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Winegar PH, Hudson GA, Dell LB, Astolfi MCT, Reed J, Payet RD, Ombredane HCJ, Iavarone AT, Chen Y, Gin JW, Petzold CJ, Osbourn AE, Keasling JD. Verazine biosynthesis from simple sugars in engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Metab Eng 2024; 85:145-158. [PMID: 39074544 PMCID: PMC11421371 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2024.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2024] [Revised: 07/08/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 07/31/2024]
Abstract
Steroidal alkaloids are FDA-approved drugs (e.g., Zytiga) and promising drug candidates/leads (e.g., cyclopamine); yet many of the ≥697 known steroidal alkaloid natural products remain underutilized as drugs because it can be challenging to scale their biosynthesis in their producing organisms. Cyclopamine is a steroidal alkaloid produced by corn lily (Veratrum spp.) plants, and it is an inhibitor of the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway. Therefore, cyclopamine is an important drug candidate/lead to treat human diseases that are associated with dysregulated Hh signaling, such as basal cell carcinoma and acute myeloid leukemia. Cyclopamine and its semi-synthetic derivatives have been studied in (pre)clinical trials as Hh inhibitor-based drugs. However, challenges in scaling the production of cyclopamine have slowed efforts to improve its efficacy and safety profile through (bio)synthetic derivatization, often limiting drug development to synthetic analogs of cyclopamine such as the FDA-approved drugs Odomzo, Daurismo, and Erivedge. If a platform for the scalable and sustainable production of cyclopamine were established, then its (bio)synthetic derivatization, clinical development, and, ultimately, widespread distribution could be accelerated. Ongoing efforts to achieve this goal include the biosynthesis of cyclopamine in Veratrum plant cell culture and the semi-/total chemical synthesis of cyclopamine. Herein, this work advances efforts towards a promising future approach: the biosynthesis of cyclopamine in engineered microorganisms. We completed the heterologous microbial production of verazine (biosynthetic precursor to cyclopamine) from simple sugars (i.e., glucose and galactose) in engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae) through the inducible upregulation of the native yeast mevalonate and lanosterol biosynthetic pathways, diversion of biosynthetic flux from ergosterol (i.e., native sterol in S. cerevisiae) to cholesterol (i.e., biosynthetic precursor to verazine), and expression of a refactored five-step verazine biosynthetic pathway. The engineered S. cerevisiae strain that produced verazine contains eight heterologous enzymes sourced from seven different species. Importantly, S. cerevisiae-produced verazine was indistinguishable via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry from both a commercial standard (Veratrum spp. plant-produced) and Nicotiana benthamiana-produced verazine. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing the heterologous production of a steroidal alkaloid in an engineered yeast. Verazine production was ultimately increased through design-build-test-learn cycles to a final titer of 83 ± 3 μg/L (4.1 ± 0.1 μg/g DCW). Together, this research lays the groundwork for future microbial biosynthesis of cyclopamine, (bio)synthetic derivatives of cyclopamine, and other steroidal alkaloid natural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter H Winegar
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA; Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA; California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3 Institute), University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Graham A Hudson
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA; Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA; California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3 Institute), University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Luisa B Dell
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA; Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Maria C T Astolfi
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA; Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - James Reed
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Rocky D Payet
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK
| | | | - Anthony T Iavarone
- California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3 Institute), University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Yan Chen
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA; Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Jennifer W Gin
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA; Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Christopher J Petzold
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA; Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Anne E Osbourn
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Jay D Keasling
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA; Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA; California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3 Institute), University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA; The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University Denmark, Kemitorvet, Building 220, Kongens, Lyngby, 2800, Denmark.
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Chen YL, Xiong LA, Ma LF, Fang L, Zhan ZJ. Natural product-derived ferroptosis mediators. PHYTOCHEMISTRY 2024; 219:114002. [PMID: 38286199 DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2024.114002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Revised: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2024]
Abstract
It has been 11 years since ferroptosis, a new mode of programmed cell death, was first proposed. Natural products are an important source of drug discovery. In the past five years, natural product-derived ferroptosis regulators have been discovered in an endless stream. Herein, 178 natural products discovered so far to trigger or resist ferroptosis are classified into 6 structural classes based on skeleton type, and the mechanisms of action that have been reported are elaborated upon. If pharmacodynamic data are sufficient, the structure and bioactivity relationship is also presented. This review will provide medicinal chemists with some effective ferroptosis regulators, which will promote the research of natural product-based treatment of ferroptosis-related diseases in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Li Chen
- Key Laboratory for Green Pharmaceutical Technologies and Related Equipment of Ministry of Education, College of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, PR China
| | - Lin-An Xiong
- Key Laboratory for Green Pharmaceutical Technologies and Related Equipment of Ministry of Education, College of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, PR China
| | - Lie-Feng Ma
- Key Laboratory for Green Pharmaceutical Technologies and Related Equipment of Ministry of Education, College of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, PR China
| | - Luo Fang
- Department of Pharmacy, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, PR China.
| | - Zha-Jun Zhan
- Key Laboratory for Green Pharmaceutical Technologies and Related Equipment of Ministry of Education, College of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, PR China.
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