The last enzyme (LytB) of the methylerythritol phosphate pathway for isoprenoid biosynthesis catalyzes the reduction of (E)-4-hydroxy-3-methylbut-2-enyl diphosphate into isopentenyl diphosphate and dimethylallyl diphosphate. This enzyme possesses a dioxygen-sensitive [4Fe^4S] cluster. This prosthetic group was characterized in the Escherichia coli enzyme by UV/visible and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy after reconstitution of the puri¢ed protein. Enzymatic activity required the presence of a reducing system such as £avodoxin/£avodoxin reductase/reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate or the photoreduced deaza£avin radical.

Duox2 (and probablyDuox1Reactive oxygen species (ROS) 1 have emerged as important molecules involved in regulating essential cell functions, such as growth and differentiation (1). NAD(P)H oxidases are a major source of ROS. Phagocyte oxidase is the oxidase that has been investigated most thoroughly (2). It catalyzes the production of superoxide by the one-electron reduction of oxygen, using NADPH as the electron donor. The catalytic moiety of the phagocyte NADPH oxidase is gp91phox , a plasma membraneassociated flavohemoprotein. Recently, it was discovered that gp91 phox belongs to a family consisting of several very similar oxidases. Seven NOX (NADPH oxidase) and DUOX/ThOX (dual oxidase/thyroid oxidase) genes have been identified that encode different NADPH oxidases with differing mRNA tissue expression. The Nox family comprises gp91phox , now known as Nox2; Nox1, which is predominantly expressed in the colon (3); Nox3, cloned from fetal kidney (4); Nox4 found in the kidney cortex (5, 6); and Nox5, expressed in the testis, spleen, and lymph nodes (7). In addition to the basic structure of gp91 phox , Nox5 has a long intracellular N-terminal domain with four calcium binding sites implicated in its Ca 2ϩ -dependent activation (8).The biological functions of these Nox proteins are now under investigation. They are involved in signal transduction related to cell growth and cancer (9 -11) and to angiogenesis (12).Duox1 and Duox2 are large homologues of Nox2 with an N-terminal extension comprising two EF-hand motifs, an additional transmembrane helix, and a peroxidase homology ectodomain (see Fig. 4A) (13,14). DUOX genes have been identified in the thyroid gland, where they are strongly expressed (13,14). However, the DUOX are also expressed on the mucosal surfaces of the trachea and the bronchi (15) and in the airway epithelial cells (16,17), where it has been suggested that Duox1 is the isoform responsible for acid production and secretion in airways (16) and plays a critical role in mucin expression (18). DUOX2 was also expressed throughout the digestive tract, where it was found to be functional (19,20), in addition to the salivary gland and rectum (15).It has been suggested that Duox2, which was identified by purifying thyroid NADPH oxidase, may constitute the catalytic core of this enzyme and generate the H 2 O 2 used by Tpo to catalyze the biosynthesis of thyroid hormones at the apical surface of the thyrocytes (13). Although no functional Duoxbased H 2 O 2 -generating system has yet been reconstituted (21), this proposal is corroborated by a recent report of permanent and severe congenital hypothyroidism in a patient with a bial-* The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.¶ Recipient of a fellowship from the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (Paris, France).ʈ Recipients of a fellowship from the National Education, Research, an...

The complete oxidation sequence of a model for ferrociphenols, a new class of anticancer drug candidate, is reported. Cyclic voltammetry was used to monitor the formation of oxidation intermediates on different timescales, thereby allowing the electrochemical characterization of both the short-lived and stable species obtained from the successive electron-transfer and deprotonation steps. The electrochemical preparation of the ferrocenium intermediate enabled a stepwise voltammetric determination of the stable oxidation compounds obtained upon addition of a base as well as the electron stoichiometry observed for the overall oxidation process. A mechanism has been established from the electrochemical data, which involves a base-promoted intramolecular electron transfer between the phenol and the ferrocenium cation. The resulting species is further oxidized then deprotonated to yield a stable quinone methide. To further characterize the transient species successively formed during the two-electron oxidation of the ferrociphenol to its quinone methide, EPR was used to monitor the fate of the paramagnetic species generated upon addition of imidazole to the electrogenerated ferrocenium. The study revealed the passage from an iron-centered to a carbon-centered radical, which is then oxidized to yield the quinone methide, namely, the species that interacts with proteins and so forth under biological conditions.

As a model for redox components on the donor side of photosystem II (PS II) in green plants, a supramolecular complex 4 has been prepared. In this, a ruthenium(II) tris-bipyridyl complex which mimics the function of P680 in PS II, has been covalently linked to a tyrosine unit which bears two hydrogen-bonding substituents, dipicolylamine (dpa) ligands. Our aim is to mimic the interaction between tyrosineZ and a basic histidine residue, namely His190 in PSII, and also to use the dpa ligands for coordination of manganese. Two different routes for the synthesis of the compound 4 are presented. Its structure was fully characterized by 1H NMR, COSY, NOESY, 13C NMR, IR, and mass spectrometry. 1H NMR and NOESY gave evidence for the existence of intramolecular hydrogen bonding in 4. The interaction between the ruthenium and the substituted tyrosine unit was probed by steady-state and time-resolved emission measurements as well as by chemical oxidation. Flash photolysis and EPR measurements on 4 in the presence of an electron acceptor (methylviologen, MV2+, or cobalt pentaminechloride, Co3+) showed that an intermolecular electron transfer from the excited state of Ru(II) in 4 to the electron acceptor took place, forming Ru(III) and the methylviologen radical MV+• or Co2+. This was followed by intramolecular electron transfer from the substituted tyrosine moiety to the photogenerated Ru(III), regenerating Ru(II) and forming a tyrosyl radical. In water, the radical has a g value of 2.0044, indicative of a deprotonated tyrosyl radical. In acetonitrile, a radical with a g value of 2.0029 was formed, which can be assigned to the tyrosine radical cation. In both solvents the electron transfer is intramolecular with a rate constant k ET > 1 × 107 s-1. This is 2 orders of magnitude greater than the one for a similar compound 3, in which no dpa arm is attached to the tyrosine unit. Therefore the hydrogen bonding between the substituted tyrosine and the dpa arms in 4 is proposed to be responsible for the fast electron transfer. This interaction mimics the proposed His190 and tyrosineZ interaction in the donor side of PS II.

