Directed Evolution of a Tryptophan 2,3-Dioxygenase for the Diastereoselective Monooxygenation of Tryptophans

Herein, we report an engineered enzyme that can monooxygenate unprotected tryptophan into the corresponding 3a-hydroxyhexahydropyrrolo[2,3-b]indole-2-carboxylic acid (HPIC) in a single, scalable step with excellent turnover number and diastereoselectivity. Taking advantage of directed evolution, we analyzed the stepwise oxygen-insertion mechanism of tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenases, and transformed tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase from Xanthomonas campestris into a monooxygenase for oxidative cyclization of tryptophans. It was revealed that residue F51 is vital in determining the product ratio of HPIC to N′-formylkynurenine. Our reactions and purification procedures use no organic solvents, resulting in an eco-friendly method to prepare HPICs for further applications.     

Chromatographic analysis of tryptophan metabolites

The kynurenine pathway generates multiple tryptophan metabolites called collectively kynurenines and leads to formation of the enzyme cofactor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. The first step in this pathway is tryptophan degradation, initiated by the rate‐limiting enzymes indoleamine 2,3‐dioxygenase, or tryptophan 2,3‐dioxygenase, depending on the tissue. The balanced kynurenine metabolism, which has been a subject of multiple studies in last decades, plays an important role in several physiological and pathological conditions such as infections, autoimmunity, neurological disorders, cancer, cataracts, as well as pregnancy. Understanding the regulation of tryptophan depletion provide novel diagnostic and treatment opportunities, however it requires reliable methods for quantification of kynurenines in biological samples with complex composition (body fluids, tissues, or cells). Trace concentrations, interference of sample components, and instability of some tryptophan metabolites need to be addressed using analytical methods. The novel separation approaches and optimized extraction protocols help to overcome difficulties in analyzing kynurenines within the complex tissue material. Recent developments in chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry provide new opportunity for quantification of tryptophan and its degradation products in various biological samples. In this review, we present current accomplishments in the chromatographic methodologies proposed for detection of tryptophan metabolites and provide a guide for choosing the optimal approach.     

Biosynthesis of l‐4‐Chlorokynurenine,an Antidepressant Prodrug and a Non‐Proteinogenic Amino Acid Found in Lipopeptide Antibiotics

l ‐4‐Chlorokynurenine (l ‐4‐Cl‐Kyn) is a neuropharmaceutical drug candidate that is in development for the treatment of major depressive disorder. Recently, this amino acid was naturally found as a residue in the lipopeptide antibiotic taromycin. Herein, we report the unprecedented conversion of l ‐tryptophan into l ‐4‐Cl‐Kyn catalyzed by four enzymes in the taromycin biosynthetic pathway from the marine bacterium Saccharomonospora sp. CNQ‐490. We used genetic, biochemical, structural, and analytical techniques to establish l ‐4‐Cl‐Kyn biosynthesis, which is initiated by the flavin‐dependent tryptophan chlorinase Tar14 and its flavin reductase partner Tar15. This work revealed the first tryptophan 2,3‐dioxygenase (Tar13) and kynurenine formamidase (Tar16) enzymes that are selective for chlorinated substrates. The substrate scope of Tar13, Tar14, and Tar16 was examined and revealed intriguing promiscuity, thereby opening doors for the targeted engineering of these enzymes as useful biocatalysts.     

Biosynthesis of l‐4‐Chlorokynurenine,an Antidepressant Prodrug and a Non‐Proteinogenic Amino Acid Found in Lipopeptide Antibiotics

l ‐4‐Chlorokynurenine (l ‐4‐Cl‐Kyn) is a neuropharmaceutical drug candidate that is in development for the treatment of major depressive disorder. Recently, this amino acid was naturally found as a residue in the lipopeptide antibiotic taromycin. Herein, we report the unprecedented conversion of l ‐tryptophan into l ‐4‐Cl‐Kyn catalyzed by four enzymes in the taromycin biosynthetic pathway from the marine bacterium Saccharomonospora sp. CNQ‐490. We used genetic, biochemical, structural, and analytical techniques to establish l ‐4‐Cl‐Kyn biosynthesis, which is initiated by the flavin‐dependent tryptophan chlorinase Tar14 and its flavin reductase partner Tar15. This work revealed the first tryptophan 2,3‐dioxygenase (Tar13) and kynurenine formamidase (Tar16) enzymes that are selective for chlorinated substrates. The substrate scope of Tar13, Tar14, and Tar16 was examined and revealed intriguing promiscuity, thereby opening doors for the targeted engineering of these enzymes as useful biocatalysts.     

