| 1. |
- Al-Smadi, Derar, 1983-, et al.
(author)
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Chemical and Biochemical Approaches for the Synthesis of Substituted Dihydroxybutanones and Di-, and Tri-Hydroxypentanones
- 2019
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In: Journal of Organic Chemistry. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0022-3263 .- 1520-6904. ; 84:11, s. 6982-6991
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Polyhydroxylated compounds are building blocks for the synthesis of carbohydrates and other natural products. Their synthesis is mainly achieved by different synthetic versions of aldol-coupling reactions, catalyzed either by organocatalysts, enzymes or metal-organic catalysts. We have investigated the formation of 1,4-substituted 2,3-dihydroxybutan-1-one derivatives from para- and meta-substituted phenylacetaldehydes by three distinctly different strategies. The first involved a direct aldol reaction with hydroxyacetone, dihydroxyacetone or 2-hydroxyacetophenone, catalyzed by the cinchona derivative cinchonine. The second was reductive cross-coupling with methyl or phenyl glyoxal promoted by SmI2 resulting in either 5-substituted 3,4-dihydroxypentan-2-ones or 1,4 bis-phenyl substituted butanones, respectively. Finally, in the third case, aldolase catalysis was employed for synthesis of the corresponding 1,3,4-trihydroxylated pentan-2-one derivatives. The organocatalytic route with cinchonine generated distereomerically enriched syn products (de = 60−99 %), with moderate enantiomeric excesses (ee = 43−56%), but did not produce aldols with either hydroxyacetone or dihydroxyacetone as donor ketones. The SmI2-promoted reductive cross-coupling generated product mixtures with diastereomeric and enantiomeric ratios close to unity. This route allowed for the production of both 1-methyl- and 1-phenylsubstituted 2,3-dihydroxybutanones, at yields between 40−60%. Finally, the biocatalytic approach resulted in enantiopure syn (3R,4S) 1,3,4-trihydroxypentan-2-ones.
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| 2. |
- Amrein, Beat Anton, et al.
(author)
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CADEE : Computer-Aided Directed Evolution of Enzymes
- 2017
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In: IUCrJ. - 2052-2525. ; 4:1, s. 50-64
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The tremendous interest in enzymes as biocatalysts has led to extensive work in enzyme engineering, as well as associated methodology development. Here, a new framework for computer-aided directed evolution of enzymes (CADEE) is presented which allows a drastic reduction in the time necessary to prepare and analyze in silico semi-automated directed evolution of enzymes. A pedagogical example of the application of CADEE to a real biological system is also presented in order to illustrate the CADEE workflow.
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| 3. |
- Amrein, Beat Anton, 1986-
(author)
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Extending the Reach of Computational Approaches to Model Enzyme Catalysis
- 2017
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Recent years have seen tremendous developments in methods for computational modeling of (bio-) molecular systems. Ever larger reactive systems are being studied with high accuracy approaches, and high-level QM/MM calculations are being routinely performed. However, applying high-accuracy methods to large biological systems is computationally expensive and becomes problematic when conformational sampling is needed. To address this challenge, classical force field based approaches such as free energy perturbation (FEP) and empirical valence bond calculations (EVB) have been employed in this work. Specifically:Force-field independent metal parameters have been developed for a range of alkaline earth and transition metal ions, which successfully reproduce experimental solvation free energies, metal-oxygen distances, and coordination numbers. These are valuable for the computational study of biological systems.Experimental studies have shown that the epoxide hydrolase from Solanum tuberosum (StEH1) is not only an enantioselective enzyme, but for smaller substrates, displays enantioconvergent behavior. For StEH1, two detailed studies, involving combined experimental and computational efforts have been performed: We first used trans-stilbene oxide to establish the basic reaction mechanism of this enzyme. Importantly, a highly conserved and earlier ignored histidine was identified to be important for catalysis. Following from this, EVB and experiment have been used to investigate the enantioconvergence of the StEH1-catalyzed hydrolysis of styrene oxide. This combined approach involved wildtype StEH1 and an engineered enzyme variant, and established a molecular understanding of enantioconvergent behavior of StEH1.A novel framework was developed for the Computer-Aided Directed Evolution of Enzymes (CADEE), in order to be able to quickly prepare, simulate, and analyze hundreds of enzyme variants. CADEE’s easy applicability is demonstrated in the form of an educational example.In conclusion, classical approaches are a computationally economical means to achieve extensive conformational sampling. Using the EVB approach has enabled me to obtain a molecular understanding of complex enzymatic systems. I have also increased the reach of the EVB approach, through the implementation of CADEE, which enables efficient and highly parallel in silico testing of hundreds-to-thousands of individual enzyme variants.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Barrozo, Alexandre, et al.
(author)
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Phosphoryl and Sulfuryl Transfer
- 2016
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In: Reference Module in Chemistry, Molecular Sciences and Chemical Engineering. - Elsevier.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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| 6. |
- Bauer, Paul
(author)
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Computational modelling of enzyme selectivity
- 2017
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Enantioselective reactions are one of the ways to produce pure chiral compounds. Understanding the basis of this selectivity makes it possible to guide enzyme design towards more efficient catalysts. One approach to study enzymes involved in chiral chemistry is through the use of computational models that are able to simulate the chemical reaction taking place. The potato epoxide hydrolase is one enzyme that is known to be both highly enantioselective, while still being robust upon mutation of residues to change substrate scope. The enzyme was used to investigate the epoxide hydrolysis mechanism for a number of different substrates, using the EVB approach to the reaction both in solution and in several enzyme variants. In addition to this, work has been performed on new ways of performing simulations of divalent transition metals, as well as development of new simulation software.
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| 7. |
- Blaha-Nelson, David, et al.
