Mitochondria are dynamic organelles that change morphology by controlled fission and fusion events. Mitochondrial fission is regulated by a conserved protein complex assembled at the outer membrane. Human MTP18 is a novel nuclear-encoded mitochondrial membrane protein, implicated in controlling mitochondrial fission. Upon overexpression of MTP18, mitochondrial morphology was altered from filamentous to punctate structures suggesting excessive mitochondrial fission. Mitochondrial fragmentation was blocked in cells coexpressing either the mitochondrial fusion protein Mfn1 or Drp1K38A, a dominant negative version of the fission protein Drp1. Also, a loss-of function of endogenous MTP18 by RNA interference (RNAi) resulted in highly fused mitochondria. Moreover, MTP18 appears to be required for mitochondrial fission because it is blocked after overexpression of hFis1 in cells with RNAi-mediated MTP18 knockdown. In conclusion, we propose that MTP18 functions as an essential intramitochondrial component of the mitochondrial division apparatus, contributing to the maintenance of mitochondrial morphology.

Hippocampal GABAergic interneurons are crucial for cortical network function and have been implicated in psychiatric disorders. We show here that Neuregulin 3 (Nrg3), a relatively little investigated low‐affinity ligand, is a functionally dominant interaction partner of ErbB4 in parvalbumin‐positive (PV) interneurons. Nrg3 and ErbB4 are located pre‐ and postsynaptically, respectively, in excitatory synapses on PV interneurons in vivo. Additionally, we show that ablation of Nrg3 results in a similar phenotype as the one described for ErbB4 ablation, including reduced excitatory synapse numbers on PV interneurons, altered short‐term plasticity, and disinhibition of the hippocampal network. In culture, presynaptic Nrg3 increases excitatory synapse numbers on ErbB4+ interneurons and affects short‐term plasticity. Nrg3 mutant neurons are poor donors of presynaptic terminals in the presence of competing neurons that produce recombinant Nrg3, and this bias requires postsynaptic ErbB4 but not ErbB4 kinase activity. Furthermore, when presented by non‐neuronal cells, Nrg3 induces postsynaptic membrane specialization. Our data indicate that Nrg3 provides adhesive cues that facilitate excitatory neurons to synapse onto ErbB4+ interneurons.

Nucleoside phosphorylases are valuable tools to produce modified nucleosides with therapeutic or diagnostic potential with high affinity and specificity. A wide variety of nucleoside phosphorylases are available in nature which differ in their protein sequence and show varying substrate spectra. To overcome limitations of the naturally occurring enzymes site-directed mutagenesis approaches can be used.

The enzymatic synthesis of nucleoside analogues has been shown to be a sustainable and efficient alternative to chemical synthesis routes. In this study, dihalogenated nucleoside analogues were produced by thermostable nucleoside phosphorylases in transglycosylation reactions using uridine or thymidine as sugar donors. Prior to the enzymatic process, ideal maximum product yields were calculated after the determination of equilibrium constants through monitoring the equilibrium conversion in analytical-scale reactions. Equilibrium constants for dihalogenated nucleosides were comparable to known purine nucleosides, ranging between 0.071 and 0.081. To achieve 90% product yield in the enzymatic process, an approximately five-fold excess of sugar donor was needed. Nucleoside analogues were purified by semi-preparative HPLC, and yields of purified product were approximately 50% for all target compounds. To evaluate the impact of halogen atoms in positions 2 and 6 on the antiproliferative activity in leukemic cell lines, the cytotoxic potential of dihalogenated nucleoside analogues was studied in the leukemic cell line HL-60. Interestingly, the inhibition of HL-60 cells with dihalogenated nucleoside analogues was substantially lower than with monohalogenated cladribine, which is known to show high antiproliferative activity. Taken together, we demonstrate that thermodynamic calculations and small-scale experiments can be used to produce nucleoside analogues with high yields and purity on larger scales. The procedure can be used for the generation of new libraries of nucleoside analogues for screening experiments or to replace the chemical synthesis routes of marketed nucleoside drugs by enzymatic processes.

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The fourth industrial revolution in 2011 aimed to transform the traditional manufacturing processes. As part of this revolution, disruptive innovations in drug development and data science approaches have the potential to optimize CMC (chemistry, manufacture, and control). The real-time simulation of processes using “digital twins” can maximize efficiency while improving sustainability. As part of this review, we investigate how the World Health Organization’s 17 sustainability goals can apply toward next-generation drug development. We analyze the state-of-the-art laboratory leadership, inclusive personnel recruiting, the latest therapy approaches, and intelligent process automation. We also outline how modern data science techniques and machine tools for CMC help to shorten drug development time, reduce failure rates, and minimize resource usage. Finally, we systematically analyze and compare existing approaches to our experiences with the high-throughput laboratory KIWI-biolab at the TU Berlin. We describe a sustainable business model that accelerates scientific innovations and supports global action toward a sustainable future.

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