Biosynthesis of porphyrins and corrins

Haem, chlorophyll and vitamin B12 are all derived ultimately from four molecules of the pyrrole porphobilinogen (PBG) and the initial enzyme catalysed condensation of PBG leads to the unsymmetrical type III isomer of uroporphyrinogen. On the basis of straightforward chemical considerations the type I isomer should be formed and so the porphyrinogen-forming enzymes of all living systems must catalyse a highly specific rearrangement process. The nature and chemical mechanism of this rearrangement poses one of the most fascinating problems in the porphyrin field and so it is not surprising that over 20 hypothetical schemes have been proposed to account for it. Analysis of the problem suggested that the incorporation of doubly 13C-labelled precursors into the rearranged macrocyclic rings would give valuable new information on the nature of the rearrangement process. In this approach the meso=bridge atoms are of crucial importance, and several unambiguous syntheses of 13C-labelled pyrroles and porphyrins were developed to allow rigorous n.m.r. assignments to be made, and also to provide substrates for enzymic experiments. Studies carried out with enzymes from both avian blood and from Euglena gracilis have revealed the precise nature of the assembly of four PBG molecules into the type-III macrocycle: it is the same in both systems despite their vastly different evolutionary development. Complementary studies are in progress in order to determine the intermediates involved in the conversion of PBG into uroporphyrinogen III. The synthesis of amino methyl pyrromethanes and their interaction in the presence of PBG with the appropriate enzyme systems are described. It is important for the work to be able to separate not only isomeric pyrromethanes but also the four isomeric coproporphyrins. Powerful methods are described which make use of high pressure liquid chromatography for both types of separation process. Once uroporhyrinogen III has been built enzymically, there is a stepwise enzymic decarboxylation of the four acetic acid residues. A heptacarboxylic porphyrin shown to be a type-III porphyrin is isolated from the action of avian blood enzymes on porphobilinogen. Spectroscopic studies with 13C-labelling limit the possible structures to two and total synthesis of these substances shows that the natural product carries its methyl group on ring D. An isomeric heptacarboxylic porphyrin having its methyl group on ring C is of particular interest in relation to the biosynthesis of vitamin B12. This substance is synthesized together with uroporphyrin III, 14C-labelled specifically in ring C. This latter product is used to settle one of the key questions concerning nature's route to vitamin B12 - that is, does the corrin macrocycle arise from uroporphyrinogen III? Incorporation studies and specific degradations prove specific incorporation of uroporphyrinogen III into cobyrinic acid, which is the known precursor of vitamin B12.