Bioproduction of chiral mandelate by enantioselective deacylation of α-acetoxyphenylacetic acid using whole cells of newly isolated Pseudomonas sp. ECU1011

Substrate-directed screening was carried out to find bacteria that could deacylate O-acetylated mandelic acid from environmental samples. From more than 200 soil isolates, we identified for the first time that Pseudomonas sp. ECU1011 biocatalytically deacylated (S)-α-acetoxyphenylacetic acid with high enantioselectivity (E > 200), yielding (S)-mandelic acid with 98.1% enantiomeric excess (ee) at a 45.5% conversion rate. The catalytic deacylation of (S)-α-acetoxyphenylacetic acid by the resting cell was optimized using a single-factor method to yield temperature and pH optima of 30°C and 6.5, respectively. These optima help to reduce the nonselective spontaneous hydrolysis of the racemic substrate. It was found that substrate concentrations up to 60 mM could be used. 2-Propanol was used as a moderate cosolvent to help the substrate disperse in the aqueous phase. Under optimized reaction conditions, the ee of the residual (R)-α-acetoxyphenylacetic acid could be improved further, to greater than 99%, at a 60% conversion rate. Furthermore, using this newly isolated strain of Pseudomonas sp. ECU1011, three kinds of optically pure analogs of (S)-mandelic acid and (R)-α-acetoxyphenylacetic acid were successfully prepared at high enantiomeric purity.     

α-Chymotrypsin-catalyzed enantioselective amidation of chiral amines using an N-protected amino acid carbamoylmethyl ester as acyl donor

-Chymotrypsin catalyzed the highly enantioselective amidation of chiral amines such as 1-(1-naphthyl)ethylamine using N-benzyloxycarbonyl-(S)-phenylalanine carbamoylmethyl ester as acyl donor (E = 25–660) in acetonitrile with low water content.     

Stereoisomeric separation of some flavanones using highly succinate-substituted α-cyclosophoro-octadecaoses as chiral additives in capillary electrophoresis

α-Cyclosophoro-octadecaoses (α-C18), produced by Rhodobacter sphaeroides, are mostly homogeneous in size with 18 glucose units per ring as the predominant form. α-C18s are linked by β-(1→4)-linkages and one α-(1→6)-linkage and are also known to be highly substituted by acetyl (0–2 per mol) and/or succinoyl groups (1–7 per mol). We isolated and purified α-C18 and successfully used it in capillary electrophoresis (CE) as a chiral additive for the separation of five flavanones and flavanone-7-O-glycosides, including naringenin, hesperetin, eriodictyol, homoeriodictyol, isosakuranetin, and hesperidin. Throughout the CE experiment with unsubstituted α-C18 (uα-C18) obtained after alkaline treatment of the isolated α-C18, we found that successful chiral separation critically depends on the presence of succinate substituents attached to α-C18 in CE, suggesting that succinoylation of α-C18 is decisive for effective stereoisomeric separation.     

Structural modifications of 2,3-indolobetulinic acid: Design and synthesis of highly potent α-glucosidase inhibitors

A series of nineteen nitrogen-containing lupane triterpenoids was obtained by modification of C2, C3, C20 and C28 positions of betulonic acid and their α-glucosidase inhibiting activity was investigated. Being a leader compound from our previous study, 2,3-indolo-betulinic acid was used as the main template for different modifications at C-(28)-carboxyl group to obtain cyano-, methylcyanoethoxy-, propargyloxy- and carboxamide derivatives. 20-Oxo- and 29-hydroxy-20-oxo-30-nor-analogues of 2,3-indolo-betulinic acid were synthesized by ozonolysis of betulonic acid followed by Fischer indolization reaction. To compare the influence of the fused indole or the seven-membered A-ring on the inhibitory activity, lupane A-azepanones with different substituents at C28 were synthesized. The structure-activity relationships revealed that the enzyme inhibition activity dramatically increased (up to 4730 times) when the carboxylic group of 2,3-indolo-betulinic acid was converted to the corresponding amide. Thus, the IC₅₀ values for glycine amide and L-phenylalanine amides were 0.04 and 0.05 μM, respectively. This study also revealed that 2,3-indolo-platanic acid is 4.5 times more active than the parent triterpenoid with IC₅₀ of 0.4 μM. Molecular modeling suggested that improved potency is due to additional polar interactions formed between C28 side chain and a sub-pocket of the α-glucosidase allosteric site.     

