C-20 cyclopropyl vitamin D-3 analogs

The formal C-20 methylation of 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D-3 (calcitriol) and bridging of two methyl groups produces spiro[cyclopropane-1, 20'-calcitriol], colloquially referred to as C-20 cyclopropylcalcitriol, which is much more active in MLR for suppression of interferon-gamma release than calcitriol, and hypercalcemia in mice is elicited at a ten-fold lower dose when compared to calcitriol. Introduction of the Delta(16,17)-double bond, modification of the side chain by 23-unsaturation and replacement of the methyl groups at C-26 and C-27 with trifluoromethyl moieties create a highly active series of vitamin D analogs. As previously observed in the calcitriol series, the presence of the C-16 double bond in the cyclopropyl analogs also arrests metabolic side-chain oxidation in the at the C-24 oxo level in UMR 106 cells. The enhanced biological activity is ascribed, at least in part, to the improved resistance toward metabolic degradation.