Oxidosqualene Cyclase Inhibitors As Antimicrobial Agents
4240 J. Med. Chem. 2003, 46, 4240-4243 Oxidosqualene Cyclase Inhibitors as Scheme 1. Cyclization of Oxidosqualene Antimicrobial Agents Jerald C. Hinshaw,‡ Dae-Yeon Suh,‡ Philippe Garnier,‡ Frederick S. Buckner,§ Richard T. Eastman,§ Seiichi P. T. Matsuda,⊥ ⊥ | Bridget M. Joubert, Isabelle Coppens, 3-5 Keith A. Joiner,| Salim Merali,† humans. Oxidosqualene cyclases (OSCs) are impor- 6 Theodore E. Nash,# and Glenn D. Prestwich*,‡ tant enzymes in triterpenoid biosynthesis. These en- zymes catalyze the cyclization of (3S)-2,3-oxidosqualene Department of Medicinal Chemistry, to lanosterol in fungi, mammals, and some protists and University of Utah, 419 Wakara Way, Suite 205, to cycloartenol, as well as several other pentacyclic Salt Lake City, Utah 84108-1257, Department of Medicine, triterpenes in plants1 (Scheme 1). University of Washington, Box 357185, Seattle, Washington, 98195, Department of Chemistry Recent studies have revealed that a number of human and Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, pathogenic microorganisms synthesize sterols. These Rice University, 6100 South Main Street, include Pneumocystis carinii (pneumonia),7 Trypano- Houston, Texas 77005, Infectious Disease Section, soma brucei (African sleeping sickness),8 Trypanosoma Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of cruzi (Chagas disease),9 and Leishmania sp. (leish- Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8022, 10-12 Department of Medical and Molecular Parasitology, maniasis). Sterol biosynthetic routes have been 13,14 New York University School of Medicine, examined as drug targets against Trypanosome and 341 East 25th Street, New York, New York 10010, and Pneumocystis15 organisms. Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institutes of Because hypercholesterolemia is a major risk factor Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892 for the development of atherosclerosis in humans, Received June 9, 2003 considerable research and development have been di- rected toward the inhibition of pathways in cholesterol biosynthesis.
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