2'-(Trimethylammonio)ethyl 4-(hexadecyloxy)-3(S)-methoxybutanephosphonate: a novel potent antineoplastic agent.
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Four diacetylenic phosphatidylcholines (PC's) have been synthesized and the structures of bilayers of these lipids have been determined at low resolution by low-angle X-ray diffraction. The PC's all have 18-carbon chains but differ with respect to the ether/ester linkage at the sn-1 and sn-2 positions and the relative position of the diacetylene moiety: diester-PC (1): 1,2-bis(octadeca-4',6'-diynoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine diester-PC (2): 1-(octadeca-4',6'-diynoyl)-2-(octadeca-5',7'-diynoy l)-sn- glycero-3-phosphocholine diester-PC (3): 1,2-bis(octadeca-8',10'-diynoyl)-sn-glycerol-3-phosphocholin e diether-PC (4): 1-O-(octadeca-4',6'-diynyl)-2-O-(octadeca-5",7"-din yl)-sn- glycero-3-phosphocholine Only (1) exhibits the typical bilayer profile, whereas (2), (3) and (4) show evidence of interdigitation and/or significant disorder. Only (1) polymerized effectively upon illumination with 254 nm light, turning deep blue in seconds, indicating the formation of long, well-ordered polydiacetylenic structures. Liposomes of these derivatives were tested for permeability by osmotic swelling. Polymerized liposomes of (1) underwent osmotic swelling with urea, glycerol, and acetamide more rapidly than did liposomes of stearoyl-oleoyl-PC, but the initial rates of osmotic swelling of polymerized liposomes of (1) were 3-10-times lower than those of unpolymerized liposomes of (1). Blue polymerized multilayer samples of (1) exhibited an irreversible thermochromic transition to red at approx. 40 degrees C. Differential scanning calorimetry with liposome suspensions of (1) revealed an endotherm at 28.3 degrees C with a transition enthalpy of 40 J/g. PC (1) is a potentially useful diacetylenic lipid which exhibits facile, complete polymerization and a bilayer thickness comparable to that of biomembrane lipids.
A glycerophosphonocholine analog of the ether-linked lipid, rac-1-O-octadecyl-2-O-methyl-glycero-3-phosphocholine (ET-18-OCH3-GPC), was synthesized in which the head group is nonhydrolyzable by phospholipase C. The phosphonate analog used in this study is rac-3-octadecyloxy-2-methoxy-propyl-phosphonocholine, C18H37OCH2CH(OCH3)CH2P(O)(O)OCH2CH2N+(CH3)3. The activity of the synthetic phosphonate was tested in the human leukemic cell line, HL-60, and the human undifferentiated cervical carcinoma, C-41. The glycerophosphonocholine inhibited [3H]thymidine uptake by HL-60 cells with an EC50 value of 5-7 microM. The glycerophosphate ET-18-OCH3-GPC had an EC50 value of approximately 2 microM against HL-60 cells. The EC50 values estimated from cell viability experiments were similar to that for [3H]thymidine uptake. The EC50 value for C-41 cells was about 10-15 microM. The data demonstrate that the glycerophosphonocholine is a promising anti-cancer drug for the treatment of both leukemia and solid tumors. Furthermore, the data demonstrate that phospholipase C-catalyzed hydrolysis of ET-18-OCH3-GPC does not play an important role in the cytotoxic action of the ether-linked glycerolipids.
The interaction of cholesterol with conformationally restricted analogs of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol (DPPG) in the liquid-crystalline phase has been studied in vesicles. These analogs contain one of three cyclopentane triols in place of the glycerol moiety found in natural phospholipids and make possible an analysis of whether a limitation of the conformational mobility in the glycerol backbone region affects the interaction with cholesterol. When cholesterol was incorporated into vesicles from cyclopentanoid phospholipids in which the acyl group vicinal to the head group is trans, the first-order rate constant for Cl- efflux is decreased similarly to that in vesicles from 'natural' DPPC or DPPG (about 50%). However, when the head group is in the unnatural 2 position, cholesterol has a much smaller effect on the rate of Cl- efflux (a decrease of about 20%). Cholesterol decreased the rate constants for valinomycin-mediated 86Rb+ efflux from vesicles of the cyclopentanoid PC analogs and of DPPC to a similar extent. The half-time values for spontaneous intervesicle cholesterol exchange were not markedly different using vesicles prepared with the natural glycerophospholipids and with the cyclopentano-phospholipids, suggesting that the geometrical orientation of the acyl chains or the head group has little influence on cholesterol desorption from the lipid/water interface.
