Biosynthesis of organic photosensitizer Zn-porphyrin by diphtheria toxin repressor (DtxR)-mediated global upregulation of engineered heme biosynthesis pathway in Corynebacterium glutamicum.

Zn-porphyrin is a promising organic photosensitizer in various fields including solar cells, interface and biomedical research, but the biosynthesis study has been limited, probably due to the difficulty of understanding complex biosynthesis pathways. In this study, we developed a Corynebacterium glutamicum platform strain for the biosynthesis of Zn-coproporphyrin III (Zn-CP III), in which the heme biosynthesis pathway was efficiently upregulated. The pathway was activated and reinforced by strong promoter-induced expression of hemAM (encoding mutated glutamyl-tRNA reductase) and hemL (encoding glutamate-1-semialdehyde aminotransferase) genes. This engineered strain produced 33.54 ± 3.44 mg/l of Zn-CP III, while the control strain produced none. For efficient global regulation of the complex pathway, the dtxR gene encoding the transcriptional regulator diphtheria toxin repressor (DtxR) was first overexpressed in C. glutamicum with hemAM and hemL genes, and its combinatorial expression was improved by using effective genetic tools. This engineered strain biosynthesized 68.31 ± 2.15 mg/l of Zn-CP III. Finally, fed-batch fermentation allowed for the production of 132.09 mg/l of Zn-CP III. This titer represents the highest in bacterial production of Zn-CP III reported to date, to our knowledge. This study demonstrates that engineered C. glutamicum can be a robust biotechnological model for the production of photosensitizer Zn-porphyrin.

Gestational tissue inflammatory biomarkers at term labor: A systematic review of literature.

Parturition at term is characterized by inflammatory overload in both feto-maternal tissues. Despite the large number of individual studies on changes in inflammatory biomarkers linked to labor, a comprehensive profile of them in each of the uterine compartments is not available to better understand their mechanistic contributions to labor. This systematic review investigated the pro- and anti-inflammatory biomarkers reported in intra-uterine tissues (amnion, chorion, decidua, placenta, and myometrium) at term labor. We conducted a systematic review of studies on pro- and anti-inflammatory biomarkers (mRNA and/or protein) reported in feto-maternal tissues during normal human term labor, published in English (1980-2016), in 3 electronic data bases. From a total of 3712 citations, 172 were included for final review. Each tissue expresses a unique set of biomarkers at the time of term labor, but there is significant overlap between tissues. All tissues had IL-6, IL-8, IL-1ß, COX-2, PGE-2, TNF-α, and hCAP18 in common at term labor. Common and unique inflammatory biomarkers are expressed in various feto-maternal compartments at term labor. Increase in pro-inflammatory markers in all gestational tissue signifies their harmonious functional role in promoting labor. Anti-inflammatory markers at term labor are hardly reported.

Bioinspired versus Enzymatic Oxidation of Some Homologous Thionine Dyes in the Presence of Immobilized Metalloporphyrin Catalysts and Ligninolytic Enzymes.

Thionines are recalcitrant and polluting textile dyes presenting various degrees of N-methylation. In this paper, a complete series of homologous thionines was used as the substrates for oxidation in the presence of a bioinspired commercial iron-porphyrin immobilized on to imidazole- and pyridine-functionalized fumed silica, to emulate the active site of ligninolytic peroxidases. The obtained catalytic adducts showed a remarkable ability to catalyze thionine dye oxidation in the presence of different oxidants such as potassium monopersulfate and hydrogen peroxide. Different oxidation patterns were obtained and mechanistically discussed, in comparison with those observed in the presence of some ligninolytic oxidizing enzymes.

The biosynthetic pathway of coenzyme F430 in methanogenic and methanotrophic archaea.

