Making and breaking peptide bonds: protein engineering using sortase

Sortases are a class of bacterial enzymes that possess transpeptidase activity. It is their ability to site-specifically break a peptide bond and then reform a new bond with an incoming nucleophile that makes sortase an attractive tool for protein engineering. This technique has been adopted for a range of applications, from chemistry-based to cell biology and technology. In this Minireview we provide a brief overview of the biology of sortase enzymes and current applications in protein engineering. We identify areas that lend themselves to further innovation and that suggest new applications.     

Tau蛋白的翻译后修饰与阿尔茨海默病

阿尔茨海默病（Alzheimer disease,AD）是一种常见的神经退行性疾病,由过度磷酸化Tau蛋白聚集形成的神经纤维缠结是该病主要的病理特征之一,Tau蛋白的异常磷酸化与Tau蛋白的聚集及AD的进程相关.越来越多的证据表明,Tau蛋白的异常聚集与Tau蛋白相关神经退行性疾病的发生和发展及Tau蛋白的其他翻译后修饰有一定的关系,如糖基化、乙酰化、截断、肽脯氨酸异构化、泛素化等.本文重点综述Tau蛋白翻译后修饰与AD相互关系的研究进展.     

Benzodiazepines: Drugs with Chemical Skeletons Suitable for the Preparation of Metallacycles with Potential Pharmacological Activity

The synthesis of organometallic compounds with potential pharmacological activity has attracted the attention of many research groups, aiming to take advantage of aspects that the presence of the metal-carbon bond can bring to the design of new pharmaceutical drugs. In this context, we have gathered studies reported in the literature in which psychoactive benzodiazepine drugs were used as ligands in the preparation of organometallic and metal complexes and provide details on some of their biological effects. We also highlight that most commonly known benzodiazepine-based drugs display molecular features that allow the preparation of metallacycles via C-H activation. These organometallic compounds merit further attention regarding their potential biological effects, not only in terms of psychoactive drugs but also in the search for drug replacements, for example, for cancer treatments.     

Electron-rich iron/ruthenium arylalkynyl complexes for third-order nonlinear optics: redox-switching between three states

The new [(η(2)-dppe)(η(5)-C(5)Me(5))Fe(C≡C-1,4-C(6)H(4)C≡C)Ru(η(2) -dppe)(2) C≡C(C(6)H(5))] complex (3-H) and its hexanuclear relative [{(η(2)-dppe)(η(5)-C(5) Me(5))Fe(C≡C-1,4-C(6)H(4)-C≡C)Ru(η(2)-dppe)(2)(C≡C-1,4-C(6)H(4)C≡C)(3)(1,3,5-C(6)H(3))] (4) have been synthesized and characterized. The linear and cubic nonlinear optical properties of these compounds in their various redox states have been studied along with those of the analogous complexes [(η(2)-dppe)(η(5)-C(5)Me(5))Fe(C≡C-1,4-C(6)H(4)C≡C)Ru(η(2)-dppe)(2)R][PF(6)](n) (n=0-2; R=Cl, 2-Cl; R=C≡C(4-C(6)H(4)NO(2)),3-NO(2)). We show that molecules exhibiting large third-order nonlinearities can be obtained by assembling such dinuclear Fe/Ru units around a central 1,3,5-substituted C(6)H(3) core. These data are discussed with a particular emphasis on the large changes in their nonlinear (third-order) optical properties brought about by oxidation. Experimental and computational (DFT) evidence for the electronic structures of these compounds in their various redox states is presented using 3-H(n+) as a prototypical model. Single crystals of this complex in its mono-oxidized state (3-H[PF(6)]) provide the first structural data for such carbon-rich Fe(III) /Ru(II) heteronuclear mixed-valent (MV) systems. Although experimental evidence for the structure of the dioxidized states was more difficult to obtain, the theoretical study reveals that 3-H(2+) can be considered to have a biradical structure with two independent spins. The low-lying absorptions that appear in the near-infrared (NIR) range for all these compounds following oxidation correspond to intervalence charge-transfer (IVCT) bands for the mono-oxidized states and to ligand-to-metal charge-transfer (LMCT) transitions for the dioxidized states. These play a crucial role in the strong optical modulation achieved. The possibility of accessing additional states with distinct linear or nonlinear optical properties is also briefly discussed.     

