Enantioselective Total Synthesis of (-)-Hunterine A Enabled by a Desymmetrization/Rearrangement Strategy.

The first enantioselective total synthesis of (-)-hunterine A is disclosed. Our strategy employs a catalytic asymmetric desymmetrization of a symmetrical diketone and subsequent Beckmann rearrangement to construct a 5,6-α-aminoketone. A convergent 1,2-addition joins a vinyl dianion nucleophile and the enantioenriched ketone. The endgame of the synthesis features an aza-Cope/Mannich reaction and azide-olefin dipolar cycloaddition to complete the pentacyclic ring system. The synthesis is completed through a regioselective aziridine ring opening.

Ultrafast Halogen Dance Reactions of Bromoarenes Enabled by Catalytic Potassium Hexamethyldisilazide.

Lochmann-Schlosser base, a stoichiometric combination of nBuLi and KOtBu, is commonly used as a superbase for deprotonating a wide range of organic compounds. In the present study, we report that catalytic potassium hexamethyldisilazide (KHMDS) exhibits higher catalytic activity than KOtBu for successive bromine-metal exchanges. Accordingly, 1-10 mol% of KHMDS dramatically enhances halogen dance reactions to introduce various electrophiles to bromopyridine, bromoimidazole, bromothiophene, bromofuran, and bromobenzene derivatives with the bromo group translocated from the original position. A dual catalytic cycle is proposed to explain the ultrafast bromine transfer.

Proteolytic Maturation of the Outer Membrane c-Type Cytochrome OmcZ by a Subtilisin-Like Serine Protease Is Essential for Optimal Current Production by Geobacter sulfurreducens.

An outer membrane c-type cytochrome (OmcZ) in Geobacter sulfurreducens is essential for optimal current production in microbial fuel cells. OmcZ exists in two forms, small and large, designated OmcZS and OmcZL, respectively. However, it is still not known how these two structures are formed. A mutant with a disruption of the GSU2075 gene encoding a subtilisin-like serine protease (designated ozpA for the OmcZprotease), which is located downstream of omcZ, produced low currents at a level similar to that of the omcZ-deficient mutant strain. Biochemical analyses revealed that the ozpA mutant accumulated OmcZL and did not produce OmcZS, which is thought to be a mature form that is essential for the extracellular electron transfer to the electrode. A heterologous expression system cell lysate from an Escherichia coli strain producing OzpA cleaved OmcZL and generated OmcZS as the proteolytic product. Among the culture supernatant, loosely bound outer surface, and intracellular protein fractions from wild-type G. sulfurreducens, only the culture supernatant protein fraction showed OmcZL cleavage activity, indicating that the mature form of OmcZ, OmcZS, can be produced outside the cells. These results indicate that OzpA is an essential protease for current production via the maturation of OmcZ, and OmcZS is the key to the extracellular electron transfer to electrodes. This proteolytic maturation of OmcZ is a unique regulation among known c-type cytochromes in G. sulfurreducens. IMPORTANCE Microbial fuel cells are a promising technology for energy generation from various waste types. However, the molecular mechanisms of microbial extracellular electron transfer to the electrode need to be elucidated. G. sulfurreducens is a common key player in electricity generation in mixed-culture microbial fuel cell systems and a model microorganism for the study of extracellular electron transfer. Outer membrane c-type cytochrome OmcZ is essential for an optimal current production by G. sulfurreducens. OmcZ proteolytic cleavage occurs during maturation, but the underlying mechanism is unknown. This study identifies a subtilisin-like protease, OzpA, which plays a role in cleaving OmcZ and generating the mature form of OmcZ (OmcZS). OzpA is essential for current production and, thus, the proteolytic maturation of OmcZ. This is a novel regulation of the c-type cytochrome for G. sulfurreducens extracellular electron transfer. This study also provides new insights into the design strategy and development of microbial extracellular electron transfer for an efficient energy conversion from chemical energy to electricity.

"Snapshot" Trapping of Multiple Transient Azolyllithiums in Batch.

