Aldolases: useful enzymes for the synthesis of anticholesterolemic products

Abstract

Aldolases, enzymes that belong to the group of lyases, are useful biocatalysts to perform aldol addition reactions in aqueous media, in high yields and stereo selectively. According to the donor substrate, aldolases are classified into five types. In particular, 2-deoxy-D-ribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA) is the only aldolase capable of accepting acetaldehyde as donor substrate. In addition, it has been shown that when acetaldehyde is the only availabre substrate, DERA is able to catalyze a double aldol addition using three acetaldehyde molecules.. As a result, in recent years, DERA has been employed for the synthesis of statins, drugs used to control cholesterol level in blood. Efforts are constantly being made to achieve new structures with fewer adverse side effects and improved medicinal efficiency. In our laboratory we are developing new statin analogs using DERA from Pectobacterium atrosepticum.