1. Polymorphism of Butyl Ester of Oleanolic Acid-The Dominance of Dispersive Interactions over Electrostatic
Dominik Langer, Barbara Wicher, Zbigniew Dutkiewicz, Wioletta Bendzinska-Berus, Barbara Bednarczyk-Cwynar, Ewa Tykarska Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Mar 31;24(7):6572.doi: 10.3390/ijms24076572.
Oleanolic (OA) and glycyrrhetinic acids (GE), as well as their derivatives, show a variety of pharmacological properties. Their crystal structures provide valuable information related to the assembly modes of these biologically active compounds. In the known-to-date crystals of OA esters, their 11-oxo derivatives, and GE ester crystals, triterpenes associate, forming different types of ribbons and layers whose construction is based mainly on van der Waals forces and weak C-H···O interactions. New crystal structures of 11-oxo OA methyl ester and the polymorph of OA butyl ester reveal an alternative aggregation mode. Supramolecular architectures consist of helical chains which are stabilized by hydrogen bonds of O-H···O type. It was found that two polymorphic forms of butyl OA ester (layered and helical) are related monotropically. In a structure of metastable form, O-H···O hydrogen bonds occur, while the thermodynamically preferred phase is governed mainly by van der Waals interactions. The intermolecular interaction energies calculated using CrystalExplorer, PIXEL, and Psi4 programs showed that even in motifs formed through O-H···O hydrogen bonds, the dispersive forces have a significant impact.
2. Synthesis and biological evaluation of tert-butyl ester and ethyl ester prodrugs of L-γ-methyleneglutamic acid amides for cancer
Md Imdadul H Khan, Fakhri Mahdi, Patrice Penfornis, Nicholas S Akins, Md Imran Hossain, Seong Jong Kim, Suresh P Sulochana, Amna T Adam, Tristan D Tran, Chalet Tan, Pier Paolo Claudio, Jason J Paris, Hoang V Le Bioorg Med Chem. 2023 Jan 15;78:117137.doi: 10.1016/j.bmc.2022.117137.Epub 2022 Dec 21.
In cancer cells, glutaminolysis is the primary source of biosynthetic precursors. Recent efforts to develop amino acid analogues to inhibit glutamine metabolism in cancer have been extensive. Our lab recently discovered many L-γ-methyleneglutamic acid amides that were shown to be as efficacious as tamoxifen or olaparib in inhibiting the cell growth of MCF-7, SK-BR-3, and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells after 24 or 72 h of treatment. None of these compounds inhibited the cell growth of nonmalignant MCF-10A breast cells. These L-γ-methyleneglutamic acid amides hold promise as novel therapeutics for the treatment of multiple subtypes of breast cancer. Herein, we report our synthesis and evaluation of two series of tert-butyl ester and ethyl ester prodrugs of these L-γ-methyleneglutamic acid amides and the cyclic metabolite and its tert-butyl esters and ethyl esters on the three breast cancer cell lines MCF-7, SK-BR-3, and MDA-MB-231 and the nonmalignant MCF-10A breast cell line. These esters were found to suppress the growth of the breast cancer cells, but they were less potent compared to the L-γ-methyleneglutamic acid amides. Pharmacokinetic (PK) studies were carried out on the lead L-γ-methyleneglutamic acid amide to establish tissue-specific distribution and other PK parameters. Notably, this lead compound showed moderate exposure to the brain with a half-life of 0.74 h and good tissue distribution, such as in the kidney and liver. Therefore, the L-γ-methyleneglutamic acid amides were then tested on glioblastoma cell lines BNC3 and BNC6 and head and neck cancer cell lines HN30 and HN31. They were found to effectively suppress the growth of these cancer cell lines after 24 or 72 h of treatment in a concentration-dependent manner. These results suggest broad applications of the L-γ-methyleneglutamic acid amides in anticancer therapy.
3. Catalytic antibodies
A Tramontano, K D Janda, R A Lerner Science. 1986 Dec 19;234(4783):1566-70.doi: 10.1126/science.3787261.
Monoclonal antibodies elicited to haptens that are analogs of the transition state for hydrolysis of carboxylic esters behaved as enzymic catalysts with the appropriate substrates. These substrates are distinguished by the structural congruence of both hydrolysis products with haptenic fragments. The haptens were potent inhibitors of this esterolytic activity, in agreement with their classification as transition state analogs. Mechanisms are proposed to account for the different chemical behavior of these antibodies with two types of ester substrates. The generation of an artificial enzyme through transition state stabilization by antibodies was thus demonstrated. These studies indicate a potentially general approach to catalyst design.
