Synlett 2014; 25(11): 1494-1498
DOI: 10.1055/s-0033-1341079
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© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Diphosphoinositol Polyphosphates: Polar Stars in Cell Signaling

Henning Jacob Jessen*
University of Zürich, Department of Chemistry, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland   Fax: +41(44)6356812   Email: Henningjacob.jessen@chem.uzh.ch
,
Samanta Capolicchio
University of Zürich, Department of Chemistry, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland   Fax: +41(44)6356812   Email: Henningjacob.jessen@chem.uzh.ch
,
Igor Pavlovic
University of Zürich, Department of Chemistry, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland   Fax: +41(44)6356812   Email: Henningjacob.jessen@chem.uzh.ch
,
Divyeshsinh Takhtasinh Thakor
University of Zürich, Department of Chemistry, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland   Fax: +41(44)6356812   Email: Henningjacob.jessen@chem.uzh.ch
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Received: 28 January 2014

Accepted after revision: 06 March 2014

Publication Date:
03 April 2014 (online)


Abstract

The propagation of information inside cells is achieved in nature by small diffusible molecules. Many of these secondary messengers are highly charged species derived from myo-inositol. The diphosphoinositol polyphosphates (X-PP-myo-InsP5) represent a novel group of secondary messengers that regulate various important biological processes. Depending on the phosphorylation pattern, these molecules can occur in symmetric or nonsymmetric forms. In a recent study, we have shown the potential of C2 symmetric phosphoramidites as reagents for desymmetrizing myo-inositol and for obtaining all four possible nonsymmetric X-PP-myo-InsP5 stereoisomers in enantiomerically pure form. These results and their potential implications for the design of tools for chemical biology are discussed.