58801-23-3

Upstream product

• 1812-63-1 moretenone 
• 25615-11-6 3-oxo-hop-22⁽²⁹⁾-ene 
• 54910-48-4 squalene 2,3(S)-oxide 
• 1981-81-3 hydroxyhopanone 
• 54274-53-2 (3S)-2,3-oxidosqualene 
• 54274-53-2 (3R)-2,3-oxidosqualene 

Downstream Products

• 2085-25-8 Acetic acid (3R,3aS,5aR,5bR,11aR,13aR,13bS)-3-isopropenyl-5a,5b,8,8,11a,13b-hexamethyl-icosahydro-cyclopenta[a]chrysen-9-yl ester 
• 25615-11-6 3-oxo-hop-22⁽²⁹⁾-ene 

Relevant academic research and scientific papers

Two new triterpene esters from the twigs of Brachylaena ramiflora from the Madagascar rainforest

Bioassay-guided fractionation of a CH2Cl2/MeOH extract of the small twigs of Brachylaena ramiflora var. ramiflora resulted in the isolation of the two new triterpene esters 1 and 2 and five known triterpenoids, α-amyrin palmitate (3), β-amyrin palmitate (4), β-amyrin acetate (5), lupeyl acetate (6), and lupeol (7). The structures of the two new compounds were established as kairatenyl palmitate (1) and hopenyl palmitate (2) on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data interpretation and chemical conversions. All the isolated compounds showed weak cytotoxicity against the A2780 human ovarian cancer cell line.

Mutated variants of squalene-hopene cyclase: Enzymatic syntheses of triterpenes bearing oxygen-bridged monocycles and a new 6,6,6,6,6-fusded pentacyclic scaffold, named neogammacerane, from 2,3-oxidosqualene

Squalene-hopene cyclase (SHC) catalyzes the conversion of acyclic squalene molecule into a 6,6,6,6,5-fused pentacyclic hopene and hopanol. SHC is also able to convert (3S)-2,3-oxidosqualene into 3β-hydroxyhopene and 3β-hydroxyhopanol and can generate 3α-hydroxyhopene and 3α-hydroxyhopanol from (3R)-2,3-oxidosqualene. Functional analyses of active site residues toward the squalene cyclization reaction have been extensively reported, but investigations of the cyclization reactions of (3R,S)-oxidosqualene by SHC have rarely been reported. The cyclization reactions of oxidosqualene with W169X, G600F/F601G and F601G/P602F were examined. The variants of the W169L generated new triterpene skeletons possessing a 7-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]heptane moiety (oxygen-bridged monocycle) with (1S,2S,4R)- and (1R,2S,4S)-stereochemistry, which were produced from (3R)- and (3S)-oxidosqualenes, respectively. The F601G/P602F double mutant also furnished a novel triterpene, named neogammacer-21(22)-en-3β-ol, consisting of a 6,6,6,6,6-fused pentacyclic system, in which Me-29 at C-22 of the gammacerane skeleton migrated to C-21. We propose to name this novel scaffold neogammacerane. The formation mechanisms of the enzymatic products from 2,3-oxidosqualene are discussed.

Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius Squalene-Hopene Cyclase: The Critical Role of Steric Bulk at Ala306 and the First Enzymatic Synthesis of Epoxydammarane from 2,3-Oxidosqualene

