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Evidence that anaerobic oxidation of toluene in the denitrifying bacterium Thauera aromatica is initiated by formation of benzylsuccinate from toluene and fumarate.

Toluene is degraded anoxically to CO2 by the denitrifying bacterium Thauera aromatica. Toluene first becomes oxidized to benzoyl-CoA by O2-independent reactions. Benzoyl-CoA is then reduced to non-aromatic products by benzoyl-CoA reductase. We set out to study the reactions employed for the initial activation of toluene and its oxidation to the level of benzoate. Evidence is provided for a novel way of toluene degradation based on experiments with cell-free extracts and with whole toluene-grown cells: Cell-free extracts oxidized [14C]toluene to [14C]benzoyl-CoA via several radioactive intermediates. This reaction was strictly dependent on the presence of fumarate, coenzyme A and nitrate as electron acceptor; acetyl-CoA and ATP were not necessary for the reaction. The first product formed in vitro was benzylsuccinate; (2H8)toluene was converted to (2H7)benzylsuccinate. Formation of benzylsuccinate from toluene was independent of coenzyme A and nitrate, but it required the presence of fumarate. Other tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates were converted to fumarate in cell extracts and therefore could partially substitute for fumarate. [14C]Benzylsuccinate was oxidized further to [14C]benzoyl-CoA and [14C]benzoate in cell extracts if coenzyme A and nitrate were present. No benzyl alcohol and benzaldehyde and no phenylpropionate could be detected as intermediates. In isotope trapping experiments with cell suspensions, two intermediates from [14C]toluene were detected, benzoate and benzylsuccinate. This corroborates the sequence of reactions deduced from in vitro experiments. A hypothetical degradation pathway for the anaerobic oxidation of toluene to benzoyl-CoA via an initial addition of fumarate to the methyl group of toluene and following beta-oxidation of the benzylsuccinate formed is suggested.

Acyl Coenzyme A↗

Fumarate reductase in the control of heme biosynthesis.

A drug-induced stimulation of heme biosynthesis in mouse liver was accompanied by altered fumarate metabolism. In liver homogenate, fumarate 1,4-C(14) was incorporated, via succinate and succinyl coenzyme A, into heme at an accelerated rate. This pathway of fumarate utilization was inhibited by acetoacetate but not by beta-hydroxybutyrate. Fumarate reduction to succinate required reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. The enzyme fumarate reductase is suggested as a link between terminal oxidation and cellular control of the heme biosynthetic pathway.

Acetoacetates↗

Structure of the Escherichia coli fumarate reductase respiratory complex.

The integral membrane protein fumarate reductase catalyzes the final step of anaerobic respiration when fumarate is the terminal electron acceptor. The homologous enzyme succinate dehydrogenase also plays a prominent role in cellular energetics as a member of the Krebs cycle and as complex II of the aerobic respiratory chain. Fumarate reductase consists of four subunits that contain a covalently linked flavin adenine dinucleotide, three different iron-sulfur clusters, and at least two quinones. The crystal structure of intact fumarate reductase has been solved at 3.3 angstrom resolution and demonstrates that the cofactors are arranged in a nearly linear manner from the membrane-bound quinone to the active site flavin. Although fumarate reductase is not associated with any proton-pumping function, the two quinones are positioned on opposite sides of the membrane in an arrangement similar to that of the Q-cycle organization observed for cytochrome bc1.

Aerobiosis↗

Inhibition of Clostridium botulinum 62A by fumarates and maleates and relationship of activity to some physicochemical constants.

A series of n-monoalkyl maleates and n-mono-, di-, and methyl n-alkyl fumarates were prepared, 18 esters of each, with R = CH3 to C18H37. Their activity against Clostridium botulinum was determined in culture medium. The n-monoalkyl maleates and fumarates possessed significant activity, particularly those esterified with higher C13 to C18 alcohols. Somewhat lower activity was exhibited by methyl n-alkyl fumarates, while symmetrical esters, di-n-alkyl fumarates, were almost inactive. An attempt was made to correlate the activity of n-monoalkyl maleates and fumarates with chain length, solubility in water, apparent dissociation constant (pKa'), and infrared and UV absorption frequencies. The active esters may have potential as preservatives in foods.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗

Evidence for cytochrome involvement in fumarate reduction and adenosine 5'-triphosphate synthesis by Bacteroides fragilis grown in the presence of hemin.

