Synthesis of 4-Thiazolone Derivatives Related to Firefly Oxyluciferin

Several 4-thiazolone derivatives were synthesized by condensation of appropriate aryl cyanide and ethyl thioglycolate (or derivative), and factors affecting to the reaction rate are discussed. Keto-enol tautomerization of the 4-thiazolones is briefly discussed.     

Assessment of Key Amino-Acid Residues of CD36 in Specific Binding Interaction with an Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein

A stereo controlled synthesis of the biologically active neolignan, (+)-dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol (1) was achieved. This synthetic method was also efficient for preparing its enantiomer and other derivatives with biological activity.     

Characteristics of Novel Insect Defensin-Based Membrane-Disrupting Trypanocidal Peptides

Synthetic D- and L-amino acid type cationic 9-mer peptides (all sequences were synthesized as D- or L-amino acids) derived from the active sites of insect defensins were tested for their ability to modify the growth of blood-stream form African trypanosomes in vitro. One of them, the D-type peptide A (RLYLRIGRR-NH₂), irreversibly suppressed proliferation of the Trypanosoma brucei brucei GUTat3.1 parasite. The presence of negatively charged phosphatidylserine on the surface of the parasites was demonstrated, suggesting electrostatic interaction between the peptide and the phospholipids. Furthermore, this peptide was found to alter trypanosome membrane-potentials significantly, an effect apparently due to the removal of the parasite’s plasma membrane. The potential toxic effects of D-peptide A on mammalian cells was assessed using human brain microvascular endothelial cells. Only minor effects were found when the endothelial cells were exposed for 16 h to peptide concentrations of less than 200 μM. These findings suggest that insect defensin-based peptides represent a potentially new class of membrane-disrupting trypanocidal drugs.     

Design,construction, and characterization of a second‐generation DARPin library with reduced hydrophobicity

Designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins) are well‐established binding molecules based on a highly stable nonantibody scaffold. Building on 13 crystal structures of DARPin‐target complexes and stability measurements of DARPin mutants, we have generated a new DARPin library containing an extended randomized surface. To counteract the enrichment of unspecific hydrophobic binders during selections against difficult targets containing hydrophobic surfaces such as membrane proteins, the frequency of apolar residues at diversified positions was drastically reduced and substituted by an increased number of tyrosines. Ribosome display selections against two human caspases and membrane transporter AcrB yielded highly enriched pools of unique and strong DARPin binders which were mainly monomeric. We noted a prominent enrichment of tryptophan residues during binder selections. A crystal structure of a representative of this library in complex with caspase‐7 visualizes the key roles of both tryptophans and tyrosines in providing target contacts. These aromatic and polar side chains thus substitute the apolar residues valine, leucine, isoleucine, methionine, and phenylalanine of the original DARPins. Our work describes biophysical and structural analyses required to extend existing binder scaffolds and simplifies an existing protocol for the assembly of highly diverse synthetic binder libraries.     

Understanding differences between synthetic and natural antibodies can help improve antibody engineering

Synthetic libraries are a major source of human-like antibody (Ab) drug leads. To assess the similarity between natural Abs and the products of these libraries, we compared large sets of natural and synthetic Abs using “CDRs Analyzer,” a tool we introduce for structural analysis of Ab-antigen (Ag) interactions. Natural Abs, we found, recognize their Ags by combining multiple complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) to create an integrated interface. Synthetic Abs, however, rely dominantly, sometimes even exclusively on CDRH3. The increased contribution of CDRH3 to Ag binding in synthetic Abs comes with a substantial decrease in the involvement of CDRH2 and CDRH1. Furthermore, in natural Abs CDRs specialize in specific types of non-covalent interactions with the Ag. CDRH1 accounts for a significant portion of the cation-pi interactions; CDRH2 is the major source of salt-bridges and CDRH3 accounts for most hydrogen bonds. In synthetic Abs this specialization is lost, and CDRH3 becomes the main sources of all types of contacts. The reliance of synthetic Abs on CDRH3 reduces the complexity of their interaction with the Ag: More Ag residues contact only one CDR and fewer contact 3 CDRs or more. We suggest that the focus of engineering attempts on CDRH3 results in libraries enriched with variants that are not natural-like. This may affect not only Ag binding, but also Ab expression, stability and selectivity. Our findings can help guide library design, creating libraries that can bind more epitopes and Abs that better mimic the natural antigenic interactions.     

