Synthesis of electrophile-tethered preQ₁ analogs for covalent attachment to preQ₁ RNA

• Laurin Flemmich and
• Ronald Micura

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 483–489, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.35

• an electrophilic handle for the covalent attachment of the ligand to the RNA. The simplicity of the underlying design of irreversibly bound ligand–RNA complexes has provided a new impetus in the fields of covalent RNA labeling and RNA drugging. Here, we present short and robust synthetic routes for

• novel compound DPQ1. Keywords: deazapurines; heterocycles; pyrrolopyrimidines; queuosine; riboswitches; ribozymes; RNA alkylation; RNA labelling; Introduction Pre-queuosine 1 (preQ1) is a biosynthetic precursor of the hypermodified nucleoside queuosine (Q) that is found in the wobble position of

• antibiotic properties, others expand the chemical diversity and thus the functional sophistication of ribonucleic acids, as in the case of Q [3]. In most bacteria, Q biosynthesis is tightly regulated by riboswitches, which are highly structured RNA elements located mostly in the 5’-leader of messenger RNA

Synthesis of benzo[f]quinazoline-1,3(2H,4H)-diones

• Ruben Manuel Figueira de Abreu,
• Peter Ehlers and
• Peter Langer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2708–2719, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.228

• was studied by UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. Keywords: cross-coupling; cyclization; heterocycles; palladium; Introduction Nucleobases contain the coded information and give DNA and RNA their typical structure. As a nucleobase, uracil is involved in numerous vital processes and is therefore a

• promising target and candidate for the development of new drugs against a wide range of diseases [1][2][3][4]. As it is not contained in the DNA, it could be used to distinguish between DNA and RNA-based pharmaceutical targets. In previous years, uracil has been successfully used in the development of

Computational toolbox for the analysis of protein–glycan interactions

• Ferran Nieto-Fabregat,
• Maria Pia Lenza,
• Angela Marseglia,
• Cristina Di Carluccio,
• Antonio Molinaro,
• Alba Silipo and
• Roberta Marchetti

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2084–2107, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.180

• is a docking (not free) program that models interactions between proteins and other biomolecules such as DNA, RNA, and small ligands. Originally designed for protein docking, it has been successfully adapted for GAGs due to its coarse-grained force field approach, which allows for protein flexibility

Methyltransferases from RiPP pathways: shaping the landscape of natural product chemistry

• Maria-Paula Schröder,
• Isabel P.-M. Pfeiffer and
• Silja Mordhorst

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1652–1670, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.147

• regeneration systems have been widely applied to small molecules [28][29][30], as well as polyketide natural products [31], and RNA [32]. To the best of our knowledge, these systems have not yet been applied to peptide natural products. By providing a comprehensive overview of the various methylation options

• pathways Methyltransferases can be classified based on various factors, such as their substrates (small molecule MTs, protein MTs, or RNA/DNA MTs), the atom that accepts the methyl group (oxygen = O-MTs, nitrogen = N-MTs, carbon = C-MTs, sulphur = S-MTs, or halide = H-MTs), metal or cofactor dependence

• a class I SAM-dependent MT. The closest structural homologues with defined biosynthetic pathways are CcbJ and KedS8. These enzymes N-methylate the antibiotic lincosamide celesticetin and the anticancer protein kedaricidin, respectively. Crocagin A is a potent inhibitor of the RNA binding protein

Mining raw plant transcriptomic data for new cyclopeptide alkaloids

• Draco Kriger,
• Michael A. Pasquale,
• Brigitte G. Ampolini and
• Jonathan R. Chekan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1548–1559, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.138

• transcripts which may arise from multiple gene copies, multiple core sequences, or multiple RNA splicing events. Therefore, we counted the number of translated transcripts from each assembly that scored better than an E-value of 0.1 using our custom precursor peptide HMM. To select for only the split

Synthesis of 1,4-azaphosphinine nucleosides and evaluation as inhibitors of human cytidine deaminase and APOBEC3A

