Cryo-EM structures of human fucosidase FucA1 reveal insight into substrate recognition and catalysis

Enzymatic hydrolysis of α-L-fucose from fucosylated glycoconjugates is consequential in bacterial infections and the neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorder fucosidosis. Understanding human α-L-fucosidase catalysis, in an effort toward drug design, has been hindered by the absence of three-dimensional structural data for any animal fucosidase. Here, we have used cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) to determine the structure of human lysosomal α-L-fucosidase (FucA1) in both an unliganded state and in complex with the inhibitor deoxyfuconojirimycin. These structures, determined at 2.49 Å resolution, reveal the homotetrameric structure of FucA1, the architecture of the catalytic center, and the location of both natural population variations and disease-causing mutations. Furthermore, this work has conclusively identified the hitherto contentious identity of the catalytic acid/base as aspartate-276, representing a shift from both the canonical glutamate acid/base residue and a previously proposed glutamate residue. These findings have furthered our understanding of how FucA1 functions in both health and disease.

Fluorene-Based Multicomponent Reactions

Fluorene and fluorenone are privileged structures with extensive utility in both materials science and drug discovery. Here, we describe syntheses of those moieties through isocyanide-based multicomponent reactions (IMCRs) and the incorporation of the products in diverse and complex derivatives that can be further utilized. We performed six different IMCRs, based on the dual functionality of 9-isocyano-9H-fluorene, and we describe 23 unprecedented adducts.

Metabolism of the predominant human milk oligosaccharide fucosyllactose by an infant gut commensal

A number of bifidobacterial species are found at a particularly high prevalence and abundance in faecal samples of healthy breastfed infants, a phenomenon that is believed to be, at least partially, due to the ability of bifidobacteria to metabolize Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOs). In the current study, we isolated a novel strain of Bifidobacterium kashiwanohense, named APCKJ1, from the faeces of a four-week old breastfed infant, based on the ability of the strain to utilise the HMO component fucosyllactose. We then determined the full genome sequence of this strain, and employed the generated data to analyze fucosyllactose metabolism in B. kashiwanohense APCKJ1. Transcriptomic and growth analyses, combined with metabolite analysis, in vitro hydrolysis assays and heterologous expression, allowed us to elucidate the pathway for fucosyllactose metabolism in B. kashiwanohense APCKJ1. Homologs of the key genes for this metabolic pathway were identified in particular in infant-derived members of the Bifdobacterium genus, revealing the apparent niche-specific nature of this pathway, and allowing a broad perspective on bifidobacterial fucosyllactose and L-fucose metabolism.

Determination of protonation states of iminosugar-enzyme complexes using photoinduced electron transfer

A series of N-alkylated analogues of 1-deoxynojirimycin containing a fluorescent 10-chloro-9-anthracene group in the N-alkyl substituent were prepared. The anthracene group acted as a reporting group for protonation at the nitrogen in the iminosugar because an unprotonated amine was found to quench fluorescence by photoinduced electron transfer. The new compounds were found to inhibit β-glucosidase from Phanerochaete chrysosporium and α-glucosidase from Aspergillus niger, with Ki values in the low micro- to nanomolar range. Fluorescence and inhibition versus pH studies of the β-glucosidase-iminosugar complexes revealed that the amino group in the inhibitor is unprotonated when bound, while one of the active site carboxylates is protonated.

Carbohydrate-Processing Enzymes of the Lysosome: Diseases Caused by Misfolded Mutants and Sugar Mimetics as Correcting Pharmacological Chaperones

Lysosomal storage diseases are hereditary disorders caused by mutations on genes encoding for one of the more than fifty lysosomal enzymes involved in the highly ordered degradation cascades of glycans, glycoconjugates, and other complex biomolecules in the lysosome. Several of these metabolic disorders are associated with the absence or the lack of activity of carbohydrate-processing enzymes in this cell compartment. In a recently introduced therapy concept, for susceptible mutants, small substrate-related molecules (so-called pharmacological chaperones), such as reversible inhibitors of these enzymes, may serve as templates for the correct folding and transport of the respective protein mutant, thus improving its concentration and, consequently, its enzymatic activity in the lysosome. Carbohydrate-processing enzymes in the lysosome, related lysosomal diseases, and the scope and limitations of reported reversible inhibitors as pharmacological chaperones are discussed with a view to possibly extending and improving research efforts in this area of orphan diseases.

Expanding the library of divalent fucosidase inhibitors with polyamino and triazole-benzyl bridged bispyrrolidines

A small library of divalent fucosidase inhibitors containing pyrrolidine motifs were prepared and evaluated as α-fucosidase inhibitors.

