The invention relates to compounds that are useful in the treatment of parkinsonism, such as parkinsonism in connection with Parkinson's disease (PD); dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB); multiple system atrophy (MSA); corticobasal degeneration (CBD); or progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). The said compounds include in particular idoxuridine and analogs thereof as well as their metabolic precursors, such as ropidoxuridine. The invention further relates to method for identifying compounds useful for the treatment of parkinsonism, said methods comprising detecting the capability of compound to increase the amount of GPR37 in cell membranes. The invention further relates to methods for the chemical synthesis of ropidoxuridine.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder which mostly affects dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra pars compacta and, to a lesser extent, several other brain regions (1). Progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons results in a number of symptoms including tremor, bradykinesia and rigidity. Today, there are several drugs used in the clinics which alleviate the main symptoms of PD. However, none of them can stop or halt progression of the disease and they have no impact on survival time (1). The reason is that current treatment strategies are focused on compensating for dopaminergic-cell loss by increasing dopamine levels, and thus, the underlying mechanism of neurodegeneration remains untouched. Since PD is an age-related disease, with aging population an increased prevalence is expected in the future which underscores the importance of discovery of novel treatment strategies.
Likewise, the incidence of the atypical forms of parkinsonism; dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB); multiple system atrophy (MSA); progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP); corticobasal degeneration (CBD) are increasing with age. PD, DLB and MSA are disorders where accumulation of alpha-synuclein is pathognomonic. DLB is characterized by fluctuating dementia and hallucinations in addition to rigidity, bradykinesia, whereas MSA patients suffer from severe dysautonomia together with rigidity, bradykinesia. PSP and CBD are tauopathies with astrocytic accumulation of four repeat tau. PSP is characterized by impaired postural control and falls, vertical supranuclear gaze palsy and frontal disinhibition, whereas CBD patients suffer from corticosensory neglect, apraxia and speech problems. All atypical forms of parkinsonism respond poorly towards existing therapies.
On a subcellular level, PD and DLB is characterized by accumulation of intracellular eosinophilic/proteinaceous inclusions called Lewy bodies (LBs) (2), particularly in dopamine neurons. Whether LBs themselves are cytotoxic, coincidental or protective is still issue of debate (3). Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that protein misfolding and aggregation play an important role in PD progression. Among a good number of different proteins found in Lewy bodies, the membrane receptor GPR37 is one of the components constituting the core structure of it (4) (
Intriguingly, the biological function of GPR37 seems to be neuroprotective. Although this protein is still considered orphan G-protein coupled receptor, three different macromolecules where suggested to transmit pro-survival signals via GPR37 (11-13). Moreover, it has been shown that increased levels of GPR37 at the plasma membrane protects cultured dopaminergic neuroblastoma cells from toxic effects of experimental parkinsonism-inducing drugs, namely 6-OHDA, MPP+ and rotenone, which stimulates oxidative stress (14) (
The nucleoside analog idoxuridine (2′-deoxy-5-iodouridine) is known as an antiviral (anti-herpesvirus) drug. However, it is not previously disclosed that idoxuridine and its analogs are capable of increasing translocation of GPR37 to cell membranes. Further, it is not previously disclosed that idoxuridine has antiparkinsonism-related cytoprotective effect.
According to the invention, idoxuridine and analogs thereof have surprisingly been identified as cytoprotective agents, with a cellular action mechanism associated with increased level of GPR37 in the plasma membrane. Moreover, a metabolic precursor of idoxuridine, ropidoxuridine, which is efficiently converted to idoxuridine by a hepatic aldehyde oxidase, has been identified as a potential drug that can be administrated orally, is more stable and less toxic in vivo (18,19).
Consequently, in a first aspect the invention provides a compound for use against parkinsonism, said compound having the general formula (I) or (II):
or a prodrug thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or ester of said compound or prodrug, wherein R1, R2 and R3 are independently
(a) a halogen atom;
(b) a hydroxyl group;
(c) an amino group;
(d) a sulfhydryl group;
(e) a nitro group;
(f) an azido group;
(g) a cyano group;
(h) an ethenyl group;
(i) an ethynyl group;
(j) an aromatic/non-aromatic heterocyclic group;
(k) an aryl group,
R4 and R5 is independently H, halogen, or C1-C20 alkyl; and
R6 is C1-C20 alkyl or C1-C20 acyl.
