Ileal bile acid binding protein (I-BABP, gene name FABP6) is a component of the bile acid recycling system, expressed in the ileal enterocyte. The physiological role of I-BABP has been hypothesized to be either an intracellular buffering agent to protect against excess intracellular bile acids or separately as a modulator of bile acid controlled transcription. We investigated mouse I-BABP (mI-BABP) to understand the function of this protein family. Here, we studied energetics and site selectivity of binding with physiological bile acids using a combination of isothermal calorimetric analysis and NMR spectroscopy. We found that the most abundant bile acid in the mouse (β-muricholic acid) binds with weak affinity individually and in combination with other bile acids. Further analysis showed that mI-BABP like human I-BABP (hI-BABP) specifically recognizes the conjugated form of cholic acid:chenodeoxycholic acid (CA:CDCA) in a site-selective manner, displaying the highest affinity of any bile acid combination tested. These results indicate that I-BABP specifically recognizes the ligand combination of CDCA and CA, even in a species such as the mouse where CDCA only represents a trace component of the physiological pool. Specific and conserved recognition of the CDCA and CA ligand combination suggests that I-BABP may play a critical role in the regulation of bile acid signaling in addition to its proposed role as a buffering agent.

A carefully designed three-step unsaturation of carboxylic acids is described. Briefly, carboxylic acids were converted to the trifluoromethyl ketone. Subsequent treatment with selenium dioxide followed by hydrolysis afforded α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids. The mechanism of the reported transformation was investigated, which led us to propose a novel explanation featuring selenium dioxide assisted enolizaion of a trifluoromethyl ketone followed by β-deprotonation.

Herein we report a study combining metabolomics and mass isotopomer analysis used for investigation of the biochemical fate of γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB). Using various 13C incorporation labeling patterns into GHB, we have discovered that GHB is catabolized by previously unknown processes that include (i) direct β-oxidation to acetyl-CoA and glycolate, (ii) α-oxidation to 3-hydroxypropionyl-CoA and formate, and (iii) cleavage of C-4 to yield 3-hydroxypropionate and CO2. We further utilized the unique attributes of our labeling patterns and the resultant isotopomers to quantitate relative flux down the identified pathways.

The remodeling of a natural product core framework by means of diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS) is a valuable approach to access diverse/biologically relevant chemical space and to overcome the limitations of combinatorial-type compounds. Here we provide proof of principle and a thorough conformational analysis for a general strategy whereby the inherent complexity of a starting material is used to define the regio- and stereochemical outcomes of reactions in chemical library construction. This is in contrast to the traditional DOS logic employing reaction development and catalysis to drive library diversity.

Triterpenoids comprise a very diverse family of polycyclic molecules that is well-known to possess a myriad of medicinal properties. Therefore, triterpenoids constitute an attractive target for medicinal chemistry and diversity-oriented synthesis. Photochemical transformations provide a promising tool for the rapid, green, and inexpensive generation of skeletal diversity in the construction of natural product-like libraries. With this in mind, we have developed a diversity-oriented strategy, whereby the parent triterpenoids bryonolic acid and lanosterol are converted to the pseudosymmetrical polyketones by sequential allylic oxidation and oxidative cleavage of the bridging double bond at the B/C ring fusion. The resultant polyketones were hypothesized to undergo divergent Norrish-Yang cyclization to produce unique 6/4/8-fused triterpenoid analogues. The subtle differences between parent triterpenoids led to dramatically different spatial arrangements of reactive functionalities. This finding was rationalized through conformational analysis to explain unanticipated photoinduced pinacolization, as well as the regio- and stereochemical outcome of the desired Norrish-Yang cyclization.

In an effort to access biologically relevant chemical space, a complex natural product derived nonsymmetrical diketone was prepared as a substrate for divergent transannular aldol reactions. The use of common aldol conditions resulted in predominant syn-addition via pathway a, while the use of alumina provided access to the anti-adduct. Screening of a range of Lewis acids of varying strength unexpectedly resulted in the formation of aldol products with 6/7/5/5-fused molecular skeleton via pathway b.

Bryonolic acid (BA) (1) is a naturally occurring triterpenoid with pleiotropic properties. This study characterizes the mechanisms mediating the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of BA and validates the utility of BA as a tool to explore the relationships between triterpenoid structure and activity. BA reduces the inflammatory mediator NO by suppressing the expression of the inflammatory enzyme inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in LPS-activated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. In addition, BA robustly induces the antioxidant protein heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in vitro and in vivo in an Nrf2-dependent manner. Further analyses of Nrf2 target genes reveal selectivity for the timing and level of gene induction by BA in treated macrophages with distinct patterns for Nrf2-regulated antioxidant genes. Additionally, the distinct expression profile of BA on Nrf2 target genes relative to oleanolic acid suggests the importance of the triterpenoid scaffold in dictating the pleiotropic effects exerted by these molecules.