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) is the key enzyme of methanogenesis and anaerobic methane oxidation. The activity of MCR is dependent on the unique nickel-containing tetrapyrrole known as coenzyme F430. We used comparative genomics to identify the coenzyme F430 biosynthesis (cfb) genes and characterized the encoded enzymes from Methanosarcina acetivorans C2A. The pathway involves nickelochelation by a nickel-specific chelatase, followed by amidation to form Ni-sirohydrochlorin a,c-diamide. Next, a primitive homolog of nitrogenase mediates a six-electron reduction and γ-lactamization reaction before a Mur ligase homolog forms the six-membered carbocyclic ring in the final step of the pathway. These data show that coenzyme F430 can be synthesized from sirohydrochlorin using Cfb enzymes produced heterologously in a nonmethanogen host and identify several targets for inhibitors of biological methane formation.

Extraction of Phospholipids from Human Erythrocyte Membranes by Hemoglobin Oxidation Products.

This investigation examines oxidation conditions under which hemoglobin extracts membrane phospholipid from erythrocytes and model membranes. In erythrocytes made echinocytic with exogenous phospholipid, addition of hemoglobin oxidized with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or Vitamin C (conditions that result in the formation of significant quantities of choleglobin), but not ferricyanide (which produces predominantly methemoglobin), induced dose-dependent shape reversion to less echinocytic forms, consistent with extraction of phospholipids from the exofacial side of the membrane. Erythrocytes preloaded with radiolabeled phosphatidylcholine or NBD-labeled phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylglycerol or phosphatidic acid, exhibited greatest extraction of radiolabel or fluorescence signal with exogenous hemoglobin oxidized via H2O2 or Vitamin C, but not ferricyanide. However, with NBD-phosphatidylserine (a preferential inner monolayer intercalator), significantly less extraction of labeled lipid occurred with oxidized hemoglobin prepared under all three oxidizing conditions. In dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine liposomes containing radiolabeled phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylserine or phosphatidylethanolamine, subsequent addition of hemoglobin oxidized with H2O2 or Vitamin C extracted radiolabeled lipid with significantly greater efficiency than ferricyanide-treated hemoglobin, with enhanced extraction detectable at levels approaching physiological plasma oxidant concentrations. Radiolabeled lipid extraction was comparable for phospholipids containing saturated acyl chains between 12 and 18 carbons but diminished significantly for oleoyl-containing phospholipids. Hemoglobin dimerization occurred at very low levels with H2O2 treatment, and even lower levels with Vitamin C treatment, and thus did not correlate to the high efficiency and consistent levels of lipid extraction observed with these treatments. These findings indicate that choleglobin extracts lipids from cell membranes regardless of headgroup or acyl chain length, through a process of direct hydrophobic interaction with the membrane surface.

Computational de novo design and characterization of a protein that selectively binds a highly hyperpolarizable abiological chromophore.

This work reports the first example of a single-chain protein computationally designed to contain four α-helical segments and fold to form a four-helix bundle encapsulating a supramolecular abiological chromophore that possesses exceptional nonlinear optical properties. The 109-residue protein, designated SCRPZ-1, binds and disperses an insoluble hyperpolarizable chromophore, ruthenium(II) [5-(4'-ethynyl-(2,2';6',2″-terpyridinyl))-10,20-bis(phenyl)porphinato]zinc(II)-(2,2';6',2″-terpyridine)(2+) (RuPZn) in aqueous buffer solution at a 1:1 stoichiometry. A 1:1 binding stoichiometry of the holoprotein is supported by electronic absorption and circular dichroism spectra, as well as equilibrium analytical ultracentrifugation and size exclusion chromatography. SCRPZ-1 readily dimerizes at micromolar concentrations, and an empirical redesign of the protein exterior produced a stable monomeric protein, SCRPZ-2, that also displayed a 1:1 protein:cofactor stoichiometry. For both proteins in aqueous buffer, the encapsulated cofactor displays photophysical properties resembling those exhibited by the dilute RuPZn cofactor in organic solvent: femtosecond, nanosecond, and microsecond time scale pump-probe transient absorption spectroscopic data evince intensely absorbing holoprotein excited states having large spectral bandwidth that penetrate deep in the near-infrared energy regime; the holoprotein electronically excited triplet state exhibits a microsecond time scale lifetime characteristic of the RuPZn chromophore. Hyper-Rayleigh light scattering measurements carried out at an incident irradiation wavelength of 1340 nm for these holoproteins demonstrate an exceptional dynamic hyperpolarizabilty (ß1340 = 3100 × 10(-30) esu). X-ray reflectivity measurements establish that this de novo-designed hyperpolarizable protein can be covalently attached with high surface density to a silicon surface without loss of the cofactor, indicating that these assemblies provide a new approach to bioinspired materials that have unique electro-optic functionality.

