Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jun-Liang Zhou, Yun-Qi Liu, Zhan-Kui Sun
Summary: Unnatural amino acids (UAAs) play an important role in organic synthesis and drug discovery, as well as biological studies. However, their direct and simplified synthesis remains challenging. Moreover, current peptide modifications mostly rely on carbon-heteroatom bonds, lacking general methods for peptide modifications via C-C bond construction. To address this, we propose the LADA strategy, which involves selective labeling and activation of cysteine residues, desulfurization to generate carbon-centered radicals, and radical addition to alkenes for C-C bond formation. This one-pot protocol offers advantages such as good functional group tolerance, biocompatible reaction conditions, and retention of stereochemistry. It has been successfully applied for unnatural amino acid synthesis and direct peptide modifications.
SCIENCE CHINA-CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Kaveh Moulaee, Giovanni Neri
Summary: The rapid growth in electrochemistry research in the past decade has led to significant advancements in utilizing electrochemical strategies for evaluating biological substances. This review focuses on recent progress in electrochemical amino acid sensing, highlighting key electroactive amino acids and performance metrics of electrochemical sensors. The discussion also addresses remaining challenges and opportunities for further advancement in amino acid electrochemistry.
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
J. P. P. Richie Jr, R. Sinha, Z. Dong, S. N. Nichenametla, G. P. Ables, A. Ciccarella, I. Sinha, A. M. Calcagnotto, V. M. Chinchilli, L. Reinhart, D. Orentreich
Summary: Restricting dietary intake of methionine and cysteine can delay the aging process, improve glucose and fat metabolism, and reduce oxidative stress. This study found that feeding restricted methionine or total sulfur amino acids diets to healthy adults had no adverse effects and significantly improved biomarkers of cardiometabolic disease risk. These findings suggest the potential for further clinical development of this intervention.
JOURNAL OF NUTRITION HEALTH & AGING
(2023)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Zhen Dong, Xiang Gao, Vernon M. Chinchilli, Raghu Sinha, Joshua Muscat, Renate Winkels, John P. Richie
Summary: The study found that high-SAA diets are associated with increased risk for diabetes mortality, and lowering intake towards Recommended Dietary Allowance levels could lead to reductions in lifetime risk.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NUTRITION
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Andre Froes de Borja Reis, Luiz H. Moro Rosso, Dan Davidson, Peter Kovacs, Larry C. Purcell, Frederick E. Below, Shaun N. Casteel, Carrie Knott, Hans Kandel, Seth L. Naeve, Walter Carciochi, Willian J. Ross, Vitor Rampazzo Favoretto, Sotirios Archontoulis, Ignacio A. Ciampitti
Summary: This study utilized a meta-analytic model to quantify the effects of sulfur application at different growth stages on soybean yield and seed composition. Findings showed that applying sulfur at sowing can increase seed protein concentration, while sulfur amino acids concentration was not affected by the timing of fertilization. Additionally, soils with specific organic matter content displayed significant responses to sulfur application, while drought-stressed sites did not show significant changes in yield or seed composition due to sulfur fertilization.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF AGRONOMY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Sailendra N. Nichenametla, Dwight A. L. Mattocks, Diana Cooke, Vishal Midya, Virginia L. Malloy, Wilfredo Mansilla, Bente Ovrebo, Cheryl Turner, Nasser E. Bastani, Jitka Sokolova, Marketa Pavlikova, John P. Richie, Anna K. Shoveller, Helga Refsum, Thomas Olsen, Kathrine J. Vinknes, Viktor Kozich, Gene P. Ables
Summary: Decreasing the intake of methionine has significant anti-adiposity effects in rodents but only modest effects in humans. The study found that the anti-adiposity effects of dietary restriction were due to cysteine restriction, which increased serinogenesis and reduced fatty acid reesterification and triglyceride synthesis. This finding may have implications for the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Dana Rushovich, Ray Weil
Summary: Soybean seed sulfur and MET+CYS concentrations exhibit wide variability. Field-scale sulfur application is shown to greatly enhance soybean MET+CYS content, thus improving protein quality.
JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Marcus J. C. Long, Kuan-Ting Huang, Yimon Aye
Summary: This tutorial review compares and contrasts the chemical mechanisms of electrophile/oxidant sensing and the molecular mechanisms of signal propagation. It critically analyzes biological systems where these pathways are believed to be present and discusses the implications of the data. Finally, it explores the applications of this knowledge in disease treatment and drug development.
CHEMICAL SOCIETY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Oliver J. Knowles, Linus O. Johannissen, Giacomo E. M. Crisenza, Sam Hay, David Leys, David J. Procter
Summary: This study developed a new photochemical method for the synthesis of non-natural methionines from sulfides with alkenes in water, using inexpensive riboflavin as a photocatalyst. The method allows the two-step synthesis of novel methionine analogues and the selective modification of peptide side-chains to yield peptides with non-natural methionine residues.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Jose A. C. Delgado, Jose T. M. Correia, Emanuele F. Pissinati, Marcio W. Paixao
Summary: This technology utilizes alkyl radicals to selectively alkylate dehydroalanine, offering a convenient method for the synthesis of unnatural amino acids and late-stage functionalization of pharmaceuticals.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Reza Akbari Moghaddam Kakhki, Clara Alfonso-Carrillo, Ana Isabel Garcia-Ruiz
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the effects of digestible lysine and digestible sulfur amino acids to lysine ratio on the performance and eggshell quality in ISA brown hens. The results showed that reducing the ratio of sulfur amino acids to lysine can decrease egg weight, and reducing lysine level can slow down the deterioration of eggshell-breaking strength and eggshell thickness. Therefore, adjusting the levels of dietary lysine and the ratio of sulfur amino acids to lysine can effectively decelerate the deterioration of eggshell quality.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Julio Jose Jimenez-Alonso, Emilio Guillen-Mancina, Jose Manuel Calderon-Montano, Victor Jimenez-Gonzalez, Patricia Diaz-Ortega, Estefania Burgos-Moron, Miguel Lopez-Lazaro
Summary: Sulfur-containing amino acids methionine (Met), cysteine (Cys), and taurine (Tau) play important roles in cellular functions and metabolism. This study investigates the role of Cys and Tau in the anticancer activity of Met-restricted diets. The results show that diets supplemented with Cys or Tau exhibit marked anticancer activity in animal models of colon cancer, ovarian cancer, and renal cell carcinoma. These findings suggest the potential use of these diets in cancer therapy.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Alemayehu Gashaw Woldegiorgis, Zhao Han, Xufeng Lin
Summary: An enantioselective synthesis of unnatural pyrazole-based alpha-chiral amino acid derivatives was developed using a chiral spirocyclic phosphoric acid catalyst, with yields ranging from 67-98% and enantioselectivities of 73-99%. The NH2 functionality in the products enables further transformations to a chiral thiourea and a lactam, providing a versatile synthetic route for obtaining tetrasubstituted carbon stereocenters in pyrazole-based alpha-amino acid derivatives.