Invited for the cover of this issue is Kentaro Okano and co-workers at Kobe University. The image depicts that the 'dancing' transient organolithiums in the 'halogen dance' are successfully trapped in a batch reactor as if their individual snapshots were taken. Read the full text of the article at 10.1002/chem.202101256.

"Snapshot" Trapping of Multiple Transient Azolyllithiums in Batch.

Recent developments in flow microreactor technology have allowed the use of transient organolithium compounds that cannot be realized in a batch reactor. However, trapping the transient aryllithiums in a "halogen dance" is still challenging. Herein is reported the trapping of such short-lived azolyllithiums in a batch reactor by developing a finely tuned in situ zincation using zinc halide diamine complexes. The reaction rate is controlled by the appropriate choice of diamine ligand. The reaction is operationally simple and can be performed at 0 °C with high reproducibility on a multigram scale. This method was applicable to a wide range of brominated azoles allowing deprotonative functionalization, which was used for the concise divergent syntheses of both constitutional isomers of biologically active azoles.

Establishment of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) model by a single iv administration of Escherichia coli-derived lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to cynomolgus monkeys and evaluation of its pathophysiological status.

We prepared a DIC model by administrating LPS to cynomolgus monkeys, and investigated its potential for evaluations of new medicines for DIC therapy. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) collected from cynomolgus monkeys were incubated with LPS (8 types), and TNF-α levels in the media were measured. LPS from Escherichia coli (K-235) was most appropriate in terms of larger increases and smaller variation in TNF-α levels. PBMC from rats, cynomolgus monkeys or humans were incubated with LPS (K-235), and the TNF-α response to LPS was investigated. The response was comparable between cynomolgus monkeys and humans but small in rats. In an in vivo experiment, LPS (K-235) was administered once intravenously to cynomolgus monkeys with or without recombinant human thrombomodulin (rhTM) to investigate any changes in coagulation and fibrinolysis biomarkers and the suppressive effect of rhTM. The liver, kidney, and lung were examined histopathologically. Almost all of the changes resembled the pathophysiological status of human DIC and were suppressed by co-administration of rhTM. The DIC model resembling human DIC was established by LPS (K-235) treatment in cynomolgus monkeys, and therapeutic effect of rhTM was noted, suggesting that this model is useful in evaluations of the efficacy of new medicines for DIC therapy.

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Response and Mutant Protein Degradation in CHO Cells Accumulating Antithrombin (C95R) in Russell Bodies.

Newly synthesized secretory proteins are folded and assembled in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where an efficient protein quality control system performs a critically important function. When unfolded or aggregated proteins accumulate in the ER, certain signaling pathways such as the unfolded protein response (UPR) and ER-overload response (EOR) are functionally active in maintaining cell homeostasis. Recently we prepared Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing mutant antithrombin (AT)(C95R) under control of the Tet-On system and showed that AT(C95R) accumulated in Russell bodies (RB), large distinctive structures derived from the ER. To characterize whether ER stress takes place in CHO cells, we examined characteristic UPR and EOR in ER stress responses. We found that the induction of ER chaperones such as Grp97, Grp78 and protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) was limited to a maximum of approximately two-fold. The processing of X-box-binding protein-1 (XBP1) mRNA and the phosphorylation of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α (eIF2α) subunit were not induced. Furthermore, the activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) was not observed. In contrast, CHO cells displayed UPR and EOR when the cells were treated with thapsigargin and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, respectively. In addition, a portion of the mutant AT(C95R) was degraded through proteasomes and autophagy. CHO cells do respond to ER stress but the folding state of mutant AT(C95R) does not appear to activate the ER stress signal pathway.

Structural basis of the divergent oxygenation reactions catalyzed by the rieske nonheme iron oxygenase carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase.

Carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase (CARDO), a Rieske nonheme iron oxygenase (RO), is a three-component system composed of a terminal oxygenase (Oxy), ferredoxin, and a ferredoxin reductase. Oxy has angular dioxygenation activity against carbazole. Previously, site-directed mutagenesis of the Oxy-encoding gene from Janthinobacterium sp. strain J3 generated the I262V, F275W, Q282N, and Q282Y Oxy derivatives, which showed oxygenation capabilities different from those of the wild-type enzyme. To understand the structural features resulting in the different oxidation reactions, we determined the crystal structures of the derivatives, both free and complexed with substrates. The I262V, F275W, and Q282Y derivatives catalyze the lateral dioxygenation of carbazole with higher yields than the wild type. A previous study determined the crystal structure of Oxy complexed with carbazole and revealed that the carbonyl oxygen of Gly178 hydrogen bonds with the imino nitrogen of carbazole. In these derivatives, the carbazole was rotated approximately 15, 25, and 25°, respectively, compared to the wild type, creating space for a water molecule, which hydrogen bonds with the carbonyl oxygen of Gly178 and the imino nitrogen of carbazole. In the crystal structure of the F275W derivative complexed with fluorene, C-9 of fluorene, which corresponds to the imino nitrogen of carbazole, was oriented close to the mutated residue Trp275, which is on the opposite side of the binding pocket from the carbonyl oxygen of Gly178. Our structural analyses demonstrate that the fine-tuning of hydrophobic residues on the surface of the substrate-binding pocket in ROs causes a slight shift in the substrate-binding position that, in turn, favors specific oxygenation reactions toward various substrates.

Design and synthesis of phenolic hydrazide hydrazones as potent poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG) inhibitors.

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG) are enzymes responsible for catalyzing the formation and degradation of poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) polymers, respectively. Activation of PARP has been shown to be involved in cell death induced by genotoxic stimuli. On the other hand, genetic disruption of PARG also leads to increased level of cell death by accumulation of PAR. Unlike PARP, where significant medicinal effort has been expended to identify potent inhibitors, PARG has been insufficiently investigated as a molecular therapeutic target. In this study, we report the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of phenolic hydrazide hydrazones as potent PARG inhibitors. Compounds 3d, 3e, 5d, 5e, 8a, 8b and 8c showed their ability to inhibit the catalytic activity of PARG in vitro with IC50 values of 1.0, 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 3.1, 2.8 and 1.6 µM, respectively.

Identification of multicomponent histidine-aspartate phosphorelay system controlling flagellar and motility gene expression in Geobacter species.

Geobacter species play an important role in the natural biogeochemical cycles of aquatic sediments and subsurface environments as well as in subsurface bioremediation by oxidizing organic compounds with the reduction of insoluble Fe(III) oxides. Flagellum-based motility is considered to be critical for Geobacter species to locate fresh sources of Fe(III) oxides. Functional and comparative genomic approaches, coupled with genetic and biochemical methods, identified key regulators for flagellar gene expression in Geobacter species. A master transcriptional regulator, designated FgrM, is a member of the enhancer-binding protein family. The fgrM gene in the most studied strain of Geobacter species, Geobacter sulfurreducens strain DL-1, is truncated by a transposase gene, preventing flagellar biosynthesis. Integrating a functional FgrM homolog restored flagellar biosynthesis and motility in G. sulfurreducens DL-1 and enhanced the ability to reduce insoluble Fe(III) oxide. Interrupting the fgrM gene in G. sulfurreducens strain KN400, which is motile, removed the capacity for flagellar production and inhibited Fe(III) oxide reduction. FgrM, which is also a response regulator of the two-component His-Asp phosphorelay system, was phosphorylated by histidine kinase GHK4, which was essential for flagellar production and motility. GHK4, which is a hybrid kinase with a receiver domain at the N terminus, was phosphorylated by another histidine kinase, GHK3. Therefore, the multicomponent His-Asp phosphorelay system appears to control flagellar gene expression in Geobacter species.

Formal Halogen Transfer of Bromoarenes via Stepwise Reactions.

