Gyula Schneider

Efficient approach to androstene-fused arylpyrazolines as potent antiproliferative agents. Experimental and theoretical studies of substituent effects on BF3-catalyzed intramolecular [3 + 2] cycloadditions of olefinic phenylhydrazones

Highly diastereoselective Lewis acid induced intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of alkenyl phenylhydrazones (containing various substituents on the aromatic ring) obtained from a d-secopregnene aldehyde were carried out under fairly mild conditions to furnish androst-5-ene-fused arylpyrazolines in good to excellent yields. The ability of phenylhydrazones to undergo cyclization was found to be affected significantly by the electronic features of the substituents on the aromatic moiety. The rates of the ring-closure reactions were observed to be increased by electron-donating and decreased by electron-withdrawing groups. The experimental findings on the BF(3)-catalyzed transformations were supported by calculations of the proposed mechanism at the BLYP/6-31G(d) level of theory, indicating a noteworthy dependence, mainly of the initial complexation step, and hence of the whole process, on the character of the substituent. The cycloaddition was estimated to occur via a zwitterionic intermediate rather than involving a pure concerted mechanism. The antiproliferative activities of the structurally related pyrazoline derivatives were tested in vitro on three malignant human cell lines (HeLa, MCF7, and A431): the microculture tetrazolium assay revealed that several compounds exerted marked cell growth-inhibitory effects. The highest cytotoxic activities, displayed by the p-methoxyphenylpyrazoline derivative 7d (IC(50) values: 2.01, 2.16, and 1.41 microM on HeLa, MCF7, and A341 cells, respectively), were better than those of cisplatin (IC(50) values: 12.43, 9.63, and 2.84 microM, respectively).

Synthetic Cardenolides and Related Compounds

The medical application of cardenolides and bufadienolides is associated with a high risk, due to their toxicity and the small difference between the therapeutic and toxic doses. In the past few years, increasing attention has been paid to the mechanism of cardiotonic action and the synthesis of cardenolide and bufadienolide analogs which are expected to have better therapeutic indices. A cardenolide analog in which the lactone ring is replaced by a nitrogen-containing unsaturated heterocycle was found to be almost as active as the parent compound. A knowledge of the activity of such compounds would contribute to the question of the structural requirements for a heterocyclic substitutent. Pharmacological examinations have shown that the cardiotonic activity of the 17-exo-heterocyclic steroids is weaker than that of the parent compound, although the ratio of the therapeutic effect to the toxic effect is favorable. Besides cardiotonic activity, a large number of exo-heterocyclic steroids display a potential as inhibitors of human cytochrome P45017, the enzyme responsible for the conversion of C21 steroids to the related C19 steroids (androgens). This is a potential approach for the therapeutic treatment of this disease, which frequently exhibits an androgen dependence. This review deals with recent studies of the synthesis of modified cardenolides which are expected to have better cardiotonic activities, and with the synthesis of steroids with a variety of heterocycles at C-17 which have been tested against P45017.

Neighboring group participation ☆: Part 15. Stereoselective synthesis of some steroidal tetrahydrooxazin-2-ones, as novel presumed inhibitors of human 5α-reductase

During the alkaline methanolysis of 3beta-acetoxy-21-chloromethyl-pregn-5-ene-20beta-N-phenylurethane, and its p-substituted phenyl derivatives, cyclization occurs, in the course of which 17beta-[3-(N-phenyl)tetrahydrooxazin-2-on-6-yl]androst-5-en-3beta-ol and its p-substituted phenyl derivatives are formed. The cyclization takes place with (N(-)-6) neighboring group participation. Oppenauer oxidation of the 3beta-hydroxy-exo-heterocyclic steroids yielded the corresponding delta4-3-ketosteroids. The structures of the new compounds were proved by IR, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, using up-to-date measuring techniques such as 2D-COSY, HMQC, and HMBC. The inhibitory effects (CI50) of the delta4-3-ketosteroids on 5alpha-reductase were studied.

Synthesis of D-ring-substituted (5′R)- and (5′S)-17β- pyrazolinylandrostene epimers and comparison of their potential anticancer activities

Various steroidal benzylidenes were synthetized from pregnenolone with benzaldehyde and p-substituted benzaldehydes. The resulting 17β-chalconyl derivatives of pregnenolone were reacted with hydrazine hydrate in acetic acid solution. Regardless of the starting material, the ring-closure reaction afforded (in contrast with the literature data) a mixture of two steroidal pyrazoline epimers. The epimers were critical isomer pairs, which could be separated only in their acetylated form; their structures were investigated by NMR techniques. The in vitro inhibition of rat testicular C(17,20)-lyase activity and the antiproliferative effects on four human cancer cell lines were measured, and the results obtained from the two epimer series were compared.

