Silvia Wallner

Biocatalytic organic synthesis of optically pure (S)-scoulerine and berbine and benzylisoquinoline alkaloids.

A chemoenzymatic approach for the asymmetric total synthesis of the title compounds is described that employs an enantioselective oxidative C–C bond formation catalyzed by berberine bridge enzyme (BBE) in the asymmetric key step. This unique reaction yielded enantiomerically pure (R)-benzylisoquinoline derivatives and (S)-berbines such as the natural product (S)-scoulerine, a sedative and muscle relaxing agent. The racemic substrates rac-1 required for the biotransformation were prepared in 4–8 linear steps using either a Bischler–Napieralski cyclization or a C1–Cα alkylation approach. The chemoenzymatic synthesis was applied to the preparation of fourteen enantiomerically pure alkaloids, including the natural products (S)-scoulerine and (R)-reticuline, and gave overall yields of up to 20% over 5–9 linear steps.

Deracemization By Simultaneous Bio‐oxidative Kinetic Resolution and Stereoinversion

Deracemization, that is, the transformation of a racemate into a single product enantiomer with theoretically 100 % conversion and 100 % ee, is an appealing but also challenging option for asymmetric synthesis. Herein a novel chemo-enzymatic deracemization concept by a cascade is described: the pathway involves two enantioselective oxidation steps and one non-stereoselective reduction step, enabling stereoinversion and a simultaneous kinetic resolution. The concept was exemplified for the transformation of rac-benzylisoquinolines to optically pure (S)-berbines. The racemic substrates were transformed to optically pure products (ee>97 %) with up to 98 % conversion and up to 88 % yield of isolated product.

The flavoprotein-catalyzed reduction of aliphatic nitro-compounds represents a biocatalytic equivalent to the Nef-reaction

The bioreduction of aliphatic sec-nitro compounds catalyzed by purified flavoproteins from the old-yellow-enzyme family unexpectedly furnished the corresponding carbonyl compounds instead of the expected amines and thus represents a biocatalytic equivalent to the Nef-reaction. The pathway was shown to proceed via initial reduction of the nitro-group to yield the nitroso-derivative, which spontaneously tautomerized to yield the more stable oxime, which was enzymatically reduced in a second step to furnish a hydrolytically unstable imine-species, which spontaneously hydrolyzed to finally give a carbonyl compound and ammonia.

Oxidation of Monolignols by Members of the Berberine Bridge Enzyme Family Suggests a Role in Plant Cell Wall Metabolism

Background: Berberine bridge enzyme-like proteins are a multigene family in plants. Results: Members of the berberine bridge enzyme-like family were identified as monolignol oxidoreductases. Conclusion: Berberine bridge enzyme-like enzymes play a role in monolignol metabolism and lignin formation. Significance: Our results indicate a novel and unexpected role of berberine bridge enzyme-like enzymes in plant biochemistry and physiology. Plant genomes contain a large number of genes encoding for berberine bridge enzyme (BBE)-like enzymes. Despite the widespread occurrence and abundance of this protein family in the plant kingdom, the biochemical function remains largely unexplored. In this study, we have expressed two members of the BBE-like enzyme family from Arabidopsis thaliana in the host organism Komagataella pastoris. The two proteins, termed AtBBE-like 13 and AtBBE-like 15, were purified, and their catalytic properties were determined. In addition, AtBBE-like 15 was crystallized and structurally characterized by x-ray crystallography. Here, we show that the enzymes catalyze the oxidation of aromatic allylic alcohols, such as coumaryl, sinapyl, and coniferyl alcohol, to the corresponding aldehydes and that AtBBE-like 15 adopts the same fold as vanillyl alcohol oxidase as reported previously for berberine bridge enzyme and other FAD-dependent oxidoreductases. Further analysis of the substrate range identified coniferin, the glycosylated storage form of coniferyl alcohol, as a substrate of the enzymes, whereas other glycosylated monolignols were rather poor substrates. A detailed analysis of the motifs present in the active sites of the BBE-like enzymes in A. thaliana suggested that 14 out of 28 members of the family might catalyze similar reactions. Based on these findings, we propose a novel role of BBE-like enzymes in monolignol metabolism that was previously not recognized for this enzyme family.

