Enzymatic formation esters

Lewin, L.M. Brown, G.M. The Biosynthesis of thiamine. III. Mechanism of enzymatic formation of the pyrophosphate ester of 2-methyl-4-ammo-5-hy-droxymethylpyrimidine. J. Biol. Chem., 236, 2768-2771 (1961)... 

Kun, E., Kirsten, E., Sharma, M.L. (1977). Enzymatic formation of glutathione-citryl thioester by a mitochondrial system and its inhibition by (-)erythrofluorocitrate (glutathione-S-citryl ester/metalloprotein/inner mitochondrial membrane/fluoroci-trate toxic mechanism). Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 74 4942-6. 

The biogenesis of solerone 1 and related compounds was successfully rationalized by biomimetic model reactions. As key step we established the pyruvate decarboxylase catalyzed acyloin condensation of pyruvic acid with ethyl 4-oxobutanoate 4 or ethyl 2-oxoglutarate 3 with acetaldehyde. The importance of the ethyl ester function in 3 and 4 serving as substrates for the enzymatic formation of a-hydroxy ketones 5 and 6 was demonstrated. The identification of six yet unknown sherry compounds including acyloins 5 and 6, which have been synthesized for the first time, confirmed the relevance of the biosynthetic pathway. Application of MDGC-MS allowed the enantiodifferentiation of a-ketols and related lactones in complex sherry samples and disclosed details of their biogenetic relationship. 

The solubilizing capacity of the choline residue is so pronounced that even substrates combining two hydrophobic amino acids are homogeneously soluble in aqueous buffer without any additional cosolvent. These favorable physical properties were also used in the enzymatic formation of peptide bonds. The amino acid choline ester 38 acts as the carboxyl component in kinetically controlled peptide syntheses with the amino acid amides 39 and 40 [52] (Fig. 11). The fully protected peptides 41 and 42 were built up by means of chymotrypsin in good yields. Other proteases like papain accept choline esters as substrates also, and even butyrylcholine esterase itself is able to generate peptides from these electrophiles. 

Most of the enzymatic peptide forming reactions are strictly stereo-specific for L-amino acids so that racemization that often accompanies chemical coupUng of optically active amino acids does not occur. The formation of only the L-amino acid derivative out of a D,L-mixture, in an enzymatic formation e.g. of an anilide from a D,L-Z-amino acid ester and aniUne, makes proteolytic enzymes useful reagents for the resolution of racemic mixtures. This is supplementary to the enzymatic stereospecific deacylation of D,L-iV-acylamino acid mixtures where exclusively the L-derivative will be deacylated. 

Some relatively nonspecific enzymatic formation of caffeic (12), ferulic (13), and synapic (14) acids has been noted (Davin et al., 1992). Monooxygenases of microsomal fractions appear to be involved. For example, a specific p-coum-arate-3-hydroxylase has been isolated from mung beans. However, other work suggests that the carboxyl group of p-coumaric acid must be esterified as a quinic acid ester before... 

The /M ) )-nitrite (or formate) esters of v/c-diols obtained via enzymatic ring-opening of epoxides in presence of nitrite (or formate) are unstable and undergo spontaneous (nonenzymatic) hydrolysis to furnish the corresponding diols. This protocol offers a useful complement to the asymmetric hydrolysis of epoxides. Depending on the type of substrate and the enzymes used, enantio-complementary epoxide hydrolysis can be achieved [1851]. 

Flavor-related activities of LAB depend on the species, with some specific activities found only in a small number of species. The branched-chain a-keto acid decarboxylase activity involved in the formation of malty branched-chain aldehydes from branched-chain AA, for example, has been found only in L lactis and not in the Lactobacillus and Leuconostoc strains tested (Fernandez De Palencia et al. 2006). Most LAB, however, display a great strain-to-strain variability, on the genomic level and/or at the phenotypic level. Table 19.3 gives some examples of intra- and interspecies variability of flavor-related LAB properties, such as proteolytic activities, AA-converting enzymatic activities, ester synthesis, and autolysis. 

In keeping with its biogenetic origin m three molecules of acetic acid mevalonic acid has six carbon atoms The conversion of mevalonate to isopentenyl pyrophosphate involves loss of the extra carbon as carbon dioxide First the alcohol hydroxyl groups of mevalonate are converted to phosphate ester functions—they are enzymatically phosphorylated with introduction of a simple phosphate at the tertiary site and a pyrophosphate at the primary site Decarboxylation m concert with loss of the terti ary phosphate introduces a carbon-carbon double bond and gives isopentenyl pyrophos phate the fundamental building block for formation of isoprenoid natural products... 

Genetic manipulation or cloning offers many possibiUties and perhaps there will be yeast strains especially designed for special beers, ie, types, which are usehil because of low diacetyl formation, high—low ester formation, and insensitivity to pressure or high fermentation temperatures or extracellular enzymatic abiUties (P-glucanases). 

