Tetrazole compounds have been studied for more than one hundred years and applied in various areas. Several years ago Sharpless and his co-workers reported an environmentally friendly process for the preparation of 5-substituted 1H-tetrazoles in water with zinc salt as catalysts. To reveal the exact role of the zinc salt in this reaction, a series of hydrothermal reactions aimed at trapping and characterizing the solid intermediates were investigated. This study allowed us to obtain a myriad interesting metal-organic coordination polymers that not only partially showed the role of the metal species in the synthesis of tetrazole compounds but also provided a class of complexes displaying interesting chemical and physical properties such as second harmonic generation (SHG), fluorescence, ferroelectric and dielectric behaviors. In this tutorial review, we will mainly focus on tetrazole coordination compounds synthesized by in situ hydrothermal methods. First, we will discuss the synthesis and crystal structures of these compounds. Their various properties will be mentioned and we will show the applications of tetrazole coordination compounds in organic synthesis. Finally, we will outline some expectations in this area of chemistry. The direct coordination chemistry of tetrazoles to metal ions and in situ synthesis of tetrazole through cycloaddition between organotin azide and organic cyano group will be not discussed in this review.

The pyridyltetrazolate ligand formed in situ from NaN3 and 3‐cyanopyridine in the presence of ZnCl2 or CdCl2 in water affords acentric (1) or chiral (2) coordination polymers, respectively. The corresponding reaction of ZnCl2 with 4‐cyanopyridine gives acentric 3 (not shown). Compounds 1–3 are second harmonic generation active.

Recent studies have shown that cytosine-5 methylation at CpG islands in the regulatory sequence of a gene is one of the key mechanisms of inactivation. The enzymes responsible for CpG methylation are DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) 1, DNMT3a, and DNMT3b, and the enzyme responsible for demethylation is DNA demethylase (MBD2). Studies on methylation-demethylation enzymes are lacking in human prostate cancer. We hypothesize that MBD2 enzyme activity is repressed and that DNMT1 enzyme activity is elevated in human prostate cancer. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed enzyme activities, mRNA, and protein levels of MBD2 and DNMT1, DNMT3a, and DNMT3b in human prostate cancer cell lines and tissues. The enzyme activities of DNMTs and MBD2 were analyzed by biochemical assay. The mRNA expression was analyzed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and by Northern blotting. The protein expression was measured by immunohistochemistry with specific antibodies. The results of these experiments demonstrated that (1) the activity of DNMTs was twofold to threefold higher in cancer cell lines and cancer tissues, as compared with a benign prostate epithelium cell line (BPH-1) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) tissues; (2) MBD2 activity was lacking in prostate cancer cell lines but present in BPH-1 cells; (3) immunohistochemical analyses exhibited higher expression of DNMT1 in all prostate cancer cell lines and cancer tissues, as compared with BPH-1 cell lines and BPH tissues; (4) MBD2 protein expression was significantly higher in BPH-1 cells and lacking in prostate cancer cell lines and, in BPH tissues, MBD2 protein expression was poorly observed, as compared with no expression in prostate cancer tissues; and (5) mRNA expression for DNMT1 was upregulated in prostate cancer, as compared with BPH-1, and mRNA expression for MBD2 was found to be significantly expressed in all cases. The results of these studies clearly demonstrate that DNMT1 activity is upregulated, whereas MBD2 is repressed at the level of translation in human prostate cancer. These results may demonstrate molecular mechanisms of CpG hypermethylation of various genes in prostate cancer.

The reactions of 2-, 3-, and 4-cyanopyridine with NaN(3) in the presence of H(2)O and Lewis acid (ZnCl(2)) afford discrete monomer, (2-PTZ)(2)Zn(H(2)O)(2) (1), 3D diamondoid-like network (3-PTZ)(2)Zn (2), and 2D layered network (4-PTZ)Zn(OH)(H(2)O) (3), respectively (PTZ = 5-(pyridyl)tetrazolato). Their solid state structures and natures give new insight into the Sharpless reaction of 5-substituted 1H-tetrazole. Interestingly, 2 crystallizes in a noncentrosymmetric space group and its powdered sample is second-harmonic generation active.

