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Two α-L-ribo-configured bicyclic nucleic acid modifications, represented by analogues 12 and 13, which are epimeric at C3' and C5' have been synthesized using a carbohydrate-based approach to build the bicyclic core structure. An intramolecular L-proline-mediated aldol reaction was employed to generate the cis-configured ring junction of analogue 12 and represents a rare application of this venerable organocatalytic reaction to a carbohydrate system. In the case of analogue 13, where a trans-ring junction was desired, an intermolecular diastereoselective Grignard reaction followed by ring-closing metathesis was used. In order to set the desired stereochemistry at the C5' positions of both nucleoside targets, a study of diastereoselective Lewis acid mediated allylation reactions on a common bicyclic aldehyde precursor was carried out. Analogue 12 was incorporated in oligonucleotide sequences, and thermal denaturation experiments indicate that it is destabilizing when paired with complementary DNA and RNA. However, this construct shows a significant improvement in nuclease stability relative to a DNA oligonucleotide.

The bleomycins (BLMs) are clinically used glycopeptide antitumor antibiotics that have been shown to mediate the sequence-selective oxidative damage of both DNA and RNA. Previously, we described the solid-phase synthesis of a library of 108 unique analogues of deglycoBLM A6, a congener that cleaves DNA analogously to BLM itself. Each member of the library was assayed for its ability to effect single- and double-strand nicking of duplex DNA, sequence-selective DNA cleavage, and ANA cleavage in the presence and absence of a metal ion cofactor. All of the analogues tested were found to mediate concentration- dependent plasmid DNA relaxation to some extent, and a number exhibited double-strand cleavage with an efficiency comparable to or greater than deglycoBLM A6. Further, some analogues having altered linker and metal-binding domains mediated altered sequence-selective cleavage, and a few were found to cleave a tRNA3Lys transcript both in the presence and in the absence of a metal cofactor. The results provide insights into structural elements within BLM that control DNA and RNA cleavage. The present study also permits inferences to be drawn regarding the practicality of a selection strategy for the solid-phase construction and evaluation of large libraries of BLM analogues having altered properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]