The metabolism of quinate by Acinetobacter calco-aceticus.
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Phoslactomycins (PLMs) represent an unusual structural class of natural products secreted by various streptomycetes, containing an alpha,beta-unsaturated delta-lactone, an amino group, phosphate ester, conjugated diene and a cyclohexane ring. Phosphazomycins, phospholines and leustroducsins contain the same structural moieties, varying only in the acyl substituent at the C-18 hydroxyl position. These compounds possess either antifungal or antitumor activities or both. The antitumor activity of the PLM class of compounds has been attributed to a potent and selective inhibition of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A). The cysteine-269 residue of PP2Ac-subunit has been shown to be the site of covalent modification by PLMs. In this article, we review previous work on the isolation, structure elucidation and biological activities of PLMs and related compounds and current status of our work on both PLM stability and genetic manipulation of the biosynthetic process. Our work has shown that PLM B is surprisingly stable in solution, with a pH optimum of 6. Preliminary biosynthetic studies utilizing isotopically labeled shikimic acid and cyclohexanecarboxylic acid (CHC) suggested PLM B to be a polyketide-type antibiotic synthesized using CHC as a starter unit. Using a gene (chcA) from a set of CHC-CoA biosynthesis genes from Streptomyces collinus as a probe, a 75 kb region of 29 ORFs encoding PLM biosynthesis was located in the genome of Streptomyces sp. strain HK803. Analysis and subsequent manipulation of plmS2 and plmR2 in the gene cluster has allowed for rational engineering of a strain that produces only one PLM analog, PLM B, at ninefold higher titers than the wild type strain. A strain producing PLM G (the penultimate intermediate in PLMs biosynthesis) has also been generated. Current work is aimed at selective in vitro acylation of PLM G with various carboxylic acids and a precursor-directed biosynthesis in a chcA deletion mutant with the aim of generating novel PLM analogs.
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Some polyphenol-containing extracts (Pelargonium sidoides, Phyllanthus amarus) and representatives of simple phenols (shikimic acid 3- and 5-O-gallate), flavan-3-ols (epigallocatechin 3-gallate), proanthocyanidins (a hexamer) and hydrolysable tannins (corilagin, casuariin, geraniin) were studied for gene expressions (iNOS, IL-1, IL-10, IL-12, IL-18, TNF-alpha, IFN-alpha/gamma) by RT-PCR. All extracts and compounds were capable of enhancing the iNOS and cytokine mRNA levels in parasitised cells when compared with those in non-infected conditions.
The adrenal gland protein AD-004 like protein (ADLP) from Caenorhabditis elegans was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. Enzyme assays showed that ADLP has special adenylate kinase (AK) properties, with ATP and dATP as the preferred phosphate donors. In contrast to all other AK isoforms, AMP and dAMP were the preferred substrates of ADLP; CMP, TMP and shikimate acid were also good substrates. Subcellular localization studies showed a predominant nuclear localization for this protein, which is different from AK1-AK5, but similar to that of human AK6. These results suggest that ADLP is more likely a member of the AK6 family. Furthermore, RNAi experiments targeting ADLP were conducted and showed that RNAi treatment resulted in the suppression of worm growth.
The ethanolic extract of the fruit bark from Magonia glabrata yielded shikimic acid, scopoletin, sitosterol glycoside and 2-O-methyl-l-inositol. Antioxidant, icthyotoxicity and brine shrimp lethality activities were observed in this extract. The major constituent, 2-O-methyl-l-inositol, was found to be inactive in two assays but showed moderate activity as a radical scavenger.
The folk medicine employs Schinus polygamus to treat arthritic pain and cleansing of wounds. As no reports of pharmacological studies supporting its anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, extracts of increasing polarity were assayed on the base of fever, pain and inflammation, together with its antimicrobial activity. All the extracts showed pharmacological activities. From the most active extracts different metabolites were isolated that can in part explain the antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic activity: beta-sitosterol, shikimic acid together with quercetin, previously reported. Also, the essential oil of leaves and fruits was obtained and compared with the oil obtained from Schinus polygamus collected in Argentine. Oils differed in composition and in antibacterial activity, where the Chilean species exhibited a wide spectrum of activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and the most abundant compound found in leaves and fruits was beta-pinene, meanwhile the Argentine species showed high activity against Bacillus cereus, and the main components resulted to be alpha-phellandrene and limonene.
