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Enzymatic evolution and the corresponding relationship to substrate scope and catalytic promiscuity were targeted in this thesis. As enzyme examples, pig liver esterase (PLE), oleate hydratases and linoleate isomerases, as well as epoxide hydrolases (EH) and haloalkane dehalogenases (HLD) were used. The substrate scope and the enantiopreference of PLE was analyzed by molecular modeling and substrate docking, since different enantiomeric excesses were detected for the conversion of malonate diethyl esters, depending on the PLE isoenzyme. Additionally, fatty acid converting enzymes with high identity were found and analyzed to comprehend the switch of both activities. Furthermore, the evolutionary connection between EH and HLD was investigated by interconversion studies to implement an HLD acitivity in an EH. By directed evolution and rational design, both possibilities of protein engineering were realized. Finally, a new methodology for targeted, continuous in vivo evolution was established by a temperature-dependent mutagenesis frequency.
Cascade reactions are not only of interest to chemists and biotechnologists, but also to life in general, because every metabolic reaction resembles a cascade reaction. This principle of substrate/intermediate channeling was only adapted by scientists. That way especially one-pot reactions became very attractive as for this no isolation of intermediates is necessary. Furthermore, unstable or toxic intermediates are only produced in low amounts and directly transformed in situ. In this PhD thesis two previously established cascade reactions were subject of further optimization. In the first part, a cascade reaction established in a DFG-funded project (Bo1862/6-1)in cooperation with the Vienna Technical University (Austria) for the production of chiral lactones was further optimized and extended. Therefore, on the one hand the genes encoding the needed enzymes were cloned for co-expression into a single plasmid in different arrangements to be expressed in pseudo-operon mode, with the aim to lower the metabolic burden of the cascade host cell. One out of the welve created constructs showed a reasonable activity of 15.3 ± 1.2 U · gCDW-1. On the other hand, this cascade reaction was aimed to be extended by the use of a hydroxylating enzyme to enable the use of limonene as renewable and chiral precursor for the proposed production of chiral polymers. Therefore, the feasibility of cytochrome P450-monooxygenases was studied. These turned out to be not applicable due to their bad regioselectivity for the hydroxylation of limonene or due to the difficulties of activity reconstitution. As alternative system for an initial hydroxylation step the use of a Rhodococcus equi strain, which was isolated from Cellulosimicrobium cellulans EB-8-4 and which is capable of very regioselective limonene-hydroxylation, was investigated. Therefore, the dioxygenase cluster responsible for the desired reaction was identified and especially the recombinant expression in a suitable host (Pseudomonas putida S12) was further studied. The results from these experiments revealed that the recombinant expression needs to be further optimized to enable the use of the recombinant dioxygenase in combination with the other enzymes for cascade reactions. The third part of this PhD thesis dealt with the immobilization of an established cascade reaction for the synthesis of poly-[caprolactone] precursors. Therefore, the use of a rotating bed reactor (RBR) was investigated. Preliminary studies using single enzymes involved in the desired cascade reaction demonstrated the general feasibility of this reactor concept. Especially the reusability of the catalysts was highly improved, because the catalytic particles were protected very effectively from mechanical forces within the voids of the reactor. For further work-flow optimization the immobilization was transformed into an in situ process by the application of a gas-shear device, which leads to decreased capsule size and thereby to increased mass transfer inside the particles. The developed methods were applied for encapsulation of the cells containing the enzymes needed for the reaction. After additional improvement of the reaction parameters a conversion of 93% (based on substrate depletion) was reached using catalysts produced by the established encapsulation procedure. In summary, the described cascade reactions were successfully optimized by either co-expression, extension applying a dioxygenase or immobilization. Furthermore, the general feasibility of an RBR was demonstrated.
Charakterisierung der Expression und Funktion metabolischer Enzyme im humanen intestinalen Gewebe
(2019)
Bei der Arzneimittelentwicklung liegt der Fokus nicht nur auf der Wirksamkeit und Sicherheit einer pharmakologisch aktiven Substanz, sondern auch auf einer möglichst einfachen, idealerweise oralen Applikation. Um die benötigten Wirkstoffkonzentrationen im Zielorgan zu erreichen, wird die einzunehmende Dosis eines Medikaments in Abhängigkeit der präsystemischen Elimination ermittelt. Inzwischen ist bekannt, dass nicht ausschließlich der hepatische, sondern auch der intestinale Stoffwechsel die orale Bioverfügbarkeit eines Medikaments wesentlich beeinflussen kann. Arzneistoffe, die während der Darmpassage einer starken Metabolisierung unterliegen, sind zudem prädestiniert für unerwünschte Interaktionen mit anderen Substanzen, welche die entsprechenden Stoffwechselenzyme hemmen oder induzieren. Für die Abschätzung pharmakokinetischer Parameter eines neuen Wirkstoffs sind daher Kenntnisse zur Expression sowie Funktion klinisch relevanter intestinaler Stoffwechselenzyme von Bedeutung.
