Synthesis of β-Nicotinamide Riboside Using an Efficient Two-Step Methodology

Mini-encyclopedia of mitochondria-relevant nutraceuticals protecting health in primary and secondary care-clinically relevant 3PM innovation

Despite their subordination in humans, to a great extent, mitochondria maintain their independent status but tightly cooperate with the "host" on protecting the joint life quality and minimizing health risks. Under oxidative stress conditions, healthy mitochondria promptly increase mitophagy level to remove damaged "fellows" rejuvenating the mitochondrial population and sending fragments of mtDNA as SOS signals to all systems in the human body. As long as metabolic pathways are under systemic control and well-concerted together, adaptive mechanisms become triggered increasing systemic protection, activating antioxidant defense and repair machinery. Contextually, all attributes of mitochondrial patho-/physiology are instrumental for predictive medical approach and cost-effective treatments tailored to individualized patient profiles in primary (to protect vulnerable individuals again the health-to-disease transition) and secondary (to protect affected individuals again disease progression) care. Nutraceuticals are naturally occurring bioactive compounds demonstrating health-promoting, illness-preventing, and other health-related benefits. Keeping in mind health-promoting properties of nutraceuticals along with their great therapeutic potential and safety profile, there is a permanently growing demand on the application of mitochondria-relevant nutraceuticals. Application of nutraceuticals is beneficial only if meeting needs at individual level. Therefore, health risk assessment and creation of individualized patient profiles are of pivotal importance followed by adapted nutraceutical sets meeting individual needs. Based on the scientific evidence available for mitochondria-relevant nutraceuticals, this article presents examples of frequent medical conditions, which require protective measures targeted on mitochondria as a holistic approach following advanced concepts of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine (PPPM/3PM) in primary and secondary care.

Biosynthesis of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide: Synthesis Method, Enzyme, and Biocatalytic System

Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) has garnered substantial interest as a functional food product. Industrial NMN production relies on chemical methods, facing challenges in separation, purification, and regulatory complexities, leading to elevated prices. In contrast, NMN biosynthesis through fermentation or enzyme catalysis offers notable benefits like eco-friendliness, recyclability, and efficiency, positioning it as a primary avenue for future NMN synthesis. Enzymatic NMN synthesis encompasses the nicotinamide-initial route and nicotinamide ribose-initial routes. Key among these is nicotinamide riboside kinase (NRK), pivotal in the latter route. The NRK-mediated biosynthesis is emerging as a prominent trend due to its streamlined route, simplicity, and precise specificity. The essential aspect is to obtain an engineered NRK that exhibits elevated activity and robust stability. This review comprehensively assesses diverse NMN synthesis methods, offering valuable insights into efficient, sustainable, and economical production routes. It spotlights the emerging NRK-mediated biosynthesis pathway and its significance. The establishment of an adenosine triphosphate (ATP) regeneration system plays a pivotal role in enhancing NMN synthesis efficiency through NRK-catalyzed routes. The review aims to be a reference for researchers developing green and sustainable NMN synthesis, as well as those optimizing NMN production.

Nicotinamide riboside activates SIRT5 deacetylation

Human sirtuins play important roles in various cellular events including DNA repair, gene silencing, mitochondrial biogenesis, insulin secretion and apoptosis. They regulate a wide array of protein and enzyme targets through their NAD+ -dependent deacetylase activities. Sirtuins are also thought to mediate the beneficial effects of low-calorie intake to extend longevity in diverse organisms from yeast to mammals. Small molecules mimicking calorie restriction to stimulate sirtuin activity are attractive therapeutics against age-related disorders such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and neurodegeneration. Little is known about one of the mitochondrial sirtuins, SIRT5. SIRT5 has emerged as a critical player in maintaining cardiac health and neuronal viability upon stress and functions as a tumour suppressor in a context-specific manner. Much has been debated about whether SIRT5 has evolved away from being a deacetylase because of its weak catalytic activity, especially in the in vitro testing. We have, for the first time, identified a SIRT5-selective allosteric activator, nicotinamide riboside (NR). It can increase SIRT5 catalytic efficiency with different synthetic peptide substrates. The mechanism of action was further explored using a combination of molecular biology and biochemical strategies. Based on the existing structural biology information, the NR binding site was also mapped out. These activators are powerful chemical probes for the elucidation of cellular regulations and biological functions of SIRT5. The knowledge gained in this study can be used to guide the design and synthesis of more potent, isotype-selective SIRT5 activators and to develop them into therapeutics for metabolic disorders and age-related diseases.