Growth of Bacteroides fragilis subsp. fragilis on glucose was very much stimulated by the addition of hemin (2 mg/liter) to the medium. The generation time decreased from 8 to 2 h, and the molar growth yield increased from YM = 17.9 to YM = 47 g (dry weight) of cells per mol of glucose. In the absence of hemin, glucose was fermented to fumarate, lactate, and acetate. The cells did not contain detectable amounts of cytochromes or fumarate reductase. In the presence of hemin, the major products of fermentation were succinate, propionate, and acetate. A b-type cytochrome, possibly a c-type cytochrome, and a very active fumarate reductase were present in the cells. It is concluded from these results that hemin is required by B. fragilis to synthesize a functional fumarate reductase and that the hemin-dependent, enormous increase of the growth yield may be due to adenosine 5'-triphosphate production during reduction of fumarate to succinate.

Acetates↗

Fermentation of fumarate and L-malate by Clostridium formicoaceticum.

The fermentation of fumarate and L-malate by Clostridium formicoaceticum was investigated. Growing and nongrowing cells degraded fumarate by dismutation to succinate, acetate, and CO2; on the other hand, only small amounts of succinate were detected when the organism was grown on L-malate. This dicarboxylic acid was mainly converted to acetate and CO2. The fermentation balances were modified if bicarbonate or formate were present in the medium. When C. formicoaceticum was grown in the presence of both dicarboxylic acids, fumarate was consumed before L-malate. The latter was mainly converted to acetate, whereas fumarate was fermented to acetate and succinate. Molar growth yields were determined to be 6 g of dry weight per mol of fumarate and 8 g of dry weight per mol of L-malate fermented.

Acetates↗

Anaerobic fumarate transport in Escherichia coli by an fnr-dependent dicarboxylate uptake system which is different from the aerobic dicarboxylate uptake system.

Escherichia coli grown anaerobically with fumarate as electron acceptor is able to take up C4-dicarboxylates by a specific transport system. The system differs in all tested parameters from the known aerobic C4-dicarboxylate transporter. The anaerobic transport system shows higher transport rates (95 mumol/g [dry weight] per min versus 30 mumol/g/min) and higher Kms (400 versus 30 microM) for fumarate than for the aerobic system. Mutants lacking the aerobic dicarboxylate uptake system are able to grow anaerobically at the expense of fumarate respiration and transport dicarboxylates with wild-type rates after anaerobic but not after aerobic growth. Transport by the anaerobic system is stimulated by preloading the bacteria with dicarboxylates. The anaerobic transport system catalyzes homologous and heterologous antiport of dicarboxylates, whereas the aerobic system operates only in the unidirectional mode. The anaerobic antiport is measurable only in anaerobically grown bacteria with fnr+ backgrounds. Additionally, the system is inhibited by incubation of resting bacteria with physiological electron acceptors such as O2, nitrate, dimethyl sulfoxide, and fumarate. The inhibition is reversed by the presence of reducing agents. It is suggested that the physiological role of the system is a fumarate/succinate antiport under conditions of fumarate respiration.

Aerobiosis↗

A tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediate regulating transcription of a chloroaromatic biodegradative pathway: fumarate-mediated repression of the clcABD operon.

