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Due to the complexity of the synthetic process of cobalt phosphides (CoP), ongoing efforts concentrate on simplifying the preparation process of CoP. In this work, amino tris(methylene phosphonic acid) (ATMP, L1) and melamine (MA, L2) are assembled into two-dimensional (2D) organic nanostructures by hydrogen bonding and ionic interactions

Reasonable control of the redox states within the catalytic units together with the interconnection degrees of the substrate is of great significance in the modulation of a well-performing transducer. Herein, a novel carbon black (CB)-modified copper metal–organic framework nanomaterial (CB@Cu-MOF) prepared at room temperature was utilized as a precursor to synthesize mixed-valent copper–oxide composite catalysts (NC/CuxO-T). By tuning the carbonization process of the precursor at different temperatures (T = 100 °C, 200 °C, 300 °C and 400 °C), the different ratio configurations of the redox-alternated CuxO portions were successfully controlled with the simultaneous effective tailoring of the defect abundance in the N-doped carbon substrate. As a result, an optimized NC/CuxO-300 electrochemical H2O2 sensor was able to present a low detection limit (0.26 μM) and decent linear ranges (0.02–1.79 mM and 2.29–9.29 mM). Our strategy using easily available initial materials with mild preparation conditions is expected to promote the practical application of the star materials in laboratories.

Hydroxylated derivatives of steroids play essential roles in medicine. Cytochrome P450 enzymes selectively hydroxylate methyne groups on steroids, which can dramatically change their polarity, biological activity and toxicity.

Cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs or P450s) are ubiquitous heme-dependent enzymes that catalyze the monooxygenation of non-activated C-H bonds to modify the structure of the substrate. In this study, we heterologously expressed CYP107X1 from Streptomyces avermitilis and conducted in vitro substrate screening using the alternative redox partners putidaredoxin and putidaredoxin reductase. CYP107X1 catalyzed the 16α-hydroxylation of progesterone with regio- and stereoselectivity. The spectroscopic analyses showed that CYP107X1 bound progesterone with a relatively high K

Objective Systematic evaluation of the application of probiotics in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).Methods Computer searches of PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Medline, Embase, Ovid, CNKI, Wan Fang Data, and VIP databases were conducted to retrieve RCT studies on probiotics for the treatment of patients with PCOS from the time of database creation to March 2021. Meta-analysis was performed by two researchers after screening, extracting, and evaluating the literature using revman 5.3 software.Results A total of 13 studies were included, and the results of Meta-analysis showed that compared with the placebo group, probiotic supplementation increased sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and insulin sensitivity testing index (QUICKI) and decreased fasting insulin (INS), total testosterone (TT), insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), fasting blood glucose (FPG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), triglyceride (TG), and total cholesterol (TC) levels in PCOS patients (P0.05).Conclusions Probiotics may improve serum levels of endocrine and metabolism-related indicators in patients with PCOS, but further investigation and validation in large samples and high-quality RCT studies are needed.

Rational design and facile synthesis of highly active electrocatalysts with low cost for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are always of great challenge. Specifically, development of a new type of energy-saving materials with convenient method is regarded as the current bottleneck. Herein, an innovative strategy based on amino trimethylene phosphonic acid (ATMP) as chelating agent for cobalt-metaphosphate coordination polymer is reported to one-pot synthesis of a novel precursor in methanol for ORR electrocatalyst. Carbonization of the precursor at 900 °C at N2 atmosphere results in the feasible formation of cobalt metaphosphate based composite (Co(PO3)2/NC). A further step in the thermal cleavage at 650 °C at air for 4 h, Co(PO3)2/NC can be finally transformed into inorganic Co(PO3)2. Advanced spectroscopic techniques and density function theory (DFT) calculations are applied to confirm the main catalytically active center and the physical properties of Co(PO3)2/NC. This obtained Co(PO3)2/NC nanocomposite exhibits superior electrocatalysis to Co(PO3)2 with an enhanced onset potential (0.906 V vs. RHE) and diffusion limiting current (5.062 mA cm−2), which are roughly close to those of commercial 20% Pt/C (0.916 V, 5.200 mA cm−2).

