Enzymatic activation of DNA cleavage by dynemicin A and synthetic analogs

Anthraquinone-fused enediynes: discovery, biosynthesis and development

Covering: up to the end of July, 2021Anthraquinone-fused enediynes (AFEs) are a subfamily of enediyne natural products. Dynemicin A (DYN A), the first member of the AFE family, was discovered more than thirty years ago. Subsequently, extensive studies have been reported on the mode of action and the interactions of AFEs with DNA using DYN A as a model. However, progress in the discovery, biosynthesis and clinical development of AFEs has been limited for a long time. In the past five years, four new AFEs have been discovered and significant progress has been made in the biosynthesis of AFEs, especially on the biogenesis of the anthraquinone moiety and their tailoring steps. Moreover, the streamlined total synthesis of AFEs and their analogues boosts the preparation of AFE-based linker-drugs, thus enabling the development of AFE-based antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). This review summarizes the discovery, mechanism of action, biosynthesis, total synthesis and preclinical studies of AFEs.

Cytochrome P450 Hydroxylase TnmL Catalyzing Sequential Hydroxylation with an Additional Proofreading Activity in Tiancimycin Biosynthesis

Tiancimycin (TNM) A belongs to the anthraquinone-fused subfamily of enediyne natural products, and selected enediynes have been translated into clinical drugs. Previously, inactivation of tnmL in Streptomyces sp. CB03234 resulted in the accumulation of TNM B and TNM E, supporting the functional assignment of TnmL as a cytochrome P450 hydroxylase that catalyzes A-ring modification in TNM A biosynthesis. Herein, we report in vitro characterization of TnmL, revealing that (i) TnmL catalyzes two successive hydroxylations of TNM E, resulting in sequential production of TNM F and TNM C, (ii) TnmL shows a strict substrate preference, with the C-26 side chain playing a critical role in substrate binding, and (iii) TnmL demethylates the C-7 OCH₃ group of TNM G, affording TNM F, thereby channeling the shunt product TNM G back into TNM A biosynthesis and representing a rare proofreading logic for natural product biosynthesis. These findings shed new insights into anthraquinone-fused enediyne biosynthesis.

Challenges and Opportunities to Develop Enediyne Natural Products as Payloads for Antibody-Drug Conjugates

Calicheamicin, the payload of the antibody-drug-conjugates (ADCs) gemtuzumab ozogamicin (Mylotarg^®) and inotuzumab ozogamicin (Besponsa^®), belongs to the class of enediyne natural products. Since the isolation and structural determination of the neocarzinostatin chromophore in 1985, the enediynes have attracted considerable attention for their value as DNA damaging agents in cancer chemotherapy. Due to their non-discriminatory cytotoxicity towards both cancer and healthy cells, the clinical utilization of enediyne natural products relies on conjugation to an appropriate delivery system, such as an antibody. Here we review the current landscape of enediynes as payloads of first-generation and next-generation ADCs.

A QM/MM Study of the Bergman Reaction of Dynemicin A in the Minor Groove of DNA

The Bergman cyclization of the natural enediyne dynemicin A in its triggered form (2) bound to the minor groove of DNA is compared with the corresponding reaction of its open isomer (4) utilizing QM/MM methodology. The two isomers are typical representatives of 10-membered cyclic (2) and acyclic (4) enediynes, which possess significantly different barriers for the Bergman reaction in the gas phase (2, 20.4 kcal/mol; 4, 31.3 kcal/mol). In the case of the cyclic enediyne (2) the explicit consideration of environmental factors such as the receptor DNA, the solvent water, and charge neutralization by counterions has only minor effects on the energy profile of the cyclization reaction and the corresponding optimized structures when compared with the gas phase. The energetics of the reaction is predominantly determined by QM (electronic) effects. This makes it possible to replace the explicit description of the environment by an implicit one, thus avoiding costly QM/MM calculations and using instead a decoupled QM+MM approach. A conformationally driven hinge mechanism is identified for 2 that makes it possible for the ligand to adjust to the dimensions of the minor groove without significant energy loss. In the case of the acyclic enediyne 4 a QM/MM treatment is necessary to describe the Bergman cyclization in the minor groove. QM/MM corrects the cyclization barrier from 31.3 to 23.7 kcal/mol, which makes the reaction feasible under physiological conditions. The reduction of the barrier is a result of transition-state stabilization, which is caused by an increased dipole moment and hence stronger electrostatic interactions with the environment. In both cases the anionic charge of dynemicin A is largely shielded by water solvation and ion pair formation so that it does not significantly affect the energetics of the Bergman cyclization.