The protein prenylation is one of the essential post-translational protein modifications, which extensively exists in the eukaryocyte. It includes protein farnesylation and geranylgeranylation, using farnesyl pyrophos...The protein prenylation is one of the essential post-translational protein modifications, which extensively exists in the eukaryocyte. It includes protein farnesylation and geranylgeranylation, using farnesyl pyrophosphate(FPP) or geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate(GGPP) as the substrate, respectively. The prenylation occurs by covalent addition of these two types of isoprenoids to cysteine residues at or near the carboxyl terminus of the proteins that possess Caa X motif, such as Ras small GTPase family. The attachment of hydrophobic prenyl groups can anchor the proteins to intracellular membranes and trigger downstream cell signaling pathway. Geranylgeranyl biphosphate synthase(GGPPS) catalyzes the synthesis of 20-carbon GGPP from 15-carbon FPP. The abnormal expression of this enzyme will affect the relative content of FPP and GGPP, and thus disrupts the balance between protein farnesylation and geranylgeranylation, which participates into various aspects of cellular physiology and pathology. In this paper, we mainly review the property of this important protein post-translational modification and research progress in its regulation of cigarette smoke induced pulmonary disease, adipocyte insulin sensitivity, the inflammation response of Sertoli cells, the hepatic lipogenesis and the cardiac hypertrophy.展开更多
Mycophenolic acid(MPA,1)and its derivatives are first-line immunosuppressants used in organ transplantation and for treating autoimmune diseases.Despite chemical synthetic achievements,the biosynthetic formation of a ...Mycophenolic acid(MPA,1)and its derivatives are first-line immunosuppressants used in organ transplantation and for treating autoimmune diseases.Despite chemical synthetic achievements,the biosynthetic formation of a seven-carbon carboxylic acid pharmacophore side chain of 1,especially the processes involving the cleavage of the prenyl side chain between DHMP(4)and DMMPA(5),remains unknown.In this work,we identified a membrane-bound prenyltransferase,PgMpaA,that transfers FPP to 4 to yield FDHMP(6).Compound 6 undergoes the first cleavage step via a new globin-like enzyme PgMpaB to form a cryptic intermediate 12.Heterologous expression of PgMpa genes in Aspergillus nidulans demonstrates that the second cleavage step(from 12 to 5)of 1 is a PgMpa clusterindependent process in vivo.Our results,especially the discovery of the broad tolerance of substrates recognized by PgMpaB,set up a strategy for the formation of"pseudo-isopentenyl"natural products using fungal globin-like enzymes.展开更多
Bioactive natural polymethoxyflavones 1―6 and their vinyl ether derivatives 7―15 were synthesized by bromination,aromatic nucleophilic substitution,methylation,benzyl protection,Friedel-Crafts acetylation,aldol cond...Bioactive natural polymethoxyflavones 1―6 and their vinyl ether derivatives 7―15 were synthesized by bromination,aromatic nucleophilic substitution,methylation,benzyl protection,Friedel-Crafts acetylation,aldol condensation,cyclization,DDQ dehydrogenation,regioselective demethylation,debenzylation and O-prenylation or O-farnesylation with resorcinol and appropriate substituted benzaldehydes as starting materials.Among them,compounds 7―15 are new compounds.Natural products 2―4 were firstly total synthesized.The syntheses of compounds 1,5 and 6 were efficiently improved by the new synthetic routes.The structures of all synthetic compounds were confirmed by NMR,IR spectra and MS.展开更多
AIM: To compare hepatitis C virus (HCV) titers in patients with chronic hepatitis C with and without exposure to 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins).METHODS: Medical records were revie...AIM: To compare hepatitis C virus (HCV) titers in patients with chronic hepatitis C with and without exposure to 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins).METHODS: Medical records were reviewed for 6463 patients with documented HCV infection at a single center between March 2004 and September 2006. Patients with confi rmed viremia and meeting inclusion criteria were assigned to one of three groups: Group A (n = 50), dyslipidemic patients with statin usage during HCV RNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) determination; Group B (n = 49), dyslipidemic patients