A two-step halogen transfer of bromoarenes is reported. Mono-, di-, and tribromoaryllithiums generated through deprotonative lithiation were converted into organozinc species by in situ zincation, which were then subjected to bromination to provide the corresponding di-, tri-, and tetrabromoarenes, respectively, in 41-95% yields. Regioselective bromine-magnesium exchange with ethylmagnesium chloride followed by electrophilic trapping afforded benzene, pyridine, quinoline, pyrimidine, and thiazole derivatives with the bromo group translocated from the original position in 28-86% yields.

Biochemical characterization of purified OmcS, a c-type cytochrome required for insoluble Fe(III) reduction in Geobacter sulfurreducens.

Previous studies with Geobacter sulfurreducens have demonstrated that OmcS, an abundant c-type cytochrome that is only loosely bound to the outer surface, plays an important role in electron transfer to Fe(III) oxides as well as other extracellular electron acceptors. In order to further investigate the function of OmcS, it was purified from a strain that overproduces the protein. Purified OmcS had a molecular mass of 47015 Da, and six low-spin bis-histidinyl hexacoordinated heme groups. Its midpoint redox potential was -212 mV. A thermal stability analysis showed that the cooperative melting of purified OmcS occurs in the range of 65-82 °C. Far UV circular dichroism spectroscopy indicated that the secondary structure of purified OmcS consists of about 10% α-helix and abundant disordered structures. Dithionite-reduced OmcS was able to transfer electrons to a variety of substrates of environmental importance including insoluble Fe(III) oxide, Mn(IV) oxide and humic substances. Stopped flow analysis revealed that the reaction rate of OmcS oxidation has a hyperbolic dependence on the concentration of the studied substrates. A ten-fold faster reaction rate with anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS) (25.2 s⁻¹) was observed as compared to that with Fe(III) citrate (2.9 s⁻¹). The results, coupled with previous localization and gene deletion studies, suggest that OmcS is well-suited to play an important role in extracellular electron transfer.

Structural insight into the substrate- and dioxygen-binding manner in the catalytic cycle of rieske nonheme iron oxygenase system, carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase.

BACKGROUND: Dihydroxylation of tandemly linked aromatic carbons in a cis-configuration, catalyzed by multicomponent oxygenase systems known as Rieske nonheme iron oxygenase systems (ROs), often constitute the initial step of aerobic degradation pathways for various aromatic compounds. Because such RO reactions inherently govern whether downstream degradation processes occur, novel oxygenation mechanisms involving oxygenase components of ROs (RO-Os) is of great interest. Despite substantial progress in structural and physicochemical analyses, no consensus exists on the chemical steps in the catalytic cycles of ROs. Thus, determining whether conformational changes at the active site of RO-O occur by substrate and/or oxygen binding is important. Carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase (CARDO), a RO member consists of catalytic terminal oxygenase (CARDO-O), ferredoxin (CARDO-F), and ferredoxin reductase. We have succeeded in determining the crystal structures of oxidized CARDO-O, oxidized CARDO-F, and both oxidized and reduced forms of the CARDO-O: CARDO-F binary complex. RESULTS: In the present study, we determined the crystal structures of the reduced carbazole (CAR)-bound, dioxygen-bound, and both CAR- and dioxygen-bound CARDO-O: CARDO-F binary complex structures at 1.95, 1.85, and 2.00 Å resolution. These structures revealed the conformational changes that occur in the catalytic cycle. Structural comparison between complex structures in each step of the catalytic mechanism provides several implications, such as the order of substrate and dioxygen bindings, the iron-dioxygen species likely being Fe(III)-(hydro)peroxo, and the creation of room for dioxygen binding and the promotion of dioxygen binding in desirable fashion by preceding substrate binding. CONCLUSIONS: The RO catalytic mechanism is proposed as follows: When the Rieske cluster is reduced, substrate binding induces several conformational changes (e.g., movements of the nonheme iron and the ligand residue) that create room for oxygen binding. Dioxygen bound in a side-on fashion onto nonheme iron is activated by reduction to the peroxo state [Fe(III)-(hydro)peroxo]. This state may react directly with the bound substrate, or O-O bond cleavage may occur to generate Fe(V)-oxo-hydroxo species prior to the reaction. After producing a cis-dihydrodiol, the product is released by reducing the nonheme iron. This proposed scheme describes the catalytic cycle of ROs and provides important information for a better understanding of the mechanism.

