Abstract:Biocatalysis reproduce nature's synthetic strategies in order to synthesize different organic compounds. Natural metabolic pathways usually involve complex networks to support cellular growth and survival. In this regard, multi-enzymatic systems are valuable tools for the production of a wide variety of organic compounds. Methods: The production of different purine nucleosides and nucleoside-5 -monophosphates has been performed for first time, catalyzed by the sequential action of 2 -deoxyribosyltransferase from Lactobacillus delbrueckii (LdNDT) and hypoxanthine-guanine-xanthine phosphoribosyltransferase from Thermus themophilus HB8 (TtHGXPRT). Results: The biochemical characterization of LdNDT reveals that the enzyme is active and stable in a broad range of pH, temperature, and ionic strength. Substrate specificity studies showed a high promiscuity in the recognition of purine analogues. Finally, the enzymatic production of different purine derivatives was performed to evaluate the efficiency of multi-enzymatic system LdNDT/TtHGXPRT. Conclusions: The production of different therapeutic purine nucleosides was efficiently catalyzed by LdNDT/TtHGXPRT. In addition, the resulting by-products were converted to IMP and GMP. Taking all of these features, this bioprocess entails an efficient, sustainable, and economical alternative to chemical synthetic methods.

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The use of enzymes as biocatalysts applied to synthesis of modified nucleoside‐5′‐monophosphates (NMPs) is an interesting alternative to traditional multistep chemical methods which offers several advantages, such as stereo‐, regio‐, and enantioselectivity, simple downstream processing, and mild reaction conditions. Herein we report the recombinant expression, production, and purification of uracil phosphoribosyltransferase from Thermus themophilus HB8 (TtUPRT). The structure of TtUPRT has been determined by protein crystallography, and its substrate specificity and biochemical characteristics have been analyzed, providing new structural insights into the substrate‐binding mode. Biochemical characterization of the recombinant protein indicates that the enzyme is a homotetramer, with activity and stability across a broad range of temperatures (50–80 °C), pH (5.5–9) and ionic strength (0–500 mm NaCl). Surprisingly, TtUPRT is able to recognize several 5 and 6‐substituted pyrimidines as substrates. These experimental results suggest TtUPRT could be a valuable biocatalyst for the synthesis of modified NMPs.

Nucleoside-2 ′-deoxyribosyl-transferases (NDTs) catalyze a transglycosylation reaction consisting of the exchange of the 2 ′-deoxyribose moiety between a purine and/or pyrimidine nucleoside and a purine and/or pyrimidine base. Because NDTs are highly specific for 2 ′-deoxyribonucleosides they generally display poor activity on modified C2 ′ and C3 ′ nucleosides and this limitation hampers their applicability as biocatalysts for the synthesis of modified nucleosides. We now report the production and purification of a novel NDT from Archaeoglobus veneficus that is endowed with native ribosyltransferase activity and hence it is more properly classified as an N-ribosyltransferase (AvNRT). Biophysical and biochemical characterization revealed that AvNRT is a homotetramer that displays maximum activity at 80 • C and pH 6 and shows remarkably high stability at high temperatures (60-80 • C). In addition, the activity of AvNRT was found to increase up to 2-fold in 4 M NaCl aqueous solution and to be retained in the presence of several water-miscible organic solvents. For completeness, and as a proof of concept for possible industrial applications, this thermophilic and halotolerant biocatalyst was successfully employed in the synthesis of different purine ribonucleoside analogs.

Herein we report the first proof for the application of type II 2′-deoxyribosyltransferase from Lactobacillus delbrueckii (LdNDT) in suicide gene therapy for cancer treatment. To this end, we first confirm the hydrolytic ability of LdNDT over the nucleoside-based prodrugs 2′-deoxy-5-fluorouridine (dFUrd), 2′-deoxy-2-fluoroadenosine (dFAdo), and 2′-deoxy-6-methylpurine riboside (d6MetPRib). Such activity was significantly increased (up to 30-fold) in the presence of an acceptor nucleobase. To shed light on the strong nucleobase dependence for enzymatic activity, different molecular dynamics simulations were carried out. Finally, as a proof of concept, we tested the LdNDT/dFAdo system in human cervical cancer (HeLa) cells. Interestingly, LdNDT/dFAdo showed a pronounced reduction in cellular viability with inhibitory concentrations in the low micromolar range. These results open up future opportunities for the clinical implementation of nucleoside 2′-deoxyribosyltransferases (NDTs) in cancer treatment.

Molnupiravir (Lagevrio®) is an orally-administered anti-COVID-19 agent. Due to the urgency to meet the worldwide demand and the growing environmental concern, there is a need for speed in the industrial implementation of novel and efficient bioprocesses for Molnupiravir synthesis. This concept paper aims to review the most relevant milestones that have guided impor-tant developments in the enzyme-mediated synthesis of Molnupiravir, including detailed comments on the advantages and drawbacks of the different synthetic routes. Finally, based on a personal perspective, new greener processes for Molnupiravir manufacturing are proposed and discussed.

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