Biochemical Characterization of an Arginine 2,3‐Aminomutase with Dual Substrate Specificity

The radical S‐adenosylmethionine (SAM) aminomutases represent an important pathway for the biosynthesis of β‐amino acids. In this study, we report biochemical characterization of BlsG involved in blasticidin S biosynthesis as a radical SAM arginine 2,3‐aminomutase. We showed that BlsG acts on both L‐arginine and L‐lysine with comparable catalytic efficiencies. Similar dual substrate specificity was also observed for the lysine 2,3‐aminomutase from Escherichia coli (LAM_EC). The catalytic efficiency of LAM_EC is similar to that of BlsG, but is significantly lower than that of the enzyme from Clostridium subterminale (LAM_CS), which acts only on L‐lysine rather than on L‐arginine. Moreover, we showed that enzymes can be grouped into two major phylogenetic clades, each corresponding to a certain C3 stereochemistry of the β‐amino acid product. Our study expands the radical SAM aminomutase members and provides insights into enzyme evolution, supporting a trade‐off between substrate promiscuity and catalytic efficiency.     

Determination of l‐tryptophan and l‐kynurenine derivatized with (R)‐4‐(3‐isothiocyanatopyrrolidin‐1‐yl)‐7‐(N,N‐dimethylaminosulfonyl)‐2,1,3‐benzoxadiazole by LC‐MS/MS on a triazole‐bonded column and their quantification in human serum

The concentrations of l ‐tryptophan (Trp) and the metabolite l ‐kynurenine (KYN) can be used to evaluate the in‐vivo activity of indoleamine 2,3‐dioxygenase (IDO) and tryptophan 2,3‐dioxygenase (TDO). As such, a novel method involving derivatization of l ‐Trp and l ‐KYN with (R)‐4‐(3‐isothiocyanatopyrrolidin‐1‐yl)‐7‐(N,N‐dimethylaminosulfonyl)‐2,1,3‐benzoxadiazole (DBD‐PyNCS) and separation by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with tandem mass spectrometric (MS/MS) detection on a triazole‐bonded column (Cosmosil HILIC®) was developed to determine their concentrations. The optimized mobile phase, CH₃CN/10 mm ammonium formate in H₂O (pH 5.0) (90:10, v/v) eluted isocratically, resulted in satisfactory separation and MS/MS detection of the analytes. The detection limits of l ‐Trp and l ‐KYN were approximately 50 and 4.0 pm , respectively. The column temperature affected the retention behaviour of the Trp and KYN derivatives, with increased column temperatures leading to increased capacity factors; positive enthalpy changes were revealed by van't Hoff plot analyses. Using the proposed LC‐MS/MS method, l ‐Trp and l ‐KYN were successfully determined in 10 μL human serum using 1‐methyl‐l ‐Trp as an internal standard. The precision and recovery of l ‐Trp were in the ranges 2.85–9.29 and 95.8–113%, respectively, while those of l ‐KYN were 2.51–16.0 and 80.8–98.2%, respectively. The proposed LC‐MS/MS method will be useful for evaluating the in vivo activity of IDO or TDO. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamic Kinetic Resolution of 2,3‐Dihydrobenzo[b]furans: Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of Analgesic Agent BRL 37959

An efficient asymmetric synthesis of (S)‐2,3‐dihydrobenzo[b]furan‐3‐carboxylic acid ( 8 a ) and (S)‐5‐chloro‐2,3‐dihydrobenzo[b]furan‐3‐carboxylic acid ( 8 b ) was established. Key to the success was the highly stereoselective enzymatic kinetic resolution of the corresponding methyl or ethyl esters that was further developed into a dynamic process. As a reliable and fast tool for analysing the enantiomeric excess, HPLC coupled with a CD detector was utilized. The route was completed by a Friedel–Crafts acylation of ethyl (S)‐5‐chloro‐2,3‐dihydrobenzo[b]furan‐3‐carboxylate ( 7 c ) followed by saponification leading to (S)‐5‐chloro‐2,3‐dihydrobenzo[b]furan‐3‐carboxylic acid ( 2 ), an analgesic agent.     

