Regioselective Palmitoylation of 9-(2,3-Dihydroxy- propyl)adenine Catalyzed by a Glycopolymer-enzyme Conjugate.

The enzymatic regioselective monopalmitoylation of racemic 9-(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)- adenine (DHPA), an approved antiviral agent, has been performed by an immobilized form of Candida antarctica B lipase (CAL-B) using a 4:1 DMF/hexane mixture as the reaction medium. To improve the chemical yield of the desired monopalmitoylation reaction, solid-phase chemical modifications of the lipase were evaluated. The reaction yield was successfully increased obtaining 100% product after a second treatment of the product solution with fresh immobilised chemically glycosylated-CAL-B.

Characterisation of Acetyl-CoA Thiolase: The First Enzyme in the Biosynthesis of Terpenic Sex Pheromone Components in the Labial Gland of Bombus terrestris.

Buff-tailed bumblebees, Bombus terrestris, use a male sex pheromone for premating communication. Its main component is a sesquiterpene, 2,3-dihydrofarnesol. This paper reports the isolation of a thiolase (acetyl-CoA thiolase, AACT_BT), the first enzyme involved in the biosynthetic pathway leading to formation of isoprenoids in the B. terrestris male sex pheromone. Characterisation of AACT_BT might contribute to a better understanding of pheromonogenesis in the labial gland of B. terrestris males. The protein was purified to apparent homogeneity by column chromatography with subsequent stepwise treatment. AACT_BT showed optimum acetyltransferase activity at pH 7.1 and was strongly inhibited by iodoacetamide. The enzyme migrated as a band with an apparent mass of 42.9 kDa on SDS-PAGE. MS analysis of an AACT_BT tryptic digest revealed high homology to representatives of the thiolase family. AACT_BT has 96 % amino acid sequence identity with the previously reported Bombus impatiens thiolase.

Graphene oxide immobilized enzymes show high thermal and solvent stability.

The thermal and solvent tolerance of enzymes is highly important for their industrial use. We show here that the enzyme lipase from Rhizopus oryzae exhibits exceptionally high thermal stability and high solvent tolerance and even increased activity in acetone when immobilized onto a graphene oxide (GO) nanosupport prepared by Staudenmaier and Brodie methods. We studied various forms of immobilization of the enzyme: by physical adsorption, covalent attachment, and additional crosslinking. The activity recovery was shown to be dependent on the support type, enzyme loading and immobilization procedure. Covalently immobilized lipase showed significantly better resistance to heat inactivation (the activity recovery was 65% at 70 °C) in comparison with the soluble counterpart (the activity recovery was 65% at 40 °C). Physically adsorbed lipase achieved over 100% of the initial activity in a series of organic solvents. These findings, showing enhanced thermal stability and solvent tolerance of graphene oxide immobilized enzyme, will have a profound impact on practical industrial scale uses of enzymes for the conversion of lipids into fuels.

Characterization of neutral lipase BT-1 isolated from the labial gland of Bombus terrestris males.

BACKGROUND: In addition to their general role in the hydrolysis of storage lipids, bumblebee lipases can participate in the biosynthesis of fatty acids that serve as precursors of pheromones used for sexual communication. RESULTS: We studied the temporal dynamics of lipolytic activity in crude extracts from the cephalic part of Bombus terrestris labial glands. Extracts from 3-day-old males displayed the highest lipolytic activity. The highest lipase gene expression level was observed in freshly emerged bumblebees, and both gene expression and lipase activity were lower in bumblebees older than 3 days. Lipase was purified from labial glands, further characterized and named as BT-1. The B. terrestris orthologue shares 88% sequence identity with B. impatiens lipase HA. The molecular weight of B. terrestris lipase BT-1 was approximately 30 kDa, the pH optimum was 8.3, and the temperature optimum was 50°C. Lipase BT-1 showed a notable preference for C8-C10 p-nitrophenyl esters, with the highest activity toward p-nitrophenyl caprylate (C8). The Michaelis constant (Km) and maximum reaction rate (Vmax) for p-nitrophenyl laurate hydrolysis were Km = 0.0011 mM and Vmax = 0.15 U/mg. CONCLUSION: This is the first report describing neutral lipase from the labial gland of B. terrestris. Our findings help increase understanding of its possible function in the labial gland.

Serine protease from midgut of Bombus terrestris males.

A serine protease was isolated from midguts of the bumblebee male Bombus terrestris by a combination of precipitation procedures with column chromatography. The purified enzyme exhibited two bands with molecular masses of 25 and 26 kDa as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These bands showed a proteolytic activity in zymography assay. Midgut enzymes showed optimum proteolytic activity at pH 9 and 35°C using N-succinyl-L-alanyl-L-alanyl-L-prolyl-L-phenyl-alanine 4-nitroanilide as a substrate. The Michaelis constant (Km) and maximum reaction rate (Vmax) were 0.55±0.042 mM and 0.714±0.056 µmol p-nitroalanine produced min(-1) mg protein(-1) , respectively. Inhibition was affected by trypsin inhibitor, but not by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride and N-tosyl-L-phenylalanine chloromethyl ketone, which indicated the trypsin-like but not chymotrypsin-like specificity. The identity of the serine protease was confirmed by nanoliquid-tandem mass spectrometry. Eleven unique peptides of the B. terrestris serine protease were found. It shows high homology to a previously reported B. ignitus serine protease covering more than 65% of the protein amino acid sequence.

