Mammalian Sulfatases: Biochemistry, Disease Manifestation, and Therapy

Steroid sulfatase and sulfotransferases in the estrogen and androgen action of gynecological cancers: current status and perspectives

Sulfatase (STS) and sulfotransferases (SULT) have important role in the biosynthesis and action of steroid hormones. STS catalyzes the hydrolysis of estrone-sulfate (E1-S) and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S), while sulfotransferases catalyze the reverse reaction and require 3-phosphoadenosine-5-phosphosulfate as a sulfate donor. These enzymes control the concentration of active estrogens and androgens in peripheral tissues. Aberant expression of STS and SULT genes has been found in both, benign hormone-dependent diseases and hormone-dependent cancers. The aim of this review is to present the current knowledge on the role of STS and SULT in gynecological cancers, endometrial (EC) and ovarian cancer (OC). EC is the most common and OC the most lethal gynecological cancer. These cancers primarily affect postmenopausal women and therefore rely on the local production of steroid hormones from inactive precursors, either DHEA-S or E1-S. Following cellular uptake by organic anion transporting polypeptides (OATP) or organic anion transporters (OAT), STS and SULT regulate the formation of active estrogens and androgens, thus disturbed balance between STS and SULT can contribute to the onset and progression of cancer. The importance of these enzymes in peripheral estrogen biosynthesis has long been recognized, and this review provides new data on the important role of STS and SULT in the formation and action of androgens, their regulation and inhibition, and their potential as prognostic biomarkers.

Near-infrared AIEgens for sulfatase imaging in breast cancer in vivo

Aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) enable highly sensitive and in situ visualization of sulfatase to benefit the early diagnosis of breast cancer (BC), but current sulfatase AIEgens always emit visible light (<650 nm). Herein, a near-infrared (NIR) AIEgen QMT-SFA is developed for sulfatase imaging in vivo. Hydrophilic QMT-SFA is cleaved by sulfatase to yield hydrophobic QMT-OH, which subsequently aggregates into nanoparticles to turn the AIE fluorescence "on", enabling sensitive sulfatase imaging in 4T1 cells and mouse models.

Promiscuous Enzymes for Residue-Specific Peptide and Protein Late-Stage Functionalization

The late-stage functionalization of peptides and proteins holds significant promise for drug discovery and facilitates bioorthogonal chemistry. This selective functionalization leads to innovative advances in in vitro and in vivo biological research. However, it is a challenging endeavor to selectively target a certain amino acid or position in the presence of other residues containing reactive groups. Biocatalysis has emerged as a powerful tool for selective, efficient, and economical modifications of molecules. Enzymes that have the ability to modify multiple complex substrates or selectively install nonnative handles have wide applications. Herein, we highlight enzymes with broad substrate tolerance that have been demonstrated to modify a specific amino acid residue in simple or complex peptides and/or proteins at late-stage. The different substrates accepted by these enzymes are mentioned together with the reported downstream bioorthogonal reactions that have benefited from the enzymatic selective modifications.

New Insights into the Plutella xylostella Detoxifying Enzymes: Sequence Evolution, Structural Similarity, Functional Diversity, and Application Prospects of Glucosinolate Sulfatases

Brassica plants have glucosinolate (GLs)-myrosinase defense mechanisms to deter herbivores. However, Plutella xylostella specifically feeds on Brassica vegetables. The larvae possess three glucosinolate sulfatases (PxGSS1-3) that compete with plant myrosinase for shared GLs substrates and produce nontoxic desulfo-GLs (deGLs). Although PxGSSs are considered potential targets for pest control, the lack of a comprehensive review has hindered the development of PxGSSs-targeted pest control methods. Recent advances in integrative multi-omics analysis, substrate-enzyme kinetics, and molecular biological techniques have elucidated the evolutionary origin and functional diversity of these three PxGSSs. This review summarizes research progress on PxGSSs over the past 20 years, covering sequence properties, evolution, protein modification, enzyme activity, structural variation, substrate specificity, and interaction scenarios based on functional diversity. Finally, we discussed the potential applications of PxGSSs-targeted pest control technologies driven by artificial intelligence, including CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene drive, transgenic plant-mediated RNAi, small-molecule inhibitors, and peptide inhibitors. These technologies have the potential to overcome current management challenges and promote the development and field application of PxGSSs-targeted pest control.

Activatable Near-Infrared Fluorescent and Photoacoustic Dual-Modal Probe for Highly Sensitive Imaging of Sulfatase In Vivo

Sulfatase is an important biomarker closely associated with various diseases. However, the state-of-the-art sulfatase probes are plagued with a short absorption/emission wavelength and limited sensitivity. Developing highly sensitive fluorescent probes for in vivo imaging of sulfatase remains a grand challenge. Herein, for the first time, an activatable near-infrared fluorescence/photoacoustic (NIRF/PA) dual-modal probe (Hcy-SA) for visualizing sulfatase activity in living cells and animals is developed. Hcy-SA is composed of a sulfate ester moiety as the recognition unit and a NIR fluorophore hemicyanine (Hcy-OH) as the NIRF/PA reporter. The designed probe exhibits a rapid response, excellent sensitivity, and high specificity for sulfatase detection in vitro. More importantly, cells and in vivo experiments confirm that Hcy-SA can be successfully applied for PA/NIRF dual-modal imaging of sulfatase activity in living sulfatase-overexpressed tumor cells and tumor-bearing animals. This probe can serve as a promising tool for sulfatase-related pathological research and cancer diagnosis.

Lipid Nanoparticles: A Novel Gene Delivery Technique for Clinical Application

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are an emerging vehicle for gene delivery that accommodate both nucleic acid and protein. Based on the experience of therapeutic liposomes, current LNPs have been developed based on the chemistry of lipids and RNA and on the biology of human disease. LNPs have been used for the development of Onpattro, an siRNA drug for transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis, in 2018. The subsequent outbreak of COVID-19 required a vaccine for its suppression. LNP-based vaccine production received much attention for this and resulted in great success. In this review, the essential technology of LNP gene delivery has been described according to the chemistry for LNP production and biology for its clinical application.