Cytochrome P450 enzymes (P450 or CYP) are some of the most versatile biocatalysts, and offer advantages for oxidizing unreactive C–H bonds in mild conditions. In this study, we identified a novel cytochrome P450 154C2 from Streptomyces avermitilis and characterized its function in 2α-hydroxylation of testosterone with regio- and stereoselectivity. To investigate the efficiency of electron transfer, we conducted biotransformation using two different P450 redox partners—RhFRED (RhF reductase domain) from Rhodococcus sp. and Pdx (putidaredoxin)/Pdr (putidaredoxin reductase) from Pseudomonas putida and revealed that RhFRED was more effective than Pdx/Pdr, especially in vivo. The Km and kcat values for testosterone were estimated to be 0.16 ± 0.05 mM and 0.13 ± 0.02 min−1, and kcat/Km was 0.81 min−1 mM−1. We also determined the crystal structure of the substrate-free form of CYP154C2 at 1.5 A resolution. The structure has a closed conformation, and the substrate binding pocket is narrow, which can explain the strict substrate specificity of the enzyme.

Reasonable control of the redox states within the catalytic units together with the interconnection degrees of the substrate is of great significance in the modulation of a well-performing transducer. Herein, a novel carbon black (CB)-modified copper metal-organic framework nanomaterial (CB@Cu-MOF) prepared at room temperature was utilized as a precursor to synthesize mixed-valent copper-oxide composite catalysts (NC/Cu

Tuning the coordination environment between metal centers and organic ligands is a promising way to design of the precursors of electrocatalysts for water splitting or other renewable energy options. In this work, a novel coordinated polymer was prepared feasibly in polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) aqueous solution using aminotrimethylene phosphonic acid (ATMP, L1) and 2-methylimidazole (MeMI, L2) as ligands with the ratio of 2:5, Co2+ and Zn2+ as metal centers. Based on the concept of acid-base neutralization reaction, the proton-transfer induced “deprotonation and protonation” for L1 and L2, respectively. Thus, the coordination was dominated by the deprotonated L1. Owing to also partial of protonated L2 adsorbed as “counter ions”, carbonization of the obtained precursor at 800 °C under N2 atmosphere endows the pyrolysis product with nitrogen-doped carbon supported metal pyrophosphate (M2P2O7@NC). Thus, the resulting M2P2O7@NC exhibits the enhanced and durable ORR and HER performance. For ORR in 0.1 M KOH, an enhanced onset potential (0.925 V vs. RHE), half wave potential (0.793 V vs. RHE) and diffusion limiting current (6.132 mA cm−2) can be obtained comparable to those of Pt/C. For HER in 0.5 M H2SO4, it only needs an over potential of 180 mV to realize a current density of 10 mA cm−2.

Cytochrome P450 enzymes (P450s) are versatile biocatalysts, which insert a molecular oxygen into inactivated C-H bonds under mild conditions. CYP105D7 from Streptomyces avermitilis has been reported as a bacterial substrate-promiscuous P450 which catalyzes the hydroxylation of 1-deoxypentalenic acid, diclofenac, naringenin, compactin and steroids. In this study, CYP105D7 catalyzes hydroxylation, epoxidation and dehydrogenation of capsaicin, a pharmaceutical agent, revealing its functional diversity. The kinetic parameters of the CYP105D7 oxidation of capsaicin were determined as Km =311.60±87.30 μM and kcat =2.01±0.33 min-1 . In addition, we conducted molecular docking, mutagenesis and substrate binding analysis, indicating that Arg81 plays crucial role in the capsaicin binding and catalysis. To our best knowledge, this study presents the first report to illustrate that capsaicin can be catalyzed by prokaryotic P450s.

