Leucine isomeric

It has been known for years that the activated residues of acyl- and peptidylamino acids enantiomerize during coupling (1.9). However, the racemization tests available (see section 4.9) did not allow for a valid comparison of the tendency of residues to isomerize because they incorporated a variety of aminolyzing residues and N-substituents. Valid demonstration of the different sensitivities of residues was provided by classical work on the synthesis of insulin. It was found that a 16-residue segment with O-tert-butyltyrosine at the carboxy terminus produced 25% of epimer in HOBt-assisted DCC-mediated coupling in dimethylformamide, and the same segment with leucine at the carboxy terminus produced no epimer. Only when series such as Z-Gly-Xaa-OH coupled with valine benzyl ester became available was it possible to compare many residues with confidence. Unfortunately, it transpires that the issue is extremely complex. 

Bouveault and Locquin have also synthesised leucine by the reduction of a-oximinoisobutylacetic acid, which was prepared in a similar way to the isomeric compound from which they obtained isoleucine. 

Of the various isomeric amino-caprok acids only leucine and isoleucine occur in the protein molecule both of them, combined with tyrosine and valine in the form of polypeptides, from which they are easily split off by enzymes, seem to form a very important part of most proteins. 

Hi. Lysine. Gamma radiolysis of aerated aqueous solution of lysine (94) has been shown, as inferred from iodometric measurements, to give rise to hydroperoxides in a similar yield to that observed for valine and leucine. However, attempts to isolate by HPLC the peroxidic derivatives using the post-column derivatization chemiluminescence detection approach were unsuccessful. This was assumed to be due to the instability of the lysine hydroperoxides under the conditions of HPLC analysis. Indirect evidence for the OH-mediated formation of hydroperoxides was provided by the isolation of four hydroxylated derivatives of lysine as 9-fluoromethyl chloroformate (FMOC) derivatives . Interestingly, NaBILj reduction of the irradiated lysine solutions before FMOC derivatization is accompanied by a notable increase in the yields of hydroxylysine isomers. Among the latter oxidized compounds, 3-hydroxy lysine was characterized by extensive H NMR and ESI-MS measurements whereas one diastereomer of 4-hydroxylysine and the two isomeric forms of 5-hydroxylysine were identified by comparison of their HPLC features as FMOC derivatives with those of authentic samples prepared by chemical synthesis. A reasonable mechanism for the formation of the four different hydroxylysines and, therefore, of related hydroperoxides 98-100, involves initial OH-mediated hydrogen abstraction followed by O2 addition to the carbon-centered radicals 95-97 thus formed and subsequent reduction of the resulting peroxyl radicals (equation 55). 

Two molecules of pyruvate can react to give a common precursor to valine, leucine, and pantoic acid. An isomerization step involving shift of a methyl group from one carbon to another is involved. 

The shape of the side chain is significant for the quality and intensity of taste, as illustrated by the isomeric leucines (Table XII). 

Hulst, A.G. and Kientz, C.E. (1996) Differentiation between the isomeric amino acids leucine and isoleucine using low-energy collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry. J. Mass Spectrom., 31 (10), 1188-90. 

Leucine aminomutase catalyzes isomerization of leucine and /S-leucine. As with methylmalonyl CoA mutase, the reaction involves cleavage of the Co-C... 

The amino acid leucine is an alpha-2im no derivative of one of the other isomeric six carbon acids, viz., / -methyl pentanoic acid, as is shown in the above formula. 

This amino acid, as the name indicates, is isomeric with leucine. It is the alpha-anmno derivative of another of the isomeric six carbon acids, viz., 3-methyl pentanoic acid. 

Amyl alcohols occur in eight isomeric forms and have the empirical formula CjHnOH. All are liquids at ambient conditions except 2,2-dimethylpropanol (neopentyl alcohol), which is a solid. Almost all amyl alcohols are manufactured in the United States by the hydroformylation of butylenes. Yeast fermentation processes for ethanol yield small amounts of 4-methyl-l-butanol (isoamyl alcohol) and 2-methyl-1-butanol (active amyl alcohol, scc-butyl-carbinol) as fusel oil. However, when the amino acids leucine and isoleucine are added to sugar fermentations by yeast, 87% and 80% yields of 4-methyl-l-butanol and 2-methyl-l-butanol, respectively, are obtained (Fieser and Fieser, 1950). These reactions are not suitable for commercial applications because of cost, but they do indicate the close structural relationship between these C5 amino acids and the C5 alcohols. The reactions occur under nitrogen-deficient conditions. If a nitrogen source is readily available, the production of the alcohols is lowered considerably. 

