Most peptides have not proved useful as neuroactive drugs because they are blocked by the blood-brain barrier and do not reach their receptors within the brain.Intraperitoneally administered L-serinyl JD-glucosde aalgues of [Metslenkephaln (glycopeptides) have been shown to be transported across the blood-brain barrier to bind with targeted p and &oplod receptors in the mouse brain. The opioid nature of the bing has been demonstrated with intracerebroventricularly a ered naloxone. Paradoxically, glucosylation decreases the ipophlt of the peptides while promoting transport across the phc endothe layer. It is suggested that glucose transporter GLUT-1 is responsible for the transport of the peptide message. Profound and long-lasting anesla has been observed in mice (tail-ck and hot-plate assays) with two of the glycopeptide a ues when administered intraperitoneally.

A series of dimeric through octameric (1→5) amide-linked sialooligomers were prepared using solid-phase peptide methods on Rink resin with Fmoc protecting group chemistry. The oligomers were conjugated to ε-amino caproic acid in order to model membrane-bound conformations. The secondary structure of the oliogomers was probed with NH/ND exchange rates determined by NMR, and with circular dichroism. The combined structural studies show that a tetramer is required for ordered secondary structure, and that secondary structure is stabilized upon elongation to pentameric and hexameric species. Interestingly, the heptamer shows rapid NH/ND exchange rates; however, ordered secondary structure is restored in the octamer. These studies provide the first evidence that oligomers composed of constrained carbohydrate-derived amino acids form stable secondary structures in water.

Selective blockade of hypoxia-inducible gene expression by designed small molecules would prove valuable in suppressing tumor angiogenesis, metastasis and altered energy metabolism. We report the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of dimeric epidithiodiketopiperazine (ETP) small molecule transcriptional antagonist targeting the interaction of the p300/CBP coactivator with the transcription factor HIF-1α. Our results indicate that disrupting this interaction results in rapid downregulation of hypoxia-inducible genes critical for cancer progression. The observed effects are compound-specific and dose-dependent. Controlling gene expression with designed small molecules targeting the transcription factor-coactivator interface may represent a new approach for arresting tumor growth.

A cDNA encoding a cytochrome P450 enzyme was isolated from a cDNA library of the corpora allata (CA) from reproductively active Diploptera punctata cockroaches. This P450 from the endocrine glands that produce the insect juvenile hormone (JH) is most closely related to P450 proteins of family 4 and was named CYP4C7. The CYP4C7 gene is expressed selectively in the CA; its message could not be detected in the fat body, corpora cardiaca, or brain, but trace levels of expression were found in the midgut and caeca. The levels of CYP4C7 mRNA in the CA, measured by ribonuclease protection assays, were linked to the activity cycle of the glands. In adult females, CYP4C7 expression increased immediately after the peak of JH synthesis, reaching a maximum on day 7, just before oviposition. mRNA levels then declined after oviposition and during pregnancy. The CYP4C7 protein was produced in Escherichia coli as a C-terminal His-tagged recombinant protein. In a reconstituted system with insect NADPH cytochrome P450 reductase, cytochrome b 5 , and NADPH, the purified CYP4C7 metabolized (2E,6E)-farnesol to a more polar product that was identified by GC-MS and by NMR as (10E)-12-hydroxyfarnesol. CYP4C7 converted JH III to 12-trans-hydroxy JH III and metabolized other JH-like sesquiterpenoids as well. This -hydroxylation of sesquiterpenoids appears to be a metabolic pathway in the corpora allata that may play a role in the suppression of JH biosynthesis at the end of the gonotrophic cycle.Juvenile hormone (JH) plays a central role in insect development, metamorphosis, and reproduction. This sesquiterpenoid epoxide is synthesized in endocrine glands, the corpora allata (CA)(1), and is degraded predominantly by esterases and epoxide hydrolases (2). The rate of JH synthesis by the CA is a major determinant of the titer of JH in the hemolymph (3), and the regulation of JH synthesis is seen as a potential target for insect control. The biosynthesis of JH has been extensively characterized during the reproductive cycle of the cockroach Diploptera punctata, an insect that serves as a convenient model system. In adult females of this insect, the cycle of JH synthesis is regulated by humoral factors and by innervation from neurosecretory cells in the brain (1). Production of JH by the CA increases 10-fold to reach a peak 5 days after adult emergence and mating, and this peak corresponds to the peak of vitellogenesis. Synthesis is then rapidly repressed and remains low from deposition of the eggs into the brood sac through pregnancy (4).The allatostatins, a family of brain-gut peptides (5-9) are known to inhibit JH synthesis in D. punctata at the end of a gonotrophic cycle, but these peptides are probably not alone responsible for repression of the intrinsic rate of JH synthesis in postvitellogenic insects. The mechanism of stable suppression of JH synthesis at the end of the cycle has received very little attention, in part because of the absence of molecular tools to dissect it. This repression occurs concomitant with changes in c...

