Tyrosine acylation

Scheme 10.8 Biosynthesis of epothilone. Individual PKS domains are represented as circles and individual NRPS domains as hexagons. Acyl carrier proteins (ACPs) and thiola-tion domains (T) are posttranslationally modified by a phos-phopantetheinyl group to which the biosynthetic intermediates are covalently bound throughout the chain assembly. The thioesterase domain (TE) cyclizes the fully assembled carbon chain to give the 16-membered lactone. Following dehydration of Cl 2—Cl 3 to give epothilones C and D, the final step in epothilone biosynthesis is the epoxidation of the C12=C13 double bond by the cytochrome P450 enzyme P450epol<. KS ketosyn-thase KS(Y) active-site tyrosine mutant of KS AT acyltransfer-ase C condensation domain A adenylation domain ...

S-acylated proteins include many GTP-binding regulatory proteins (G proteins), including most a subunits of heterotrimeric G-proteins and also many members of the Ras superfamily of monomeric G proteins, a number of G protein-coupled receptors, several nonreceptor tyrosine kinases, and a number of other signaling molecules, -acylation is posttranslational and reversible, a property that allows the cell to control... 

The reaction of Ccf -ATPase with dicyclohexylcarbodiimide Carbodiimides readily react in aqueous solutions with protein amino, carboxyl and sulfhydryl groups slower reactions with tyrosine and serine have also been reported [369,370]. The primary reaction product of carboxyl groups with dicyclohexylcarbodiimide is dicyclohexyl-O-acyl isourea [370]. Dicyclohexyl-O-acyl isourea is susceptible to nucleophilic attack either by water or by endogenous or exogenous nucleophiles, yielding a complex series of reaction products [369-371]. 

Modified amino acids such as N-acyl-dehydroalanine polymers and copolymers with N-vinyl-N-methyl acetamide seem to be particularly effective [396]. The crystallization kinetics in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone and tyrosine have been tested by time-resolved experiments [981]. An influence is evident on the particle size distribution of the hydrate [1433]. 

In general, phenolic hydroxyl groups in complex molecules, which could not be esterified by the usual methods, were smoothly acylated with imidazolides. For example, a cyclohexapeptide containing two tyrosine groups reacts with 3,5-dinitrobenzoyl-imidazole to give a 95% yield of the crude bis-3,5-dinitrobenzoate.[20]... 

Racemization studies in the synthesis of the tripeptide Z-Gly-Phe-Gly from Z-Gly-Phe and Gly-OC2H5 revealed that in THF at room temperature such racemization occurred to the extent of about 5%, in DMF at -10 °C, however, less than 0.5%. 53 103 In the synthesis of Boc-Val-Tyr-OC2H5 (50%) from Boc-Val and Tyr-OC2H5 with CDI, a small amount of 0-acylation of tyrosine (4%) also occurred in the dipeptide. 11] A V -Carbonyldibenzimidazole was found inferior to CDI in the synthesis of peptides because of poorer yields and more rigorous reaction conditions needed. 53... 

Chemical modifications of proteins (enzymes) by reacting them with iV-acylimidazoles are a way of studying active sites. By this means the amino acid residues (e.g., tyrosine, lysine, histidine) essential for catalytic activity are established on the basis of acylation with the azolides and deacylation with other appropriate reagents (e.g., hydroxylamine). 

Tyrosine may be targeted specifically for modification through its phenolate anion by acylation, through electrophilic reactions such as the addition of iodine or diazonium ions, and by Mannich condensation reactions. The electrophilic substitution reactions on tyrosine s ring all occur at the ortho position to the —OH group (Figure 1.11). Most of these reactions proceed effectively only when tyrosine s ring is ionized to the phenolate anion form. 

Figure 1.11 Tyrosine residues are subject to nucleophilic and electrophilic reactions. The unprotonated phe-nolate ion may be alkylated or acylated using a variety of bioconjugate reagents. Its aromatic ring also may undergo electrophilic addition using diazonium chemistry or Mannich condensation, or be halogenated with radioactive isotopes such as 12iI.

Protein functional groups able to react with anhydrides include the oc-amines at the N-terminals, the s-amine of lysine side chains, cysteine sulfhydryl groups, the phenolate ion of tyrosine residues, and the imidazolyl ring of histidines. However, acylation of cysteine, tyrosine, and histidine side chains forms unstable complexes that are easily reversible to regenerate the original group. Only amine functionalities of proteins are stable to acylation with anhydride reagents (Fraenkel-Conrat, 1959 Smyth, 1967). 

