Hansjörg Weber

Chemo-enzymatic synthesis of all isomeric 3-phenylserines and -isoserines

Abstract The synthesis of all isomers of 3-phenylserines and 3-phenylisoserines in enantiomerically pure form is presented. Diastereomerically pure educts (threo/erythro-2-azido-3-butanoyoxy-3-phenyl-propionic esters, threo/erythro-3-azido-2-butanoyloxy-3-phenylpropionic esters, threo-2-butanoylamino-3-butanoyloxy-3-phenylpropionic ester, erythro-3-butanoylamino-2-butanoyloxy-3-phenyl-propionamide) were prepared from cinnamic acid derivatives or via aldol condensations of benzaldehyde and suitable enolates in few steps. These racemates were resolved with lipases from Candida cylindracea (CC) and Pseudomonas fluorescens (P) and the obtained products were hydrogenated to 3-phenylserines and -isoserines. The influence of the acyl group in the enzymatic resolution of erythro-3-azido-2-acyloxy-3-phenylpropionic esters was investigated.

`Watching' lipase-catalyzed acylations using 1H NMR: competing hydrolysis of vinyl acetate in dry organic solvents

Abstract Lipase-catalyzed acetylations of 1-phenylethanol with vinyl acetate were monitored in situ by 1 H NMR spectroscopy. Surprisingly, even under dry conditions (no added water) the major reaction was hydrolysis of the vinyl acetate, not acetylation of the substrate. Because this competing hydrolysis consumes water and releases acetic acid, the reaction conditions in lipase-catalyzed acylations are not constant, but vary with the reaction time. Addition of a chiral shift reagent reveals the enantiomeric purity of the starting alcohol and allows calculation of the enantiomeric ratio, E , for the reaction.

Enterotoxicity of a nonribosomal peptide causes antibiotic-associated colitis

Significance The human gut microbiota is a complex community of microbes with enormous metabolic potential. Recognition of the significance of bacterial metabolites in mediating host interactions and the impact of perturbations of this ecosystem on human health has increased dramatically. Antibiotic therapy eliminates not only pathogens but also some of the commensal enteric microbiota, sometimes leading to inflammation and diarrhea. Understanding how microbial imbalance actually causes disease is challenging. This study reveals how a gut resident is able to cause colitis during penicillin therapy. We show that a pyrrolobenzodiazepine metabolite produced by Klebsiella oxytoca directly damages the intestinal epithelium and disrupts its protective barrier function. The enterotoxicity of tilivalline provides a mechanism for antibiotic-induced colitis. Antibiotic therapy disrupts the human intestinal microbiota. In some patients rapid overgrowth of the enteric bacterium Klebsiella oxytoca results in antibiotic-associated hemorrhagic colitis (AAHC). We isolated and identified a toxin produced by K. oxytoca as the pyrrolobenzodiazepine tilivalline and demonstrated its causative action in the pathogenesis of colitis in an animal model. Tilivalline induced apoptosis in cultured human cells in vitro and disrupted epithelial barrier function, consistent with the mucosal damage associated with colitis observed in human AAHC and the corresponding animal model. Our findings reveal the presence of pyrrolobenzodiazepines in the intestinal microbiota and provide a mechanism for colitis caused by a resident pathobiont. The data link pyrrolobenzodiazepines to human disease and identify tilivalline as a target for diagnosis and neutralizing strategies in prevention and treatment of colitis.

The Concept of Docking and Protecting Groups in Biohydroxylation

The hydroxylation of unactivated carbon atoms employing methods developed in the realms of classical organic chemistry is difficult to achieve and the processes available lack the degree of chemo-, regio- and enantioselectivity required for organic synthesis. To improve this situation, the concept of docking/protecting groups should enable the organic chemist to employ biohydroxylation as an easy tool for preparative work. Similar to the common practice of using protective groups in organic chemistry, a docking/protecting (d/p) group is introduced first, then the biotransformation is performed, and finally the d/p group is removed. The aim of this concept is not only to avoid time consuming microorganism screening methods, but also to improve hydroxylation position predictability, prevent undesired side reactions, aid substrate detection, and product recovery. This approach is successfully applied to carboxylic acids, ketones, aldehydes, and alcohols.