Lanthanide(III) complexes of novel mixed carboxylic-phosphorus acid derivatives of diethylenetriamine: a step towards more efficient MRI contrast agents

Three novel phosphorus-containing analogues of H(5)DTPA (DTPA = diethylenetriaminepentaacetate) were synthesised (H6L1, H5L2, H5L3). These compounds have a -CH2-P(O)(OH)-R function (R = OH, Ph, CH2NBn2) attached to the central nitrogen atom of the diethylenetriamine backbone. An NMR study reveals that these ligands bind to lanthanide(III) ions in an octadentate fashion through the three nitrogen atoms, a P-O oxygen atom and four carboxylate oxygen atoms. The complexed ligand occurs in several enantiomeric forms due to the chirality of the central nitrogen atom and the phosphorus atom upon coordination. All lanthanide complexes studied have one coordinated water molecule. The residence times (tau(M)298) of the coordinated water molecules in the gadolinium(III) complexes of H6L1 and H5L2 are 88 and 92 ns, respectively, which are close to the optimum. This is particularly important upon covalent and noncovalent attachment of these Gd(3+) chelates to polymers. The relaxivity of the complexes studied is further enhanced by the presence of at least two water molecules in the second coordination sphere of the Gd(3+) ion, which are probably bound to the phosphonate/phosphinate moiety by hydrogen bonds. The complex [Gd(L3)(H2O)](2-) shows strong binding ability to HSA, and the adduct has a relaxivity comparable to MS-325 (40 s(-1) mM(-1) at 40 MHz, 37 degrees C) even though it has a less favourable tau(M) value (685 ns). Transmetallation experiments with Zn(2+) indicate that the complexes have a kinetic stability that is comparable to-or better than-those of [Gd(dtpa)(H2O)](2-) and [Gd(dtpa-bma)(H2O)].     

Carbon-rich organometallics: synthesis and characterization of new ferrocenyl end-capped bis(butadiynyl) fluorene derivatives

A new series of ferrocenyl end-capped bis(butadiynyl) fluorene complexes [(η⁵-C₅H₅)Fe(η⁵-C₅H₄)CCCCRCCCC(η⁵-C₅H₄)Fe(η⁵-C₅H₅)] (R = fluoren-9-one-2,7-diyl, 1; 9,9-dihexylfluorene-2,7-diyl, 2; 9-ferrocenylmethylenefluorene-2,7-diyl, 3; 9-ferrocenylphenylmethylenefluorene-2,7-diyl, 4) have been synthesized in moderate yields by the oxidative coupling reactions of ethynylferrocene with half equivalents of the appropriate diethynylfluorene derivatives. All the new complexes have been characterized by FTIR, NMR and UV-vis spectroscopies and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry. The molecular structures of selected molecules have been determined by X-ray crystallographic techniques. The electronic absorption and redox properties of these carbon-rich molecules were investigated and the data were compared with those for the corresponding 2,7-bis(ferrocenylethynyl)fluorene counterparts. Cyclic voltammetry indicates that the half-wave potential of the terminal ferrocenyl moieties becomes more anodic when the number of ethynyl units increases and when the 9-substituent of the central fluorene ring changes from an electron-donating group to an electron-deficient group.     

A 6,11,16‐Triarylbiphenylcorrole with an adj‐CCNN Core: Stabilization of an Organocopper(III) Complex

An adj‐dicarbacorrole with CCNN in the core is achieved by replacing the bipyrrole moiety by a simple polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, such as biphenyl unit. Spectroscopic studies and structural analyzes confirm the absence of macrocyclic aromatization, thus leading to overall nonaromatic character. The trianionic core is effectively utilized to stabilize a copper(III) ion to form an organocopper complex.