64550-60-3Relevant academic research and scientific papers
Inverting the regioselectivity of the berberine bridge enzyme by employing customized fluorine-containing substrates
Resch, Verena,Lechner, Horst,Schrittwieser, Joerg H.,Wallner, Silvia,Gruber, Karl,MacHeroux, Peter,Kroutil, Wolfgang
supporting information, p. 13173 - 13179 (2013/01/15)
Fluorine is commonly applied in pharmaceuticals to block the degradation of bioactive compounds at a specific site of the molecule. Blocking of the reaction center of the enzyme-catalyzed ring closure of 1,2,3,4- tetrahydrobenzylisoquinolines by a fluoro moiety allowed redirecting the berberine bridge enzyme (BBE)-catalyzed transformation of these compounds to give the formation of an alternative regioisomeric product namely 11-hydroxy-functionalized tetrahydroprotoberberines instead of the commonly formed 9-hydroxy-functionalized products. Alternative strategies to change the regioselectivity of the enzyme, such as protein engineering, were not applicable in this special case due to missing substrate-enzyme interactions. Medium engineering, as another possible strategy, had clear influence on the regioselectivity of the reaction pathway, but did not lead to perfect selectivity. Thus, only substrate tuning by introducing a fluoro moiety at one potential reactive carbon center switched the reaction to the formation of exclusively one regioisomer with perfect enantioselectivity. Custom-made substrates: Employing customized substrates with a fluoro atom at the normally preferred reaction site switched the regioselectivity of the berberine-bridged enzyme. With this strategy, it was possible to get access to (S)-11-hydroxy-functionalized berbines in an asymmetric fashion by using the wild-type enzyme (see scheme). Copyright
Three new O-methyltransferases are sufficient for all O-methylation reactions of ipecac alkaloid biosynthesis in root culture of Psychotria ipecacuanha
Nomura, Taiji,Kutchan, Toni M.
, p. 7722 - 7738 (2011/03/18)
The medicinal plant Psychotria ipecacuanha produces ipecac alkaloids, a series of monoterpenoid-isoquinoline alkaloids such as emetine and cephaeline, whose biosynthesis derives from condensation of dopamine and secologanin. Here, we identified three cDNAs, IpeOMT1-IpeOMT3, encoding ipecac alkaloid O-methyltransferases (OMTs) from P. ipecacuanha. They were coordinately transcribed with the recently identified ipecac alkaloid β-glucosidase Ipeglu1. Their amino acid sequences were closely related to each other and rather to the flavonoid OMTs than to the OMTs involved in benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis. Characterization of the recombinant IpeOMT enzymes with integration of the enzymatic properties of the IpeGlu1 revealed that emetine biosynthesis branches off from N-deacetylisoipecoside through its 6-O-methylation by IpeOMT1, with a minor contribution by IpeOMT2, followed by deglucosylation by IpeGlu1. The 7-hydroxy group of the isoquinoline skeleton of the aglycon is methylated by IpeOMT3 prior to the formation of protoemetine that is condensed with a second dopamine molecule, followed by sequential O-methylations by IpeOMT2 and IpeOMT1 to form cephaeline and emetine, respectively. In addition to this central pathway of ipecac alkaloid biosynthesis, formation of all methyl derivatives of ipecac alkaloids in P. ipecacuanha could be explained by the enzymatic activities of IpeOMT1-IpeOMT3, indicating that they are sufficient for all O-methylation reactions of ipecac alkaloid biosynthesis.
