doi:10.1016/j.bmcl.2005.12.038
Copyright © 2005 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.
Guanidinylated 2,5-dideoxystreptamine derivatives as anthrax lethal factor inhibitors
Guan-Sheng Jiaoa,
,
, Lynne Cregarb, Mark E. Goldmanb, †, Sherri Z. Millisb and Cho Tanga, ‡
aDepartment of Chemistry, Hawaii Biotech, Inc., 99-193 Aiea Heights Dr., Suite 200, Aiea, HI 96701, USA
bDepartment of Lead Discovery, Hawaii Biotech, Inc., 99-193 Aiea Heights Dr., Suite 200, Aiea, HI 96701, USA
Received 29 October 2005;
revised 9 December 2005;
accepted 9 December 2005.
Available online 4 January 2006.
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Abstract
Anthrax lethal factor is a Zn2+-dependent metalloprotease and the key virulence factor of tripartite anthrax toxin secreted by Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. A series of guanidinylated 2,5-dideoxystreptamine derivatives were designed and synthesized as inhibitors of lethal factor, some of which show strong inhibitory activity against lethal factor in an in vitro FRET assay. Preparation and structure–activity relationships of these compounds are presented.
Graphical abstract
Anthrax lethal factor is a Zn2+-dependent metalloprotease and the key virulence factor of tripartite anthrax toxin secreted by Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. A series of guanidinylated 2,5-dideoxystreptamine derivatives were designed and synthesized as inhibitors of lethal factor, some of which show strong inhibitory activity against lethal factor in an in vitro FRET assay. Preparation and structure–activity relationships of these compounds are presented.
Keywords: Lethal factor inhibitors; Anthrax; Metalloprotease; Guanidinylated 2,5-dideoxystreptamine derivatives
Figure 1. (A) Neomycin B, (B) guanidinylated neamine analogs, and (C) guanidinylated 2,5-dideoxystreptamine derivatives.
Scheme 1. Reagents and conditions: (a) mCPBA, DCM, 0 °C then rt; (b) hydrazine, n-BuOH, reflux; (c) Cbz-Cl, dioxane, H2O, rt; (d) 1 equiv of 1-fluoro-4-nitrobenzene for 5a, 1-fluoro-2-nitrobenzene for 5b, 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene for 5c, 2-chloro-5-nitropyridine for 5d, 2-chloro-3-nitropyridine for 5e, 1-fluoro-4-nitronaphthalene for 5f, 1,3-dinitronaphthalen-4-yl trifluoromethanesulfonate for 5g, 1,2-dinitrofluorobenzene for 5h, NaH (K2CO3 for 5c), DMF, 25 °C; (e) H2, Pd/C, MeOH, rt; (f) TfON
C(NHBoc)2, pyridine, rt; (g) TFA, DCM, rt.
Scheme 2. Reagents and conditions: (a) 2-nitro-phenyl isocyanate, pyridine, rt; (b) H2, Pd/C, MeOH, rt; (c) TfON
C(NHBoc)2, pyridine, rt; (d) TFA, DCM, rt; (e) 4-fluoro-3-methylphenyl isocyanate, DCM, rt; (f) 2 equiv of 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene, NaH, DMF, rt.
Table 1.
Apparent inhibition constant (
) values for guanidinylated 2,5-dideoxystreptamine derivatives against LF
a 20 mM Hepes + 0.05% Tween 20 + 0.02% NaN
3, pH 7.4, 20 nM LF, 12.5 nM MAPKKide™ substrate, and inhibitor. The

values were calculated using the program BatchKi (BioKin, Ltd., Pullman, WA). The values are means of three separate experiments with each performed in triplicate.