The acyclic molecule squalene (1) is cyclized into 6,6,6,6,5-fused pentacyclic hopene (2) and hopanol (3; ca. 5:1) through the action of Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius squalene-hopene cyclase (AaSHC). The polycyclization reaction proceeds with regio- and stereochemical specificity under precise enzymatic control. This pentacyclic hopane skeleton is generated by folding 1 into an all-chair conformation. The Ala306 residue in AaSHC is conserved in known squalene-hopene cyclases (SHCs); however, increasing the steric bulk (A306T and A306V) led to the accumulation of 6,6,6,5-fused tetracyclic scaffolds possessing 20R stereochemistry in high yield (94 % for A306V). The production of the 20R configuration indicated that 1 had been folded in a chair-chair-chair-boat conformation; in contrast, the normal chair-chair-chair-chair conformation affords the tetracycle with 20S stereochemistry, but the yield produced by the A306V mutant was very low (6 %). Consequently, bulk at position 306 significantly affects the stereochemical fate during the polycyclization reaction. The SHC also accepts (3R) and (3S)-2,3-oxidosqualenes (OXSQs) to generate 3α,β-hydroxyhopenes and 3α,β-hydroxyhopanols through polycyclization initiated at the epoxide ring. However, the Val and Thr mutants generated epoxydammarane scaffolds from (3R)-OXSQ; this indicated that the polycyclization cascade started in these instances at the terminal double bond position. This work is the first to report the polycyclization of oxidosqualene starting at the terminal double bond.

Functional analysis of the DXDDTA motif in squalene-hopene cyclase by site-directed mutagenesis experiments: Initiation site of the polycyclization reaction and stabilization site of the carbocation intermediate of the initially cyclized A-ring

In order to clarify the function of the DXDDTA motif in squalene-hopene cyclase and to identify the acidic amino acid residues crucial for the catalysis, site-directed mutagenesis experiments were carried out. The following results were found: (1) residue

Functional analysis of phenylalanine 365 in hopene synthase, a conserved amino acid in the families of squalene and oxidosqualene cyclases

Two bicyclic products were accumulated by the mutant F365A, showing the amino acid residue is located close to the transient C-8 carbocation intermediate in the active site cavity; the mutants of F365Y and F365W significantly accelerated the cyclization reaction at low temperatures.

Kinetic studies on the function of all the conserved tryptophans involved inside and outside the QW motifs of squalene-hopene cyclase: Stabilizing effect of the protein structure against thermal denaturation

Site-directed mutagenesis experiments were carried out to identify the responsibility of the eight QW motifs for the reaction catalyzed by squalene-hopene cyclase (SHC). Alterations of the conserved tryptophans, which are responsible for the stacking structure with glutamine, into aliphatic amino acids gave a significantly lower temperature for the catalytic optimum as for the mutageneses of QW motifs 4, 5a and 5b, which are specifically present in SHCs. However, there was no change in the optimal temperatures of the mutated SHCs targeted at the other five motifs 1, 2, 3, 5c and 6. Thus, reinforcement against heat denaturation can be proposed as a function of the three QW motifs 4, 5a and 5b, but no function could be identified for the QW motifs 1, 2, 3, 5c and 6, although they are commonly found in all the families of prokaryotic SHCs and eukaryotic oxidosqualene cyclases. On the other hand, the three conserved tryptophans of W169, W312 and W489, which are located inside the putative central cavity and outside the QW motifs, were identified as components of the active sites, but also had a function against thermal denaturation. The other two tryptophan residues of W142 and W558, which are located outside the QW motifs, were found not to be active sites, but also had a role for stabilizing the protein structure. It is noteworthy that the mutants replaced by phenylalanine had higher temperatures for the catalytic optimum than those replaced by aliphatic amino acids. The catalytic optimal pH values for all the mutants remained unchanged with an identical value of 6.0.

Synthesis and enzymatic cyclization of (3S)11-fluoro-2,3-oxidosqualene

A convergent asymmetric synthesis provided (3S)11-fluoro-2,3- oxidosqualene (11-FOS, 14), which was cyclized by bacterial squalene:hopane cyclase to a bridged ether. 11-FOS was neither a substrate nor an inhibitor for vertebrate oxidosqualene:lanosterol c

Chemical Investigation of Mallotus nepalensis Muell

Two pentacyclic triterpenoids moretenone and moretenol, besides a compound, m.p. 82 deg C and β-sitosterol have been isolated from the leaves of Mallotus nepalensis Muell and characterized on the basis of spectral and chemical evidences.