Enzymes stereochemistry

Degraded Carotenoids Physical Methods Separation and Assay N.M.R. Spectroscopy Mass Spectrometry Chiroptical Methods Electronic Absorption Spectroscopy Infrared and Resonance Raman Spectroscopy Other Spectroscopic Techniques Miscellaneous Physical Chemistry Photoreceptor Pigments Biosynthesis and Metabolism Stereochemistry Enzyme Systems Inhibition and Regulation... 

Many chemical reactions proceed with a clearly defined stereochemistry, requiring the bonds to be broken and made in the reaction to have a specific geometrical arrangement. This is particularly true for reactions that are controlled by enzymes. 

This is exactly what we have done [21], For each reaction the constitution and stereochemistry of the reaction partners, the coenzymes, and regulators were stored as connection tables (as far as they were known), and the enzymes by name and EC number. 

Before leaving this biosynthetic scheme notice that PGE2 has four chirality cen ters Even though arachidomc acid is achiral only the stereoisomer shown m the equa tion IS formed Moreover it is formed as a single enantiomer The stereochemistry is controlled by the interaction of the substrate with the enzymes that act on it Enzymes offer a chiral environment m which biochemical transformations occur and enzyme catalyzed reactions almost always lead to a single stereoisomer Many more examples will be seen m this chapter... 

The high degree of stereoselectivity observed with enzyme reactions provides further evidence as to the importance of dmg stereochemistry for pharmaceutical activity. 

Figure 18.12 The electron-density map is interpreted by fitting into it pieces of a polypeptide chain with known stereochemistry such as peptide groups and phenyl rings. The electron density (blue) is displayed on a graphics screen in combination with a part of the polypeptide chain (red) in an arbitrary orientation (a). The units of the polypeptide chain can then be rotated and translated relative to the electron density until a good fit is obtained (b). Notice that individual atoms are not resolved in such electron densities, there are instead lumps of density corresponding to groups of atoms. [Adapted from A. Jones Methods Enzym. (eds. H.W. Wyckoff, C.H. Hirs, and S.N. Timasheff) 115B 162, New York Academic Press, 1985.]...

Leukotriene B4, formed by enzymic hydrolysis of LTA4, is chemotactic for macrophages and neutrophils at concentrations as low as 1 ng/ml. The stereochemistry of the conjugated triene subunit was established by synthesis which also made LTB4 available in quantity for biological research. 

J. W. Cornforth (Sussex) stereochemistry of enzyme-catalysed reactions. 

Handedness is also important in organic and biological chemistry, where it arises primarily as a consequence of the tetrahedral stereochemistry of 5p3-hybridized carbon atoms. Many drugs and almost all the molecules in our bodies, for instance, are handed. Furthermore, it is molecular handedness that makes possible the specific interactions between enzymes and their substrates that are so crucial to enzyme function. We ll look at handedness and its consequences in this chapter. 

Vladimir Prelog and John W. Comforth (V. P.) stereochemistry of organic molecules and reactions, (J. C.) stereochemistry of enzyme-catalyzed reactions... 

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. 

Nothing is known about the identity of the iron species responsible for dehydrogenation of the substrate. Iron-oxo species such as FeIV=0 or Fem-OOH are postulated as the oxidants in most heme or non-heme iron oxygenases. It has to be considered that any mechanistic model proposed must account not only for the observed stereochemistry but also for the lack of hydroxylation activity and its inability to convert the olefinic substrate. Furthermore, no HppE sequence homo-logue is to be found in protein databases. Further studies should shed more light on the mechanism with which this unique enzyme operates. 

Typically, lyases are quite specific for the nucleophilic donor component owing to mechanistic requirements. Usually, approach of the aldol acceptor to the enzyme-bound nucleophile occurs stereospedfically following an overall retention mechanism, while the facial differentiation of the aldehyde carbonyl is responsible for the relative stereoselectivity. In this manner, the stereochemistry of the C—C bond formation is completely controlled by the enzymes, in general irrespective of the constitution or configuration of the substrate, which renders the enzymes highly predictable. On the other hand, most of the lyases allow a reasonably broad variation of the electrophilic acceptor component that is usually an aldehyde. This feature... 

Interestingly, both the cytosolic and the lysosomal enzyme regained most of their activity on prolonged standing after they had been inactivated to the extent of 98% with bromoconduritol F. The rate of reactivation was larger at pH 6 than at pH 4.6. It was concluded that a labile ester-bond had been formed in the inactivation reaction. From the stereochemistry of the hydroxyl groups and the bromine substituent, it could have been with the carboxyl group presumed to act as acid catalyst in the activation of substrate or epoxide (see Scheme 6). 

Gold and Linder (17) studied the esterase catalyzed hydrolysis of A-(-)-acetoxymethyl-(l-phenylethyl)nitrosamine. They found that the stereochemistry of 1-phenylethanol produced in the reaction was the same as that observed in the base catalyzed hydrolysis of the nitrosamine and also of N-(l-phenylethyl)nitrosocarbamate. These results indicated that the same diazotate was produced in all three reactions. The fact that no irreversible inhibition of the enzymatic hydrolysis of the nitrosamine was observed, while extensive irreversible inhibition was obtained with the nitrosocarba-mate, led these workers to conclude that the a-hydroxynitro-samine produced by the hydrolysis had sufficient stability to diffuse away from the active site of the enzyme. 

Polyene cyclizations are of substantial value in the synthesis of polycyclic terpene natural products. These syntheses resemble the processes by which the polycyclic compounds are assembled in nature. The most dramatic example of biosynthesis of a polycyclic skeleton from a polyene intermediate is the conversion of squalene oxide to the steroid lanosterol. In the biological reaction, an enzyme not only to induces the cationic cyclization but also holds the substrate in a conformation corresponding to stereochemistry of the polycyclic product.17 In this case, the cyclization is terminated by a series of rearrangements. 

---