ADVANCED SYNTHESIS & CATALYSIS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ryo Kurosawa, Ryota Sugimoto, Hiroe Imai, Kohei Atsuji, Koji Yamada, Yusuke Kawano, Iwao Ohtsu, Kengo Suzuki
Summary: Spaceflight induces hepatic damage due to oxidative stress, with a decrease in sulfur antioxidants observed in mouse livers after 30 days on the International Space Station. Exposure to 1 g centrifugation partially mitigated the damage, suggesting that a reduction in sulfur-containing compounds contributes to liver damage in spaceflight environments.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yujun Li, Jie Yang, Xinxin Geng, Pan Tao, Yanling Shen, Zhishan Su, Ke Zheng
Summary: This article presents a single-step radical approach for the modular synthesis of functionally diverse alpha-tertiary amino acids (ATAAs). The synthesis takes place under mild conditions without the use of metals, photocatalysts, or other additives. The method demonstrates broad functional group tolerance and late-stage applicability, as well as gram-scale synthesis via flow chemistry. Mechanistic studies reveal the key intermediate in the reaction.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Shibin Zhao, Julian Maceren, Mia Chung, Samantha Stone, Raphael Geiben, Melissa L. Boby, Bradley S. Sherborne, Derek S. Tan
Summary: Antibiotic resistance is a major threat to public health, with Gram-negative bacteria presenting unique challenges due to their low permeability and efflux pumps. Limited understanding of the chemical rules for overcoming these barriers hinders antibacterial drug discovery. Efforts to address this issue, such as screening compound libraries and using cheminformatic analysis, have led to the design of sulfamidoadenosines with diverse substituents, showing potential utility in accumulation in Escherichia coli.
BIOORGANIC & MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2024)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Jichun Li, Qing Li, Shuai Xia, Jiahuang Tu, Longbo Zheng, Qian Wang, Shibo Jiang, Chao Wang
Summary: This study successfully developed a short peptide mimetic as a MERS-CoV fusion inhibitor by reproducing the key recognition features of the HR2 helix. The resulting 23-mer lipopeptide showed comparable inhibitory effect to the 36-mer HR2 peptide HR2P-M2. This has important implications for developing short peptide-based antiviral agents to treat MERS-CoV infection.
BIOORGANIC & MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2024)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Krista Jaunsleine, Linda Supe, Jana Spura, Sten van Beek, Anna Sandstrom, Jessica Olsen, Carina Halleskog, Tore Bengtsson, Ilga Mutule, Benjamin Pelcman
Summary: Beta(2)-adrenergic receptor agonists can stimulate glucose uptake by skeletal muscle cells and are therefore potential treatments for type 2 diabetes. The chirality of compounds has a significant impact on the activity of these agonists. This study found that certain synthesized compounds showed higher glucose uptake activity. These findings provide important information for the design of novel beta(2)AR agonists for T2D treatment.
BIOORGANIC & MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2024)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Xin Xu, Jia Chen, Guan Wang, Xiaojuan Zhang, Qiang Li, Xiaobo Zhou, Fengying Guo, Min Li
Summary: The study focuses on EZH2, a promising therapeutic target for various types of cancers. Researchers designed and synthesized a series of novel derivatives aiming to enhance the EZH2 inhibition activity. Among them, compound 28 displayed potent EZH2 inhibition activity and showed high anti-proliferative effects in lymphoma cell lines and xenograft mouse models. The study suggests that compound 28 has potential as a therapeutic candidate for EZH2-associated cancers.
BIOORGANIC & MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2024)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Wei Zhang, Wei Liu, Ya-Dong Zhao, Li-Zi Xing, Ji Xu, Rui-Jun Li, Yun-Xiao Zhang
Summary: This study developed a series of aromatic amide derivatives based on Rhein and investigated their inhibitory activity against alpha-Syn aggregation. Two of these compounds showed promising potential in treating Parkinson's disease by stabilizing alpha-Syn's conformation and disassembling alpha-Syn oligomers and fibrils.
BIOORGANIC & MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2024)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Mani Sharma, S. S. S. S. Sudha Ambadipudi, Neeraj Kumar Chouhan, V. Lakshma Nayak, Srihari Pabbaraja, Sai Balaji Andugulapati, Ramakrishna Sistla
Summary: Therapeutically active lipids in drug delivery systems can enhance the safety and efficacy of treatment. The liposome formulation created using synthesized biologically active lipids showed additive anti-cancer effects and reduced tumorigenic potential.
BIOORGANIC & MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2024)