In a preferred aspect, the said compound has the general formula (III):
or a prodrug thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or ester of said compound or prodrug, wherein R1, R2 and R3 are as defined in claim 1.
The compounds for use according to the invention may also be administered as prodrugs that may be converted to the active ingredient in question after metabolic transformation in vivo. The term “prodrug” means a pharmacologically acceptable derivative, such as an ester or an amide, which derivative is biotransformed in the body to form the active drug. Conventional procedures for the selection and preparation of suitable prodrug derivatives are described e.g. in (20, 21).
For compounds to be used according to the invention, suitable prodrugs include e.g. compounds lacking the deoxyribose moiety. It is known that nucleobases and analogs of nucleobases can be converted in vivo to nucleosides and nucleotides, as well as analogs of nucleosides and nucleotides, as described for fluorouracil e.g. in (22).
The term “halogen” shall mean fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine.
The term “aryl” refers to a hydrocarbon ring system having at least one aromatic ring. Examples of aryls are phenyl, pentalenyl, indenyl, indanyl, isoindolinyl, chromanyl, naphthyl, fluorenyl, anthryl, phenanthryl and pyrenyl.
Preferably, in the compounds having formula (III), R1, R2 and R3 are independently chosen from a halogen atom, a hydroxyl group, an amino group, an optionally substituted ethynyl group, or an optionally substituted phenyl group, wherein the hydrogen atoms in the said ethynyl and phenyl can be substituted with a halogen atom, a hydroxyl group, or an amino group.
More preferably, R1, R2 and R3 are independently chosen from a halogen atom, a hydroxyl group, an amino group, an ethynyl group, an aminophenyl group, a hydroxyphenyl group or a halophenyl group.
In another preferred form, R2 and R3 are hydroxyl groups, and the said compound has the formula IV, wherein R1 is as defined above for formula I.
Preferably, the compound having formula IV for use according to the invention is chosen from the group consisting of:
More preferably, the compound for use according to the invention is deoxy-5-iodouridine (idoxuridine),
or a prodrug thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or ester of said compound or prodrug.
The said prodrug of idoxuridine is preferably 1-((2R,4S,5R)-4-hydroxy-5-(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydrofuran-2-yl)-5-iodopyrimidin-2(1H)-one (ropidoxuridine).
Alternatively, said prodrug of idoxuridine is 4-amino-1-((2R,4S,5R)-4-hydroxy-5-(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydrofuran-2-yl)-5-iodopyrimidin-2(1H)-one (5-Iodo-2′-deoxycytidine).
Additional preferred compounds of the invention are compounds having the general formula (V) or (VI):
wherein X, Y, R4, R5 and R6 are as defined in claim 1; and
R10 and R11 are independently C1-C20 alkyl, C1-C20 acyl, C1-C20 alkoxycarbonyl, or carbamoyl.
The term “parkinsonism” means one or more medical conditions chosen from the group consisting of Parkinson's disease (PD); dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB); multiple system atrophy (MSA); corticobasal degeneration (CBD); and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).
A further aspect of the invention is a method for the treatment of parkinsonism, comprising administering to a patient in need of such treatment an effective amount of a compound as defined above.
Yet another aspect of the invention is a pharmaceutical composition for use in the treatment of parkinsonism, said composition comprising a compound as defined above as active ingredient, in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable diluent or carrier.
Yet another aspect of the invention is a method (screening method) for identifying a compound that is useful in the treatment of parkinsonism, said method comprising the following steps:
(a) culturing eukaryotic cells, such as N2a cells, stably expressing GPR37;
(b) contacting the cells with a variety of candidate compounds;
(c) detecting the amount of GPR37 present in the cell membrane and/or in the endoplasmic reticulum of the said cells;
wherein an increased amount of GPR37 in the cell membrane is an indication of a candidate compound being useful in the treatment of parkinsonism.
Preferably, the said GPR37 is coupled to green fluorescent protein (tGFP) and the amount of GPR37 is detected by fluorescence.
Preferably, the said screening method comprises the additional step of comparing the capability of (i) the candidate compound to increase the amount of GPR37 in the cell membrane with (ii) the capability of idoxuridine to increase the amount of GPR37 in the cell membrane, wherein a similar or increased capability of the candidate compound to increase the amount of GPR37 in the cell membrane is an indication of a compound being useful in the treatment of parkinsonism.
