Decarboxylation Product Research Articles

Arginine-agmatine antiporter in extreme acid resistance in Escherichia coli.

The process of arginine-dependent extreme acid resistance (XAR) is one of several decarboxylase-antiporter systems that protects Escherichia coli and possibly other enteric bacteria from exposure to the strong acid environment of the stomach. Arginine-dependent acid resistance depends on an intracellular proton-utilizing arginine alpha-decarboxylase and a membrane transport protein necessary for delivering arginine to and removing agmatine, its decarboxylation product, from the cytoplasm. The arginine system afforded significant protection to wild-type E. coli cells in our acid shock experiments. The gene coding for the transport protein is identified here as a putative membrane protein of unknown function, YjdE, which we now name adiC. Strains from which this gene is deleted fail to mount arginine-dependent XAR, and they cannot perform coupled transport of arginine and agmatine. Homologues of this gene are found in other bacteria in close proximity to homologues of the arginine decarboxylase in a gene arrangement pattern similar to that in E coli. Evidence for a lysine-dependent XAR system in E. coli is also presented. The protection by lysine, however, is milder than that by arginine.

Tyramine and octopamine: antagonistic modulators of behavior and metabolism.

The phenolamines tyramine and octopamine are decarboxylation products of the amino acid tyrosine. Although tyramine is the biological precursor of octopamine, both compounds are independent neurotransmitters, acting through various G-protein coupled receptors. Especially, octopamine modulates a plethora of behaviors, peripheral and sense organs. Both compounds are believed to be homologues of their vertebrate counterparts adrenaline and noradrenaline. They modulate behaviors and organs in a coordinated way, which allows the insects to respond to external stimuli with a fine tuned adequate response. As these two phenolamines are the only biogenic amines whose physiological significance is restricted to invertebrates, the attention of pharmacologists was focused on the corresponding receptors, which are still believed to represent promising targets for new insecticides. Recent progress made on all levels of octopamine/tyramine research enabled us to better understand the molecular events underlying the control of complex behaviors.

Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic studies on acetolactate decarboxylase.

Acetolactate decarboxylase has the unique ability to decarboxylate both enantiomers of acetolactate to give a single enantiomer of the decarboxylation product, (R)-acetoin. A gene coding for alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase from Bacillus brevis (ATCC 11031) was cloned and overexpressed in B. subtilis. The enzyme was purified in two steps to homogeneity prior to crystallization. Three different diffraction-quality crystal forms were obtained by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method using a number of screening conditions. The best crystal form is suitable for structural studies and was grown from solutions containing 20% PEG 2000 MME, 10 mM cadmium chloride and 0.1 M Tris-HCl pH 7.0. They grew to a maximum dimension of approximately 0.4 mm and belong to the trigonal space group P3(1,2)21, with unit-cell parameters a = 47.0, c = 198.9 A. A complete data set was collected to 2 A from a single native crystal using synchrotron radiation.

Regulation of branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis by alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase in Streptococcus thermophilus.

To demonstrate the presence of an active alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase in Streptococcus thermophilus and to investigate its physiological function. Streptococcus thermophilus CNRZ385 contains a gene encoding an alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase. Comparison of the production of alpha-acetolactate and its decarboxylation products, by the parent strain and an alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase-deficient mutant, demonstrated the presence of a control of the pool of alpha-acetolactate by valine, leucine and isoleucine. This control occurs via an allosteric activation of the alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase. Cell-free extracts of S. thermophilus were not able to decarboxylate the isoleucine precursor alpha-acetohydroxybutyrate. These results strongly suggest that one of the physiological functions of the alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase in S. thermophilus is to regulate leucine and valine biosynthesis by diverting the flux of alpha-acetolactate towards acetoin when the branched-chain amino acids are present at a high concentration. Regulation of branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis by alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase may occur in several other micro-organisms and explain some of their growth properties.

Processing of rapeseed oil: effects on sinapic acid derivative content and oxidative stability

Rapeseed oil is usually expelled from the seed at high temperatures. Refining removes most of the non-triacylglycerol components, including many sinapic acid derivatives typical for rapeseed. The effect of these phenolic constituents on the oxidative stability of the oil was studied using rapeseed and turnip rapeseed oil samples resulting from different expelling conditions and refinement steps. The polar fraction was isolated, analyzed and tested for antioxidative activity in various lipid oxidation models. The amount of phenols was greatest in the post-expelled crude rapeseed oil, decreasing with an increasing degree of refining. The polar phenol content correlated with oxidative stability. The most active antioxidant component of the polar fraction was identified as vinylsyringol, a decarboxylation product of sinapic acid. This is the first report of vinylsyringol in rapeseed oil. It was abundant in the post-expelled crude oils and apparently responsible for their high phenol content and oxidative stability. Some vinylsyringol was present in the superdegummed oil but not in the fully refined oils.

