5-Hydroxypentane-2,3-dione (laurencione), a bacterial metabolite of 1-deoxy-D- threo -pentulose

The Multifaceted MEP Pathway: Towards New Therapeutic Perspectives

Isoprenoids, a diverse class of natural products, are present in all living organisms. Their two universal building blocks are synthesized via two independent pathways: the mevalonate pathway and the 2-C-methyl-ᴅ-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway. The presence of the latter in pathogenic bacteria and its absence in humans make all its enzymes suitable targets for the development of novel antibacterial drugs. (E)-4-Hydroxy-3-methyl-but-2-enyl diphosphate (HMBPP), the last intermediate of this pathway, is a natural ligand for the human Vγ9Vδ2 T cells and the most potent natural phosphoantigen known to date. Moreover, 5-hydroxypentane-2,3-dione, a metabolite produced by Escherichia coli 1-deoxy-ᴅ-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase (DXS), the first enzyme of the MEP pathway, structurally resembles (S)-4,5-dihydroxy-2,3-pentanedione, a signal molecule implied in bacterial cell communication. In this review, we shed light on the diversity of potential uses of the MEP pathway in antibacterial therapies, starting with an overview of the antibacterials developed for each of its enzymes. Then, we provide insight into HMBPP, its synthetic analogs, and their prodrugs. Finally, we discuss the potential contribution of the MEP pathway to quorum sensing mechanisms. The MEP pathway, providing simultaneously antibacterial drug targets and potent immunostimulants, coupled with its potential role in bacterial cell-cell communication, opens new therapeutic perspectives.

A raison d'être for two distinct pathways in the early steps of plant isoprenoid biosynthesis?

When compared to other organisms, plants are atypical with respect to isoprenoid biosynthesis: they utilize two distinct and separately compartmentalized pathways to build up isoprene units. The co-existence of these pathways in the cytosol and in plastids might permit the synthesis of many vital compounds, being essential for a sessile organism. While substrate exchange across membranes has been shown for a variety of plant species, lack of complementation of strong phenotypes, resulting from inactivation of either the cytosolic pathway (growth and development defects) or the plastidial pathway (pigment bleaching), seems to be surprising at first sight. Hundreds of isoprenoids have been analyzed to determine their biosynthetic origins. It can be concluded that in angiosperms, under standard growth conditions, C₂₀-phytyl moieties, C₃₀-triterpenes and C₄₀-carotenoids are made nearly exclusively within compartmentalized pathways, while mixed origins are widespread for other types of isoprenoid-derived molecules. It seems likely that this coexistence is essential for the interaction of plants with their environment. A major purpose of this review is to summarize such observations, especially within an ecological and functional context and with some emphasis on regulation. This latter aspect still requires more work and present conclusions are preliminary, although some general features seem to exist.

A cytosolic Arabidopsis D-xylulose kinase catalyzes the phosphorylation of 1-deoxy-D-xylulose into a precursor of the plastidial isoprenoid pathway

Plants are able to integrate exogenous 1-deoxy-D-xylulose (DX) into the 2C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate pathway, implicated in the biosynthesis of plastidial isoprenoids. Thus, the carbohydrate needs to be phosphorylated into 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate and translocated into plastids, or vice versa. An enzyme capable of phosphorylating DX was partially purified from a cell-free Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) protein extract. It was identified by mass spectrometry as a cytosolic protein bearing D-xylulose kinase (XK) signatures, already suggesting that DX is phosphorylated within the cytosol prior to translocation into the plastids. The corresponding cDNA was isolated and enzymatic properties of a recombinant protein were determined. In Arabidopsis, xylulose kinases are encoded by a small gene family, in which only two genes are putatively annotated. The additional gene is coding for a protein targeted to plastids, as was proved by colocalization experiments using green fluorescent protein fusion constructs. Functional complementation assays in an Escherichia coli strain deleted in xk revealed that the cytosolic enzyme could exclusively phosphorylate xylulose in vivo, not the enzyme that is targeted to plastids. xk activities could not be detected in chloroplast protein extracts or in proteins isolated from its ancestral relative Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. The gene encoding the plastidic protein annotated as "xylulose kinase" might in fact yield an enzyme having different phosphorylation specificities. The biochemical characterization and complementation experiments with DX of specific Arabidopsis knockout mutants seedlings treated with oxo-clomazone, an inhibitor of 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase, further confirmed that the cytosolic protein is responsible for the phosphorylation of DX in planta.

Dimethylallyl pyrophosphate is not the committed precursor of isopentenyl pyrophosphate during terpenoid biosynthesis from 1-deoxyxylulose in higher plants

Cell cultures of Catharanthus roseus were supplied with [2-13C, 3-2H]-deoxyxylulose or [2-13C,4-2H]1-deoxyxylulose. Lutein and chlorophylls were isolated from the cell mass, and hydrolysis of the chlorophyll mixtures afforded phytol. Isotope labeling patterns of phytol and lutein were determined by 2H NMR and 1H,2H-decoupled 13C NMR. From the data it must be concluded that the deuterium atom in position 3 of deoxyxylulose was incorporated into both isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl pyrophosphate with a rate of 75% (with respect to the internal 13C label). The detected stereochemical signature implies that the label is located preferentially in the (E)-hydrogen atom of IPP. This preferential labeling, in turn, rules out dimethylallyl pyrophosphate as the compulsory precursor of IPP. In the experiment with [2-13C, 4-2H]1-deoxyxylulose, the 13C label was efficiently transferred to the terpenoids whereas the 2H label was completely washed out, most probably after IPP formation as a consequence of the isomerization and elongation process. In addition, the data cast light on the stereochemical course of the dehydrogenation and cyclization steps involved in the biosynthesis of lutein.

Cloning and characterization of a gene from Escherichia coli encoding a transketolase-like enzyme that catalyzes the synthesis of D-1-deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate, a common precursor for isoprenoid, thiamin, and pyridoxol biosynthesis

For many years it was accepted that isopentenyl diphosphate, the common precursor of all isoprenoids, was synthesized through the well known acetate/mevalonate pathway. However, recent studies have shown that some bacteria, including Escherichia coli, use a mevalonate-independent pathway for the synthesis of isopentenyl diphosphate. The occurrence of this alternative pathway has also been reported in green algae and higher plants. The first reaction of this pathway consists of the condensation of (hydroxyethyl)thiamin derived from pyruvate with the C1 aldehyde group of D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate to yield D-1-deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate. In E. coli, D-1-deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate is also a precursor for the biosynthesis of thiamin and pyridoxol. Here we report the molecular cloning and characterization of a gene from E. coli, designated dxs, that encodes D-1-deoxyxylulose-5-phosphate synthase. The dxs gene was identified as part of an operon that also contains ispA, the gene that encodes farnesyl-diphosphate synthase. D-1-Deoxyxylulose-5-phosphate synthase belongs to a family of transketolase-like proteins that are highly conserved in evolution.