Nucleic‐Acid‐Templated Enzyme Cascades

• Published in: Chembiochem : a European journal of chemical biology Vol. 18; no. 8; pp. 696 - 716
• Main Authors: Rajendran, Arivazhagan, Nakata, Eiji, Nakano, Shun, Morii, Takashi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 18-04-2017
• Subjects: DNA - chemistry; DNA origami; Enzymes; Enzymes, Immobilized - chemistry; metabolic pathways; Multienzyme Complexes - chemistry; nanodevices; nanostructures; Nanotubes - chemistry; Particle Size; RNA; RNA - chemistry; sequential enzymatic reactions; nanodevices; DNA origami; RNA; sequential enzymatic reactions; nanostructures; metabolic pathways
• ISSN: 1439-4227; 1439-7633
• DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201600703

Cellular metabolism involves complex sequences of organized enzymatic reactions, known as metabolic pathways, that convert substrates into readily usable materials. In nature, these enzymatic complexes are organized in a well‐defined manner so that the cascade reactions are more rapid and efficient than they would be if the enzymes were randomly distributed in the cytosol. Development of artificial enzyme cascades that resemble nature's organization of sequentially assembled enzymes is of current interest due to its potential applications, from diagnostics to the production of high‐value chemicals. Nucleic acids and their nanostructures have been used to organize enzyme cascades and have been shown to enhance the efficiencies and rates of sequential reactions. Here we summarize the recent progress in the development of artificial enzyme cascades and sequential reactions by arranging enzymes on various DNA/RNA templates and discuss the future directions of this research endeavour.
To mimic cellular multienzyme complexes, enzymes have been attached to templates such as proteins and lipid bilayers in a manner suitable for cascade processes. DNA and RNA nanostructures were recently also shown to be promising templates for such processes. Here we highlight recent advances in nucleic‐acid‐templated substrate‐transfer systems and discusses future perspectives.