An ONIOM investigation on anion recognition of alkali–metal complexes with diurea calix[4]arene receptor

The ONIOM(B3LYP/6-31G(d):AM1) optimized structures of complexes of diurea calix[4]arene receptor (L) with alkali metals Li(+), Na(+) and K(+) and their complexes with halide ions F(-), Cl(-), Br(-), oxygen-containing anions HCO(3)(-), HSO(4)(-) and CH(3)COO(-) ions were obtained. Binding energies and thermodynamic properties of complex receptors LiL(+), NaL(+) and KL(+) with these anions were determined. The binding stabilities according to binding energies of LiL(+), NaL(+) and KL(+) associated with anions computed either at the ZPVE-corrected ONIOM(B3LYP/6-31G(d):AM1) or BSSE-corrected B3LYP/6-31 + G(d,p)//ONIOM(B3LYP/6-31G(d):AM1) are in the same order: F(-) > CH(3)COO(-) ≈ HCO(3)(-) > Br(-) ≈ HSO(4)(-) ≈ Cl(-). All the receptors LiL(+), NaL(+) and KL(+) were found to be selective toward fluoride ion.     

Syntheses and spectroscopic properties of α- and β-phosphatidylcholines and phosphatidylethanolamines

The widely used partial synthesis of phospholipids via deacylation of naturally occurring phospholipids, followed by reacylation with fatty acid anhydrides, is accompanied by phosphoryl migration. The resulting mixture of α- and β-phospholipids was separated by short-column chromatography. Milder acylation procedures in which no phosphoryl migration occurs, were developed. 1,2-Dilinoleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine was prepared in 50% yield by acylation of sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (GPC) with N-linoleoylimidazole. Detailed NMR and infrared spectra of α- and β-phosphatidylcholines (PCs) and -ethanolamines (PEs) are reported and the differences between isomers discussed.     

Gas chromatographic–mass spectrometric determination of α-ketoisocaproic acid and [2H7]α-ketoisocaproic acid in plasma after derivatization with N-phenyl-1,2-phenylenediamine

A method for determination of α-ketoisocaproic acid (KIC) and [4,5,5,5,6,6,6-²H₇]α-ketoisocaproic acid ([²H₇]KIC) in rat plasma was developed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry-selected ion monitoring (GC–MS-SIM). [5,5,5-²H₃]α-Ketoisocaproic acid ([²H₃]KIC) was used as an analytical internal standard to account for losses associated with the extraction, derivatization and chromatography. The keto acids were extracted by cation-exchange chromatography using BondElut SCX cartridge and derivatized with N-phenyl-1,2-phenylenediamine to form N-phenylquinoxalinone derivatives. Quantitation was performed by SIM of the respective molecular ions at m/z 278, 281 and 285 for the derivatives of KIC, [²H₃]KIC and [²H₇]KIC on the electron impact method. The limit of detection was found to be 70 fmol per injection (S/N=3) and the limit of quantitation for [²H₇]KIC was around 50 nM in rat plasma. Endogenous KIC concentrations in 50 μl of rat plasma were measured with relative intra- and inter-day precision of 4.0% and 3.3%, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precision for [²H₇]KIC spiked to rat plasma in the range of 0.1 to 10 μM gave good reproducibility with relative standard deviation (RSD) of 6.5% and 5.4%, respectively. The intra- and inter-day relative errors (RE) for [²H₇]KIC were less than 6.4% and 3.8%, respectively. The method was applied to determine the plasma concentration of [²H₇]KIC after an intravenous administration of [²H₇]KIC in rat.     

