Volume 6, Issue 1

Treatment of L-biopterin (I) with N,N-dimethyformamide dimethyl- (or diethyl)acetal and then with acetic anhydride in pyridine gave 1',2'-di-O-acetyl-N'-(N,N-dimethylaminomethylene)-L-biopterin (4), which was converted by the Mitsunobu reaction into 3-methyl (5) and 3-p-nitrophenetyl derivatives (7). The protective groups on the side chain diols and N2 of these compounds were selectively cleaved to furnish products 6, 8-10, among which 9 is naturally occurring 3-methyl-L-biopterin and 8 is N',N(3)-protected biopterin, a versatile intermediate for various reactions on the side-chain diol. In contrast, the same Mitsunobu reactions of tri-N2:I',2'-0-acetyl-L-biopterin (II) afforded 04-methyl (12) and 04-NPE derivatives (13), both of which yielded 0 4-methyl-L-biopterin (14) and subsequently led to 4-amino-L-biopterin (18).

Using a recently developed model of bacterially induced sepsis in baboons, we studied the time courses of pteridine and nitrate levels in plasma with regard to the dose of Escherichia coli. Eight animals were given a 2 h infusion of 2X 10" Colony Forming Units live E. coli/kg BW (group LOW), and six others 2X 10" CFU/kg BW (group HIGH). Endotoxin levels and, consequently, the TNF-a, IL-8, and IL-6 concentrations clearly corresponded with the infused amount of live E. coli. The neopterin/creatinine ratio increased in both groups up to 24 h, but was more pronounced in the HIGH group. In contrast, the biopterin/creatinine ratio increased in the HIGH group, but remained unchanged in the LOW group. Plasma nitrate levels remained at baseline (::::: 20 Ilmol!l) up to 4 h, but then increased three- to fourfold within the next 4 h and remained elevated in the HIGH group. In group LOW, the concentrations were unchanged throughout the observation period.

The production of neopterin increases in several diseases with activation of the ceIlular immune response. As previously shown serum concentrations of neopterin are inversely correlated with blood hemoglobin concentrations in the anemia of hematological and malignant disorders. Besides the role of chronic immune activation on the disturbed iron metabolism, an inhibitory influence of pteridines on cellular erythropoietin production could not be excluded. To test the possibility that pteridines are able to suppress the hypoxia-induced production of erythropoietin, the effects of neopterin and 7,8-dihydroneopterin on the human ceIl line HepG2 (hepatoceIlular carcinoma) were investigated. 24 h incubation with neopterin induced a dose-dependent reduction of erythropoietin production. The erythropoietin concentration significantly decreased by - 57.6% with 300 11M and by - 34.9% with 100 11M neopterin, respectively. 7,8 dihydroneopterin did not influence erythropoietin production. The inhibitory effect of neopterin on erythropoietin production was a consequence of reduced erythropoietin-mRNA levels. The results of this study show a neopterin-induced suppression of hypoxia-induced erythropoietin formation in HepG2 cultures in a dose dependent manner. We speculate that under in vivo conditions high concentrations of neopterin can aggravate the anemia of chronic disease.