Yukiko Koiso

Ustiloxin: a phytotoxin and a mycotoxin from false smuth balls on rice panicles

Abstract Ustiloxin( 1 ), an antimitotic tetrapeptide containing a 13-membered ring including an ether linkage, was isolated from the water extract of false smut balls caused by Ustilaginoidea virens on the panicles of rice plant. The absolute structure was determined by a combination of X-ray crystallographic and amino acid analyses. Its structure and biological activity are closely related to those of phomopsin A, a mycotoxin to cause the lupinosis.

Novel Non-Steroidal/Non-Anilide Type Androgen Antagonists with an Isoxazolone Moiety

3-Substituted (Z)-4-(4-N,N-dialkylaminophenylmethylene)-5(4H)-isoxazolones and related compounds were designed and prepared as candidates for structurally novel androgen antagonists. Several compounds showed potent anti-androgenic activity as assessed by nuclear androgen receptor binding assay and growth inhibition assay using androgen-dependent Shionogi carcinoma cells SC-3. They were approximately 10--220 times more potent than flutamide in these assay systems. They also showed anti-androgenic activity toward prostate tumor cell line LNCaP, which has an aberrant nuclear androgen receptor.

Interaction of ustiloxin a with bovine brain tubulin

Ustiloxin A is a modified peptide derived from false smut balls on rice panicles, caused by the fungus Ustilaginoidea virens; structurally, it resembles phomopsin A. Ustiloxin A is cytotoxic and is an inhibitor of microtubule assembly in vitro. Because of its resemblance to phomopsin A, we examined its interaction with tubulin and compared the results with those obtained with phomopsin A and dolastatin 10, both of which were found previously to have very similar effects. We determined that ustiloxin A inhibited the formation of a particular intra-chain cross-link in beta-tubulin, as do vinblastine, maytansine, rhizoxin, phomopsin A, dolastatin 10, halichondrin B and homohalichondrin B; this is in contrast to colchicine and podophyllotoxin which do not inhibit formation of this cross-link. Ustiloxin A also inhibited the alkylation of tubulin by iodo[14C]acetamide, as do phomopsin A and dolastatin 10; vinblastine was almost as potent as inhibitor of alkylation as ustiloxin A, whereas maytansine, halichondrin B and homohalichondrin B have little or no effect. In addition, ustiloxin A inhibited exposure of hydrophobic areas on the surface of the tubulin molecule. In this respect, ustiloxin A was indistinguishable from phomopsin A but slightly more effective than dolastatin 10 and considerably more effective than vinblastine; this provides a strong contrast to maytansine, rhizoxin, and homohalichondrin B which have no effect on exposure of hydrophobic areas and to halichondrin B which enhances exposure. Lastly, ustiloxin A strongly stabilized the binding of [3H]colchicine to tubulin. The combination of ustiloxin A with cholchicine stabilized tubulin with a half-life of over 8 days, comparable with results obtained with phomopsin A and colchicine. A comparison of the structures of ustiloxin A, phomopsin A and dolastatin 10 raised the possibility that the strong stabilization of the tubulin structure may require a short segment of hydrophobic amino acids such as the modified valine-isoleucine sequence present in all three compounds. The rest of the structure, specifically the large ring of ustiloxin A and phomopsin A, may serve to place this sequence in an appropriate conformation to interact with tubulin.

