Cytochrome epoxidation

N—Fe(IV)Por complexes. Oxo iron(IV) porphyrin cation radical complexes, [O—Fe(IV)Por ], are important intermediates in oxygen atom transfer reactions. Compound I of the enzymes catalase and peroxidase have this formulation, as does the active intermediate in the catalytic cycle of cytochrome P Q. Similar intermediates are invoked in the extensively investigated hydroxylations and epoxidations of hydrocarbon substrates cataly2ed by iron porphyrins in the presence of such oxidizing agents as iodosylbenzene, NaOCl, peroxides, and air. 

Like the a2ole derivatives, it inhibits the biosynthesis of ergosterol. However, naftifine [65472-88-0] does not inhibit the cytochrome P-450 dependent C-14-demethylase, but the epoxidation of squalene. Squalene epoxidase cataly2es the first step in the conversion of squalene via lanosterol to ergosterol in yeasts and fungi or to cholesterol in mammalian cells. The squalene epoxidase in C. albicans is 150 times more sensitive to naftifine, C2 H2 N, than the en2yme in rat fiver (15). Naftifine is available as a 1% cream. 

The overall hydroxylation or epoxidation reaction catalyzed by cytochrome P450s involves the insertion of one oxygen atom, derived from molecular oxygen, into a C-H bond or into the Jt-system of an olefin, with the concomitant reduction of the... 

Scheme 10.5 Tentative mechanism for cytochrome P450-cata-lyzed epoxidation of a double bond. The reactive iron-oxo species VII (see Scheme 10.4) reacts with the olefin to give a charge transfer (CT) complex. This complex then resolves into the epoxide either through a radical or through a cationic intermediate.

Cytochrome P450 enzymes have been the subject of a number of recent reviews in which their mechanism and scope of action are covered in much detail [1, 6, 10, 11]. The reader is referred to these articles for a more thorough account of the mechanism and reactivity of cytochrome P450 enzymes, while we present a few representative examples of cytochrome P450-catalyzed epoxidation below. The enzymes we chose are all involved in the biosynthesis of polyketide natural products. Polyketides are a large, structurally diverse family of compounds and have provided a wealth of therapeutically useful drugs and drug leads. 

Scheme 10.6 Byproducts of cytochrome P450 oxygenase catalyzed epoxidation. Top N-alkylation of the porphyrin ring. Bottom group migration to give aldehydes. 

Scheme 10.8 Biosynthesis of epothilone. Individual PKS domains are represented as circles and individual NRPS domains as hexagons. Acyl carrier proteins (ACPs) and thiola-tion domains (T) are posttranslationally modified by a phos-phopantetheinyl group to which the biosynthetic intermediates are covalently bound throughout the chain assembly. The thioesterase domain (TE) cyclizes the fully assembled carbon chain to give the 16-membered lactone. Following dehydration of Cl 2—Cl 3 to give epothilones C and D, the final step in epothilone biosynthesis is the epoxidation of the C12=C13 double bond by the cytochrome P450 enzyme P450epol<. KS ketosyn-thase KS(Y) active-site tyrosine mutant of KS AT acyltransfer-ase C condensation domain A adenylation domain ...

Like the examples above, dihydroxyacetanilide epoxidase (DHAE) uses an olefin as the substrate for epoxidation. Its mechanism, however, is fundamentally different from those of cytochrome P450 or flavin-dependent enzymes. Dihydroxyacetanilide is an intermediate in the biosynthesis of the epoxyquinones LL-C10037a, an antitumor agent produced by the actinomycete Streptomyces LL-C10037 [75, 76], and MM14201, an antibiotic produced by Streptomyces MPP 3051 (Scheme 10.20) [77]. The main structural difference between the two antibiotics lies in the opposite stereochemistry of the oxirane ring. 

The metabolism of foreign compounds (xenobiotics) often takes place in two consecutive reactions, classically referred to as phases one and two. Phase I is a functionalization of the lipophilic compound that can be used to attach a conjugate in Phase II. The conjugated product is usually sufficiently water-soluble to be excretable into the urine. The most important biotransformations of Phase I are aromatic and aliphatic hydroxylations catalyzed by cytochromes P450. Other Phase I enzymes are for example epoxide hydrolases or carboxylesterases. Typical Phase II enzymes are UDP-glucuronosyltrans-ferases, sulfotransferases, N-acetyltransferases and methyltransferases e.g. thiopurin S-methyltransferase. 

The numerous biotransformations catalyzed by cytochrome P450 enzymes include aromatic and aliphatic hydroxylations, epoxidations of olefinic and aromatic structures, oxidations and oxidative dealkylations of heteroatoms and as well as some reductive reactions. Cytochromes P450 of higher animals may be classified into two broad categories depending on whether their substrates are primarily endogenous or xenobiotic substances. Thus, CYP enzymes of families 1-3 catalyze... 

Catalysis. Cytochrome P-450 model compounds catalyze the epoxidation of alkenes by hypochlorite ions.16 A typical catalyst is OMn(TMP)L+. 

The wide range of oxidations catalyzed by cytochrome P450 is illustrated by the examples given in Figure 2.5. Aromatic rings are hydroxylated, as in the case of 2,6 -dichlorobiphenyl. The initial product is usually an epoxide, but this rearranges... 

The microsomal fraction consists mainly of vesicles (microsomes) derived from the endoplasmic reticulum (smooth and rough). It contains cytochrome P450 and NADPH/cytochrome P450 reductase (collectively the microsomal monooxygenase system), carboxylesterases, A-esterases, epoxide hydrolases, glucuronyl transferases, and other enzymes that metabolize xenobiotics. The 105,000 g supernatant contains soluble enzymes such as glutathione-5-trans-ferases, sulfotransferases, and certain esterases. The 11,000 g supernatant contains all of the types of enzyme listed earlier. 

Figure 53-1. Simplified scheme showing how metabolism of a xenobiotic can result in cell injury, immunologic damage, or cancer. In this instance, the conversion of the xenobiotic to a reactive metabolite is catalyzed by a cytochrome P450,and the conversion of the reactive metabolite (eg, an epoxide) to a nontoxic metabolite is catalyzed either by a GSH S-transferase or by epoxide hydrolase.

In the second oxidation method, a metalloporphyrin was used to catalyze the carotenoid oxidation by molecular oxygen. Our focus was on the experimental modeling of the eccentric cleavage of carotenoids. We used ruthenium porphyrins as models of cytochrome P450 enzymes for the oxidation studies on lycopene and P-carotene. Ruthenium tetraphenylporphyrin catalyzed lycopene oxidation by molecular oxygen, producing (Z)-isomers, epoxides, apo-lycopenals, and apo-lycopenones. 

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