青蒿倍半萜合酶(环化酶)研究进展

青蒿素是从中药青蒿中分离得到的抗疟有效单体,是含有过氧基团的新型倍半萜内酯化合物,是目前世界上最有效的疟疾治疗药物。青蒿素的生物合成途径属于类异戊二烯代谢途径中的倍半萜类分支途径,倍半萜合酶是该途径的关键酶之一,目前已从青蒿中克隆了多个倍半萜合酶基因。综述了青蒿中已克隆的几种倍半萜合酶基因的研究进展。     

利用异源生物生产青蒿素及其前体的研究进展

青蒿素是从中药青蒿中分离出来的一种倍半萜内酯类化合物,也是目前最有效的抗疟疾药物,对人类健康意义重大。该文通过对青蒿素生物合成途径及其相关酶的介绍,综述了利用异源生物通过组合生物合成途径生产青蒿素及其前体的最新研究进展。     

一个新高产青蒿倍半萜合酶基因的克隆、表达和分析

用RACE方法从青蒿(Artemisia annua L.)高产株系001中克隆了一个新的1 886 bp的全长倍半萜合酶cDNA.克隆的倍半萜合酶氨基酸序列与烟草马兜铃烯合酶、莨菪岩兰螺旋二烯合酶、棉花杜松烯合酶的一致性分别为39%、38%和41%;与青蒿柏木脑合酶、紫穗槐二烯合酶和一个推测的倍半萜合酶克隆cASC125的一致性为50%、48%和59%.cDNA编码区序列被克隆进原核表达载体pET-30a,并在大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli)BL21(DE3)中诱导表达,但过量表达的蛋白主要是以不溶性蛋白形式存在.Northern blotting分析表明此基因在茎、叶和花中表达,在根中没有表达.     

一个新高产青蒿倍半萜合酶基因的克隆、表达和分析

用RACE方法从青蒿（Artemisia annua L.)高产株系001中克隆了一个新的1886bp的全长倍半萜合酶cDNA。克隆的倍半萜合酶氨基酸序列与烟草马兜铃烯合酶,莨菪岩兰螺旋二烯合酶,棉花杜松烯合酶的一致性分别为39％,38％和41％;与青蒿柏木脑合酶,紫穗槐二烯合酶和一个推测的倍半萜合酶克隆cASC125的一致性为50％,48％和59％。cDNA编码区序列被克隆进原核表达载体pET-30a,并在大肠杆菌（Escherichia coli)BL21(DE3)中诱导表达,但过量表达的蛋白主要是以不溶性蛋白形式存在。Northern blotting分析表明此基因在茎,叶,花中表达,在根中没有表达。     

青蒿愈伤组织的诱导分化及青蒿素含量的变化

青蒿素是青蒿(Artemisia annua L.)中分离出来的一种新型的倍半萜内酯化合物,其化学结构完全不同于喹啉类药物,具有高效、速效和低毒的抗疟性能,对凶险型疟疾和抗氯喹株的患者疗效更为突出。青蒿虽然分布很广,但不同产地植株的青蒿素含量差异较大。青蒿素化学结构复杂,人工合成难度较大。通过组织培养方法阐明青蒿素形成途径及其与环境条件的关系对提高有效含量和指导人工合成都是很有意义的。本文报道诱导青蒿愈伤组织及分化再生成植株过程中青蒿素含量的变化。     

植物萜类合酶研究进展

随着植物中许多有价值的萜类化合物被发现和应用于人类生活 ,萜类生物合成途径的研究倍受重视。萜类合酶催化单萜、倍半萜和二萜生物合成 ,即分别催化GPP、FPP和GGPP形成单萜、倍半萜和二萜。本文叙述了近年来在植物萜类合酶催化机理、克隆策略和萜类生物工程的研究进展     

植物萜类合酶研究进展

随着植物中许多有价值的萜类化合物被发现和应用于人类生活,萜类生物合成途径的研究倍受重视。萜类合酶催化单萜、倍半萜和二萜生物合成,即分别催化GPP、FPP和GGPP形成单萜、倍半萜和二萜。本文叙述了近年来在植物萜类合酶催化机理、克隆策略和萜类生物工程的研究进展。     

细菌中倍半萜生物合成的研究进展

萜类化合物是一大类小分子天然产物,在生物体内扮演重要的角色。植物和真菌中萜类化合物的生物合成已被广泛研究,但是在真核生物中克隆或改造萜类化合物生物合成途径还有较大难度。许多细菌同样可以产生萜类化合物。在过去十多年间细菌萜类合酶的研究进展为我们对萜类化合物生物合成的理解做出了显著的贡献。这里我们主要关注细菌中合成的倍半萜化合物,概述其化学结构、倍半萜合酶对法尼基焦磷酸环化的机制、后修饰酶特别是氧化还原酶所参与的后修饰、代谢调控以及合成途径中尚未解决的问题等。     