High level expression of nicotinamide nucleoside kinase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its purification and immobilization by one-step method

Nicotinamide riboside kinase (NRK) plays an important role in the synthesis of β -nicotinamide nucleotide (NMN). NMN is a key intermediate of NAD⁺ synthesis, and it actually contribute to the well-being of our health. In this study, gene mining technology was used to clone nicotinamide nucleoside kinase gene fragments from S. cerevisiae, and the ScNRK1 was achieved a high level of soluble expression in E. coli BL21. Then, the reScNRK1 was immobilized by metal affinity label to optimize the enzyme performance. The results showed that the enzyme activity in the fermentation broth was 14.75 IU/mL, and the specific enzyme activity after purification was 2252.59 IU/mg. After immobilization, the optimum temperature of the immobilized enzyme was increased by 10°C compared with the free enzyme, and the temperature stability was improved with little change in pH. Moreover, the activity of the immobilized enzyme remained above 80% after four cycles of immobilized reScNRK1, which makes the enzyme more advantageous in the enzymatic synthesis of NMN.

Yeast Cell Surface Engineering of a Nicotinamide Riboside Kinase for the Production of β-Nicotinamide Mononucleotide via Whole-Cell Catalysis

β-Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) has been widely used as a nutraceutical for self-medication. The one-step conversion of nicotinamide riboside (NR) to β-NMN has been considered to be the most promising synthetic route for β-NMN. Here, human nicotinamide riboside kinase 2 (NRK-2) was functionally displayed on the cell surface of Saccharomyces cerevisiae EBY100, forming a whole-cell biocatalyst (Whole-cell NRK-2). Whole-cell NRK-2 could convert nicotinamide riboside (NR) to β-NMN efficiently in the presence of ATP and Mg²⁺, with a maximal activity of 64 IU/g (dry weight) and a K_m of 3.5 μM, similar to that of free NRK-2 reported previously. To get the best reaction conditions for β-NMN synthesis, the amounts of NR, ATP, and Mg²⁺ used, pH, and temperature for the synthetic reaction were optimized. Using Whole-cell NRK-2 as the catalyst under the optimized conditions, β-NMN synthesized from NR reached a maximal conversion rate of 98.2%, corresponding to 12.6 g/L of β-NMN in the reaction mixture, which was much higher than those of synthetic processes reported. Additionally, Whole-cell NRK-2 had good pH stability and thermostability, required no complicated treatments before or after use, and could be reused in sequential production. Therefore, this study provided a safe, stable, highly effective, and low-cost biocatalyst for the preparation of β-NMN, which has great potential in industrial production.

Emerging Role of Nicotinamide Riboside in Health and Diseases

Among all the NAD⁺ precursors, nicotinamide riboside (NR) has gained the most attention as a potent NAD⁺-enhancement agent. This recently discovered vitamin, B3, has demonstrated excellent safety and efficacy profiles and is orally bioavailable in humans. Boosting intracellular NAD⁺ concentrations using NR has been shown to provide protective effects against a broad spectrum of pathological conditions, such as neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, and hearing loss. In this review, an integrated overview of NR research will be presented. The role NR plays in the NAD⁺ biosynthetic pathway will be introduced, followed by a discussion on the synthesis of NR using chemical and enzymatic approaches. NR’s effects on regulating normal physiology and pathophysiology will also be presented, focusing on the studies published in the last five years.

