Interactions between artemisinins and other antimalarial drugs in relation to the cofactor model--a unifying proposal for drug action.

Artemisinins are proposed to act in the malaria parasite cytosol by oxidizing dihydroflavin cofactors of redox-active flavoenzymes, and under aerobic conditions by inducing their autoxidation. Perturbation of redox homeostasis coupled with the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) ensues. Ascorbic acid-methylene blue (MB), N-benzyl-1,4-dihydronicotinamide (BNAH)-MB, BNAH-lumiflavine, BNAH-riboflavin (RF), and NADPH-FAD-E.

A partial convergence in action of methylene blue and artemisinins: antagonism with chloroquine, a reversal with verapamil, and an insight into the antimalarial activity of chloroquine.

Artemisinins rapidly oxidize leucomethylene blue (LMB) to methylene blue (MB); they also oxidize dihydroflavins such as the reduced conjugates RFH₂ of riboflavin (RF), and FADH₂ of the cofactor flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), to the corresponding flavins. Like the artemisinins, MB oxidizes FADH₂, but unlike artemisinins, it also oxidizes NAD(P)H. Like MB, artemisinins are implicated in the perturbation of redox balance in the malaria parasite by interfering with parasite flavoenzyme disulfide reductases.

Stabilization of the second oxyanion intermediate by 1,4-dihydroxy-2-naphthoyl-coenzyme A synthase of the menaquinone pathway: spectroscopic evidence of the involvement of a conserved aspartic acid.

1,4-Dihydroxy-2-naphthoyl-coenzyme A (DHNA-CoA) synthase, or MenB, catalyzes an intramolecular Claisen condensation involving two oxyanion intermediates in the biosynthetic pathway of menaquinone, an essential respiration electron transporter in many microorganisms. Here we report the finding that the DHNA-CoA product and its analogues bind and inhibit the synthase from Escherichia coli with significant ultraviolet--visible spectral changes, which are similar to the changes induced by deprotonation of the free inhibitors in a basic solution. Dissection of the structure--affinity relationships of the inhibitors identifies the hydroxyl groups at positions 1 (C1-OH) and 4 (C4-OH) of DHNA-CoA or their equivalents as the dominant and minor sites, respectively, for the enzyme--ligand interaction that polarizes or deprotonates the bound ligands to cause the observed spectral changes.

Reactions of antimalarial peroxides with each of leucomethylene blue and dihydroflavins: flavin reductase and the cofactor model exemplified.

Flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) is reduced by NADPH-E. coli flavin reductase (Fre) to FADH(2) in aqueous buffer at pH 7.4 under argon.

A bicarbonate cofactor modulates 1,4-dihydroxy-2-naphthoyl-coenzyme a synthase in menaquinone biosynthesis of Escherichia coli.

1,4-Dihydroxy-2-naphthoyl coenzyme A (DHNA-CoA) synthase is a typical crotonase-fold protein catalyzing an intramolecular Claisen condensation in the menaquinone biosynthetic pathway. We have characterized this enzyme from Escherichia coli and found that it is activated by bicarbonate in a concentration-dependent manner. The bicarbonate binding site has been identified in the crystal structure of a virtually identical ortholog (96.

Structural change of the enterobactin synthetase in crowded solution and its relation to crowding-enhanced product specificity in nonribosomal enterobactin biosynthesis.

Significant conformational change is detected by circular dichroism and fluorimetry for the major component of the enterobactin synthetase in crowded solutions mimicking the intracellular environment. The structural change correlates well with the extent of the crowding-induced side product suppression in nonribosomal enterobactin synthesis. In contrast, protein-stabilizing solvophobic agents such as glycerol have no effect on the formation of side products, excluding crowding-induced protein stability as a cause for the observed enhancement of the product specificity of the synthetase.

Enzyme-instructed molecular self-assembly confers nanofibers and a supramolecular hydrogel of taxol derivative.