X-ray crystal structure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Pdx1 provides insights into the oligomeric nature of PLP synthases

MINT‐7147899: PDX1 (uniprotkb:P37528) and PDX1 (uniprotkb:P37528) bind (MI:0407) by cosedimentation in solution (MI:0028)

Inverting the Regioselectivity of the Berberine Bridge Enzyme by Employing Customized Fluorine‐Containing Substrates

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.

Structure-Based Mechanism of Oleate Hydratase from Elizabethkingia Meningoseptica.

Hydratases provide access to secondary and tertiary alcohols by regio‐ and/or stereospecifically adding water to carbon‐carbon double bonds. Thereby, hydroxy groups are introduced without the need for costly cofactor recycling, and that makes this approach highly interesting on an industrial scale. Here we present the first crystal structure of a recombinant oleate hydratase originating from Elizabethkingia meningoseptica in the presence of flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD). A structure‐based mutagenesis study targeting active site residues identified E122 and Y241 as crucial for the activation of a water molecule and for protonation of the double bond, respectively. Moreover, we also observed that two‐electron reduction of FAD results in a sevenfold increase in the substrate hydration rate. We propose the first reaction mechanism for this enzyme class that explains the requirement for the flavin cofactor and the involvement of conserved amino acid residues in this regio‐ and stereoselective hydration.

Substrate complexes of human dipeptidyl peptidase III reveal the mechanism of enzyme inhibition.

Human dipeptidyl-peptidase III (hDPP III) is a zinc-dependent hydrolase cleaving dipeptides off the N-termini of various bioactive peptides. Thus, the enzyme is likely involved in a number of physiological processes such as nociception and is also implicated in several forms of cancer. We present high-resolution crystal structures of hDPP III in complex with opioid peptides (Met-and Leu-enkephalin, endomorphin-2) as well as with angiotensin-II and the peptide inhibitor IVYPW. These structures confirm the previously reported large conformational change of the enzyme upon ligand binding and show that the structure of the closed conformation is independent of the nature of the bound peptide. The overall peptide-binding mode is also conserved ensuring the correct positioning of the scissile peptide bond with respect to the catalytic zinc ion. The structure of the angiotensin-II complex shows, how longer peptides are accommodated in the binding cleft of hDPP III. Differences in the binding modes allow a distinction between real substrates and inhibitory peptides or “slow” substrates. The latter displace a zinc bound water molecule necessitating the energetically much less favoured anhydride mechanism as opposed to the favoured promoted-water mechanism. The structural data also form the necessary framework for the design of specific hDPP III inhibitors.

Unusual C=C Bond Isomerization of an α,β-Unsaturated γ-Butyrolactone Catalysed by Flavoproteins from the Old Yellow Enzyme Family

An unexpected, redox‐neutral CC bond isomerization of a γ‐butyrolactone bearing an exo‐methylene unit to the thermodynamically more favoured endo isomer (kcat=0.076 s−1) catalysed by flavoproteins from the Old Yellow Enzyme family was discovered. Theoretical calculations and kinetic data support a mechanism through which the isomerization proceeds through FMN‐mediated hydride addition onto exo‐Cβ, followed by hydride abstraction from endo‐Cβ′, which is in line with the well‐established CC bond bioreduction of OYEs. This new isomerase activity enriches the catalytic versatility of ene‐reductases.

The Structure of Glycerol Trinitrate Reductase NerA from Agrobacterium radiobacter Reveals the Molecular Reason for Nitro- and Ene-Reductase Activity in OYE Homologues.

In recent years, Old Yellow Enzymes (OYEs) and their homologues have found broad application in the efficient asymmetric hydrogenation of activated CC bonds with high selectivities and yields. Members of this class of enzymes have been found in many different organisms and are rather diverse on the sequence level, with pairwise identities as low as 20 %, but they exhibit significant structural similarities with the adoption of a conserved (αβ)8‐barrel fold. Some OYEs have been shown not only to reduce CC double bonds, but also to be capable of reducing nitro groups in both saturated and unsaturated substrates. In order to understand this dual activity we determined and analyzed X‐ray crystal structures of NerA from Agrobacterium radiobacter, both in its apo form and in complex with 4‐hydroxybenzaldehyde and with 1‐nitro‐2‐phenylpropene. These structures, together with spectroscopic studies of substrate binding to several OYEs, indicate that nitro‐containing substrates can bind to OYEs in different binding modes, one of which leads to CC double bond reduction and the other to nitro group reduction.