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NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) is a human FAD‐dependent enzyme that plays a crucial role in the antioxidant defense system. A naturally occurring single‐nucleotide polymorphism (NQO1*2) in the NQO1 gene leads to an amino acid substitution (P187S), which severely compromises the activity and stability of the enzyme. The NQO1*2 genotype has been linked to a higher risk for several types of cancer and poor survival rate after anthracycline‐based chemotherapy. In this study, we show that a small molecular chaperone (N‐(2‐bromophenyl)pyrrolidine‐1‐sulfonamide) repopulates the native wild‐type conformation. As a consequence of the stabilizing effect, the enzymatic activity of the P187S variant protein is strongly improved in the presence of the molecular chaperone in vitro.

A specific and sensitive electrochemical biosensor with human monoamine oxidase B (hMAO B) as biological receptor and a MnO2 modified nanomaterial based transducer system has been developed and optimised. Best results for the biosensor were achieved when using enzyme immobilisation with a dialysis membrane (regenerated cellulose, molecular weight cut-off 14000) and a 20 % (m/m) MnO2 modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs, ratio of fluid to solid compounds of 1 : 0.7 (m/m)) paste electrode smoothed with a glassy carbon paste (GCP, ratio 1 : 3.6 (m/m)) containing the same mediator concentration. The biosensor was operated in a flow injection analysis (FIA) system with Sorensen phosphate buffer (33 mM, pH 7.5) and amperometric detection at a fixed potential of +400 mV vs. Ag/AgCl. The developed sensor underwent validation using phenylethylamine (PEA) as standard substrate showing linearity between 5.0 and 400 µM PEA and limits of detection and quantification of 1.5 and 5.0 µM PEA, respectively. The sensor was successfully tested for the determination of total monoamines in rat brain calculated as PEA equivalents showing a result of 1.2 µg/g brain tissue (n=3, relative standard deviation 4.4 %).

Chemo-enzymatic deracemisation was applied to obtain the (S)-enantiomer of 1-benzylisoquinolines from the racemate in high isolated yield (up to 85%) and excellent optical purity (ee > 97%). The one-pot deracemisation protocol encompassed enantioselective oxidation by a monoamine oxidase (MAO-N) and concomitant reduction of the resulting iminium species by ammonia-borane. The challenge was the oxidation at the sterically demanding chiral centre. Recently developed variants of MAO-N, featuring an enlarged active-site pocket, turned out to be suitable biocatalysts for these substrates. In contrast to previous MAO-N variants, which preferentially converted the (S)-enantiomer, the MAO-N variant D11 used in the present study was found to oxidise all tested benzylisoquinoline substrates with (R)-enantiopreference. The structural determinants of enantioselectivity were investigated by means of protein–ligand docking simulations. The applicability of the deracemisation system was demonstrated on preparative scale (150 mg) for three benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (natural as well as non-natural), including the hypotensive and antispasmodic agent (S)-reticuline.

The human NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1; EC 1.6.99.2) is an essential enzyme in the antioxidant defence system. Furthermore, NQO1 protects tumour suppressors like p53, p33ING1b and p73 from proteasomal degradation. The activity of NQO1 is also exploited in chemotherapy for the activation of quinone-based treatments. Various single nucleotide polymorphisms are known, such as NQO1*2 and NQO1*3 yielding protein variants of NQO1 with single amino acid replacements, i.e. P187S and R139W, respectively. While the former NOQ1 variant is linked to a higher risk for specific kinds of cancer, the role, if any, of the arginine 139 to tryptophan exchange in disease development remains obscure. On the other hand, mitomycin C-resistant human colon cancer cells were shown to harbour the NQO1*3 variant resulting in substantially reduced enzymatic activity. However, the molecular cause for this decrease remains unclear. In order to resolve this issue, recombinant NQO1 R139W has been characterized biochemically and structurally. In this report, we show by X-ray crystallography and 2D-NMR spectroscopy that this variant adopts the same structure both in the crystal as well as in solution. Furthermore, the kinetic parameters obtained for the variant are similar to those reported for the wild-type protein. Similarly, thermostability of the variant was only slightly affected by the amino acid replacement. Therefore, we conclude that the previously reported effects in human cancer cells cannot be attributed to protein stability or enzyme activity. Instead, it appears that loss of exon 4 during maturation of a large fraction of pre-mRNA is the major reason of the observed lack of enzyme activity and hence reduced activation of quinone-based chemotherapeutics.