The allo-bile acids are a subset of the family of steroidal detergents found in most vertebrates. Because there are no major biological feedstocks for isolation of the allo-bile acids, they must be synthesized from the abundant 5β-reduced isomers. Here we report a general set of methods for the synthesis of allo-bile acids from the corresponding 5-β isomers demarcated by a selective C-3 oxidation, IBX unsaturation, and stereoselective saturation.

4-Hydroxyacids are ubiquitous in human physiology. They are derived from the drugs of abuse γ-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), γ-hydroxypentanoate(GHP), in addition to the omnipresent lipid peroxidation product 4-hydroxy-2-(E)-nonenal (4-HNE). Previously we reported that 4-hydroxyacids are catabolized through two parallel pathways. In this report we detail two isotopic tools that have allowed the dissection of this catabolic process and illustrate how these tools can be used to quantify the relative flux down each pathway. We found that 4-hydroxynonanoate (4-hydroxyacid derived from 4-HNE) is primarly catabolized through a pathway that phosphorylates the C-4 hydroxyl and isomerizes it to a C-3 hydroxy compound, which is catabolized through β-oxidation.

A drug library of 17200 compounds was screened to select small molecules that inhibit the secretion of amyloid β peptide (Aβ), the major component of Alzheimer disease senile plaques, from a human neuronal cell line. Twenty-nine hits were validated that decreased Aβ secretion by >40% at 10 μM, for a 0.17% hit rate. A lead hit was selected for further study based on its activity and low cytotoxicity, and it was found to inhibit Aβ secretion through activation of the α-secretase pathway. Twenty-four commercially available and 53 synthesized analogues were analyzed for activity. Selected analogues were evaluated for biological stability by incubation with hepatoma cells and for transcellular permeability using Caco-2 cell monolayers. The analogue with the best permeability was evaluated in 2-month old amyloid precursor protein transgenic mice and found to acutely reduce cerebral Aβ levels by 40% after a single iv administration.

Bryonolic acid (BA) is a triterpenoid found in the Cucurbitaceae family of plants. Our interests in the immunomodulatory effects of this class of natural products led us to discover that BA induces a marked increase in the expression of a phase 2 response enzyme, heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), in a dose-dependent manner. This phenotype has translational implications in malarial disease progression, and consequently we developed a large-scale isolation method for BA that will enable future in vitro and in vivo analyses. We have determined ideal growth conditions and time scale for maximizing BA content in the roots of Cucurbita pepo and analyzed BA production by HPLC. Large-scale extraction yielded 1.34% BA based on dry weight, allowing for the isolation of BA on a multigram scale.

Here we describe the synthesis and evaluation of a new isotopic labeling strategy for fatty acids to be used as probes for studying ligand binding by NMR. We synthesized palmitic acid with carbons C-3 through C-16 perdeuterated, C-1 and C-2 with 13C atoms and hydrogens at C-2. Our strategy began with commercially available perdeuterated myristic acid and built up to palmitic acid using a Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons reaction. To evaluate the power of this isotopic enrichment strategy, we evaluated ligand binding to a prototypical member of the intracellular lipid binding protein family, FABP2. This small 15 kDa protein is well known to bind fatty acids with high affinity, and we used this system to illustrate the spectral filtering abilities of our described labeling strategy. Herein we show how having two vicinal 13C-enriched carbons, two hydrogens at the α-position, and a perdeuterated aliphatic tail allows the efficient use of multidimensional NMR experiments to effectively filter all background resonances from the protein and facilitate the study of ligand binding.

•4-HNE production is auto-regulated via modulation of the biological oxidant NO.•NO levels are controlled by 4-HNE via suppression of iNOS expression.•Negative feedback loop of NO production control by 4-HNE is dependent on Nrf2.•High 4-HNE concentrations results in positive feedback.•Regulation of NO by 4-HNE argues for a more fundamental role of this LPO.4-Hydroxy-2-(E)-nonenal (4-HNE) is one of the major lipid peroxidation product formed during oxidative stress. At high concentrations, 4-HNE is cytotoxic and exerts deleterious effects that are often associated with the pathology of oxidative stress-driven disease. Alternatively, at low concentrations it functions as a signaling molecule that can activate protective pathways including the antioxidant Nrf2-Keap1 pathway. Although these biphasic signaling properties have been enumerated in many diseases and pathways, it has yet to be addressed whether 4-HNE has the capacity to modulate oxidative stress-driven lipid peroxidation. Here we report an auto-regulatory mechanism of 4-HNE via modulation of the biological oxidant nitric oxide (NO). Utilizing LPS-activated macrophages to induce biological oxidant production, we demonstrate that 4-HNE modulates NO levels via inhibition of iNOS expression. We illustrate a proposed model of control of NO formation whereby at low concentrations of 4-HNE a negative feedback loop maintains a constant level of NO production with an observed inflection at approximately 1 µM, while at higher 4-HNE concentrations positive feedback is observed. Further, we demonstrate that this negative feedback loop of NO production control is dependent on the Nrf2-Keap1 signaling pathway. Taken together, the careful regulation of NO production by 4-HNE argues for a more fundamental role of this lipid peroxidation product in normal physiology.Download full-size image