2,3,7, dioxin) is a toxic environmental contaminant that works through dioxin response elements (DRE) to activate gene expression. We tested the hypothesis that cancer-related epigenetic changes suppress dioxin activation of the cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1) gene. 5-Aza-2 ¶-deoxycytidine (5-aza-CdR), an inhibitor of DNA methylation, increases TCDD-inducible CYP1A1 mRNA expression in cancerous LNCaP cells but not in noncancerous PWR-1E and RWPE-1 cells (all human prostate cell lines). Bisulfite DNA sequencing shows that the TCDD-responsive CYP1A1 enhancer is highly methylated in LNCaP cells but not in RWPE-1 cells. In vivo footprinting experiments reveal that unmethylated DRE sites do not bind protein in response to TCDD in LNCaP cells, whereas inducible DRE occupancy occurs in RWPE-1 cells. Pretreatment of LNCaP cells with 5-aza-CdR partially restores TCDD-inducible DRE occupancy, showing that DNA methylation indirectly suppresses DRE occupancy. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments reveal that LNCaP cells lack trimethyl histone H3 lysine 4, a mark of active genes, on the CYP1A1 regulatory region, whereas this histone modification is prevalent in PWR-1E and RWPE-1 cells. We also analyzed CYP1A1 enhancer methylation in human prostate tissue DNA. We do not detect CYP1A1 enhancer methylation in 30 DNA samples isolated from noncancerous prostate tissue. In contrast, 11 of 30 prostate tumor DNA samples have detectable CYP1A1 enhancer methylation, indicating that it is hypermethylated in prostate tumors. This is the first report that shows that CYP1A1 is aberrantly hypermethylated in human prostate cancer and has an altered, inaccessible chromatin structure that suppresses its dioxin responsiveness. (Cancer Res 2006; 66(15): 7420-8)

Methylation of the E-cadherin gene is common in prostate cancer and the severity of E-cadherin methylation correlates with tumor progression. This study implies that the invasion and metastasis suppressor function of E-cadherin may often be compromised in human prostate cancer by epigenetic rather than by mutational events.

BACKGROUNDThe action of transforming growth factor β (TGF‐β) is mediated through type 1 (TβRI) and type 2 (TβRII) receptors. Prostate cancer cells are often resistant to TGF‐β signaling due to loss of TβRII expression. The authors of the current study hypothesized that CpG methylation of the TβRII promoter at the Sp1 binding site −140 mediates this loss of TβRII expression in prostate cancer.METHODSSixty‐seven prostate cancer (PC) samples, 8 benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) samples, and 4 prostate cancer cell lines (DUPro, LNCaP, ND‐1 and PC‐3) were analyzed for 1) TβRII mRNA expression by semiquantitative RT‐PCR, 2) TβRII protein expression by immunohistochemistry, and 3) TGFβRII promoter methylation at CpG site −140 by methylation specific PCR and bisulfite DNA sequencing. Prostate cancer cell lines were treated with the demethylating agent 5aza2′deoxycytidine to determine if TβRII gene expression could be increased by blocking promoter methylation.RESULTSmRNA and protein expression of TβRII was lower in the PC samples than in the BPH samples. CpG methylation at site −140 was higher in PC than in BPH (P < 0.01). Promoter methylation was inversely correlated with TβRII mRNA expression in the PC and BPH samples (P < 0.0001). PC3, ND1, and DUPro TβRII mRNA expression increased following treatment of cells with 5‐aza‐2′‐deoxycytidine.CONCLUSIONCpG methylation of the TβRII promoter at CPG site −140 leads to functional loss of the TβRII gene in prostate cancer. Treatment with 5‐aza‐2′ deoxycytidine can restore gene expression. The current study results report the first association between prostate cancer and loss of the TGF‐ β signaling pathway by TβRII DNA promoter methylation. Cancer 2005;. © 2005 American Cancer Society.

Highly stable Cu(I)-olefin coordination oligomers and polymers have been successfully prepared and applied to construct metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with interesting physical and chemical functions in recent years. In this review, we present the olefin-Cu(I) coordination oligomers and polymers and their novel physical properties. From structure to functions, particular emphasis is placed on the coordination and organometallic chemistry of olefin-Cu(I) coordination oligomers and polymers, their structures and potential applications as solids possessing unusual physical functional properties such as electrochemical, chiral separation, fluorescent sensing and ferroelectricity.