Asymmetric synthesis of crambescin A-C carboxylic acids and their inhibitory activity on voltage-gated sodium channels

Org Biomol Chem. 2016 Jun 21;14(23):5304-9. doi: 10.1039/c6ob00914j. Epub 2016 May 24.

Abstract

Synthesis of both enantiomers of crambescin B carboxylic acid is described. A cis-enyne starting material was epoxidized under the conditions of Katsuki asymmetric epoxidation to give 95% ee of the epoxide, which was transformed to crambescin B carboxylic acid via bromocation-triggered cascade cyclization as the key step. Enantiomerically pure crambescin A and C carboxylic acids were also synthesized from the product of the cascade reaction. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies against voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) inhibition using those synthetic compounds revealed that the natural enantiomer of crambescin B carboxylic acid was most active and comparable to tetrodotoxin, and the unalkylated cyclic guanidinium structure is indispensible, while the carboxylate moiety is not important. The absolute stereochemistry of crambescin A was determined by a comparison of the methyl ester derived from natural crambescin A with that derived from the stereochemically defined crambescin A carboxylic acid synthesized in this study.

MeSH terms

  • Carboxylic Acids / chemical synthesis*
  • Carboxylic Acids / chemistry
  • Carboxylic Acids / pharmacology*
  • Chemistry Techniques, Synthetic
  • Guanidine / analogs & derivatives
  • Guanidine / chemical synthesis
  • Guanidine / chemistry
  • Guanidine / pharmacology
  • Pyrimidines / chemical synthesis
  • Pyrimidines / chemistry
  • Pyrimidines / pharmacology
  • Spiro Compounds / chemical synthesis
  • Spiro Compounds / chemistry
  • Spiro Compounds / pharmacology
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Blockers / chemical synthesis*
  • Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Blockers / chemistry
  • Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Blockers / pharmacology*
  • Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels / metabolism*

Substances

  • Carboxylic Acids
  • Pyrimidines
  • Spiro Compounds
  • Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Blockers
  • Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels
  • crambescin A
  • crambescin B
  • crambescin C1
  • Guanidine