In yet another aspect, the invention comprises a method for the treatment of parkinsonism, comprising administering to a patient in need of such treatment an effective amount of a compound identified by the screening method as defined above.
In a further aspect, the invention provides a method for the synthesis of ropidoxuridine, comprising the following steps:
(a) iodination of 2-hydroxy-pyrimidine hydrochloride, optionally performed in the presence a silver salt;
(b) silylation of (5-iodopyrimidin-2(1H)-one) using at least one silylating agent;
(c) glycosylation of 5-iodo-2-((trimethylsilyl)oxy)-pyrimidine with protected 2-deoxy-β-D-ribofuranose, optionally performed in the presence of a catalyst;
(d) quenching the reaction mixture of step (c) with an alcohol, and purifying the crude residue containing protected ropidoxuridine;
(e) deprotection procedure by any technique known in the art, including, but not limited to, treatment with methanol/sodium methoxide affording the beta anomer, ropidoxuridine.
The said monosilylated iodopyrimidine is preferably a compound of the formula (VII):
wherein each R7 is an optionally substituted C1-C20 alkyl group independently selected from the group consisting of straight chain alkyl groups, branched alkyl groups, and cyclic alkyl groups.
The said catalyst in step (c) is preferably copper(I)iodide or trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate (TMS-Triflate). The coupling process in step (c) is also possible to perform without any catalyst.
The said protected 1-halo-2-deoxy-β-D-ribofuranose is preferably a compound of the formula (VIII):
wherein each R8 is an optionally substituted C1-C20 acyl group, independently selected from the group consisting of straight chain acyl groups, branched acyl groups, and benzoyl groups; and wherein R9 is 1-halo, 1-alkoxy, 1-acyloxy (including acetoxy, benzoyloxy and substituted benzoyloxy).
Preferably, the said protected 1-halo-deoxyribofuranose or 1-acyl-deoxyribofuranose is selected from the group consisting of:
The said silylating reagent is a preferably a trimethylsilyl (TMS) reagent. More preferably, each silylating reagent is selected from the group consisting of hexamethyldisilizane (HMDS) and chlorotrimethylsilane (TMSCl). For instance, the silylating reagents can be HMDS and TMSCl in combination. Optionally, the said silylation reaction is carried out in the presence of ammonium sulfate.
The said quenching agent in step (d) is preferably methanol. The said solvent with low water solubility in step (c) is preferably chloroform or dichloromethane.
Step (e) preferably involves deprotecting the product of step (d) by adding sodium methoxide or potassium carbonate to a methanol or THF solution of protected ropidoxuridine obtained in step (d). Alternatively, step (e) involves deprotecting the product of step (d) by adding a solution of ammonia in methanol or alkylamine in methanol to protected ropidoxuridine obtained in step (d).
Cell Culture:
N2a cells (also known as Neuro2a cells), a fast-growing mouse neuroblastoma cell line is commercially available from ATCC. N2a-GPR37-tGFP cells were generated as described in (14). The GPR37-tGFP construct was purchased from Origene (Rockville, Md., USA). tGFP (TurboGFP) is an improved variant of the green fluorescent protein CopGFP cloned from copepod Pontellina plumata. It possesses bright green fluorescence that is visible earlier than fluorescence of other green fluorescent proteins.
N2a-WT and N2a-GPR37-tGFP cells were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM, high glucose, no pyruvate, no glutamine) supplemented with 10% heat inactivated fetal bovine serum (FBS), 200 μM L-glutamine, 100 U/mL penicillin and 100 μg/mL streptomycin at 37° C. and 5% CO2. N2a-GPR37-tGFP cells were maintained with 50-250 μg/ml geneticin.
Cell Differentiation:
N2a-WT and N2a-GPR37-tGFP cells were differentiated in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM, high glucose, no pyruvate, no glutamine) supplemented with 1% heat inactivated fetal bovine serum (FBS), 200 μM L-glutamine, penicillin 500 units/ml and streptomycin 0.5 mg/ml at 37° C. and 5% CO2 for 72 h.
