Oxidation of a methionine residue in subtilisin-type proteinases by the hydrogen peroxide/borate system--an active site-directed reaction

Potential Advantages of Peroxoborates and Their Ester Adducts Over Hydrogen Peroxide as Therapeutic Agents in Oral Healthcare Products: Chemical/Biochemical Reactivity Considerations In Vitro, Ex Vivo And In Vivo

Peroxides present in oral healthcare products generally exert favourable protective activities against the development and progression of tooth decay, plaque, gingivitis, and halitosis, etc. However, despite the high level of research focus on hydrogen and carbamide peroxides as therapeutically active (and tooth-whitening) agents, to date the use of alternative chemical forms of peroxides such as peroxoborates for these purposes has received only scant attention. Intriguingly, peroxoborate and its esters with polyols, such as glycerol, have a very diverse chemistry/biochemistry in aqueous solution, for which there is an increasing amount of evidence that it remains distinctive from that of hydrogen peroxide; such properties include self-associative and hydrolytic equilibria, and their abilities to participate in electrophile- or nucleophile-scavenging, metal ion-complexing, redox and free radical reactions, for example. Therefore, the purpose of this detailed commentary is to evaluate both differences and similarities between the molecular/biomolecular reactivities of peroxoborate species and hydrogen peroxide in vitro, ex-vivo and in vivo. It encompasses brief sectional accounts regarding the molecular heterogeneity of peroxoborates, the release of bioactive agents therefrom, and their oxidative attack on oral cavity biomolecules (the nucleophilic or electrophilic character of these oxidations are discussed). Further areas explored are the abilities of borates and peroxoborates to enhance the solubility of iron ions in aqueous solution, their involvements in free radical biochemistry (particularly the complexation of oxygen radical-promoting transition metal ions by, and antioxidant properties of, peroxoborate-polyol ester adducts), and the specific inhibition of protease enzymes. Further aspects focus on the tooth-whitening, oral malodor neutralizing, and potential mutagenic and genotoxic properties of peroxoborates, along with possible mechanisms for these processes. The abilities of peroxoborates, and peroxides in general, to modulate the activities of inflammatory mediators and vitamins, antioxidant or otherwise, are also explored.

Synthesis, Functionalization, and Bioapplications of Two-Dimensional Boron Nitride Nanomaterials

Two-dimensional boron nitride nanostructures (2D-BNNs) have been increasingly investigated for their applications in several scientific and technological areas. This considerable interest is due to their unique physicochemical properties, which include high hydrophobicity, heat and electrical insulation, resistance to oxidation, antioxidation capacity, thermal conductivity, high chemical stability, mechanical strength, and hydrogen storage capacity. They are also used as fillers, antibacterial agents, protective coating agents, lubricants, boron neutron capture therapy agents, nanocarriers for drug delivery, and for the receptor phase in chemosensors. The investigations for their use in medicine and biomedicine are very promising, including cancer therapy and wound healing. In this review, 2D-BNNs synthesis and their surface modification strategies, biocompatibility, and bioapplication studies are discussed. Finally, a perspective for the future use of these novel nanomaterials in the biomedical field is provided.

The excluding effects of sucrose on a protein chemical degradation pathway: methionine oxidation in subtilisin

The conformational stabilization of proteins by sucrose has been previously attributed to a preferential exclusion mechanism. The present study links this mechanism to stability against a chemical degradation pathway for subtilisin. Oxidation of a methionine residue adjacent to the active site to the sulfoxide form compromises subtilisin's enzymatic activity. In the presence of hydrogen peroxide and borate buffer, a borate-hydrogen peroxide complex binds to subtilisin's active site prior to the formation of methionine sulfoxide. Sucrose decreases the oxidation rate by limiting the accessibility of the complex to the methionine at the partially buried active site. The stabilization mechanism of sucrose is based on shifting the equilibrium of transiently expanding native conformations of subtilisin to favor the most compact states. Enzymatic parameter determination (kcat, KM) and hydrogen-deuterium exchange measurements confirm the limited conformational mobility of the enzyme in the presence of sucrose. Further support for limited mobility as the cause of oxidation inhibition by sucrose comes from the findings that neither viscosity nor possible interactions of sucrose with hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radicals, or borate can adequately explain the inhibition. The volume exclusion of sucrose from subtilisin is used to estimate the extent by which the native state of subtilisin must expand in solution to allow oxidation. The surface area of the oxidation-competent state is ca. 3.9% greater than that of the native state.

Regulation of enzymatic activity: one possible role of dietary boron in higher animals and humans

It is well established that vascular plants, diatoms, and some species of marine algal flagellates have acquired an absolute requirement for boron (B), although the primary role remains unknown. Discovery of naturally occurring organoboron compounds, all ionophoric macrodiolide antibiotics with a single B atom critical for activity, established at least one biochemical role of B. The unusual nature of B chemistry suggests the possibility of a variety of biological roles for B. At physiological concentrations and pH, B may react with one N group or one to four hydroxyl groups on specific biological ligands with suitable configuration and charge to form dissociable organoboron compounds or complexes. Suitable ligands include pyridine (e.g., NAD+ or NADP) or flavin (e.g., FAD) nucleotides and serine proteases (SP). B reacts with the cis adjacent hydroxyls on the ribosyl moiety of the nucleotides or, in the serine proteases, the N on the imidazole group of histidine or the hydroxyl group on the serine moiety. Reversible inhibition by B of activity of SP or oxidoreductases that require pyridine or flavin nucleotides is well known. Therefore, a proposed essential role for B is as a regulator of relevant pathways, including respiratory burst, that utilize these enzymes.

Heat stable proteinase from Thermomonospora fusca. Characterization as a serine proteinase

An extracellular proteinase secreted by the thermophilic bacteria Thermomonospora fusca YX (YX-proteinase) is a serine proteinase as shown by its inactivation by the site specific reagents, phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride, dansyl fluoride, and carbobenzoxy-L-phenylalanine chloromethyl ketone. This conclusion is further supported by the effect of various proteinase inhibitors on its activity. The activity of the proteinase toward small synthetic ester substrates shows that the enzyme has a primary specificity for the aromatic and hydrophobic amino acids. The amino acid composition and NH2-terminal sequence, as well as its size, suggest that the enzyme is related to the chymotrypsin-like microbial proteinase, alpha-lytic protease from Myxobacter 495 and protease A and B from Streptomyces griseus.