Conformational transformation of ascidiacyclamide analogues induced by incorporating enantiomers of phenylalanine, 1-naphthylalanine or 2-naphthylalanine.

We designed five ascidiacyclamide analogues [cyclo(-Xxx(1) -oxazoline(2) -d-Val(3) -thiazole(4) -l-Ile(5) -oxazoline(6) -d-Val(7) -thiazole(8) -)] incorporating l-1-naphthylalanine (l-1Nal), l-2-naphthylalanine (l-2Nal), d-phenylalanine (d-Phe), d-1-naphthylalanine (d-1Nal) or d-2-naphthylalanine (d-2Nal) into the Xxx(1) position of the peptide. The conformations of these analogues were then examined using (1) H NMR, CD spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. These analyses suggested that d-enantiomer-incorporated ASCs [(d-Phe), (d-1Nal), and (d-2Nal)ASC] transformed from the folded to the open structure in solution more easily than l-enantiomer-incorporated ASCs [(l-Phe), (l-1Nal), and (l-2Nal)ASC]. Structural comparison of the two analogues containing isomeric naphthyl groups showed that the 1-naphthyl isomer induced a more stable open structure than the 2-naphthyl isomer. In particular, [d-1Nal]ASC showed the most significant transformation from the folded to the open structure in solution, and exhibited the strongest cytotoxicity toward HL-60 cells.