Penicillium phospholipase

Studies on the hydrolysis of lecithin by a Penicillium phospholipase B preparation. Biochem. J. 70, 559—70 (1958b). 

Saito, K., Sugatani, J., and Okumura, T. (1991) Phospholipase B from Penicillium notatum, in Methods in Enzymology, Vol. 197, E. A. Dennis, editor, Academic Press, New York, pp. 446-456. 

Vinaxanthone (991) (Fig. 13.21) was isolated by Yokose and Seto in 1991 from the soil microbe, Penicillium vinaceum, and shown to be a novel phospholipase C (PLC) inhibitor, with an /C50 value in the low micromolar range (658). PLC is an enzyme that hydrolyzes phosphatidylinositol biphosphate (PIP) in the cellular membrane, and is involved in the signal transduction cascade and pathways affecting cell proliferation. Encountering difficulty in the structure elucidation process due to both the low solubility and highly substituted nature of 991, the authors used a series of NMR techniques including 2D-INADEQUATE and selective ID-INADEQUATE experiments to solve the structure. 

Aoki M, Itezono Y, Shirai H, Nakayama N, Sakai A, Tanaka Y, Yamaguchi A, Shinuna N, Yokose K (1991) Structure of a Novel Phospholipase C Inhibitor, Vinaxanthone (Ro 09-1450), Produced by Penicillium vinaceum. Tetrahedron Lett 32 4737... 

Phospholipase B is known as monoacylphos-pholipase (lysophospholipase). Both 1-acyl and 2-acyl monoacyl derivatives of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine are attacked. Unsaturated fatty acids are the preferred chains for attack (van den Bosch et al., 1968). Other synthetic compounds are also hydrolysed e.g. acyl ethylene-glycolphosphorylcholine (Dawson, 1973). Although the classic phospholipase B is prepared from Penicillium notatum, the enzyme from that source will, in fact, hydrolyse diacylphospholipids under certain conditions, and is therefore a phospholipase A (Kawasaki and Saito, 1973). 

Only one phospholipase B has been highly purified - that from Penicillium notatum. This enzyme will, of course, also hydrolyse lysophospholipids and. 

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