with prior or future statin usage but not at the time of HCV RNA PCR determination; and Group C (n = 102), patients without statin usage during the study period. The primary analysis explored the effect of statin therapy on HCV viremia. Secondary analyses assessed class effect, dose response, and effect of other lipid-lowering therapies on HCV viral titers.RESULTS: Median HCV RNA titers did not signif icantly differ among the three groups (Group A: 4 550 000 IU/mL, Group B: 2 850 000 IU/mL, Group C: 3 055 000 IU/mL).For those subjects with longitudinal assessment of HCV viremia prior to and while on statins, there were no signif icant differences between pre- and post-HCV viral titers. Additionally, no differences in HCV titers were observed at any dose level of the most prescribed statin, simvastatin. However, hypertriglyceridemia independently correlated with HCV titers, and niacin exposure was associated with signif icantly lower viral titers (P < 0.05).CONCLUSION: There was no apparent effect of statins on HCV viral replication in this analysis. Further investigation is warranted to explore the possible antiviral properties of triglyceride-lowering agents and their potential role as adjuncts to standard HCV therapy.展开更多
C2 prenylated indoles are widespread in a variety of bioactive natural alkaloids.Therefore,theselective installation of prenyl group at C2 position of NH indoles is of great significance.However,the known protocols ge...C2 prenylated indoles are widespread in a variety of bioactive natural alkaloids.Therefore,theselective installation of prenyl group at C2 position of NH indoles is of great significance.However,the known protocols generally require a multi‐step procedure and stoichiometric promoters.Hereinwe develop a one‐step C2 prenylation of NH indole with cheap tert‐prenyl alcohol enabled by acidcatalysis.Salient features include good regioselectivity,step‐and atom‐economy,broad substratescope,and simple catalytic system.The mechanistic investigations demonstrate that both C2prenylation and C3 prenylation/migration pathways are engaged in the reaction.Notably,this practicalstrategy can be applied to the late‐stage diversification of tryptophan‐based peptides and concisesynthesis of tryprostatin B.展开更多
Protein prenylation plays a crucial role in plant development and stress response.We report the function of pren yltra nsferase a-sub unit in rice.Protein-protei n in teractions showed that the fam esyl-transferase(Os...Protein prenylation plays a crucial role in plant development and stress response.We report the function of pren yltra nsferase a-sub unit in rice.Protein-protei n in teractions showed that the fam esyl-transferase(OsPFT)/geranylgeranyltransferase-l(OsPGGT l-a)protein interacted together with OsPFT-P and OsPGGT l-p.The a-and p-subunits of OsPFT formed a heterodimer for the transfer of a farnesyl group from famesyl pyrophosphate to the CaaX-box-containing peptide N-dansyl-GCVLS.Furthermore,the tissue expressi on patter ns of the OsPFT and OsPGGT I sub units were similar,and these sub units were localized in the cytoplasm and nucleus.Moreover,OsPFT/OsPGGT/-a-deletion homozygous rice mutants had a lethal phenotype,and the heterozygous mutants exhibited reduced pollen viability.These results indicated that prenylation plays an important role in rice development.展开更多
Dystocia is a serious problem for pregnant women, and it increases the cesarean section rate. Although uterine dysfunction has an unknown etiology, it is responsible for cesarean delivery and clinical dystocia, result...Dystocia is a serious problem for pregnant women, and it increases the cesarean section rate. Although uterine dysfunction has an unknown etiology, it is responsible for cesarean delivery and clinical dystocia, resulting in neonatal morbidity and mortality;thus, there is an urgent need for novel therapeutic agents. Previous studies indicated that statins, which inhibit the mevalonate (MVA) pathway of cholesterol synthesis, can reduce the incidence of preterm birth, but the safety of statins for pregnant women has not been thoroughly evaluated. Therefore, to unambiguously examine the function of the MVA pathway in pregnancy and delivery, we employed a genetic approach by using myometrial cell-specific deletion of geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase (Ggps1) mice. We found that Ggps1 deficiency in myometrial cells caused impaired uterine contractions, resulting in disrupted embryonic placing and dystocia. Studies of the underlying mechanism suggested that Ggps1 is required for uterine contractions to ensure successful parturition by regulating RhoA prenylation to activate the RhoA/Rock2/p-MLC pathway. Our work indicates that perturbing the MVA pathway might result in problems during delivery for pregnant females, but modifying protein prenylation with supplementary farnesyl pyrophosphate or geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate might be a strategy to avoid side effects.展开更多