Dual transfer of GFP gene and MGd into stem-progenitor cells: toward in vivo MRI of stem cell-mediated gene therapy of atherosclerosis.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to develop a new technique, the use of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (MRI) to monitor gene/MR-cotransferred stem-progenitor cells (SPCs) recruited to atherosclerosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: First, a green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene and a T1 MR contrast agent (motexafin gadolinium [MGd]) were cotransferred into neural or bone marrow (BM)-derived SPCs. GFP expression and MGd signal were confirmed by fluorescent microscopy and quantified by flow cytometry. Cell viability and proliferation were then evaluated by trypan blue exclusion and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium assay, and GFP/MGd-transferred cells were imaged using 1.5-T and 9.4-T MR scanners. For in vivo validation, GFP/MGd-cotransferred beta-galactosidase-BM SPCs were transplanted to apolipoprotein E-knockout mice, and cell migration to atherosclerotic aortas was monitored using 9.4-T micro-MRI with subsequent histologic correlations. RESULTS: Fluorescent microscopy demonstrated simultaneous GFP expression and MGd signals in cotransferred-cells. Quantitative flow cytometry showed GFP-positive cells at 47 +/- 25% and 56 +/- 12% and MGd-positive cells at 96 +/- 6% and 57 +/- 11% for neural stem cells and BM cells, respectively. Cell viability and metabolic rates of cotransferred cells were 86 +/- 4% and 84 +/- 12%, respectively. In vivo MRI revealed high MR signals of the aortic walls in GFP/MGd-transferred mice, which were confirmed by histologic correlations. CONCLUSION: This study has initially proven the new concept of MRI for plaque-specific, cell-mediated gene expression of atherosclerosis.

Pure MnTBAP selectively scavenges peroxynitrite over superoxide: comparison of pure and commercial MnTBAP samples to MnTE-2-PyP in two models of oxidative stress injury, an SOD-specific Escherichia coli model and carrageenan-induced pleurisy.

MnTBAP is often referred to as an SOD mimic in numerous models of oxidative stress. We have recently reported that pure MnTBAP does not dismute superoxide, but commercial or poorly purified samples are able to perform O2.- dismutation with low-to-moderate efficacy via non-innocent Mn-containing impurities. Herein, we show that neither commercial nor pure MnTBAP could substitute for SOD enzyme in a SOD-deficient Escherichia coli model, whereas MnTE-2-PyP-treated SOD-deficient E. coli grew as well as a wild-type strain. This SOD-specific system indicates that MnTBAP does not act as an SOD mimic in vivo. In another model, carrageenan-induced pleurisy in mice, inflammation was evidenced by increased pleural fluid exudate and neutrophil infiltration and activation: these events were blocked by 0.3 mg/kg MnTE-2-PyP and, to a slightly lesser extent, by 10 mg/kg of either MnTBAP. Also, 3-nitrotyrosine formation, an indication of peroxynitrite existence in vivo, was blocked by both compounds; again MnTE-2-PyP was 33-fold more effective. Pleurisy model data indicate that MnTBAP exerts some protective actions in common with MnTE-2-PyP, which are not O2.- related and can be fully rationalized if one considers that the common biological role shared by MnTBAP and MnTE-2-PyP is related to their reduction of peroxynitrite and carbonate radical, the latter arising from ONOOCO2 adduct. The log kcat (O2.-) value for MnTBAP is estimated to be about 3.16, which is approximately 5 and approximately 6 orders of magnitude smaller than the SOD activities of the potent SOD mimic MnTE-2-PyP and Cu,Zn-SOD, respectively. This very low value indicates that MnTBAP is too inefficient at dismuting superoxide to be of any biological impact, which was confirmed in the SOD-deficient E. coli model. The peroxynitrite scavenging ability of MnTBAP, however, is only approximately 2.5 orders of magnitude smaller than that of MnTE-2-PyP and is not significantly affected by the presence of the SOD-active impurities in the commercial MnTBAP sample (log k red (ONOO-) = 5.06 for pure and 4.97 for commercial sample). The reduction of carbonate radical is equally fast with MnTBAP and MnTE-2-PyP. The dose of MnTBAP required to yield oxidative stress protection and block nitrotyrosine formation in the pleurisy model is > 1.5 orders of magnitude higher than that of MnTE-2-PyP, which could be related to the lower ability of MnTBAP to scavenge peroxynitrite. The slightly better protection observed with the commercial MnTBAP sample (relative to the pure MnTBAP) could arise from its impurities, which, by scavenging O2.-, reduce consequently the overall peroxynitrite and secondary ROS/RNS levels. These observations have profound biological repercussions as they may suggest that the effect of MnTBAP observed in numerous studies may conceivably relate to peroxynitrite scavenging. Moreover, provided that pure MnTBAP is unable to dismute superoxide at any significant extent, but is able to partially scavenge peroxynitrite and carbonate radical, this compound may prove valuable in distinguishing ONOO-/CO3.- from O2.- pathways.

