Engineering mammalian cytochrome P450 2B1 by directed evolution for enhanced catalytic tolerance to temperature and dimethyl sulfoxide

The previously laboratory-evolved cytochrome P450 2B1 quadruple mutant V183L/F202L/L209A/S334P (QM), which showed enhanced H(2)O(2)-mediated substrate oxidation, has now been shown to exhibit a >3.0-fold decrease in K(m,HOOH) for 7-ethoxy-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin (7-EFC) O-deethylation compared with the parental enzyme L209A. Subsequently, a streamlined random mutagenesis and a high-throughput screening method were developed using QM to screen and select mutants with enhanced tolerance of catalytic activity to temperature and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Upon screening >3000 colonies, we identified QM/L295H and QM/K236I/D257N with enhanced catalytic tolerance to temperature and DMSO. QM/L295H exhibited higher activity than QM at a broad range of temperatures (35-55 degrees C) and maintained approximately 1.4-fold higher activity than QM at 45 degrees C for 6 h. In addition, QM/L295H showed a significant increase in T(m,app) compared with L209A. QM/L295H and QM/K236I/D257N exhibited higher activity than QM at a broad range of DMSO concentrations (2.5-15%). Furthermore, QM/K236I/D257N/L295H was constructed by combining QM/K236I/D257N with L295H using site-directed mutagenesis and exhibited a >2-fold higher activity than QM at nearly the entire range of DMSO concentrations. In conclusion, in addition to engineering mammalian cytochromes P450 for enhanced activity, directed evolution can also be used to optimize catalytic tolerance to temperature and organic solvent.     

微量元素铁的生理功能及对人体健康的影响

铁是人体内含量最高的必需微量元素,它有参与氧的运输和贮存,参与合成细胞色素和多种金属酶,增强机体免疫功能等非常重要的生理作用。人体内缺铁或铁过量都会发生相应病变。     

虾青素保护PC-3细胞免受H2O2氧化应激的作用机制

目的：研究虾青素对过氧化氢诱导PC-3细胞氧化应激的保护作用,探索其信号通路机制。方法：建立H2O2 氧化应激模型,采用不同浓度虾青素预处理PC-3细胞,检测细胞存活率、细胞凋亡、活性氧（reactive oxygen species, ROS）水平、B淋巴细胞瘤-2（B-cell lymphoma-2,Bcl-2）、Bcl-2相关X蛋白（Bcl-2-associated X protein,Bax）、 活化半胱天冬酶-3表达及丝裂原活化蛋白激酶-核因子E2相关基因2-血红素氧合酶1（mitogen-activated protein kinases nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2-heme oxygenase 1,MAPK-Nrf2-HO-1）通路的变化。结果：20 μmol/L虾青 素预处理显著提高H2O2所降低的细胞存活率、降低ROS水平（P＜0.05）,同时通过抑制Bcl-2/Bax比率下降及半胱 天冬酶-3的激活,从而使细胞凋亡率从51.4%降低至14.8%,进一步研究发现虾青素能够促进Nrf2磷酸化,并促进 HO-1的表达,呈现浓度依赖性。通过细胞外调节蛋白激酶（extracellular regulated protein kinases,ERK）抑制剂 （U0126）和Akt抑制剂（LY294002）预处理,发现当ERK和磷脂酰肌醇激酶/蛋白激酶B（phosphoinositide 3-kinase/ protein kinase B,PI3K/Akt）通路被抑制后,Nrf2表达降低,表明HO-1上调受上游ERK和胞内PI3K/Akt通路的调 控。在对MAPK途径对细胞毒性影响的研究中,ERK通路被抑制后细胞存活率显著下降,而c-Jun氨基末端激酶 （c-Jun N-terminal kinase,JNK）和p38 MAPK通路被抑制后并不影响其保护作用,表明虾青素抑制细胞存活率下降 是通过MAPK途径中的ERK通路,而不是JNK和p38通路。结论：虾青素预处理PC-3细胞可以减轻H2O2诱导的氧化 应激,维持细胞生理活性。     

Canagliflozin Inhibits Human Endothelial Cell Inflammation through the Induction of Heme Oxygenase-1

Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors improve cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Studies have also shown that canagliflozin directly acts on endothelial cells (ECs). Since heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is an established modulator of EC function, we investigated if canagliflozin regulates the endothelial expression of HO-1, and if this enzyme influences the biological actions of canagliflozin in these cells. Treatment of human ECs with canagliflozin stimulated a concentration- and time-dependent increase in HO-1 that was associated with a significant increase in HO activity. Canagliflozin also evoked a concentration-dependent blockade of EC proliferation, DNA synthesis, and migration that was unaffected by inhibition of HO-1 activity and/or expression. Exposure of ECs to a diabetic environment increased the adhesion of monocytes to ECs, and this was attenuated by canagliflozin. Knockdown of HO-1 reduced the anti-inflammatory effect of canagliflozin which was restored by bilirubin but not carbon monoxide. In conclusion, this study identified canagliflozin as a novel inducer of HO-1 in human ECs. It also found that HO-1-derived bilirubin contributed to the anti-inflammatory action of canagliflozin, but not the anti-proliferative and antimigratory effects of the drug. The ability of canagliflozin to regulate HO-1 expression and EC function may contribute to the clinical profile of the drug.     

Clustered Cobalt Nanodots Initiate Ferroptosis by Upregulating Heme Oxygenase 1 for Radiotherapy Sensitization

High cobalt (Co) levels in tumors are associated with good clinical prognosis. An anticancer regimen that increases intratumoral Co through targeted nanomaterial delivery is proposed in this study. Bovine serum albumin and cobalt dichloride are applied to prepare cobaltous oxide nanodots using a facile biomineralization strategy. After iRGD peptide conjugation, the nanodots are loaded into dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles, generating a biocompatible product iCoDMSN. This nanocomposite accumulates in tumors after intravenous injection by deep tissue penetration and can be used for photoacoustic imaging. Proteomics research and molecular biology experiments reveal that iCoDMSN is a potent ferroptosis inducer in cancer cells. Mechanistically, iCoDMSNs upregulate heme oxygenase 1 (HMOX1), which increases transferrin receptors and reduces solute carrier family 40 member 1 (SLC40A1), resulting in Fe²⁺ accumulation and ferroptosis initiation. Furthermore, upregulated nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2), arising from the reduction in Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (KEAP1) expression, is responsible for HMOX1 enhancement after iCoDMSN treatment. Owing to intensified ferroptosis, iCoDMSN acts as an efficient radiotherapy enhancer to eliminate cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. This study demonstrates a versatile Co-based nanomaterial that primes ferroptosis by expanding the labile iron pool in cancer cells, providing a promising tumor radiotherapy sensitizer.     

Head-to-Head Comparison of Selected Extra- and Intracellular CO-Releasing Molecules on Their CO-Releasing and Anti-Inflammatory Properties

Over the past decade, a variety of carbon monoxide releasing molecules (CORMs) have been developed and tested. Some CORMs spontaneously release CO once in solution, while others require a trigger mechanism to release the bound CO from its molecular complex. The modulation of biological systems by CORMs depends largely on the spatiotemporal release of CO, which likely differs among the different types of CORMs. In spontaneously releasing CORMs, CO is released extracellularly and crosses the cell membrane to interact with intracellular targets. Other CORMs can directly release CO intracellularly, which may be a more efficient method to modulate biological systems. In the present study, we compared the efficacy of extracellular and intracellular CO-releasing CORMs that either release CO spontaneously or require an enzymatic trigger. The efficacy of such CORMs to modulate HO-1 and VCAM-1 expression in TNF-α-stimulated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) was evaluated.     

Tetraphenylporphyrin Enters the Ring: First Example of a Complex between Highly Bulky Porphyrins and a Protein**

Tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) is a symmetrically substituted synthetic porphyrin whose properties can be readily modified, providing it with significant advantages over naturally occurring porphyrins. Herein, we report the first example of a stable complex between a native biomolecule, the haemoprotein HasA, and TPP as well as its derivatives. The X-ray crystal structures of nine different HasA-TPP complexes were solved at high resolutions. HasA capturing TPP derivatives was also demonstrated to inhibit growth of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Mutant variants of HasA binding FeTPP were shown to possess a different mode of coordination, permitting the cyclopropanation of styrene.     

Computational Mechanistic Investigations of Biocatalytic Nitrenoid C−H Functionalizations via Engineered Heme Proteins

Engineered heme proteins were developed to possess numerous excellent biocatalytic nitrenoid C−H functionalizations. Computational approaches such as density functional theory (DFT), hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM), and molecular dynamics (MD) calculations were employed to help understand some important mechanistic aspects of these heme nitrene transfer reactions. This review summarizes advances of computational reaction pathway results of these biocatalytic intramolecular and intermolecular C−H aminations/amidations, focusing on mechanistic origins of reactivity, regioselectivity, enantioselectivity, diastereoselectivity as well as effects of substrate substituent, axial ligand, metal center, and protein environment. Some important common and distinctive mechanistic features of these reactions were also described with brief outlook of future development.