• Maksim V. Kvach,
• Stefan Harjes,
• Harikrishnan M. Kurup,
• Geoffrey B. Jameson,
• Elena Harjes and
• Vyacheslav V. Filichev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1088–1098, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.96

• activation-induced deaminase (AID) and APOBEC3 (A3), act preferentially on single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) containing one or multiple cytosine residues. Although some action was detected on RNA, none was observed on cytidine or cytosine alone. Each cytosine or cytidine deaminase has an important biological

Novel analogues of a nonnucleoside SARS-CoV-2 RdRp inhibitor as potential antivirotics

• Luca Julianna Tóth,
• Kateřina Krejčová,
• Milan Dejmek,
• Eva Žilecká,
• Blanka Klepetářová,
• Lenka Poštová Slavětínská,
• Evžen Bouřa and
• Radim Nencka

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1029–1036, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.91

• of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo náměstí 542/2, 166 10 Prague, Czech Republic 10.3762/bjoc.20.91 Abstract The RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) represents a prominent target in the discovery and development of new antivirotics against RNA viruses, inhibiting the replication process

• . One of the most targeted RNA viruses of the last years is, without doubt, SARS-CoV-2, the cause of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. HeE1-2Tyr, a known inhibitor of flaviviral RdRp, has been discovered to also have antiviral potency against this coronavirus. In this study, we report three distinct

• : antivirotics; nonnucleotide inhibitor; RNA-dependent RNA polymerase; SARS-CoV-2; Introduction Epidemics caused by various viral infections, such as AIDS, Zika fever, Dengue fever, or Ebola, are a constant threat to communities of all sizes [1]. The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the newly emerged severe acute

Synthesis and properties of 6-alkynyl-5-aryluracils

• Ruben Manuel Figueira de Abreu,
• Till Brockmann,
• Alexander Villinger,
• Peter Ehlers and
• Peter Langer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 898–911, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.80

• -coupling; fluorescence; heterocycles; regioselectivity; Introduction Organic life is a complex interplay of many different building blocks. One of these building blocks is uracil. Discovered for the first time in 1901 by Alberto Ascoli, it is now known to be one of the four nucleobases of RNA [1]. It

• therefore plays a very important role in many vital biological processes in the human body and other life forms. Uracil is rarely found in DNA, due to its lower stability and mutagenic properties when mismatched with guanine [2][3][4][5]. This fact can be used to differentiate between RNA and DNA-dependent

Long oligodeoxynucleotides: chemical synthesis, isolation via catching-by-polymerization, verification via sequencing, and gene expression demonstration

• Yipeng Yin,
• Reed Arneson,
• Alexander Apostle,
• Adikari M. D. N. Eriyagama,
• Komal Chillar,
• Emma Burke,
• Martina Jahfetson,
• Yinan Yuan and
• Shiyue Fang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1957–1965, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.146

• ODN sequences are provided in Supporting Information File 1) GFP gene construct was divided into a 399 and 401 nt ODNs for automated synthesis (step 1, Figure 1). The syntheses were carried out in commercial 0.2 µmol 2000 Å CPG columns on an ABI 394 DNA/RNA synthesizer using phosphoramidite chemistry

Sulfur-containing spiroketals from Breynia disticha and evaluations of their anti-inflammatory effect

• Ken-ichi Nakashima,
• Naohito Abe,
• Masayoshi Oyama,
• Hiroko Murata and
• Makoto Inoue

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1604–1614, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.117

• appropriate concentrations by dissolving in DMSO and diluting 1000-fold in medium. RAW 264.7 cells were preincubated with fresh medium containing test samples or vehicle (DMSO) for 24 h. After preincubation, LPS was added at a final concentration of 50 ng/mL. qRT-PCR analysis Total RNA was extracted using

• RNAiso Plus (Takara Bio) after 2 h of LPS treatment. cDNA was obtained by reverse transcription from 0.3 µg of total RNA using the ReverTra Ace RT-qPCR Master Mix with gDNA remover (Toyobo). qRT-PCR analysis was performed using a StepOnePlus real-time PCR system (Thermo Fisher Scientific) with the

Asymmetric tandem conjugate addition and reaction with carbocations on acylimidazole Michael acceptors