Assay Workflow (
N2a cells stably expressing GPR37-tGFP were seeded in 384 BDFalcon BioCoat Poly-D-Lysine coated plates at a density of 5000 cells/well, and 50 μL incubation volume of maintenance medium. Cells were incubated at 37° C., 5% CO2 using humidity chamber. 24 h later, the cells were treated with 10 μL of compounds of desired concentration, including positive (2 mM dibutyryl-cAMP+0.5 mM 4-phenylbutyrate) and negative controls (0.1% DMSO), and incubated for 72 h. Cells were fixed with 4% PFA by adding 20 μL of 16% PFA directly to cell medium, incubating for 20 min and washing with PBS-Tween20 (0.05%). Directly after fixation cells were stained for nuclei with Hoechst 33342 (0.01 mg/mL) and for cell bodies with HCS CellMask™ Red stain (Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.) (0.001 mg/mL) by incubating with the dyes for 30 min in PBS-Tween20 (0.05%) followed by washing with PBS. All the additional steps, including cell seeding were performed using Multidrop Combi dispenser (Thermo Scientific) and washing steps were done by means of HydroSpeed™ plate washer (Tecan). The images were captured using ImageXpress Micro XLS Widefield High-Content Analysis System (Molecular Devices, LLC) in 3 fluorescent channels (ImageXpress filters are listed, followed by excitation/emission in nm): DAPI (387/447), FITC (482/536) and TexasRed (562/624). Binning 2 was applied during the acquisition and digital confocal option was used for FITC and TexasRed filters. Typically, 5 images were taken per well at magnification 20× and stored as 16 bit, gray scale tif files along with metadata in Oracle database, for further analysis.
Quantification of GPR37-tGFP levels in the plasma membrane was done using CellProfiler™ software. CellProfiler™ is an open-source cell image analysis software available at www.cellprofiler.org. An image analysis pipeline used for membrane segmentation consisted of 5 main steps (
Results:
It has previously been shown that differentiation of N2a cells to dopaminergic neurons using serum starvation and dbcAMP treatment leads to increased levels of GPR37-tGFP in the plasma membrane (14) (
Workflow:
Using the above described GPR37-tGFP translocation assay, a high-throughput screening (HTS) of a compound library was performed. The Prestwick Library® containing 1200 approved (FDA, EMA or other agencies) drugs was provided by the Chemical Biology Consortium Sweden (CBCS). For primary screening purpose the compound stock solutions at 10 mM in DMSO were replicated from Labcyte 1536 HighBase plates (LP-03730) to 384-well polypropylene plates (784201, Greiner) by transferring 120 nl solution by means of acoustic dispensing (Echo 550, Labcyte) to columns 1-22. Columns 23 and 24 were left empty for the controls. At the day of the experiment the compounds were diluted by adding 20 μl distillated water using a Multidrop Combi reagent dispenser (Thermo Scientific) and then 10 μl of intermediate solution were transferred to the cells using a Bravo liquid handling platform equipped with a 384-well head (Agilent). Thus using 10 μL treatment volume all compounds were subjected to cells at 10 μM concentration containing 0.1% DMSO (
Results:
After filtrating false-positives, mainly caused by autofluorescence, one compound, idoxuridine, showed up as a strong hit (about 100% activity of positive control) (
(a) 6-OHDA
Workflow:
Test compound (5 μL) of desired concentration (Idoxuridine, final concentration 2 μM); positive control (dibutyryl-cAMP, final concentration 1 mM); and negative control (DMSO, final concentration 0.1%) were plated in a 96-well plate. Cells were seeded on top of compounds in differentiation medium at a density of 20,000 cells/well with a volume of 85 μL/well. The cells were incubated at +37° C., 5% CO2 using humidity chamber for 72 h, then treated with increasing concentrations of the neurotoxic compound 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA; treatment volume 10 μL; 6-OHDA stock solutions contains 0.07% of ascorbic acid).
After 24 hours, an MTT assay was performed. The MTT assay is a colorimetric assay wherein NAD(P)H-dependent cellular oxidoreductase enzymes reflect the number of viable cells present. These enzymes reduce the tetrazolium dye 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) to its insoluble formazan, which has a purple color.
MTT (0.5 mg/mL) was added to the medium and the cells were incubated for 2.5 h at 37° C., 5% CO2. The cells were lysed, and formazan product was dissolved by adding one volume (100 μL) of 10% SDS containing 0.01 M HCl solution directly to the medium and incubating in dark over the night. Absorbance was measured at 570 nm (formazan product) and at 650 nm (reference) using a Tecan Spark® 10M microplate reader. Data was normalized by first subtracting 100 μM 6-OHDA treated cell data from the rest and then setting 6-OHDA-untreated cell data of each compound-treatment as 100% viable. Data from three independent experiments were pooled together.