Photodetachment of zwitterions: probing intramolecular Coulomb repulsion and attraction in the gas phase using mono-decarboxylated pyridinium dicarboxylates. Implications on the mechanism of orotidine 5'-monophosphate decarboxylase.

Negative ion photoelectron spectra resulting from the decarboxylation of nine zwitterionic pyridinium dicarboxylates (D(x,y)) are reported. Structural assignments are made on the basis of analogy to the spectra of related species, labeling experiments with (13)C- or (2)H-containing substrates, independent syntheses, and comparison to density functional theory and ab initio (B3LYP and CCSD(T), respectively) results. In some cases, an acid-catalyzed isomerization of the D(x,y)-CO(2) ions was found to take place. Adiabatic detachment energies of the resulting zwitterionic ions were measured and are well reproduced by theory. The relative stabilities of the D(x,y)-CO(2) decarboxylation products are largely determined by their intramolecular electrostatic interactions, which are directly probed by the photoelectron spectra and were analyzed in terms of the resulting Coulombic forces. Expulsion of carbon dioxide from the D(x,y) ions was also used as an electrostatic model to probe the mechanism of the enzyme-catalyzed conversion of orotidine 5'-monophosphate (OMP) to uridine 5'-monophosphate (UMP). It was found that the loss of CO(2) from these zwitterions and from oxygen-protonated OMP is retarded by the presence of an additional anionic group. This suggests that the formation of a zwitterion intermediate in the enzyme-catalyzed transformation of OMP to UMP may have less of an energetic impact than commonly thought and could be a "red herring". If so, the electrostatic stress mechanism proposed by Larsen et al. and Pai, Guo, and co-workers maybe followed.

Perturbation of Maleylacetoacetic Acid Metabolism in Rats with Dichloroacetic Acid-Induced Glutathione Transferase Zeta Deficiency

Glutathione transferase zeta (GSTZ1-1) catalyzes the isomerization of maleylacetoacetate (MAA) to fumarylacetoacetate, the penultimate step in the tyrosine degradation pathway. GSTZ1-1 is inactivated by dichloroacetic acid (DCA), which is used for the clinical management of congenital lactic acidosis and is a drinking-water contaminant. Metabolic changes associated with chemically induced GSTZ1-1 deficiency are poorly understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the biochemical and toxicological effects of giving 0.3-1.2 mmol DCA/kg/day for 5 days on MAA-metabolism in male Fischer rats. Urine from DCA-treated rats inhibited delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (delta-ALAD) activity, which is used for the diagnosis of hereditary tyrosinemia type I. Mass spectrometric analyses of urine from rats given DCA demonstrated elevated excretion of MAA and its decarboxylation product, maleylacetone (MA); succinylacetone (SA), the reduced analogue of MA, was not detected. DCA-induced changes in MA excretion were dose-dependent and were significantly elevated after day 2 of treatment. MA excretion was reversible after discontinuation of DCA treatment and was enhanced 10-fold by the coadministration of homogentisic acid (HGA). MA was cytotoxic to hepatocytes in vitro (EC50 ~ 350 microM) but morphological changes were not observed in liver, kidney, and brain of rats given both DCA and HGA. These data indicate that DCA-induced inactivation of GSTZ1-1 leads to formation of an MAA-derived intermediate, MA, that may be a mediator and biomarker for DCA-associated toxicities.

Anaplerotic reactions in tumour proliferation and apoptosis

Our aim in this commentary is to provide evidence that certain oxoacids formed in anaplerotic reactions control cell proliferation/apoptosis. In tumour cells with impaired Krebs cycle enzymes, some anaplerotic reactions do compensate for the deficit in oxoacids. One of these, oxaloacetate, derived from the transamination of asparagine but not of aspartate, is decarboxylated 4-fold more efficiently in polyoma-virus transformed cells than in their non-transformed counterparts. The deamidation of asparagine, in the cell culture medium, to aspartate by asparaginase decreases asparagine transamination and inhibits concomitantly the growth of asparaginase-sensitive lymphoma cells, suggesting a causal relationship between asparagine transamination and growth. Another oxoacid that can provide ATP when metabolised in mitochondria, but by the branched-chain oxoacid dehydrogenase complex (BCOADC), is 2-oxobutanoate. It has two origins: (a) deamination of threonine, and (b) cleavage of cystathionine, a metabolite derived from methionine. 2-Oxobutanoate in the presence of insulin promotes growth in G1/S arrested cells. But methionine also gives rise to another substrate of BCOADC, 4-methylthio-2-oxobutanoate (MTOB), which is synthesised exclusively from methylthioadenosine (MTA) by the action of MTA phosphorylase. In Met-dependent tumour cells with defective MTA phosphorylase, 2-oxobutanoate production would exceed that of MTOB. Further, BCOADC also has 3-fold greater affinity for 2-oxobutanoate than for MTOB; hence, the deficiency in 3-methylthio propionyl CoA, the final product of MTOB decarboxylation, would be exacerbated. Methional, the transient metabolic precursor in 3-methylthio propionyl CoA biosynthesis, is apoptogenic for both normal and bcl 2 -negative transformed cells in culture. Investigations of other causal relationships between the genes/enzymes mediating the homeostasis of anaplerotic oxoacids and cell growth/death may be worthwhile.