基于紫芝基因组的倍半萜合酶基因的发掘与功能鉴定

灵芝(Ganoderma lucidum)是目前研究最深入的药用真菌之一,也是作为研究天然产物生物合成的理想模式真菌.本研究通过对担子菌亚门灵芝属紫芝(Ganoderma sinense)基因组的数据挖掘发现两个倍半萜合酶基因.利用RT-PCR方法从紫芝菌丝体总RNA中扩增出两者的全长cDNA序列,将两个倍半萜合酶的编码序列克隆到表达载体中在大肠杆菌中进行异源表达,变性蛋白电泳显示两者都可以可溶性的形式在大肠杆菌中表达.顶空固相微萃取-气相色谱质谱法分析显示,重组紫芝萜类合酶具有明显的催化活性,可合成多个倍半萜类产物.本研究为进一步揭示真菌倍半萜合酶的结构与功能的相关性及其产物多样性形成机制奠定了基础.     

青蒿素类药物抗炎作用的研究进展

青蒿素是从中药青蒿中提取获得的一种倍半萜内酯类化合物,经化学改造后可产生不同的衍生物。本文从炎症的不同环节对青蒿素类药物的抗炎作用进行综述,在一定程度上揭示了青蒿素类药物的抗炎特点及作用靶点。     

Amorpha-4,11-diene synthase of Artemisia annua: cDNA isolation and bacterial expression of a terpene synthase involved in artemisinin biosynthesis

Artemisia annua, an indigenous plant to Korea, contains an antimalarial sesquiterpene, artemisinin. The first committed step of artemisinin biosynthesis is the cyclization of farnesyl diphosphate by a sesquiterpene synthase to produce an amorphane-type ring system. The aims of this research were to molecularly clone and express amorpha-4,11-diene synthase for metabolic engineering. PCR amplification of genomic DNA with a pair of primers, designed from the conserved regions of sesquiterpene synthases of several plants, produced a 184-bp DNA fragment. This fragment was used in Northern blot analysis as a probe, showing approximately 2.2 kb of a single band. Its sequence information was used to produce 2106 bp of a full-length cDNA sequence including 1641 bp of open reading frame for 546 amino acids (kcs12) through a rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The deduced amino acid sequence displayed 36% identity with 5-epi-aristolochene synthase of Nicotiana tabacum. A soluble fraction of Escherichia coli harboring kcs12 catalyzed the cyclization of farnesyl diphosphate to produce a sesquiterpene, which was identified through GC-MS analysis as amorpha-4,11-diene.     

Amorpha-4,11-diene synthase catalyses the first probable step in artemisinin biosynthesis

The endoperoxide sesquiterpene lactone artemisinin and its derivatives are a promising new group of drugs against malaria. Artemisinin is a constituent of the annual herb Artemisia annua L. So far only the later steps in artemisinin biosynthesis--from artemisinic acid--have been elucidated and the expected olefinic sesquiterpene intermediate has never been demonstrated. In pentane extracts of A. annua leaves we detected a sesquiterpene with the mass spectrum of amorpha-4,11-diene. Synthesis of amorpha-4,11-diene from artemisinic acid confirmed the identity. In addition we identified several sesquiterpene synthases of which one of the major activities catalysed the formation of amorpha-4,11-diene from farnesyl diphosphate. This enzyme was partially purified and shows the typical characteristics of sesquiterpene synthases, such as a broad pH optimum around 6.5-7.0, a molecular mass of 56 kDa, and a K(m) of 0.6 microM. The structure and configuration of amorpha-4,11-diene, its low content in A. annua and the high activity of amorpha-4,11-diene synthase all support that amorpha-4,11-diene is the likely olefinic sesquiterpene intermediate in the biosynthesis of artemisinin.     

青蒿素生物合成分子调控研究进展

青蒿素是目前世界上最有效的疟疾治疗药物。通过对青蒿素的生物合成途径,青蒿素生物合成途径的关键酶,青蒿素生物合成的分子调控的介绍,综述了青蒿素生物合成分子调控的最新研究进展。     

Effects of Overexpression of the Endogenous Farnesyl Diphosphate Synthase on the Artemisinin Content in Artemisia annua L.

Artemisinin is a novel effective antimalarial drug extracted from the medicinal plant Artemisia annua L. Owing to the tight market and low yield of artemisinin, there is great interest in enhancing the production of artemisinin. In the present study, farnesyi diphosphate synthase （FPS） was overexpressed in high-yield A. annua to Increase the artemisinin content. The FPS activity in transgenic A. ennue was twoto threefold greater than that In non-transgenic A. annua. The highest artemisinin content in transgenic A. annua was approximately 0.9% （dry weight）, which was 34.4% higher than that in non-transgenic A. annua. The results demonstrate the regulatory role of FPS in artemisinin biosynthesis.     

