A highly convergent synthesis of myristoyl-carba(dethia)-coenzyme A

Co-translational myristoylation of the N-terminal glycine residue of diverse signaling proteins is required for membrane attachment and proper function of these molecules. The transfer of myristate from myristoyl-coenzyme A (myr-CoA) is catalyzed by the enzyme N-myristoyltransferase (Nmt). Nmt has been implicated in a number of human diseases, including cancer and epilepsy, as well as pathogenic mechanisms such as fungal and virus infections, including HIV and Hepatitis B. Rational design has led to the development of potent competitive inhibitors, including several non-hydrolysable acyl-CoA substrate analogues. However, linear synthetic strategies, following the route of the original CoA synthesis, generate such analogues in very low over all yields that typically are not sufficient for in vivo studies. Here, we present a new, highly convergent synthesis of myristoyl-carba(dethia)-coenzyme A 1 that allows to obtain this substrate analogue in 11-fold increased yield compared to the reported linear synthesis. In addition, enzymatic cleavage of the adenosine-2',3'-cyclophosphate in the last step of the synthesis proved to be an efficient way to obtain the isomerically pure 3'-phosphate 1.