The cytochrome P450 enzymes are ubiquitous heme-thiolate proteins performing regioselective and stereoselective oxygenation reactions in cellular metabolism. Due to their broad substrate scope and catalytic versatility, P450 enzymes are also attractive candidates for many industrial and biopharmaceutical applications. For particular uses, enzyme properties of P450s can be further optimized through directed evolution, rational, and semi-rational engineering approaches, all of which introduce mutations within the P450 structures. In this review, we describe the recent applications of these P450 engineering approaches and highlight the key regions and residues that have been identified using such approaches. These “hotspots” lie within critical functional areas of the P450 structure, including the active site, the substrate access channel, and the redox partner interaction interface. Keywords: Cytochrome P450, Protein engineering, Rational design, Crystal structure

Research of highly dispersed transition metal phosphides (TMPs)-based catalysts for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution is of great significance in the area of renewable energy. Herein, the high dispersion of FeNiP nanoparticles on N, P-doped electrospun carbon fibers was realized via the confinement effect induced by phytic acid (PA) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN), as well as electrospinning technique. PA and PAN were used as ligand for coordinating transition metal (TM) ions and carbon sources, respectively. In addition, the nucleophilic addition reaction between PA and PAN resulted in the cyclization of PAN and the further formation of a supramolecular network. Besides, the chelating ability of PA to TM ions was also modulated. Benefitting from the confinement effect, the optimized FeNiP/NPC800 exhibit good hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activities for achieving a current density of 10 mA cm−2 at an overpotential of 277 mV in 0.5 M H2SO4.

Our previous study showed that CYP105D7, a substrate-promiscuous P450, catalyzes the hydroxylation of 1-deoxypentalenic acid, diclofenac, naringenin, and compactin. In this study, 14 steroid compounds were screened using recombinant Escherichia coli cells harboring genes encoding CYP105D7 and redox partners (Pdx/Pdr, RhFRED, and FdxH/FprD), and the screening identified steroid A-ring 2β- and D-ring 16β-hydroxylation activity. Wild-type CYP105D7 was able to catalyze the hydroxylation of five steroids (testosterone, progesterone, 4-androstene-3,17-dione, adrenosterone, and cortisone) with low (

Flavanones have a wide range of pharmacological activities. Previously, we showed that CYP105D7, a cytochrome P450, from Streptomyces avermitilis can catalyze hydroxylation of diclofenac at the C4′ position. Here, we demonstrated that CYP105D7 also catalyzes hydroxylation of two flavanones, naringenin and pinocembrin. Naringenin was hydroxylated at the 3′-position in a regiospecific manner to yield eriodictyol. Spectroscopic analyses showed that CYP105D7 binds to naringenin and pinocembrin in a weakly cooperative manner with an affinity of 103 μM and 52 μM, and a Hill coefficient of 1.25 and 1.47, respectively. A possible binding model of naringenin was investigated by molecular-docking analyses. The substrate-binding pocket of CYP105D7 is sufficiently wide to accommodate two naringenin molecules simultaneously, and the C3′ atom of the proximal molecule is in the appropriate location for aromatic hydroxylation.

Fe-N catalysts are one of the promising candidates with efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activities comparable to Pt-based catalysts. Therefore, in this work, a novel Fe-N based electrocatalyst with high activity, porous structure, and durability were prepared. Highly active N,N′-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) was used to form zinc-based zeolitic imidazole frameworks involved with zinc carbonate (Zn-ZIFs@ZnCO3). Fe-doping can be feasibly achieved by partial substitution Zn by Fe using Fe (NO)3. Owing to the presence of ZnCO3 and Fe3+, carbonization of Fe/Zn-ZIFs@ZnCO3 at 925 °C under N2 atmosphere endows the pyrolysis products with many highly active heterostructures of 3D graphene structure. The obtained Fe-N@ZnO possesses superior ORR performance to commercial 20% Pt/C catalysts, such as positive half-wave potential (0.851 V), good durability and methanol tolerance in 0.1 M KOH.