Effects of capric acid on rumen methanogenesis and biohydrogenation of linoleic and α-linolenic acid

Capric acid (C10:0), a medium chain fatty acid, was evaluated for its anti-methanogenic activity and its potential to modify the rumen biohydrogenation of linoleic (C18:2n-6) and α-linolenic acids (C18:3n-3). A standard dairy concentrate (0.5 g), supplemented with sunflower oil (10 mg) and linseed oil (10 mg) and increasing doses of capric acid (0, 10, 20 and 30 mg), was incubated with mixed rumen contents and buffer (1 : 4 v/v) for 24 h. The methane inhibitory effect of capric acid was more pronounced at the highest (30 mg) dose compared to the medium (20 mg) (-85% v. -34%), whereas the lower dose (10 mg) did not reduce rumen methanogenesis. A 23% decrease in total short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production was observed, accompanied by shifts towards increased butyrate at 20 mg and increased propionate at 30 mg of capric acid (P < 0.001). Capric acid linearly decreased the extent of biohydrogenation of C18:2n-6 and C18:3n-3, by up to 60% and 86%, respectively. This reduction was partially due to a lower extent of lipolysis when capric acid was supplemented. Capric acid at 20 and 30 mg completely inhibited the production of C18:0 (P < 0.001), resulting in an accumulation of biohydrogenation intermediates, mainly C18:1t10 + t11 and C18:2t11c15. In contrast to effects on rumen fermentation (methane production and proportions of SCFA), 30 mg of capric acid did not induce major changes in rumen biohydrogenation as compared to the medium (20 mg) dose. This study revealed the dual action of capric acid, being inhibitory to both methane production and biohydrogenation of C18:2n-6 and C18:3n-3.     

Syntheses of p-aminophenyl α-d-talopyranoside and 1-thio α-d-talopyranoside as analogs of glycosidase substrates

p-Nitrophenyl and p-aminophenyl α-d-talopyranoside and 1-thio-α-d-talopyranosides were prepared for studies on specificity of glycosidases. Reaction of α-d-talopyranose pentaacetate with p-nitrophenol gave exclusively p-nitrophenyl 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-α-d-talopyranoside (2) in 63% yield. A similar reaction with p-nitrobenzenethiol afforded the 1-thio analog (3) of 2 in 41.8% yield; the p-nitrophenyl 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-1-thio-β-d-talopyranoside (6) was also obtained in low yield (6.7%). The two α-d-talosides 2 and 3 were catalytically deacetylated in near-quantitative yields by methanolic sodium methoxide. The p-nitrophenyl α-d-talopyranoside (4) and 1-thio-α-d-talopyranoside (5) were reduced with palladium on barium sulfate catalyst to the corresponding p-aminophenyl talosides. The acetylated p-nitrophenyl d-talosides 2, 3, and 6 were determined, from their 250-MHz n.m.r. spectra, to exist in the ⁴C₁ (d) conformation in chloroform solution.     

Simultaneous recognition of two chiral centers in α,β-diastereomeric amino acids by an N-carbamoyl-L-α-amino acid amidohydrolase from Alcaligenes xylosoxidans

Cells of Alcaligenes xylosoxidans containing N-carbamoyl-L--amino acid amidohydrolase strictly distinguished the configuration of not only the -carbon but also the -carbon of N-carbamoyl--methylphenylalanine, and produced threo-l--methylphenylalanine specifically from a mixture of the four stereoisomers.     

The effects of gibberellic acid and abscisic acid on α-amylase mRNA levels in barley aleurone layers studies using an α-amylase cDNA clone

Summary Two cDNA clones were characterized which correspond to different RNA species whose level is increased by gibberellic acid (GA₃) in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) aleurone layers. On the criteria of amino terminal sequencing, amino acid composition and DNA sequencing it is likely that one of these clones (pHV19) corresponds to the mRNA for -amylase (1,4--D-glucan glucanohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.1.), in particular for the B family of -amylase isozymes (Jacobsen JV, Higgins TJV: Plant Physiol 70:1647–1653, 1982). Sequence analysis of PHV19 revealed a probable 23 amino acid signal peptide. Southern hybridization of this clone to barley DNA digested with restriction endonucleases indicated approximately eight gene-equivalents per haploid genome.The identity of the other clone (pHV14) is unknown, but from hybridization studies and sequence analysis it is apparently unrelated to the -amylase clone.Both clones hybridize to RNAs that are similar in size (1500b), but which accumulate to different extents following GA₃ treatment: -amylase mRNA increases approximately 50-fold in abundance over control levels, whereas the RNA hybridizing to pHV14 increases approximately 10-fold. In the presence of abscisic acid (ABA) the response to GA₃ is largely, but not entirely, abolished. These results suggest that GA₃ and ABA regulate synthesis of -amylase in barley aleurone layers primarily through the accumulation of -amylase mRNA.Abbreviations ABA abscisic acid - CHA cyclohepta-amylose - CMC carboxymethyl cellulose - GA₃ gibberellic acid     