To test the hypothesis that the action of antineoplastic ether-linked lipids in leukemic cells is associated with their ability to inhibit protein kinase C (PKC), we have compared the effects of two ether-linked lipids, 1-O-hexadecyl-2-O-methyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (ET16-OCH3-GPC) and 1-O-hexadecyl-2-O-methyl-sn-glycero-3-(S-beta-D-1'- thioglucopyranosyl)-sn-glycerol (ET16-OCH3-beta-thio-Glc), on two different leukemic cell lines (WEHI-3B and R6X-B15). ET16-OCH3-GPC killed WEHI-3B cells with an EC50 value of 2.5 microM, whereas it was far less effective against R6X-B15 cells (EC50 = 40 microM). In contrast, the beta anomer of ET16-OCH3-beta-thio-Glc did not kill either cell line at concentrations up to 40 microM. Both ET16-OCH3-GPC and ET16-OCH3-thio-Glc inhibited 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (TPA)-induced PKC translocation in both WEHI-3B and R6X-B15 cells. When WEHI-3B cells were first exposed to TPA, and then to ET16-OCH3-GPC, no significant decrease in PKC activity in the particulate fraction was noticed. When, however, the cells were first exposed to ET16-OCH3-GPC and then to TPA, the enzyme activity in the particulate fraction was decreased by 20-30%. A phorbol dibutyrate binding assay showed that the decrease in membrane-associated PKC activity and the increase in cytosolic PKC activity did not result from impeded enzyme translocation. These results suggest that the similar PKC inhibitory potency of ET16-OCH3-GPC and ET16-OCH3-beta-thio-Glc: (a) is not correlated with the widely different cytotoxicities of these agents and (b) is probably due to interference with the binding of diacylglycerol/phosphatidylserine or TPA to PKC. Taken together, these results suggest that the ether-linked lipids compete with diacylglycerol/phosphatidylserine or TPA for binding sites on PKC required for enzyme activation.
14C-labeled sterols with structural variation in the polar function [3 alpha-OH, 3-O(CH2)2O-(CH2)2O(CH2)2OH, 3 alpha-NH2, 3 beta-NH2, and 3-OC(O)CHN = N] and at the 7 position (7-oxo, 7 alpha-OH, and 7 beta-OH) were synthesized and incorporated into unilamellar vesicles for studies of the rates of transfer to an excess of acceptor vesicles. Cholesterol, cholestanol, and epicholesterol underwent full exchange in a single kinetic pool, and 90% of the 3 alpha-triethoxycholesterol was exchangeable in one pool. Biphasic kinetics with full exchangeability were observed for cholesterylamines, which bear a positive charge at the 3 position; the slow phase reflects the high activation energy for inner-to-outer leaflet movement of the charged lipid. Biphasic kinetics were also found for cholesteryl diazoacetate, indicating that this photoaffinity probe and cholesterol have different mechanisms of transfer. Sterols that are more hydrophilic than cholesterol as estimated by reversed-phase high-performance chromatography (elution with acetonitrile-2-propanol, 4:1 v/v, with varying proportions of water) gave faster exchange rates than cholesterol, whereas sterols that are more hydrophobic gave slower exchange rates. However, the rates of [14C]sterol desorption from the lipid-water interface are not correlated with the relative sterol hydrophobicity as estimated by the logarithm of the capacity factors using acetonitrile-2-propanol-water as the mobile phase. These studies suggest that the interaction of sterols with phospholipids provides the principal physical-chemical basis for determining the rates of spontaneous exchange of sterols between bilayers.
Phospholipids extracted from liver microsomes and mitochondria of ethanol-fed rats retained the resistance to membrane disordered by ethanol which is observed in the intact isolated membranes. The lipid extracts were separated into the major phospholipid classes (phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylinositol from microsomes and phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and cardiolipin from mitochondria) by preparative TLC. The extent of membrane disordering by ethanol of phospholipid vesicles composed of a mixture of phospholipids from ethanol-fed rats and controls was determined from the reduction of the order parameter of the spin-probe 12-doxyl-stearate. In contrast to previous reports, we found that all phospholipid classes from ethanol-fed rats confer resistance to disordering by ethanol. To a first approximation the extent of resistance was proportional to the fraction of lipids from ethanol-fed rats, regardless of the phospholipid head-group. Subtle differences between phospholipid classes may exist but were too small to measure accurately. Except for phosphatidylethanol, incorporation of anionic phospholipids did not have a significant effect on the sensitivity of phospholipid vesicles to the disordering effect of ethanol. Vesicles prepared from mixtures of various dioleoyl phospholipids and natural phospholipids did not indicate a clear effect of fatty acid saturation on the sensitivity to disordering by ethanol. Although the precise molecular changes that occur in phospholipids from ethanol-fed rats have not been fully characterized it appears that subtle changes in all phospholipid classes contribute to the resistance to ethanol disordering of these membranes.
