Total synthesis and biological evaluation of potent analogues of dictyostatin: modification of the C2-C6 dienoate region

Natural product analogues: towards a blueprint for analogue-focused synthesis

A review of approaches to natural product analogues leads to the suggestion of new methods for the generation of biologically active natural product-like scaffolds.

Dictyoceratidan poisons: Defined mark on microtubule-tubulin dynamics

Tubulin/microtubule assembly and disassembly is characterized as one of the chief processes during cell growth and division. Hence drugs those perturb these process are considered to be effective in killing fast multiplying cancer cells. There is a collection of natural compounds which disturb microtubule/tubulin dis/assemblage and there have been a lot of efforts concerted in the marine realm too, to surveying such killer molecules. Close to half the natural compounds shooting out from marine invertebrates are generally with no traceable definite mechanisms of action though may be tough anti-cancerous hits at nanogram levels, hence fatefully those discoveries conclude therein without a capacity of translation from laboratory to pharmacy. Astoundingly at least 50% of natural compounds which have definite mechanisms of action causing disorders in tubulin/microtubule kinetics have an isolation history from sponges belonging to the Phylum: Porifera. Poriferans have always been a wonder worker to treat cancers with a choice of, yet precise targets on cancerous tissues. There is a specific order: Dictyoceratida within this Phylum which has contributed to yielding at least 50% of effective compounds possessing this unique mechanism of action mentioned above. However, not much notice is driven to Dictyoceratidans alongside the order: Demospongiae thus dictating the need to know its select microtubule/tubulin irritants since the unearthing of avarol in the year 1974 till date. Hence this review selectively pinpoints all the compounds, noteworthy derivatives and analogs stemming from order: Dictyoceratida focusing on the past, present and future.

Conformation-activity relationships of polyketide natural products

Polyketides represent an important class of secondary metabolites that interact with biological targets connected to a variety of disease-associated pathways. Remarkably, nature's assembly lines, polyketide synthases, manufacture these privileged structures through a combinatorial mixture of just a few structural units. This review highlights the role of these structural elements in shaping a polyketide's conformational preferences, the use of computer-based molecular modeling and solution NMR studies in the identification of low-energy conformers, and the importance of conformational analogues in probing the bound conformation. In particular, this review covers several examples wherein conformational analysis complements classic structure-activity relationships in the design of biologically active natural product analogues.

Natural products from the Lithistida: a review of the literature since 2000

Lithistid sponges are known to produce a diverse array of compounds ranging from polyketides, cyclic and linear peptides, alkaloids, pigments, lipids, and sterols. A majority of these structurally complex compounds have very potent and interesting biological activities. It has been a decade since a thorough review has been published that summarizes the literature on the natural products reported from this amazing sponge order. This review provides an update on the current taxonomic classification of the Lithistida, describes structures and biological activities of 131 new natural products, and discusses highlights from the total syntheses of 16 compounds from marine sponges of the Order Lithistida providing a compilation of the literature since the last review published in 2002.

Efficient syntheses of 25,26-dihydrodictyostatin and 25,26-dihydro-6-epi-dictyostatin, two potent new microtubule-stabilizing agents

The dictyostatins are powerful microtubule-stabilizing agents that have shown antiproliferative activity against a variety of human cancer cell lines. Two highly active analogs of dictyostatin, 25,26-dihydrodictyostatin and 25,26-dihydro-6-epi-dictyostatin, were prepared by a new streamlined total synthesis route. Three complete carbon fragments were prepared to achieve maximum convergency. These were coupled by a Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons reaction sequence and an esterification. A late stage Nozaki–Hiyama–Kishi reaction was then used to form the 22-membered macrolide. The stereoselectivity of this reaction depended on the configurations of the nearby stereocenter at C6.

Different modes of cyclization in zoanthamine alkaloid system, bisaminal versus spiroketal formation

Bisaminal cyclization in the zoanthamine alkaloid system was strongly affected by the stereochemistry of the C4 methyl. While cyclization of the (4S)-methyl precursor gave only a bisaminal compound, cyclization of the (4R)-methyl isomer produced both spiroketal and bisaminal products.