Bisher publizierte Daten basieren größtenteils auf der Genexpression, obwohl aufgrund posttranskriptionaler Prozesse nicht zwingend Aussagen zur resultierenden Proteinmenge getroffen werden können. Die verfügbaren Daten zum intestinalen Proteingehalt wurden mittels immunologischer Methoden erhoben, die erhebliche Limitationen in Bezug auf Spezifität, Reproduzierbarkeit und Robustheit aufweisen. Diese Aspekte finden bei den inzwischen etablierten LC-MS/MS-basierten Targeted-Proteomics-Methoden Berücksichtigung. Dazu werden die Proteine einer Messprobe enzymatisch gespalten, um entstehende proteospezifische Peptide zur Quantifizierung der Proteine von Interesse zu nutzen.
Ein Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit bestand in der Entwicklung und Validierung einer entsprechenden Methode zur gleichzeitigen Bestimmung von CYP1A2, CYP2B6, CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP2E1, CYP3A4, CYP3A5, UGT1A1, UGT1A3, UGT2B7 sowie UGT2B15 in biologischen Matrices, welche die aktuell gültigen Leitlinien in Bezug auf Selektivität, Linearität, Richtigkeit, Präzision und Stabilität erfüllt. Bereits bei der ersten Anwendung der Methode zur Quantifizierung der Enzyme in kommerziell erhältlichen und selbst isolierten Mikrosomen zeigte sich, welchen erheblichen Einfluss die Probenvorbereitung auf die ermittelten Proteingehalte hat.
Diese Erkenntnis wurde im Rahmen eines internationalen Projektes bestätigt, bei dem humane Leberproben desselben Ursprungs in diversen Laboren mit den dort etablierten Methoden prozessiert worden sind. Bezogen auf die eingesetzte Gewebemenge ergaben sich bei der Messung der Mikrosomen 6 - 30-fach geringere Enzymgehalte als bei der Analyse des nicht-fraktionierten Gewebes, da die subzelluläre Aufspaltung einer Probe mit erheblichen Proteinverlusten einhergeht. Folglich wurden alle weiteren Untersuchungen zur absoluten Enzymquantifizierung unter Verwendung von filterbasierten Zentrifugaleinheiten (filter aided sample preparation; FASP) mit Gesamtgewebelysatproben durchgeführt. Sowohl die optimierte Probenaufarbeitung als auch die validierte Targeted-Proteomics-Methode fanden bei der Untersuchung der Darmsegmente von 9 Spendern Anwendung, wobei jeweils Gewebe aus dem Duodenum, oberen und unteren Jejunum, Ileum sowie Colon zur Verfügung stand. Von den 13 untersuchten Enzymen wurden in allen Dünndarmabschnitten nur CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP3A4, CYP3A5, UGT1A1, UGT1A3 und UGT2B7 nachgewiesen, deren Gehalt im Jejunum am höchsten war. Im Colon wurde auf Proteinebene keines der Metabolisierungsenzyme detektiert. Die entsprechenden Genexpressionsdaten dieser 8 Enzyme korrelieren signifikant mit den ermittelten Proteinwerten. Korrespondierend zur fehlenden Nachweisbarkeit der übrigen 5 Enzyme auf Proteinebene waren die Gene CYP2B6, CYP2C8, CYP2E1 sowie UGT2B15 nur sehr geringfügig und CYP1A2 gar nicht exprimiert.
Zur Charakterisierung der metabolischen Aktivität der intestinalen Enzyme wurde eine weitere LC-MS/MS-basierte Methode entwickelt und validiert. Als Modellsubstrate fungierten Diclofenac (CYP2C9), Omeprazol (CYP2C19), Dextromethorphan (CYP2D6), Midazolam (CYP3A), Ezetimib (UGT1A) und Naloxon (UGT2B7). Die begrenzte Verfügbarkeit des intestinalen Gewebes sowie dessen sehr geringer mikrosomaler Proteingehalt stellten besondere Anforderungen an die Sensitivität der Methode. Ihre Eignung zur Charakterisierung der intestinalen Metabolisierungsaktivität wurde bei der Anwendung auf ein jejunales Mikrosomen-Gemisch gezeigt.
Die im Rahmen dieser Arbeit generierten Daten zur Expression klinisch bedeutsamer Metabolisierungsenzyme entlang des humanen Darms tragen zu einem besseren Verständnis des intestinalen First-Pass-Metabolismus bei. Diese Kenntnisse können sowohl bei der Entwicklung neuer Arzneistoffe als auch für die Erstellung von Physiologie-basierten pharmakokinetischen Modellen (PBPK-Modellen) nützlich sein, um die orale Bioverfügbarkeit sowie das Interaktionspotential pharmakologisch aktiver Substanzen abzuschätzen.
