Ingenol is a diterpenoid with unique architecture and has derivatives possessing important anticancer activity, including the recently Food and Drug Administration-approved Picato, a first-in-class drug for the treatment of the precancerous skin condition actinic keratosis. Currently, that compound is sourced inefficiently from Euphorbia peplus. Here, we detail an efficient, highly stereocontrolled synthesis of (+)-ingenol proceeding in only 14 steps from inexpensive (+)-3-carene and using a two-phase design. This synthesis will allow for the creation of fully synthetic analogs of bioactive ingenanes to address pharmacological limitations and provides a strategic blueprint for chemical production. These results validate two-phase terpene total synthesis as not only an academic curiosity but also a viable alternative to isolation or bioengineering for the efficient preparation of polyoxygenated terpenoids at the limits of chemical complexity.

The ability to procure useful quantities of a molecule by simple, scalable routes is emerging as an important goal in natural product synthesis. Approaches to molecules that yield substantial material enable collaborative investigations (such as SAR studies or eventual commercial production) and inherently spur innovation in chemistry. As such, when evaluating a natural product synthesis, scalability is becoming an increasingly important factor. In this Highlight, we discuss recent examples of natural product synthesis from our laboratory and others, where the preparation of gram-scale quantities of a target compound or a key intermediate allowed for a deeper understanding of biological activities or enabled further investigational collaborations.

The complex diterpenoid (+)-ingenol possesses a uniquely challenging scaffold and constitutes the core of a recently approved anti-cancer drug. This full account details the development of a short synthesis of 1 that takes place in two separate phases (cyclase and oxidase) as loosely modeled after terpene biosynthesis. Initial model studies establishing the viability of a Pauson-Khand approach to building up the carbon framework are recounted. Extensive studies that led to the development of a 7-step cyclase phase to transform (+)-3-carene into a suitable tigliane-type core are also presented. A variety of competitive pinacol rearrangements and cyclization reactions were overcome to develop a 7-step oxidase phase producing (+)-ingenol. The pivotal pinacol rearrangement is further examined through DFT calculations, and implications for the biosynthesis of (+)-ingenol are discussed.

The diterpenoid ester ingenol mebutate (IngMeb) is the active ingredient in the topical drug Picato, a first-in-class treatment for the precancerous skin condition actinic keratosis. IngMeb is proposed to exert its therapeutic effects through a dual mode of action involving (i) induction of cell death that is associated with mitochondrial dysfunction followed by (ii) stimulation of a local inflammatory response, at least partially driven by protein kinase C (PKC) activation. Although this therapeutic model has been well characterized, the complete set of molecular targets responsible for mediating IngMeb activity remains ill-defined. Here, we have synthesized a photoreactive, clickable analogue of IngMeb and used this probe in quantitative proteomic experiments to map several protein targets of IngMeb in human cancer cell lines and primary human keratinocytes. Prominent among these targets was the mitochondrial carnitine-acylcarnitine translocase SLC25A20, which we show is inhibited in cells by IngMeb and the more stable analogue ingenol disoxate (IngDsx), but not by the canonical PKC agonist 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). SLC25A20 blockade by IngMeb and IngDsx leads to a buildup of cellular acylcarnitines and blockade of fatty acid oxidation (FAO), pointing to a possible mechanism for IngMeb-mediated perturbations in mitochondrial function.

Late-stage functionalization (LSF) is a powerful method to quickly generate new analogues of a lead structure without resorting to de novo synthesis. We have leveraged Baran Diversinates to carry out late-stage functionalizations on lead structures from internal drug discovery projects and accurately predicted regioselectivities using computational methods. Our functionalization successfully afforded specific regioisomers which were in line with our predictions. To enhance reactivity, decrease reaction time, and increase reaction yields, we have developed new functionalization conditions involving iron(III) catalysis. Finally, we demonstrate how our LSF reactions using Baran Diversinates can lead to new analogues with improved in vitro DMPK parameters.

Light control of voltage‐gated ion channels: We have developed red‐shifted derivatives of QAQ, a powerful doubly charged photochromic blocker. These derivatives allow for remote control of Kv and Nav channel conductance with light and offer the opportunity to silence neuronal activity reversibly.

Ingenol derivatives with varying degrees of oxidation were prepared by two‐phase terpene synthesis. This strategy has allowed access to analogues that cannot be prepared by semisynthesis from natural ingenol. Complex ingenanes resulting from divergent C—H oxidation of a common intermediate were found to interact with protein kinase C in a manner that correlates well with the oxidation state of the ingenane core. Even though previous work on ingenanes has suggested a strong correlation between potential to activate PKCδ and induction of neutrophil oxidative burst, the current study shows that the potential to activate PKCβII is of key importance while interaction with PKCδ is dispensable. Thus, key modifications of the ingenane core allowed PKC isoform selectivity wherein PKCδ‐driven activation of keratinocytes is strongly reduced or even absent while PKCβII‐driven activation of neutrophils is retained.

A fusion of certain anthraquinones and diketopiperazines is an apt description of the variecolortides, a family of unusual fungal alkaloids. In a new, concise total synthesis of the variecolortides A and B, the natural racemates are obtained highly convergently and almost without protecting‐group manipulations. The spirocyclic core is generated in a hetero‐Diels–Alder reaction of a 1,4‐anthraquinone with a didehydrodiketopiperazine.