Geranylgeranyl

Whereas dimerization of two famesyl pyrophosphates (35) generates squalene (114) on the path to steroids (89), the addition of one more C unit, as isopentenyl pyrophosphate (31) or its isomer, 3,3-dimethyl ally pyrophosphate (32), to the C compound famesyl pyrophosphate produces the C2Q diterpene precursor geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate [6699-20-3] (122). 

Geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate [6699-20-3 (NH4 salt)] M 450.5, pKEst(i)-<2, pKesk2) <2, pKEst(3) 3.95, pKes,(4) 6.26. Purified by counter-current distribution between two phases of a... 

FIGURE 9.19 Proteins containing the C-terminal sequence CAAX can undergo prenylation reactions that place thioether-linked farnesyl or geranylgeranyl groups at the cysteine side chain. Prenylation is accompanied by removal of the AAX peptide and methylation of the carboxyl group of the cysteine residue, which has become the C-terminal residue. 

Diterpenoids are derived biosynthetically from geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP), which is itself biosynthesized by reaction of farnesvl diphosphate with isopentenyl diphosphate. Show the structure of GGPP, and propose a mechanism for its biosynthesis horn FPP and IPP. 

Propose a structure for cembrene that is consistent with its formation from geranylgeranyl diphosphate. 

Disorder characterized by atrophy ofthe choroid (the thin membrane covering most of the posterior of the eye between the retina and sclera) and degeneration of the retinal pigment epithelium resulting in night blindness. The disease is caused by mutations in Rab escort protein Repl (component A of Rab geranylgeranyl transferase). 

S-prenyl (geranylgeranyl) Cysteine at/near carboxyl-terminus... 

S-prenylation is the most recent of the four major types of lipid modifications to be described. As with -acylation, S-prenylation is posttranslational. The lipid substrates for these modifications are farnesyl diphosphate and geranylgeranyl diphosphate. The mechanism... 

The polyisoprenoids dolichol (Figure 14-20 and Chapter 47) and ubiquinone (Figure 12-5) are formed from farnesyl diphosphate by the further addition of up to 16 (dolichol) or 3-7 (ubiquinone) isopentenyl diphosphate residues, respectively. Some GTP-binding proteins in the cell membrane are prenylated with farnesyl or geranylgeranyl (20 carbon) residues. Protein prenylation is believed to facilitate the anchoring of proteins into lipoid membranes and may also be involved in protein-protein interactions and membrane-associated protein trafficking. 

AiTKEN s M, ATTUCCi s, IBRAHIM R K. and GULIK p J (1995) A cDNA encoding geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase from white lupin . Plant Physiol, 108, 837-8. 

KUNTZ M, ROMER s, suiRE c, HUGUENEY p, WEIL j H, scHANTZ R and CAMARA B (1992) Identification of a cDNA for the plastid-located geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase from Capsicum annuum correlative increase in enzyme activity and transcript level during fruit ripening , Plant J, 2, 25-34. 

MATH s K, HEARST J E and pouLTER c D (1992) The crtE gene mErwinia herbicola encodes geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase , Proc Natl Acad Sci, 89, 6761-4. 

IPP and its DMAPP structural isomer are produced from glycolytic products by the methyl erythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway (Figure 5.3.1, Pathway 1). These isoprene units are condensed in a stepwise fashion to form the precursor to all carotenoids, geranylgeranyl di-phosphate (GGPP). GGPP is not solely metabolized to make carotenoids, but is a precursor for many other primary and secondary metab-... 

Cervantes-Cervantes, M. et al., Maize cDNAs expressed in endosperm encode functional famesyl diphosphate synthase with geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase activity, Plant Physiol. 220, 2006. 

Okada, K. et al., Five geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthases expressed in different organs are localized into three subcellular compartments in Arabidopsis, Plant Physiol. 122, 1045, 2000. 

Figure 13-1. The chemical structure of a prenyl group. N can be 0 (dimethylallyl), 1 (geranyl), 2 (farnesyl), 3 (geranylgeranyl), etc...

Koepp, A.E., Hezari, M., Zajicek, J. etal. (1995) Cyclization of geranylgeranyl diphosphate to taxa-4(5),l 1(12)-diene is the committed step of Taxol biosynthesis in Pacific yew. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 270, 8686-8690. 

By using an elegant 13C-labeling study that involved incubation of Phoma sp. with 1-13C and 1,2-13C acetate, Oikawa et al. [9], were able to isolate the proposed biosynthetic intermediate phomactatriene (or Sch 49026), with 13C incorporation from singly labeled acetate units as indicated by in Fig. 8.3. Phomactatriene is strikingly reminiscent of taxadiene, a biosynthetic intermediate for Taxol . The net biosynthesis for both involves geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGDP) cyclization [9]. It is noteworthy that prior to isolation of phomactins, the only known related structure is cleomeolide, a diterpene from the herb Cleome viscosa [10] that remarkably resembles phomactin H. 

Some proteins can be posttranslationally modified by the addition of prenyl groups. Prenyl groups are long-chain, unsaturated hydrocarbons that are intermediates in isoprenoid synthesis. The farnesyl group has 15 carbons, and the geranylgeranyl has 20 carbons. They are attached to a cysteine residue near the end of the protein as a thiol ether (Protein-S-R). Other proteins can have a long-chain fatty acid (C14=myristoyl, C16=palmitoyl) attached to the amino terminus as an amide. These fatty acid modifications can increase the association of proteins with the membrane. 

Figure 73. The carotenoid biosynthetic pathway. Enzymes are named according to the designation of their genes Ccs, capsanthin-capsorubin synthase CrtL-b, lycopene-b-cyclase CrtL-e, lycopene-e-cyclase CrtR-b, b-ring hydroxylase, CrtR-e, e-ring hydroxylase DMADP, dimethylallyl diphosphate GGDP, geranylgeranyl diphosphate Ggps, geranylgeranyl-diphosphate synthase IDP, isopentenyl diphosphate Ipi, IDP isomerase Pds, phytoene desaturase Psy, phytoene synthase Vde, violaxanthin de-epoxidase Zds, z-carotene desaturase Zep, zeaxanthin epoxidase. (From van den Berg and others 2000.)...

However, 2 also affected the regulation of actin stress fiber formation [19]. Rho proteins are involved in the regulation of various cytoskeletal structures, and RhoB is believed to be one of the prime targets of FTase inhibitors. Rho B is apparently both geranylgeranylated and farnesylated [20, 21]. If cells were treated with 2, vesicular localization of Rho B was inhibited. Thus 2 may also inhibit the farnesylation of Rho B, thereby interfering with actin stress fiber formation [22]. 

There are several possible explanations to account for this apparent lack of toxicity. Some geranylgeranylated Ras-related proteins might compensate for the loss of Ras function (see, e.g., [46]). Alternatively inhibition of farnesyl transferase may reduce Ras activity below the level required for transformation, yet allow sufficient Ras activity for maintaining normal cell viability [47]. Alternatively, a different signaling pathway may be activated when Ras is not anchored to the plasma membrane. 

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