• Brigita Mudráková,
• Renata Marcia de Figueiredo,
• Jean-Marc Campagne and
• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 881–888, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.65

• control of RNA [16]. Moreover, Campagne and co-workers showed that Cu–NHC-catalyzed conjugate additions of dialkylzinc reagents proceed with high enantioselectivities [17][18][19]. Furthermore, this methodology allows iterative access to 1,3-disubstituted motifs that are present in various natural

Phenanthridine–pyrene conjugates as fluorescent probes for DNA/RNA and an inactive mutant of dipeptidyl peptidase enzyme

• Josipa Matić,
• Tana Tandarić,
• Marijana Radić Stojković,
• Filip Šupljika,
• Zrinka Karačić,
• Ana Tomašić Paić,
• Lucija Horvat,
• Robert Vianello and
• Lidija-Marija Tumir

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 550–565, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.40

• RNA, single or double-stranded polynucleotides, particular base composition…) and signalize binding by specific spectroscopic response is of great importance [1][2]. Pyrene derivatives are among the earliest known fluorescent probes for biomolecules. These chromophores are often used due to their high

• extinction coefficient and long emission lifetime (>100 ns) [3]. Their large aromatic hydrophobic surface allows the intercalation between DNA/RNA base pairs and binding within the minor groove. Pyrenes are also prominent protein probes that can monitor protein conformational changes because of pyrene

• -dependent, and the flexibility of the linker can alter that [13]. Further, pyrene-guanidiniocarbonylpyrrole discriminated DNA and RNA by different spectroscopic (induced circular dichroism signal and fluorescent signal) responses [14]. Also, we recently reported a pyrene–quinoline conjugate molecule that

A novel bis-triazole scaffold accessed via two tandem [3 + 2] cycloaddition events including an uncatalyzed, room temperature azide–alkyne click reaction

• Ksenia Malkova,
• Andrey Bubyrev,
• Vasilisa Krivovicheva,
• Dmitry Dar’in,
• Alexander Bunev and
• Mikhail Krasavin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1636–1641, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.175

• fragments in the structure of compound 5a) include compound 6 for the treatment of cognitive impairment [7], BET bromodomain inhibitors 7 [8] and 8 [9] for cancer treatment, σ1 receptor modulator 9 for diverse disorders [10] and bacterial regulatory RNA binder 10 [11] (scaffold A) as well as antidiuretic 11

A new route for the synthesis of 1-deazaguanine and 1-deazahypoxanthine

• Raphael Bereiter,
• Marco Oberlechner and
• Ronald Micura

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1617–1624, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.172

• chemistry. They can also be considered as deaza-modified purine nucleobases, and as such have attracted a lot of interest recently in the context of RNA atomic mutagenesis. In particular, for 1-deazaguanine (c1G base), a significant increase in demand is apparent. Synthetic access is challenging and the few

• nitration. A further strength of our route is divergency, additionally enabling the synthesis of 1-deazahypoxanthine (c1I base). Keywords: deazapurine; heterocycles; imidazopyridines; nucleoside; nucleotides; pyrrolopyrimidines; RNA atomic mutagenesis; Introduction Deazapurines (imidazopyridines and

• -, and 7-deazapurine mutations of RNA have been fundamental to shed light on their structure, catalysis, and function [13][14][15]. However, difficulties in these fields arise from the lack of efficient synthetic protocols for various deaza-nucleosides and nucleobases. This is particularly true for the

Functionalization of imidazole N-oxide: a recent discovery in organic transformations

• Koustav Singha,
• Imran Habib and
• Mossaraf Hossain

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1575–1588, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.168

• histidine and the related local-immune hormone histamine. In the structural view of DNA and RNA, purine bases contain imidazole moieties. Also, imidazole N-oxides have various and intriguing applications in natural products synthesis, catalysis, and coordination chemistry [3]. Derivatives of imidazole

New triazole-substituted triterpene derivatives exhibiting anti-RSV activity: synthesis, biological evaluation, and molecular modeling

