Biochemical Characterization of ArsI: A Novel C–As Lyase for Degradation of Environmental Organoarsenicals

Organoarsenicals such as the methylarsenical methylarsenate (MAs­(V)) and aromatic arsenicals including roxarsone (4-hydroxy-3-nitrobenzenearsenate or Rox­(V)) have been extensively used as an herbicide and growth enhancers in animal husbandry, respectively. They undergo environmental degradation to more toxic inorganic arsenite (As­(III)) that contaminates crops and drinking water. We previously identified a bacterial gene (<i>arsI</i>) responsible for aerobic demethylation of methylarsenite (MAs­(III)). The gene product, ArsI, is an Fe­(II)-dependent extradiol dioxygenase that cleaves the carbon–arsenic (C–As) bond in MAs­(III) and in trivalent aromatic arsenicals. The objective of this study was to elucidate the ArsI mechanism. Using isothermal titration calorimetry, we determined the dissociation constants and ligand-to-protein stoichiometry of ArsI for Fe­(II), MAs­(III), and aromatic phenylarsenite. Using a combination of methods including chemical modification, site-directed mutagenesis, and fluorescent spectroscopy, we demonstrated that amino acid residues predicted to participate in Fe­(II)-binding (His5–His62–Glu115) and substrate binding (Cys96–Cys97) are involved in catalysis. Finally, the products of Rox­(III) degradation were identified as As­(III) and 2-nitrohydroquinone, demonstrating that ArsI is a dioxygenase that incorporates one oxygen atom from dioxygen into the carbon and the other to the arsenic to catalyze cleavage of the C–As bond. These results augment our understanding of the mechanism of this novel C–As lyase

A Novel Iron(II) Preferring Dopamine Agonist Chelator as Potential Symptomatic and Neuroprotective Therapeutic Agent for Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, and development of disease-modifying treatment is still an unmet medical need. Considering the implication of free iron­(II) in PD, we report here the design and characterization of a novel hybrid iron chelator, (−)-<b>12</b> (D-607) as a multitarget-directed ligand against PD. Binding and functional assays at dopamine D₂/D₃ receptors indicate potent agonist activity of (−)-<b>12</b>. The molecule displayed an efficient preferential iron­(II) chelation properties along with potent in vivo activity in a reserpinized PD animal model. The compound also rescued PC12 cells from toxicity induced by iron delivered intracellularly in a dose-dependent manner. However, Fe³⁺ selective dopamine agonist 1 and a well-known antiparkinsonian drug pramipexole produced little to no neuroprotection effect under the same experimental condition. These observations strongly suggest that (−)-<b>12</b> should be a promising multifunctional lead molecule for a viable symptomatic and disease modifying therapy of PD

A Novel Iron(II) Preferring Dopamine Agonist Chelator as Potential Symptomatic and Neuroprotective Therapeutic Agent for Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, and development of disease-modifying treatment is still an unmet medical need. Considering the implication of free iron­(II) in PD, we report here the design and characterization of a novel hybrid iron chelator, (−)-<b>12</b> (D-607) as a multitarget-directed ligand against PD. Binding and functional assays at dopamine D₂/D₃ receptors indicate potent agonist activity of (−)-<b>12</b>. The molecule displayed an efficient preferential iron­(II) chelation properties along with potent in vivo activity in a reserpinized PD animal model. The compound also rescued PC12 cells from toxicity induced by iron delivered intracellularly in a dose-dependent manner. However, Fe³⁺ selective dopamine agonist 1 and a well-known antiparkinsonian drug pramipexole produced little to no neuroprotection effect under the same experimental condition. These observations strongly suggest that (−)-<b>12</b> should be a promising multifunctional lead molecule for a viable symptomatic and disease modifying therapy of PD