(author)
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Active Site Hydrophobicity and the Convergent Evolution of Paraoxonase Activity in Structurally Divergent Enzymes : The Case of Serum Paraoxonase 1
- 2017
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In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. - : AMER CHEMICAL SOC. - 0002-7863 .- 1520-5126. ; 139:3, s. 1155-1167
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Serum paraoxonase 1 (PON1) is a native lactonase capable of promiscuously hydrolyzing a broad range of substrates, including organophosphates, esters, and carbonates. Structurally, PON1 is a six-bladed beta-propeller with a flexible loop (residues 70-81) covering the active site. This loop contains a functionally critical Tyr at position 71. We have performed detailed experimental and computational analyses of the role of selected Y71 variants in the active site stability and catalytic activity in order to probe the role of Y71 in PON1's lactonase and organophosphatase activities. We demonstrate that the impact of Y71 substitutions on PON1's lactonase activity is minimal, whereas the k(cat) for the paraoxonase activity is negatively perturbed by up to 100-fold, suggesting greater mutational robustness of the native activity. Additionally, while these substitutions modulate PON1's active site shape, volume, and loop flexibility, their largest effect is in altering the solvent accessibility of the active site by expanding the active site volume, allowing additional water molecules to enter. This effect is markedly more pronounced in the organophosphatase activity than the lactonase activity. Finally, a detailed comparison of PON1 to other organophosphatases demonstrates that either a similar "gating loop" or a highly buried solvent excluding active site is a common feature of these enzymes. We therefore posit that modulating the active site hydrophobicity is a key element in facilitating the evolution of organophosphatase activity. This provides a concrete feature that can be utilized in the rational design of next-generation organophosphate hydrolases that are capable of selecting a specific reaction from a pool of viable substrates.
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| 8. |
- Borstnar, Rok, et al.
(author)
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Computational Study of the pK(a) Values of Potential Catalytic Residues in the Active Site of Monoamine Oxidase B
- 2012
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In: Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1549-9618 .- 1549-9626. ; 8:10, s. 3864-3870
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Monoamine oxidase (MAO), which exists in two isozymic forms, MAO A and MAO B, is an important flavoenzyme responsible for the metabolism of amine neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Despite extensive research effort, neither the catalytic nor the inhibition mechanisms of MAO have been completely understood. There has also been dispute with regard to the protonation state of the substrate upon entering the active site, as well as the identity of residues that are important for the initial deprotonation of irreversible acetylenic inhibitors, in accordance with the recently proposed mechanism. Therefore, in order to investigate features essential for the modes of action of MAO, we have calculated pK(a) values of three relevant tyrosine residues in the MAO B active site, with and without dopamine bound as the. substrate (as well as the pK(a) of the dopamine itself in the active site). The calculated pK(a) values for Tyr188, Tyr398, and Tyr435 in the complex are found to be shifted upward to 13.0, 13.7, and 14.7, respectively, relative to 10.1 in aqueous solution, ruling out the likelihood that they are viable proton acceptors. The altered tyrosine pK(a) values could be rationalized as an interplay of two opposing effects: insertion of positively charged bulky dopamine that lowers tyrosine pK(a) values, and subsequent removal of water molecules from the active site that elevates tyrosine pK(a) values, in which the latter prevails. Additionally, the pK(a) value of the bound dopamine (8.8) is practically unchanged compared to the corresponding value in aqueous solution (8.9), as would be expected from a charged amine placed in a hydrophobic active site consisting of aromatic moieties. We also observed potentially favorable cation-pi interactions between the -NH3+ group on dopamine and aromatic moieties, which provide a stabilizing effect to the charged fragment. Thus, we offer here theoretical evidence that the amine is most likely to be present in the active site in its protonated form, which is similar to the conclusion from experimental studies of MAO A (Jones et al. J. Neural Trans. 2007, 114, 707-712). However, the free energy cost of transferring the proton from the substrate to the bulk solvent is only 1.9 kcal mol(-1), leaving open the possibility that the amine enters the chemical step in its neutral form. In conjunction with additional experimental and computational work, the data presented here should lead toward a deeper understanding of mechanisms of the catalytic activity and irreversible inhibition of MAO B, which can allow for the design of novel and improved MAO B inhibitors.
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| 9. |
- Calixto, Ana Rita, et al.
(author)
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Recent Advances in Understanding Biological GTP Hydrolysis through Molecular Simulation
- 2020
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In: ACS Omega. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 2470-1343. ; 5:9, s. 4380-4385
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- GTP hydrolysis is central to biology, being involved in regulating a wide range of cellular processes. However, the mechanisms by which GTPases hydrolyze this critical reaction remain controversial, with multiple mechanistic possibilities having been proposed based on analysis of experimental and computational data. In this mini-review, we discuss advances in our understanding of biological GTP hydrolysis based on recent computational studies and argue in favor of solvent-assisted hydrolysis as a conserved mechanism among GTPases. A concrete understanding of the fundamental mechanisms by which these enzymes facilitate GTP hydrolysis will have significant impact both for drug discovery efforts and for unraveling the role of oncogenic mutations.
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| 10. |
- Carvalho, Alexandra T P, et al.
(author)
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Challenges in computational studies of enzyme structure, function and dynamics
- 2014
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In: Journal of Molecular Graphics and Modelling. - : Elsevier BV. - 1093-3263 .- 1873-4243. ; 54, s. 62-79
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this review we give an overview of the field of Computational enzymology. We start by describing the birth of the field, with emphasis on the work of the 2013 chemistry Nobel Laureates. We then present key features of the state-of-the-art in the field, showing what theory, accompanied by experiments, has taught us so far about enzymes. We also briefly describe computational methods, such as quantum mechanics-molecular mechanics approaches, reaction coordinate treatment, and free energy simulation approaches. We finalize by discussing open questions and challenges.
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