• Elenilson F. da Silva,
• Krist Helen Antunes Fernandes,
• Denise Diedrich,
• Jessica Gotardi,
• Marcia Silvana Freire Franco,
• Carlos Henrique Tomich de Paula da Silva,
• Ana Paula Duarte de Souza and
• Simone Cristina Baggio Gnoatto

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1524–1531, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.161

• Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), an enveloped RNA-type virus, usually causes cold-like symptoms and is considered the major cause of acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRIs) in infants. Until 2019, RSV was a major cause of morbidity in the elderly and immunocompromised people. It has been linked to

• , Figure 1), is one of the few licensed drugs for treating RSV infections [8][9]. Although there are many suggested mechanisms of action, the main mechanisms for RBV involve the inhibition of the enzymes RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH). IMPDH is required for the

• synthesis of guanosine triphosphate, which leads to a GTP depletion, thus, it prevents the replication of many RNA and DNA viruses [10]. Despite this, its efficacy has been controversial, as its use can cause hemolytic anemia, which is the leading cause for treatment being discontinued in 36% of real-life

Anti-inflammatory aromadendrane- and cadinane-type sesquiterpenoids from the South China Sea sponge Acanthella cavernosa

• Shou-Mao Shen,
• Qing Yang,
• Yi Zang,
• Jia Li,
• Xueting Liu and
• Yue-Wei Guo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 916–925, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.91

• % CO2. RAW264.7 cells (1.6 × 105/well) were seeded in a 24-well plate overnight for cell adherence. Cells were treated with LPS alone (100 ng/mL, dissolved in DMSO) or with compounds at the indicated concentrations for 24 h. Total RNA was harvested from cells using TRIzolTM reagent (Invitrogen, USA

• ) after being washed thrice with cold PBS. The total RNA (1 μg) was transcribed into cDNA in 20 μL reactions using the PrimeScript RT reagent kit (ABclonal, China) and then diluted to 200 μL. Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) was performed using SYBR GREEN QPCR KIT (Bimake, B21202) on Agilent Mx3000P

Sesquiterpenes from the soil-derived fungus Trichoderma citrinoviride PSU-SPSF346

• Wiriya Yaosanit,
• Vatcharin Rukachaisirikul,
• Souwalak Phongpaichit,
• Sita Preedanon and
• Jariya Sakayaroj

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 479–485, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.50

• accession number MH997897) ribosomal RNA gene revealed that the fungus PSU-SPSF346 had close relationships with several strains of Trichoderma citrinoviride with 99% nucleotide identity for both DNA regions. Therefore, this fungus can be identified as Trichoderma citrinoviride. Fermentation, extraction, and

Menadione: a platform and a target to valuable compounds synthesis

• Acácio S. de Souza,
• Ruan Carlos B. Ribeiro,
• Dora C. S. Costa,
• Fernanda P. Pauli,
• David R. Pinho,
• Matheus G. de Moraes,
• Fernando de C. da Silva,
• Luana da S. M. Forezi and
• Vitor F. Ferreira

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 381–419, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.43

• (DNA and RNA), enzymes, structural proteins, and cell membrane lipids. These effects can lead to dysfunctions that activate the apoptosis process resulting in cell death [42][43][44][45][46]. In addition to participating in redox cycles as biomolecules in various biochemical processes, the 1,4

The role of chemistry in the success of oligonucleotides as therapeutics

• Pawan Kumar and
• Tom Brown

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 197–199, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.22

• nucleotides; siRNAs; RNA-targeting oligonucleotides (e.g., antisense, siRNA, and anti-miR) are widely explored as fundamental research tools and are gaining increasing promise as therapeutic agents, particularly against diseases of genetic origin. The idea of treating a disease by targeting the molecular

• messenger (mRNA) to stop the synthesis of proteins using short strands of DNA, now known as antisense oligonucleotides, was first coined about 40 years ago [1]. Almost 20 years later, another endogenous mechanism, known as RNA interference (RNAi) was discovered when it was shown that short stretches of