Photoaffinity labeling the agonist binding domain of α4β4 and α4β2 neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors with [I]epibatidine and 5[I]A-85380

The development of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonists, particularly those that discriminate between neuronal nAChR subtypes, holds promise as potential therapeutic agents for many neurological diseases and disorders. To this end, we photoaffinity labeled human α4β2 and rat α4β4 nAChRs affinity-purified from stably transfected HEK-293 cells, with the agonists [¹²⁵I]epibatidine and 5[¹²⁵I]A-85380. Our results show that both agonists photoincorporated into the β4 subunit with little or no labeling of the β2 and α4 subunits respectively. [¹²⁵I]epibatidine labeling in the β4 subunit was mapped to two overlapping proteolytic fragments that begin at β4V102 and contain Loop E (β4I109-P120) of the agonist binding site. We were unable to identify labeled amino acid(s) in Loop E by protein sequencing, but we were able to demonstrate that β4Q117 in Loop E is the principal site of [¹²⁵I]epibatidine labeling. This was accomplished by substituting residues in the β2 subunit with the β4 homologs and finding [¹²⁵I]epibatidine labeling in β4 and β2F119Q subunits with little, if any, labeling in α4, β2, or β2S113R subunits. Finally, functional studies established that the β2F119/β4Q117 position is an important determinant of the receptor subtype-selectivity of the agonist 5I-A-85380, affecting both binding affinity and channel activation.     

Efficient production of (R)-(−)-mandelic acid with highly substrate/product tolerant and enantioselective nitrilase of recombinant Alcaligenes sp.

For efficient production of (R)-(−)-mandelic acid, a nitrilase gene from Alcaligenes sp. ECU0401 was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. After simple optimization of the culture conditions, the biocatalyst production was greatly increased from 500 to 7000 U/l. The recombinant E. coli whole cells showed strong tolerance against a high substrate concentration of up to 200 mM, and the concentration of (R)-(−)-mandelic acid after only 4 h of transformation reached 197 mM with an enantiomeric excess (ee_p) of 99%. In a fed-batch reaction with 600 mM mandelonitrile as the substrate, the cumulative production of (R)-(−)-mandelic acid after 17.5 h of conversion reached 520 mM. The recombinant E. coli cells could also be repeatedly used in the biotransformation, retaining 40% of the initial activity after 10 batches of reaction. The highly substrate/product tolerable and enantioselective nature of this recombinant nitrilase suggests that it is of great potential for the practical production of optically pure (R)-(−)-mandelic acid.     

Dynamic NMR structures of [Rp]- and [Sp]-phosphorothioated DNA-RNA hybrids: is flexibility required for RNase H recognition?

Chemically modified DNA oligonucleotides have been crucial to the development of antisense therapeutics. High-resolution structural studies of pharmaceutically relevant derivatives have been limited to only a few molecules. We have used NMR to elucidate the structure in solution of two DNA-RNA hybrids with the sequence d(CCTATAATCC).r(GGAUUAUAGG). The two hybrids contain an unmodified RNA target strand, whereas the DNA strand contains one of two different stereoregular sugar-phosphate backbone linkages at each nucleotide: 1), [Rp]-phosphorothioate or 2), [Sp]-phosphorothioate. Homonuclear two-dimensional spectroscopy afforded nearly complete nonlabile proton assignments. Distance bounds, calculated from the nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) crosspeak intensities via a complete relaxation matrix approach with the program MARDIGRAS, were used to restrain the structure of the two hybrids during simulations of molecular dynamics. Analysis of restrained molecular dynamics trajectories suggests that both hybrids are flexible, requiring the use of molecular dynamics with time-averaged restraints (MDtar) to generate ensembles of structures capable of satisfying the NMR data. In particular, the deoxyribose sugars of the DNA strand show strong evidence of repuckering. Furthermore, deoxyribose sugar repuckering is accompanied by increased flexibility of overall helical geometry. These observations, together with the analysis of the crystal structure of a hybrid duplex in complex with ribonuclease H (RNase H), suggested that this flexibility may be required for recognition by RNase H.     

