Amphiphilic Nucleobase-Containing Polypeptide Copolymers—Synthesis and Self-Assembly

Nucleobase-containing polymers are an emerging class of building blocks for the self-assembly of nanoobjects with promising applications in nanomedicine and biology. Here we present a macromolecular engineering approach to design nucleobase-containing polypeptide polymers incorporating thymine that further self-assemble in nanomaterials. Diblock and triblock copolypeptide polymers were prepared using sequential ring-opening polymerization of γ-Benzyl-l-glutamate N-carboxyanhydride (BLG-NCA) and γ-Propargyl-l-glutamate N-carboxyanhydride (PLG-NCA), followed by an efficient copper(I)-catalyzed azide alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAc) functionalization with thymidine monophosphate. Resulting amphiphilic copolymers were able to spontaneously form nanoobjects in aqueous solutions avoiding a pre-solubilization step with an organic solvent. Upon self-assembly, light scattering measurements and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed the impact of the architecture (diblock versus triblock) on the morphology of the resulted nanoassemblies. Interestingly, the nucleobase-containing nanoobjects displayed free thymine units in the shell that were found available for further DNA-binding.

Computational Overview of Mycobacterial Thymidine Monophosphate Kinase

: Tuberculosis (TB) ranks among the diseases with the highest morbidity rate with significantly high prevalence in developing countries. Globally, tuberculosis poses the most substantial burden of mortality. Further, a partially treated tuberculosis patient is worse than untreated; they may lead to standing out as a critical obstacle to global tuberculosis control. The emergence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) and extremely drug-resistant (XDR) strains, and co-infection of HIV further worsen the situation. The present review article discusses validated targets of the bacterial enzyme thymidine monophosphate kinase (TMPK). TMPKMTB enzyme belongs to the nucleoside monophosphate kinases (NMPKs) family. It is involved in phosphorylation of TMP to TDP, and TDP is phosphorylated to TTP. This review highlights structure elucidation of TMP enzymes and their inhibitors study on TMP scaffold, and it also discusses different techniques; including molecular docking, virtual screening, 3DPharmacophore, QSAR for finding anti-tubercular agents.

Relaxation Dynamics of Hydrated Thymine, Thymidine, and Thymidine Monophosphate Probed by Liquid Jet Time-Resolved Photoelectron Spectroscopy

<p>The relaxation dynamics of thymine and its derivatives thymidine and thymidine monophosphate were studied using time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy applied to a water microjet. Two absorption bands were studied, the first is a bright ππ* state which was populated using tunable-ultraviolet light in the range of 4.74 – 5.17 eV and probed using a 6.20 eV probe pulse. By reversing the order of these pulses, a band containing multiple ππ* states was populated by the 6.20 eV pulse and the lower energy pulse served as the probe. The lower lying ππ* state was found to decay in ~400 fs in both thymine and thymidine independent of pump photon energy while thymidine monophosphate decays varied from 670-840 fs with some pump energy dependence. </p><p>The application of a computational QM/MM scheme at the XMS-CASPT2//CASSCF/AMBER level of theory suggests that conformational differences existing between thymidine and thymidine monophosphate in solution accounts for this difference. The higher lying ππ* band was found to decay in ~600 fs in all three cases, but was only able to be characterized when using the 5.17 eV probe pulse. Notably, no long-lived signal from an np* state could be identified in either experiment on any of the three molecules.</p>

Relaxation Dynamics of Hydrated Thymine, Thymidine, and Thymidine Monophosphate Probed by Liquid Jet Time-Resolved Photoelectron Spectroscopy

<p>The relaxation dynamics of thymine and its derivatives thymidine and thymidine monophosphate were studied using time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy applied to a water microjet. Two absorption bands were studied, the first is a bright ππ* state which was populated using tunable-ultraviolet light in the range of 4.74 – 5.17 eV and probed using a 6.20 eV probe pulse. By reversing the order of these pulses, a band containing multiple ππ* states was populated by the 6.20 eV pulse and the lower energy pulse served as the probe. The lower lying ππ* state was found to decay in ~400 fs in both thymine and thymidine independent of pump photon energy while thymidine monophosphate decays varied from 670-840 fs with some pump energy dependence. </p><p>The application of a computational QM/MM scheme at the XMS-CASPT2//CASSCF/AMBER level of theory suggests that conformational differences existing between thymidine and thymidine monophosphate in solution accounts for this difference. The higher lying ππ* band was found to decay in ~600 fs in all three cases, but was only able to be characterized when using the 5.17 eV probe pulse. Notably, no long-lived signal from an np* state could be identified in either experiment on any of the three molecules.</p>

Crystal structure of the flavin-dependent thymidylate synthase Thy1 from Thermus thermophilus with an extra C-terminal domain

The thymidylate synthases ThyA and Thy1 are enzymes that catalyse the formation of thymidine monophosphate from 2′-deoxyuridine monophosphate. Thy1 (or ThyX) requires flavin for catalytic reactions, while ThyA does not. In the present study, the crystal structure of the flavin-dependent thymidylate synthase Thy1 from Thermus thermophilus HB8 (TtThy1, TTHA1096) was determined in complex with FAD and phosphate at 2.5 Å resolution. TtThy1 is a tetrameric molecule like other Thy1 proteins, to which four FAD molecules are bound. In the crystal of TtThy1, two phosphate ions were bound to each dUMP-binding site. The characteristic feature of TtThy1 is the existence of an extra C-terminal domain (CTD) consisting of three α-helices and a β-strand. The function of the CTD is unknown and database analysis showed that this CTD is only shared by part of the Deinococcus–Thermus phylum.

Structural Comparison of Enterococcus faecalis and Human Thymidylate Synthase Complexes with the Substrate dUMP and Its Analogue FdUMP Provides Hints about Enzyme Conformational Variabilities

Thymidylate synthase (TS) is an enzyme of paramount importance as it provides the only de novo source of deoxy-thymidine monophosphate (dTMP). dTMP, essential for DNA synthesis, is produced by the TS-catalyzed reductive methylation of 2′-deoxyuridine-5′-monophosphate (dUMP) using N5,N10-methylenetetrahydrofolate (mTHF) as a cofactor. TS is ubiquitous and a validated drug target. TS enzymes from different organisms differ in sequence and structure, but are all obligate homodimers. The structural and mechanistic differences between the human and bacterial enzymes are exploitable to obtain selective inhibitors of bacterial TSs that can enrich the currently available therapeutic tools against bacterial infections. Enterococcus faecalis is a pathogen fully dependent on TS for dTMP synthesis. In this study, we present four new crystal structures of Enterococcus faecalis and human TSs in complex with either the substrate dUMP or the inhibitor FdUMP. The results provide new clues about the half-site reactivity of Enterococcus faecalis TS and the mechanisms underlying the conformational changes occurring in the two enzymes. We also identify relevant differences in cofactor and inhibitor binding between Enterococcus faecalis and human TS that can guide the design of selective inhibitors against bacterial TSs.

Toward a better understanding of folate metabolism in health and disease

Folate metabolism is crucial for many biochemical processes, including purine and thymidine monophosphate (dTMP) biosynthesis, mitochondrial protein translation, and methionine regeneration. These biochemical processes in turn support critical cellular functions such as cell proliferation, mitochondrial respiration, and epigenetic regulation. Not surprisingly, abnormal folate metabolism has been causally linked with a myriad of diseases. In this review, we provide a historical perspective, delve into folate chemistry that is often overlooked, and point out various missing links and underdeveloped areas in folate metabolism for future exploration.