No abstract

A stereospecific intramolecular iron tricarbonyl-promoted aldehyde-diene cyclocoupling reaction was investigated by using simple substrates 6 and more complicated substrates 30a/30b. Demetalation of the initial products converts all complexed dienes to their pure organic counterparts. In addition, the nickel-catalyzed carbonyl-ene reaction and the Prins reaction were investigated with two different substrates.

Dynamic diastereoselectivity during Fe(CO)3 promoted [6+2] ene spirocyclization of 35a and 35b, having a chiral center on the pendent side chain, was investigated and gave rise to products 28a and 28b instead of four possible isomers. From this reaction, two chiral centers are generated, with absolute stereochemistry determined by the double bond geometry and the chiral center already present. 28a/b and the diene product from demetallation of 28a are proposed as potential intermediates for total synthesis of 18-deoxycytochalasin H. Furthermore, a stepwise second cyclization and a tandem double cyclization mediated by the Fe(CO)3 moiety was investigated.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic and progressive movement disorder with the urgent unmet need for efficient symptomatic therapies with fewer side effects. GPR6 is an orphan G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) with highly restricted expression in dopamine receptor D2-type medium spiny neurons (MSNs) of the indirect pathway, a striatal brain circuit which shows aberrant hyperactivity in PD patients. Potent and selective GPR6 inverse agonists (IAG) were developed starting from a lowpotency screening hit (EC 50 = 43 μM). Herein, we describe the multiple parameter optimization that led to the discovery of multiple nanomolar potent and selective GPR6 IAG, including our clinical compound CVN424. GPR6 IAG reversed haloperidol-induced catalepsy in rats and restored mobility in the bilateral 6-OHDA-lesioned rat PD model demonstrating that inhibition of GPR6 activity in vivo normalizes activity in basal ganglia circuitry and motor behavior. CVN424 is currently in clinical development to treat motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease.