Effect of Additives on the Selectivity and Reactivity of Enzymes

Enzymes have been widely used as efficient, eco‐friendly, and biodegradable catalysts in organic chemistry due to their mild reaction conditions and high selectivity and efficiency. In recent years, the catalytic promiscuity of many enzymes in unnatural reactions has been revealed and studied by chemists and biochemists, which has expanded the application potential of enzymes. To enhance the selectivity and activity of enzymes in their natural or promiscuous reactions, many methods have been recommended, such as protein engineering, process engineering, and media engineering. Among them, the additive approach is very attractive because of its simplicity to use and high efficiency. In this paper, we will review the recent developments about the applications of additives to improve the catalytic performances of enzymes in their natural and promiscuous reactions. These additives include water, organic bases, water mimics, cosolvents, crown ethers, salts, surfactants, and some particular molecular additives.     

Approaches to Carbocyclic Sialidase Inhibitors Invited Review

 The crucial role played by carbohydrates in many physiological processes has made this class of compounds an interesting target for drug design. Consequently mimicking carbohydrates has been one of the most rapidly growing fields in synthetic organic chemistry in recent years, and particularly intense focus has been devoted to sialic acids and sialic acid metabolizing enzymes, including sialidases. Inhibition of the latter enzyme from influenza virus can be regarded as one of the most successful examples of structure-based drug design and high affinity inhibitors based on neuraminic acid have been developed. There is an ongoing search for inhibitors with improved physicochemical properties and among them, carbocyclic systems, where the ring oxygen of the carbohydrate is replaced by carbon, have become the center of interest. This review intends to give a brief overview over the structures and synthetic approaches which surfaced in the last decade.     

Recent advances in biocatalysis by directed enzyme evolution

Naturally occurring enzymes are remarkable biocatalysts with numerous potential applications in industry and medicine. However, many of their catalyst properties often need to be further tailored to meet the specific requirements of a given application. Within this context, directed evolution has emerged over the past decade as a powerful tool for engineering enzymes with new or improved functions. This review summarizes recent advances in applying directed evolution approaches to alter various enzyme properties such as activity, selectivity (enantio- and regio-), substrate specificity, stability, and solubility. Special attention will be paid to the creation of novel enzyme activities and products by directed evolution.     

Approaches to Carbocyclic Sialidase Inhibitors

Summary.  The crucial role played by carbohydrates in many physiological processes has made this class of compounds an interesting target for drug design. Consequently mimicking carbohydrates has been one of the most rapidly growing fields in synthetic organic chemistry in recent years, and particularly intense focus has been devoted to sialic acids and sialic acid metabolizing enzymes, including sialidases. Inhibition of the latter enzyme from influenza virus can be regarded as one of the most successful examples of structure-based drug design and high affinity inhibitors based on neuraminic acid have been developed. There is an ongoing search for inhibitors with improved physicochemical properties and among them, carbocyclic systems, where the ring oxygen of the carbohydrate is replaced by carbon, have become the center of interest. This review intends to give a brief overview over the structures and synthetic approaches which surfaced in the last decade. E-mail: hansjoerg.streicher@uni-konstanz.de Received June 17, 2002; accepted June 21, 2002     

Asymmetric biosynthesis of intermediates of anti-HIV drugs

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is the fifth most common cause of death and many new HIV infections occur every year. The prevalence of HIV also seriously affects the quality of a patient’s life. More than forty anti-HIV drugs have been put into clinical uses, many of which are chiral molecules with multiple stereogenic centers, for example abacavir, lamivudine, zidovudine, stavudine, tenofovir, atazanavir. However, the chemical synthesis of these chiral intermediates have the disadvantages of low enantiomeric purity and complex synthetic steps. The benefits of asymmetric biosynthesis of chiral drugs include high enantiomeric excess (e.e.), good product selectivity, mild reaction conditions, and less side effects. The biosynthesis of the chiral intermediates of these anti-HIV drugs is thus particularly important. Herein, we review the different sources of enzymes and microbial cells for the asymmetric biosynthesis of the above chiral anti-HIV drug intermediates. We also review recent biotechnology progress in engineering these enzymes and microbial cells with improved biocatalytic activities, including enzyme and cell immobilization, surface display of enzymes, and directed evolution of enzymes. These biotechnology processes enable the efficient biosynthesis of these chiral intermediates, facilitating the industrial production of anti-HIV drugs with reduced costs.     

酶的分子仿生研究进展

回顾了近几十年来印迹高分子和有机团簇对酶的仿生发展历程，总结了目前的 研究现状，探讨了电子效应和空间效应（柔性空间效应）对仿对酶在催化过程中实 现类似酶的识别和诱导契合的影响，并展望了酶的仿生发展趋势。     

Glycosylation of the Arg-gingipains of Porphyromonas gingivalis and comparison with glycoconjugate structure and synthesis in other bacteria

Post-translational modification of proteins by covalent attachment of sugars to the protein backbone (protein glycosylation) is the most common post-translational modification in the eucaryotic cell. However, the addition of carbohydrates to proteins of Eubacteria and Archaea has been demonstrated and accepted only recently. There is now a rapidly expanding list of bacterial glycoproteins that have been characterised from a variety of different organisms including many important pathogens. The Arg-gingipains of Porphyromonas gingivalis are recent additions to this list. In this review we present a summary of our investigations on the structure of the glycan additions to these proteolytic enzymes, the genetics of the glycosylation process and some of the effects on enzyme function and recognition. These findings are placed in the context of the current status of understanding of glycoconjugate structure and synthesis in other bacteria. Given the importance of glycosylation of eucaryotic proteins to their stability, structure, resistance to proteolysis and recognition, the modifications to the proteases described in the present report are likely to have a functional role in the properties of these enzymes in periodontal disease.     

4-羟基-2-吡啶酮类化合物的合成研究进展

4-羟基-2-吡啶酮是天然生物碱结构母核,同时也是一类重要的医药中间体,该类衍生物具有抗真菌、抗菌和抗肿瘤等多种生物活性.因此,其合成得到了广泛的研究和关注.综述了近年来4-羟基-2-吡啶酮类化合物的合成方法及其研究进展.     

端粒酶检测新方法研究进展

端粒酶是一种核蛋白逆转录酶,能以自身的RNA为模板添加重复序列(TTAGGG)n至染色体末端,稳定端粒长度。端粒酶在85%～90%的癌细胞中处于激活状态,已经引起了人们的广泛关注,成为肿瘤诊断和临床治疗的重要突破口。因此,准确、高效地测定端粒酶活性具有重要意义。近年来,许多灵敏、准确的体外或原位检测技术在端粒酶活性检测方面得到了发展。该文综述了近年来端粒酶活性检测的最新进展,并对其发展趋势进行了展望。     

Reactivities and biological functions of iron-sulfur clusters

Iron-sulfur clusters are prevalent in biological systems. Through studies of iron-sulfur proteins and synthetic model clusters, it was realized early on that these clusters functioned as facile electron transfer agents. Until recently it was widely thought that they served exclusively in that capacity. However, in the last decade, it has become clear that their reactivities and biological functions are much more diverse. It is now apparent that these clusters can serve as the active sites of enzymes, as well as in the regulation of enzymatic activity. Synthetic clusters, which have been shown to undergo a variety of core rearrangements or structural changes, have provided insight into possible mechanisms of cluster formation or activity regulation in enzymes. Rigid tripodal ligands have been constructed which capture synthetic iron-sulfur clusters in a cavity which permits controlled reactivity studies. In this article, we review these recent developments and suggest some future directions the field may take.     

Trends in lipase-catalyzed asymmetric access to enantiomerically pure/enriched compounds

Over the last few years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of publications in the field of lipase-catalyzed reactions performed in common organic solvents, ionic liquids or even non-conventional solvents. A fairly large percentage of these publications have emerged from organic chemists who have recognized the potential of biocatalysis as a viable and popular technique in organic synthesis. Considerable research has shown that reactions catalyzed by enzymes are more selective and efficiently performed than many of their analogues in the organic chemistry laboratory. This review article focuses on some of the recent developments in the rapidly growing field of lipase-catalyzed asymmetric access to enantiomerically pure/enriched compounds. The literature search is dated back to the last five years and covers some comprehensive examples.     

Human rhinovirus 3C protease as a potential target for the development of antiviral agents

As the major cause of the common cold in children and adults, human rhinoviruses (HRVs) are a group of small single-stranded positive-sense RNA viruses. HRVs translate their genetic information into a polyprotein precursor that is mainly processed by a virally encoded 3C protease (3Cpro) to generate functional viral proteins and enzymes. It has been shown that the enzymatic activity of HRV 3Cpro is essential to viral replication. The 3Cpro is distinguished from most other proteases by the fact that it has a cysteine nucleophile but with a chymotrypsin-like serine protease folding. This unique protein structure together with its essential role in viral replication made the 3Cpro an excellent target for antiviral intervention. In recent years, considerable efforts have been made in the development of antiviral compounds targeting this enzyme. To further facilitate the design of potent 3C protease inhibitors for therapeutic use, this review summarizes the biochemical and structural characterization conducted on HRV 3C protease along with the recent progress on the development of 3C protease inhibitors.     

