81446-29-9Relevant articles and documents
Dirigent Proteins Guide Asymmetric Heterocoupling for the Synthesis of Complex Natural Product Analogues
Kim, Stacie S.,Sattely, Elizabeth S.
, p. 5011 - 5021 (2021/05/04)
Phenylpropanoids are a class of abundant building blocks found in plants and derived from phenylalanine and tyrosine. Phenylpropanoid polymerization leads to the second most abundant biopolymer lignin while stereo- and site-selective coupling generates an array of lignan natural products with potent biological activity, including the topoisomerase inhibitor and chemotherapeutic etoposide. A key step in etoposide biosynthesis involves a plant dirigent protein that promotes selective dimerization of coniferyl alcohol, a common phenylpropanoid, to form (+)-pinoresinol, a critical C2 symmetric pathway intermediate. Despite the power of this coupling reaction for the elegant and rapid assembly of the etoposide scaffold, dirigent proteins have not been utilized to generate other complex lignan natural products. Here, we demonstrate that dirigent proteins from Podophyllum hexandrum in combination with a laccase guide the heterocoupling of natural and synthetic coniferyl alcohol analogues for the enantioselective synthesis of pinoresinol analogues. This route for complexity generation is remarkably direct and efficient: three new bonds and four stereocenters are produced from two different achiral monomers in a single step. We anticipate our results will enable biocatalytic routes to difficult-to-access non-natural lignan analogues and etoposide derivatives. Furthermore, these dirigent protein and laccase-promoted reactions of coniferyl alcohol analogues represent new regio- and enantioselective oxidative heterocouplings for which no other chemical methods have been reported.
Pinoresinol-lariciresinol reductase: Substrate versatility, enantiospecificity, and kinetic properties
Davin, Laurence B.,Hwang, Julianne K.,Lewis, Norman G.,Moinuddin, Syed G. A.
, (2020/03/26)
Two western red cedar pinoresinol-lariciresinol reductase (PLR) homologues were studied to determine their enantioselective, substrate versatility, and kinetic properties. PLRs are downstream of dirigent protein engendered, coniferyl alcohol derived, stereoselective coupling to afford entry into the 8- and 8′-linked furofuran lignan, pinoresinol. Our investigations showed that each PLR homolog can enantiospecifically metabolize different furofuran lignans with modified aromatic ring substituents, but where phenolic groups at both C4/C4′ are essential for catalysis. These results are consistent with quinone methide intermediate formation in the PLR active site. Site-directed mutagenesis and kinetic measurements provided additional insight into factors affecting enantioselectivity and kinetic properties. From these data, PLRs can be envisaged to allow for the biotechnological potential of generation of various lignan skeleta, that could be differentially “decorated” on their aromatic ring substituents, via the action of upstream dirigent proteins.
Isolation of enantiomeric furolactones and furofurans from Rubus idaeus L. with neuroprotective activities
Zhou, Le,Han, Feng-Ying,Lu, Li-Wei,Yao, Guo-Dong,Zhang, Ying-Ying,Wang, Xiao-Bo,Lin, Bin,Huang, Xiao-Xiao,Song, Shao-Jiang
, p. 122 - 129 (2019/05/29)
A phytochemical study on the fruits of Rubus idaeus L. (Rosaceae) yielded eight pairs of enantiomeric lignans, including one undescribed furolactone named (?)-idaeusinol A and six undescribed furofuran derivatives named (+/?)-idaeusinol B–D. The structures of these isolated compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses and a combination of computational techniques including gauge-independent atomic orbital (GIAO) calculation of 1D NMR data and TD-DFT calculation of electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. Bioactivity screenings suggested that (+)-idaeusinol D exhibited the most significant protective effect against H2O2-induced neurotoxicity at the concentration of 25 μM. In contrast, (?)-idaeusinol D, as the enantiomer of (+)-idaeusinol D, showed no effect against H2O2-induced neurotoxicity at both 25 and 50 μM concentration.