Winkelblech Julia, Fan Aili, Li Shu-Ming
Institut für Pharmazeutische Biologie und Biotechnologie, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Deutschhausstrasse 17A, D-35037, Marburg, Germany.
Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2015 Sep;99(18):7379-97. doi: 10.1007/s00253-015-6811-y. Epub 2015 Jul 28.
Attachment of isoprene units to various acceptors by prenylation plays an important role in primary and secondary metabolism of living organisms. Protein prenylation belongs to posttranslational modification and is involved in cellular regulation process. Prenylated secondary metabolites usually demonstrate promising biological and pharmacological activities. Prenyl transfer reactions catalyzed by prenyltransferases represent the key steps in the biosynthesis and contribute significantly to the structural and biological diversity of these compounds. In the last decade, remarkable progress has been achieved in the biochemical, molecular, and structural biological investigations of prenyltransferases, especially on those of the members of the dimethylallyltryptophan synthase (DMATS) superfamily. Until now, more than 40 of such soluble enzymes are identified and characterized biochemically. They catalyze usually regioselective and stereoselective prenylations of a series of aromatic substances including tryptophan, tryptophan-containing peptides, and other indole derivatives as well as tyrosine or even nitrogen-free substrates. Crystal structures of a number of prenyltransferases have been solved in the past 10 years and provide a solid basis for understanding the mechanism of prenyl transfer reactions.
异戊二烯单元通过异戊烯基化作用与各种受体结合，在生物体的初级和次级代谢中发挥着重要作用。蛋白质异戊烯基化属于翻译后修饰，参与细胞调控过程。异戊烯基化的次级代谢产物通常具有良好的生物学和药理活性。异戊烯基转移酶催化的异戊烯基转移反应是生物合成中的关键步骤，对这些化合物的结构和生物学多样性有重要贡献。在过去十年中，异戊烯基转移酶的生化、分子和结构生物学研究取得了显著进展，特别是对二甲基烯丙基色氨酸合酶（DMATS）超家族成员的研究。到目前为止，已经鉴定出40多种这样的可溶性酶并对其进行了生化特性分析。它们通常催化一系列芳香族物质的区域选择性和立体选择性异戊烯基化反应，这些物质包括色氨酸、含色氨酸的肽以及其他吲哚衍生物，还有酪氨酸甚至无氮底物。在过去10年中，已经解析了多种异戊烯基转移酶的晶体结构，为理解异戊烯基转移反应的机制提供了坚实的基础。
