Fast reductive ligation of S-nitrosothiols

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/anie.200801654

(Chemical Equation Presented) Nitroso knows: A process has been developed which converts unstable S-nitrosothiols into stable sulfenamide analogues (see scheme).Reductive ligation proceeds rapidly in mixed organic solvent/water systems to give high yields. By applying this reaction, an efficient strategy for detecting S-nitrosylation in proteins and other biological systems is envisioned.

Full text of DOI:10.1002/anie.200801654

Communications
DOI: 10.1002/anie.200801654
Nitrogen Oxides
Fast Reductive Ligation of S-Nitrosothiols**
Hua Wang and Ming Xian*
Dedicated to Professor Jin-Pei Cheng on the occasion of his 60th birthday
Table 1: Azaylide formation from RSNO and Ph3P.
Nitric oxide (NO) plays many significant roles in physiology
and pathophysiology.[1] The cellular response to NO is
mediated by different reactions of various reactive nitrogen
species (RNS), including direct reactions with metallopro-
teins and indirect reactions following oxidation and other
metabolic processes. In particular, the reaction of RNSwith
cysteine residues of proteins that results in S-nitrosylation has
received a great deal of attention. This is because S-nitro-
sylation represents an important post-translational modifica-
tion that may transduce NO-dependent signals.[2] To date, a
large group of proteins have been characterized as targets for
S-nitrosylation, and in many cases S-nitrosylation is believed
to regulate protein activity and function.[3] However, the
detection of S-nitrosylation still remains a challenge because
of the labile nature of S-nitrosothiols (RSNOs; R = substitu-
ent).[4,5] Herein, we report a novel reductive ligation reaction
of RSNOs which can potentially be used as an efficient “one-
step” strategy for detection of S-nitrosylation in biological
systems.
Entry
Solvent
Yield [%]
1
2
3
4
5
benzene
CHCl3
THF
CH3CN
CH3CN/H2O (1:1)
82
86
90
88
85
corresponding azaylide products (see the Supporting Infor-
mation).
We noticed that two equivalents of PPh3 were consumed
in this reaction, and a plausible mechanism is proposed in
Scheme 1. PPh3 first reacts with the nitroso group to form
either phosphonitroxide 4 or zwitterion 5. Then, a second
Although RSNO compounds have been known for over a
century, their reactions remain limited because of their
instability.[6] However, we postulated that the increased
reactivity of RSNO compounds could be exploited if: 1) a
reagent was developed that could react with SNO groups to
form stable products (or conjugates), and 2) the reagent was
compatible with other biological functionalities, especially
disulfide bonds. With these considerations in mind, the 1972
report by Haake,[7] in which TrSNO (1; Tr= trityl) reacted
with PPh3 in benzene to provide azaylide 2 as an isolable
product, attracted our attention. We revisited this reaction
and found that it gave azaylides in benzene and in other
organic solvents such as CHCl3, THF, and CH3CN (Table 1).
In addition, this reaction proceeded nicely in water-contain-
ing systems such as CH3CN/H2O. The reaction proved to be
rapid and was usually complete within minutes. Prolonged
exposure to aqueous systems led to lower yields because of
azaylide hydrolysis. Besides TrSNO, other RSNOs such as
tBuSNO also underwent a similar process to generate the
Scheme 1. Proposed mechanism for the formation of azaylide.
molecule of PPh3 reacts with either 4 or 5 to generate
intermediate 6, which finally leads to azaylide 7 and Ph3P O.
=
We hypothesized that azaylide formation might be gen-
eral for RSNO moieties. We also envisioned that intermedi-
ates 4–6, and the final azaylide 7 could be potential
nucleophilic species. If a suitable electrophilic group is
attached to the phosphine reagent then it could trap these
intermediates and undergo spontaneous intramolecular reac-
tions to form stable products in only one step, thus making
new ligation reactions of RSNOs possible. These reactions
could be used to selectively label the S-nitrosylation process
in biological systems.
To test our hypothesis we studied the reactions between
RSNOs and phosphine esters 8. These phosphine compounds
have been used in the well-known Staudinger ligation to
selectively label azides.[8] Based on the pioneering work of the
Bertozzi and Raines research groups,[8] we expected that a
similar ligation process would also proceed when the azaylide
intermediates (such as compound 7, Scheme 1) were formed.
The model substrate tBuSNO (9) was treated with either 8a
(R’ = Me) or 8b (R’ = Ph) in different solvent systems
[*] Dr. H. Wang, Prof. Dr. M. Xian
Department of Chemistry
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164 (USA)
Fax: (+1)509-335-6087
E-mail: mxian@wsu.edu
[**] We thank the Washington State University for supporting this work.
We also thank Prof. P. Garner and Prof. R. Ronald for helpful
discussions.
Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW
under http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.200801654.
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Table 3: Examples of reductive ligation of RSNOs.
(Table 2). Organic solvents such as THF (results not shown)
and CH3CN (Table 2, entries 1 and 2) only gave a trace
amount of ligation product 10. We also screened a number of
Table 2: Reductive ligation between tBuSNO and the phosphine esters.
Entry
1
RSNO
Yield [%]
92
3a
3b
3c
2
3
90
89
Entry
Phosphine ester
Solvent
Yield [%]
1
2
3
4
5
8a
8b
8a
8b
8b
CH3CN
CH3CN
<5
<5
50
80
93
4
5
6
3d
3e
3 f
91
89
84
CH3CN/H2O (3:1)
CH3CN/H2O (3:1)
CH3CN/THF/H2O (1.5:1.5:1)
organic solvent/water mixtures, and with CH3CN/H2O (3:1;
Table 2, entries 3 and 4) we observed a significant amount of
ligation product. When THF was added to improve the