A chemoenzymatic approach for the asymmetric total synthesis of the title compounds is described that employs an enantioselective oxidative C-C bond formation catalyzed by berberine bridge enzyme (BBE) in the asymmetric key step. This unique reaction yielded enantiomerically pure (R)-benzylisoquinoline derivatives and (S)-berbines such as the natural product (S)-scoulerine, a sedative and muscle relaxing agent. The racemic substrates rac-1 required for the biotransformation were prepared in 4-8 linear steps using either a Bischler-Napieralski cyclization or a C1-Cα alkylation approach. The chemoenzymatic synthesis was applied to the preparation of fourteen enantiomerically pure alkaloids, including the natural products (S)-scoulerine and (R)-reticuline, and gave overall yields of up to 20% over 5-9 linear steps.

Humanquinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) is essential for the antioxidant defense system, stabilization of tumor suppressors (e.g. p53, p33, and p73), and activation of quinone-based chemotherapeutics. Overexpression of NQO1 in many solid tumors, coupled with its ability to convert quinone-based chemotherapeutics into potent cytotoxic compounds, have made it a very attractive target for anticancer drugs. A naturally occurring single-nucleotide polymorphism (C609T) leading to an amino acid exchange (P187S) has been implicated in the development of various cancers and poor survival rates following anthracyclin-based adjuvant chemotherapy. Despite its importance for cancer prediction and therapy, the exact molecular basis for the loss of function in NQO1 P187S is currently unknown. Therefore, we solved the crystal structure of NQO1 P187S. Surprisingly, this structure is almost identical to NQO1. Employing a combination of NMR spectroscopy and limited proteolysis experiments, we demonstrated that the single amino acid exchange destabilized interactions between the core and C-terminus, leading to depopulation of the native structure in solution. This collapse of the native structure diminished cofactor affinity and led to a less competent FAD-binding pocket, thus severely compromising the catalytic capacity of the variant protein. Hence, our findings provide a rationale for the loss of function in NQO1 P187S with a frequently occurring single-nucleotide polymorphism.Structural data are available in the Protein Data Bank under the accession numbers 4cet (P187S variant with dicoumarol) and 4cf6 (P187S variant with Cibacron blue).NQO1 P187S and NQO1 P187S bind by nuclear magnetic resonance (View interaction) NQO1 P187S and NQO1 P187S bind by x-ray crystallography (1, 2) NQO1 and NQO1 bind by molecular sieving (1, 2).

Genome analysis of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae identified 68 genes encoding flavin-dependent proteins (1.1% of protein encoding genes) to which 47 distinct biochemical functions were assigned. The majority of flavoproteins operate in mitochondria where they participate in redox processes revolving around the transfer of electrons to the electron transport chain. In addition, we found that flavoenzymes play a central role in various aspects of iron metabolism, such as iron uptake, the biogenesis of iron–sulfur clusters and insertion of the heme cofactor into apocytochromes. Another important group of flavoenzymes is directly (Dus1-4p and Mto1p) or indirectly (Tyw1p) involved in reactions leading to tRNA-modifications. Despite the wealth of genetic information available for S. cerevisiae, we were surprised that many flavoproteins are poorly characterized biochemically. For example, the role of the yeast flavodoxins Pst2p, Rfs1p and Ycp4p with regard to their electron donor and acceptor is presently unknown. Similarly, the function of the heterodimeric Aim45p/Cir1p, which is homologous to the electron-transferring flavoproteins of higher eukaryotes, in electron transfer processes occurring in the mitochondrial matrix remains to be elucidated. This lack of information extends to the five membrane proteins involved in riboflavin or FAD transport as well as FMN and FAD homeostasis within the yeast cell. Nevertheless, several yeast flavoproteins, were identified as convenient model systems both in terms of their mechanism of action as well as structurally to improve our understanding of diseases caused by dysfunctional human flavoprotein orthologs., Highlights • Overview of flavin-dependent proteins in S. cerevisiae. • The role of yeast flavoproteins in iron metabolism. • Biosynthesis and transport of flavins. • Yeast as a model organism for investigating human diseases linked to flavoproteins.