Shigellosis is a major public health problem in many developing countries. Antibiotic therapy can reduce the severity of the dysentery and prevent potentially lethal complication. However, owing to the increased resistance to most of the widely used and inexpensive antibiotics, there is an urgent need for new antibacterial agents, particularly those that act on novel targets. Chorismate synthase (CS) is a key enzyme in the shikimic acid pathway, which is essential for the synthesis of aromatic amino acids in bacteria. As an anti-bacterial drug target, CS has been well validated. A homology model of Shigella-CS with the flavin mononucleotide (FMN) binding was constructed using the crystal structure of CS from other species. The substrate 5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate (EPSP) was subsequently docked into the active site based on previous theoretical studies. Molecular dynamics (MD) was used to refine the starting ternary model. The model was well conserved during the 1.8 ns MD simulation with the equilibrium root mean square deviation (RMSD) value of 3.5 angstrom. The substrate binding energy was calculated and the electrostatic energy was found to be the most important term for binding. Decomposition of binding energies revealed that R129, R125, R327, R134 and R48 are important residues involved in substrate binding, which is useful for further site-directed mutagenesis experiments. In the absence of crystal structure, our study provides an early insight into the structure of CS from Shigella flexneri and its binding to the substrate and cofactor, thus facilitating the inhibitor design.
As part of an ongoing project to investigate the anti-staphylococcal properties of the Hypericum genus, an acylphloroglucinol, 1,5-dihydroxy-2-(2'-methylpropionyl)-3-methoxy-6-methylbenzene (1), was isolated from the dichloromethane extract of the aerial parts of H. beanii (Guttiferae), together with a minor related acylphloroglucinol 1,5-dihydroxy-2-(2'-methylbutanoyl)-3-methoxy-6-methylbenzene (2) as a mixture in a 5:2 ratio. The known compounds 1,7-dihydroxyxanthone (3), stigmasterol, catechin and shikimic acid were also isolated from this plant. The structures of the compounds were characterized by extensive 1- and 2D NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values the acylphloroglucinol mixture and (3) against a panel of multidrug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus ranged from 16-32 microg/ml to 128-256 microg/ml, respectively.
Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia remains a prevalent opportunistic disease among immunocompromised individuals. Although aggressive prophylaxis has decreased the number of acute P. carinii pneumonia cases, many patients cannot tolerate the available drugs, and experience recurrence of the infection, which can be fatal. It is now generally agreed that the organism should be placed with the fungi, but the identification of extant fungal species representing its closest kins, remains debated. Most recent data indicate that P. carinii represents a diverse group of organisms. Since the lack of methods for the continuous subcultivation of this organism hampered P. carinii research, molecular cloning and nucleotide sequencing approaches led the way for understanding the biochemical nature of this pathogen. However, within the last 5 years, the development of improved protocols for isolating and purifying viable organisms from infected mammalian host lungs has enabled direct biochemical and metabolism studies on the organism. The protein moiety of the major high mol. wt surface antigen, represented by numerous isoforms, is encoded by different genes. These proteins are post-transcriptionally modified by carbohydrates and lipids. The organism has the shikimic acid pathway that leads to the formation of compounds which mammals cannot synthesise (e.g., folic acid), hence drugs that inhibit these pathways are effective against the pathogen. Ornithine decarboxylase has now been detected; rapid and complete depletion of polyamines occurs in response to difluoromethylornithine (DFMO). Instead of ergosterol (the major sterol of higher fungi), P. carinii synthesises distinct delta7, C-24-alkylated sterols. An unusual C32 sterol, pneumocysterol, has been identified in human-derived P. carinii. Another signature lipid discovered is cis-9,10-epoxy stearic acid. CoQ10, identified as the major ubiquinone homologue, is synthesised de novo by P. carinii. Atovaquone and other hydroxynaphthoquinone drugs with anti-P. carinii activity probably inhibit pathogen respiration as CoQ analogues. Unlike its effects on Plasmodium, atovaquone does not inhibit the P. carinii dihydroorotate dehydrogenase and pyrimidine metabolism.
Three new partially acetylated derivatives of 1-O-dodecanyl-alpha-L- rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->3)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->3)-alpha-L- rhamnopyranoside and three partially acetylated derivatives of 1-O-dodecanyl-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->3)- alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->3)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->4)- alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside, one of them new, have been isolated from the mature leaves of Cleistopholis patens (Annonaceae). Their structures, elucidated by using COSY, COSY-LR, TOCSY and FAB mass spectrometry, have been characterised as cleistrioside-2, -3, -4 and cleistetroside-1, -2 and -6. From the same source, shikimic acid was also isolated.
Mechanistic differences between type I and type II dehydroquinases have been exploited in the design of type specific inhibitors. (2R)-2-Bromo-3-dehydroquinic acid (3), (2R)-2-fluoro-3-dehydroquinic acid (5) and 2-bromo-3-dehydroshikimic acid (4), all excellent substrates for type II dehydroquinase, are shown to be irreversible inhibitors of type I dehydroquinase.