Prenyltransferase(PTase)enzymes play crucial roles in natural product biosynthesis by transferring isoprene unit(s)to target substrates,thereby generating prenylated compounds.The prenylation step leads to a diverse g...Prenyltransferase(PTase)enzymes play crucial roles in natural product biosynthesis by transferring isoprene unit(s)to target substrates,thereby generating prenylated compounds.The prenylation step leads to a diverse group of natural products with improved membrane affinity and enhanced bioactivity,as compared to the nonprenylated forms.The last two decades have witnessed increasing studies on the identification,characterization,enzyme engineering,and synthetic biology of microbial PTase family enzymes.We herein summarize several examples of microbial soluble aromatic PTases for chemoenzymatic syntheses of unnatural novel prenylated compounds.展开更多
C-glycosylation and C-prenylation are two important C-C-bond forming reactions for preparation,diversification and structural modification of natural/unnatural products with pharmacological activities.Here,we describe...C-glycosylation and C-prenylation are two important C-C-bond forming reactions for preparation,diversification and structural modification of natural/unnatural products with pharmacological activities.Here,we described unprecedented enzymatic cascades to C-glycosylate/prenylate different acyl resorcinol derivatives in stepwise,one-pot reactions by combining two promiscuous enzymes,MiCGT,a C-glycosyltransferase,and AtaPT,a prenyltransferase.Five novel bis-C-alkylated products were obtained and structurally identified by MS and NMR spectroscopic data as well as comparison with the literature.This study provided a potential synthetic strategy for synthesizing structurally novel and diverse compounds bearing both C-glycosyl and C-prenyl moieties by a two-step,enzymatic bis-C-alkylation.展开更多
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(2012CB524900,2009CB918703)National Natural Science Foundation of China(31271540,30671086)awarded to Li Chao Jun
文摘The protein prenylation is one of the essential post-translational protein modifications, which extensively exists in the eukaryocyte. It includes protein farnesylation and geranylgeranylation, using farnesyl pyrophosphate(FPP) or geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate(GGPP) as the substrate, respectively. The prenylation occurs by covalent addition of these two types of isoprenoids to cysteine residues at or near the carboxyl terminus of the proteins that possess Caa X motif, such as Ras small GTPase family. The attachment of hydrophobic prenyl groups can anchor the proteins to intracellular membranes and trigger downstream cell signaling pathway. Geranylgeranyl biphosphate synthase(GGPPS) catalyzes the synthesis of 20-carbon GGPP from 15-carbon FPP. The abnormal expression of this enzyme will affect the relative content of FPP and GGPP, and thus disrupts the balance between protein farnesylation and geranylgeranylation, which participates into various aspects of cellular physiology and pathology. In this paper, we mainly review the property of this important protein post-translational modification and research progress in its regulation of cigarette smoke induced pulmonary disease, adipocyte insulin sensitivity, the inflammation response of Sertoli cells, the hepatic lipogenesis and the cardiac hypertrophy.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31870022)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(XDJK2018B035 and 201941001,China)+3 种基金the Scientific Research Starting Foundation of Southwest University(SWU117034,China)the Marine S&T Fund of Shandong Province for Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology(Qingdao,China)(No.2018SDKJ0401-2)Taishan Scholar Youth Expert Program in Shandong Province(tsqn201812021,China)supported by the Venture&Innovation Support Program for Chongqing Overseas Returnees and the Thousand Young Talents Program of China.