Lipases as tools in the synthesis of prodrugs from racemic 9-(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)adenine.

Lipases from Geotrichum candidum 4013 (extracellular lipase and cell-bound lipase) were immobilized by adsorption on chitosan beads. The enzyme preparations were tested in the synthesis of ester prodrugs from racemic 9-(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)adenine in dimethylformamide with different vinyl esters (acetate, butyrate, decanoate, laurate, palmitate). The transesterification activities of these immobilized enzymes were compared with commercially available lipases (lipase from hog pancreas, Aspergillus niger, Candida antarctica, Pseudomonas fluorescens). Lipase from Candida antarctica was found to be the most efficient enzyme regarding chemical yield of the desired products, while transesterification by lipase from Aspergillus niger resulted in lower yields.

Non-polar lipid components of human cerumen.

Human cerumen was separated by column chromatography into the following groups of compounds: hydrocarbons, squalene, wax esters and cholesterol esters, triacylglycerols, free fatty acids, free fatty alcohols, monoacylglycerols, free cholesterol, free sterols, and free hydroxy acids. The groups of compounds obtained were examined in detail by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In total, about one thousand compounds have been identified.

Differences in hydrolytic abilities of two crude lipases from Geotrichum candidum 4013.

The fungus Geotrichum candidum 4013 produces two types of lipases (extracellular and cell-bound). Both enzymes were tested for their hydrolytic ability to p-nitrophenyl esters and compounds having a structure similar to the original substrate (triacylglycerols). Higher lipolytic activity of extracellular lipase was observed when triacylglycerols of medium- (C12) and long- (C18) chain fatty acids were used as substrates. Cell-bound lipase preferentially hydrolysed trimyristate (C14). The differences in the abilities of these two enzymes to hydrolyse p-nitrophenyl esters were observed as well. The order of extracellular lipase hydrolysis relation velocity was as follows: p-nitrophenyl decanoate > p-nitrophenyl caprylate > p-nitrophenyl laurate > p-nitrophenyl palmitate > p-nitrophenyl stearate. The cell-bound lipase indicates preference for p-nitrophenyl palmitate. The most striking differences in the ratios between the activity of both lipases (extracellular : cell-bound) towards different fatty acid methyl esters were 2.2 towards methyl hexanoate and 0.46 towards methyl stearate (C18). The Michaelis constant (K(m) ) and maximum reaction rate (V(max) ) for p-nitrophenyl palmitate hydrolysis of cell-bound lipase were significantly higher (K(m) 2.462 mM and V(max) 0.210 U/g/min) than those of extracellular lipase (K(m) 0.406 mM and V(max) 0.006 U/g/min).

A review on the effects of supercritical carbon dioxide on enzyme activity.

Different types of enzymes such as lipases, several phosphatases, dehydrogenases, oxidases, amylases and others are well suited for the reactions in SC-CO(2). The stability and the activity of enzymes exposed to carbon dioxide under high pressure depend on enzyme species, water content in the solution and on the pressure and temperature of the reaction system. The three-dimensional structure of enzymes may be significantly altered under extreme conditions, causing their denaturation and consequent loss of activity. If the conditions are less adverse, the protein structure may be largely retained. Minor structural changes may induce an alternative active protein state with altered enzyme activity, specificity and stability.

Enantiomeric purity of biodegradation products of juvenogens by newly isolated soil bacteria.

Two bacteria were isolated from sand RQ30, characterized as Bacillus simplex and Bacillus sp. strain 05 (GenBank EU399813 ), and were used as biocatalysts for a hydrolytic assay of stability of the cis or trans isomers of ethyl N-{2-{4-{[2-(butanoyl)oxycyclohexyl]methyl}phenoxy}ethyl}carbamate, which are among insect hormonogen substances (juvenogens). The stability tests were performed using simple modeling under laboratory conditions. The structures of the products were assigned as ethyl (1 R,2 R)- N-{2-{4-[(2-hydroxycyclohexyl)methyl]phenoxy}ethyl}carbamate and ethyl (1 S,2 R)- N-{2-{4-[(2-hydroxycyclohexyl)methyl]phenoxy}ethyl}carbamate on the basis of (1)H and (13)C NMR, IR, and FAB-MS analyses.

Plant products for pharmacology: application of enzymes in their transformations.