Structure of an F430 variant from archaea associated with anaerobic oxidation of methane.

Microbial mats collected at cold methane seeps in the Black Sea carry out anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) to carbon dioxide using sulfate as the electron acceptor. These mats, which predominantly consist of sulfate-reducing bacteria and archaea of the ANME-1 and ANME-2 type, contain large amounts of proteins very similar to methyl-coenzyme M reductase from methanogenic archaea. Mass spectrometry of mat samples revealed the presence of two nickel-containing cofactors in comparable amounts, one with the same mass as coenzyme F430 from methanogens (m/z = 905) and one with a mass that is 46 Da higher (m/z = 951). The two cofactors were isolated and purified, and their constitution and absolute configuration were determined. The cofactor with m/z = 905 was proven to be identical to coenzyme F430 from methanogens. For the m/z = 951 species, high resolution ICP-MS pointed to F430 + CH2S as the molecular formula, and LA-ICP-SF MS finally confirmed the presence of one sulfur atom per nickel. Esterification gave two stereoisomeric pentamethyl esters with m/z = 1021, which could be purified by reverse phase HPLC and were subjected to comprehensive NMR analysis, allowing determination of their constitution and configuration as (17(2)S)-17(2)-methylthio-F430 pentamethyl ester and (17(2)R)-17(2)-methylthio-F430 pentamethyl ester. The corresponding diastereoisomeric pentaacids could also be separated by HPLC and were correlated to the esters via mild hydrolysis of the latter. Equilibration of the pentaacids under acid catalysis showed that the (17(2)S) isomer is the naturally occurring albeit thermodynamically less stable one. The more stable (17(2)R) isomer (80% at equilibrium) is an isolation artifact generated under the acidic conditions necessary for the isolation of the cofactors from the calcium carbonate-encrusted mats.

Biosynthesis of coenzyme F430, a nickel porphinoid involved in methanogenesis.

Coenzyme F430 is the prosthetic group of methyl-coenzyme-M reductase, which catalyses the final step of methane formation in methanogenic bacteria. The coenzyme is a nickel-containing macrocyclic tetrapyrrole of unique structure. We describe the biosynthesis of this nickel porphinoid from L-glutamate via 5-aminolaevulinic acid, uroporphyrinogen III and dihydrosirohydrochlorin, the binding of the coenzyme to methyl-coenzyme-M reductase and the regulation of coenzyme F430 biosynthesis. We end with some evolutionary considerations on the biosynthesis of macrocyclic tetrapyrroles and remarks on the degradation of these compounds under anaerobic conditions.