Thymidylate

Purine nucleotides thymidylate methionine serine folates... 

Methylenetetrahydrofohc acid (5,10-CH2-H4 folate) (5) is a coen2yme in thymidylate biosynthesis the natural (6R)-stereoisomer is prepared by en2ymatic reduction of H2 folate (2), foUowed by condensation with formaldehyde (54). 

With the aid of cytosine permease, flucytosine reaches the fungal cell where it is converted by cytosine deaminase into 5-fluorouracil [51-21-8]. Cytosine deaminase is not present in the host, which explains the low toxicity of 5-FC. 5-Fluorouracil is then phosphorylated and incorporated into RNA and may also be converted into 5-fluorodeoxyuridine monophosphate, which is a potent and specific inhibitor of thymidylate synthetase. As a result, no more thymidine nucleotides are formed, which in turn leads to a disturbance of the DNA-synthesis. These effects produce an inhibition of the protein synthesis and cell repHcation (1,23,24). 5-Fluorouracil caimot be used as an antimycotic. It is poorly absorbed by the fungus to begin with and is also toxic for mammalian cells. 

Fig. 8. Thymidylate synthase inhibitors designed to fit into the A/, AJ -methylenetetrahydrofolate binding site. The best inhibitors from each class are the classical antifolate TS inhibitor (31), the naphthostyril-based lead compound (32), and the tetrahydroquinoline-based lead compound (33), iC values (in nAI)...

Fig. 9. Thymidylate synthase inhibitors found after analysis with the computet program DOCK (see Table 2).

In view of the well-documented inhibition of dihydrofolate reductase by aminopterin (325), methotrexate (326) and related compounds it is generally accepted that this inhibitory effect constitutes the primary metabolic action of folate analogues and results in a block in the conversion of folate and dihydrofolate (DHF) to THF and its derivatives. As a consequence of this block, tissues become deficient in the THF derivatives, and this deficiency has many consequences similar to those resulting from nutritional folate deficiency. The crucial effect, however, is a depression of thymidylate synthesis with a consequent failure in DNA synthesis and arrest of cell division that has lethal results in rapidly proliferating tissues such as intestinal mucosa and bone marrow (B-69MI21604, B-69MI21605). 

Mn-+ K+ Ni " Arginase Pyruvate kinase (also requires Mg ) U rease Tetrahydrofolate (THF) Other one-carbon groups Thymidylate synthase... 

DMTr = 4,4 -dimethoxytrityl Bj, 83, B3, B4 = adenyl, cytidyl, guanyl, thymidyl... 

The 6-methylacetylamino-l,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline, after nitration and separation of isomers, following reduction and deprotection, gave the 7-amino-6-methylamino derivative, which cyclized with cyanogen bromide. Alkylation of the cyclization products afforded inhibitors of thymidylate synthase, 5-substituted 2-amino-l//-l-methyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydroimidazo[4,5-g]quinolines 136, designed for use in iterative protein crystal analysis (Scheme 42) (92JMC847). 

Heterocyclic templates and nonpolyglutamatable inhibitors of thymidylate synthase as potential antitumor agents 99JHC827. 

Ralitrexed is a folate analog with greater selectivity. It easily crosses the cell membrane and undergoes polyglutamation. Within tissues, ralitrexed may be stored up to 29 days. It directly inhibits thymidylate synthase, the key enzyme for synthesizing thymidine triphosphate (TTP). The drug has been described to induce apoptosis in tumor cells. Ralitrexed is used for the treatment of colon carcinomas. 

Proguanil appears to have a dual activity. Part of it is metabolized to cycloguanil, which subsequently inhibits the protozaon dihydrofolate reduc-tase/thymidylate synthase (DHFR/TS) (Fig. 4). In addition, the native form, proguanil itself, exerts a potent antimalarial activity, especially in combination with other antimalarial drugs. The target of proguanil is unknown. 

Entecavir, telbivudine, clevudine, and the other nucleoside analogues (Fig. 4aa) need to be phosphorylated to their 5 -triphosphate form to be antivirally active (Fig. 8). This again implies three phosphorylation steps based successively on a nucleoside kinase, nucleoside 5 -monophosphate kinase, and nucleoside 5 -diphosphate kinase. These reactions have been characterized only in a few cases, that is, thymidylate kinase in the metabolism of clevudine (Hu et al. 2005). 

N. T., Lhomme J., Helene C. Sequence-specific recognition, photocrosslinking and cleavage of the DNA double helix by an oligo-[alpha]-thymidylate covalently linked to an azidoproflavine derivative. Nucleic Acids Res. 1987 15 7749-7760. 

Toyoda T, Brobey RKB, Sano G, Horii T, Tomioka N, Itai Akiko. Lead discovery of inhibitors of the dihydrofolate reductase domain of Plasmodium falciparum dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1997 235 515-19. 

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