The fatty acids (±)-2-methoxy-6Z-heptadecenoic acid, (±)-2-methoxy-6-hepta-decynoic acid, and (±)-2-methoxyheptadecanoic acid were synthesized and their inhibitory activity against the Leishmania DNA topoisomerase IB enzyme (LdTopIB) determined. Both 2-OMe-17:1 fatty acids were synthesized from 4-bromo-1-pentanol, the olefinic fatty acid in 10 steps and in 7 % overall yield, while the acetylenic fatty acid in 7 steps and in 14 % overall yield. The 2-OMe-17:0 acid was prepared in 6 steps and in 42 % yield from 1-hexa-decanol. The 2-OMe-17:1 acids inhibited LdTopIB, with the acetylenic acid displaying an EC50 = 16.6 ± 1.1 μM, but the 2-OMe-17:0 acid did not inhibit LdTopIB. The (±)-2-methoxy-6Z-heptadecenoic acid preferentially inhibited LdTopIB over the human TopIB enzyme. Unsaturation seems to be a prerequisite for effective inhibition, rationalized in terms of weak intermolecular interactions between the active site of LdTopIB and either the double or triple bonds of the fatty acids. Toxicity toward Leishmania donovani promastigotes was also investigated, resulting in the order acetylenic > olefinic > saturated with the (±)-2-methoxy-6-heptadecynoic acid displaying an EC50 = 74.0 ± 17.1 μM. Our results indicate that α-methoxylation decreases the toxicity of C17:1 fatty acids toward L. donovani promastigotes, but improves their selectivity index.
THU0048 Addition of the rgd motif in the fibre knob of an adenoviral vector improved the transfection efficiency and when used for overexpression of il-1ra resulted in a more effective inhibition of arthritis