Results:
The GPR37-specific cytoprotective effect of idoxuridine was evaluated by comparing N2a-GPR37-tGFP cells with N2a-WT cells. The results show that pretreatment with idoxuridine is, in fact, protective for both cell lines but with significantly higher effect on cells stably expressing GPR37-tGFP (
(b) NMDA
Primary cortical neurons: Primary cortical neurons were prepared from E18 rat embryos. Cortices were isolated, cleared from meninges and dissociated after incubation in HBSS (Ca2+ and Mg2+-free) with 0.25% trypsin for 20 min at 37° C. Following washing with Ca2+/Mg2+-free HBSS, cells were disaggregated in the presence of 0.1% of DNAse and resuspended in DMEM supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), antibiotics (100 U/ml penicillin, 100 μg/ml streptomycin) and 0.8 mM glutamine. Subsequently neurons were plated on poly-D-lysine-coated glass coverslips (round 12 mm, A. Hartenstein GmbH) in density of 50.000 cells/cov. 24 hours after the plating, DMEM was exchanged with Neurobasal medium supplemented with B27, antibiotics and 0.8 mM glutamine. Cells were kept in a humidified incubator with 5% CO2 until used.
Cell Toxicity:
Mature primary neurons were pretreated with Idoxuridine (25 μM) or DMSO (ctrl cells) for 72 h or 48 h and subsequently exposed to NMDA (200 μM) for 30 min. Cell viability was assessed by propidium iodide (PI) staining. Both control and treated cells were incubated for 30 min with 6 μM PI which stains nuclei of dead cells. After extensive washing with Tyrode's buffer, samples were fixed and stained with DAPI to visualize all cell nuclei. PI positive cells were counted at several regions on coverslips and expressed as percentage of total cells visualized with DAPI stain. Cells fixed with PFA before PI staining were used as positive control.
As shown in
(c) MG132
MG132 is a potent 26S proteasome inhibitor which increases protein accumulation, ROS leakage, induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. As shown in
(d) Eel
Eeyarestatin (EeI) is a potent inhibitor of endoplasmic reticulum associated protein degradation (ERAD) pathway, specifically targeting p97. As shown in
(e) H2O2
As shown in
24 idoxuridine analogs (
The IUPAC names of the compounds shown in
Nucleosides are classically synthesized using silyl-Hilbert-Johnson coupling of a silylated heterocyclic purine or pyrimidine base, and a ribose or deoxyribose derivative. The resulting nucleoside, or deoxynucleoside, is usually obtained as a mixture of α- and β-anomers in various ratios depending on reaction conditions and structural features of the nucleophilic, heterocyclic base and the electrophilic sugar moiety.
It is generally recognized that syntheses of 2′-deoxynucleosides are among the most difficult in nucleoside chemistry and often frequently low yielding. (Ref 24) The main synthetic difficulties posed by 2′-deoxynucleosides, of which ropidoxuridine is a member, are: (a) low stability of electrophilic partners, i.e. 2′-deoxysugars, such as Hoffer's sugar (3a); (b) low total yields of the anomeric mixtures of β-anomer and α-anomer; and (c) low ratios of the desired β-anomer to the unwanted α-anomer.
Moreover, the expensive 1-α-chlorosugars such as (3a) are prone to decomposition and epimerization, especially in polar solvents and/or in the presence of Lewis acids, leading to the thermodynamically more stable 1-β-chlorosugars. Furthermore, when anchimeric groups are present in the nucleoside, participation of the neighboring 2′-carboxy group directs the glycosidation exclusively from the top face leading to the desired β-anomer stereoselectively (
Synthesis of the 2′-deoxynucleoside ropidoxuridine (also known as 1-((2R,4S,5R)-4-hydroxy-5-(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydrofuran-2-yl)-5-iodopyrimidin-2(1H)-one, compound 1b) have previously been published by two research groups (Ref. 25 and 26). In both instances, tin tetrachloride-catalyzed silyl-Hilbert-Johnson coupling of 5-iodo-2-((trimethylsilyl)oxy)pyrimidine (2) with chlorosugar (3b) in 1,2-dichloro-ethane was used as key step (step c,
Thus, there is an unmet need in the field for the provision of a method for preparation of ropidoxuridine that provides an API that is suitable for use in humans, minimizes the exposure to toxic heavy metals and is more environmentally friendly due to the use of less toxic solvents.
