Timothy E. Hurst’s research while affiliated with Queen's University and other places

The general synthesis of diversely substituted dibenzoxepinones by a combined Pd‐catalyzed α‐arylation and SNAr strategy is reported and applied to the synthesis of Manske's ketone, a key intermediate en route to the total synthesis of cularine alkaloids. In the course of this work, an unanticipated ring contraction reaction to a xanthone was observed and serves as a caveat for the conditions of the widely used α‐arylation reaction.

Mitochondrial fission is important in physiological processes, including coordination of mitochondrial and nuclear division during mitosis, and pathologic processes, such as the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during cardiac ischemia‐reperfusion injury (IR). Mitochondrial fission is mainly mediated by dynamin‐related protein 1 (Drp1), a large GTPase. The GTPase activity of Drp1 is essential for its fissogenic activity. Therefore, we aimed to identify Drp1 inhibitors and evaluate their anti‐neoplastic and cardioprotective properties in five cancer cell lines (A549, SK‐MES‐1, SK‐LU‐1, SW 900, and MCF7) and an experimental cardiac IR injury model. Virtual screening of a chemical library revealed 17 compounds with high predicted affinity to the GTPase domain of Drp1. In silico screening identified an ellipticine compound, Drpitor1, as a putative, potent Drp1 inhibitor. We also synthesized a congener of Drpitor1 to remove the methoxymethyl group and reduce hydrolytic lability (Drpitor1a). Drpitor1 and Drpitor1a inhibited the GTPase activity of Drp1 without inhibiting the GTPase of dynamin 1. Drpitor1 and Drpitor1a have greater potency than the current standard Drp1 GTPase inhibitor, mdivi‐1, (IC50 for mitochondrial fragmentation are 0.09, 0.06, and 10 μM, respectively). Both Drpitors reduced proliferation and induced apoptosis in cancer cells. Drpitor1a suppressed lung cancer tumor growth in a mouse xenograft model. Drpitor1a also inhibited mitochondrial ROS production, prevented mitochondrial fission, and improved right ventricular diastolic dysfunction during IR injury. In conclusion, Drpitors are useful tools for understanding mitochondrial dynamics and have therapeutic potential in treating cancer and cardiac IR injury.

A new cyclisation procedure to prepare 4-carboxy-quinolin-2-ones via a one-pot Cu(II)-mediated radical cross-dehydrogenative coupling/sulfinic acid elimination of linear anilides is described. Extensions to more complex substrates are also reported as are applications in target synthesis allowing access to natural products isolated from Oryza sativa and HOFQ.

Reported is the synthesis of carboxylic acids, symmetrical ketones, and unsymmetrical ketones with selectivity achieved by exploiting the differential reactivity of sodium methyl carbonate with Grignard and organolithium reagents.

LigY catalyzes the hydrolysis of a meta-cleavage product (MCP), 4,11-dicarboxy-8-hydroxy-9-methoxy-2-hydroxy-6-oxo-6-phenyl-hexa-2,4-dienoate (DCHM-HOPDA), in the bacterial catabolism of lignin-derived biphenyl. Most characterized MCP hydrolases are serine-dependent, with hydrolysis proceeding via enol-keto tautomerization followed by an acyl-enzyme intermediate. In contrast, LigY is Zn²⁺-dependent, with hydrolysis proposed to proceed via tautomerization followed by formation of a gem-diol intermediate. Transient-state kinetic analysis of DCHM-HOPDA turnover revealed the formation of an intermediate possessing a bathochromically shifted spectrum (λmax = 508 nm), similar to that of the ESred intermediate observed during tautomerization in serine-dependent hydrolases. Neither the formation (1/τ1 ~130 s⁻¹) nor the decay (1/τ2 ~23 s⁻¹) of ESred were rate-limiting (kcat = 9.7±0.3 s⁻¹). Further, the rate of ESred decay showed a solvent kinetic isotope effect of 1.7, indicating a proton transfer reaction consistent with substrate ketonization. LigY turned over 4-carboxy HOPDA but not 4-methyl HOPDA, suggesting that the carboxylate is essential for catalysis. Titration of LigY with 4-methyl HOPDA yielded a species with a spectrum similar to that of ESred (Kd = 25±1 μM). A 2.4-Å crystal structure of the LigY•4-methyl HOPDA complex, which also had a spectrum like ESred, revealed the ligand coordinated to the Zn²⁺ in a bidentate manner via the 1-carboxylate and 2-oxo. Overall, the data support a mechanism in which the metallocenter primarily catalyzes substrate tautomerization and the water required for the hydrolytic half-reaction is activated in a substrate-assisted manner. This study provides insight into C-C bond hydrolases as well as the versatility of the catalytic machinery of metallohydrolases.

Application of radical cross-dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) procedures to prepare a range of novel spirocyclic oxindoles and to a formal total synthesis of the vasopressin V2 receptor antagonist Satavaptan is reported. The key step involves a copper-mediated oxidative cyclisation of a simple linear anilide precursor to give the spirocyclic oxindole core. This synthetic approach was also used to prepare novel Satavaptan scaffolds and analogues.

A series of alkylated 2,3‐dihydroxybiphenyls (DHBs) have been prepared on gram scale using an effective Directed ortho Metalation (DoM) ‐ Suzuki‐Miyaura cross‐coupling strategy. These compounds have been used to investigate the substrate specificity of the meta‐cleavage dioxygenase BphC, a key enzyme in the microbial catabolism of biphenyl. Isolation and characterization of the meta‐cleavage products allows the study of related processes, including the catabolism of lignin‐derived biphenyls.

Most mycolic acid-containing actinobacteria and some proteobacteria use steroids as growth substrates, but the catabolism of the last two steroid rings has yet to be elucidated. In Mycobacterium tuberculosis, this pathway includes virulence determinants and has been proposed to be encoded by the KstR2-regulated genes, which include a predicted coenzyme A (CoA) transferase gene (ipdAB) and an acyl-CoA reductase gene (ipdC). In the presence of cholesterol, ΔipdC and ΔipdAB mutants of either M. tuberculosis or Rhodococcus jostii strain RHA1 accumulated previously undescribed metabolites: 3aα-H-4α(carboxyl-CoA)-5-hydroxy-7aβ-methylhexahydro-1-indanone (5-OH HIC-CoA) and (R)-2-(2-carboxyethyl)-3-methyl-6-oxocyclohex-1-ene-1-carboxyl-CoA (COCHEA-CoA), respectively. A ΔfadE32 mutant of Mycobacterium smegmatis accumulated 4-methyl-5-oxo-octanedioic acid (MOODA). Incubation of synthetic 5-OH HIC-CoA with purified IpdF, IpdC, and enoyl-CoA hydratase 20 (EchA20), a crotonase superfamily member, yielded COCHEA-CoA and, upon further incubation with IpdAB and a CoA thiolase, yielded MOODA-CoA. Based on these studies, we propose a pathway for the final steps of steroid catabolism in which the 5-member ring is hydrolyzed by EchA20, followed by hydrolysis of the 6-member ring by IpdAB. Metabolites accumulated by ΔipdF and ΔechA20 mutants support the model. The conservation of these genes in known steroid-degrading bacteria suggests that the pathway is shared. This pathway further predicts that cholesterol catabolism yields four propionyl-CoAs, four acetyl-CoAs, one pyruvate, and one succinyl-CoA. Finally, a ΔipdAB M. tuberculosis mutant did not survive in macrophages and displayed severely depleted CoASH levels that correlated with a cholesterol-dependent toxicity. Our results together with the developed tools provide a basis for further elucidating bacterial steroid catabolism and virulence determinants in M. tuberculosis.

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