Takashi Takahashi

Construction of the ABC ring system of taxanes via one-pot three-component coupling and intramolecular alkylation is accomplished. The 1,4-addition of a protected cyanohydrin ether to 2-methyl-2-cyclohexenone and subsequent addition of the resulting enolate to formaldehyde proceeded stereoselectively to provide the AC ring in 90% yield. The stereoselective reduction of the 2-keto group was achieved by using hydroxy-directed hydride reduction with LiAlH4. The intramolecular alkylation of the protected cyanohydrin ether furnished the ABC ring system of taxanes in 43% yield.

Construction of the ABC ring system of taxanes via one-pot three-component coupling and intramolecular alkylation is accomplished. The 1,4-addition of a protected cyanohydrin ether to 2-methyl-2-cyclohexenone and subsequent addition of the resulting enolate to formaldehyde proceeded stereoselectively to provide the AC ring in 90% yield. The stereoselective reduction of the 2-keto group was achieved by using hydroxy-directed hydride reduction with LiAlH4. The intramolecular alkylation of the protected cyanohydrin ether furnished the ABC ring system of taxanes in 43% yield.

The monoclonal antibody mAb.A2B5 is a marker for the detection of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells that differentiate into type-2 astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. It is also a useful antibody for separating these cells from other lineage populations. The epitope of this antibody is considered to be the gangliosides GT3 and GQ1c. In this study, we sought to define more precisely the structure of the epitope. Accordingly, we chemically synthesized defined oligosialic acid structures linked to phosphatidylethanolamine and bovine serum albumin and used these to determine the antigenic specificity. mAb.A2B5 recognized the Neu5Ac alpha 2 -> 8Neu5Ac alpha 2 -> 8Neu5Ac alpha -> structure on both glycolipids and glycoproteins. We then examined whether the mAb.A2B5 epitope exists on glycoproteins in developing mouse brains. Western blot analyses revealed the expression of four glycoproteins reactive with the mAb.A2B5, and their expression was dependent on the stage of neural development. All the immunoreactivity in these glycoproteins with mAb.A2B5 disappeared after sialidase treatment and were resistant to chloroform/methanol extraction. These epitopes were also detected in brain homogenates from both GD3 synthetase-null and GD3/GD2 synthetase double null mice. These findings show that the alpha 2,8-trisialic acid (triSia) unit recognized by mAb.A2B5 resides not only on gangliosides but also on glycoproteins in developing mouse brain. We postulate that the triSia structure on glycoproteins may be involved in oligodendrocyte differentiation, similar to the case with the alpha 2,8-triSia structure on gangliosides. Real time polymerase chain reaction analysis of the developmental expression of all known ST8Sia genes, which are responsible for the biosynthesis of alpha 2,8-linked Sia residues, showed that ST8Sia III gene expression correlated with expression of the triSia epitope. We suggest that ST8Sia III is the principal sialyltransferase responsible for synthesis of the alpha 2,8-triSia units on glycoproteins.

The monoclonal antibody mAb.A2B5 is a marker for the detection of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells that differentiate into type-2 astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. It is also a useful antibody for separating these cells from other lineage populations. The epitope of this antibody is considered to be the gangliosides GT3 and GQ1c. In this study, we sought to define more precisely the structure of the epitope. Accordingly, we chemically synthesized defined oligosialic acid structures linked to phosphatidylethanolamine and bovine serum albumin and used these to determine the antigenic specificity. mAb.A2B5 recognized the Neu5Ac alpha 2 -> 8Neu5Ac alpha 2 -> 8Neu5Ac alpha -> structure on both glycolipids and glycoproteins. We then examined whether the mAb.A2B5 epitope exists on glycoproteins in developing mouse brains. Western blot analyses revealed the expression of four glycoproteins reactive with the mAb.A2B5, and their expression was dependent on the stage of neural development. All the immunoreactivity in these glycoproteins with mAb.A2B5 disappeared after sialidase treatment and were resistant to chloroform/methanol extraction. These epitopes were also detected in brain homogenates from both GD3 synthetase-null and GD3/GD2 synthetase double null mice. These findings show that the alpha 2,8-trisialic acid (triSia) unit recognized by mAb.A2B5 resides not only on gangliosides but also on glycoproteins in developing mouse brain. We postulate that the triSia structure on glycoproteins may be involved in oligodendrocyte differentiation, similar to the case with the alpha 2,8-triSia structure on gangliosides. Real time polymerase chain reaction analysis of the developmental expression of all known ST8Sia genes, which are responsible for the biosynthesis of alpha 2,8-linked Sia residues, showed that ST8Sia III gene expression correlated with expression of the triSia epitope. We suggest that ST8Sia III is the principal sialyltransferase responsible for synthesis of the alpha 2,8-triSia units on glycoproteins.

We synthesized a series of N-1-substituted norcymserine derivatives 7a-p and evaluated their anti-cholinesterase activities. In vitro evaluation showed that the pyridinylethyl derivatives 7m-o and the piperidinylethyl derivative 7p improved the anti-butyrylcholinesterase activity by approximately threefold compared to N-1-phenethylnorcymserine (PEC, 2). A quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) study indicated that logS might be a key feature of the improved compounds. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.