Enantioselective binding of chiral 1,14-dimethyl[5]helicene–spermine ligands with B- and Z-DNA

Duplex DNA adopts a right-handed B-DNA conformation under physiological conditions. Z-DNA, meanwhile, has a left-handed helical structure and is in equilibrium with right-handed B-DNA. We recently reported that the bisnaphthyl maleimide–spermine conjugate (1) induced a B- to Z-DNA transition with high efficiency at low salt concentrations. It was also found that the bisnaphthyl ligand (1) spontaneously transformed into the corresponding [5]helicene derivative (2). Because [5]helicene 2 can potentially be chiral and because the chiral discrimination of B- and Z-DNA is also of interest, we became interested in whether enatiomerically pure [5]helicene–spermine conjugates might discriminate the chirality of B- or Z-DNA. In this study, we have demonstrated an efficient synthesis of chiral DNA-binding ligands by the conjugation of a [5]helicene unit with a spermine unit. These chiral helicene ligands exhibited recognition of B- and Z-DNA, with (P)-3 displaying preference for B-DNA and (M)-3 for Z-DNA. The characteristic features of the helicene–spermine ligands developed in this study include two points: the cationic spermine portion produces electrostatic interactions along the phosphate backbone of the minor groove, and the helicene forms complexes in an end-stacking mode. Such binding modes, together with the thermodynamic parameters, account for the mode of chiral recognition of (P)- and (M)-3 for B- and Z-DNA.     

Preparation and properties of highly soluble chitosan–l-glutamic acid aerogel derivative

The objective of this work is to improve the solubility of chitosan at neutral or basic pH using the supercritical carbon dioxide (sc.CO₂). A novel water-soluble chitosan–l-glutamic acid (Cl-GA) aerogel derivative was synthesized by reaction of 85% deacetylated chitosan with l-glutamic acid (l-GA) in aq.AcOH subjected to solvent exchange prior to using sc.CO₂ as a nonsolvent for the polymer. The prepared aerogel derivative and molecular conformation of modified chitosan are characterized by using UV, FTIR, ¹H NMR, and CD techniques. Some physical properties and surface morphology were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and porosimetry analysis. Overall, the sc.CO₂ assisted chitosan aerogel derivative opens new perspectives in biomedical applications.     

Production and purification of recombinant human α2C2 adrenergic receptor using Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The objective is to generate milligram quantities of recombinant human ₂C2 adrenergic receptor for X-ray crystallographic studies. It has been cloned in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and the production level is at best about 13 pmol/mg of membrane protein, as estimated by radio-ligand binding assay. The receptor is solubilized with sucrose monolaurate followed by immunoaffinity purification and reconstitution into phospholipid vesicles. The efficiency of solubilization and immuno-purification are 60% and 91%, respectively.     

Metabolic Characteristics of the Mutant Yarrowia lipolytica Strain 1 Producing α-Ketoglutaric and Citric Acids from Ethanol and the Effect of [NH+4] and [O2] on Yeast Respiration and Acidogenesis

The comparative studies performed in this work showed that overproduction of -ketoglutaric acid (KGA) and citric acid (CA) from ethanol by the mutantYarrowia lipolyticastrain 1 requires both a deficiency of thiamine and a relatively high concentration of ammonium ions in the medium, whereas CA overproduction requires an almost zero concentration of ammonium ions. The threshold value of the dissolved oxygen concentration in the medium, pO₂, for CA overproduction is considerably higher than for KGA overproduction. The respiration rate of CA-overproducing cells was 2–3.5 times higher than that of KGA-overproducing cells. The main terminal electron carrier functioning in the KGA-overproducing cells was cytochrome oxidase. In the CA-overproducing cells, the main terminal oxidase was presumably o-type cytochrome.     

Syntheses of 2′-O-Methylisocytidine Phosphoramidite and Methylphosphonamidite Synthons

Abstract

The 2′-O-methylisocytidine phosphoramidite synthon 7 and methylphosphonamidite synthon 8 are synthesized from 2′-O-methyluridine. The N² -(N′, N′-dimethylformamidine) protected 2′-O-methylisocytidine is stable to basic deamination and acidic depyrimidination. Synthon 7 and synthon 8 have been incorporated into oligomers via the automated solid state procedure.