Maleic acid is a linear four carbon molecule with carboxylate groups on both ends and a double bond between the central carbon atoms. The anhydride of maleic acid is a cyclic molecule containing five atoms. Although the reactivity of maleic anhydride is similar to other cyclic anhydrides, the products of maleylation are much more unstable toward hydrolysis, and the site of unsaturation lends itself to additional side reactions. Acylation products of amino groups with maleic anhydride are stable at neutral pH and above, but they readily hydrolyze at acid pH values around pH 3.5 (Butler et al., 1967). Maleylation of sulfhydryls and the phe-nolate of tyrosine are even more sensitive to hydrolysis. Thus, maleic anhydride is an excellent reversible blocker of amino groups to temporarily mask them from reactivity while another... 

To eliminate acylation products at tyrosine residues, add 1 pi of 15 M hydroxy-lamine solution in water to each protein sample and incubate for 30 minutes at 37°C (Zappacosta et al., 2006). 

The symmetrical anhydride is less reactive and consequently more selective in its reactions than the O-acylisourea. Although the latter can acylate both N- and O-nucleophiles, the symmetrical anhydride will only acylate V-nuclcophilcs. This means that the hydroxyl groups of the side chains of serine, threonine, and tyrosine that have not been deprotonated are not acceptors of the acyl group of the symmetrical anhydride. An additional feature of this approach to carbodiimide-mediated reactions is that it avoids a possible side reaction between the carbodiimide and the iV-nucleophilc, which gives a trisubstituted guanidine [(C6HuN)2C=N-CHR5CO-... 

Most published examples of prodrugs of relevance in the present context contain an a-amino acyl moiety. A number of reasons may explain this fact, such as the lack of toxicity of these natural compounds, the large differences in lipophilicity and other properties between amino acids, and the variability afforded by A-substituents. Interesting examples are provided by salicylic acid and metronidazole. Thus, the hydrolysis of tyrosine and methionine prodrugs of salicylic acid (8.104 and 8.105, respectively) was examined in rabbits after intraduodenal and intracecal administration [134], The former ester, but not the latter, was hydrolyzed in the mucosa of the small intestine. In addition, both prodrugs underwent marked hydrolysis by intestinal microflora. 

The acylated peptides (Myr)GCX-Bimane 31 a-e (X = G, L, R, T, V), which are found in certain nonreceptor tyrosine kinases and ct-subunits of several heterotrimeric G-proteins, were synthesized in solution using common solution-phase peptide synthesis with X-myristoylglycine as a building block. These model peptides were used for acylation studies with palmitoyl-CoA in phospholipid vesicles at physiological pH. For such uncatalyzed spontaneous reactions only a modest molar excess of acyl donor species (2.5 1) was necessary. Unprotected side chains of threonine or serine are not interfering with this S-acylation (Scheme 14). 

Tyr U Tyrosine or tyrosyl Uridine Xaa Unspecified amino acid or amino acyl residue... 

N-Myristoylation is achieved by the covalent attachment of the 14-carbon saturated myristic acid (C14 0) to the N-terminal glycine residue of various proteins with formation of an irreversible amide bond (Table l). 10 This process is cotranslational and is catalyzed by a monomeric enzyme called jV-myri s toy 11ransferase. 24 Several proteins of diverse families, including tyrosine kinases of the Src family, the alanine-rich C kinase substrate (MARKS), the HIV Nef phosphoprotein, and the a-subunit of heterotrimeric G protein, carry a myr-istoylated N-terminal glycine residue which in some cases is in close proximity to a site that can be S-acylated with a fatty acid. Functional studies of these proteins have shown an important structural role for the myristoyl chain not only in terms of enhanced membrane affinity of the proteins, but also of stabilization of their three-dimensional structure in the cytosolic form. Once exposed, the myristoyl chain promotes membrane association of the protein. 5 The myristoyl moiety however, is not sufficiently hydrophobic to anchor the protein to the membrane permanently, 25,26 and in vivo this interaction is further modulated by a variety of switches that operate through covalent or noncovalent modifications of the protein. 4,5,27 In MARKS, for example, multiple phosphorylation of a positively charged domain moves the protein back to the cytosolic compartment due to the mutated electrostatic properties of the protein, a so-called myristoyl-electrostatic switch. 28 ... 

Introduction of acyl groups into protected amino acids or even short peptides can be effected through / -iodophe-nylalanine residues (Equation (8)), though triflate of tyrosine failed in this protocol. 

The phenolic group of tyrosine undergoes iodina-tion (Eq. 3-44), acylation, coupling with diazonium compounds, and other reactions. 

The Z-protected derivative, again prepared by standard methods using benzyl chloroformate,t208 may serve in the case of racemic pipecolic acid for resolution into the pure enantiomers by fractional crystallization with L-tyrosine hydrazide/208 Acylation with N-protected pipecolic acid or of pipecolyl peptides is performed by standard procedures via the active ester methods, e.g. A-hydroxysuccinimide ester/121 by the mixed anhydride method, e.g. with isobutyl chloro-formate 95-114 or pivalic acid chloride/121 as well as by DCC/HOBt/118 In the synthesis on solid support, longer coupling times are required when compared to N-protected proline.1[235 ... 

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