Substrate flexibility of the flavin-dependent dihydropyrrole oxidases PigB and HapB involved in antibiotic prodigiosin biosynthesis

In the biosynthesis of the tripyrrolic pigment prodigiosin, PigB is a predicted flavin-dependent oxidase responsible for formation of 2-methyl-3-amylpyrrole (MAP) from a dihydropyrrole. To prove which dihydropyrrole is the true intermediate, both possibilities, 5a (resulting from transamination of the aldehyde of 3-acetyloctanal) and 6 (resulting from transamination of the ketone), were synthesised. Only 5a restored pigment production in a strain of Serratia sp. ATCC 39006 blocked earlier in MAP biosynthesis. PigB is membrane-associated and inactive when its transmembrane domain was deleted, but HapB, its homologue in Hahella chejuensis, lacks the transmembrane domain and is active in solution. Two colorimetric assays for PigB and HapB were developed, and the HapB-catalysed reaction was kinetically characterised. Ten analogues of 5a were synthesised, varying in the C2 and C3 side-chains, and tested as substrates of HapB in vitro and for restoration of pigment production in Serratia ΔpigD in vivo. All lengths of side-chain tested at C3 were accepted but only short side-chains at C2 were accepted. The knowledge that 5a is an intermediate in prodigiosin biosynthesis and the ease of synthesis of analogues of 5a makes a range of prodigiosin analogues readily available by mutasynthesis.We acknowledge the Frances and Augustus Newman foundation, the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust, Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and the B.B.S.R.C. (award codesBB/N008081/1 and BB/K001833/1) for funding this research

Anticancer and immunosuppressive properties of bacterial prodiginines.

Bacterial prodiginines are a family of red-pigmented, tripyrrolic compounds that display numerous biological activities, including antibacterial, antifungal, antiprotozoal, antimalarial, immunosuppressive and anticancer properties. Recently, significant progress has been made in understanding the biosynthesis and regulation of bacterial prodiginines. An understanding of the biosynthesis of prodiginines will allow engineering of bacterial strains capable of synthesizing novel prodiginines through rational design and mutasynthesis experiments. Bacterial prodiginines and synthetic derivatives are effective proapoptotic agents with multiple cellular targets, and they are active against numerous cancer cell lines, including multidrug-resistant cells, with little or no toxicity towards normal cell lines. A synthetic derivative, GX15-070 (Obatoclax), developed through structure-activity relationship studies of the pyrrolic ring A of GX15, is in multiple Phase I and II clinical trials in both single and dual-agent studies to treat different types of cancer. Therefore, prodiginines have real therapeutic potential in the clinic