资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

The structure of thyroglobulin, the enormous protein that acts as a precursor for thyroid hormones, has been determined, and its hormone-forming tyrosine amino-acid residues have been identified.

Fresh insight into the biosynthesis of thyroid hormones.

Functionalization of the beta-C-H bonds of aliphatic acids is emerging as a valuable synthetic disconnection that complements a wide range of conjugate addition reactions(1-5). Despite efforts for beta-C-H functionalization in carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond-forming reactions, these have numerous crucial limitations, especially for industrial-scale applications, including lack of mono-selectivity, use of expensive oxidants and limited scope(6-13). Notably, the majority of these reactions are incompatible with free aliphatic acids without exogenous directing groups. Considering the challenge of developing C-H activation reactions, it is not surprising that achieving different transformations requires independent catalyst design and directing group optimizations in each case. Here we report a Pd-catalysed beta-C(sp(3))-H lactonization of aliphatic acids enabled by a mono-N-protected beta-amino acid ligand. The highly strained and reactive beta-lactone products are versatile linchpins for the mono-selective installation of diverse alkyl, alkenyl, aryl, alkynyl, fluoro, hydroxyl and amino groups at the beta position of the parent acid, thus providing a route to many carboxylic acids. The use of inexpensive tert-butyl hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant to promote the desired selective reductive elimination from the Pd(IV) centre, as well as the ease of product purification without column chromatography, render this reaction amenable to tonne-scale manufacturing.

Metabolomics data from germ-free and specific-pathogen-free mice reveal effects of the microbiome on host chemistry, identifying conjugations of bile acids that are also enriched in patients with inflammatory bowel disease or cystic fibrosis.

A mosaic of cross-phylum chemical interactions occurs between all metazoans and their microbiomes. A number of molecular families that are known to be produced by the microbiome have a marked effect on the balance between health and disease(1-9). Considering the diversity of the human microbiome (which numbers over 40,000 operational taxonomic units(10)), the effect of the microbiome on the chemistry of an entire animal remains underexplored. Here we use mass spectrometry informatics and data visualization approaches(11-13) to provide an assessment of the effects of the microbiome on the chemistry of an entire mammal by comparing metabolomics data from germ-free and specific-pathogen-free mice. We found that the microbiota affects the chemistry of all organs. This included the amino acid conjugations of host bile acids that were used to produce phenylalanocholic acid, tyrosocholic acid and leucocholic acid, which have not previously been characterized despite extensive research on bile-acid chemistry(14). These bile-acid conjugates were also found in humans, and were enriched in patients with inflammatory bowel disease or cystic fibrosis. These compounds agonized the farnesoid X receptor in vitro, and mice gavaged with the compounds showed reduced expression of bile-acid synthesis genes in vivo. Further studies are required to confirm whether these compounds have a physiological role in the host, and whether they contribute to gut diseases that are associated with microbiome dysbiosis.

Assembly of a catalytic centre formed by HPF1 bound to PARP1 or PARP2 is essential for protein ADP-ribosylation after DNA damage in human cells.

The anti-cancer drug target poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) and its close homologue, PARP2, are early responders to DNA damage in human cells(1,2). After binding to genomic lesions, these enzymes use NAD(+) to modify numerous proteins with mono- and poly(ADP-ribose) signals that are important for the subsequent decompaction of chromatin and the recruitment of repair factors(3,4). These post-translational modifications are predominantly serine-linked and require the accessory factor HPF1, which is specific for the DNA damage response and switches the amino acid specificity of PARP1 and PARP2 from aspartate or glutamate to serine residues(5-10). Here we report a co-structure of HPF1 bound to the catalytic domain of PARP2 that, in combination with NMR and biochemical data, reveals a composite active site formed by residues from HPF1 and PARP1 or PARP2 . The assembly of this catalytic centre is essential for the addition of ADP-ribose moieties after DNA damage in human cells. In response to DNA damage and occupancy of the NAD(+)-binding site, the interaction of HPF1 with PARP1 or PARP2 is enhanced by allosteric networks that operate within the PARP proteins, providing an additional level of regulation in the induction of the DNA damage response. As HPF1 forms a joint active site with PARP1 or PARP2, our data implicate HPF1 as an important determinant of the response to clinical PARP inhibitors.