Compactin and pravastatin are competitive cholesterol biosynthesis inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase and belong to the statin drugs; however, the latter shows superior pharmacokinetic characteristics. Previously, we reported that the bacterial P450, CYP105D7, from Streptomyces avermitilis can catalyze the hydroxylation of 1-deoxypentalenic acid, diclofenac, and naringenin. Here, we demonstrate that CYP105D7 could also catalyze compactin hydroxylation in vitro. In the presence of both bacterial and cyanobacterial redox partner systems with an NADPH regeneration system, the reaction produced two hydroxylated products, including pravastatin (hydroxylated at the C6 position). The steady-state kinetic parameters were measured using the redox partners of putidaredoxin and its reductase. The Km and kcat values for compactin were 39.1 ± 8.8 µM and 1.12 ± 0.09 min-1, respectively. The kcat/Km value for compactin (0.029 min-1·µM-1) was lower than that for diclofenac (0.114 min-1·µM-1). Spectroscopic analysis showed that CYP105D7 binds to compactin with a Kd value of 17.5 ± 3.6 µM. Molecular docking analysis was performed to build a possible binding model of compactin. Comparisons of different substrates with CYP105D7 were conclusively illustrated for the first time.

Reliable and sensitive detection of xanthine has important medical and biological significance. In this work, a novel three-dimensional (3D) conductive polymer hydrogel of polyaniline (PAni) was feasibly prepared using aniline (Ani), amino trimethylene phosphonic acid (ATMP) and ammonium persulfate ((NH4)2S2O8) as monomer, gelatinizing agent and oxidizing agent, respectively. Protonation of aniline can be achieved by ATMP, inducing good conductivity of the obtained hydrogel. ATMP remained the chelating abilities in the conductive hydrogel, enabling further immobilization with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) functionalized by a luminol derivative, N-(aminobutyl)-N-(ethylisoluminol) (ABEI). ABEI-Ag@PAni-ATMP exhibited an enhanced performance of solid-state electrochemiluminescence (ECL). Integrated with xanthine oxidase (XOD), the proposed biosensor can be applied in the detection of xanthine via in-situ generated hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and present a low detection limit of 9.6 nM, a wide linear range (from 0.01 to 200 μM) and excellent stability.

The polyene macrolide antibiotic filipin is widely used as a probe for cholesterol and a diagnostic tool for type C Niemann-Pick disease. Two position-specific P450 enzymes are involved in the post-polyketide modification of filipin during its biosynthesis, thereby providing molecular diversity to the "filipin complex." CYP105P1 and CYP105D6 from Streptomyces avermitilis, despite their high sequence similarities, catalyze filipin hydroxylation at different positions, C26 and C1', respectively. Here, we determined the crystal structure of the CYP105P1-filipin I complex. The distal pocket of CYP105P1 has the second largest size among P450 hydroxylases that act on macrolide substrates. Compared with previously determined substrate-free structures, the FG helices showed significant closing motion on substrate binding. The long BC loop region adopts a unique extended conformation without a B' helix. The binding site is essentially hydrophobic, but numerous water molecules are involved in recognizing the polyol side of the substrate. Therefore, the distal pocket of CYP105P1 provides a specific environment for the large filipin substrate to bind with its pro-S side of position C26 directed toward the heme iron. The ligand-free CYP105D6 structure was also determined. A small sub-pocket accommodating the long alkyl side chain of filipin I was observed in the CYP105P1 structure but was absent in the CYP105D6 structure, indicating that filipin cannot bind to CYP105D6 with a similar orientation due to steric hindrance. This observation can explain the strict regiospecificity of these enzymes.

