Famesylation

Introduction of Nitrogen into a Terpenoid Skeleton. The acetate-derived fragments (35) mevalonic acid (30), which yields isopentenyl pyrophosphate (31) and its isomer, 3,3-dimethyl ally pyrophosphate (32) a dimeric C -fragment, geranyl pyrophosphate (33), which gives rise to the iridoid loganin (34) and the trimer famesyl pyrophosphate (35), which is also considered the precursor to C q steroids, have already been mentioned (see Table 3... 

The trimer famesyl pyrophosphate (35), in addition to serving as a pregenitor of steroids via squalene (114), is also the pregenitor of the compounds known as sesquiterpenes. It has been suggested that famesyl pyrophosphate (88) similarly serves as the carbon backbone of alkaloids such as deoxynuphatidine (120) ftom Nupharjapomcum (Nymphaceae) (water hhes) and dendrobine (121) Dendrobium nobikl indl. (Orchidaceae) (Table 11). 

The latter is the source of the Chinese dmg Chin-Shih-Hu. Compared to the other families of bases discussed eadier, the numbers of alkaloids supposedly derived from famesyl pyrophosphate or a close relative is small. However, given the wide variety of plant families containing sesquiterpenes, it is most likely that the numbers of compounds to be found will dramatically increase. 

Whereas dimerization of two famesyl pyrophosphates (35) generates squalene (114) on the path to steroids (89), the addition of one more C unit, as isopentenyl pyrophosphate (31) or its isomer, 3,3-dimethyl ally pyrophosphate (32), to the C compound famesyl pyrophosphate produces the C2Q diterpene precursor geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate [6699-20-3] (122). 

Propose a mechanism for the biosynthesis of the sesquiterpene trichodiene from famesyl diphosphate. The process involves cyclization to give an intermediate secondary carbocation, followed by several carbocation rearrangements. 

S-prenyl (famesyl) T T T S-Cys Cysteine at/near carboxyl-terminus... 

Dodecatrien-1-ol, 3,7,11-trimethyl-, (E,E)-] (Note 1) and 40 ml. of dry pyridine (Note 2) is prepared in a stoppered 250-ml. Erlenmeyer flask, and 40 ml. of acetic anhydride is added in four portions over a 15-minute period. The mixture is stirred well and allowed to stand for 6 hours and then poured onto 250 g. of ice. Water is added (400 ml.), and the mixture is extracted with five 100-ml. portions of petroleum ether (b.p. 60-68°). The organic extracts are combined and washed in succession with two 50-mi. portions each of water, 5% aqueous sulfuric acid, and saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate. Anhydrous magnesium sulfate (ca. 50 g.) is used to dry the petroleum ether solution, which is then concentrated on a rotary evaporator to provide 28-29 g. (94-98%) of famesyl acetate as a colorless oil (Note 3). 

External cooling is now discontinued, and 21.4 g. (0.12 mole) of A-bromosuccinimide [2,5-Pyrrolidinedione, 1-bromo-] (Note 5) is added. Stirring is continued until all of the solid is dissolved (ca. 1 hour). The resulting solution, which may be pale yellow, is concentrated with a rotary evaporator (bath temperature 40—45°) to a volume of about 300 ml. and extracted with five 120-ml. portions of ether. The combined ether extracts are dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate (20-50 g.), and removal of solvent at reduced pressure provides an oil, which is purified by column chromatography on silica gel (Note 6). Pure bromo-hydrin acetate is obtained as a colorless oil in amounts of up to 26 g., a 65% yield based on famesyl acetate (Notes 7 and 8). 

The isoprenoid side chains of quinones are biosynthesized mainly by the mevalonic acid pathway from acetyl-CoA. Another pathway to biosynthesizing isoprenoids is the so-called non-mevalonate ronte by which isopentenyldiphosphate (IPP) is formed from glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and pyrnvate. The key molecule is the famesyl-diphosphate (FPP) that accepts other IPP molecules to form polyprenyl diphosphates. 

Lee, PC. et al., Directed evolution of Esherichia coli famesyl diphosphate synthase (IspA) reveals novel structural determinants of chain length specihcity, Metab. Eng. 7, 18, 2005. 

Cervantes-Cervantes, M. et al., Maize cDNAs expressed in endosperm encode functional famesyl diphosphate synthase with geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase activity, Plant Physiol. 220, 2006. 

Kohl NE, Conner MW, Gibbs JB, Graham SL, Hartman GD, Oliff A (1995) Development of inhibitors of protein famesylation as potential chemotherapeutic agents. J Cell Biochem Suppl 22 145-150... 

The seminal publication [ 12] on the isolation of retigeranic acid proposed a possible biosynthetic pathway by means of cyclization from geranyl famesyl pyrophosphate (12) (Fig. 10.2) to tertiary carbocationic cyclopentane 13. A series of [1, 5] and [1, 2] hydride shifts were proposed to establish the skeletal core of the sesterterpene, whose subsequent oxidation would yield retigeranic acid. 

C-F-IMF, 170, containing famesyl moiety labelled with 14C, has been obtained involving the synthesis of 14C-labelled famesol [14C-F, 173] from ketone 174 (equation 60). 169 and 170 have been synthesized in order to clear the pharmacokinetic profile of these drugs in vivo and in vitro. 

Again there is a clear difference between single and double hydrophobic modified peptides in their ability to persist in the lipid layer. A famesylated and palmitoylated heptapeptide dissociates rather... 

Replacement of the famesyl group by lipid analogues could be performed for full length Ras proteins in vitro by means of the enzyme famesyltrans-ferase. When such partially modified Ras constructs were applied in Xenopus oocytes the cellular machinery completed modification (endoprotease activity, carboxymethylation and palmitoylation). In these cases the H-Ras famesyl group could be stripped off most of its isoprenoid features that distinguish it from a fatty add without any apparent effect on its ability to induce oocyte maturation and activation of mitogen-activated protdn kinase In contrast, replacement by the less hydrophobic isoprenoid geranyl causes severely delayed oocyte activation. 

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