文摘Mycophenolic acid(MPA,1)and its derivatives are first-line immunosuppressants used in organ transplantation and for treating autoimmune diseases.Despite chemical synthetic achievements,the biosynthetic formation of a seven-carbon carboxylic acid pharmacophore side chain of 1,especially the processes involving the cleavage of the prenyl side chain between DHMP(4)and DMMPA(5),remains unknown.In this work,we identified a membrane-bound prenyltransferase,PgMpaA,that transfers FPP to 4 to yield FDHMP(6).Compound 6 undergoes the first cleavage step via a new globin-like enzyme PgMpaB to form a cryptic intermediate 12.Heterologous expression of PgMpa genes in Aspergillus nidulans demonstrates that the second cleavage step(from 12 to 5)of 1 is a PgMpa clusterindependent process in vivo.Our results,especially the discovery of the broad tolerance of substrates recognized by PgMpaB,set up a strategy for the formation of"pseudo-isopentenyl"natural products using fungal globin-like enzymes.
基金Supported by the Science & Technology Planning Project of Hunan Province,China (No.2011FJ3214)
文摘Bioactive natural polymethoxyflavones 1―6 and their vinyl ether derivatives 7―15 were synthesized by bromination,aromatic nucleophilic substitution,methylation,benzyl protection,Friedel-Crafts acetylation,aldol condensation,cyclization,DDQ dehydrogenation,regioselective demethylation,debenzylation and O-prenylation or O-farnesylation with resorcinol and appropriate substituted benzaldehydes as starting materials.Among them,compounds 7―15 are new compounds.Natural products 2―4 were firstly total synthesized.The syntheses of compounds 1,5 and 6 were efficiently improved by the new synthetic routes.The structures of all synthetic compounds were confirmed by NMR,IR spectra and MS.
基金Supported by The Veterans Health Administration Research Career Development Award (DEK)
文摘AIM: To compare hepatitis C virus (HCV) titers in patients with chronic hepatitis C with and without exposure to 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins).METHODS: Medical records were reviewed for 6463 patients with documented HCV infection at a single center between March 2004 and September 2006. Patients with confi rmed viremia and meeting inclusion criteria were assigned to one of three groups: Group A (n = 50), dyslipidemic patients with statin usage during HCV RNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) determination; Group B (n = 49), dyslipidemic patients with prior or future statin usage but not at the time of HCV RNA PCR determination; and Group C (n = 102), patients without statin usage during the study period. The primary analysis explored the effect of statin therapy on HCV viremia. Secondary analyses assessed class effect, dose response, and effect of other lipid-lowering therapies on HCV viral titers.RESULTS: Median HCV RNA titers did not signif icantly differ among the three groups (Group A: 4 550 000 IU/mL, Group B: 2 850 000 IU/mL, Group C: 3 055 000 IU/mL).For those subjects with longitudinal assessment of HCV viremia prior to and while on statins, there were no signif icant differences between pre- and post-HCV viral titers. Additionally, no differences in HCV titers were observed at any dose level of the most prescribed statin, simvastatin. However, hypertriglyceridemia independently correlated with HCV titers, and niacin exposure was associated with signif icantly lower viral titers (P < 0.05).CONCLUSION: There was no apparent effect of statins on HCV viral replication in this analysis. Further investigation is warranted to explore the possible antiviral properties of triglyceride-lowering agents and their potential role as adjuncts to standard HCV therapy.
文摘C2 prenylated indoles are widespread in a variety of bioactive natural alkaloids.Therefore,theselective installation of prenyl group at C2 position of NH indoles is of great significance.However,the known protocols generally require a multi‐step procedure and stoichiometric promoters.Hereinwe develop a one‐step C2 prenylation of NH indole with cheap tert‐prenyl alcohol enabled by acidcatalysis.Salient features include good regioselectivity,step‐and atom‐economy,broad substratescope,and simple catalytic system.The mechanistic investigations demonstrate that both C2prenylation and C3 prenylation/migration pathways are engaged in the reaction.Notably,this practicalstrategy can be applied to the late‐stage diversification of tryptophan‐based peptides and concisesynthesis of tryprostatin B.
