Novel prostaglandin-ethanolamide (PGE2-EA) and glycerol ester (2-PGE2-G) analogs were designed and synthesized to aid in the characterization of a putative prostamide receptor. Our design incorporates the electrophilic isothiocyanato and the photoactivatable azido groups at the terminal tail position of the prototype. Stereoselective Wittig and Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons reactions install the head and the tail moieties of the PGE2 skeleton. The synthesis is completed using Mitsunobu azidation and peptide coupling as the key steps. A chemoenzymatic synthesis for the 2-PGE2-G is described for first time.
We report the design and synthesis of novel prostaglandin-ethanolamide (PGE2-EA) analogs containing head and tail group modifications to aid in the characterization of a putative prostamide receptor(s). Our synthetic approach utilizes Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons and Wittig reactions to construct the head and the tail moieties of the key PGE2 precursor, which leads to the final products through a peptide coupling, Swern oxidation and HF/pyridine assisted desilylation. The synthesized analogs were shown not to interact significantly with endocannabinoid proteins and recombinant EP1, EP3 and EP4 receptors and suggest a yet to be identified prostamide receptor as their site(s) of action.
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