Hypoxia is a hallmark of solid tumors, is associated with local invasion, metastatic spread, resistance to chemo- and radiotherapy, and is an independent, negative prognostic factor for a diverse range of malignant neoplasms. The cellular response to hypoxia is primarily mediated by a family of transcription factors, among which hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF1) plays a major role. Under normoxia, the oxygen-sensitive α subunit of HIF1 is rapidly and constitutively degraded but is stabilized and accumulates under hypoxia. Upon nuclear translocation, HIF1 controls the expression of over 100 genes involved in angiogenesis, altered energy metabolism, antiapoptotic, and pro-proliferative mechanisms that promote tumor growth. A designed transcriptional antagonist, dimeric epidithiodiketopiperazine (ETP 2), selectively disrupts the interaction of HIF1α with p300/CBP coactivators and downregulates the expression of hypoxia-inducible genes. ETP 2 was synthesized via a novel homo-oxidative coupling of the aliphatic primary carbons of the dithioacetal precursor. It effectively inhibits HIF1-induced activation of VEGFA, LOX, Glut1, and c-Met genes in a panel of cell lines representing breast and lung cancers. We observed an outstanding antitumor efficacy of both (±)-ETP 2 and meso-ETP 2 in a fully established breast carcinoma model by intravital microscopy. Treatment with either form of ETP 2 (1 mg/kg) resulted in a rapid regression of tumor growth that lasted for up to 14 days. These results suggest that inhibition of HIF1 transcriptional activity by designed dimeric ETPs could offer an innovative approach to cancer therapy with the potential to overcome hypoxia-induced tumor growth and resistance.

No abstract

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA), a highly restricted serine protease, plays an important role in the regulation of diverse physiologic and pathologic processes. Strong clinical and experimental evidence has shown that elevated uPA expression is associated with cancer progression, metastasis, and shortened survival in patients. uPA has been considered as a promising molecular target for development of anticancer drugs. Here, we report the identification of several new uPA inhibitors using a high-throughput screen from a chemical library. From these uPA inhibitors, molecular modeling and docking studies identified 4-oxazolidinone as a novel lead pharmacophore. Optimization of the 4-oxazolidinone pharmacophore resulted in a series of structurally modified compounds with improved potency and selectivity. One of the 4-oxazolidinone analogues, UK122, showed the highest inhibition of uPA activity. The IC 50 of UK122 in a cell-free indirect uPA assay is 0.2 Mmol/L. This compound also showed no or little inhibition of other serine proteases such as thrombin, trypsin, plasmin, and the tissue-type plasminogen activator, indicating its high specificity against uPA. Moreover, UK122 showed little cytotoxicity against CFPAC-1 cells (IC 50 >100 Mmol/L) but significantly inhibited the migration and invasion of this pancreatic cancer cell line. Our data show that UK122 could potentially be developed as a new anticancer agent that prevents the invasion and metastasis of pancreatic cancer.

The antileukemic xanthone psorospermin is a topoisomerase II-dependent DNA alkylator in advanced preclinical development. Efforts have been made to further understand the structural requirements of its mechanism of action through the synthesis of ring-constrained analogues, based on the skeleton of the bisfuranoxanthone natural products. Molecules were designed that contain the bisfuran and xanthone portions of naturally occurring psorofebrins, and molecular modeling was used to assess their DNA alkylating potential and to refine the structures. A short, diastereoselective synthetic process to access bisfuranoxanthones was developed, culminating in the first total synthesis of (+/-)-isohydroxypsorofebrin. Two compounds designed and synthesized were of particular interest, chlorohydrin 7 and epoxide 6, which are reactive analogues of the natural product isohydroxypsorofebrin. The chlorohydrin retains the psorospermin-like DNA alkylation characteristics despite its rigid structure and high innate affinity for DNA. Molecular modeling has been used to rationalize the increased activity of the chlorohydrin. The chlorohydrin and epoxide show increased cytotoxicity compared to isohydroxypsorofebrin against a range of human tumor cell lines.