Triones enzymic reduction

An unusual reaction was been observed in the reaction of old yellow enzyme with a,(3-unsat-urated ketones. A dismutation took place under aerobic or anaerobic conditions, with the formation from cyclohex-l-keto-2-ene of the corresponding phenol and cyclohexanone, and an analogous reaction from representative cyclodec-3-keto-4-enes—putatively by hydride-ion transfer (Vaz et al. 1995). Reduction of the double bond in a,p-unsaturated ketones has been observed, and the enone reductases from Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been purified and characterized. They are able to carry out reduction of the C=C bonds in aliphatic aldehydes and ketones, and ring double bonds in cyclohexenones (Wanner and Tressel 1998). Reductions of steroid l,4-diene-3-ones can be mediated by the related old yellow enzyme and pentaerythritol tetranitrate reductase, for example, androsta-A -3,17-dione to androsta-A -3,17-dione (Vaz etal. 1995) and prednisone to pregna-A -17a, 20-diol-3,ll,20-trione (Barna et al. 2001) respectively. 

Regiospeciflcity combined with diastereotopic face specificity is seen in the reduction of the trione (60) to (61) (Scheme 26). ° In Scheme 27 the reduction is quite regiospeciflc, but both diastereotopic feces of the exocyclic ketone function of (62) are attacked to give the erythro-(63) and threo- 64) hydroxy ketone products. The degree to which regio specificity and diastereotopic face specificity can be controlled with different enzymes is shown in the bile acid reductions of Scheme 28. ° ... 

This concept has been extended. Thus the trione (696) rapidly and irreversibly inactivates human erythrocyte nucleoside phosphorylase (PNPase), which catalyzes the reversible phosphorylation of inosine and guanosine to the respective bases and ribose 1-phosphate. Inhibitors of this enzyme have several potential medical applications, for example, in the prevention of foreign tissue rejection, in the treatment of gout and malaria, and for the potentiation of antineoplastic nucleosides. Mechanistically the 5,8-dione (quinone) (696) enters the enzyme active site. An active-site nucleophilic residue subsequently converts the quinone moiety to a hydroquinone by reductive addition (701). The resulting hydroquinone affords an alkylating quinone methide species by elimination of HCl (702) and then traps a second nucleophilic enzyme residue by a Michael type reaction (703). Cross-linking of the active site rationalizes the observed potency <91B8480>. 

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