Figure 55-10 Electron impact positive ion mass spectra of isomeric acylglycines detected by GC/MS analysis of organic acid trimethyisily (IMS) derivatives. A, 3-liethylcrotonylglycine monO TMS ester (leucine metabolism). B, Tiglylglycine mono-TMS ester (isoleucine metabolism). As their retention times are relatively close in most chromatographic systems, proper differentiation betv een the two compounds is best achieved by evaluation of the fragment ion at m/z 82 (arrow) which is prominent in the spectrum of 3-methylcrotonylglydne but not tigiylgiycine.

Previously, we have examined the formation of amino acid hydroperoxides following exposure to different radical species [100]. We observed that valine was most easily oxidised, but leucine and lysine are also prone to this modification in free solution. Scheme 12 illustrates the mechanism for formation of valine hydroperoxide. However, tertiary structure becomes an important predictor in proteins, where the hydrophobic residues are protected from bulk aqueous radicals, and lysine hydroperoxides are most readily oxidised. Hydroperoxide yield is poor from Fenton-derived oxidants as they are rapidly broken down in the presence of metal ions [101]. Like methionine sulphoxide, hydroperoxides are also subject to repair, in this case via glutathione peroxidase. They can also be effectively reduced to hydroxides, a reaction supported by the addition of hydroxyl radical in the presence of oxygen. Extensive characterisation of the three isomeric forms of valine and leucine hydroxides has been undertaken by Fu et al. [102,103], and therefore will not be discussed further here. 

The syntheses of valine, leucine, and isoleucine from pyruvate are illustrated in Figure 14.9. Valine and isoleucine are synthesized in parallel pathways with the same four enzymes. Valine synthesis begins with the condensation of pyruvate with hydroxyethyl-TPP (a decarboxylation product of a pyruvate-thiamine pyrophosphate intermediate) catalyzed by acetohydroxy acid synthase. The a-acetolactate product is then reduced to form a,/3-dihydroxyisovalerate followed by a dehydration to a-ketoisovalerate. Valine is produced in a subsequent transamination reaction. (a-Ketoisovalerate is also a precursor of leucine.) Isoleucine synthesis also involves hydroxyethyl-TPP, which condenses with a-ketobutyrate to form a-aceto-a-hydroxybutyrate. (a-Ketobutyrate is derived from L-threonine in a deamination reaction catalyzed by threonine deaminase.) a,/3-Dihydroxy-/3-methylvalerate, the reduced product of a-aceto-a-hydroxybutyrate, subsequently loses an HzO molecule, thus forming a-keto-/kmethylvalerate. Isoleucine is then produced during a transamination reaction. In the first step of leucine biosynthesis from a-ketoisovalerate, acetyl-CoA donates a two-carbon unit. Leucine is formed after isomerization, reduction, and transamination. 

The contryphan family of cyclic peptides, isolated from various species of cone snails, have the conserved sequence motif H3N" -X COD-WX PWC-NH2, where X is either Gly or absent, O is 4-trtf j--hydroxypro-line, and X is Glu, Asp, or Gin. The contryphans possess a distinctive number of PTMs that include tryptophan bromination, proline hydroxylation, glutamate carboxylation (7-carboxyglutamate), C-terminal amidation, and leucine and tryptophan, l to d, isomerization. ... 

MCM plays an essential role in propionate metabolism. Propionate and propionyl-CoA are intermediates in the catabolism of leucine and isoleucine and are further metabolized by carboxylation of propionyl-CoA to methylmalonyl-CoA. Isomerization to succinyl-CoA feeds the carbon chain into the tricarboxylic acid pathway of oxidative metabolism. For this reason, MCM is an important enzyme in bacterial and mammalian metabolism. It is one of the two vitamin Bj2-dependent enzymes known to be important in human metabolism. 

After dehydrogenation to 234, X = SCoA, the catabolism of leucine 205 (Scheme 62c) differs from that of the other branched-chain amino acids. A biotin-dependent carboxylation leads to the acid 236, X = SCoA, which is hydrated to HMG-CoA 237, a compound involved in isoprenoid biosynthesis. Feeding stereospecifically labeled samples of leucine in studies of terpenoid biosynthesis indicated that the ( )-methyl group was carboxylated without isomerization of the double bond (181, 182). Messner, Cornforth et al. (215) investigated the hydration 236 = 237 catalyzed by the enzyme 3-methyl-glutaconyl-CoA hydratase (EC 4. 2. 1. 18) and showed that the reversible reaction had syn stereospecificity. 

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