M-phase

Valence bond and molecular orbital theory both incorporate the wave description of an atom s electrons into this picture of H2 but m somewhat different ways Both assume that electron waves behave like more familiar waves such as sound and light waves One important property of waves is called interference m physics Constructive interference occurs when two waves combine so as to reinforce each other (m phase) destructive interference occurs when they oppose each other (out of phase) (Figure 2 2) Recall from Section 1 1 that electron waves m atoms are characterized by their wave function which is the same as an orbital For an electron m the most stable state of a hydrogen atom for example this state is defined by the Is wave function and is often called the Is orbital The valence bond model bases the connection between two atoms on the overlap between half filled orbifals of fhe fwo afoms The molecular orbital model assembles a sef of molecular orbifals by combining fhe afomic orbifals of all of fhe atoms m fhe molecule... 

The characteristic feature of valence bond theory is that it pictures a covalent bond between two atoms in terms of an m phase overlap of a half filled orbital of one atom with a half filled orbital of the other illustrated for the case of H2 m Figure 2 3 Two hydrogen atoms each containing an electron m a Is orbital combine so that their orbitals overlap to give a new orbital associated with both of them In phase orbital overlap (con structive interference) increases the probability of finding an electron m the region between the two nuclei where it feels the attractive force of both of them... 

In valence bond theory a covalent bond is described m terms of m phase overlap of a half filled orbital of one atom with a half filled orbital of another When applied to bonding m H2 the orbitals involved are the Is orbitals of two hydrogen atoms and the bond is a ct bond... 

Let us now examine the Diels-Alder cycloaddition from a molecular orbital perspective Chemical experience such as the observation that the substituents that increase the reac tivity of a dienophile tend to be those that attract electrons suggests that electrons flow from the diene to the dienophile during the reaction Thus the orbitals to be considered are the HOMO of the diene and the LUMO of the dienophile As shown m Figure 10 11 for the case of ethylene and 1 3 butadiene the symmetry properties of the HOMO of the diene and the LUMO of the dienophile permit bond formation between the ends of the diene system and the two carbons of the dienophile double bond because the necessary orbitals overlap m phase with each other Cycloaddition of a diene and an alkene is said to be a symmetry allowed reaction... 

The positional order of the molecules within the smectic layers disappears when the smectic B phase is heated to the smectic A phase. Likewise, the one-dimensional positional order of the smectic M phase is lost in the transition to the nematic phase. AH of the transitions given in this example are reversible upon heating and cooling they are therefore enantiotropic. When a given Hquid crystal phase can only be obtained by changing the temperature in one direction (ie, the mesophase occurs below the soHd to isotropic Hquid transition due to supercooling), then it is monotropic. An example of this is the smectic A phase of cholesteryl nonanoate [1182-66-7] (4), which occurs only if the chiral nematic phase is cooled (21). The transitions are aH reversible as long as crystals of the soHd phase do not form. 

For each stage J, the following 2C -1- 3 component material-balance (M), phase-equilibrium (E), mole-fraction-summation (S), and energy-balance (H) equations apply, where C is the number of chemical species ... 

Walas, S. M., Phase Equilibrium In Chemical Engineering, Butterwortli Publishers, 1985. 

In general, the mechanisms of action are not cell cycle specific, although some members of the class show greatest activity at certain phases of the cell cycle, such as S-phase (anthracyclins, mitoxantrone), Gl- and early S-phases (mitomycin C) and G2- and M-phases (bleomycins). 

Taxanes (paclitaxel, docetaxel) are derivatives of yew tree bark (Taxus brevifolia). They stabilize microtubules in the polymerized state leading to nonfunctional microtubular bundles in the cell. Inhibition occurs during G2- and M-phases. Taxanes are also radiosensitizers. Unwanted effects include bone marrow suppression and cumulative neurotoxicity. 

The eukaryotic somatic cell cycle is defined by a sequential order of tasks a dividing cell has to complete it must replicate its DNA, segregate its chromosomes, grow, and divide. The cell cycle can be divided into four discrete phases. DNA replication is restricted to S phase (DNA synthesis phase), which is preceded by a gap phase called G1 and followed by a gap phase called G2. During mitosis (M phase) the sister chromatids are segregated into two new daughter nuclei and mitosis is completed by the division of the cytoplasm termed cytokinesis (Fig. 1). 

APC is active from mid-M phase (anaphase) to the end of G1 phase and required for disconnecting sister chromatids and exit from M-Phase to Gl. The complex mediates the ubiquitination of Securin and Cyclin B. Degradation of these proteins, which block mitotic progression, promotes anaphase onset and exit from mitosis. 

The SCF ubiquitylates proteins from late Gl to early M phase. This complex consists of a core together with different so called F-box proteins, which are responsible for the substrate recognition. Typically... 

The phenanthroindolizidine alkaloid (-)-antofine (95) exhibits high cytotoxicity to drug-sensitive and multidrug-resistant cancer cells by arresting the G2/M phase of the cell cycle. In the first asymmetric total synthesis of (-)-95, the late-stage construction of pyrrolidine 94 for the final Pictet-Spengler cyclo-methylenation to 95 was performed by RCM and subsequent hydrogenation (Scheme 18) [67]. 

HASEGAWA T, NisHiNO H and IWASHIMA A (1993) Isothiocyauates inhibit cell cycle progression of HeLa cells at G2/M phase . Anticancer Drugs, 4 273-9. 

Tanaka, H. and Shibayama, M. Phase transition and Related Phenomena of Polymer Gels. VoL 109, pp. 1-62. 

Figure 1. The cell cycle as a Cdc2 cycle. Progression through the eukaryotic cell cycle is sensitive to the phosphorylation state of Cdc2. A block to DNA synthesis (S) prevents dephosphorylation, and hence activation, of Cdc2. Impaired spindle function will prevent deactivation of Cdc2 and thus blocks exit from M phase (Hoyt et al., 1991 Li and Murray, 1991 reviewed in Nurse, 1991). Exit from M phase requires destruction of the regulatory subunit, Cyc B. Dephosphorylation of Cdc2 at thr-161 may act to destabilize the Cdc2/Cyc B complex and thus allow the ubiquitination of Cyc B followed by its destruction.

---