The crystal structure of recombinant murine liver cytosolic epoxide hydrolase (EC 3.3.2.3) has been determined at 2.8-A resolution. The binding of a nanomolar affinity inhibitor confirms the active site location in the C-terminal domain; this domain is similar to that of haloalkane dehalogenase and shares the alpha/beta hydrolase fold. A structure-based mechanism is proposed that illuminates th...

A series of 13 aminocyclitol derivatives belonging to two different families is described. Their configuration is governed by the regio- and stereocontrolled epoxide opening of a suitably protected conduritol-B epoxide. Studies on several glycosyl processing enzymes indicate that some of them are good inhibitors of glucosylceramide hydrolase. A rationale to account for preliminary structure-act...

A new compound 1, 5-methoxy-2,5,7,4'-tetrahydroxy-coumaronochromone, along with seven known compounds (2-8), were isolated from Apios americana using open column chromatography. Their structures were established based on an analysis of 1D and 2D NMR, and MS spectra. Among these, two compounds 1 and 2 showed inhibitory activity on soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) at a concentration below 50 μM. T...

Using trans-stilbene oxide as substrate, the subcellular distribution of epoxide hydrolase was investigated in livers from DBA/2 mice. The highest specific activities were found in cytosolic and light mitochondrial fractions. Isopycnic subfractionation of the light mitochondrial fraction showed that the organelle-bound trans-stilbene oxide hydrolase is localized in peroxisomes.

Four glutathione transferases (EC 2.5.1.18), glutathione transferases A, B, and C and a hitherto unknown form, termed X, were purified to apparent homogeneity from rat liver cytosol. They were investigated for their abilities to inactivate two mutagenic epoxides derived from the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon benz(a)anthracene, the K-region epoxide benz(a)anthracene 5,6-oxide and the diol-epox...

In their recent article (1), Spillman and colleagues report the two Plasmodium falciparum proteins PfEH1 and PfEH2 to be two novel epoxide hydrolases with an atypical active-site architecture. We strongly believe that this conclusion is wrong for the reasons detailed in the following. Spillman et al. start from the observation that, based on sequence identity, epoxide hydrolases from the / hydr...