Fluorinated Phosphoadenosine 5'-Phosphosulfate Analogues for Continuous Sulfotransferase Activity Monitoring and Inhibitor Screening by 19F NMR Spectroscopy.

Sulfotransferases (STs) are ubiquitous enzymes that participate in a vast number of biological processes involving sulfuryl group (SO3) transfer. 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS) is the universal ST cofactor, serving as the "active sulfate" source in cells. Herein, we report the synthesis of three fluorinated PAPS analogues that bear fluorine or trifluoromethyl substituents at the C2 or C8 positions of adenine and their evaluation as substitute cofactors that enable ST activity to be quantified and real-time-monitored by fluorine-19 nuclear magnetic resonance (19F NMR) spectroscopy. Using plant AtSOT18 and human SULT1A3 as two model enzymes, we reveal that the fluorinated PAPS analogues show complementary properties with regard to recognition by enzymes and the working 19F NMR pH range and are attractive versatile tools for studying STs. Finally, we developed an 19F NMR assay for screening potential inhibitors against SULT1A3, thereby highlighting the possible use of fluorinated PAPS analogues for the discovery of drugs for ST-related diseases.

RNA Ligation for Mono and Dually Labeled RNAs.

Labeled RNAs are invaluable probes for investigation of RNA function and localization. However, mRNA labeling remains challenging. Here, we developed an improved method for 3'-end labeling of in vitro transcribed RNAs. We synthesized novel adenosine 3',5'-bisphosphate analogues modified at the N6 or C2 position of adenosine with an azide-containing linker, fluorescent label, or biotin and assessed these constructs as substrates for RNA labeling directly by T4 ligase or via postenzymatic strain-promoted alkyne-azide cycloaddition (SPAAC). All analogues were substrates for T4 RNA ligase. Analogues containing bulky fluorescent labels or biotin showed better overall labeling yields than postenzymatic SPAAC. We successfully labeled uncapped RNAs, NAD-capped RNAs, and 5'-fluorescently labeled m7 Gp3 Am -capped mRNAs. The obtained highly homogenous dually labeled mRNA was translationally active and enabled fluorescence-based monitoring of decapping. This method will facilitate the use of various functionalized mRNA-based probes.

DXO/Rai1 enzymes remove 5'-end FAD and dephospho-CoA caps on RNAs.

In eukaryotes, the DXO/Rai1 enzymes can eliminate most of the incomplete and non-canonical NAD caps through their decapping, deNADding and pyrophosphohydrolase activities. Here, we report that these enzymes can also remove FAD and dephospho-CoA (dpCoA) non-canonical caps from RNA, and we have named these activities deFADding and deCoAping. The crystal structures of mammalian DXO with 3'-FADP or CoA and fission yeast Rai1 with 3'-FADP provide elegant insight to these activities. FAD and CoA are accommodated in the DXO/Rai1 active site by adopting folded conformations. The flavin of FAD and the pantetheine group of CoA contact the same region at the bottom of the active site tunnel, which undergoes conformational changes to accommodate the different cap moieties. We have developed FAD-capQ to detect and quantify FAD-capped RNAs and determined that FAD caps are present on short RNAs (with less than ∼200 nucleotides) in human cells and that these RNAs are stabilized in the absence of DXO.

Purine and pyrimidine dinucleoside polyphosphates differentially affect the phenylpropanoid pathway in Vitis vinifera L. cv. Monastrell suspension cultured cells.

It is known that the concentration of dinucleoside polyphosphates (NpnN's) in cells increases under stress and that adverse environmental factors induce biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids, which protect the plant against stress. Previously, we showed that purine NpnN's such as Ap3A and Ap4A induce both the activity of enzymes of the phenylpropanoid pathway and the expression of relevant genes in Arabidopsis seedlings. Moreover, we showed that Ap3A induced stilbene biosynthesis in Vitis vinifera cv. Monastrell suspension cultured cells. Data presented in this paper show that pyrimidine-containing NpnN's also modify the biosynthesis of stilbenes, affecting the transcript level of genes encoding key enzymes of the phenylpropanoid pathway and of these, Up4U caused the most effective accumulation of trans-resveratrol in the culture media. Similar effect was caused by Ap3A and Gp3G. Other pyrimidine NpnN's, such as Cp3C, Cp4C, and Ap4C, strongly inhibited the biosynthesis of stilbenes, but markedly (6- to 8-fold) induced the expression of the cinnamoyl-CoA reductase gene that controls lignin biosynthesis. Purine counterparts also clearly induced biosynthesis of trans-resveratrol and trans-piceid, but only slightly induced the expression of genes involved in lignin biosynthesis. In cells, Up3U caused a greater accumulation of trans-resveratrol and trans-piceid than did Up4U. Each of the NpnN's studied induced expression of the gene encoding the resveratrol transporter VvABCG44, which operates within the Vitis vinifera cell membrane. AMP, GMP, UMP, and CMP, potential products of NpnN degradation, did not affect the accumulation of stilbenes. The results obtained strongly support that NpnN's play a role as signaling molecules in plants.

Nicotinamide-Containing Di- and Trinucleotides as Chemical Tools for Studies of NAD-Capped RNAs.

We report the chemical synthesis of a set of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) cap analogues containing chemical modifications that reduce their susceptibility to NAD-RNA-degrading enzymes. These analogues can be incorporated into transcripts in a similar way as NAD. Biochemical characterization of RNAs carrying these caps with DXO, NudC, and Nudt12 enzymes led to the identification of compounds that can be instrumental in unraveling so far unaddressed biological aspects of NAD-RNAs.