By covalently connecting taxol with a motif that is prone to self-assemble, we successfully generate the precursor (5a), the hydrogelator (5b), and hydrogel of a taxol derivative without compromising the cytotoxic activity of the taxol. This approach promises a general method to create nanofibers of therapeutic molecules that have a dual role, as both the delivery vehicle and the drug itself.

Preferential hydrolysis of aberrant intermediates by the type II thioesterase in Escherichia coli nonribosomal enterobactin synthesis: substrate specificities and mutagenic studies on the active-site residues.

The type II thioesterase EntH is a hotdog fold protein required for optimal nonribosomal biosynthesis of enterobactin in Escherichia coli. Its proposed proofreading activity in the biosynthesis is confirmed by its efficient restoration of enterobactin synthesis blocked in vitro by analogs of the cognate precursor 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate. Steady-state kinetic studies show that EntH recognizes the phosphopantetheine group and the pattern of hydroxylation in the aryl moiety of its thioester substrates.

Identification and characterization of (1R,6R)-2-succinyl-6-hydroxy-2,4-cyclohexadiene-1-carboxylate synthase in the menaquinone biosynthesis of Escherichia coli.

Menaquinone is a lipid-soluble molecule that plays an essential role as an electron carrier in the respiratory chain of many bacteria. We have previously shown that its biosynthesis in Escherichia coli involves a new intermediate, 2-succinyl-5-enolpyruvyl-6-hydroxy-3-cyclohexene-1-carboxylate (SEPHCHC), and requires an additional enzyme to convert this intermediate into (1 R,6 R)-2-succinyl-6-hydroxy-2,4-cyclohexadiene-1-carboxylate (SHCHC). Here, we report the identification and characterization of MenH (or YfbB), an enzyme previously proposed to catalyze a late step in menaquinone biosynthesis, as the SHCHC synthase.

Suppression of linear side products by macromolecular crowding in nonribosomal enterobactin biosynthesis.

Nonribosomal enterobactin synthetase of Escherichia coli was found to prematurely release a large amount of linear precursors in an in vitro reconstitution. However, these side products are suppressed to negligible levels by polymeric cosolvents that create macromolecular crowding, a prominent feature of the intracellular environment. These findings show that macromolecular crowding is essential to normal functioning of the nonribosomal peptide synthetase and suggest that it may be crucial to biotechnological utilization of similar enzyme systems.

Menaquinone biosynthesis in Escherichia coli: identification of 2-succinyl-5-enolpyruvyl-6-hydroxy-3-cyclohexene-1-carboxylate as a novel intermediate and re-evaluation of MenD activity.

Menaquinone is an electron carrier in the respiratory chain of Escherichia coli during anaerobic growth. Its biosynthesis involves (1R,6R)-2-succinyl-6-hydroxy-2,4-cyclohexadiene-1-carboxylic acid (SHCHC) as an intermediate, which is believed to be derived from isochorismate and 2-ketoglutarate by one of the biosynthetic enzymes-MenD. However, we found that the genuine MenD product is 2-succinyl-5-enolpyruvyl-6-hydroxy-3-cyclohexene-1-carboxylic acid (SEPHCHC), rather than SHCHC.

[Study of direct fluorophotometric and flow-injection fluorophotometric methods based on the inhibitory effect for the determination of trace formaldehyde].

Sulfite reacts with o-phthalaldehyde in the presence of ammonium forming the highly fluorescing isoindole-1-sulfonate in neutral or weakly acid solution, and formaldehyde has inhibitory effect on it. Based on this principle, the authors developed the direct fluorophotometric and flow-injection fluorophotometric methods for the determination of trace formaldehyde. The maximum excitation wavelength and the maximum emission wavelength are 320 and 390 nm respectively.

B-cell responses in patients who have recovered from severe acute respiratory syndrome target a dominant site in the S2 domain of the surface spike glycoprotein.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a recently emerged infectious disease caused by a novel strain of coronavirus. Examination of the immune responses of patients who have recovered from SARS should provide important information for design of a safe and effective vaccine. We determined the continuous viral epitopes targeted by antibodies in plasma samples from convalescent SARS patients through biopanning with a vast M13 phage display dodecapeptide library.