Total synthesis and biological evaluation of a series of macrocyclic hybrids and analogues of the antimitotic natural products dictyostatin, discodermolide, and taxol

The design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of a series of hybrids and analogues of the microtubule-stabilizing anticancer agents dictyostatin, discodermolide, and taxol is described. A 22-membered macrolide scaffold was prepared by adapting earlier synthetic routes directed towards dictyostatin and discodermolide, taking advantage of the distinctive structural and stereochemical similarities between these two polyketide-derived marine natural products. Initial endeavors towards accessing novel discodermolide/dictyostatin hybrids led to the adoption of a late-stage diversification strategy and the construction of a small library of methyl-ether derivatives, along with the first triple hybrids bearing the side-chain of taxol or taxotere attached through an ester linkage. Biological assays of the anti-proliferative activity of these compounds in a series of human cancer cell lines, including the taxol-resistant NCI/ADR-Res cell line, allowed the proposal of various structure-activity relationships. This led to the identification of a potent macrocyclic discodermolide/dictyostatin hybrid 12 and its C9 methoxy derivative 38, accessible by an efficient total synthesis and with a similar biological profile to dictyostatin.

Microtubule-binding agents: a dynamic field of cancer therapeutics

Microtubules are dynamic filamentous cytoskeletal proteins composed of tubulin and are an important therapeutic target in tumour cells. Agents that bind to microtubules have been part of the pharmacopoeia of anticancer therapy for decades and until the advent of targeted therapy, microtubules were the only alternative to DNA as a therapeutic target in cancer. The screening of a range of botanical species and marine organisms has yielded promising new antitubulin agents with novel properties. In the current search for novel microtubule-binding agents, enhanced tumour specificity, reduced neurotoxicity and insensitivity to chemoresistance mechanisms are the three main objectives.

Streamlined syntheses of (-)-dictyostatin, 16-desmethyl-25,26-dihydrodictyostatin, and 6-epi-16-desmethyl-25,26-dihydrodictyostatin

The dictyostatins are a promising class of potential anti-cancer drugs because they are powerful microtubule-stabilizing agents, but the complexity of their chemical structures is a severe impediment to their further development. On the basis of both synthetic and medicinal chemistry analyses, 16-desmethyl-25,26-dihydrodictyostatin and its C6 epimer were chosen as potentially potent yet accessible dictyostatin analogues, and three new syntheses were developed. A relatively classical synthesis involving vinyllithium addition and macrocyclization gave way to a newer and more practical approach based on esterification and ring-closing metathesis reaction. Finally, aspects of these two approaches were combined to provide a third new synthesis based on esterification and Nozaki-Hiyama-Kishi reaction. This was used to prepare the target dihydro analogues and the natural product. All of the syntheses are streamlined because of their high convergency. The work provided several new analogues of dictyostatin, including a truncated macrolactone and a C10 E-alkene, which were 400- and 50-fold less active than (-)-dictyostatin, respectively. In contrast, the targeted 16-desmethyl-25,26-dihydrodictyostatin analogues retained almost complete activity in preliminary biological assays.

Total synthesis of novel dictyostatin analogs and hybrids as microtubule-stabilizing anticancer agents

Structural modification of the dictyostatin macrolide template through adaptation of our total synthesis has led to the identification of a number of potent analogs of this novel microtubule-stabilizing agent. A common synthetic strategy was exploited, employing a (Z)-selective Still-Gennari olefination between various advanced C11-C26 aldehyde and C4-C10 (or C1-C10) β-ketophosphonate intermediates. In vitro evaluation of the growth inhibitory activity of these analogs against both Taxol-sensitive and -resistant human cancer cell lines has provided a foundation for structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies to help define the pharmacophore region.

Total synthesis and biological evaluation of novel C2-C6 region analogues of dictyostatin

By exploiting a Still-Gennari HWE coupling with a common C11-C26 aldehyde, a series of C2-C6 modified analogues of the microtubule-stabilising marine natural product dictyostatin were synthesised and evaluated in vitro for growth inhibition against a range of human cancer cell lines, including the (P-glycoprotein efflux-mediated) Taxol-resistant NCI/ADR cell line. Removal of the C6 methyl substituent in dictyostatin was found to be well tolerated and led to the retention of antiproliferative activity in the low nanomolar range (IC(50)=43 nM in the NCI/ADR cell line), while partial and full saturation of the (2Z,4E)-dienoate region led to a progressive reduction in biological potency. The lactone ring size was found to be critical, as C21 to C19 translactonisation to afford 20-membered isodictyostatin analogues led to a significant loss of cytotoxicity. In a series of incubatory experiments performed on the PANC-1 cell line, all three of the 22-membered macrolide analogues acted in an analogous fashion to dictyostatin, through a mechanism of microtubule stabilization, causing both an accumulation of cells at the G2/M phase and formation of characteristic dense intracellular microtubule bundles.