The bicyclic terpenoid fenchone (C10H16O, 1,3,3-trimethylbicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-2-one) has been investigated by chirped pulse Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy in the 2-8 GHz frequency region. The parent species and all heavy atom isotopologues have been observed in their natural abundance. The experimental rotational constants of all isotopic species observed have been determined and used to obtain the substitution (rs) and effective (r0) structures of fenchone. Calculations at the B3LYP, M06-2X, and MP2 levels of theory with different basis sets were carried out to check their performance against experimental results. The structure of fenchone has been compared with those of norbornane (bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane) and the norbornane derivatives camphor (1,7,7-trimethylbicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-2-one) and camphene (3,3-dimethyl-2-methylenebicyclo[2.2.1]heptane), both with substituents at C2. The structure of fenchone is remarkably similar to those of camphor and camphene. Comparison with camphor allows identification of changes in ∠CCC angles due to the different position of the methyl groups. All norbornane derivatives display similar structural changes with respect to norbornane. These changes mainly affect the bond lengths and angles of the six-membered rings, indicating that the substituent at C2 drives structural adjustments to minimise ring strain after its introduction.
Positional isomers of hexadecenoic acid are considered as fatty acids with anti-inflammatory properties. The best known of them, palmitoleic acid (cis-9-hexadecenoic acid, 16:1n-7), has been identified as a lipokine with important beneficial actions in metabolic diseases. Hypogeic acid (cis-7-hexadecenoic acid, 16:1n-9) has been regarded as a possible biomarker of foamy cell formation during atherosclerosis. Notwithstanding the importance of these isomers as possible regulators of inflammatory responses, very little is known about the regulation of their levels and distribution and mobilization among the different lipid pools within the cell. In this work, we describe that the bulk of hexadecenoic fatty acids found in mouse peritoneal macrophages is esterified in a unique phosphatidylcholine species, which contains palmitic acid at the sn-1 position, and hexadecenoic acid at the sn-2 position. This species markedly decreases when the macrophages are activated with inflammatory stimuli, in parallel with net mobilization of free hexadecenoic acid. Using pharmacological inhibitors and specific gene-silencing approaches, we demonstrate that hexadecenoic acids are selectively released by calcium-independent group VIA phospholipase A2 under activation conditions. While most of the released hexadecenoic acid accumulates in free fatty acid form, a significant part is also transferred to other phospholipids to form hexadecenoate-containing inositol phospholipids, which are known to possess growth-factor-like-properties, and are also used to form fatty acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids, compounds with known anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory properties. Collectively, these data unveil new pathways and mechanisms for the utilization of palmitoleic acid and its isomers during inflammatory conditions, and raise the intriguing possibility that part of the anti-inflammatory activity of these fatty acids may be due to conversion to other lipid mediators.
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