The synthesis of several bioactive compounds and active pharmaceutical ingredients relies on the development of general and efficient methods to prepare optically pure amines. Transaminases are industrially relevant enzymes and are useful for synthesizing a large number of compounds that contain a chiral amine functionality. Although the immense potential associated to the use of these biocatalysts, the equilibrium position is often unfavorable for amine synthesis. The use of an excess of amine donor, compared to the ketone substrate, combined with selective removal of the formed product, can help in overcoming this limitation. This work mainly focused on broadening the application of membrane-based in situ product recovery (ISPR) techniques for the transaminase-catalyzed synthesis of chiral amines. The
overall work was designed around the implementation of amine donors, possessing considerably larger molecular ‘size’ compared to commonly used amine donors. To clearly
distinguish these molecules from traditional donor amines, we designate them as High Molecular Weigh amine donors. With a molecular weight between 400 and 1500 g/mol, in contrast to traditional donor amines, HMW amine donors enable a size-based separation between amine donor and amine product molecules. HMW amines, provided in excess for thermodynamic equilibrium shifting can thus be simply retained by a size-exclusion mechanism by commercial membranes, while the smaller product amines are permeated. Therefore, a selective recovery of the desired chiral amine product is possible. The implementation of ISPR techniques using HMW amine donors can theoretically lead to (i) equilibrium shifting, (ii) alleviation of product inhibition, and (iii) a highly pure product stream.
The feasibility of using HMW amine donors in aqueous, organic solvent and solvent-free media for the transaminase-catalyzed synthesis of 1-methyl-3-phenylpropylamine (MPPA) was proven in this thesis. The latter two approaches were investigated with the aim to achieve higher product concentrations. Along with that, we demonstrated two membrane-assisted ISPR proof of concepts. Specifically, nanofiltration was coupled with the enzymatic reaction performed in aqueous media (Article I), while liquid-liquid (L-L) extraction in a contactor was applied for transamination in organic solvent media (Article II). As an alternative to membrane-based strategies we also designed a spinning reactor concept for the integrated chiral amine synthesis (in organic solvent) and recovery (Article III).
S-adenosyl-L-methionine- (SAM) dependent methyltransferases (MTs) catalyse methylation of halide ions and the C, O, N, S, Se, and As atoms of biomolecules ranging from biopolymers to small molecules. They display different chemo-, regio- and stereoselectivity according to their specific functions. This thesis focuses on the engineering of O-methyltransferases (OMTs) and halide methyltransferases (HMTs) through rational design and directed evolution to study their structure-function relationship and to explore their catalytic promiscuity. The influence of substrate binding residues on the substrate scope and regioselectivity of a plant OMT against various phenolic substrates (Article I) and flavonoids (Article II) has been investigated. Article III describes the directed evolution of an HMT for the biocatalytic synthesis of diverse SAM analogues. With the evolved HMT, regioselective alkylation of phenolic compounds and flavonoids, as well as the SAM analogue regeneration, were achieved through an HMT-MT cascade reaction.
Article I Specific residues expand the substrate scope and enhance the regioselectivity of a plant O-methyltransferase.
It was reported in literature that an isoeugenol 4-OMT (IeOMT) can be engineered to a caffeic acid 3-OMT (CaOMT) by replacing three consecutive residues. In this article, we investigated the effect of these residues on substrate preference and regioselectivity of IeOMT. The triple mutant T133M/A134N/T135Q and the respective single mutants were constructed and tested against a series of phenolic compounds. The variant T133M had a universal effect to improve enzymatic activities against all tested substrates while the mutant A134N had enhanced regioselectivity. The triple mutant T133M/A134N/T135Q benefits from these two mutations, which not only expanded the substrate scope, but also enhanced the regioselectivity of IeOMT. On the basis of this work, regiospecific methylated phenolics can be produced in high purity by different IeOMT variants.
Article II Influence of substrate binding residues on the substrate scope and regioselectivity of a plant O-methyltransferase against flavonoids
Flavonoid OMTs (FOMTs), isoflavonoid OMTs (IOMTs) and phenylpropanoid OMTs (POMTs) display different substrate preferences. Sequence comparison showed that the substrate binding residues at positions 322 and 326 are different between these OMT groups and might be critical for the substrate discrimination. Residues at positions 322 and 326 in IeOMT (a POMT) were mutated to the commonly presented residues in FOMT and IOMT. The introduced mutants, in cooperation with the variant T133M, have improved or brought novel activities and regioselectivity against the tested flavonoids eriodictyol, naringenin, luteolin, quercetin, and also the isoflavonoid genistein compared to the wild-type IeOMT. On the basis of this work, methylated flavonoids that are rare in nature were produced in high purity.
Article III Directed evolution of a halide methyltransferase enables biocatalytic synthesis of diverse SAM analogs
Biocatalytic alkylations to obtain chemo‐, regio‐ and stereoselectively alkylated compounds can be achieved by MTs with the supply of SAM analogues. It was recently discovered that SAM can be directly synthesized from S adenosyl-L homocysteine (SAH) and methyl iodide, catalysed by an HMT. To explore the promiscuity of HMT in the synthesis of SAM analogues, we performed directed evolution of the Arabidopsis thaliana HMT based on a sensitive, colorimetric iodide assay. The identified variant V140T displayed activities against ethyl‐, propyl‐, and allyl iodides to produce the corresponding SAM analogues. With this HMT variant, regioselective ethylation of luteolin and allylation of 3,4‐dihydroxybenzaldehyde, as well as the SAM analogue regeneration, were achieved through this HMT-MT one-pot cascade reaction.