The ortho-cleavage pathways of catechol and 3-chlorocatechol are central catabolic pathways of Pseudomonas putida that convert aromatic and chloroaromatic compounds to tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates. They are encoded by the evolutionarily related catBCA and clcABD operons, respectively. Expression of the cat and clc operons requires the LysR-type transcriptional activators CatR and ClcR, respectively, and the inducer molecules cis,cis-muconate and 2-chloro-cis,cis-muconate, respectively. The regulation of the cat and clc promoters has been well studied, but the extent to which these operons are repressed by growth in TCA cycle intermediates has not been explored. We demonstrate by transcriptional fusion studies that the expression from the clc promoter is repressed when the cells are grown on succinate, citrate, or fumarate and that this repression is ClcR dependent and occurs at the transcriptional level. The presence of these organic acids did not affect the expression from the cat promoter. In vitro transcription assays demonstrate that the TCA cycle intermediate fumarate directly and specifically inhibits the formation of the clcA transcript. No such inhibition was observed when CatR was used as the activator on either the cat or clc template. Titration studies of fumarate and 2-chloromuconate show that the fumarate effect is concentration dependent and reversible, indicating that fumarate and 2-chloromuconate most probably compete for the same binding site on ClcR. This is an interesting example of the transcriptional regulation of a biodegradative pathway by the intracellular sensing of the state of the TCA cycle.

Bacterial Proteins↗

Fumarate reductase activity of Streptococcus faecalis.

Some characteristics of a fumarate reductase from Streptococcus faecalis are described. The enzyme had a pH optimum of 7.4; optimal activity was observed when the ionic strength of the phosphate buffer was adjusted to 0.088. The K(m) value of the enzyme for reduced flavin mononucleotide was 2 x 10(-4)m as determined with a 26-fold preparation. In addition to fumarate, the enzyme reduced maleate and mesaconate. No succinate dehydrogenase activity was detected, but succinate did act as an inhibitor of the fumarate reductase activity. Other inhibitors were malonate, citraconate, and trans-, trans-muconate. Metal-chelating agents did not inhibit the enzyme. A limited inhibition by sulfhydryl-binding agents was observed, and the preparations were sensitive to air oxidation and storage. Glycine, alanine, histidine, and possibly lysine stimulated fumarate reductase activity in the cell-free extracts. However, growth in media supplemented with glycine did not enhance fumarate reductase activity. The enzymatic activity appears to be constitutive.

Amino Acids↗

Bioelectrocatalysts: engineered oxidoreductase system for utilization of fumarate reductase in chemical synthesis, detection, and fuel cells.

Fumarate reductase was used as a model oxidoreductase to demonstrate continuous electrical cofactor reduction-oxidation during the bioelectrochemical synthesis and detection of chemicals. The enzyme preparation was immobilized onto a graphite felt electrode that was modified with carboxymethylcellulose (CMC). Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), neutral red, and fumarate reductase (which contained menaquinone) were covalently linked by peptide bonds to the CMC. The electron mediator neutral red allowed NAD and menaquinone to be recycled electrically during enzymatic chemical synthesis. Succinate detection by the bioelectrocatalyst was linear from 5 microM to 10 mM succinate. Fumarate synthesis using this bioelectrode was dependent on succinate utilization and resulted in proportional production of electricity and fumarate. Succinate synthesis using this bioelectrocatalyst was dependent on current and fumarate concentration. This bioelectrocatalyst system may enhance the utility of menaquinone- and/or pyridine nucleotide-linked oxidoreductases in diverse enzymatic fuel cells and sensors. It may also enhance the utility of oxidoreductase-based chemical synthesis systems because it eliminates the problem of cofactor recycling.

Actinobacillus↗

Production of fumaric acid using rice bran and subsequent conversion to succinic acid through a two-step process.

The fungal production of fumaric acid using rice bran and subsequent bacterial conversion of succinic acid using fungal culture broth were investigated. Since the rice bran contains abundant proteins, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, it is suitable material that fungi use as a nitrogen source. The effective concentration of rice bran to produce fumaric acid was 5 g/L. A large amount of rice bran caused excessive fungal growth rather than enhance fumaric acid production. In addition, we could produce fumaric acid without the addition of zinc and iron. Fungal culture broth containing approx 25 g/L of fumaric acid was directly employed for succinic acid conversion. The amount of glycerol and yeast extract required for succinic acid conversion was reduced to 70 and 30%, respectively, compared with the amounts cited in previous studies.