Stability and oligomerization of recombinant GadX, a transcriptional activator of the Escherichia coli glutamate decarboxylase system

One of the most important strategies that enteric bacteria adopt for maintaining the cytoplasmic pH neutral under acid stress involves the glutamate decarboxylase (Gad) system. The system works by the concerted action of a cytoplasmic, pyridoxal 5′-phosphate-dependent glutamate decarboxylase and a transmembrane antiporter, which imports glutamate and exports γ-aminobutyrate (GABA), the decarboxylation product, thereby providing local buffering of the extracellular environment. Herein, we provide a preliminary biochemical characterization of GadX, an activator of the Gad system belonging to the AraC/XylS family of bacterial transcriptional regulators. The GadX protein has been purified as a chimeric MalE–GadX with a yield of 15–20 mg/l of bacterial culture. The fusion protein is fairly stable, although a conformational change occurs upon storage, which reduces the binding affinity by a factor of 2, without affecting the binding pattern. Partial removal of the MalE moiety from the fusion protein triggers the formation of a species which is likely to be a heterodimer, or a higher oligomer, of the type GadX/MalE–GadX. This experimental evidence is in line with the well-known tendency of AraC/XylS-like proteins to dimerize via their N-terminal domain.

Off-line tetramethylammonium hydroxide thermochemolysis of model compound aliphatic and aromatic carboxylic acids:: Decarboxylation of some ortho- and/or para-substituted aromatic carboxylic acids

Tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) thermochemolysis was performed ‘off-line’ on a wide variety of aliphatic and aromatic carboxylic acids, as model compounds for moieties present in polymeric organic materials. Simple aliphatic carboxylic acids and some aromatic carboxylic acids afforded only products of full or partial methylation. Aromatic carboxylic acids with ortho and/or para substituents which contain an unshared pair of electrons on the atom connected to the ring and which are activating to electrophilic aromatic substitution (e.g. phenoxide, hydroxy, methoxy, amino) exhibited varying degrees of decarboxylation under standard reaction conditions. Detailed reaction mechanisms to explain the formation of all key products are presented in this paper. The extent of the decarboxylation was found to be dependent upon the mole ratio of TMAH to which the model compound was exposed: a reduction in the mole ratio of TMAH to model compound reducing or eliminating the formation of decarboxylation products. These results indicate that interpretation of product mixtures from TMAH thermochemolysis of polymeric organic matter, in particular the heterogeneous humic substances, must be made with caution and the origins of hydroxy- and methoxy-benzene products must be considered to include hydroxy- and methoxy-benzoic acids.

Product studies and laser flash photolysis of direct and 2,4,6-triphenylpyrylium-zeolite Y photocatalyzed degradation of fenvalerate.

Direct irradiation of fenvalerate (FV) in aqueous solution (4 x 10(-3) M) gives rise to 2,3-diarylisohexanitrile through the homolytic CO-CH(i-Pr) bond cleavage, followed by a rapid decarboxylation of the primary carbonyloxy radical, and radical recombination. The unusual exclusive formation of the cross combination product suggests that the persistent free radical effect is operative in this system and controls product formation. Spectroscopic evidence of the intermediacy of benzylic radicals decaying in microsecond time scale has been obtained by laser flash photolysis. These studies also reveal a remarkable attenuation of radical reactivity toward oxygen resulting from cyano substitution at the radical center. TPY photocatalyzed degradation of FV also leads to decarboxylation products accompanied by oxidative mineralization (38%). The TPY-photocatalyzed degradation can occur through two operating mechanisms involving the generation of OH(*) radicals and/or FV(*+) radical cations. Evidence for the latter intermediate has been obtained by laser flash photolysis in acetonitrile solution (detection of TP(*) radical) and by the quenching by FV of the emission from the TPY solid.

