Biosynthesis of cyclitols

Review covering up to 2021Cyclitols derived from carbohydrates are naturally stable hydrophilic substances under ordinary physiological conditions, increasing the water solubility of whole molecules in cells. The stability of cyclitols is derived from their carbocyclic structures bearing no acetal groups, in contrast to sugar molecules. Therefore, carbocycle-forming reactions are critical for the biosynthesis of cyclitols. Herein, we review naturally occurring cyclitols that have been identified to date and categorize them according to the type of carbocycle-forming enzymatic reaction. Furthermore, the cyclitol-forming enzymatic reaction mechanisms and modification pathways of the initially generated cyclitols are reviewed.

One-pot enzymatic synthesis of 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose from d-glucose and polyphosphate

2-Deoxy-scyllo-inosose (2DOI, [2S,3R,4S,5R]-2,3,4,5-tetrahydroxycyclohexan-1-one) is a biosynthetic intermediate of 2-deoxystreptamine-containing aminoglycoside antibiotics, including butirosin, kanamycin, and neomycin. In producer microorganisms, 2DOI is constructed from d-glucose 6-phosphate (G6P) by 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose synthase (DOIS) with the oxidized form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+). 2DOI is also known as a sustainable biomaterial for production of aromatic compounds and a chiral cyclohexane synthon. In this study, a one-pot enzymatic synthesis of 2DOI from d-glucose and polyphosphate was investigated. First, 3 polyphosphate glucokinases (PPGKs) were examined to produce G6P from d-glucose and polyphosphate. A PPGK derived from Corynebacterium glutamicum (cgPPGK) was found to be suitable for G6P production under ordinary enzymatic conditions. Next, 7 DOISs were examined for the one-pot enzymatic reaction. As a result, cgPPGK and BtrC, the latter of which is a DOIS derived from the butirosin producer Bacillus circulans, achieved nearly full conversion of d-glucose to 2DOI in the presence of polyphosphate.

Aminoglycoside Antibiotics: New Insights into the Biosynthetic Machinery of Old Drugs

2-Deoxystreptamine (2DOS) is the unique chemically stable aminocyclitol scaffold of clinically important aminoglycoside antibiotics such as neomycin, kanamycin, and gentamicin, which are produced by Actinomycetes. The 2DOS core can be decorated with various deoxyaminosugars to make structurally diverse pseudo-oligosaccharides. After the discovery of biosynthetic gene clusters for 2DOS-containing aminoglycoside antibiotics, the function of each biosynthetic enzyme has been extensively elucidated. The common biosynthetic intermediates 2DOS, paromamine and ribostamycin are constructed by conserved enzymes encoded in the gene clusters. The biosynthetic intermediates are then converted to characteristic architectures by unique enzymes encoded in each biosynthetic gene cluster. In this Personal Account, we summarize both common biosynthetic pathways and the pathways used for structural diversification.

Structure of 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose synthase, a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of 2-deoxystreptamine-containing aminoglycoside antibiotics, in complex with a mechanism-based inhibitor and NAD+

A key enzyme in the biosynthesis of clinically important aminoglycoside antibiotics is 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose synthase (DOIS), which catalyzes carbocycle formation from D-glucose-6-phosphate to 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose through a multistep reaction. This reaction mechanism is similar to the catalysis by dehydroquinate synthase (DHQS) of the cyclization of 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heputulosonate-7-phosphate to dehydroquinate in the shikimate pathway, but significant dissimilarity between these enzymes is also known, particularly in the stereochemistry of the phosphate elimination reaction and the cyclization. Here, the crystal structures of DOIS from Bacillus circulans and its complex with the substrate analog inhibitor carbaglucose-6-phosphate, NAD+, and Co2+ have been determined to provide structural insights into the reaction mechanism. The complex structure shows that an active site exists between the N-terminal and C-terminal domains and that the inhibitor coordinates a cobalt ion in this site. Two subunits exist as a dimer in the asymmetric unit. The two active sites of the dimer were observed to be different. One contains a dephosphorylated compound derived from the inhibitor and the other includes the inhibitor without change. The present study suggested that phosphate elimination proceeds through syn-elimination assisted by Glu 243 and the aldol condensation proceeds via a boat conformation. Also discussed are significant similarities and dissimilarities between DOIS and DHQS, particularly in terms of the structure at the active site and the reaction mechanism.