Biochemistry↗

[Osteomalacia as an apparently rare side effect of oral fumaric acid therapy. Secondary DeToni-Debré Fanconi syndrome in the adult].

A case of fully reversible tubular toxicity with consecutive metabolic osteopathy following systemic fumaric acid therapy is reported. This secondary effect of oral fumaric acid therapy obviously occurs very rarely, never having been described before. A 46-year-old female patient with a long history of recurrent palmoplantar psoriasis underwent oral treatment with fumaric acid and its esters in accordance with the Schäfer method, preceding attempts at curative treatment with conventional antipsoriatic agents having proved unsatisfactory. Two months later, the patient started to experience arthralgia, back pain in the early hours of the morning and myalgia with increasing frequency, progressing to disablement in moving and walking and, finally, to total immobility. Not until 9 months later was the reason for these severe disabilities found: they stemmed from hypophosphataemic osteomalacia as a result of a complex disturbance of the renal tubular system. The clinical symptoms and the results of laboratory chemistry tests returned to normal as soon as fumaric acid medication was discontinued. Two attempts at reexposure confirmed the causal relationship. Oral fumaric acid medication should never be administered without clinical and chemical controls.

Administration, Oral↗

Fumarate reductase mutants of Escherichia coli that lack covalently bound flavin.

Menaquinol-fumarate oxidoreductase of Escherichia coli is a four-subunit membrane-bound complex that catalyzes the final step in anaerobic respiration when fumarate is the terminal electron acceptor. The catalytic domain of fumarate reductase consists of the FrdA subunit, which contains the active site, and a FAD prosthetic group covalently attached to His44, plus the FrdB subunit which contains at least two of the three nonidentical iron-sulfur clusters of the enzyme. To examine the role of covalently bound FAD in enzyme activity and electron transfer during anaerobic cell growth, site-directed mutagenesis was used to alter His44 of the FrdA subunit to a Ser, Cys, or Tyr residue. The resulting mutant enzyme complexes that were synthesized associated normally with the cytoplasmic membrane, but had decreased ability (greater than 70%) to reduce fumarate with reduced benzyl viologen, an artificial electron donor of low redox potential (Em = -359 mV; Clark, W. M. (1972) Oxidation-Reduction Potentials of Organic Systems, Robert E. Kreiger Publishing Co., Melbourne, FL). Even lower activities were measured when the higher potential, natural electron donor menaquinol was used, which, however, correlated with the slower growth rates of the different mutant complexes. In contrast to the normal enzyme, the mutant enzyme complexes were unable to oxidize succinate. Substitution of Arg for His44 produced a totally inactive enzyme complex that permitted no cell growth on nonfermentable substrates with fumarate as electron acceptor. All four mutant complexes contained noncovalently bound FAD in stoichiometric amounts. These data indicate a unique role of the 8 alpha-[N(3)-histidyl] FAD linkage in enzyme activity, by raising the redox potential of free FAD to permit reduction by both menaquinol and succinate.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Fumaric acid enhances DNA synthesis of rat hepatocytes by counteracting the toxicities of mitomycin C and aflatoxin B1.

The effect of fumaric acid was examined on DNA synthesis in hepatocytes or hepatoma cells from rats treated with toxic agents. Male Donryu rats were injected with mitomycin C or aflatoxin B1, singly or in combination with fumaric acid. After a specified period, hepatocytes were isolated from the liver by the collagenase perfusion method and placed in culture, and their activities for DNA synthesis were measured. The iv injection of rats with mitomycin C (0.5 mg/kg) reduced the semiconservative DNA synthesis of the hepatocytes, but simultaneous dosing of fumaric acid (40 mg/kg) enhanced the recovery of the DNA synthesis. The DNA synthesis of hepatoma cells, a 3'-methyl-4-(dimethylamino)azobenzene-induced transplantable cell line growing in the abdominal ascites of rats, was also reduced by the iv injection of mitomycin C but, in contrast to that of the hepatocytes, was little influenced by the simultaneous dosing of fumaric acid. The ip injection of fumaric acid also reduced the toxicity of aflatoxin B1 (0.25 mg/kg, ip), preventing the reduction of DNA synthesis as well as the occurrence of nuclear degenerative changes in the aflatoxin B1-exposed hepatocytes.