Enzymatic synthesis of high-titer nicotinamide mononucleotide with a new nicotinamide riboside kinase and an efficient ATP regeneration system

BACKGROUND

β-Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) is the direct precursor of nicotinamide coenzymes such as NAD+ and NADP+, which are widely applied in industrial biocatalysis especially involving cofactor-dependent oxidoreductases. Moreover, NMN is a promising candidate for medical uses since it is considered to be beneficial for improving health of aged people who usually suffer from an insufficient level of NAD+. To date, various methods have been developed for the synthesis of NMN. Chemical phosphorylation of nicotinamide riboside (NR) to NMN depends on excessive phosphine oxychloride and delicate temperature control, while fermentation of NMN is limited by low product titers, making it unsuitable for industrial-scale NMN production. As a result, the more efficient synthesis process of NMN is still challenging.

AIM

This work attempted to construct an eco-friendly and cost-effective biocatalytic process for transforming the chemically synthesized NR into the highly value-added NMN.

RESULTS

A new nicotinamide riboside kinase (Klm-NRK) was identified from Kluyveromyces marxianus. The specific activity of purified Klm-NRK was 7.9 U·mg-1 protein, ranking the highest record among the reported NRKs. The optimal pH of Klm-NRK was 7.0 in potassium phosphate buffer. The purified Klm-NRK retained a half activity after 7.29 h at 50 °C. The catalytic efficiencies (kcat/KM) toward ATP and nicotinamide riboside (NR) were 57.4 s-1·mM-1 and 84.4 s-1·mM-1, respectively. In the presence of an external ATP regeneration system (AcK/AcP), as much as 100 g·L-1 of NR could be completely phosphorylated to NMN in 8 h with Klm-NRK, achieving a molar isolation yield of 84.2% and a space-time yield of 281 g·L-1·day-1. These inspiring results indicated that Klm-NRK is a promising biocatalyst which provides an efficient approach for the bio-manufacturing of NMN in a high titer.

New Crystalline Salts of Nicotinamide Riboside as Food Additives

NR⁺ is a highly effective vitamin B₃ type supplement due to its unique ability to replenish NAD⁺ levels. While NR⁺ chloride is already on the market as a nutritional supplement, its synthesis is challenging, expensive, and low yielding, making it cumbersome for large-scale industrial production. Here we report the novel crystalline NR⁺ salts, d/l/dl-hydrogen tartrate and d/l/dl-hydrogen malate. Their high-yielding, one-pot manufacture does not require specific equipment and is suitable for multi-ton scale production. These new NR⁺ salts seem ideal for nutritional applications due to their bio-equivalence compared to the approved NR⁺ chloride. In addition, the crystal structures of all stereoisomers of NR⁺ hydrogen tartrate and NR⁺ hydrogen malate and a comparison to the known NR⁺ halogenides are presented.

Syntheses and chemical properties of β-nicotinamide riboside and its analogues and derivatives

The β-anomeric form of nicotinamide riboside (NR+) is a precursor for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), a redox cofactor playing a critical role in cell metabolism. Recently, it has been demonstrated that its chloride salt (NR+Cl-) has beneficial effects, and now NR+Cl- is available as a dietary supplement. Syntheses and studies of analogues and derivatives of NR+ are of high importance to unravel the role of NR+ in biochemical processes in living cells and to elaborate the next generation of NR+ derivatives and conjugates with the view of developing novel drug and food supplement candidates. This review provides an overview of the synthetic approaches, the chemical properties, and the structural and functional modifications which have been undertaken on the nicotinoyl riboside scaffold.

The chemistry of the vitamin B3 metabolome

The functional cofactors derived from vitamin B3 are nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺), its phosphorylated form, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP⁺) and their reduced forms (NAD(P)H). These cofactors, together referred as the NAD(P)(H) pool, are intimately implicated in all essential bioenergetics, anabolic and catabolic pathways in all forms of life. This pool also contributes to post-translational protein modifications and second messenger generation. Since NAD⁺ seats at the cross-road between cell metabolism and cell signaling, manipulation of NAD⁺ bioavailability through vitamin B3 supplementation has become a valuable nutritional and therapeutic avenue. Yet, much remains unexplored regarding vitamin B3 metabolism. The present review highlights the chemical diversity of the vitamin B3-derived anabolites and catabolites of NAD⁺ and offers a chemical perspective on the approaches adopted to identify, modulate and measure the contribution of various precursors to the NAD(P)(H) pool.