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Highly efficient pseudo-enantiomeric olefin ligands were designed from D-glucose and D-galactose. These ligands yield consistently excellent levels of enantioselectivity in Rh(I)-catalyzed 1,4-additions of aryl- and alkenylboronic acids to achiral enones and high diastereoselectivity with chiral substrates. Contrary to established olefin ligands, they are obtained enantiomerically pure via short syntheses without racemic resolution steps, making them a valuable addition to the arsenal of chiral ligands with olefinic donor sites.

In previous studies we found that the asymmetric induction of bis(oxazolines) based on D-glucosamine strongly depended on the steric demand of the 3-O-substituents. To further probe the impact of the 3-position of the pyranose scaffold, we prepared 3-epimerised and 3-defunctionalised versions of these ligands as well as a 3-O-formyl derivative. Application of these new ligands in asymmetric cyclopropanation revealed strong steric and configurational effects of position 3 on asymmetric induction, further dramatic effects of the pyranose conformation were also observed.

A commercially available 2,3-unsaturated pyranoside, derived from d-glucose, was converted into a new type of olefin phosphorus chelate ligand in only three steps. Application in rhodium catalyzed conjugate additions of phenylboronic acid to enones led to excellent levels of stereoinduction for several cyclic substrates. The easy preparation and the high efficiency of this ligand make it an interesting and promising alternative to established systems.

Identification of crystallization conditions of new proteins is still regarded as a tedious trial-and-error work, especially when the crystallization step has to meet the requirements of a given purification process. The traditional screening kit method and a multifactorial approach were compared against each other with regard to their ability to find new crystallization conditions that are compatible to the purification process of a recombinant aprotinin variant. Overall, the multifactorial approach turned out to be 10-fold more efficient. The new crystallization conditions were scaled up and implemented into the purification process as a bulk storage step. The aprotinin variant derived from this process was fully characterized biochemically.

1. Soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) is the only proven receptor for the ubiquitous biological messenger nitric oxide (NO) and is intimately involved in many signal transduction pathways, most notably in regulating vascular tone and platelet function. sGC is a heterodimeric (alpha/ss) protein that converts GTP to cyclic GMP; NO binds to its prosthetic haem group. Here, we report the discovery of a novel sGC activating compound, its interaction with a previously unrecognized regulatory site and its therapeutic implications. 2. Through a high-throughput screen we identified BAY 58-2667, an amino dicarboxylic acid which potently activates sGC in an NO-independent manner. In contrast to NO, YC-1 and BAY 41-2272, the sGC stimulators described recently, BAY 58-2667 activates the enzyme even after it has been oxidized by the sGC inhibitor ODQ or rendered haem deficient. 3. Binding studies with radiolabelled BAY 58-2667 show a high affinity site on the enzyme. 4. Using photoaffinity labelling studies we identified the amino acids 371 (alpha-subunit) and 231 - 310 (ss-subunit) as target regions for BAY 58-2667. 5. sGC activation by BAY 58-2667 results in an antiplatelet activity both in vitro and in vivo and a potent vasorelaxation which is not influenced by nitrate tolerance. 6. BAY 58-2667 shows a potent antihypertensive effect in conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats. In anaesthetized dogs the hemodynamic effects of BAY 58-2667 and GTN are very similar on the arterial and venous system. 7. This novel type of sGC activator is a valuable research tool and may offer a new approach for treating cardiovascular diseases.

BAY 41-8543 is a novel, highly specific and so far the most potent NO-independent stimulator of sGC. Here we report the effects of BAY 41-8543 on the isolated enzyme, endothelial cells, platelets, isolated vessels and Langendorff heart preparation. BAY 41-8543 stimulates the recombinant sGC concentration-dependently from 0.0001 microM to 100 microM up to 92-fold. In combination, BAY 41-8543 and NO have synergistic effects over a wide range of concentrations. Similar results are shown in implying that BAY 41-8543 stimulates the sGC directly and furthermore makes the enzyme more sensitive to its endogenous activator NO. In vitro, BAY 41-8543 is a potent relaxing agent of aortas, saphenous arteries, coronary arteries and veins with IC(50)-values in the nM range. In the rat heart Langendorff preparation, BAY 41-8543 potently reduces coronary perfusion pressure from 10(-9) to 10(-6) g ml(-1) without any effect on left ventricular pressure and heart rate. BAY 41-8543 is effective even under nitrate tolerance conditions proved by the same vasorelaxing effect on aortic rings taken either from normal or nitrate-tolerant rats. BAY 41-8543 is a potent inhibitor of collagen-mediated aggregation in washed human platelets (IC(50)=0.09 microM). In plasma, BAY 41-8543 inhibits collagen-mediated aggregation better than ADP-induced aggregation, but has no effect on the thrombin pathway. BAY 41-8543 is also a potent direct stimulator of the cyclic GMP/PKG/VASP pathway in platelets and synergizes with NO over a wide range of concentrations. These results suggest that BAY 41-8543 is on the one hand an invaluable tool for studying sGC signaling in vitro and on the other hand its unique profile may offer a novel approach for treating cardiovascular diseases.

Nitric oxide (NO) is a widespread, potent, biological mediator that has many physiological and pathophysiological roles. Research in the field of NO appears to have followed a straightforward path, and the findings have been progressive: NO and cyclic GMP are involved in vasodilatation; glycerol trinitrate relaxes vascular smooth muscles by bioconversion to NO; mammalian cells synthesize NO; and last, NO mediates vasodilatation by stimulating the soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), a heterodimeric (alpha/beta) haem protein that converts GTP to cGMP2-4. Here we report the discovery of a regulatory site on sGC. Using photoaffinity labelling, we have identified the cysteine 238 and cysteine 243 region in the alpha1-subunit of sGC as the target for a new type of sGC stimulator. Moreover, we present a pyrazolopyridine, BAY 41-2272, that potently stimulates sGC through this site by a mechanism that is independent of NO. This results in antiplatelet activity, a strong decrease in blood pressure and an increase in survival in a low-NO rat model of hypertension, and as such may offer an approach for treating cardiovascular diseases.

Background: The most important receptor for nitric oxide is the soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), a heme containing heterodimer. Recently, a pyrazolopyridine derivative BAY 41-2272, structurally related to YC-1, was identified stimulating soluble guanylate cyclase in an NO-independent manner, which results in vasodilatation and antiplatelet activity. The study described here addresses the identification of the NO-independent site on soluble guanylate cyclase., Results: We developed a photoaffinity label (3H-meta-PAL) for the direct and NO-independent soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulator BAY 41-2272 by introducing an azido-group into the tritium labeled compound. The synthesized photoaffinitylabel directly stimulates the purified sGC and shows in combination with NO a synergistic effect on sGC activity. Irradiation with UV light of 3H-meta-PAL together with the highly purified sGC leads to a covalent binding to the alpha1-subunit of the enzyme. This binding is blocked by unlabeled meta-PAL, YC-1 and BAY 41-2272. For further identification of the NO-independent regulatory site the 3H-meta-PAL labeled sGC was fragmented by CNBr digest. The 3H-meta-PAL binds to a CNBr fragment, consisting of the amino acids 236-290 of the alpha1-subunit. Determination of radioactivity of the single PTH-cycles from the sequencing of this CNBr fragment detected the cysteines 238 and 243 as binding residues of the 3H-meta-PAL., Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that the region surrounding the cysteines 238 and 243 in the alpha1-subunit of the sGC could play an important role in regulation of sGC activity and could be the target of this new type of sGC stimulators.