Enzymic synthesis chain length

Recently Lin and coworkers have developed a selective synthesis of N-acyl and 0-acyl propanolol vinyl derivatives by enzyme-catalyzed acylation of propanolol using divinyl dicarboxylates with different carbon chain lengths (Scheme 7.10) [24]. Lipase AY30 in diisopropyl ether demonstrated high chemoselectivity toward the amino... 

The synthesis of linear 4 —> 1-a-D-glucans from D-glucopyranosyl phosphate by the action of phosphorylases has been shown by comparison of results of methylation and end-group assay and viscosity determination,209 and by potentiometric, iodine titrations82 on the product. The chain length of the enzymic product (100 to 200 D-glucose units) is less than that of the natural component. Whether this is due to impure enzymes cannot yet... 

Many of the proteins of membranes are enzymes. For example, the entire electron transport system of mitochondria (Chapter 18) is embedded in membranes and a number of highly lipid-soluble enzymes have been isolated. Examples are phosphatidylseiine decarboxylase, which converts phosphatidylserine to phosphatidylethanolamine in biosynthesis of the latter, and isoprenoid alcohol phosphokinase, which participates in bacterial cell wall synthesis (Chapter 20). A number of ectoenzymes are present predominantly on the outsides of cell membranes.329 Enzymes such as phospholipases (Chapter 12), which are present on membrane surfaces, often are relatively inactive when removed from the lipid environment but are active in the presence of phospholipid bilay-ers.330 33 The distribution of lipid chain lengths as well as the cholesterol content of the membrane can affect enzymatic activities.332... 

Nevertheless, malonyl-CoA is a major metabolite. It is an intermediate in fatty acid synthesis (see Fig. 17-12) and is formed in the peroxisomal P oxidation of odd chain-length dicarboxylic acids.703 Excess malonyl-CoA is decarboxylated in peroxisomes, and lack of the decarboxylase enzyme in mammals causes the lethal malonic aciduria.703 Some propionyl-CoA may also be metabolized by this pathway. The modified P oxidation sequence indicated on the left side of Fig. 17-3 is used in green plants and in many microorganisms. 3-Hydroxypropionyl-CoA is hydrolyzed to free P-hydroxypropionate, which is then oxidized to malonic semialdehyde and converted to acetyl-CoA by reactions that have not been completely described. Another possible pathway of propionate metabolism is the direct conversion to pyruvate via a oxidation into lactate, a mechanism that may be employed by some bacteria. Another route to lactate is through addition of water to acrylyl-CoA, the product of step a of Fig. 17-3. Tire water molecule adds in the "wrong way," the OH ion going to the a carbon instead of the P (Eq. 17-8). An enzyme with an active site similar to that of histidine ammonia-lyase (Eq. 14-48) could... 

Functionally and mechanistically reminiscent of the pyruvate lyases, the 2-deoxy-D-ribose 5-phosphate (121) aldolase (RibA EC 4.1.2.4) [363] is involved in the deoxynucleotide metabolism where it catalyzes the addition of acetaldehyde (122) to D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (12) via the transient formation of a lysine Schiff base intermediate (class I). Hence, it is a unique aldolase in that it uses two aldehydic substrates both as the aldol donor and acceptor components. RibA enzymes from several microbial and animal sources have been purified [363-365], and those from Lactobacillus plantarum and E. coli could be induced to crystallization [365-367]. In addition, the E. coli RibA has been cloned [368] and overexpressed. It has a usefully high specific activity [369] of 58 Umg-1 and high affinity for acetaldehyde as the natural aldol donor component (Km = 1.7 mM) [370]. The equilibrium constant for the formation of 121 of 2 x 10M does not strongly favor synthesis. Interestingly, the enzyme s relaxed acceptor specificity allows for substitution of both cosubstrates propional-dehyde 111, acetone 123, or fluoroacetone 124 can replace 122 as the donor [370,371], and a number of aldehydes up to a chain length of 4 non-hydrogen atoms are tolerated as the acceptor moiety (Table 6). 

Once bearing some substituents, the decrease of polarity of the sucrose derivatives makes them soluble in less-polar solvents, such as acetone or tert-butanol, in which some lipases are able to catalyze esterifications. Unlike proteases, which necessitate most often the use of an activated acyl donor (such as vinyl or trifluoroethyl esters), lipases are active with simple esters and even the parent carboxylic acids in the presence of a water scavenger. The selectivity of the lipase-catalyzed second esterification is specific for OH-6 allowing the synthesis of mixed T,6 -diesters.123,124 For some lipases, a chain-length dependence on the regiochemistry was observed.125 Selectively substituted monoesters were thus prepared and studied for their solution and thermotropic behavior.126,127 Combinations of enzyme-mediated and purely chemical esterifications led to a series of specifically substituted sucrose fatty acid diesters with variations in the chain length, the level of saturation, and the position on the sugar backbone. This allowed the impact of structural variations on thermotropic properties to be demonstrated (compare Section III.l).128... 

Several enzymes are involved in nucleic acid synthesis, especially when one considers the varied nature of enzymes in each group. For example, with the polymerases, there are separate enzymes important in biosynthesis of DNA and RNA, some with specificity for size of the chain length (gap) to be completed. The enzymes have different structural properties depending on whether they are from microorganisms, plants or animals. There are multiple forms within a single cell or organism. They vary from a single polypeptide enzyme of 40,000 daltons [mammalian 3-polymerase U)], to a seven-subunit complex of about 500,000 daltons [E. coti DNA polymerase III ( 2) ]. 

The modular design of PKS and NRPS renders them convenient for protein engineering to generate hybrid enzymes that can synthesize a range of natural and unnatural metabolites. By independently manipulating what Cane et al. [143] call the four degrees of freedom in polyketide synthesis variation of chain length, choice of ACP... 

DAHP synthetase, 251, 255 Dehydroquinase, 258 Dehydroshikimate riductase, 259 Dextrans, 341 acid hydrolysis of, 349 chain lengths of, 345, 346 cuprammonium complexes of, 355 electron microscope studies on, 349 enzymic synthesis of, 342, 345, 355 from sucrose, 342 flow birefringence studies on, 349 fructose-containing, 359 infrared absorption spectra of, 352 isolation of, 343... 

The purification of bacterial aromatic PKSs is likely to result in elucidation of at least some of the structural features of these enzymes. For example, knowledge of the stoichiometry of the protein components in the active complex could suggest possible physical mechanisms for the chain elongation steps and perhaps imply a mechanism for the role of the CLF in control of the chain lengths of polyketides synthesized by these enzymes. Towards this end, several AGP proteins have been overexpressed and purified to homogeneity [111,112]. Likewise, purification of KR, ARO, and CYC components and reconstitution of their activities with the act minimal PKS will be useful in answering questions regarding their precise functions and the temporal sequence of the reduction and cyclization reactions, which may or may not occur before completion of the synthesis of the polyketide backbone. 

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