Prior studies demonstrated that ceramide was phosphorylated by a novel Ca(2+)-dependent kinase distinct from diacylglycerol (DG) kinase in human myelogenous leukemia (HL-60) cells (Kolesnick, R. N., and Hemer, M. R. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 10900-10904). The present studies were initiated to determine whether mammalian DG kinase purified to homogeneity possessed phosphotransferase activity toward ceramide. A high molecular weight rat brain DG kinase demonstrated Mg(2+)-(but not Ca(2+)-) dependent DG kinase activity and did not phosphorylate ceramide in the presence of either cation. In contrast, ceramide served as a competitive inhibitor with an inhibition constant (Ki) 2-6-fold greater than the Km for DG. Inhibition was noncompetitive with respect to ATP and Mg2+. A cell-permeable ceramide, N-octanoyl sphingosine (C8-cer), was used to study effects of ceramide on DG kinase in intact HL-60 cells. C8-cer induced dose- and time-dependent increases in cellular DG levels. As little as 1 microM C8-cer increased DG from a basal level of 103 to 177 pmol.10(6) cells-1, and a maximal 2.9-fold elevation to 292 pmol.10(6) cells-1 occurred with 10 microM C8-cer. DG elevation was detected after 1 min, maximal by 7.5 min, and sustained for 30 min. The DG elevation was accompanied by a reduction in 32P incorporation in phosphatidic acid in cells short term-labeled with [32P]orthophosphoric acid, consistent with inhibition of DG kinase. In contrast, a similar elevation in the DG level induced by exogenous phospholipase C increased 32P incorporation into phosphatidic acid. C8-cer was not metabolized to sphingomyelin, indicating that DG was not generated through the phosphatidylcholine:ceramide cholinephosphotransferase reaction. DG elevation after C8-cer or phospholipase C treatment was sufficient to redistribute protein kinase C from cytosol to membrane. These findings provide evidence that ceramide may serve as a competitive inhibitor of DG kinase.
2-O-Methyl analogs of platelet activating factor (PAF) are potent anticancer agents. The sites of action and mechanisms of cell toxicity of these agents are as yet unknown. To better understand the mode of action of this class of anticancer agents, we examined the ability of 1-O-hexadecyl-2-acetylglycero-3-phosphocholine with the S or R configuration at C2 ((R)-PAF and (S)-PAF) and 1-O-hexadecyl-2-methoxyglycero-3-phosphocholine with the S or R configuration at C2 ((R)-ET-16-OCH3-GPC and (S)-ET-16-OCH3-GPC) to induce rabbit platelet aggregation and to inhibit [3H]thymidine uptake into WEHI-3B cells, HL-60 cells, and normal blood lymphocytes. The four chiral ether-linked lipids caused aggregation of rabbit platelets with the following order of potency: (R)-PAF greater than (S)-PAF greater than (R)-ET-16-OCH3-GPC greater than (S)-ET-16-OCH3-GPC; the EC50 values were 1 pM, 50 nM, 1 microM, and 50 microM, respectively. The cytotoxic effects of these ether lipids in leukemic cells was in reverse order to that observed for aggregation of platelets. The order of potency for inhibition of [3H]thymidine uptake by WEHI-3B and HL-60 cells was (R)-ET-16-OCH3-GPC = (S)-ET-16-OCH3-GPC greater than (S)-PAF greater than (R)-PAF; the EC50 values were 2, 2, 15, and greater than 40 microM, respectively. PAF antagonists (WEB 2086, CV 3988, triazolam, and SRI 63,441) blocked the action of the four ether lipids on platelets, while SRI 63,441 blocked the antineoplastic activity of the ether lipids on WEHI-3B and HL-60 cells. None of the four lipids was able to kill normal lymphocytes significantly. Scatchard analysis of PAF receptor binding revealed that HL-60 and WEHI-3B cells, which are sensitive to the cytotoxic action of ether-linked lipids, do not possess PAF receptors, whereas both normal lymphocytes and platelets do possess a PAF receptor. The present data indicate that the cytotoxic action of antineoplastic ether-linked lipids does not involve the PAF receptor. The protective role of SRI 63,441 in blocking the proaggregatory activity of the ether lipids in rabbit platelets involves PAF receptor, but cytotoxic activity against WEHI-3B and HL-60 cells does not result from its ability to act as a PAF antagonist.