The present invention provides for the first time a practical method to ropidoxuridine without the use of tin catalysts thereby avoiding the formation of intractable emulsions during workup of the key coupling reaction. The method provides a product free from heavy metal residues and is therefore suitable for use in humans. Moreover, ICH Class 1 solvent 1,2-dichloroethane has been substituted with environmentally less deleterious chloroform.
Ropidoxuridine was synthesized according to the following process:
According to reaction scheme (
Hoffer's chloro-sugar (Ref 29) (3a) was prepared via a three-step sequence according to Kotera (Ref. 30) and coworkers, who improved upon Hoffer's original protocol. CuI catalysis has previously been applied to couple bis(trimethilsilyl)oxy pyrimidines with halosugars (Ref. 31). However, we have now shown that CuI catalysis can be extended to considerably less nucleophilic mono(trimethilsilyl)oxy pyrimidines, such as 5-iodo-2-((trimethyl-silyl)oxy)pyrimidine (2), albeit in lower yield. Thus, Hoffer's sugar (3a) was coupled with 5-iodo-2-((trimethyl-silyl)oxy)-pyrimidine (2) affording key intermediate (4b) in 31% yield. In order to increase the anomeric ratio, as well as the yield of the β-anomer (1b), it was essential to use excess (>2 eq.) 5-iodo-2-((trimethylsilyl)oxy)pyrimidine (2) during the glycosylation reaction. When using equimolar amount, or a slight excess, of 5-iodo-2-((trimethylsilyl)oxy)-pyrimidine (2), only trace amounts of β-anomer 1b could be isolated. Moreover, we have demonstrated that the key coupling step could be performed without metal catalysis to give β-anomer 4b in 19% yield. Finally, cleavage of the toluoyl protecting groups of 4b, using a saturated solution of ammonia in methanol afforded the β-anomer 1b, ropidoxuridine, in 42% yield.
The α-anomer (4a) was prepared in good yield (59%) from 5-iodo-2-((trimethyl-silyl)oxy)-pyrimidine (2) and chlorosugar (3b) using a tin(IV) chloride promoted coupling in dichloromethane. Deprotection of 4a with methanolic ammonia gave the α-anomer 1a in 62% yield.
To a solution of pyrimidin-2-ol hydrochloride (5) (12.306 g, 93 mmol) in methanol (357 ml) was added iodine (27.2 g, 107 mmol). The dark purple mixture was stirred at room temperature until all iodine had dissolved. Pulverized silver(I) sulfate (33.4 g, 107 mmol) was added, in one portion, and the mixture was allowed to stir for 16 h in the dark. The yellow AgI precipitate was filtered and the filter cake washed with methanol. The filtrate was treated dropwise with a 50% aq. KOH solution until pH 10 forming a heavy white precipitate. The resulting alkaline mixture was neutralized (pH 7) with acetic acid and rotoevaporated to dryness in vacuo. The solid residue was suspended in boiling water (˜500 mL) and allowed to boil for 30 minutes. Additional water was added portion wise and the heating was continued until a yellow solution was obtained. The solution was allowed to cool to room temperature and placed in fridge for three days. The resulting suspension was filtered with suction, washed with cold water and dried to give compound 6, 5-iodopyrimidin-2(1H)-one (19.34 g, 87 mmol, 94% yield) as a yellow solid. 41 NMR (500 MHz, DMSO-d6) δ 8.43 (s, 2H), 12.21 (s, 1H); LRMS (ESI) [M−H]− calculated for C1213C4H3IN2O 221.9, found 220.9.
To a suspension of 5-iodopyrimidin-2(1H)-one (6) (10 g, 45.0 mmol) in HMDS (94 ml, 450 mmol) was added TMS-Cl (5.76 ml, 45.0 mmol). The resulting suspension was allowed to reflux for 2 h (external temperature +135° C.), during which time all starting material had gone into the solution and ammonium chloride was the only remaining solid. The reaction was allowed to cool and HMDS was removed under vacuum, breaking the vacuum with nitrogen. The remaining brown oil was co-evaporated with dry toluene twice in order to ensure the complete removal of HMDS. Under nitrogen atmosphere, the oily product was dissolved in toluene, taken up in a syringe and filtered using a 0.45 μm syringe filter to remove solids. The toluene was evaporated in vacuo to provide compound 2, 5-iodo-2-((trimethylsilyl)oxy)pyrimidine (13.17 g, 44.8 mmol, 99% yield) as a brown oil which was used directly in next step as it decomposes on contact with air.