BACKGROUND: UDP-N-acetylglucosamine enolpyruvyl transferase (MurA), catalyses the first committed step of bacterial cell wall biosynthesis and is a target for the antibiotic fosfomycin. The only other known enolpyruvyl transferase is 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase, an enzyme involved in the shikimic acid pathway and the target for the herbicide glyphosate. Inhibitors of enolpyruvyl transferases are of biotechnological interest as MurA and EPSP synthase are found exclusively in plants and microbes. RESULTS: The crystal structure of Escherichia coli MurA complexed with UDP-N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc) and fosfomycin has been determined at 1.8 A resolution. The structure consists of two domains with the active site located between them. The domains have a very similar secondary structure, and the overall protein architecture is similar to that of EPSP synthase. The fosfomycin molecule is covalently bound to the cysteine residue Cys115, whereas UDP-GlcNAc makes several hydrogen-bonding interactions with residues from both domains. CONCLUSIONS: The present structure reveals the mode of binding of the natural substrate UDP-GlcNAc and of the drug fosfomycin, and provides information on the residues involved in catalysis. These results should aid the design of inhibitors which would interfere with enzyme-catalyzed reactions in the early stage of the bacterial cell wall biosynthesis. Furthermore, the crystal structure of MurA provides a model for predicting active-site residues in EPSP synthase that may be involved in catalysis and substrate binding.
The toxicity of aromatics frequently limits the yields of their microbial synthesis. For example, the 5% yield of catechol synthesized from glucose by Escherichia coli WN1/pWL1.290A under fermentor-controlled conditions reflects catechol's microbial toxicity. Use of in situ resin-based extraction to reduce catechol's concentration in culture medium and thereby its microbial toxicity during its synthesis from glucose by E. coli WN1/pWL1.290A led to a 7% yield of catechol. Interfacing microbial with chemical synthesis was then explored where glucose was microbially converted into a nontoxic intermediate followed by chemical conversion of this intermediate into catechol. Intermediates examined include 3-dehydroquinate, 3-dehydroshikimate, and protocatechuate. 3-Dehydroquinate and 3-dehydroshikimate synthesized, respectively, by E. coli QP1.1/pJY1.216A and E. coli KL3/pJY1.216A from glucose were extracted and then reacted in water heated at 290 degrees C to afford catechol in overall yields from glucose of 10% and 26%, respectively. The problematic extraction of these catechol precursors from culture medium was subsequently circumvented by high-yielding chemical dehydration of 3-dehydroquinate and 3-dehydroshikimate in culture medium followed by extraction of the resulting protocatechuate. After reaction of protocatechuate in water heated at 290 degrees C, the overall yields of catechol synthesized from glucose via chemical dehydration of 3-dehydroquinate and chemical dehydration of 3-dehydroshikimate were, respectively, 25% and 30%. Direct synthesis of protocatechuate from glucose using E. coli KL3/pWL2.46B followed by its extraction and chemical decarboxylation in water gave a 24% overall yield of catechol from glucose. In situ resin-based extraction of protocatechaute synthesized by E. coli KL3/pWL2.46B followed by chemical decarboxylation of this catechol percursor was then examined. This employment of both strategies for dealing with the microbial toxicity of aromatic products led to the highest overall yield with catechol synthesized in 43% overall yield from glucose.
Dried plums are known as a healthy food in the West and used as medicine in India. They have been characterized by high concentrations of phenolic compounds, which are believed to play a crucial role in protection against various age-related diseases. Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) with four different conditions was used to analyze the phytochemicals in commercial dried plums. The major components were neochlorogenic acid and cryptochlorogenic acid. Forty minor components were characterized by their MS/MS spectra and LC retention time. Six of them are novel ester isomers formed by two caffeic acids and one quinic acid. The diagnostic fragmentation patterns of different phenolics are presented on the basis of electrospray ionization (ESI) MS/MS data of components in dried plums and fourteen authentic standards.
Cyclopia subternata is one of the 24 Cyclopia species that are used to brew honeybush tea, a unique South African herbal beverage with a pleasant taste and flavor. It contains various antioxidants, very low tannin content, and no caffeine. Many health properties are associated with regular consumption of the tea. Honeybush infusions have been noted as a tonic for colds and influenza, catarrh, and pulmonic tuberculosis and is becoming well-known for its effectiveness in alleviating menopausal symptoms in women. "Unfermented" leaves of C. subternata contain pinitol, shikimic acid, p-coumaric acid, 4-glucosyltyrosol, epigallocatechin gallate, the isoflavone orobol, the flavanones hesperedin, narirutin, and eriocitrin, a glycosylated flavan, the flavones luteolin, 5-deoxyluteolin, and scolymoside, the xanthone mangiferin, and the flavonol C-6-glucosylkaempferol. The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic and spectrometric analysis.