Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of 4- and 5-Substituted o-(Octanesulfonamido)benzoic Acids as Inhibitors of Glycerol-3-Phosphate Acyltransferase

Despite a rising demand for anti-obesity therapeutics, few effective pharmacological options are clinically available that target the synthesis and accumulation of body fat. Moderate inhibition of mammalian glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT) with 2-(alkanesulfonamido)benzoic acids has recently been described in vitro, accompanied by promising weight loss in vivo. In silico docking studies with 2-(octanesulfonamido)benzoic acid modeled into the active site of squash GPAT revealed an unoccupied volume lined with hydrophobic residues proximal to C-4 and C-5 of the benzoic acid ring. In an effort to produce more potent GPAT inhibitors, a series of 4- and 5-substituted analogs were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for inhibitory activity. In general, compounds containing hydrophobic substituents at the 4- and 5-positions, such as biphenyl and alkylphenyl hydrocarbons, exhibited an improved inhibitory activity against GPAT in vitro. The most active compound, 4-([1,1'-biphenyl]-4-carbonyl)-2-(octanesulfonamido)benzoic acid, demonstrated an IC50 of 8.5 µM and represents the best GPAT inhibitor discovered to date. Conversely, further substitution with hydroxyl or fluoro groups, led to a 3-fold decrease in activity. These results are consistent with the presence of a hydrophobic pocket and may support the binding model as a potential tool for developing more potent inhibitors.

Systematic domain swaps of iterative, nonreducing polyketide synthases provide a mechanistic understanding and rationale for catalytic reprogramming

Iterative, nonreducing polyketide synthases (NR-PKSs) are multidomain enzymes responsible for the construction of the core architecture of aromatic polyketide natural products in fungi. Engineering these enzymes for the production of non-native metabolites has been a long-standing goal. We conducted a systematic survey of in vitro "domain swapped" NR-PKSs using an enzyme deconstruction approach. The NR-PKSs were dissected into mono- to multidomain fragments and recombined as noncognate pairs in vitro, reconstituting enzymatic activity. The enzymes used in this study produce aromatic polyketides that are representative of the four main chemical features set by the individual NR-PKS: starter unit selection, chain-length control, cyclization register control, and product release mechanism. We found that boundary conditions limit successful chemistry, which are dependent on a set of underlying enzymatic mechanisms. Crucial for successful redirection of catalysis, the rate of productive chemistry must outpace the rate of spontaneous derailment and thioesterase-mediated editing. Additionally, all of the domains in a noncognate system must interact efficiently if chemical redirection is to proceed. These observations refine and further substantiate current understanding of the mechanisms governing NR-PKS catalysis.

Epimerization and substrate gating by a TE domain in β-lactam antibiotic biosynthesis

Nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) are versatile engines of bioactive natural product biosynthesis that function according to the multiple carrier thiotemplate mechanism. C-terminal thioesterase (TE) domains of these giant modular proteins typically catalyze product release by hydrolysis or macrocylization. We now report an unprecedented, dual-function TE involved in nocardicin A biosynthesis, the paradigm monocyclic β-lactam antibiotic. Contrary to expectation, a stereodefined series of potential peptide substrates for the nocardicin TE domain failed to undergo hydrolysis. The stringent discrimination against peptide intermediates was dramatically overcome by prior monocyclic β-lactam formation at an L-seryl site. Kinetic data are interpreted such that the TE domain acts as a gatekeeper to hold the assembling peptide on an upstream domain until β-lactam formation takes place and then rapidly catalyzes epimerization, not previously observed as a TE catalytic function, and thioesterase cleavage to discharge a fully fledged pentapeptide β-lactam harboring nocardicin G, the universal precursor of the nocardicins.

