ABSTRACT
Despite the well-established chemical processes for C-D bond formation, the toolbox of enzymatic methodologies for deuterium incorporation has remained underdeveloped. Here we describe a photodecarboxylase from Chlorella variabilis NC64A (CvFAP)-catalyzed approach for the decarboxylative deuteration of various carboxylic acids by employing D2O as a cheap and readily available deuterium source. Divergent protein engineering of WT-CvFAP is implemented using Focused Rational Iterative Site-specific Mutagenesis (FRISM) as a strategy for expanding the substrate scope. Using specific mutants, several series of substrates including different chain length acids, racemic substrates as well as bulky cyclic acids are successfully converted into the deuterated products (>40 examples). In many cases WT-CvFAP fails completely. This approach also enables the enantiocomplementary kinetic resolution of racemic acids to afford chiral deuterated products, which can hardly be accomplished by existing methods. MD simulations explain the results of improved catalytic activity and stereoselectivity of WT CvFAP and mutants.
Subject(s)
Carboxy-Lyases/chemistry , Carboxy-Lyases/metabolism , Chlorella/enzymology , Deuterium/chemistry , Carboxy-Lyases/genetics , Carboxylic Acids/chemistry , Carboxylic Acids/metabolism , Catalysis , Decarboxylation , Deuterium Oxide/chemistry , Molecular Docking Simulation , Molecular Dynamics Simulation , Mutagenesis, Site-Directed , Protein Engineering/methods , Recombinant Proteins/genetics , Recombinant Proteins/metabolism , Substrate SpecificityABSTRACT
We aim to explore the effects of emodin and its mechanisms on renal fibrosis (RF). We firstly modeled adriamycin-induced rat RF with unilateral nephrectomy. In vivo and in vitro pharmacological experiments were performed in this study. The presence of collagen deposition was detected by Masson staining. To verify whether emodin attenuates RF by monitoring autophagy, the immunohistochemistry staining for autophagy protein LC3B was performed. We conducted western blot to detect the expression of the autophagy-related proteins in EMT in vitro model after treating with emotin and BMP-7. In vivo, we demonstrated that emodin could improve renal dysfunction and decrease pathological damage of the kidney by activation of autophagy and inhibition of EMT. Upregulation of BMP-7 was recorded in the RF rats subjected to emodin treatment. In vitro studies, emodin has the capacity of reversing EMT and activating autophagy, and emodin could regulate the expression of BMP-7. The results revealed that the attenuation of EMT by emodin could be blocked after the inhibition of BMP-7 and suppression of autophagy. Our findings demonstrated that emodin alleviates EMT during RF by actuating autophagy through BMP-7, suggesting a role of BMP-7 in RF treatment and prevention.
Subject(s)
Autophagic Cell Death/drug effects , Bone Morphogenetic Protein 7/metabolism , Emodin/pharmacology , Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition/drug effects , Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition/genetics , Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental/drug effects , Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental/genetics , Kidney Diseases/genetics , Kidney Diseases/pathology , Kidney/pathology , Transforming Growth Factor beta1/metabolism , Animals , Cells, Cultured , Fibrosis , Humans , Male , Rats , Rats, Sprague-DawleyABSTRACT
The reliable design and prediction of enzyme promiscuity to access transformations not observed in nature remains a long-standing challenge. Herein, we present the first example of an intramolecular stereoselective Stetter reaction catalyzed by benzaldehyde lyase, guided by the rational structure screening of various ThDP-dependent enzymes using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. After optimization, high productivity (up to 99 %) and stereoselectivity (up to 99:1 e.r.) for this novel enzyme function was achieved.
Subject(s)
Aldehyde-Lyases/metabolism , Esters/metabolism , Acetic Acid , Biocatalysis , Esters/chemistry , Molecular Dynamics Simulation , Molecular Structure , Pseudomonas fluorescens/enzymology , Stereoisomerism , Thiamine Pyrophosphate/metabolismABSTRACT
Bladder cancer (BC) is one of the most frequent urological malignancies, and its molecular mechanism still remains unclear. Recent studies have revealed that MicroRNA (miRNAs) acted as oncogenes or tumor suppressors in a variety of cancers. MiRNA-96 has been reported to play a significant role in the development and progression of many cancers. In the current study, we found that transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß1 played a significant role in the progression that miR-96 conducted. And TGF-ß1 could also regulate the expression of FOXQ1, which is the target gene of miR-96. Furthermore, miR-96 induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition in BC cells, which is driven by TGF-ß1. In conclusion, our data revealed that miR-96 regulates the progression and epithelial-mesenchymal transition, which is driven by TGF-ß1 in BC cells; it may provide a new thought for the therapy of BC.