Isoprenoid biosynthesis in Artemisia annua: cloning and heterologous expression of a germacrene A synthase from a glandular trichome cDNA library

Artemisia annua (Asteraceae) is the source of the anti-malarial compound artemisinin. To elucidate the biosynthetic pathway and to isolate and characterize genes involved in the biosynthesis of terpenoids including artemisinin in A. annua, glandular trichomes were used as an enriched source for biochemical and molecular biological studies. The sequencing of 900 randomly selected clones from a glandular trichome plasmid cDNA library revealed the presence of many ESTs involved in isoprenoid biosynthesis such as enzymes from the methylerythritol phosphate pathway and the mevalonate pathway, amorpha-4,11-diene synthase and other sesquiterpene synthases, monoterpene synthases and two cDNAs showing high similarity to germacrene A synthases. Full-length sequencing of the latter two ESTs resulted in a 1686-bp ORF encoding a protein of 562 aa. Upon expression in Escherichia coli, the recombinant protein was inactive with geranyl diphosphate, but catalyzed the cyclization of farnesyl diphosphate to germacrene A. These results demonstrate the potential of the use of A. annua glandular trichomes as a starting material for studying isoprenoid biosynthesis in this plant species.     

Simultaneous analysis of artemisinin and flavonoids of several extracts of Artemisia annua L. obtained from a commercial sample and a selected cultivar

Artemisia annua L. (Qinghao) is a promising and potent antimalarial herbal drug. This activity has been ascribed to its component artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone that is very effective against drug-resistant Plasmodium species with a low toxicity. Our studies indicate that several flavonoids of A. annua can promote and enhance the reaction of artemisinin with hemin. These data are in good agreement with previous investigations on the in vitro potentiation of antimalarial activity of artemisinin by such flavonoids. As a consequence, in view of a possible use of the phytocomplex rather than pure artemisinin, an HPLC/DAD/MS method is proposed for the simultaneous detection and quantification of both flavonoids and artemisinin. Different extracts, obtained from two different herbal drugs, a commercial sample and a selected cultivar, were analyzed in order to determine which solvents provide the best yields of both artemisinin and flavonoids. Qualitative and quantitative results obtained using an HPLC method are described, which will be useful for developing highly effective herbal drug preparations.     

Simple and rapid physico-chemical methods to examine action of antimalarial drugs with hemin: its application to Artemisia annua constituents

Malaria is a major health problem in many countries and according to an estimate of the WHO, more than 500 million infections occur per year. Artemisinin, a sesquiterpene from Artemisia annua L., has received considerable attention as a promising and potent antimalarial drug for its stage speciticity, its rather low toxicity, effectiveness against drug-resistant Plasmodium species and activity against cerebral malaria. From recent studies it seems that hemin is primarily involved in the antimalarial activity of the constituents of Artemisia annua L. Thus, the interaction of a compound with hemin may represent a crucial screening test to define its efficacy. In this study the interaction between artemisinin and hemin was investigated by UltraViolet/Visible (UV/Vis) spectrophotometry and High Performance Liquid Chromatography/Diode Array Detector/Mass Spectrometry (HPLC/DAD/MS). In addition, some flavonols isolated from Artemisia annua L. were also tested to investigate their possible role in the interaction between artemisinin and hemin. These two simple physico-chemical methods can be useful as rapid and widespread screening methods for the search of other alkylating antimalarial constituents from natural sources or for the evaluation of the activity of semisynthetic analogues of artemisinin.     

A cDNA clone for beta-caryophyllene synthase from Artemisia annua

An homology-based cloning strategy yielded a full-length cDNA from Artemisia annua that encoded a protein of 60.3 kDa which resembled a sesquiterpene synthase in sequence. Heterologous expression of the gene in Escherichia coli provided a soluble recombinant enzyme capable of catalyzing the divalent metal ion-dependent conversion of farnesyl diphosphate to beta-caryophyllene, a sesquiterpene olefin found in the essential oil of A. annua. In reaction parameters and kinetic properties, beta-caryophyllene synthase resembles other sesquiterpene synthases of angiosperms. The beta-caryophyllene synthase gene is expressed in most plant tissues during early development, and is induced in mature tissue in response to fungal elicitor thus suggesting a role for beta-caryophyllene in plant defense.     

Microbial transformation of antimalarial terpenoids

The fungal and bacterial transformation of terpenoids derived from plant essential oils, especially the sesquiterpenoid artemisinin from Artemisia annua, has produced several new candidate drugs for the treatment of malaria. Obtaining new derivatives of terpenoids, including artemisinin derivatives with increased antimalarial activity, is an important goal of research in microbial biotechnology and medicinal chemistry.