Design, synthesis and SAR exploration of tri-substituted 1,2,4-triazoles as inhibitors of the annexin A2–S100A10 protein interaction

Recent target validation studies have shown that inhibition of the protein interaction between annexin A2 and the S100A10 protein may have potential therapeutic benefits in cancer. Virtual screening identified certain 3,4,5-trisubstituted 4H-1,2,4-triazoles as moderately potent inhibitors of this interaction. A series of analogues were synthesized based on the 1,2,4-triazole scaffold and were evaluated for inhibition of the annexin A2–S100A10 protein interaction in competitive binding assays. 2-[(5-{[(4,6-Dimethylpyrimidin-2-yl)sulfanyl]methyl}-4-(furan-2-ylmethyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)sulfanyl]-N-[4-(propan-2-yl)phenyl]acetamide (36) showed improved potency and was shown to disrupt the native complex between annexin A2 and S100A10

The duality of LysU, a catalyst for both Ap4A and Ap3A formation

Heat shock inducible lysyl-tRNA synthetase of Escherichia coli (LysU) is known to be a highly efficient diadenosine 5′,5‴-P 1,P4-tetraphosphate (Ap4A) synthase. However, we use an ion-exchange HPLC technique to demonstrate that active LysU mixtures actually have a dual catalytic activity, initially producing Ap4A from ATP, before converting that tetraphosphate to a triphosphate. LysU appears to be an effective diadenosine 5′,5‴-P1,P 3-triphosphate (Ap3A) synthase. Mechanistic investigations reveal that Ap3A formation requires: (a) that the second step of Ap4A formation is slightly reversible, thereby leading to a modest reappearance of adenylate intermediate; and (b) that phosphate is present to trap the intermediate (either as inorganic phosphate, as added ADP, or as ADP generated in situ from inorganic phosphate). Ap3A forms readily from Ap4A in the presence of such phosphate-based adenylate traps (via a 'reverse-trap' mechanism). LysU is also clearly demonstrated to exist in a phosphorylated state that is more physically robust as a catalyst of Ap 4A formation than the nonphosphorylated state. However, phosphorylated LysU shows only marginally improved catalytic efficiency. We note that Ap3A effects have barely been studied in prokaryotic organisms. By contrast, there is a body of literature that describes Ap3A and Ap4A having substantially different functions in eukaryotic cells. Our data suggest that Ap3A and Ap4A biosynthesis could be linked together through a single prokaryotic dual 'synthase' enzyme. Therefore, in our view there is a need for new research into the effects and impact of Ap3A alone and the intracellular [Ap3A]/[Ap4A] ratio on prokaryotic organisms. © 2006 The Authors.link_to_OA_fulltex

Synthesis of optically active 1-(1-phenylethyl)imidazoles eerived from 1-phenylethylamine

The three-component reaction of (R)- or (S)-1-phenylethylamine (6), formaldehyde, and an -(hydroxyimino) ketone 5, i.e., 3-(hydroxyimino)butan-2-one (5a) or 2-(hydroxyimino)-1,2-diphenylethanone (5b), yields the corresponding enantiomerically pure 1-(1-phenylethyl)-1H-imidazole 3-oxide 7 in high yield (Schemes 2 and 3). The reactions are carried out either in MeOH or in AcOH. Smooth transformations of the N-oxides into optically active 1-(1-phenylethyl)-1H-imidazoles 10 and 2,3-dihydro-1-(1-phenylethyl)-1H-imidazole-2-thiones 11 are achieved by treatment of 7 with Raney-Ni and 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-3-thioxocyclobutanone (12), respectively (Scheme 4)