In plants, solar energy is used to extract electrons from water, producing atmospheric oxygen. This is conducted by Photosystem II, where a redox "triad" consisting of chlorophyll, a tyrosine, and a manganese cluster, governs an essential part of the process. Photooxidation of the chlorophylls produces electron transfer from the tyrosine, which forms a radical. The radical and the manganese cluster together extract electrons from water, providing the biosphere with an unlimited electron source. As a partial model for this system we constructed a ruthenium(II) complex with a covalently attached tyrosine, where the photooxidized ruthenium was rereduced by the tyrosine. In this study we show that the tyrosyl radical, which gives a transient EPR signal under illumination, can oxidize a manganese complex. The dinuclear manganese complex, which initially is in the Mn(III)/(III) state, is oxidized by the photogenerated tyrosyl radical to the Mn(III)/(IV) state. The redox potentials in our system are comparable to those in Photosystem II. Thus, our synthetic redox "triad" mimics important elements in the electron donor "triad" in Photosystem II, significantly advancing the development of systems for artificial photosynthesis based on ruthenium-manganese complexes.The development of energy systems built on solar energy is of immediate interest for most sectors of society. One idea is to construct systems for fuel production using reducing equivalents from water, a sustainable and environmentally safe substrate. In our research aiming for this goal, we have adopted a strategy to develop supramolecular complexes designed on principles from the natural enzyme, Photosystem II (PSII). 1-3 PSII is a large membrane-bound protein complex, for which the detailed structure and function is not yet completely known. Synthetic compounds that mimic its detailed chemistry can consequently not be accomplished. However, also supramolecular chemistry mimicking principally important parts of the light driven reactions in PSII are important for the advancement of artificial photosynthesis. In this report we describe a major step toward the realization of such a system.In all plants and algae, light absorption drives the electron transfer from water to carbon dioxide, producing atmospheric oxygen and providing the biosphere with an infinite source of reducing power. The light-driven oxidation of water is catalyzed by a redox "triad" in the reaction center of PSII ( Figure 1A). The absorption of a light quantum by the primary donor P 680 , which is constituted by a dimer or multimer of chlorophyll molecules, triggers charge separation and, after several electrontransfer steps, the transfer of an electron to a diffusible quinone on the acceptor side of PSII. The oxidized P 680 retrieves an electron by oxidizing a nearby tyrosine residue, Tyr Z , which then forms a neutral radical. 1,4 The tyrosyl radical in its turn oxidizes a tetranuclear Mn-cluster, which is bound to PSII close to the water-protein interface ( Figure 1A). After four consecuti...

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A study of the oxidation of a series of guanidines related to L-arginine (L-Arg) and of various alkyl- and arylguanidines, by recombinant NO-synthase II (NOS II), led us to the discovery of the first non-alpha-amino acid guanidine substrate of NOS, acting as an efficient NO precursor. This compound, 3-(trifluoromethyl)propylguanidine, 4, led to a rate of NO formation (k(cat) = 220 +/- 50 min(-1)) only 2 times lower than that of L-Arg. Formation of 1 mol of NO upon NOS II-catalyzed oxidation of 4 occurred with consumption of 2.9 mol of NADPH, which corresponds to a 52% coupling between electron transfer and oxygenation of its guanidine function. Its oxidation by activated mouse macrophages in an L-Arg-free medium resulted in NO(2)(-) formation that was inhibited by classical NOS inhibitors with a rate only 2-3 times lower than that observed with L-Arg itself. These results open the way toward the research of selective, stable guanidine substrates of NOS that could be interesting, new NO donors after in situ oxidation by a given NOS isoform.

Magnetic‐fluid‐loadedliposomes (MFLs) of optimized magnetic responsiveness are newly worked out from the entrapment of superparamagnetic maghemite nanocrystals in submicronic PEG‐ylated rhodamine‐labelled phospholipid vesicles. This nanoplatform provides an efficient tool for the selective magnetic targeting of malignant tumors localized in brain and non‐invasive traceability by MRI through intravascular administration. As assessed by in vivo 7‐T MRI and ex vivo electron spin resonance, 4‐h exposure to 190‐T m–1 magnetic field gradient efficiently concentrates MFLs into human U87 glioblastoma implanted in the striatum of mice. The magnetoliposomes are then longer retained therein as checked by MRI monitoring over a 24‐h period. Histological analysis by confocal fluorescence microscopy confirms the significantly boosted accumulation of MFLs in the malignant tissue up to the intracellular level. Electron transmission microscopy reveals effective internalization by endothelial and glioblastoma cells of the magnetically conveyed MFLs as preserved vesicle structures. The magnetic field gradient emphasizes MFL distribution solely in the tumors according to the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect while comparatively very low amounts are recovered in the other cerebral areas. Such a selective targeting precisely traceable by MRI is promising for therapeutic applications since the healthy brain tissue can be expected to be spared during treatments by deleterious anticancer drugs carried by magnetically guided MFLs.