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Biomedical subjects

Bernd Kammerer

Publications and source records attributed to Bernd Kammerer.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

CloQ, a prenyltransferase involved in clorobiocin biosynthesis.

Ring A (3-dimethylallyl-4-hydroxybenzoic acid) is a structural moiety of the aminocoumarin antibiotics novobiocin and clorobiocin. In the present study, the prenyltransferase involved in the biosynthesis of this moiety was identified from the clorobiocin producer (Streptomyces roseochromogenes), overexpressed, and purified. It is a soluble, monomeric 35-kDa protein, encoded by the structural gene cloQ. 4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate and dimethylallyl diphosphate were identified as the substrates of this enzyme, with K(m) values determined as 25 and 35 microM, respectively. A gene inactivation experiment confirmed that cloQ is essential for ring A biosynthesis. Database searches did not reveal any similarity of CloQ to known prenyltransferases, and the enzyme did not contain the typical prenyl diphosphate binding site (N/D)DXXD. In contrast to most of the known prenyltransferases, the enzymatic activity was not dependent on the presence of magnesium, and in contrast to the membrane-bound polyprenyltransferases involved in ubiquinone biosynthesis, CloQ did not accept 4-hydroxybenzoic acid as substrate. CloQ and the similar NovQ from the novobiocin producer seem to belong to a new class of prenyltransferases.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

CloN2, a novel acyltransferase involved in the attachment of the pyrrole-2-carboxyl moiety to the deoxysugar of clorobiocin.

The aminocoumarin antibiotic clorobiocin contains a 5-methylpyrrole-2-carboxylic acid unit, attached via an ester bond to the 3-OH group of the deoxysugar moiety. To investigate candidate genes responsible for the formation of this ester bond, a gene inactivation experiment was carried out in the clorobiocin producer Streptomyces roseochromogenes var. oscitans DS 12.976. An in-frame deletion was created in the coding sequence of the gene cloN2. The production of secondary metabolites in the wild-type and in the cloN2 mutant was analysed. The wild-type showed clorobiocin as the main product, whereas the cloN2 mutant accumulated a new aminocoumarin derivative, novclobiocin 104, lacking the pyrrole moiety at the 3-OH of the deoxysugar. In addition, free pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid accumulated in the culture extract of the cloN2 mutant. The structures of the metabolites were confirmed by NMR and LC-MS analysis. Clorobiocin production was successfully restored in the cloN2 mutant by introducing a replicative plasmid containing the cloN2 sequence. These results prove an involvement of cloN2 in the formation of the ester bond between the pyrrole moiety and the deoxysugar in clorobiocin biosynthesis. Furthermore, they indicate that the C-methylation at position 5 of the pyrrole moiety occurs after the attachment of pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid unit to the deoxysugar moiety.

Acyltransferases↗

HPLC-MS/MS analysis of willow bark extracts contained in pharmaceutical preparations.

Preparations containing willow bark extract are popular herbal remedies, but they are mostly standardised with respect to only one compound (usually salicin). RP-HPLC using a C18-column eluted with water:methanol:tetrahydrofuran and coupled to electrospray triple-quadrupole MS and MS/MS was used for the characterisation of dried extracts of Salix spp. and for the identification of their constituents. Comparison with reference substances led to the identification of 13 compounds (saligenin, salicylic acid, salicin, isosalicin, picein, salidroside, triandrin, salicoylsalicin, salicortin, isosalipurposide, salipurposide, naringenin-7-O-glucoside and tremulacin). Two pharmaceutical preparations containing willow bark extract, used in clinical trials and labelled Salix daphnoides and S. purpurea x daphnoides extracts, were compared using the described method and exhibited several clear differences, the most prominent of which was the possible presence of picein in the former preparation. The described method may be utilised for the characterisation of herbal medicines in order to ensure comparability of medication in further clinical trials.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