Bioengineering of Anti-Inflammatory Natural Products

Inflammatory processes occur as a generic response of the immune system and can be triggered by various factors, such as infection with pathogenic microorganisms or damaged tissue. Due to the complexity of the inflammation process and its role in common diseases like asthma, cancer, skin disorders or Alzheimer's disease, anti-inflammatory drugs are of high pharmaceutical interest. Nature is a rich source for compounds with anti-inflammatory properties. Several studies have focused on the structural optimization of natural products to improve their pharmacological properties. As derivatization through total synthesis is often laborious with low yields and limited stereoselectivity, the use of biosynthetic, enzyme-driven reactions is an attractive alternative for synthesizing and modifying complex bioactive molecules. In this minireview, we present an outline of the biotechnological methods used to derivatize anti-inflammatory natural products, including precursor-directed biosynthesis, mutasynthesis, combinatorial biosynthesis, as well as whole-cell and in vitro biotransformation.