Photoinduced functionalization of diterpenes: transformation of the C-20 methyl of atractyligenin into a carbomethoxymethyl or carbamoylmethyl group

Irradiation of the nor-diterpene atractyligenin 1a and of its methyl ester 1b at λ=254 nm in methanol or in methanol in the presence of nitrogen nucleophiles such as ammonia or methylamine gave, besides the decarboxylation product 2, the ester 3a or the amides 3b, 3c, respectively, providing the transformation of the C-20 angular methyl into a carbomethoxymethyl or carbamoylmethyl group. A photochemical pathway involves formation of C-19/C-20 bond in the excited state, followed by a collapse into a ketene intermediate which will capture the nucleophilic reagent.

L-DOPA: from a biologically inactive amino acid to a successful therapeutic agent.

The article traces the development of research on the naturally occurring amino acid L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa), from the first synthesis of its D,L racemate in 1911, and the isolation of its L-isomer from seedling of Vicia faba beans to the amino acid's successful application, from 1961 onward, as the most efficacious drug treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). Upon its isolation from legumes in 1913, L-dopa was declared to be biologically inactive. However, two early pharmacological studies, published in 1927 and 1930 respectively, proved (in the rabbit) that D,L-dopa exerted significant effects on glucose metabolism (causing marked hyperglycemia) and on arterial blood pressure. Interest in L-dopa's biological activity increased considerably following the discovery, in 1938, of the enzyme L-dopa decarboxylase and the demonstration that in the animal and human body L-dopa was enzymatically converted to dopamine (DA), the first biologically active amine in the biosynthetic chain of tissue catecholamines. This prompted, in the 1940s, many studies, both in animals and in humans, especially concerned with the vasopressor potential of L-dopa/DA. In the 1950s, the focus of L-dopa research shifted to its potential for replenishing the experimentally depleted (by insulin or reserpine) peripheral and brain catecholamine stores and the concomitant restoration of normal function. During that period, of special interest were the observations that L-dopa reversed the reserpine-induced state of "tranquilisation" and that its decarboxylation product DA occurred in high amounts in animal and human brain, with a preferential localization in the basal ganglia. These observations set the stage for the beginning of DA studies in PD brain. In 1960, the severe brain DA deficit, confined to patients with PD was discovered, and a year later L-dopa's strong therapeutic effect in patients with PD was demonstrated. In 1967, the chronic high-dose oral L-dopa regimen was successfully introduced into clinical practice. Despite some initial doubts about L-dopa's mechanism of action in PD, it is now generally recognized that L-dopa use in PD is a classic example of a brain neurotransmitter replacement therapy. However, the DA replacement potential of L-dopa may not be its sole action of interest, as suggested by recent evidence that L-dopa may also have its own biological activity in the CNS, independent of DA.

Photoinduced functionalization of the C-20 methyl group of the nor-diterpene atractyligenin

Irradiation of the nor-diterpene atractyligenin at λ=254 nm in methanol gave, on one hand, the decarboxylation product, and provided, on the other hand, the transformation of the C-20 angular methyl into a methylene-carbomethoxy group. A photochemical pathway involving formation of C-19/C-20 bond is suggested.

Synthesis of regioisomeric 2,5‐bis‐substituted‐aza‐benzothiopyranoindazoles

AbstractThe synthesis of 6‐chloro‐9‐nitro‐benzothiopyranopyridin‐5‐ones 2a, 2b and 2c has been accomplished. Chemotype 2d could not be prepared since attempts to cyclize 3‐(2‐nitro‐5‐chlorophenoxy)pyridine‐2‐carboxylic acid (1d) led to the decarboxylation product 3‐(2‐nitro‐5‐chlorothiophenoxy) pyridine (40). Analogues 2a, 2b or 2c on treatment with the respectively substituted hydrazine led to the 2‐(substituted)‐5‐nitro 7, 8‐ or 9‐aza substituted chemotypes 3a‐7a, 8b, and 9c‐13c. The reduction of the nitro groups of these substrates was effected by treatment with hydrogen gas (palladium catalyst) or by stannous chloride to yield the 5‐amino chemotypes 15a‐18a, 20b and 21c‐24c, respectively. The conversion of these derivatives to the 2,5‐bis (alkylamino)‐7‐, 8‐ and 9‐aza benzothiopyranoindazoles listed in Table 3 was accomplished by direct alkylations, acylations, followed by reduction of the amido group with Red‐Al or lithium aluminum hydride, or by reductive alkylations in the presence of sodium cyanoborohydride. The removal of the protective BOC‐group was effected by treatment of the appropriate substrates with anhydrous hydrogen chloride to afford the respective hydrochloride salts listed in Table 4.