Effects of taxoids from Taxus cuspidata on microtubule depolymerization and vincristine accumulation in MDR cells

Abstract Among new taxoids, taxuspines A ∼ H and J ∼ T ( 1 ∼ 19 ), and known taxoids 20 ∼ 56 containing taxol ( 56 ) and taxol-type compounds 37 ∼ 44 with an N -acylphenylisoserine group at C-13 and an oxetane ring at C-4 and C-5 isolated from stems and leaves of the Japanese yew Taxus cuspidata Sieb. et Zucc., non-taxol-type compounds 4 and 32 remarkably reduced CaCl 2 -induced depolemerization of microtubules. Furthermore, some non-taxol-type compounds 2 , 3 , 9 , 24 , 25 , 27 , and 28 increased cellular accumulation of vincristine in multidrug-resistant tumor cells as potent as verapamil, while taxol ( 36 ) and taxol-type compounds did not show such an activity. In addition, the non-taxol-type compounds enhancing vincristine accumulation inhibited competitively binding of azidopine to P-glycoprotein. These results suggest that some non-taxol-type taxoids may be useful for overcoming multidrug resistance in tumor cells.

Asymmetric synthesis of antimitotic combretadioxolane with potent antitumor activity against multi-drug resistant cells.

The (S,S)-enantiomer of combretadioxolane (3), designed as a chirally preorganized derivative of combretastatin A-4, exhibited quite strong tubulin polymerization-inhibitory activity (IC50: 4-6 microM). (S,S)-3 is 20 times more potent than vincristine as an in vitro growth inhibitor (in terms of GI50) of the multi-drug-resistant (MDR) cell line PC-12, which produces P-glycoprotein.

Novel small molecule nonpeptide aminopeptidase n inhibitors with a cyclic imide skeleton.

A novel series of small molecule nonpeptide aminopeptidase N (APN) inhibitors with a N-phenylphthalimide or N-phenylhomophthalimide skeleton were prepared. Evaluation of their protease inhibitory activities revealed that (i) some N-phenylphthalimide analogs are potent APN inhibitors, but they are also inhibitors of another protease, dipeptidylpeptidase IV (DPP-IV), and (ii) some N-phenylhomophthalimide analogs, including 2-(2,6-diethylphenyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-1,3-dione (PIQ-22), are potent and specific inhibitors of APN without DPP-IV-inhibitory activity. The structure-activity relationship studies of N-phenylphthalimides and N-phenylhomophthalimides are reviewed. PIQ-22 showed potent tumor-cell invasion-inhibitory activity.

Effects of arenastatin A and its synthetic analogs on microtubule assembly.

Inhibition of microtubule assembly by arenastatin A (1) and five synthetic analogs (3-7) was examined. Arenastatin A and the triamide 6 showed potent and moderately strong inhibitory activities, respectively (IC50; 2.3 microM for 1, 7.8 microM for 6) and also depolymerized preformed microtubules. The other analogs tested showed no activity.

Taxuspine D, a new taxane diterpene fromTaxus cuspidata with potent inhibitory activity against Ca2+-induced depolymerization of microtubules

A new taxane diterpenoid, taxuspine D (1), possessing an enolacetate moiety, has been isolated from stems of the Japanese yewTaxus cuspidata Sieb. et Zucc., and the structure elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data. Taxuspine D (1) markedly inhibited Ca2+-induced depolymerization of microtubules.

Synthesis and mechanism of action of novel pyrimidinyl pyrazole derivatives possessing antiproliferative activity

Pyrimidinyl pyrazole derivatives 1-4, prepared as a new scaffold of an anti-tumor agent, showed antiproliferative activity against human lung cancer cell lines and inhibited tubulin polymerization. Furthermore, it was found that compound 2 bound at the colchicine site on tubulin, but the tubulin binding pattern was different from that of colchicine. Here, we describe the synthesis of the derivatives and the differences of the action mechanism on tubulin polymerization inhibition between compound 2 and colchicine.

Asymmetric total synthesis of curacin A

Abstract Curacin A (1), a novel antimitotic agent, was synthesized in a highly stereo-controlled manner. The key steps were (1) an asymmetric allylation using a chiral allyltitanium reagent and a double-asymmetric Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation to introduce three chiral centers, (2) Wittig and Wittig-Horner reactions to construct the C(3–4) and C(7–10) alkenes, and (3) a direct conversion of the thiazolidine to the thiazoline.