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Chemical biology

A sweet exchange

Nature volume 443, pages 285–286 (2006)Cite this article

Many drugs isolated from microorganisms have complex molecular structures, making it difficult for chemists to modify them. But it seems that enzymes can provide a short cut to drug variants.

Naturally occurring compounds — referred to as natural products by chemists — are excellent starting points for making new medicines. Many drugs hail from natural products isolated from microorganisms: for example, the erythromycin and vancomycin classes of antibiotic, the daunomycin and adriamycin classes of anticancer drug, and the so-called 'enediyne warheads' that have been attached to therapeutic antibodies, which are also used in anticancer therapy.

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Figure 1: Enzymatic swap of sugars between antibiotic scaffolds.

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  1. Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, 240 Longwood Avenue, Boston, 02115, Massachusetts, USA

    Christopher T. Walsh

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  1. Christopher T. Walsh
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Walsh, C. A sweet exchange. Nature 443, 285–286 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/443285a

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