Exploring the use of conformationally locked aminoglycosides as a new strategy to overcome bacterial resistance

The emergence of bacterial resistance to the major classes of antibiotics has become a serious problem over recent years. For aminoglycosides, the major biochemical mechanism for bacterial resistance is the enzymatic modification of the drug. Interestingly, in several cases, the oligosaccharide conformation recognized by the ribosomic RNA and the enzymes responsible for the antibiotic inactivation is remarkably different. This observation suggests a possible structure-based chemical strategy to overcome bacterial resistance; in principle, it should be possible to design a conformationally locked oligosaccharide that still retains antibiotic activity but that is not susceptible to enzymatic inactivation. To explore the scope and limitations of this strategy, we have synthesized several aminoglycoside derivatives locked in the ribosome-bound "bioactive" conformation. The effect of the structural preorganization on RNA binding, together with its influence on the aminoglycoside inactivation by several enzymes involved in bacterial resistance, has been studied. Our results indicate that the conformational constraint has a modest effect on their interaction with ribosomal RNA. In contrast, it may display a large impact on their enzymatic inactivation. Thus, the work presented herein provides a key example of how the conformational differences exhibited by these ligands within the binding pockets of the ribosome and of those enzymes involved in bacterial resistance can, in favorable cases, be exploited for designing new antibiotic derivatives with improved activity in resistant strains.     

双模板介导合成类骨磷灰石的研究进展

天然骨形成是一个多模板协同共组装的过程。与单模板自组装相比,双模板介导合成的类骨磷灰石具有与天然骨更加相近的多级结构,在生物矿化研究领域具有更重要的研究意义。本文介绍了双模板介导合成类骨磷灰石的研究进展,探讨了双模板的选择、设计及模板分子间的相互作用,阐述了模板对磷灰石晶体成核的调控机制。通过双模板介导自组装生成的磷灰石材料,以其特有的仿生多级结构和骨诱导效果,在骨缺损修复、齿科修复、表面涂层及药物载体等领域具有广阔的应用前景。     

Vanadium in Asymmetric Synthesis: Emerging Concepts in Catalyst Design and Applications

In recent years vanadium catalysis has been extended to a range of different and even complementary directions in asymmetric synthesis. Inspired by nature’s way to activate both substrate and reagent in many cases, the design of efficient bifunctional and dinuclear vanadium catalysts has been achieved. Furthermore, vanadium catalysis has been an early field in which “hybrid catalysts” have been studied in detail by incorporation of oxovanadium complexes into proteins, thus giving artificial enzymes. In addition, a high compatibility of vanadium with proteins enabled the use of vanadium chemocatalysts for combinations with enzyme catalysis in one‐pot, thus leading to dynamic kinetic resolutions. In this contribution, these three concepts of vanadium catalysis opening up new perspectives for asymmetric synthesis are reviewed.     

4-羟基-2-吡啶酮类天然生物碱的研究进展

4-羟基-2-吡啶酮类生物碱是从植物和昆虫等内生真菌发酵液中提取分离得到的一类新型天然生物碱, 具有抗真菌、抗菌和抗肿瘤等多种生物活性. 对近年来4-羟基-2-吡啶酮类天然生物碱的分离、结构确证和全合成等进行了总结和概述, 重点介绍了Ilicilolin H, Tenellin和Sambutaxin等的全合成.     

MALDI质谱技术在酶活性分析中的应用

酶作为生物催化剂参与很多重要的生理过程,同时也是一类重要的生物分子。酶的活性分析对于疾病诊断和治疗具有重要意义。基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱(MALDI-TOF MS)具有操作简单、分析速度快、灵敏度高和易于实现高通量分析的特点,已被广泛用于各种组学研究和生物分子的检测,在酶的检测和活性分析中亦发挥了重要作用。该文综述了国内外利用MALDI-TOF MS分析酶活性和进行药物筛选的策略,总结了各种方法的优缺点,提出了MALDI质谱技术在酶活性分析领域存在的问题和挑战,并对其发展前景进行了展望。     

Enzyme immobilization by adsorption: a review

Endowed with unparalleled high catalytic activity and selectivity, enzymes offer enormous potential as catalysts in practical applications. These applications, however, are seriously hampered by enzymes’ low thermal and chemical stabilities. One way to improve these stabilities is the enzyme immobilization. Among various tested methods of this process that make use of different enzyme-carrier interactions, immobilization by adsorption on solid carriers has appeared most common. According to these findings, in this review we present a comparative analysis of the literature reports on the recent trends in the immobilization of the enzymes by adsorption. This thorough study was prepared in order to provide a deeper understanding of the process. Both carriers, carrier modifiers and procedures developed for effective adsorption of the enzymes are discussed. The review may thus be helpful in choosing the right adsorption scheme for a given enzyme to achieve the improvement of its stability and activity for a specific application.     

咪唑并吡啶类化合物结构及PDE抑制活性的三维构效关系研究

对咪唑并吡啶类化合物作为环核苷酸磷酸二酯酶(PDE)的抑制剂的抑制活性进行了比较分子力场分析.结果表明,立体效应和静电作用场是描述对PDE抑制活性和进行结构性能关系研究的最重要的结构参数,提出了对该类化合物进行结构修饰的方法,并由新建立的三维定量构效关系模型对该类化合物的PDE抑制活性进行了预报.