Aflatoxin B1↗

[Peroral long-term treatment of psoriasis using fumaric acid derivatives].

Oral treatment of psoriasis on an outpatient basis, using a preparation containing fumaric acid derivatives, was evaluated as initial monotherapy (3 months) and as long-term basic therapy (12-14 months) in 13 and 11 patients, respectively. The course of the disease was analysed in each individual case. After completion of both parts of the trial, half of the patients that had only responded poorly to conventional antipsoriatic therapy showed a significant improvement which occurred after several weeks of treatment. In 4 patients the medication had to be stopped because of abdominal pain. No severe side effects, particularly of a renal, hepatic or haematological nature, could be established. Studies in mice and rats disclosed only a low acute toxicity of the fumaric acid derivatives used. In additional analyses, hypotheses were dealt with concerning the mechanism of action of fumaric acid in psoriasis. To establish fumaric acid derivatives in the treatment of psoriasis, studies on chronic toxicity and pharmacokinetics will have to be conducted. Further clinical trials should evaluate a single fumaric acid derivative instead of mixtures.

Animals↗

Fumarate is the cause of the apparent ping-pong kinetics of dopamine beta-hydroxylase.

The kinetic mechanism of dopamine beta-hydroxylase (dopamine beta-monooxygenase EC 1.14.17.1) was studied either in the absence or the presence of the nonessential activator fumarate. In the absence of fumarate, intersecting initial velocity patterns were obtained, consistent with a sequential mechanism. In the presence of saturating concentrations of fumarate, initial velocity patterns became parallel. Other activating anions, such as acetate and chloride, could replicate the effects of fumarate. Since previous initial rate studies of dopamine beta-hydroxylase have been performed in the presence of saturating concentrations of fumarate, the present results may explain why parallel initial velocity patterns, apparently consistent with a ping-pong mechanism, have been so far observed. As a plausible mechanism of the anion effect it is proposed that activating anions induce saturation of the enzyme with oxygen.

Adrenal Glands↗

Fumarate catabolism in Helicobacter pylori.

The metabolism of fumarate by Helicobacter pylori was investigated employing one- and two-dimensional 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Metabolically competent cells generated malate and succinate from fumarate as the sole substrate indicating the presence of fumarase and fumarate reductase activities in the bacterium. In incubations of fumarate with cell lysates accumulation of lactate, acetate, formate and alanine was observed after the initial production of malate and succinate. The results indicate the existence of active fumarate catabolism in H. pylori and suggest the possibility of an ATP generating mechanism which may play an important role in the bioenergetics of the bacterium.

Acetates↗

Comparison of fumaric acid production by Rhizopus oryzae using different neutralizing agents.

Fumaric acid fermentation in a 10-L bubble column fermenter using different neutralizing agents [CaCO(3), Ca(OH)(2), NaHCO(3)] by Rhizopus oryzae ATCC 20344 was examined. It was found that in the fermentation using CaCO(3 )as the neutralizing agent the highest fumaric acid weight yield and volumetric productivity were obtained, 53.4% and 1.03 g/L x h(-1) respectively. In the NaHCO(3) case, the fumaric acid weight yield and volumetric productivity were 33.7% and 0.69 g/L x h(-1), respectively, much lower than the CaCO(3) case. However, the NaHCO(3) alternative has advantages of cell reuse and simple downstream processing because of the high solubility of sodium fumarate. These advantages may offset the disadvantages of using NaHCO(3) as the neutralizing agent, and the overall fumaric acid weight yield and volumetric productivity will increase.

Journal Article↗