosphonic acids, several potent compounds were identified that exhibited Ki values in the range of 0.048-1 μM. The inhibition potency of the studied compounds strongly depended on the degree of conformational flexibility of the phosphonate moiety, the stereochemical arrangement of the sugar-phosphonate component, and the substituent at position 5 of the pyrimidine nucleobase., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

The human 5'(3')-deoxyribonucleotidases catalyze the dephosphorylation of deoxyribonucleoside monophosphates to the corresponding deoxyribonucleosides and thus help to maintain the balance between pools of nucleosides and nucleotides. Here, the structures of human cytosolic deoxyribonucleotidase (cdN) at atomic resolution (1.08 Å) and mitochondrial deoxyribonucleotidase (mdN) at near-atomic resolution (1.4 Å) are reported. The attainment of an atomic resolution structure allowed interatomic distances to be used to assess the probable protonation state of the phosphate anion and the side chains in the enzyme active site. A detailed comparison of the cdN and mdN active sites allowed the design of a cdN-specific inhibitor.

Betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase (BHMT) catalyzes the transfer of a methyl group from betaine to l-homocysteine, yielding dimethylglycine and l-methionine. In this study, we prepared a new series of BHMT inhibitors. The inhibitors were designed to mimic the hypothetical transition state of BHMT substrates and consisted of analogues with NH, N(CH(3)), or N(CH(3))(2) groups separated from the homocysteine sulfur atom by a methylene, ethylene, or a propylene spacer. Only the inhibitor with the N(CH(3)) moiety and ethylene spacer gave moderate inhibition. This result led us to prepare two inhibitors lacking a nitrogen atom in the S-linked alkyl chain: (RS,RS)-5-(3-amino-3-carboxypropylthio)-3-methylpentanoic acid and (RS)-5-(3-amino-3-carboxypropylthio)-3,3-dimethylpentanoic acid. Both of these compounds were highly potent inhibitors of BHMT. The finding that BHMT does not tolerate a true betaine mimic within these inhibitors, especially the nitrogen atom, is surprising and evokes questions about putative conformational changes of BHMT upon the binding of the substrates/products and inhibitors.

A number of structurally diverse nucleoside phosphonic acids have been tested against human recombinant thymidine phosphorylase and human platelets supernatant using 2'-deoxy-5-nitrouridine as the substrate. We have selected several inhibitors working at micromolar level as lead structures for further evaluation.

Cellular 5′‐nucleotidases, enzymes regulating nucleotide/nucleoside pools, are capable of dephosphorylating phosphomonoesters of important nucleoside analogue drugs, thus decreasing their therapeutic efficacy. Human cytosolic (cdN) as well as mitochondrial (mdN) variants of this enzyme represent interesting targets for development of inhibitory compounds. In this work, bisphosphonate nucleoside derivatives were designed by using a structure‐based approach. A second phosphonate group was attached onto a base moiety and by optimization of the linker an increased inhibitor potency towards mdN and cdN was attained. The best compound exhibited inhibition of both enzymes in a nanomolar range, making it the most potent inhibitor of these enzymes prepared to date. In addition, the compounds showed selectivity towards the cdN variant. A series of crystal structures were solved for several inhibitors in the complex with mdN or cdN that provided a structural basis for understanding the inhibition profile of bisphosphonate compounds. By using a structure‐based approach, bisphosphonate nucleoside derivatives have been designed that act as potent inhibitors of human cytosolic and mitochondrial 5′‐nucleotidases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New isoelectronic, non-isosteric phosphonate analogues of nucleoside 5'-phosphates featuring the phosphorus moiety directly attached on the sugar ring in the C4' position are described. The analogues were synthesised by a nucleosidation reaction from tetrofuranosyl phosphonate synthons and silylated nucleobases. The pyrimidine compounds with erythro and threo configuration in both D- and L-series were prepared, and the structures were assigned by NMR spectroscopy. The results of NMR conformational studies show that all calculated conformers have a maximum pucker in the range typical for nucleosides. In all compounds, the S-type conformer is preferred and is more significant in α-D-threo-compounds. Studies on inhibition of thymidine phosphorylase revealed that one of the prepared phosphonic acids was a competitive inhibitor of the enzyme (Ki = 4 μM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A complete series of pyrrolidine nucleotides, (3R)- and (3S)-3-(guanin-9-yl)pyrrolidin-1-N-ylcarbonylphosphonic acids and (3S,4R)-, (3R,4S)-, (3S,4S)-, and (3R,4R)-4-(guanin-9-yl)-3-hydroxypyrrolidin-1-N-ylcarbonylphosphonic acids, were synthesized and evaluated as potentialinhibitors of purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) isolated fromperipheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and cell lines of myeloidand lymphoid origin. Two compounds, (S)-3-(guanin-9-yl)pyrrolidin-1-N-ylcarbonylphosphonic acid (2a) and (3S,4R)-4-(guanin-9-yl)-3-hydroxypyrrolidin-1-N-ylcarbonylphosphonic acid (6a), were recognizedas nanomolar competitive inhibitors of PNP isolated from cell lineswith Kivalues within the ranges of 16–100and 10–24 nM, respectively. The low MESGKiand PiKivalues of both compounds for PNP isolated from PBMCs suggest thatthese compounds could be bisubstrate inhibitors that occupy both thephosphate and nucleoside binding sites of the enzyme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Structurally diverse, sugar-modified, thymine-containing nucleoside phosphonic acids were evaluated for their ability to inhibit thymidine phosphorylase (TP, EC 2.4.2.4) purified from spontaneous T-cell lymphomas of an inbred Sprague-Dawley rat strain. From a large set of tested compounds, among them a number of pyrrolidine-based derivatives, 10 nucleotide analogues with IC50 values below 1μM were selected. Out of them, four compounds strongly inhibited the enzyme with IC50 values lying in a range of 11–45nM. These most potent compounds might be bi-substrate analogues. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]