These are major disadvantage of the esterase resolution process. Since die optimum pH of die enzymic reaction is generally on the alkaline side, die esters used as substrates are non-enzymatically hydrolysed and die optical purity of die L-amino adds obtained is generally low. Also the substrate has to be protected at the amino group in most cases in order to prevent formation of diketopiperasines. The esterase method is not attractive in practice and to the best of our knowledge is not used on an industrial scale. 

In addition to the catalytic action served by the snRNAs in the formation of mRNA, several other enzymatic functions have been attributed to RNA. Ribozymes are RNA molecules with catalytic activity. These generally involve transesterification reactions, and most are concerned with RNA metabofism (spfic-ing and endoribonuclease). Recently, a ribosomal RNA component was noted to hydrolyze an aminoacyl ester and thus to play a central role in peptide bond function (peptidyl transferases see Chapter 38). These observations, made in organelles from plants, yeast, viruses, and higher eukaryotic cells, show that RNA can act as an enzyme. This has revolutionized thinking about enzyme action and the origin of life itself. 

SCHEME 10.2 Common pathways of QM formation in biological systems, (a) Stepwise two-electron oxidation by cytochrome P450 or a peroxidase, (b) Enzymatic oxidation of a catechol followed by spontaneous isomerization of the resulting n-quinone. (c) Enzymatic hydrolysis of a phosphate ester followed by base-catalyzed elimination of a leaving group from the benzylic position. 

A similar domino process involving the opening of two epoxide moieties after an enzymatic ester hydrolysis has been described by Robinson and coworkers [16]. Treatment of 8-32 with PLE in an aqueous buffer solution at pH 7.5-8 led to 8-34 in 70% yield after formation of 8-33 (Scheme 8.8). 

In addition to the enzymatic hydrolysis of esters, there also ample examples where an epoxide has been cleaved using a biocatalyst. As described by the Faber group [19], reaction of the ( )-2,3-disubstituted ds-chloroalkyl epoxide roc-8-40 with a bacterial epoxide hydrolase (BEH), led to the formation of vie-diol (2 ,3S)-8-41 (Scheme 8.11). The latter underwent a spontaneous cydization to give the desired product (2i ,3i )-8-42 in 92 % ee and 76 % yield. The same strategy was used with the homologous molecule rac-8-43, which afforded the THF derivative (2R,3R)-S-4S in 86% ee and 79% yield. 

Belkner et al. [32] demonstrated that 15-LOX oxidized preferably LDL cholesterol esters. Even in the presence of free linoleic acid, cholesteryl linoleate continued to be a major LOX substrate. It was also found that the depletion of LDL from a-tocopherol has not prevented the LDL oxidation. This is of a special interest in connection with the role of a-tocopherol in LDL oxidation. As the majority of cholesteryl esters is normally buried in the core of a lipoprotein particle and cannot be directly oxidized by LOX, it has been suggested that LDL oxidation might be initiated by a-tocopheryl radical formed during the oxidation of a-tocopherol [33,34]. Correspondingly, it was concluded that the oxidation of LDL by soybean and recombinant human 15-LOXs may occur by two pathways (a) LDL-free fatty acids are oxidized enzymatically with the formation of a-tocopheryl radical, and (b) the a-tocopheryl-mediated oxidation of cholesteryl esters occurs via a nonenzymatic way. Pro and con proofs related to the prooxidant role of a-tocopherol were considered in Chapter 25 in connection with the study of nonenzymatic lipid oxidation and in Chapter 29 dedicated to antioxidants. It should be stressed that comparison of the possible effects of a-tocopherol and nitric oxide on LDL oxidation does not support importance of a-tocopherol prooxidant activity. It should be mentioned that the above data describing the activity of cholesteryl esters in LDL oxidation are in contradiction with some earlier results. Thus in 1988, Sparrow et al. [35] suggested that the 15-LOX-catalyzed oxidation of LDL is accelerated in the presence of phospholipase A2, i.e., the hydrolysis of cholesterol esters is an important step in LDL oxidation. 

The mechanism of phosphate ester hydrolysis by hydroxide is shown in Figure 1 for a phosphodiester substrate. A SN2 mechanism with a trigonal-bipyramidal transition state is generally accepted for the uncatalyzed cleavage of phosphodiesters and phosphotriesters by nucleophilic attack at phosphorus. In uncatalyzed phosphate monoester hydrolysis, a SN1 mechanism with formation of a (POj) intermediate competes with the SN2 mechanism. For alkyl phosphates, nucleophilic attack at the carbon atom is also relevant. In contrast, all enzymatic cleavage reactions of mono-, di-, and triesters seem to follow an SN2... 

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