• double-stranded nucleotides, which are called short interfering RNA or “siRNA,” can target mRNA and prevent it from being translated to make proteins [2]. While the mechanism by which antisense oligonucleotides (single stranded oligonucleotide) and siRNA (short RNA duplexes) work are completely different

Stepwise PEG synthesis featuring deprotection and coupling in one pot

• Logan Mikesell,
• Dhananjani N. A. M. Eriyagama,
• Yipeng Yin,
• Bao-Yuan Lu and
• Shiyue Fang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2976–2982, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.207

• frequently adopted. For example, in peptide synthesis, peptides with acid-labile side chain protections can be selectively cleaved from the acid-labile 2-chlorotrityl resin with dilute TFA [34]. In RNA synthesis, the acid-sensitive 2'-TOM protecting groups can survive the acidic conditions for removing the 5

A tribute to Carsten Schmuck

• Jochen Niemeyer,
• Ivo Piantanida and
• Thomas Schrader

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2795–2798, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.190

• , we agreed to try Carsten’s guanidiniocarbonylpyrrole (GCP) cation system in our group for DNA/RNA recognition. In that way, we started our collaboration and exchange of students which was, thanks to Carsten’s great personality, very pleasant and friendly. Moreover, due to Carsten’s profound knowledge

• exchange of scientific ideas and knowledge. Carsten continuously gave a lot of attention and constructive questions about fine details in targeted binding sites of biomacromolecules (various types of DNA and RNA, or proteins), as well as already known small molecules binding to these targets. Then, taking

Synthetic strategies toward 1,3-oxathiolane nucleoside analogues

• Umesh P. Aher,
• Dhananjai Srivastava,
• Girij P. Singh and
• Jayashree B. S

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2680–2715, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.182

• ; separation of racemic nucleosides; stereoselectivity; Introduction Among all the biomolecules in an organism, nucleic acids, namely DNA and RNA, have the unique role of storing the genetic code – the nucleotide sequence that specifies the amino acid sequence of proteins that is essential for life on Earth

• . These molecules play a significant role in replication, transmission, and transcription of genetic material in life forms [1]. Structural analogues similar to the naturally occurring 2'-deoxynucleosides and ribonucleosides, the DNA and RNA building blocks, respectively, are expected to mimic their

• counterparts during DNA or RNA synthesis, a biological role that is crucial for cellular reproduction [2]. Most of the drugs that are incorporated in the viral DNA upon phosphorylation in vivo block the DNA polymerase enzyme. However, DNA polymerase recognizes 2’,3’-dideoxynucleosides as substrates, which are

Synthesis of phenanthridines via a novel photochemically-mediated cyclization and application to the synthesis of triphaeridine

• Songeziwe Ntsimango,
• Kennedy J. Ngwira,
• Moira L. Bode and
• Charles B. de Koning

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2340–2347, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.152

• captivated synthetic chemists and biologists alike since the 1960s due to their efficient DNA binding, antitumour and antiparasitic activities [1]. Such compounds include the DNA and RNA-fluorescent marker ethidium bromide (1), the cell viability probe propidium iodide (2) and the naturally occurring

Synthesis of O⁶-alkylated preQ₁ derivatives

• Laurin Flemmich,
• Sarah Moreno and
• Ronald Micura

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2295–2301, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.147

• cofactor for methyl group transfer resulting in cytosine methylation. This recently discovered riboswitch-ribozyme activity opens new avenues for the development of RNA labeling tools based on tailored O6-alkylated preQ1 derivatives. Here, we report a robust synthesis for this class of pyrrolo[2,3-d

• solved by a hydration reaction sequence on a well-soluble dimethoxytritylated precursor via in situ oxime formation. The synthetic path now provides a solid foundation to access O6-alkylated 7-aminomethyl-7-deazaguanines for the development of RNA labeling tools based on the preQ1 class-I riboswitch

• scaffold. Keywords: deazapurines; heterocycles; pyrrolopyrimidines; queuosine; RNA cofactors; RNA methylation; Introduction Methylated preQ1 has attracted much attention recently because this compound has been found to function as cofactor for the conserved fold of a non-coding RNA, namely the preQ1