Swainsonine, an indolizidine alkaloid and competitive inhibitor of Golgi alpha-mannosidase II (EC 3.2.1.114), reduces tumor growth and stimulates immune function in mice. On the basis of these observations, a phase I clinical trial was initiated to determine whether swainsonine could be administered safely to cancer patients. We describe a method for extraction, acetylation, and quantification ...

The indolizidine alkaloid swainsonine (SU ) is an inhibitor of lysosomal a-mannosidase reported to have antimetastatic activity in animal models. The cells grown in its presence develop truncated (hybrid) surface oligosaccharides that may alter their functional properties dependent on interactions of various ligands with membrane receptors. In the present study we observe that SW enhances stimu...

Concise asymmetric syntheses of (-)-lupinine, (+)-isoretronecanol, (+)-5-epi-tashiromine and (R,R)-1-(hydroxymethyl)octahydroindolizine (the azabicyclic core within stellettamides A-C) have been achieved in 8 steps or fewer from commercially available starting materials. The key steps in these syntheses involved the preparation of enantiopure β-amino esters, upon conjugate addition of lithium (...

The indolizidine alkaloid swainsonine (SW) is an inhibitor of lysosomal alpha-mannosidase reported to have antimetastatic activity in animal models. The cells grown in its presence develop truncated (hybrid) surface oligosaccharides that may alter their functional properties dependent on interactions of various ligands with membrane receptors. In the present study we observe that SW enhances st...

Total syntheses of alkaloid 251F (1), a natural product detected from the skin extracts of the dendrobatid frog species Minyobates bombetes, and its racemic 3-desmethyl derivative (2) are reported. A Diels-Alder reaction initiated both syntheses and established four consecutive stereogenic centers. Important to the synthesis of 2 was a first-generation ozonolysis/olefination/aldol strategy to c...

The relationship between post-translational modifications of macromolecules and their intracellular routing is of fundamental importance. The availability of the indolizidine alkaloid, swainsonine, which interferes with glycoprotein processing, provides a new probe for studying relationships between glycosylation of proteins and their cellular routing. Using fibronectin as a model glycoprotein,...

Locoweed species—Astragalus and Oxytropis spp. that contain the indolizidine alkaloid swainsonine— are widely distributed on rangelands in North and South America, Mexico, China, and other rangelands throughout the world. Other range plant species including Sida spp. (Seitz et al. 2005), Ipomoea spp. (Damir et al. 1987), and Swainsona spp. (Laws and Anson 1968) from Brazil, Africa, and Australi...

BACKGROUND Deficiencies in lysosomal a-mannosidase (LAM) activity in animals, caused either by mutations or by consuming toxic alkaloids, lead to severe phenotypic and behavioural consequences. Yet, epialleles adversely affecting LAM expression exist in the honey bee population suggesting that they might be beneficial in certain contexts and cannot be eliminated by natural selection. METHODS ...

(-)-Gephyrotoxin-223 was formally synthesized from chiral synthon 1 which has been chemoenzymatically synthesized  in the presence  of Candida Antartica lipase.