Purification, characterization, and cloning of a bifunctional molybdoenzyme with hydratase and alcohol dehydrogenase activity

A bifunctional hydratase/alcohol dehydrogenase was isolated from the cyclohexanol degrading bacterium Alicycliphilus denitrificans DSMZ 14773. The enzyme catalyzes the addition of water to α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds and the subsequent alcohol oxidation. The purified enzyme showed three subunits in SDS gel, and the gene sequence revealed that this enzyme belongs to the molybdopterin binding oxidoreductase family containing molybdopterins, FAD, and iron-sulfur clusters

Molecular characterization of the gene cluster coxMSL encoding the molybdenum-containing carbon monoxide dehydrogenase of Oligotropha carboxidovorans.

The CO dehydrogenase structural genes (cox) and orf4 are clustered in the transcriptional order coxM--> coxS--> coxL--> orf4 on the 128-kb megaplasmid pHCG3 of the carboxidotroph Oligotropha carboxidovorans OM5. Sequence analysis suggested association of molybdopterin cytosine dinucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide with CoxL and of the [2Fe-2S] clusters with CoxS

Structure elucidation of the thermal degradation products of the nucleotide cofactors NADH and NADPH by nano-ESI-FTICR-MS and HPLC-MS

Redox cofactors like NADH and NADPH are essential for the catalytic activity of several oxidoreductases. Here, we describe a comparative study of the thermal degradation products of both cofactors in the dry and liquid states. The degradation products were first separated, detected, and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Subsequently, selected main fractions were investigated by nanoelectrospray ionization-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (MS). Additionally, HPLC-MS was used to elucidate the structure of all degradation products. From these data, degradation pathways for both the liquid and the solid states were elucidated. Thermal degradation in water is significantly faster compared to degradation in the solid state. Hydrolysis and oxidative ring opening of the reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate) were shown to be the main reaction paths. Surprisingly, no significant differences were observed between the degradation of both cofactors in solution and in the solid state. Our results demonstrate that the stability of both cofactors is not limiting at moderate temperatures if they are used in the dry state (e.g., solid/gas catalysis). Significant degradation of dry cofactors was only observed under conditions, which are usually not appropriate for biocatalysis (>95 °C). Besides, the situation is completely different in solution where degradation is already observed at moderate temperatures

Transport of treosulfan and temozolomide across an in-vitro blood–brain barrier model

In vitro, treosulfan (TREO) has shown high effectiveness against malignant gliomas. However, a first clinical trial for newly diagnosed glioblastoma did not show any positive effect. Even though dosing and timing might have been the reasons for this failure, it might also be that TREO does not reach the brain in sufficient amount. Surprisingly, there are no published data on TREO uptake into the brain of patients, despite extensive research on this compound. An in-vitro blood-brain barrier (BBB) model consisting of primary porcine brain capillary endothelial cells was used to determine the transport of TREO across the cell monolayer. Temozolomide (TMZ), the most widely used cytotoxic drug for malignant gliomas, served as a reference. An HPLC-ESI-MS/MS procedure was developed to detect TREO and TMZ in cell culture medium. Parallel to the experimental approach, the permeability of TREO and the reference substance across the in-vitro BBB was estimated on the basis of their physicochemical properties. The detection limit was 30 nmol/l for TREO and 10 nmol/l for TMZ. Drug transport was measured in two directions: influx, apical-to-basolateral (A-to-B), and efflux, basolateral-to-apical (B-to-A). For TREO, the A-to-B permeability was lower (1.6%) than the B-to-A permeability (3.0%). This was in contrast to TMZ, which had higher A-to-B (13.1%) than B-to-A (7.2%) permeability values. The in-vitro BBB model applied simulated the human BBB properly for TMZ. It is, therefore, reasonable to assume that the values for TREO are also meaningful. Considering the lack of noninvasive, significant alternative methods to study transport across the BBB, the porcine brain capillary endothelial cell model was efficient to collect first data for TREO that explain the disappointing clinical results for this drug against cerebral tumors