真菌天然产物异源生产研究进展

真菌天然产物是天然药物的重要来源之一,大规模真菌基因组序列测序的完成表明真菌具有产生丰富的次级代谢产物的潜能。然而,许多真菌或生长缓慢,或不适宜在实验室条件下培养,或难以进行遗传操作,或化合物产量极低等,这些因素导致大量有价值的真菌天然产物无法获得。利用异源表达系统对真菌天然产物进行生产是发现新天然产物及解析其生物合成途径的有效手段,并为定向的以合成生物学的手段去合成重要活性分子奠定基础。本文对目前用于真菌天然产物生产的各种异源表达系统进行了综述,并结合最新的DNA组装技术展望了异源表达系统在真菌天然产物研究中的应用价值和前景。     

链霉菌底盘细胞的开发现状及其应用

天然产物及其衍生物在现代医疗中扮演着举足轻重的角色,其生物活性多样性以及化学结构的丰富性是新药研发的源泉和动力。利用纯化学方法合成天然产物在技术和成本上有很大的困难,加上许多天然产物的原始产生菌具有培养条件苛刻、产量低下等缺点,而且大量基因簇在原始菌株中是沉默的,这使得利用合成生物学思想来指导天然产物生物合成基因簇的异源表达具有重大意义。作为抗生素、抗肿瘤活性物质、免疫抑制剂等次级代谢产物主要来源的放线菌一直是研究者们关注的焦点,特别是随着基因测序技术的飞速发展,人们发现链霉菌基因组中包含着极为丰富的天然产物生物合成基因簇资源。这意味着开发链霉菌底盘细胞作为异源表达宿主有其得天独厚的优势。本综述从底盘细胞开发的意义入手,重点阐述链霉菌底盘细胞构建的策略及现状,随后通过实例阐述了各种底盘链霉菌的实际应用。     

从阿维菌素获得诺贝尔奖到中国创造

纵观世界历史,大国崛起无不伴随着科技的兴起和机制体制的突破。来自大自然的天然产物对于人类的健康起到非常重要的作用,从抗肿瘤明星分子紫杉醇到挽救了无数人生命的抗感染药物青霉素,从治疗代谢疾病到营养保健,都离不开天然产物。此外,还有大量天然产物资源没有被开发过。而随着阿维菌素的发现者Satoshiōmura教授和William C.Campbell博士,及青蒿素的发现者屠呦呦研究员因为这两种天然产物在治疗寄生虫感染病和疟疾上的应用而获得2015年诺贝尔生理与医学奖后,天然产物有望迎来其发展的第二个黄金时代。我国是世界工厂也是天然药物的资源大国,为了实现产业升级,弯道超车,实现大国崛起的中国梦,我国科学家在"十二五"期间围绕着天然产物的高产和创新两大主题开展了富有成效的合成生物学研究。阿维菌素是由阿维链霉菌产生的高效低毒生物杀虫剂,其原料产能占国际市场的100%。但我国原有生产菌株的单位发酵产量较低,高消耗、高污染、片面追求生产规模的粗放型发展模式已经成了阻碍低碳经济持续高速发展的瓶颈。如何从根本上解决问题,提高生产菌株的单位发酵产量和原料利用率,降低能耗和生产成本,减少环境污染,是促进我国从"发酵大国"向"发酵强国"转变的关键。本文以阿维菌素为例,综述其基础研究的技术发展,特别是中国科学院微生物研究所引入合成生物学技术,将阿维菌素的单位产量提高了1000倍,至9 g/L,在内蒙古新威远与阿维菌素产业联盟的公司应用,迫使默克公司全面退出阿维菌素历史舞台,从而引领产业迅速发展的过程,为我国其它天然产物生物制造品种的改良提供思路和方法。