Oxidation of imidazole- and pyrazole-derived aldehydes by plant aldehyde dehydrogenases from the family 2 and 10.

Plant cytosolic aldehyde dehydrogenases from family 2 (ALDH2s, EC 1.2.1.3) are non-specific enzymes and participate for example in the metabolism of acetaldehyde or biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids. Plant aminoaldehyde dehydrogenases (AMADHs, ALDH10 family, EC 1.2.1.19) are broadly specific and play an important role in polyamine degradation or production of osmoprotectants. We have tested imidazole and pyrazole carbaldehydes and their alkyl-, allyl-, benzyl-, phenyl-, pyrimidinyl- or thienyl-derivatives as possible substrates of plant ALDH2 and ALDH10 enzymes. Imidazole represents a building block of histidine, histamine as well as certain alkaloids. It also appears in synthetic pharmaceuticals such as imidazole antifungals. Biological compounds containing pyrazole are rare (e.g. pyrazole-1-alanine and pyrazofurin antibiotics) but the ring is often found as a constituent of many synthetic drugs and pesticides. The aim was to evaluate whether aldehyde compounds based on azole heterocycles are oxidized by the enzymes, which would further support their expected role as detoxifying aldehyde scavengers. The analyzed imidazole and pyrazole carbaldehydes were only slowly converted by ALDH10s but well oxidized by cytosolic maize ALDH2 isoforms (particularly by ALDH2C1). In the latter case, the respective K values were in the range of 10-2000 μmol l; the k values appeared mostly between 0.1 and 1.0 s. The carbaldehyde group at the position 4 of imidazole was oxidized faster than that at the position 2. Such a difference was not observed for pyrazole carbaldehydes. Aldehydes with an aromatic substituent on their heterocyclic ring were oxidized faster than those with an aliphatic substituent. The most efficient of the tested substrates were comparable to benzaldehyde and p-anisaldehyde known as the best aromatic aldehyde substrates of plant cytosolic ALDH2s in vitro.