The Concept of Docking/Protecting Groups in Biohydroxylation

A general principle for biohydroxylation, in which time-consuming screening and enrichment techniques are avoided, is demonstrated by the introduction of a docking/protecting group into the substrate. This facilitates acceptance by the microorganism and allows the use of a narrow range of microorganisms, for example Beauveria bassiana ATTC 7159 (B. b.), for the hydroxylation of compounds with diverse structures. After the biohydroxylation, the docking/protecting group is removed (see scheme).

Online NMR for monitoring biocatalysed reactions.

Monitoring biocatalysed reactions and metabolic pathways using NMR spectroscopy is of growing interest. As a non-invasive analytical method providing simultaneous information about intracellular and extracellular constituents, it is superior to other analytical techniques and has a wide range of applications: kinetics and stoichiometrics of metabolic events, metabolic fluxes and enzyme activities can be detected in situ or after taking a sample from the biotransformation mixture. New NMR pulse sequences provide even more valuable experiments in these fields. Research topics range from the monitoring of polymer formation to fermentations producing beverages or antibiotics. Routine monitoring of industrial fermentations by NMR seems to be imminent.

A novel β-diketone-cleaving enzyme from Acinetobacter johnsonii: acetylacetone 2,3-oxygenase

A novel Fe+Zn containing oxygenase from Acinetobacter johnsonii catalyses 2,3-cleavage of acetylacetone to acetate and methylglyoxal has been purified. The stoichiometry of reactants and products conforms to a classical dioxygenase. The pure protein is a homotetramer of 64kD with variable amounts of Fe(2+) and Zn(2+). Activity of the enzyme is more closely related to the Fe(2+) content than to the amount of protein. A purification of acetylacetone 2,3-oxygenase, some of its physical properties, and the preference for some analogous substrates are described.

Berberine bridge enzyme catalyzes the six electron oxidation of (S)-reticuline to dehydroscoulerine.

Berberine bridge enzyme catalyzes the stereospecific oxidation and carbon-carbon bond formation of (S)-reticuline to (S)-scoulerine. In addition to this type of reactivity the enzyme can further oxidize (S)-scoulerine to the deeply red protoberberine alkaloid dehydroscoulerine albeit with a much lower rate of conversion. In the course of the four electron oxidation, no dihydroprotoberberine species intermediate was detectable suggesting that the second oxidation step leading to aromatization proceeds at a much faster rate. Performing the reaction in the presence of oxygen and under anoxic conditions did not affect the kinetics of the overall reaction suggesting no strict requirement for oxygen in the oxidation of the unstable dihydroprotoberberine intermediate. In addition to the kinetic characterization of this reaction we also present a structure of the enzyme in complex with the fully oxidized product. Combined with information available for the binding modes of (S)-reticuline and (S)-scoulerine a possible mechanism for the additional oxidation is presented. This is compared to previous reports of enzymes ((S)-tetrahydroprotoberberine oxidase and canadine oxidase) showing a similar type of reactivity in different plant species.

Simultaneous detection of different glycosidase activities by 19F NMR spectroscopy.

A fast method for the simultaneous detection of different glycosidolytic activities in commercially available enzyme preparations and crude culture filtrates was found in using, as substrate, a mixture of different glycosyl fluorides and 19F NMR spectroscopy as a screening technique. Accompanying studies regarding the hydrolytic stability of these fluorides in various buffer systems, as well as conditions of their long-term storage, were carried out. A simple procedure for the preparation of beta-D-mannopyranosyl fluoride in gram quantities is given.

Microbial hydroxylation of 2-cycloalkylbenzoxazoles. Part I. Product spectrum obtained from Cunninghamella blakesleeana DSM 1906 and Bacillus megaterium DSM 32

Abstract 2-Cycloalkyl-1,3-benzoxazoles and -thiazoles (ring sizes C-3 to C-8) were biotrasformed using the title microorganisms. Products of preparative importance were (1S,3S)-3-(benz-1,3-oxazol-2-yl)cyclopentan-1-ol6, (1R)-3-(benz-1,3-oxazol-2-yl)cyclopentan-1-one8, (1R,2R)-2-(benz-1,3-oxazol-2-yl)cyclohexan-1-ol14 and the corresponding cycloheptanol and cycloheptanone derivatives.