To a cooled (−35° C. internal temperature) solution of 5-iodo-2-((trimethylsilyl)oxy)-pyrimidine (2) (0.397 g, 1.351 mmol) in anhydrous dichloromethane (10 ml) under nitrogen was added, in one portion, 5-chloro-2-(((4-chlorobenzoyl)oxy)methyl)-tetrahydrofuran-3-yl 4-chlorobenzoate (3) (0.580 g, 1.351 mmol). The resulting solution was kept at −30° C. under stirring and at this temperature treated with a solution of tin(IV) chloride (0.600 ml, 0.600 mmol) in anhydrous dichloromethane (5 mL). After 1 h and 30 minutes, the mixture was poured on cold sat. NaHCO3 solution (50 mL) and dichloromethane (60 mL) and stirred vigorously for 30 min to destroy all tin(IV) chloride. The mixture was filtered over Celite and the filter cake was washed 3 times with fresh dichloromethane. The filtrate formed an emulsion. The phases were separated, the organic phase was washed with water (200 mL) twice and dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate. The solvents were removed under reduced pressure to give 0.644 g solid which was sonicated in 10 mL isopropyl alcohol and filtered. The α-anomer, 4a, ((2R,3S,5S)-3-((4-chlorobenzoyl)oxy)-5-(5-iodo-2-oxopyrimidin-1(2H)-yl)tetrahydrofuran-2-yl)methyl 4-chlorobenzoate was obtained as a white solid (0.488 g, 0.793 mmol, 58.7% yield). 1H NMR (500 MHz, DMSO-d6) δ 8.63 (s, 1H), 8.18 (s, 1H), 7.97 (d, 2H), 7.69 (d, 2H), 7.46-7.41 (m, 4H), 6.26 (d, 1H), 5.64 (d, 1H), 5.01 (t, 1H), 4.54 (dd, 2H), 3.01-2.96 (m, 1H), 2.67 (d, 1H); [M+H]+ calculated for C9H11IN2O4 338.0, found 339.0.
To a vial containing ((2R,3S,5S)-3-((4-chlorobenzoyl)oxy)-5-(5-iodo-2-oxopyrimidin-1(2H)-yl)tetrahydrofuran-2-yl)methyl 4-chlorobenzoate (4a) (0.206 g, 0.335 mmol) cooled on ice, was added a cold, saturated solution of ammonia (12 ml, 96 mmol) in methanol. As soon as a clear solution was obtained the sealed vial was placed in refrigerator for 24 h. After this time the methanolic ammonia was evaporated in vacuo to give a solid. The crude product was triturated in boiling acetone, allowed to cool to room temperature and placed in freezer (−25° C.) for 12 h. The suspension was filtered with suction, washed with cold acetone and dried to give α-anomer 1a, 1-((2S,4S,5R)-4-hydroxy-5-(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydrofuran-2-yl)-5-iodopyrimidin-2(1H)-one, (0.070 g, 0.208 mmol, 62% yield). 1H NMR (500 MHz, DMSO-d6) δ 8.62 (s, 1H), 8.32 (s, 1H), 5.95 (d, 1H), 5.17 (s, 1H), 4.91 (t, 1H), 4.36 (t, 1H), 4.22 (s, 1H), 3.46-3.41 (m, 2H), 2.59-2.54 (m, 1H), 2.00-1.98 (m, 1H); LRMS (ESI) [M+H]+ calculated for C23H17Cl2IN2O6 614.0 found 615.0.