Performance of stacked microbial fuel cells with barley-shochu waste.

The treatment of barley-shochu waste combined with electricity generation was examined using stacked microbial fuel cells (SMFCs). The maximum chemical oxygen demand (CODCr) removal efficiency and maximum power density were achieved at 36.7 ± 1.1% and 4.3 ± 0.2 W m⁻³ (15.7 ± 0.9 mW m-2). The acetic acid concentration in effluent increased, whereas the citric acid, ethanol and sugar concentrations decreased during the operation. Microbial community analysis of the anode cell suspension and raw barley-shochu waste revealed that Clostridiaceae, Acetobacteraceae, and Enterobacteriaceae became predominant after the operation, implying that microorganisms belonging to these families might be involved in organic waste decomposition and electricity generation in the SMFCs.

Characterization of a bifunctional glyoxylate cycle enzyme, malate synthase/isocitrate lyase, of Euglena gracilis.

The glyoxylate cycle is a modified form of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, which enables organisms to synthesize carbohydrates from C2 compounds. In the protozoan Euglena gracilis, the key enzyme activities of the glyoxylate cycle, isocitrate lyase (ICL) and malate synthase (MS), are conferred by a single bifunctional protein named glyoxylate cycle enzyme (Euglena gracilis glyoxylate cycle enzyme [EgGCE]). We analyzed the enzymatic properties of recombinant EgGCE to determine the functions of its different domains. The 62-kDa N-terminal domain of EgGCE was sufficient to provide the MS activity as expected from an analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence. In contrast, expression of the 67-kDa C-terminal domain of EgGCE failed to yield ICL activity even though this domain was structurally similar to ICL family enzymes. Analyses of truncation mutants suggested that the N-terminal residues of EgGCE are critical for both the ICL and MS activities. The ICL activity of EgGCE increased in the presence of micro-molar concentrations of acetyl-coenzyme A (CoA). Acetyl-CoA also increased the activity in a mutant type EgGCE with a mutation at the acetyl-CoA binding site in the MS domain of EgGCE. This suggests that acetyl-CoA regulates the ICL reaction by binding to a site other than the catalytic center of the MS reaction.

Complete Genome Sequence of High Current-Producing Geobacter sulfurreducens Strain YM35, Isolated from River Sediment in Japan.

Here, we report the complete genome sequence of Geobacter sulfurreducens strain YM35, which was isolated from biofilms formed on an anode in a bioelectrochemical system where river sediment was used as an inoculum. The chromosome is 3,745,223 bp with a G+C content of 60.9%. The chromosome contains 3,324 protein-coding genes.

Crystal structure of the ferredoxin reductase component of carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase from Janthinobacterium sp. J3.

Carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase (CARDO), which consists of an oxygenase component and the electron-transport components ferredoxin (CARDO-F) and ferredoxin reductase (CARDO-R), is a Rieske nonheme iron oxygenase (RO). ROs are classified into five subclasses (IA, IB, IIA, IIB and III) based on their number of constituents and the nature of their redox centres. In this study, two types of crystal structure (type I and type II) were resolved of the class III CARDO-R from Janthinobacterium sp. J3 (CARDO-RJ3). Superimposition of the type I and type II structures revealed the absence of flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) in the type II structure along with significant conformational changes to the FAD-binding domain and the C-terminus, including movements to fill the space in which FAD had been located. Docking simulation of NADH into the FAD-bound form of CARDO-RJ3 suggested that shifts of the residues at the C-terminus caused the nicotinamide moiety to approach the N5 atom of FAD, which might facilitate electron transfer between the redox centres. Differences in domain arrangement were found compared with RO reductases from the ferredoxin-NADP reductase family, suggesting that these differences correspond to differences in the structures of their redox partners ferredoxin and terminal oxygenase. The results of docking simulations with the redox partner class III CARDO-F from Pseudomonas resinovorans CA10 suggested that complex formation suitable for efficient electron transfer is stabilized by electrostatic attraction and complementary shapes of the interacting regions.