To study the structural requirements of the molecular interactions between cholesterol and sphingomyelins in model membranes, sphingomyelin derivatives were synthesized in which (a) the 3-hydroxy group was replaced with a hydrogen atom or with a methoxy, ethoxy, or tetrahydropyranyloxy group, (b) the N-acyl chain length was varied, and (c) the N-acyl chain length contained an alpha-hydroxy group. The chemical syntheses of these derivatives from DL-erythro-sphingosine are reported. The properties of these sphingomyelin derivatives were examined in monolayer membranes at the air/water interface. The mean molecular area of the pure N-stearoylsphingomyelin derivatives was determined, and the effects of cholesterol on the condensation of sphingomyelin packing in the monolayer were recorded. It was observed that replacement of the 3-hydroxy group of sphingomyelin with a hydrogen atom or its substitution with a methoxy or ethoxy group did not affect the ability of cholesterol to condense the molecular packing in monolayers. Even when a bulky tetrahydropyranyloxy group was introduced at the 3-hydroxy position of egg sphingomyelin, cholesterol was still able to condense the molecular packing of this derivative. The condensing effect of cholesterol on derivatives of N-stearoyl-SPMs was significantly larger than the comparable effect observed with 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine or 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine. Our results with 3-hydroxysphingomyelins having differing N-acyl chain lengths (i.e., N-stearoyl, N-myristoyl, and N-lauroyl), and with 3-hydroxy-N-(alpha-hydroxypalmitoyl)sphingomyelin also indicated that cholesterol was able to induce condensation of the molecular packing.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The use of CD2 rocking modes in the IR spectrum as quantitative probes of phospholipid conformational disorder has recently been described for aqueous dispersions of 1,2-dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and DPPC/cholesterol mixtures [Mendelsohn et al. (1989) Biochemistry 28, 8934-8939; Davies et al. (1990) Biochemistry 29, 4368-4373]. Initial studies focused at the 4, 6, and 10 acyl chain positions of DPPC. In the current work, the method is extended to the 2, 3, 12, and 13 positions. Conformational disorder in the L alpha phase is approximately the same (about 20% gauche) at positions 4, 10, and 13, but an unexpected higher value is observed (about 30%) at the 6 position. Cholesterol (33 mol%) restricts gauche rotamer formation by factors ranging from 6 to 9 at positions 4 and 6, respectively, to 1.5-2 at positions 10, 12, and 13. Quantitative analysis for the DPPC/cholesterol "liquid-ordered" phase indicates the occurrence of 1.2 gauche bonds/chain, a marked reduction from the 3.6-4.2 gauche bonds/chain for DPPC alone. Proximity to the ester moiety at acyl chain position 3 perturbs the vibrational coupling patterns of the CD2 rocking modes and eliminates their sensitivity to conformational change. In addition, the feasibility of a method based on the conformation-dependent coupling between CD2 rocking frequencies of two successive CD2 groups for the quantitative detection of specific, position-dependent king (gtg') and isolated gauche (gtt) conformers is demonstrated. Finally, comparisons between IR measurements and explicit theoretical predictions of acyl chain conformational order are presented.