Diclofenac is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. It undergoes hydroxylation by mammalian cytochrome P450 enzymes at 4′- and/or 5′-positions. A bacterial P450 enzyme, CYP105D7 from Streptomyces avermitilis, has been shown to catalyze hydroxylation of 1-deoxypentalenic acid and an isoflavone daidzein. Here, we demonstrated that CYP105D7 also catalyzes hydroxylation of diclofenac at the C4′-position. A spectroscopic analysis showed that CYP105D7 binds diclofenac in a slightly cooperative manner with an affinity of 65 μM and a Hill coefficient of 1.16. The crystal structure of CYP105D7 in complex with diclofenac was determined at 2.2 A resolution. The distal pocket of CYP105D7 contains two diclofenac molecules, illustrating drug recognition with a double-ligand-binding mode. The C3′ and C4′ atoms of the dichlorophenyl ring of one diclofenac molecule are positioned near the heme iron, suggesting that it is positioned appropriately for aromatic hydroxylation to yield the 4′-hydroxylated product. However, recognition of diclofenac by CYP105D7 was completely different from that of rabbit CYP2C5, which binds one diclofenac molecule with a cluster of water molecules. The distal pocket of CYP105D7 contains four arginine residues, forming a wall of the substrate-binding pocket, and the arginine residues are conserved in bacterial P450s in the CYP105 family.

This paper concerns with the sensitivity analysis for the multivariate eigenvalue problem (MEP). The concept of a simple multivariate eigenvalue of a matrix is generalized to the MEP and the first-order perturbation expansions of a simple multivariate eigenvalue and the corresponding multivariate eigenvector are presented. The explicit expressions of condition numbers, perturbation upper bounds and backward errors for multivariate eigenpairs are derived.

Pentalenic acid (1) has been isolated from many Streptomyces sp. as a co-metabolite of the sesquiterpenoid antibiotic pentalenolactone and related natural products. We have previously reported the identification of a 13.4-kb gene cluster in the genome of Streptomyces avermitilis implicated in the biosynthesis of the pentalenolactone family of metabolites consisting of 13 open reading frames. Detailed molecular genetic and biochemical studies have revealed that at least seven genes are involved in the biosynthesis of the newly discovered metabolites, neopentalenoketolactone, but no gene specifically dedicated to the formation of pentalenic acid (1) was evident in the same gene cluster. The wild-type strain of S. avermitilis, as well as its derivatives, mainly produce pentalenic acid (1), together with neopentalenoketolactone (9). Disruption of the sav7469 gene encoding a cytochrome P450 (CYP105D7), members of which class are associated with the hydroxylation of many structurally different compounds, abolished the production of pentalenic acid (1). The sav7469-deletion mutant derived from SUKA11 carrying pKU462∷ ptl-cluster Δ ptlH accumulated 1-deoxypentalenic acid (5), but not pentalenic acid (1). Reintroduction of an extra-copy of the sav7469 gene to SUKA11 Δ sav7469 carrying pKU462∷ ptl-cluster Δ ptlH restored the production of pentalenic acid (1). Recombinant CYP105D7 prepared from Escherichia coli catalyzed the oxidative conversion of 1-deoxypentalenic acid (5) to pentalenic acid (1) in the presence of the electron-transport partners, ferredoxin (Fdx) and Fdx reductase, both in vivo and in vitro. These results unambiguously demonstrate that CYP105D7 is responsible for the conversion of 1-deoxypentalenic acid (5) to pentalenic acid (1), a shunt product in the biosynthesis of the pentalenolactone family of metabolites.

The polyene macrolide antibiotic filipin is widely used as a probe for cholesterol in biological membranes. The filipin biosynthetic pathway of Streptomyces avermitilis contains two position-specific hydroxylases, C26-specific CYP105P1 and C1′-specific CYP105D6. In this study, we describe the three X-ray crystal structures of CYP105P1: the ligand-free wild-type (WT-free), 4-phenylimidazole-bound wild-type (WT-4PI), and ligand-free H72A mutant (H72A-free) forms. The BC loop region in the WT-free structure has a unique feature; the side chain of His72 within this region is ligated to the heme iron. On the other hand, this region is highly disordered and widely open in WT-4PI and H72A-free structures, respectively. Histidine ligation of wild-type CYP105P1 was not detectable in solution, and a type II spectral change was clearly observed when 4-phenylimidazole was titrated. The H72A mutant showed spectroscopic characteristics that were almost identical to those of the wild-type protein. In the H72A-free structure, there is a large pocket that is of the same size as the filipin molecule. The highly flexible feature of the BC loop region of CYP105P1 may be required to accept a large hydrophobic substrate.