Facile synthesis of poly(l‐tryptophan) through polycondensation of activated urethane derivatives

A facile and phosgene‐free synthetic route to poly(l ‐tryptophan) 2 by the polycondensation of N‐phenoxycarbonyl‐l ‐tryptophan 1 is described. The monomer 1 was synthesized via the carbamylation of tetrabutylammonium salt of L‐tryptophan with diphenyl carbonate. The polycondensation proceeded smoothly at 60 °C in N,N‐dimethylacetamide in the presence of amines (n‐butylamine, diethylamine, and triethylamine) along with the elimination of phenol and carbon dioxide. The structural analysis of the obtained 2 by Matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry revealed that n‐butylamine or diethylamine was successfully incorporated into the chain end of the polypeptide. Furthermore, we have demonstrated the synthesis of a diblock copolymer by utilizing amine‐terminated poly(ethylene glycol) as a source of the polyether segment. The chain length of the polypeptide segment was controlled by varying feed ratio between 1 and the amino group of poly(ethylene glycol). © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 4565–4571     

Combination of capillary electrophoresis and molecular modeling to study the enantiomer affinity pattern between β‐blockers and anionic cyclodextrin derivatives in a methanolic and water background electrolyte

In order to have deep insights into the mechanisms of enantiomer affinity pattern in both aqueous and non‐aqueous systems, an approach combining capillary electrophoresis and molecular modeling was undertaken. A chiral β‐blocker; acebutolol, was enantioseparated in aqueous capillary electrophoresis and non‐aqueous capillary electrophoresis using two anionic β‐cyclodextrin derivatives. The enantiomer affinity pattern of acebutolol was found to be opposite when an aqueous background electrolyte was replaced with non‐aqueous background electrolyte in the presence of heptakis(2,3‐di‐O‐acetyl‐6‐sulfo)‐β‐cyclodextrin but remained the same in the presence of heptakis(2,3‐di‐O‐methyl‐6‐sulfo)‐β‐cyclodextrin. Molecular docking of acebutolol into two β‐cyclodextrin derivatives indicated two distinct binding modes called ‘up’ and ‘down’ conformations. After structure optimization by molecular dynamics and energy minimization, both enantiomers of acebutolol were preferred to the ‘up’ conformation with heptakis(2,3‐di‐O‐methyl‐6‐sulfo)‐β‐cyclodextrin while ‘down’ conformation with heptakis(2,3‐di‐O‐acetyl‐6‐sulfo)‐β‐cyclodextrin. The further calculation of the complex energy with solvent effect indicated that heptakis(2,3‐di‐O‐acetyl‐6‐sulfo)‐β‐cyclodextrin had higher affinity to S‐acebutolol than R‐acebutolol in non‐aqueous capillary electrophoresis while it showed better binding to R‐acebutolol in aqueous capillary electrophoresis. However, the heptakis(2,3‐di‐O‐methyl‐6‐sulfo)‐β‐cyclodextrin bound better to R‐acebutolol in both aqueous and non‐aqueous capillary electrophoresis, implying that the binding mode played more important role in chiral separation of heptakis(2,3‐di‐O‐methyl‐6‐sulfo)‐β‐cyclodextrin while the solvent effect had prevailing impact on heptakis(2,3‐di‐O‐acetyl‐6‐sulfo)‐β‐cyclodextrin.     

Enzyme‐ and Ruthenium‐Catalyzed Enantioselective Transformation of α‐Allenic Alcohols into 2,3‐Dihydrofurans

An efficient one‐pot method for the enzyme‐ and ruthenium‐catalyzed enantioselective transformation of α‐allenic alcohols into 2,3‐dihydrofurans has been developed. The method involves an enzymatic kinetic resolution and a subsequent ruthenium‐catalyzed cycloisomerization, which provides 2,3‐dihydrofurans with excellent enantioselectivity (up to >99 % ee). A ruthenium carbene species was proposed as a key intermediate in the cycloisomerization.     

Simultaneous Determination of Total Nitrogen and Metal Elements in Tobaccos by High Performance Ion Chromatography

A simple method, developed primarily for simultaneous determination of total nitrogen and inorganic cations by high performance ion chromatographic (HPIC), was optimized for digestion of flue‐cured tobaccos, and compared with the traditional Kjeldahl method and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Nitrogen determination by either Dumas method or Kjeldahl method is time‐consuming and tedious. Metal elements determination by either inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS) or AAS may be more expensive and requires specialist equipment. The use of HPIC to simultaneous determine total nitrogen as ammonium ion and metal elements as inorganic cations after sample digestion significantly improves the speed of the analysis compared with the conventional methods. The cation‐exchange column and suppressed conductivity detector was used for determination of ammonium and inorganic cations in the presence of the elevated levels of sulfuric acid found in digested sample. The propsoed digestion method was accurate and precise, and required little investment. The determination of ammonium and inorganic cations was linear from 15 pg·L^?1 up to 25 ng·L^?1. The results obtained by the HPIC method were compared with those for the conventional methods approach for the determination of total nitrogen and metal elements. The application of the HPIC method is also demonstrated for a variety of other plant samples matrices.     

Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotides Arrest Photoreduction of Class II DNA Photolyases in FADH˙ State

All light‐sensitive members of the photolyase/cryptochrome family rely on FAD as catalytic cofactor. Its activity is regulated by photoreduction, a light‐triggered electron transfer process from a conserved tryptophan triad to the flavin. The stability of the reduced flavin depends on available external electron donors and oxygen. In this study, we show for the class II photolyase of Methanosarcina mazei , Mm CPDII , that it utilizes physiologically relevant redox cofactors NADH and NADPH for the formation of the semiquinoid FAD in a light‐dependent reaction. Using redox‐inert variants Mm CPDII /W388F and Mm CPDII /W360F, we demonstrate that photoreduction by NADH and NADPH requires the class II ‐specific tryptophan cascade of Mm CPDII . Finally, we confirmed that mutations in the tryptophan cascade can be introduced without any substantial structural disturbances by analyzing crystal structures of Mm CPDII /W388F, Mm CPDII /W360F and Mm CPDII /Y345F.     

Entrapment of amino acids in gas phase surfactant assemblies: The case of tryptophan confined in positively charged (1R,2S)‐dodecyl (2‐hydroxy‐1‐methyl‐2‐phenylethyl) dimethylammonium bromide aggregates

The ability of positively charged aggregates of the surfactant (1R ,2S )‐dodecyl(2‐hydroxy‐1‐methyl‐2‐phenylethyl)dimethylammonium bromide (DMEB) to incorporate D‐tryptophan or L‐tryptophan in the gas phase has been investigated by electrospray ion mobility mass spectrometry (ESI‐IM‐MS). Strongly impacted by the pH of the electrosprayed solutions, both protonated (T⁺) and deprotonated (T⁻) tryptophan are effectively included into the aggregates, whereas, tryptophan in zwitterionic (T⁰) form is practically absent in singly charged DMEB aggregates but can be found in multiply charged ones. The ability to incorporate tryptophan increases with the aggregation number and charge state of aggregates. More than 1 tryptophan species can be entrapped (aggregates including up to 5 tryptophan are observed). Collision induced dissociation experiments performed on the positively singly charged DMEB hexamer containing 1 T⁻ show that at low collision energies the loss of a DMEB molecule is preferred with respect to the loss of the DMEB cation plus T⁻ species which, in turn, is preferred with respect to the loss of mere tryptophan, suggesting that the deprotonated amino acid is preferentially located in proximity of a DMEB head group and with the ionic moiety pointing towards the core of the aggregate. The analysis of the collision cross sections (CCS) of bare and tryptophan containing aggregates allowed evaluating the contributions of tryptophan and bromide ions to the total aggregate CCS. No significant discrimination between D‐tryptophan and L‐tryptophan by the chiral DMEB aggregates has been evidenced by mass spectra data, CID experiments, and CCS values.     

Polyfunctional Lithium,Magnesium, and Zinc Alkenyl Reagents as Building Blocks for the Synthesis of Complex Heterocycles

New conjunctive β‐silylated organometallic reagents of Li, Mg, and Zn have been prepared and used for an expeditive construction of various polyfunctionalized 5‐, 6‐, and 7‐membered heterocycles, such as furans, pyrroles, quinolines, benzo[b]thieno‐[2,3‐b]pyridine, naphthyridines, fused pyrazoles, and 2,3‐dihydro‐benzo[c]azepines. The latent silyl group has been converted into various carbon–carbon bonds in most heterocycle types.     

Synthesis and antitumor evaluation of some new derivatives and fused heterocyclic compounds derived from thieno[2,3‐b]pyridine

On the basis of the proven activity of thieno[2,3‐b]pyridines as anticancer, we have designed to synthesize a novel several heterocyclic compounds utilizing thieno[2,3‐b]pyridine as a skeleton through various chemical reactions. The synthesized compounds bear rings that are either directly attached to the thieno[2,3‐b]pyridine as in compounds 4 to 6 and 9 or connected through an amide bridge as compounds 2 , 3a ‐ b , 7 , and 8 . As well as, compounds 10 , 12 to 28 , 30 , 31 , and 33 to 36 bear fused rings to the thieno[2,3‐b]pyridine backbone. The newly synthesized compounds were screened for their antiproliferative activity in vitro against hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG‐2) and breast cancer (MCF‐7) compared with the standard drug (doxorubicin). Compounds 3b , 4 , 6 , 22 , and 28 exhibited promising growth inhibitory effect toward both HepG‐2 and MCF‐7 cell lines with IC₅₀ values ranging from 5.88 to 11.70 μg/mL and 9.64 to 15.10 μg/mL, respectively.     