Cholesterol undergoes exchange between membranes containing sphingomyelin at a much slower rate than between membranes lacking sphingomyelin. To investigate the role of the hydroxy group at the 3-position of sphingomyelin in the interaction between sphingomyelin and cholesterol, we have measured the rates of [4-14C]cholesterol exchange between unilamellar vesicles prepared with N-stearoylsphingomyelin or with synthetic analogues in which the hydroxy group is replaced with an O-alkyl group or with hydrogen. Vesicles prepared from 3-deoxy- and 3-O-methyl-N-stearoylsphingomyelin had the same rate of [14C]-cholesterol desorption. The half-times for exchange from vesicles prepared with 3-O-methyl- and 3-deoxy-N-stearoylsphingomyelins and 10 mol % of cholesterol were only slightly faster (a factor of only 1.5) than that found from vesicles prepared from N-stearoylsphingomyelin and 10 mol % cholesterol. The rate of cholesterol desorption from vesicles could be accelerated by preparing vesicles from bulky 3-O-alkyl analogues of sphingomyelin. Vesicles containing 3-O-ethyl-N-stearoylsphingomyelin and 3-O-tetrahydropyranyl egg sphingomyelin gave rate enhancements of approximately 14 and 35, compared with the rates observed in vesicles made from N-stearoyl- and egg sphingomyelin, respectively. These data indicate that insertion of sterically bulky groups at the 3-position of sphingomyelin (such as ethoxy and tetrahydropyranyloxy) in place of hydroxy interferes markedly with the molecular packing of cholesterol and sphingomyelin in bilayer membranes; however, the hydroxy group of sphingomyelin is not critical for the strong interaction of cholesterol with sphingomyelin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
We have examined the kinetics of [14C]cholesterol exchange between unilamellar vesicles formed from the following synthetic glycerophosphatidylcholines: (a) those having acyl (OC(O)R), acylamino (NHC(O)R), carbamoyl (NHC(O)OR), and acylthio (SC(O)R) chains at the sn-2 position, and (b) those having alkyl (OR) and thioalkyl (SR) chains at the sn-1 position. Replacement of the glycerol oxygen atom at the sn-2 position of PC with a NH group did not affect the rate of cholesterol exchange to a significant extent, suggesting that the amide group of sphingomyelin is not primarily responsible for the very slow rate of exchange of cholesterol observed from sphingomyelin vesicles. Replacement of the glycerol oxygen at the sn-2 position of phosphatidylcholine with a sulfur atom caused the rate of spontaneous cholesterol exchange to increase by a factor of 1.6. Substitution of an O-alkyl chain for the acyl chain at the sn-1 position of 2-acylthiophosphatidylcholine or substitution of a thioalkyl chain for the O-alkyl sn-1 chain of 1-alkyl-2-acylaminodeoxyphosphatidylcholine also did not result in a marked difference in cholesterol exchange rate. The data suggest that interactions other than intermolecular hydrogen bonding are involved in determining the rates of intermembrane cholesterol exchange. Significantly, these kinetic studies also lend support to the continued use in model membranes of synthetic sulfur- and nitrogen-substituted phosphatidylcholines, which have been employed to study properties of lipolytic enzymes, since synthetic acylamino- and acylthio-phospholipids form vesicles that give cholesterol exchange rates that closely resemble those found in vesicles prepared with diester-phosphatidylcholines.
We have studied the effects of modification of the endogenous phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG) content of the plasma membrane of Mycoplasma capricolum on the kinetics of spontaneous [14C]cholesterol and 14C-labeled phospholipid exchange between M. capricolum membranes and lipid vesicles. The PG/DPG molar ratio of M. capricolum membranes changed when cells were grown in media supplemented with 0.5 mM CaCl2 and/or egg phosphatidylcholine (PC) (10-20 micrograms/ml), increasing from 3.9 to 6.3 on supplementation with Ca2+; this ratio decreased to 1.1 in media supplemented with PC and to 1.8 in media containing both PC and Ca2+. The ratio of palmitate to oleate in both PG and DPG decreased when cells were grown with PC or with PC and Ca2+. Bilayer disruptions were seen in freeze-fracture electron micrographs of trypsin-treated M. capricolum membranes from cells grown with both Ca2+ and PC, and numerous lipidic particles and other bilayer disruptions were observed in trypsin-treated M. capricolum membranes and their lipid extracts. The rates of spontaneous exchange of 14C-labeled cholesterol and PC from membranes isolated from cells grown with PC and Ca2+ to acceptor lipid vesicles were exchanged by approximately 30%, and the rate of the rapidly exchangeable cholesterol pool in intact cells was enhanced by 64%. The enhancements in cholesterol and PC exchange rates are considered to result from structural defects expected in the M. capricolum membranes obtained from cells grown with Ca2+ supplementation. Our findings parallel previous examples of functional modifications of membranes induced by bilayer instability arising from a pretransitional state leading to the onset of a nonlamellar phase.