A Novel Approach in Drug Discovery: Synthesis of Estrone–Talaromycin Natural Product Hybrids

Hetero-Diels-Alder reaction of the steroidal exocyclic enol ethers 14 and 15, obtained from the secoestrones 8 and 9 by reduction, iodoetherification, and elimination, with ethyl O-benzoyldiformylacetate (16) leads to the spiroacetals 17 and 18 as a mixture of four diastereomers. Reduction of the major diastereomers 17a and 18a with DIBAH and subsequent hydrogenation yields the novel natural product hybrids 21, 23, 24, and 25, which possess the structural features of the steroid estrone (7) and the mycotoxin talaromycin 6.

Stereoselective Synthesis of Some Novel Heterocyclic Estrone Derivatives by Intramolecular 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition

16,17-seco-3-Methoxyestra-1,3,5(10),16-tetraen-17-al undergoes intramolecular nitrone 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with both hydroxylamine and N-methylhydroxylamine to produce a single isoxazolidine isomer in each case. The ring-closures of the hydrazones and the aldazine derived from the secoaldehyde lead to fused N-containing heterocycles via Lewis acid-induced cyclization of the intermediate azomethine imines.

Synthesis and receptor-binding examinations of the normal and 13-epi-D-homoestrones and their 3-methyl ethers.

An effective epimerization of the normal estrone 3-methyl and 3-benzyl ethers by using o-phenylenediamine and AcOH made the possibility for facile entry into the 13alpha-estrone series. Combination of this synthetic methodology with an isolation step carried out by means of the Girard-P reagent, the corresponding ethers of 13-epi-estrone were obtained in excellent yields. The 3-hydroxy and 3-methoxy D-homoestrone derivatives in both the normal and the 13alpha-estrone series were then synthesized and tested in vitro in a radioligand-binding assay. The estrogen receptor recognizes these compounds, but their relative binding affinities (RBAs) are lower than that of the reference compound 3,17beta-estradiol. The progesterone receptor-binding affinities of the four D-homo derivatives were also tested showing low values for 13alpha-D-homoestrone and its 3-methyl ether. Pharmacologically, these 13alpha-D-homoestrone derivatives are estrogen receptor-selective molecules.

Steroselective synthesis of some steroidal oxazolines, as novel potential inhibitors of 17α-hydroxylase-C17,20-lyase

17beta-Oxazolinyl steroids 7a-g and 8a-g were synthesized. The Lewis acid-catalysed reactions of (20R)-3beta-acetoxy-21-azidomethyl-20-hydroxypregn-5-ene with substituted aromatic aldehydes led to the formation of 3beta-acetoxyandrost-5-enes substituted in position 17beta with oxazolinyl residues (7a-g). Oppenauer oxidation of the 3beta-hydroxy-exo-heterocyclic steroids yielded the corresponding Delta(4)-3-ketosteroids. The inhibitory effects (IC(50)) of both 3-hydroxy compounds 7a-g and their Delta(4)-3-keto counterparts 8a-g on rat testicular C(17,20)-lyase were investigated with an in vitro radioligand incubation technique. The 3-chlorophenyl- (8d), and the 4-bromophenyl-17beta-(2-oxazolin-5-yl)androst-4-en-3-one derivatives (8f) were found to be modest inhibitors (IC(50)=4.8 and 5.0 microM, respectively).

Stereoselective synthesis of some 17β-dihydrooxazinyl steroids, as novel presumed inhibitors of 17α-hydroxylase-C17,20-lyase

Abstract 17β-Dihydrooxazinyl steroids 5a – l and 6a – l were synthetized. The acid-catalyzed reactions of 21-azidomethyl-20-hydroxy- and 21-hydroxymethyl-20-azidosteroids with substituted aromatic aldehydes led to the formation of androst-5-en-3β-ols substituted in position 17β with dihydrooxazine residues. The inhibitory effects of these compounds on rat testicular C 17,20 -lyase were investigated with an in vitro radioincubation technique.

Synthesis of regioisomeric 17β-N-phenylpyrazolyl steroid derivatives and their inhibitory effect on 17α-hydroxylase/C17,20-lyase

The reaction of 3beta-hydroxy-21-hydroxymethylidenepregn-5-en-3beta-ol-20-one (1) with phenylhydrazine (2a) affords two regioisomers, 17beta-(1-phenyl-3-pyrazolyl)androst-3-en-3beta-ol (5a) and 17beta-(1-phenyl-5-pyrazolyl)androst-5-en-3beta-ol (6a). The direction of the ring-closure reactions of 1 with p-substituted phenylhydrazines (2b-e) depends strongly on the electronic features of the substituents. Oppenauer oxidation of 3beta-hydroxy-17beta-exo-heterocyclic steroids 5a-e and 6a-e yielded the corresponding Delta(4)-3-ketosteroids 9a-e and 10a-e. The inhibitory effects (IC(50)) of these compounds on rat testicular C(17,20)-lyase were investigated by means of an in vitro radioligand incubation technique.