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Communications ChemistryDec 2021 |
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DOI:
10.1038/s42004-021-00602-2

Discovering and harnessing oxidative enzymes for chemoenzymatic synthesis and diversification of anticancer camptothecin analogues

Nguyen, Tuan-Anh M.; Nguyen, Trinh-Don; Leung, Yuen Yee; McConnachie, Matthew; Sannikov, Oleg; Xia, Zhicheng; Dang, Thu-Thuy T.
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Abstract
Semi-synthetic derivatives of camptothecin, a quinoline alkaloid found in the Camptotheca acuminata tree, are potent anticancer agents. Here we discovered two C. acuminata cytochrome P450 monooxygenases that catalyze regio-specific 10- and 11-oxidations of camptothecin, and demonstrated combinatorial chemoenzymatic C-H functionalizations of the camptothecin scaffold using the new enzymes to produce a suite of anticancer drugs, including topotecan (Hycamtin ) and irinotecan (Camptosar ). This work sheds new light into camptothecin metabolism, and represents greener approaches for accessing clinically relevant camptothecin derivatives.
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