Thermotoga maritima AglA, an extremely thermostable NAD+-, Mn2+-, and thiol-dependent alpha-glucosidase.

The gene for the alpha-glucosidase AglA of the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima MSB8, which was identified by phenotypic screening of a T. maritima gene library, is located within a cluster of genes involved in the hydrolysis of starch and maltodextrins and the uptake of maltooligosaccharides. According to its primary structure as deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the gene, AglA belongs to family 4 of glycosyl hydrolases. The enzyme was recombinantly expressed in Escherichia coli, purified, and characterized. The T. maritima alpha-glucosidase has the unusual property of requiring NAD+ and Mn2+ for activity. Co2+ and Ni2+ also activated AglA, albeit less efficiently than Mn2+. T. maritima AglA represents the first example of a maltodextrin-degrading alpha-glucosidase with NAD+ and Mn2+ requirement. In addition, AglA activity depended on reducing conditions. This third requirement was met by the addition of dithiothreitol (DTT) or beta-mercaptoethanol to the assay. Using gel permeation chromatography, T. maritima AglA behaved as a dimer (two identical 55-kDa subunits), irrespective of metal depletion or metal addition, and irrespective of the presence or absence of NAD+ or DTT. The enzyme hydrolyzes maltose and other small maltooligosaccharides but is inactive against the polymeric substrate starch. AglA is not specific with respect to the configuration at the C-4 position of its substrates because glycosidic derivatives of D-galactose are also hydrolyzed. In the presence of all cofactors, maximum activity was recorded at pH 7.5 and 90 degrees C (4-min assay). AglA is the most thermoactive and the most thermostable member of glycosyl hydrolase family 4. When incubated at 50 degrees C and 70 degrees C, the recombinant enzyme suffered partial inactivation during the first hours of incubation, but thereafter the residual activity did not drop below about 50% and 20% of the initial value, respectively, within a period of 48 h.

Adenosine kinase inhibitors. 1. Synthesis, enzyme inhibition, and antiseizure activity of 5-iodotubercidin analogues.

Adenosine receptor agonists produce a wide variety of therapeutically useful pharmacologies. However, to date they have failed to undergo successful clinical development due to dose-limiting side effects. Adenosine kinase inhibitors (AKIs) represent an alternative strategy, since AKIs may raise local adenosine levels in a more site- and event-specific manner and thereby elicit the desired pharmacology with a greater therapeutic window. Starting with 5-iodotubercidin (IC50 = 0.026 microM) and 5'-amino-5'-deoxyadenosine (IC50 = 0.17 microM) as lead inhibitors of the isolated human AK, a variety of pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine nucleoside analogues were designed and prepared by coupling 5-substituted-4-chloropyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine bases with ribose analogues using the sodium salt-mediated glycosylation procedure. 5'-Amino-5'-deoxy analogues of 5-bromo- and 5-iodotubercidins were found to be the most potent AKIs reported to date (IC50S < 0.001 microM). Several potent AKIs were shown to exhibit anticonvulsant activity in the rat maximal electric shock (MES) induced seizure assay.

Adenosine kinase inhibitors. 2. Synthesis, enzyme inhibition, and antiseizure activity of diaryltubercidin analogues.

In the preceding article (Ugarkar et al. J. Med. Chem. 2000, 43) we reported that analogues of tubercidin are potent adenosine kinase (AK) inhibitors with antiseizure activity in the rat maximum electroshock (MES) model. Despite the discovery of several highly potent AK inhibitors (AKIs), e.g., 5'-amino-5'-deoxy- 5-iodotubercidin (1c) (IC50 = 0.0006 microM), no compounds were identified that exhibited a safety, efficacy, and side effect profile suitable for further development. In this article, we demonstrate that substitution of the tubercidin molecule with aromatic rings at the N4- and the C5-positions not only retains AKI potency but also improves in vivo activity. Synthesis of such compounds entailed transformation of 4-arylamino-5-iodotubercidin analogues to their corresponding 5-aryl derivatives via the Suzuki reaction. Alternatively, 4-N-arylamino-5-arylpyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine bases were constructed and then glycosylated with appropriately protected alpha-ribofuranosyl chlorides using a phase-transfer catalyst. Several compounds exhibited potent activity in the rat MES seizure assay with ED50s < or = 2.0 mg/kg, ip, and showed relatively mild side effects.