solubility of 8b (Table 2, entry 5) we obtained the sulfen-
amide compound 10 in excellent yield (93%).
7
3g
69
We believe that formation of the sulfenamide product
follows a similar mechanism to that of the Staudinger ligation
(Scheme 2).[8b] The azaylide intermediate 11 first forms upon
ligation products were obtained in good yield. Notably, the
reductive ligation of RSNOs is very fast and the desired
products are typically formed within a few minutes. There-
fore, the possible hydrolysis of azaylide intermediates does
not appear to be a problem.
We then prepared the poly(ethylene glycol)-linked phos-
phine ester 8c to further test the reductive ligation process
(Scheme 3). This reagent was more water soluble than 8a and
Scheme 2. Proposed mechanism of the reaction between RSNO and
the phosphine ester.
Scheme 3. Reductive ligation of RSNOs with 8c.
treatment of RSNO with 8. Then 11 undergoes an intra-
molecular reaction with the ester functionality (see 12) to
provide phosphorane 13. Finally, hydrolysis of 13 in the
presence of water leads to the final product 14.
8b, and the reactions proceeded nicely in a solvent system
containing pH 7.0 PBSbuffer (80%; PBS = phosphate-buf-
fered saline) and THF (20%). Once again, the desired
ligation products were obtained rapidly and in good yields
(see the Supporting Information for experimental details).
To test the potential compatibility of this reaction with
biological systems we carried out some control experiments
(Scheme 4). Phosphine compounds are known to be mild
reducing agents, which may raise the possibility of disulfide
bond reduction in proteins as a potential undesirable side
reaction. Previous studies have demonstrated that some
triaryl phosphine compounds are safe for use in the presence
of disulfide bonds.[8a] We also found that treatment of
Next, we tested the generality of this reductive ligation
process by using a series of RSNO compounds (Table 3).
Under the optimized reaction conditions, the relatively stable
tertiary RSNOs 3a and 3b gave the desired products in
excellent yields (Table 3, entries 1 and 2). The steric bulk of R
did not affect the reaction. This method was also used to
capture extremely unstable primary RSNOs such as 3c in
good yield (Table 3, entry 3). In addition, the reactions
employing amino acid and peptide derivatives (3d–3g) were
also examined (Table 3, entries 4–7). In all cases the desired
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containing compounds.[9,10] No decomposition was observed
after 1 hour when the reactions between 14e (or 14 f) and
cysteine were carried out in pH 7.0 and 8.0 buffer solutions
[Eq. (5)], (see the Supporting Information for experimental
details).
In summary, we have developed a fast reductive ligation
reaction which targets SNO moieties. To the best of our
knowledge, this is the first “one-step” method to convert
unstable SNO groups into relatively stable conjugates. In light
of the results from the control experiments, we expect that
this reaction can be used to design new detection methods for
S-nitrosylation in biological systems. Progress toward this
goal is ongoing.
Experimental Section
General procedure for the reductive ligation of RSNOs: Compound 9
was freshly prepared from the corresponding thiol. Compounds 9
(1.0 mmol) and 8b (2.1 mmol) were added to a solution of CH3CN/
THF/H2O (15 mL/15 mL/10 mL) were. The reaction mixture was
stirred at room temperature until the reaction was complete (usually
less than 5 min, as indicated by disappearance of the green color). The
mixture was then diluted with EtOAc (100 mL) and the organic phase
was washed with brine, dried over MgSO4, and concentrated in vacuo.
Purification of the residue by column chromatography on silica gel
(MeOH/CH2Cl2, 1:100) afforded 10 in 93% yield (see the Supporting
Information for the characterization data).
Scheme 4. Control experiments for the reductive ligation reaction.
Bn=benzyl.
Received: April 8, 2008
Published online: July 18, 2008
Keywords: nitrenes · nitrogen oxides · reductive ligation ·
S-nitrosothiols
.
compounds 8a–8c with glutathione disulfide [GSSG; Eq. (1)]
did not generate any detectable free thiols after 6 h.
If we apply this method to labeling SNO proteins, then the
phosphine compound must be used in excess relative to the
SNO. Therefore, a major concern is that the excess phosphine
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reagent might induce reductive fragmentation to cleave the
[9]
À
S N bond of the sulfenamide ligation products. To address
this question, ligation products 14e and 14 f were treated with
8b [Eqs. (2) and (3)]. Under our optimized reductive ligation
reaction conditions, the tertiary sulfenamide 14e gave only a
very small amount (< 10%) of fragmentation product after
1 h, while after 12 h we obtained 50% of the decomposition
product 15 and the corresponding thiol, as well as recovered
starting material. In contrast, the primary sulfenamide 14 f
was quite sensitive to phosphine 8b and decomposition was
complete after 30 minutes. However, since reductive ligation
is a very fast process, it was possible to avoid unwanted by-
products if the reaction was stopped before decomposition, or
by destroying the reactivity of the phosphine reagent
immediately after ligation was complete. Indeed, after
mixing the primary RSNO 3 f with excess 8b (10 equiv) for
1 minute (a disappearance of the red color accompanied the
conversion of 3 f), H2O2 was used to quench the reaction and
the desired ligation product 14 f was obtained in 86% yield
[Eq. (4)]. Even without the peroxide work-up, a good yield
(78%) was still obtained with a quick separation (see the
Supporting Information).
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À
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