Biochemical determination of enzyme-bound metabolites: preferential accumulation of a programmed octaketide on the enediyne polyketide synthase CalE8

Despite considerable interest in the enediyne family of antitumor antibiotics, assembly of their polyketide core structures in nature remains poorly understood. Discriminating methods to access enzyme-bound intermediates are critical for elucidating unresolved polyketide and nonribosomal peptide biosynthetic pathways. Here, we describe the development of broadly applicable techniques for the mild chemical release and analysis of intermediates bound to carrier proteins (CPs), providing access to these species even in sensitive systems. These techniques were applied to CalE8, the polyketide synthase (PKS) involved in calicheamicin biosynthesis, facilitating the unambiguous identification of enzyme-bound polyketides on an enediyne PKS. Moreover, these methods enabled the preparation of fully unloaded CalE8, providing a "clean slate" for reconstituted activity and allowing us to demonstrate the preferential accumulation of a PKS-bound octaketide with evidence of programmed processing control by CalE8. This intermediate, which has the expected chain length for enediyne core construction, could previously only be indirectly inferred. These studies prove that this polyketide is an authentic product of CalE8 and may be a key precursor to the enediyne core of calicheamicin, as it is the only programmed, enzyme-bound species observed for any enediyne system to date. Our experimental advances into a generally inaccessible system illustrate the utility of these techniques for investigating CP-based biosynthetic pathways.

Stereocontrolled syntheses of peptide thioesters containing modified seryl residues as probes of antibiotic biosynthesis

Methods have been developed to synthesize tri- and pentapeptide thioesters containing one or more p-(hydroxyphenyl)glycine (pHPG) residues and L-serine, some where the latter is O-phosphorylated, O-acetylated, or exists as a β-lactam. Selection of orthogonal protection strategies and development of conditions to achieve seryl O-phosphorylation without β-elimination and to maintain stereochemical control, especially simultaneously at exceptionally base-labile pHPG α-carbons, are described. Intramolecular closure of a seryl peptide to a β-lactam-containing peptide and the syntheses of corresponding thioester analogues are also reported. Modification of classical Mitsunobu conditions is described in the synthesis of the β-lactam-containing products, and in a broadly useful observation, it was found that simple exclusion of light from the P(OEt)3-mediated Mitsunobu ring closure afforded yields of >95%, presumably owing to reduced photodegradation of the azodicarboxylate used. These sensitive potential substrates and products will be used in mechanistic studies of the two nonribosomal peptide synthetases NocA and NocB that lie at the heart of nocardicin biosynthesis, a family of monocyclic β-lactam antibiotics.

Mechanistic insights into the bifunctional non-heme iron oxygenase carbapenem synthase by active site saturation mutagenesis

The carbapenem class of β-lactam antibiotics is known for its remarkable potency, antibacterial spectrum, and resistance to β-lactamase-mediated inactivation. While the biosynthesis of structurally "complex" carbapenems, such as thienamycin, share initial biochemical steps with carbapenem-3-carboxylate ("simple" carbapenem), the requisite inversion at C5 and formation of the characteristic α,β-unsaturated carboxylate are different in origin between the two groups. Here, we consider carbapenem synthase, a mechanistically distinct bifunctional non-heme iron α-ketoglutarate-dependent enzyme responsible for the terminal reactions, C5 epimerization and desaturation, in simple carbapenem production. Interestingly, this enzyme accepts two stereoisomeric substrates and transforms each to a common active antibiotic. Owing both to enzyme and product instability, resorting to saturation mutagenesis of active site and selected second-sphere residues gave clearly differing profiles of CarC tolerance to structural modification. Guided by a crystal structure and the mutational data, in silico docking was used to suggest the positioning of each disastereomeric substrate in the active site. The two orientations relative to the reactive iron-oxo center are manifest in the two distinct reactions, C5-epimerization and C2/3-desaturation. These observations favor a two-step reaction scheme involving two complete oxidative cycles as opposed to a single catalytic cycle in which an active site tyrosine, Tyr67, after hydrogen donation to achieve bicyclic ring inversion, is further hypothesized to serve as a radical carrier.

Non-ribosomal propeptide precursor in nocardicin A biosynthesis predicted from adenylation domain specificity dependent on the MbtH family protein NocI