Role of glutamate 243 in the active site of 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose synthase from Bacillus circulans

2-Deoxy-scyllo-inosose (DOI) synthase is involved in the biosynthesis of 2-deoxystreptamine-containing aminoglycoside antibiotics and catalyzes the carbocyclic formation from d-glucose-6-phosphate (G-6-P) into DOI. The reaction mechanism is proposed to be similar to that of dehydroquinate (DHQ) synthase in the shikimate pathway, and includes oxidation of C-4, beta-elimination of phosphate, reduction of C-4, ring opening, and intramolecular aldol cyclization. To investigate the reaction mechanism of DOI synthase, site-directed mutational analysis of three presumable catalytically important amino acids of DOI synthase derived from the butirosin producer Bacillus circulans (BtrC) was carried out. Steady state and pre-steady state kinetic analysis suggested that E243 of BtrC is catalytically involved in the phosphate elimination step. Further analysis of the mutant E243Q of BtrC using substrate analogue, glucose-6-phosphonate, clearly confirmed that E243 was responsible to abstract a proton at C-5 in G-6-P and set off phosphate elimination. This glutamate residue is completely conserved in all DOI synthases identified so far and the corresponding amino acid of DHQ synthase is completely conserved as asparagine. Therefore, this characteristic glutamate residue of DOI synthase is a key determinant to distinguish the reaction mechanism between DOI synthase and DHQ synthase as well as primary sequence.

Stereospecificity of hydride transfer in NAD+-catalyzed 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose synthase, the key enzyme in the biosynthesis of 2-deoxystreptamine-containing aminocyclitol antibiotics

The key enzyme in the biosynthesis of clinically important aminocyclitol antibiotics is 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose synthase (DOIS), which converts ubiquitous d-glucose 6-phosphate (G-6-P) into the specific carbocycle, 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose with an aid of NAD(+)-NADH recycling. The NAD(+)-dependent first step of the DOIS reaction was examined in detail by the use of 6-phosphonate and 6-homophosphonate analogs of G-6-P. Both analogs showed competitive inhibition against the DOIS reaction with K(i) values of 1.3 and 2.8 mM, respectively, due to their inability for the subsequent phosphate elimination. Based on the direct spectrophotometric observation of NADH formed by the hydride transfer from 6-phosphonate to NAD(+), the stereospecificity of the hydride transfer in the DOIS reaction was analyzed with 6-[4-(2)H]phosphonate and was found to be pro-R specific.

Active Site Mapping of 2-Deoxy-scyllo-inosose Synthase, the Key Starter Enzyme for the Biosynthesis of 2-Deoxystreptamine. Mechanism-Based Inhibition and Identification of Lysine-141 as the Entrapped Nucleophile

A key enzyme in the biosynthesis of clinically important aminoglycoside antibiotics including neomycin, kanamycin, gentamicin, etc. is 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose synthase (DOIS), which catalyzes the carbocycle formation from d-glucose-6-phosphate to 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose (DOI). To clarify its precise reaction mechanism and crucial amino acid residues in the active site, we took advantage of a mechanism-based inhibitor carbaglucose-6-phosphate (pseudo-dl-glucose, C-6-P) with anticipation of its conversion to a reactive alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl intermediate. It turned out that C-6-P clearly showed time- and concentration-dependent inhibition against DOIS, and the molecular mass of the resulting modified-DOIS with C-6-P was 160 mass units larger than that of native DOIS. Thus, the expected alpha,beta-unsaturated intermediate appeared to trap a specific nucleophilic group in the active site through the Michael-type 1,4-addition. The covalently modified amino acid residue was determined to be Lys-141 by means of enzymatic digestion and subsequent LC/MS and LC/MS/MS of the digest. Also discussed are the role of Lys-141 in the substrate recognition and the reaction pathway and comparison with evolutionary related dehydroquinate synthase.