GC analysis of trichloroacetic acid in water samples by large-volume injection and thermal decarboxylation in a programmed-temperature vaporizer

AGC method has been developed for the analysis of tricholoroacetic acid (TCA) in water samples. It entails large-volume injection (LVI) and programmed-temperature vaporization (PTV) of water samples, thermal decarboxylation of TCA to chloroform in the injector, and GC-ECD analysis of the decarboxylation product. Conditions such as final injector temperature, splitless time, and injection volume were optimized. The limit of detection is approximately 0.1 μg L−1 Several real samples were analyzed. The method presented is an easy means of determination of TCA and eliminates sample-preparation steps such as extraction and derivatization.

Interactions of aromatic carboxylic acids with 8-aminoquinoline: Synthesis and the crystal structures of the proton-transfer compounds of 8-aminoquinoline with nitro-substituted benzoic acids

Proton-transfer compounds of 8-aminoquinoline with the nitro-substituted aromatic carboxylic acids 3-nitrobenzo-ic acid, [(C9H9N2+)(C7H4NO4–)] (1), 4-nitrobenzoic acid, [(C9H9N2+)(C7H4NO4–)(C7H5NO4)] (2), 3,5-dinitroben-zoic acid, [(C9H9N2+)(C7H3N2O6–)] (3), 5-nitrosalicylic acid, [(C9H9N2+)(C7H4NO5–)] (4) and 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid, [(C9H9N2+)(C7H3N2O7–)] (5) have been prepared and characterized by using both infrared spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods [(1) (4) and (5)]. In all compounds, protonation of the quinoline nitrogen occurs together with primary hydrogen-bonding interactions involving this group and the carboxylate group of the acid, while further peripheral associations result predominantly in simple chain polymeric structures. The attempted preparation of the adduct with 2,4,6-trinitrobenzoic acid gave the unstable, neutral, essentially 1 : 1 adduct with the decarboxylation product 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, the X-ray crystal structure of which indicates the stoichiometry [(C9H8N2) 0.6 (C6H3N3O6)0.8] (6).

Agmatine Uptake by Cultured Hamster Kidney Cells

Agmatine, the product of arginine decarboxylation, has been recently found in a wide variety of animal tissues. In spite of the emergent interest on agmatine in animals, the mechanism of agmatine uptake in mammalian cells has been scarcely studied. An analysis of radiolabeled agmatine uptake was carried out by using a classical, kinetic approach with BHK-21 hamster kidney cells in culture. A high affinity, temperature- and energy-dependent agmatine transport system in BHK-21 kidney cells is here kinetically characterized which seems to be a “general” transporter shared by di- and triamines and different to a highly specific carrier for the tetraamine spermine.

Inactivation of polymorphic variants of human glutathione transferase zeta (hGSTZ1-1) by maleylacetone and fumarylacetone.

Glutathione transferase zeta (GSTZ1-1), 1 which is identical to maleylacetoacetate isomerase (EC 5.2.1.2) 2 is the penultimate enzyme in the tyrosine degradation pathway. GSTZ1-1 catalyzes the glutathione (GSH)-dependent cis-trans isomerization of maleylacetoacetate (MAA) to fumarylacetoacetate (FAA). Maleylacetone (MA), a decarboxylation product of MAA, is a substrate for the Vibrio 01 isomerase and is converted to fumarylacetone (FA). 3 No other endogenous role for GSTZ1-1 is known, but GSTZ1-1 also catalyzes the GSH-dependent biotransformation of a range of a-haloacids, such as dichloroacetic acid (DCA) and chlorofluoroacetic acid (CFA) 4

Synthesis of Polysubstituted Bicyclo[3.3.1]nonane-3,7-diones from Cyclohexa-2,5-dienones and Dimethyl 1,3-Acetonedicarboxylate

Oxidation of polysubstituted phenols with phenyliodonium diacetate gives cyclohexa-2,5-dienones, which on reaction with dimethyl 1,3-acetonedicarboxylate afford double-Michael-addition derivatives, whose hydrolysis and decarboxylation provides polysubstituted bicyclo[3.3.1]nonane-3,7-diones. For steric and/or electronic reasons, the Michael reaction only works with 3,5-unsubstituted or 3-substituted cyclohexa-2,5-dienones, if the substituent is not an electron-releasing or a good electron-withdrawing group. Hydrolysis and decarboxylation of the double-Michael adducts from 2,4,4- or 2,4,4,6-substituted cyclohexa-2,5-dienones gives only products of partial hydrolysis and decarboxylation, which exist exclusively in the enol form.