Nocardicin A is a monocyclic β-lactam isolated from the actinomycete Nocardia uniformis that shows moderate antibiotic activity against a broad spectrum of gram-negative bacteria. The monobactams are of renewed interest due to emerging gram-negative strains resistant to clinically available penicillins and cephalosporins. Like isopenicillin N, nocardicin A has a tripeptide core of non-ribosomal origin. Paradoxically, the nocardicin A gene cluster encodes two non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs), NocA and NocB, predicted to encode five modules pointing to a pentapeptide precursor in nocardicin A biosynthesis, unless module skipping or other nonlinear reactions are occurring. Previous radiochemical incorporation experiments and bioinformatic analyses predict the incorporation of p-hydroxy-L-phenylglycine (L-pHPG) into positions 1, 3, and 5 and L-serine into position 4. No prediction could be made for position 2. Multidomain constructs of each module were heterologous expressed in Escherichia coli for determination of the adenylation domain (A-domain) substrate specificity using the ATP/PPi exchange assay. Three of the five A-domains, from modules 1, 2, and 4, required the addition of stoichiometric amounts of MbtH family protein NocI to detect exchange activity. On the basis of these analyses, the predicted product of the NocA and NocB NRPSs is L-pHPG-L-Arg-D-pHPG-L-Ser-L-pHPG, a pentapeptide. Despite being flanked by non-proteinogenic amino acids, proteolysis of this pentapeptide by trypsin yields two fragments from cleavage at the C terminus of the L-Arg residue. Thus, a proteolytic step is likely involved in the biosynthesis of nocardicin A, a rare but precedented editing event in the formation of non-ribosomal natural products that is supported by the identification of trypsin-encoding genes in N. uniformis.

Analysis of the cercosporin polyketide synthase CTB1 reveals a new fungal thioesterase function

The polyketide synthase CTB1 is demonstrated to catalyze pyrone formation thereby expanding the known biosynthetic repertoire of thioesterase domains in iterative, non-reducing polyketide synthases.

Environmental control of the calicheamicin polyketide synthase leads to detection of a programmed octaketide and a proposal for enediyne biosynthesis

A light in the dark: the fermentation products of the polyketide synthase CalE8 (without its cognate thioesterase) were identified and gave some insight into the elusive early steps of calicheamicin biosynthesis. Fermentation in either the light or dark resulted in different proportions of a new octaketide and led to an updated mechanistic proposal.

Polyketide proofreading by an acyltransferase-like enzyme

Trans-acyltransferase polyketide synthases (trans-AT PKSs) are an important group of bacterial enzymes producing bioactive polyketides. One difference from textbook PKSs is the presence of one or more free-standing AT-like enzymes. While one homolog loads the PKS with malonyl units, the function of the second copy (AT2) was unknown. We studied the two ATs PedC and PedD involved in pederin biosynthesis in an uncultivated symbiont. PedD displayed malonyl- but not acetyltransferase activity toward various acyl carrier proteins (ACPs). In contrast, the AT2 PedC efficiently hydrolyzed acyl units bound to N-acetylcysteamine or ACP. It accepted substrates with various chain lengths and functionalizations but did not cleave malonyl-ACP. These data are consistent with the role of PedC in PKS proofreading, suggesting a similar function for other AT2 homologs and providing strategies for polyketide titer improvement and biosynthetic investigations.

Demonstration of starter unit interprotein transfer from a fatty acid synthase to a multidomain, nonreducing polyketide synthase

The pathway for substrate transacylation between a fungal type I fatty acid synthase (FAS) and a nonreducing polyketide synthase (NR-PKS) was determined by in vitro reconstitution of dissected domains. System kinetics were influenced by domain dissections, and the FAS phosphopantetheinyl transferase (PPT) monodomain exhibited coenzyme A selectivity for the post-translational activation of the FAS acyl carrier protein (ACP).

In vivo characterization of nonribosomal peptide synthetases NocA and NocB in the biosynthesis of nocardicin A

Two nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS), NocA and NocB, together comprising five modules, are essential for the biosynthesis of the D,L,D configured tripeptide backbone of the monocyclic β-lactam nocardicin A. We report a double replacement gene strategy in which point mutations were engineered in the two encoding NRPS genes without disruption of the nocABC operon by placing selective markers in adjacent genes. A series of mutants was constructed to inactivate the thiolation (T) domain of each module and to evaluate an HHxxxDR catalytic motif in NocA and an atypical extended histidine motif in NocB. The loss of nocardicin A production in each of the T domain mutants indicates that all five modules are essential for its biosynthesis. Conversely, production of nocardicin A was not affected by mutation of the NocB histidine motif or the R828G mutation in NocA.