Synthesis and Reactions of Some Novel Triazolo‐, Azolo‐, Tetrazolo‐Pyridopyrimidine and Their Nucleoside Derivatives

Pyridopyrimidine reacted with aromatic aldehydes afforded the arylhydrazone 2a,b which could be cyclized into the pyrido[2,3‐d][1,2,4]triazolo[4,3‐a]pyrimidine 3a,b , with formic acid, and carbon disulphide to give pyrido[2,3‐d][1,2,4]traizolo[4,3‐a]pyrimidine 4, 5. Reaction of 1 with nitrous acid afforded tetrazolo[1,5‐a]pyrido[2,3‐d]pyrimidine 6 , which was reduced by zinc dust to give 2‐amino‐pyrido‐[2,3‐d]pyrimidine 7. Finally the reaction of 2‐hydrazino 1 with D‐xylose or D‐glucose afforded the acyclic N‐nucleoside 8, 11 which were converted into tetra/penta O‐acetate acyclic C‐nucleoside 9, 12 in acetic anhydride/pyridine. De‐acetylation of compounds 9, 12 afforded C‐nucleosides 10, 13.     

Preparation of chiral amino acid materials and the study of their interactions with 1,1‐Bi‐2‐naphthol

The amino acid tryptophan has been converted into acrylamide monomers using L /D ‐tryptophan methyl ester forming the enantiopure chiral monomers. Attempts were made to polymerize these monomers via reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization to form poly(tryptophan). Unfortunately, this proved difficult, and instead, a postpolymerization modification route was used by first synthesizing poly(pentafluorophenyl acrylate) via RAFT, which was then substituted with L ‐tryptophan methyl ester to give poly(L ‐tryptophan). The interactions of the newly synthesized tryptophan monomers, as well as previously reported phenylalanine monomers, were studied in the presence of rac‐BINOL. It has been shown that the enantiomers of tryptophan have a stronger interaction with BINOL than phenylalanine and this has been attributed to the larger π system on the side chain. By monitoring the shifts and splitting of the phenolic protons of BINOL, it has been observed that S‐BINOL interacts more favorably with L ‐monomer enantiomers and R‐BINOL with D ‐monomer enantiomers. Similar interactions have also been seen with poly(phenylalanine) and the newly synthesized poly(tryptophan) materials. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Development of simultaneous analysis of tryptophan metabolites in serum and gastric juice – an investigation towards establishing a biomarker test for gastric cancer diagnosis

To evaluate changes in tryptophan metabolism and discover diagnostic biomarkers for gastric cancer, a quantitative method was developed for tryptophan and its seven metabolites (indole‐3‐lactic acid, anthranilic acid, serotonin, nicotinic acid, kynurenic acid, kynurenine and 3‐indoxyl sulfate) in both human serum and gastric juice using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). Serum and gastric juice were prepared with a simple protein precipitation using aqueous 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile. As a result, it was found that the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism was activated in gastric cancer and that the metabolic ratio of kynurenine/tryptophan, which reflects the enzyme activity of indoleamine‐2,3‐dioxygenase, was associated with the observed metabolic changes. Finally, the investigation of tryptophan metabolites, especially kynurenic acid, in serum and gastric juice might serve as biomarkers for gastric cancer. The findings in this study provide critical information of tryptophan metabolism which can be applied to a serum‐based diagnostic test for gastric cancer.     

Selectivity tuning of cyclodextrin derivatives by specific substitution

A new, highly enantioselective cyclodextrin derivative combining the properties of heptakis(6‐O‐tert‐butyldimethylsilyl‐2,3‐di‐O‐methyl)‐β‐cyclodextrin and heptakis(2,3‐di‐O‐acetyl‐6‐O‐tert‐butyldimethylsilyl)‐β‐cyclodextrin was prepared by exchanging a methyl group for an acetyl substituent in a single glucose unit of heptakis(6‐O‐tert‐butyldimethylsilyl‐2,3‐di‐O‐methyl)‐β‐cyclodextrin. A comparative evaluation of the separation capabilities showed that the enantioselectivity of both “parent” cyclodextrin derivatives is transferred to the new chiral stationary phase.