Different plant products have been subjected to detailed investigations due to their increasing importance for improving human health. Plants are sources of many groups of natural products, of which large number of new compounds has already displayed their high impact in human medicine. This review deals with the natural products which may be found dissolved in lipid phase (phytosterols, vitamins etc.). Often subsequent convenient transformation of natural products may further improve the pharmacological properties of new potential medicaments based on natural products. To respect basic principles of sustainable and green procedures, enzymes are often employed as efficient natural catalysts in such plant product transformations. Transformations of lipids and other natural products under the conditions of enzyme catalysis show increasing importance in environmentally safe and sustainable production of pharmacologically important compounds. In this review, attention is focused on lipases, efficient and convenient biocatalysts for the enantio- and regioselective formation / hydrolysis of ester bond in a wide variety of both natural and unnatural substrates, including plant products, eg. plant oils and other natural lipid phase compounds. The application of enzymes for preparation of acylglycerols and transformation of other natural products provides big advantage in comparison with employing of conventional chemical methods: Increased selectivity, higher product purity and quality, energy conservation, elimination of heavy metal catalysts, and sustainability of the employed processes, which are catalyzed by enzymes. Two general procedures are used in the transformation of lipid-like natural products: (a) Hydrolysis/alcoholysis of triacylglycerols and (b) esterification of glycerol. The reactions can be performed under conventional conditions or in supercritical fluids/ionic liquids. Enzyme-catalyzed reactions in supercritical fluids combine the advantages of biocatalysts (substrate specificity under mild reaction conditions) and supercritical fluids (high mass-transfer rate, easy separation of reaction products from the solvent, environmental benefits based on excluding organic solvents from the production process).

Insect pest control agents: Novel chiral butanoate esters (juvenogens).

During the investigation of ester derivatives (juvenogens, biochemically activated insect hormonogenic compounds) of biologically active alcohols with potential application in insect pest control, a need for availability of all existing stereoisomers of ethyl N-{2-[4-(2-butanoyloxycyclohexyl)methyl]phenoxy}ethyl carbamate occurred. They were synthesized from their chiral precursors, the corresponding stereoisomers of 2-(4-methoxybenzyl)cyclohexyl butanoate, by removing their protecting group (methyl), and by subsequent condensation of the aromatic hydroxyl moiety with ethyl N-(2-bromoethyl) carbamate. The requested enantiomers of 2-(4-methoxybenzyl)cyclohexyl butanoate were obtained by a Candida antarctica lipase-mediated transesterification and chiral resolution of the respective racemic cis- and trans-isomers of 2-(4-methoxybenzyl)cyclohexanol either directly or after a subsequent chemical esterification of the chiral precursor. In this synthesis, two convenient butanoic acid activating esters, vinyl butanoate and 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl butanoate, were employed, and the chiral precursors in the synthesis of the target molecules were obtained in 41-48% yields (i.e., 82-96% conversion), and with enantiomeric purity ee=96-98%, respectively. The enantiomeric purity of the products was determined by chiral HPLC analysis, and their absolute configuration was assigned on the basis of analyzing the (1)H and (19)F NMR spectra of their diastereoisomeric Mosher acid (3,3,3-trifluoromethyl-2-methoxy-2-phenylpropanoic acid) esters.

High-performance liquid chromatography with nuclear magnetic resonance detection--A method for quantification of alpha- and gamma-linolenic acids in their mixtures with free fatty acids.

While many naturally occurring mixtures of free fatty acids are conveniently analyzed by hyphenated technique of LC-NMR, a complete separation of alpha- and gamma-linolenic acids for their quantitative determination appears impossible at least by the methods of reversed phase HPLC. However, they can be differentiated and quantified from 1H NMR spectra measured in the course of isocratic acetonitrile-chloroform (90:10, with C8 and C18 columns in series) LC-NMR analysis without the need for any derivatization.

Gas chromatographic retention data of wax esters.

Higher wax esters within the range of C24 to C44 (205 standards) were analyzed by means of gas chromatography and Kováts indexes (I) and reduced Kováts indexes (RKI) were calculated. The dependences of these retention data on number of carbon atoms and on number and position of double bonds in acid and in alcohol moieties of esters were plotted.

Stereoselective reduction of 2-substituted cyclohexanones by Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

A comparative study of two modifications of enzymic reduction of ethyl N-[2-[4-[(2-oxo-cyclohexyl)methyl]phenoxy]ethyl]carbamate (1), an insect juvenile hormone bioanalog, was performed using Saccharomyces cerevisiae in two bioreactors of different size, 250-ml shake-flask and 1-l fermenter. The two major products of this reduction were obtained in 45-49% (w/w) yields but with > 99% enantiomeric purity. Their absolute configurations were assigned as ethyl (1S,2S)-N-[2-[4-[(2-hydroxycyclohexyl)methyl]phenoxy]ethyl]carbamate (2a) and ethyl (1R,2S)-N-[2-[4-[(2-hydroxycyclohexyl)methyl]phenoxy]ethyl]carbamate (3a).