Autoproteolytic activation of ThnT results in structural reorganization necessary for substrate binding and catalysis

cis-Autoproteolysis is a post-translational modification necessary for the function of ThnT, an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of the β-lactam antibiotic thienamycin. This modification generates an N-terminal threonine nucleophile that is used to hydrolyze the pantetheinyl moiety of its natural substrate. We determined the crystal structure of autoactivated ThnT to 1.8Å through X-ray crystallography. Comparison to a mutationally inactivated precursor structure revealed several large conformational rearrangements near the active site. To probe the relevance of these transitions, we designed a pantetheine-like chloromethyl ketone inactivator and co-crystallized it with ThnT. Although this class of inhibitor has been in use for several decades, the mode of inactivation had not been determined for an enzyme that uses an N-terminal nucleophile. The co-crystal structure revealed the chloromethyl ketone bound to the N-terminal nucleophile of ThnT through an ether linkage, and analysis suggests inactivation through a direct displacement mechanism. More importantly, this inactivated complex shows that three regions of ThnT that are critical to the formation of the substrate binding pocket undergo rearrangement upon autoproteolysis. Comparison of ThnT with other autoproteolytic enzymes of disparate evolutionary lineage revealed a high degree of similarity within the proenzyme active site, reflecting shared chemical constraints. However, after autoproteolysis, many enzymes, like ThnT, are observed to rearrange in order to accommodate their specific substrate. We propose that this is a general phenomenon, whereby autoprocessing systems with shared chemistry may possess similar structural features that dissipate upon rearrangement into a mature state.

A high-throughput screen for the engineered production of β-lactam antibiotics

High-throughput screens and selections have had profound impact on our ability to engineer proteins possessing new, desired properties. These methods are especially useful when applied to the modification of existing enzymes to create natural and unnatural products. In an advance upon existing methods we developed a high-throughput, genetically regulated screen for the in vivo production of β-lactam antibiotics using a green fluorescent protein (gfp) reporter. This assay proved reliable and sensitive and presents a dynamic range under which a wide array of β-lactam architectural subclasses can be detected. Moreover, the graded response elicited in this assay can be used to rank mutant activity. The utility of this development was demonstrated in vivo and then applied to the first experimental investigation of a putative catalytic residue in carbapenem synthase (CarC). Information gained about the mutability of this residue defines one parameter for enzymatic activity and sets boundaries for future mechanistic and engineering efforts.

Interrogation of global active site occupancy of a fungal iterative polyketide synthase reveals strategies for maintaining biosynthetic fidelity

Nonreducing iterative polyketide synthases (NR-PKSs) are responsible for assembling the core of fungal aromatic natural products with diverse biological properties. Despite recent advances in the field, many mechanistic details of polyketide assembly by these megasynthases remain unknown. To expand our understanding of substrate loading, polyketide elongation, cyclization, and product release, active site occupancy and product output were explored by Fourier transform mass spectrometry using the norsolorinic acid anthrone-producing polyketide synthase, PksA, from the aflatoxin biosynthetic pathway in Aspergillus parasiticus. Here we report the simultaneous observation of covalent intermediates from all catalytic domains of PksA from in vitro reconstitution reactions. The data provide snapshots of iterative catalysis and reveal an underappreciated editing function for the C-terminal thioesterase domain beyond its recently established synthetic role in Claisen/Dieckmann cyclization and product release. The specificity of thioesterase catalyzed hydrolysis was explored using biosynthetically relevant protein-bound and small molecule acyl substrates and demonstrated activity against hexanoyl and acetyl, but not malonyl. Processivity of polyketide extension was supported by the inability of a nonhydrolyzable malonyl analog to trap products of intermediate chain lengths and by the detection of only fully extended species observed covalently bound to, and as the predominant products released by, PksA. High occupancy of the malonyl transacylase domain and fast relative rate of malonyl transfer compared to starter unit transfer indicate that rapid loading of extension units onto the carrier domain facilitates efficient chain extension in a manner kinetically favorable to ultimate product formation.

Engineering the synthetic potential of β-lactam synthetase and the importance of catalytic loop dynamics

The 2-azetidinone ring of the Class A and D β-lactamase inhibitor clavulanic acid (1) is synthesized by the ATP-utilizing enzyme β-lactam synthetase (βLS). A hydroxyethyl group attached to C-6 of 1 in the (S) configuration markedly enhances the efficacy of this compound against Class C β-lactamases. Guided by a series of X-ray structures of βLS, we have engineered this enzyme to act upon a methylated substrate analogue to give selectively the (3S)-methyl β-lactam core, which, upon closure of the second ring of the bicyclic system of 1, would lead to the (6S)-methylated clavulanic acid derivative.

