Amanda C. Jones

Reversible inhibitor of p97, DBeQ, impairs both ubiquitin-dependent and autophagic protein clearance pathways

A specific small-molecule inhibitor of p97 would provide an important tool to investigate diverse functions of this essential ATPase associated with diverse cellular activities (AAA) ATPase and to evaluate its potential to be a therapeutic target in human disease. We carried out a high-throughput screen to identify inhibitors of p97 ATPase activity. Dual-reporter cell lines that simultaneously express p97-dependent and p97-independent proteasome substrates were used to stratify inhibitors that emerged from the screen. N2,N4-dibenzylquinazoline-2,4-diamine (DBeQ) was identified as a selective, potent, reversible, and ATP-competitive p97 inhibitor. DBeQ blocks multiple processes that have been shown by RNAi to depend on p97, including degradation of ubiquitin fusion degradation and endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation pathway reporters, as well as autophagosome maturation. DBeQ also potently inhibits cancer cell growth and is more rapid than a proteasome inhibitor at mobilizing the executioner caspases-3 and -7. Our results provide a rationale for targeting p97 in cancer therapy.

Reactivity of the Triple Ion and Separated Ion Pair of Tris(trimethylsilyl)methyllithium with Aldehydes : A RINMR Study

Low-temperature rapid-injection NMR (RINMR) experiments were performed on tris(trimethylsilyl)methyllithium. In THF/Me2O solutions, the separated ion (1S) reacted faster than can be measured at -130 degrees C with MeI and substituted benzaldehydes (k >/= 2 s -1), whereas the contact ion (1C) dissociated to 1S before reacting. Unexpectedly, the triple ion reacted faster with electron-rich benzaldehydes relative to electron-deficient ones. The addition of HMPA had no effect on the rate of reaction of the triple ion with p-diethylaminobenzaldehyde, and the immediate product of the reaction was the HMPA-solvated separated ion 1S, with the Peterson product forming only slowly. Thus, the aldehyde is catalyzing the dissociation of the triple ion. HMPA greatly decelerated the reaction of 1S (<10 -10), providing an estimate of the Lewis acid activating effect of a THF-solvated lithium cation in an organolithium addition to an aldehyde.

Multinuclear NMR Study of the Solution Structure and Reactivity of Tris(trimethylsilyl)methyllithium and its Iodine Ate Complex

The extreme steric bulk of tris(trimethylsilyl)methyl derivatives (1-X) provides interesting structural and dynamic behavior for study. Dynamic NMR studies on 1-SePh and 1-I showed restricted rotation around the C-Si bonds of each trimethylsilyl groups. An extensive multinuclear NMR study of natural abundance and (6)Li and (13)C enriched 1-Li revealed three species in THF-containing solvents, a dimer 1T, and two monomers, the contact ion pair 1C, and solvent separated ion pair 1S. Observed barriers for interconversion of 1-Li aggregates were unusually high (DeltaG(double dagger) ca. 9 kcal/mol for exchange of 1S and 1C, DeltaG(double dagger)(41) = 16.4 kcal/mol for exchange of 1T with 1C and 1S), allowing for study of reactivity of each aggregate individually. We can show that 1S is at least 50 times as reactive as 1C and at least 5 x 10(10) times as reactive as 1T toward MeI. The large difference in reactivity allowed further study on the mechanism of the lithium-iodine exchange of 1-I with 1-Li and characterization of the intermediate iodine ate complex 4. Additional calibrations are presented for the sensitive yet chemically inert (13)C NMR chemical shift thermometer 1-H.

A rapid injection NMR study of the reaction of organolithium reagents with esters, amides, and ketones.

Unexpectedly high rates of reaction between alkyllithium reagents and amides, compared to esters and ketones, were observed by Rapid Inject NMR and competition experiments. Spectroscopic investigations with 4-fluorophenyllithium (ArLi, mixture of monomer and dimer in THF) and a benzoate ester identified two reactive intermediates, a homodimer of the tetrahedral intermediate, stable below -100 °C, and a mixed dimer with ArLi. Direct formation of dimers suggested that the ArLi dimer may be the reactive aggregate rather than the usually more reactive monomer. In contrast, RINMR experiments with ketones demonstrated that the ArLi monomer was the reactive species.

Enantioselective synthesis of a hydroxymethyl-cis-1,3-cyclopentenediol building block.

A brief, enantioselective synthesis of a hydroxymethyl-cis-1,3-cyclopentenediol building block is presented. This scaffold allows access to the cis-1,3-cyclopentanediol fragments found in a variety of biologically active natural and non-natural products. This rapid and efficient synthesis is highlighted by the utilization of the palladium-catalyzed enantioselective allylic alkylation of dioxanone substrates to prepare tertiary alcohols.

Photolysis of naphthocarborane and benzocarborane in oxygen

Abstract Photolysis of ‘naphtho-o-carborane’ under oxygen leads to the quinone, 5,8-diketonaphthocarborane. Photolysis in the presence of hydrogen donors such as acetonitrile or 1,4-cyclohexadiene leads both to the quinone and 5-ketodihydronaphthocarborane. By contrast, photolysis of ‘benzocarborane’ under similar conditions leads only to a highly stereo- and regiospecific dimerization.

Model Studies To Access the [6,7,5,5]-Core of Ineleganolide Using Tandem Translactonization–Cope or Cyclopropanation–Cope Rearrangements as Key Steps

Recently, we reported a convergent cyclopropanation-Cope approach to the core of ineleganolide, which was the first disclosed synthesis of the core of the norditerpene natural product ineleganolide. In this complementary work, a model system for the core of ineleganolide has been prepared through a series of tandem cyclopropanation-Cope and translactonization-Cope rearrangements. Work with this model system has enriched our understanding of the cyclopropanation-Cope rearrangement sequence. Additionally, research into this model system has driven the development of tandem translactonization-Cope rearrangements.

Development of a Unified Enantioselective, Convergent Synthetic Approach Toward the Furanobutenolide-Derived Polycyclic Norcembranoid Diterpenes: Asymmetric Formation of the Polycyclic Norditerpenoid Carbocyclic Core by Tandem Annulation Cascade

An enantioselective and diastereoselective approach toward the synthesis of the tetracyclic scaffold of the furanobutenolide-derived polycyclic norditerpenoids is described. Focusing on synthetic efforts toward ineleganolide, the synthetic approach utilizes a palladium-catalyzed enantioselective allylic alkylation for the construction of the requisite chiral tertiary ether. A diastereoselective cyclopropanation-Cope rearrangement cascade enabled the convergent assembly of the ineleganolide [6,7,5,5]-tetracyclic scaffold. Investigation of substrates for this critical tandem annulation process is discussed along with synthetic manipulations of the [6,7,5,5]-tetracyclic scaffold and the attempted interconversion of the [6,7,5,5]-tetracyclic scaffold of ineleganolide to the isomeric [7,6,5,5]-core of scabrolide A and its naturally occurring isomers. Computational evaluation of ground-state energies of late-stage synthetic intermediates was used to guide synthetic development and aid in the investigation of the conformational rigidity of these highly constrained and compact polycyclic structures.