Under a nitrogen atmosphere, a stirred solution of 5-iodo-2-((trimethylsilyl)oxy)-pyrimidine (2) (3 g, 10.20 mmol) in dry, and ethanol free, chloroform (130 ml) was treated with freshly prepared (2R,3S,5R)-5-chloro-2-(((4-methylbenzoyl)oxy)methyl) tetrahydrofuran-3-yl 4-methylbenzoate (3, R=Me) (1.983 g, 5.10 mmol). As soon the chlorosugar (3a) had dissolved, copper(I) iodide (0.971 g, 5.10 mmol) was added in one portion. The mixture was stirred at room temperature for 24 h and filtered with suction to remove CuI. The filtrate was treated with methanol (1 mL) at which point remaining equivalent 5-iodopyrimidin-2(1H)-one (6) precipitated out. The resulting suspension was filtered with suction and the filtrate reduced in vacuo to give a yellow foam. The crude product was added to a silica gel column and was eluted with 10% EtOAc in DCM to afford the faster moving β-anomer 4b, (2R,3S,5R)-5-(5-iodo-2-oxopyrimidin-1(2H)-yl)-2-(((4-methylbenzoyl)oxy)methyl)tetrahydrofuran-3-yl 4-methylbenzoate, (0.908 g, 1.581 mmol, 31% yield) as off-white crystals. 1H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl3) δ 8.58 (s, 1H), 8.29 (s, 1H), 7.96 (d, 2H), 7.80 (d, 2H), 7.29 (d, 2H), 7.26 (d, 2H), 6.28 (t, 1H), 5.62 (d, 1H), 4.85-4.81 (m, 1H), 4.71-4.61 (m, 2H), 3.18 (dd, 1H), 2.45 (s, 3H), 2.43 (s, 3H), 2.27-2.21 (m, 1H); LRMS (ESI) [M+H]+ calculated for C25H23IN2O6 574.1, found 575.1.
Under a nitrogen atmosphere, a stirred solution of 5-iodo-2-((trimethylsilyl)oxy)-pyrimidine (2) (2 g, 6.8 mmol) in dry, and ethanol free, chloroform (45 ml) was treated with freshly prepared (2R,3S,5R)-5-chloro-2-(((4-methylbenzoyl)oxy)methyl) tetrahydrofuran-3-yl 4-methylbenzoate (3, R=Me) (0.661 g, 1.7 mmol). The clear solution was stirred at room temperature for 24 h and quenched with methanol (1 mL) at which point remaining equivalent 5-iodopyrimidin-2(1H)-one (6) precipitated out. The resulting suspension was filtered with suction and the filtrate reduced in vacuo to give a yellow residue. The crude product was added to a silica gel column and was eluted with 10% EtOAc in DCM to afford the faster moving β-anomer 4b, (2R,3S,5R)-5-(5-iodo-2-oxopyrimidin-1(2H)-yl)-2-(((4-methylbenzoyl)oxy)-methyl)tetrahydrofuran-3-yl 4-methylbenzoate, (0.185 g, 0.323 mmol, 19% yield) as off-white crystals. NMR data and LRMS data in accordance with previous experiment.
To a vial containing (2R,3S,5R)-5-(5-iodo-2-oxopyrimidin-1(2H)-yl)-2-(((4-methylbenzoyl)oxy)methyl)tetrahydrofuran-3-yl 4-methylbenzoate (0.692 g, 1.205 mmol) (4b) cooled on ice, was added a cold, saturated solution of ammonia (45.2 ml, 361 mmol) in methanol. As soon as a clear solution was obtained the sealed vial was placed in refrigerator for 24 h. After this time the methanolic ammonia was evaporated in vacuo to give a yellow wax. The crude product was added to a silica gel column and was eluted with 5% MeOH in DCM to afford a solid which still contained impurities. The yellow solid was suspended in boiling EtOAc (5 mL), allowed to cool to room temperature and placed in freezer (−25° C.) for 12 h. The suspension was filtered with suction, washed with cold EtOAc and dried to give β-anomer 1b (ropidoxuridine) 1-((2R,4S,5R)-4-hydroxy-5-(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydrofuran-2-yl)-5-iodopyrimidin-2(1H)-one (171 mg, 0.444 mmol, 41.7% yield). 1H NMR (500 MHz, mixture of DMSO-d6 and D2O) δ 8.72 (d, J=3 Hz, 1H), 8.65 (d, J=3 Hz, 1H), 6.08 (t, J=5 Hz, J=11.5 Hz, 1H), 5.3 (d, J=4.5 Hz, 1H, OH, D2O exchanged), 5.24 (t, J=4.5 Hz, J=9.5, 1H, OH, D2O exchanged), 4.34 (m, 1H), 4.09 (m, 1H), 3.86 (dd, J=3.5 Hz, 1H), 3.72 (dd, J=4.5 Hz, 1H), 2.59-2.53 (m, 1H), 2.32-2.25 (m, 1H); LRMS (ESI) [M+H]+ calculated for C9H11IN2O4 338.0, found 339.0.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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1750096-8 | Feb 2017 | SE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/SE2018/050107 | 2/6/2018 | WO | 00 |