Definition of the common and divergent steps in carbapenem β-lactam antibiotic biosynthesis

Approximately 50 naturally occurring carbapenem β-lactam antibiotics are known. All but one of these have been isolated from Streptomyces species and are disubstituted structural variants of a simple core that is synthesized by Pectobacterium carotovorum (Erwinia carotovora), a phylogenetically distant plant pathogen. While the biosynthesis of the simple carbapenem, (5R)-carbapen-2-em-3-carboxylic acid, is impressively efficient requiring only three enzymes, CarA, CarB and CarC, the formation of thienamycin, one of the former group of metabolites from Streptomyces, is markedly more complex. Despite their phylogenetic separation, bioinformatic analysis of the encoding gene clusters suggests that the two pathways could be related. Here we demonstrate with gene swapping, stereochemical and kinetics experiments that CarB and CarA and their S. cattleya orthologues, ThnE and ThnM, respectively, are functionally and stereochemically equivalent, although their catalytic efficiencies differ. The biosynthetic pathways, therefore, to thienamycin, and likely to the other disubstituted carbapenems, and to the simplest carbapenem, (5R)-carbapen-2-em-3-carboxylic acid, are initiated in the same manner, but share only two common steps before diverging.

Pharmacological glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase inhibition decreases food intake and adiposity and increases insulin sensitivity in diet-induced obesity

Storage of excess calories as triglycerides is central to obesity and its associated disorders. Glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferases (GPATs) catalyze the initial step in acylglyceride syntheses, including triglyceride synthesis. We utilized a novel small-molecule GPAT inhibitor, FSG67, to investigate metabolic consequences of systemic pharmacological GPAT inhibition in lean and diet-induced obese (DIO) mice. FSG67 administered intraperitoneally decreased body weight and energy intake, without producing conditioned taste aversion. Daily FSG67 (5 mg/kg, 15.3 μmol/kg) produced gradual 12% weight loss in DIO mice beyond that due to transient 9- to 10-day hypophagia (6% weight loss in pair-fed controls). Continued FSG67 maintained the weight loss despite return to baseline energy intake. Weight was lost specifically from fat mass. Indirect calorimetry showed partial protection by FSG67 against decreased rates of oxygen consumption seen with hypophagia. Despite low respiratory exchange ratio due to a high-fat diet, FSG67-treated mice showed further decreased respiratory exchange ratio, beyond pair-fed controls, indicating enhanced fat oxidation. Chronic FSG67 increased glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in DIO mice. Chronic FSG67 decreased gene expression for lipogenic enzymes in white adipose tissue and liver and decreased lipid accumulation in white adipose, brown adipose, and liver tissues without signs of damage. RT-PCR showed decreased gene expression for orexigenic hypothalamic neuropeptides AgRP or NPY after acute and chronic systemic FSG67. FSG67 given intracerebroventricularly (100 and 320 nmol icv) produced 24-h weight loss and feeding suppression, indicating contributions from direct central nervous system sites of action. Together, these data point to GPAT as a new potential therapeutic target for the management of obesity and its comorbidities.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of conformationally constrained glycerol 3-phosphate acyltransferase inhibitors

Glycerol 3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT) isozymes are central control points for fat synthesis in mammals. Development of inhibitors of these membrane-bound enzymes could lead to an effective treatment for obesity, but is thwarted by an absence of direct structural information. Based on a highly successful study involving conformationally constrained glycerol 3-phosphate analogs functioning as potent glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase inhibitors, several series of cyclic bisubstrate and transition state analogs were designed, synthesized, and tested as GPAT inhibitors. The weaker in vitro inhibitory activity of these compounds compared to a previously described benzoic acid series was then examined in docking experiments with the soluble squash chloroplast GPAT crystal structure. These in silico experiments indicate that cyclopentyl and cyclohexyl scaffolds prepared in this study may be occluded from the enzyme active site by two protein loops that sterically guard the phosphate binding region. In view of these findings, future GPAT inhibitor design will be driven toward compounds based on planar frameworks able to slide between these loops and enter the active site, resulting in improved inhibitory activity.