Unexpected genomic features of high current density-producing Geobacter sulfurreducens strain YM18.

Geobacter sulfurreducens produces high current densities and it has been used as a model organism for extracellular electron transfer studies. Nine G. sulfurreducens strains were isolated from biofilms formed on an anode poised at -0.2 V (vs SHE) in a bioelectrochemical system in which river sediment was used as an inoculum. The maximum current density of an isolate, strain YM18 (9.29 A/m2), was higher than that of the strain PCA (5.72 A/m2), the type strain of G. sulfurreducens, and comparable to strain KN400 (8.38 A/m2), which is another high current-producing strain of G. sulfurreducens. Genomic comparison of strains PCA, KN400 and YM18 revealed that omcB, xapD, spc and ompJ, which are known to be important genes for iron reduction and current production in PCA, were not present in YM18. In the PCA and KN400 genomes, two and one region(s) encoding CRISPR/Cas systems were identified, respectively, but they were missing in the YM18 genome. These results indicate that there is genetic variation in the key components involved in extracellular electron transfer among G. sulfurreducens strains.

Purification and characterization of OmcZ, an outer-surface, octaheme c-type cytochrome essential for optimal current production by Geobacter sulfurreducens.

Previous studies have demonstrated that Geobacter sulfurreducens requires the c-type cytochrome OmcZ, which is present in large (OmcZ(L); 50-kDa) and small (OmcZ(S); 30-kDa) forms, for optimal current production in microbial fuel cells. This protein was further characterized to aid in understanding its role in current production. Subcellular-localization studies suggested that OmcZ(S) was the predominant extracellular form of OmcZ. N- and C-terminal amino acid sequence analysis of purified OmcZ(S) and molecular weight measurements indicated that OmcZ(S) is a cleaved product of OmcZ(L) retaining all 8 hemes, including 1 heme with the unusual c-type heme-binding motif CX(14)CH. The purified OmcZ(S) was remarkably thermally stable (thermal-denaturing temperature, 94.2 degrees C). Redox titration analysis revealed that the midpoint reduction potential of OmcZ(S) is approximately -220 mV (versus the standard hydrogen electrode [SHE]) with nonequivalent heme groups that cover a large reduction potential range (-420 to -60 mV). OmcZ(S) transferred electrons in vitro to a diversity of potential extracellular electron acceptors, such as Fe(III) citrate, U(VI), Cr(VI), Au(III), Mn(IV) oxide, and the humic substance analogue anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate, but not Fe(III) oxide. The biochemical properties and extracellular localization of OmcZ suggest that it is well suited for promoting electron transfer in current-producing biofilms of G. sulfurreducens.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of a ferredoxin reductase component of carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase from Novosphingobium sp. KA1.

Carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase (CARDO) is the initial enzyme of the carbazole-degradation pathway. The CARDO of Novosphingobium sp. KA1 consists of a terminal oxygenase, a putidaredoxin-type ferredoxin and a ferredoxin-NADH oxidoreductase (Red) and is classified as a class IIA Rieske oxygenase. Red from KA1 was crystallized at 278 K by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method using PEG 4000. The crystal diffracted to 1.58 A resolution and belonged to space group P3(2), with unit-cell parameters a = b = 92.2, c = 78.6 A, alpha = gamma = 90, beta = 120 degrees . Preliminary analysis of the X-ray diffraction data revealed that the asymmetric unit contained two Red monomers. The crystal appeared to be a merohedral twin, with a twin fraction of 0.32 and twin law (-h, -k, l).