Magic-angle spinning 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) have been employed to study 50%-by-weight aqueous dispersions of 1-octadecanoyl-2-decanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (C[18]:C[10]PC) and 1-octadecanoyl-2-d19-decanoyl-PC (C[18]:C[10]PC-d19), mixed-chain phospholipids which can form interdigitated multibilayers. The 1H NMR linewidth for methyl protons of the choline headgroup has been used to monitor the liquid crystalline-to-gel (LC-to-G) phase transition and confirm variations between freezing and melting temperatures. Both 1H and 13C spin-lattice relaxation times indicate unusual restrictions on segmental reorientation at megahertz frequencies for C(18):C(10)PC as compared with symmetric-chain species in the LC state; nevertheless each chemical moiety of the mixed-chain phospholipid exhibits motional behavior that may be classified as liquidlike. Two-dimensional nuclear Overhauser spectroscopy (NOESY) on C(18):C(10)PC and C(18):C(10)PC-d19 reveals cross-peaks between the omega-methyl protons of the C18 chain and the N-methyl protons of the phosphocholine headgroup, and several experimental and theoretical considerations argue against an interpretation based on spin diffusion. Using NMR relaxation times and NOESY connectivities along with a computational formalism for four-spin systems (Keepers, J. W., and T. L. James. 1984. J. Magn. Reson. 57:404-426), an estimate of 3.5 A is obtained for the average distance between the omega-methyl protons of the C18 chain and the N-methyl protons of the phosphocholine headgroup. This finding is consistent with a degree of interdigitation similar to that proposed for organized assemblies of gel-state phosphatidylcholine molecules with widely disparate acyl-chain lengths (Hui, S. W., and C.-H. Huang. 1986. Biochemistry. 25:1330-1335); however, acyl-chain bendback or other intermolecular interactions may also contribute to the NOESY results. For multibilayers of C(18):C(10)PC in the gel phase, 13C chemical-shift measurements indicate that trans conformers predominate along both acyl chains. 13C Spin-lattice relaxation times confirm the unusual motional restrictions noted in the LC state; nevertheless, 13C and 1H rotating-frame relaxation times indicate that the interdigitated arrangement enhances chain or bilayer motions which occur at mid-kilohertz frequencies.
Ether-linked glycero-alpha- and beta-D-glucopyranosides and glycero-1-thio-alpha- and beta-D-glucopyranosides have been synthesized by modifications of the Königs-Knorr procedure, and their antitumor activities have been evaluated. The bioactivities of these compounds have been evaluated in five different cell lines (WEHI 3B, C653, X63/OMIL3, R6X-B15, and HL-60) and compared with the activities of 1-O-hexadecyl-2-O-methyl-sn-3-glycerophosphocholine (GPC) and its enantiomer, 3-O-hexadecyl-2-O-methyl-sn-1-GPC. The results indicate that a alpha-D-thioglucopyranoside [1-O-hexadecyl-2-O-methyl-3-S-(alpha-D-1'- thioglucopyranosyl-sn-glycerol)] is selective with respect to its action on target cells, with high activity for killing of WEHI 3B and C653 cells as determined by inhibition of [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA and HL-60 cell cytotoxicity, but unable to induce aggregation of rabbit platelets at 10(-5) M. The corresponding beta-linked thioglycolipid was ineffective with respect to cytotoxicity against each cell line tested, indicating the importance of configuration at the anomeric position; the beta-thioglycoside was also ineffective with respect to inducing platelet aggregation. 1-O-Hexadecyl-2-O-methyl-sn-3-GPC and 3-O-hexadecyl-2-O-methyl-sn-1-GPC were potent inhibitors of growth of each cell line tested but also caused rabbit platelet aggregation at concentrations greater than or equal to 10(-7) M. Thus, 3-S-(alpha-thioglycopyranosyl)-sn- glycerols bearing a long-chain O-alkyl group at the sn-1 position and a methoxy group at the sn-2 position of glycerol appear to be a promising class of antineoplastic agents with lower risk of inducing thrombosis than the widely studied platelet activating factor analogue, 1-O-octadecyl-2-O-methyl-rac-3-GPC.
A stereocontrolled route to 1-palmitoyl-2-O-hexadecyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine from (R)-glycidyl tosylate is described. This method gives very high enantioselectivity (93-96% enantiomeric excess) and can be used to prepare 3-acyl-2-O-alkyl-sn-glycero-1-phosphocholines from (S)-glycidyl tosylate. The key step is the preparation of 1-O-benzyl-sn-glycerol 3-tosylate by the boron trifluoride etherate catalyzed regio- and stereo-specific opening of the epoxide ring with excess benzyl alcohol. The alkyl group is introduced using alkyl trifluoromethanesulfonate in the presence of excess 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylpyridine. Debenzylation gives 2-O-alkyl-sn-glycerol 3-arenesulfonate, which is acylated and then converted into the phosphocholine. The use of chiral glycidyl derivatives as starting materials for the synthesis of glycerophospholipids is discussed.