Structure and substrate specificity of a eukaryotic fucosidase from Fusarium graminearum

The secreted glycoside hydrolase family 29 (GH29) α-L-fucosidase from plant pathogenic fungus Fusarium graminearum (FgFCO1) actively releases fucose from the xyloglucan fragment. We solved crystal structures of two active-site conformations, i.e. open and closed, of apoFgFCO1 and an open complex with product fucose at atomic resolution. The closed conformation supports catalysis by orienting the conserved general acid/base Glu-288 nearest the predicted glycosidic position, whereas the open conformation possibly represents an unreactive state with Glu-288 positioned away from the catalytic center. A flexible loop near the substrate binding site containing a non-conserved GGSFT sequence is ordered in the closed but not the open form. We also identified a novel C-terminal βγ-crystallin domain in FgFCO1 devoid of calcium binding motif whose homologous sequences are present in various glycoside hydrolase families. N-Glycosylated FgFCO1 adopts a monomeric state as verified by solution small angle x-ray scattering in contrast to reported multimeric fucosidases. Steady-state kinetics shows that FgFCO1 prefers α1,2 over α1,3/4 linkages and displays minimal activity with p-nitrophenyl fucoside with an acidic pH optimum of 4.6. Despite a retaining GH29 family fold, the overall specificity of FgFCO1 most closely resembles inverting GH95 α-fucosidase, which displays the highest specificity with two natural substrates harboring the Fucα1-2Gal glycosidic linkage, a xyloglucan-derived nonasaccharide, and 2'-fucosyllactose. Furthermore, FgFCO1 hydrolyzes H-disaccharide (lacking a +2 subsite sugar) at a rate 10(3)-fold slower than 2'-fucosyllactose. We demonstrated the structurally dynamic active site of FgFCO1 with flexible general acid/base Glu, a common feature shared by several bacterial GH29 fucosidases to various extents.

Development of fucosyltransferase and fucosidase inhibitors

L-Fucose-containing glycoconjugates are essential for a myriad of physiological and pathological activities, such as inflammation, bacterial and viral infections, tumor metastasis, and genetic disorders. Fucosyltransferases and fucosidases, the main enzymes involved in the incorporation and cleavage of L-fucose residues, respectively, represent captivating targets for therapeutic treatment and diagnosis. We herein review the important breakthroughs in the development of fucosyltransferase and fucosidase inhibitors. To demonstrate how the synthesized small molecules interact with the target enzymes, i.e. delineation of the structure-activity relationship, we cover the reaction mechanisms and resolved X-ray crystal structures, discuss how this information guides the design of enzyme inhibitors, and explain how the molecules were optimized to achieve satisfying potency and selectivity.

Rapid assembly of a library of lipophilic iminosugars via the thiol-ene reaction yields promising pharmacological chaperones for the treatment of Gaucher disease

A highly divergent route to lipophilic iminosugars that utilizes the thiol-ene reaction was developed to enable the rapid synthesis of a collection of 16 dideoxyiminoxylitols bearing various different lipophilic substituents. Enzyme kinetic analyses revealed that a number of these products are potent, low-nanomolar inhibitors of human glucocerebrosidase that stabilize the enzyme to thermal denaturation by up to 20 K. Cell based assays conducted on Gaucher disease patient derived fibroblasts demonstrated that administration of the compounds can increase lysosomal glucocerebrosidase activity levels by therapeutically relevant amounts, as much as 3.2-fold in cells homozygous for the p.N370S mutation and 1.4-fold in cells homozygous for the p.L444P mutation. Several compounds elicited this increase in enzyme activity over a relatively wide dosage range. The data assembled here illustrate how the lipophilic moiety common to many glucocerebrosidase inhibitors might be used to optimize a lead compound's ability to chaperone the protein in cellulo. The flexibility of this synthetic strategy makes it an attractive approach to the rapid optimization of glycosidase inhibitor potency and pharmacokinetic behavior.

Imino sugars and glycosyl hydrolases: historical context, current aspects, emerging trends

Forty years of discoveries and research on imino sugars, which are carbohydrate analogues having a basic nitrogen atom instead of oxygen in the sugar ring and, acting as potent glycosidase inhibitors, have made considerable impact on our contemporary understanding of glycosidases. Imino sugars have helped to elucidate the catalytic machinery of glycosidases and have refined our methods and concepts of utilizing them. A number of new aspects have emerged for employing imino sugars as pharmaceutical compounds, based on their profound effects on metabolic activities in which glycosidases are involved. From the digestion of starch to the fight against viral infections, from research into malignant diseases to potential improvements in hereditary storage disorders, glycosidase action and inhibition are essential issues. This account aims at combining general developments with a focus on some niches where imino sugars have become useful tools for glycochemistry and glycobiology.