Facile Synthesis of the CERT Inhibitor HPA-12 and Some Novel Derivatives.

HPA-12 is an inhibitor of CERT-mediated non-vesicular transport of ceramide from the ER membranes to the Golgi apparatus. The inhibitor effectively blocks the synthesis of the membrane lipid sphingomyelin and may represent a novel drug prototype. Previous syntheses relied on non-commercial catalysts or specialized chemistries. Here we present a straightforward and effective method to synthesize HPA-12 from commercially available protected L-serinol in four steps. Some new analogues were synthesized and evaluated for their CERT-binding activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]