基金supported by the Science Technology and Innovation Committee of Shenzhen Municipality of China(Grant Nos.JCYJ20170303154319837 and JCYJ20170412155447658)the Science Technology Innovation and Industrial Development of Dapeng New District,Shenzhen,China(Grant Nos.PT201901-18 and PT201901-20).
文摘Protein prenylation plays a crucial role in plant development and stress response.We report the function of pren yltra nsferase a-sub unit in rice.Protein-protei n in teractions showed that the fam esyl-transferase(OsPFT)/geranylgeranyltransferase-l(OsPGGT l-a)protein interacted together with OsPFT-P and OsPGGT l-p.The a-and p-subunits of OsPFT formed a heterodimer for the transfer of a farnesyl group from famesyl pyrophosphate to the CaaX-box-containing peptide N-dansyl-GCVLS.Furthermore,the tissue expressi on patter ns of the OsPFT and OsPGGT I sub units were similar,and these sub units were localized in the cytoplasm and nucleus.Moreover,OsPFT/OsPGGT/-a-deletion homozygous rice mutants had a lethal phenotype,and the heterozygous mutants exhibited reduced pollen viability.These results indicated that prenylation plays an important role in rice development.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31530046)the National Science and Technology Major Project(SQ2018YFC100242).
文摘Dystocia is a serious problem for pregnant women, and it increases the cesarean section rate. Although uterine dysfunction has an unknown etiology, it is responsible for cesarean delivery and clinical dystocia, resulting in neonatal morbidity and mortality;thus, there is an urgent need for novel therapeutic agents. Previous studies indicated that statins, which inhibit the mevalonate (MVA) pathway of cholesterol synthesis, can reduce the incidence of preterm birth, but the safety of statins for pregnant women has not been thoroughly evaluated. Therefore, to unambiguously examine the function of the MVA pathway in pregnancy and delivery, we employed a genetic approach by using myometrial cell-specific deletion of geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase (Ggps1) mice. We found that Ggps1 deficiency in myometrial cells caused impaired uterine contractions, resulting in disrupted embryonic placing and dystocia. Studies of the underlying mechanism suggested that Ggps1 is required for uterine contractions to ensure successful parturition by regulating RhoA prenylation to activate the RhoA/Rock2/p-MLC pathway. Our work indicates that perturbing the MVA pathway might result in problems during delivery for pregnant females, but modifying protein prenylation with supplementary farnesyl pyrophosphate or geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate might be a strategy to avoid side effects.
基金supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education,Culture,Sports,Science and Technology,Japan(JSPS KAKENHI Grant No.JP16H06443 and JP20H00490)Japan Science and Technology Agency(JST SICORP Grant No.JPMJSC1701)H.P.C.is a recipient of the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Foreign Researchers(ID No.P19413).
文摘Prenyltransferase(PTase)enzymes play crucial roles in natural product biosynthesis by transferring isoprene unit(s)to target substrates,thereby generating prenylated compounds.The prenylation step leads to a diverse group of natural products with improved membrane affinity and enhanced bioactivity,as compared to the nonprenylated forms.The last two decades have witnessed increasing studies on the identification,characterization,enzyme engineering,and synthetic biology of microbial PTase family enzymes.We herein summarize several examples of microbial soluble aromatic PTases for chemoenzymatic syntheses of unnatural novel prenylated compounds.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.21572277,81573317 and 81703369)CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences(CIFMS-2016-I2M-3-012)
文摘C-glycosylation and C-prenylation are two important C-C-bond forming reactions for preparation,diversification and structural modification of natural/unnatural products with pharmacological activities.Here,we described unprecedented enzymatic cascades to C-glycosylate/prenylate different acyl resorcinol derivatives in stepwise,one-pot reactions by combining two promiscuous enzymes,MiCGT,a C-glycosyltransferase,and AtaPT,a prenyltransferase.Five novel bis-C-alkylated products were obtained and structurally identified by MS and NMR spectroscopic data as well as comparison with the literature.This study provided a potential synthetic strategy for synthesizing structurally novel and diverse compounds bearing both C-glycosyl and C-prenyl moieties by a two-step,enzymatic bis-C-alkylation.
