A current challenge in synthetic organic chemistry is the development of methods that allow the regio- and stereoselective oxidative C-H activation of natural or synthetic compounds with formation of the corresponding alcohols. Cytochrome P450 enzymes enable C-H activation at non-activated positions, but the simultaneous control of both regio- and stereoselectivity is problematic. Here, we demonstrate that directed evolution using iterative saturation mutagenesis provides a means to solve synthetic problems of this kind. Using P450 BM3(F87A) as the starting enzyme and testosterone as the substrate, which results in a 1:1 mixture of the 2β- and 15β-alcohols, mutants were obtained that are 96-97% selective for either of the two regioisomers, each with complete diastereoselectivity. The mutants can be used for selective oxidative hydroxylation of other steroids without performing additional mutagenesis experiments. Molecular dynamics simulations and docking experiments shed light on the origin of regio- and stereoselectivity.

The molecular basis of allosteric effects, known to be caused by an effector docking to an enzyme at a site distal from the binding pocket, has been studied recently by applying directed evolution. Here, we utilize laboratory evolution in a different way, namely to induce allostery by introducing appropriate distal mutations that cause domain movements with concomitant reshaping of the binding pocket in the absence of an effector. To test this concept, the thermostable Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase, phenylacetone monooxygenase (PAMO), was chosen as the enzyme to be employed in asymmetric Baeyer-Villiger reactions of substrates that are not accepted by the wild type. By using the known X-ray structure of PAMO, a decision was made regarding an appropriate site at which saturation mutagenesis is most likely to generate mutants capable of inducing allostery without any effector compound being present. After screening only 400 transformants, a double mutant was discovered that catalyzes the asymmetric oxidative kinetic resolution of a set of structurally different 2-substituted cyclohexanone derivatives as well as the desymmetrization of three different 4-substituted cyclohexanones, all with high enantioselectivity. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and covariance maps unveiled the origin of increased substrate scope as being due to allostery. Large domain movements occur that expose and reshape the binding pocket. This type of focused library production, aimed at inducing significant allosteric effects, is a viable alternative to traditional approaches to "designed" directed evolution that address the binding site directly.allosteric effects | enzymes | molecular dynamics simulations | protein engineering P rotein allostery has been recognized as a positive or negative cooperative event, leading to a structural change at the binding site as a result of distal docking of a molecule acting as an effector (1-5). Allosteric effects can be influenced by such factors as variation in pH, temperature, ionic strength, and covalent modification as well as mutational changes. A variety of experimental and computational techniques have been utilized to unravel the intricacies of this phenomenon (1-5), but also to achieve useful applications such as the creation of protein switches (6). Among the techniques that have been applied to address these challenges is directed evolution, a method that is generally used to engineer the catalytic profiles of enzymes or the binding properties of proteins (7-11). In the endeavor to make directed evolution of enantioselective enzymes more efficient than in the past, we recently introduced the concept of iterative saturation mutagenesis according to which sites around the binding pocket are randomized iteratively, a given site being composed of one or more amino acid positions in the protein (12-14.) When applying this technique to enzymes displaying strong allosteric effects or coupled motions along the reaction coordinate (15), it is necessary to consider such phenomena to make reasonable...

To develop biomimetic three-dimensional (3D) tissue constructs for drug screening and biological studies, engineered blood vessels should be integrated into the constructs to mimic the drug administration process . The development of perfusable vascularized 3D tissue constructs for studying the drug administration process through an engineered endothelial layer remains an area of intensive research. Here, we report the development of a simple 3D vascularized liver tissue model to study drug toxicity through the incorporation of an engineered endothelial layer. Using a sacrificial bioprinting technique, a hollow microchannel was successfully fabricated in the 3D liver tissue construct created with HepG2/C3A cells encapsulated in a gelatin methacryloyl hydrogel. After seeding human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) into the microchannel, we obtained a vascularized tissue construct containing a uniformly coated HUVEC layer within the hollow microchannel. The inclusion of the HUVEC layer into the scaffold resulted in delayed permeability of biomolecules into the 3D liver construct. In addition, the vascularized construct containing the HUVEC layer showed an increased viability of the HepG2/C3A cells within the 3D scaffold compared to that of the 3D liver constructs without the HUVEC layer, demonstrating a protective role of the introduced endothelial cell layer. The 3D vascularized liver model presented in this study is anticipated to provide a better and more accurate liver model system for future drug toxicity testing.

A new spin: The addition of chemically inert perfluoro carboxylic acids (green; see picture) to P450 enzymes results in dramatic activation of their catalytic activity as a result of the conversion of the Fe/heme from a low‐spin to a high‐spin state, and the reduction of the binding‐pocket size. Together these effects allow otherwise inert substrates such as propane and even methane to be oxidized.