Rapid methods for the high yield synthesis of carbon-13 enriched intermediates of the pentose-phosphate pathway

The transaldolase family: new synthetic opportunities from an ancient enzyme scaffold

Aldol reactions constitute a powerful methodology for carbon-carbon bond formation in synthetic organic chemistry. Biocatalytic carboligation by aldolases offers a green, uniquely regio- and stereoselective tool with which to perform these transformations. Recent advances in the field, fueled by both discovery and protein engineering, have greatly improved the synthetic opportunities for the atom-economic asymmetric synthesis of chiral molecules with potential pharmaceutical relevance. New aldolases derived from the transaldolase scaffold (based on transaldolase B and fructose-6-phosphate aldolase from Escherichia coli) have been shown to be unusually flexible in their substrate scope; this makes them particularly valuable for addressing an expanded molecular range of complex polyfunctional targets. Extensive knowledge arising from structural and molecular biochemical studies makes it possible to address the remaining limitations of the methodology by engineering tailored biocatalysts.

Use of reverse-phase liquid chromatography, linked to tandem mass spectrometry, to profile the Calvin cycle and other metabolic intermediates in Arabidopsis rosettes at different carbon dioxide concentrations

A platform using reverse-phase liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry was developed to measure 28 metabolites from photosynthetic metabolism. It was validated by comparison with authentic standards, with a requirement for distinct and clearly separated peaks, high sensitivity and repeatability in Arabidopsis rosette extracts. The recovery of authentic standards added to the plant material before extraction was 80-120%, demonstrating the reliability of the extraction and analytic procedures. Some metabolites could not be reliably measured, and were extracted and determined by other methods. Measurements of 37 metabolites in Arabidopsis rosettes after 15 min of illumination at different CO(2) concentrations showed that most Calvin cycle intermediates remain unaltered, or decrease only slightly (<30%), at compensation point CO(2), whereas dedicated metabolites in end-product synthesis pathways decrease strongly. The inhibition of end-product synthesis allows high levels of metabolites to be retained in the Calvin cycle to support a rapid cycle with photorespiration.

Mass spectrometric studies of the path of carbon in photosynthesis: positional isotopic analysis of (13)C-labelled C(4) to C(7) sugar phosphates

The (EIMS) electron ionization mass spectrometric fragmentation patterns of the methoxime- and ethoxime-trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatives of C(4) to C(7) sugars involved as phosphates in the Calvin pathway of photosynthesis in plants were analysed by gas chromatography/EIMS using specifically labelled (13)C analogs. In general, most but not all of the major ions in the mass spectra arise from single carbon-carbon bond cleavages of the straight-chain derivatives. The results confirm that GC/MS of the alkoxime-TMS derivatives is a viable method for measuring (13)C incorporations at individual carbon atoms in each of the sugar phosphates during photosynthetic experiments with (13)CO(2).

Glycolytic flux in permeabilized freshly isolated vascular smooth muscle cells

To determine whether channeling of glycolytic intermediates can occur in vascular smooth muscle (VSM), we permeabilized freshly isolated VSM cells from hog carotid arteries with dextran sulfate. The dextran sulfate-treated cells did not exclude trypan blue, a dye with molecular weight of approximately 1,000. If glycolytic intermediates freely diffuse, plasmalemmal permeabilization would allow intermediates to exit the cell and glycolytic flux should cease. We incubated permeabilized and nonpermeabilized cells with 5 mM [1-13C]glucose at 37 degrees C for 3 h. 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was used to determine relative [3-13C]lactate production and to identify any 13C-labeled glycolytic intermediates that exited from the permeabilized cells. [3-13C]lactate production from [1-13C]glucose was decreased by an average of 32% (n = 6) in permeabilized cells compared with intact cells. No 13C-labeled glycolytic intermediates were observed in the bathing solution of permeabilized cells. We conclude that channeling of glycolytic intermediates can occur in VSM cells.

13C n.m.r. isotopomer and computer-simulation studies of the non-oxidative pentose phosphate pathway of human erythrocytes

13C double-quantum filtered correlation spectroscopy (DQF-COSY) provides a novel method for the detection of reactions involving carbon-bond scissions. We report the use of this technique to investigate isotopic exchange reactions of the non-oxidative pentose phosphate pathway in human erythrocytes. These exchange reactions resulted in the formation of a range of isotopic isomers (isotopomers) of glucose 6-phosphate after incubation of a mixture of universally 13C-labelled and unlabelled glucose 6-phosphate with fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and haemolysates. These isotopomers were detected in the coupling patterns of cross-peaks within the DQF-COSY spectrum of the deproteinized sample. A computer model which fully describes the reactions of the non-oxidative pentose phosphate pathway in human erythrocytes has previously been constructed and tested with 31P n.m.r. time-course data in our laboratory. This model was refined using 13C n.m.r. time-course data and extended to include the range of isotopomers which may be formed experimentally by the reactions of the non-oxidative pentose phosphate pathway. The isotopomer ratios obtained experimentally from the DQF-COSY spectrum were consistent with simulations generated by this model.

Exchange reactions catalyzed by group-transferring enzymes oppose the quantitation and the unravelling of the identify of the pentose pathway

1. The distributions and rates of transfer of carbon isotopes from a selection of specifically labelled ketosugar-phosphate substrates by exchange reactions catalyzed by the pentose and photosynthetic carbon-reduction-pathway group-transferring enzymes transketolase, transaldolase and aldolase have been measured using 13C-NMR spectroscopy. 2. The rates of these exchange reactions were 5, 4 and 1.5 mumol min-1 mg-1 for transketolase exchange, transaldolase exchange and aldolase exchange, respectively. 3. A comparison of the exchange capacities contributed by the activities of these enzymes in three in vitro liver preparations with the maximum non-oxidative pentose pathway flux rates of the preparations shows that transketolase and aldolase exchanges exceeded flux by 9-19 times in liver cytosol and acetone powder enzyme preparations and by 5 times in hepatocytes. Transaldolase was less effective in the comparison of exchange versus flux rates: transaldolase exchange exceeded flux by 1.6 and 5 in catalysis by liver cytosol and acetone powder preparations, respectively, but was only 0.6 times the flux in hepatocytes. 4. Values of group enzyme exchange and pathway flux rates in the above three preparations are important because of the feature role of liver and of these particular preparations in the establishment, elucidation and measurement of a proposed reaction scheme for the fat-cell-type pentose pathway in biochemistry. 5. It is the claim of this paper that the excess of exchange rate activity (particularly transketolase exchange) over pathway flux will overturn attempts to unravel, using isotopically labelled sugar substrates, the identity, reaction sequence and quantitative contribution of the pentose pathway to glucose metabolism. 6. The transketolase exchange reactions relative to the pentose pathway flux rates in normal, regenerating and foetal liver, Morris hepatomas, mammary carcinoma, melanoma, colonic epithelium, spinach chloroplasts and epididymal fat tissue show that transketolase exchange may exceed flux in these tissues by factors ranging over 5-600 times. 7. The confusion of pentose pathway theory by the effects of transketolase exchange action is illustrated by the 13C-NMR spectrum of the hexose 6-phosphate products of ribose 5-phosphate dissimilation, formed after 30 min of liver enzyme action, and shows 13C-labelling in carbons 1 and 3 of glucose 6-phosphate with ratios which range over 2.1-6.4 rather than the mandatory value of 2 which is imposed by the theoretical mechanism of the pathway.