title: Reduction of polynitroaromatic compounds: the bacterial nitroreductases.
abstract: Most nitroaromatic compounds are toxic and mutagenic for living organisms, but some microorganisms have developed oxidative or reductive pathways to degrade or transform these compounds. Reductive pathways are based either on the reduction of the aromatic ring by hydride additions or on the reduction of the nitro groups to hydroxylamino and/or amino derivatives. Bacterial nitroreductases are flavoenzymes that catalyze the NAD(P)H-dependent reduction of the nitro groups on nitroaromatic and nitroheterocyclic compounds. Nitroreductases have raised a great interest due to their potential applications in bioremediation, biocatalysis, and biomedicine, especially in prodrug activation for chemotherapeutic cancer treatments. Different bacterial nitroreductases have been purified and their biochemical and kinetic parameters have been determined. The crystal structure of some nitroreductases have also been solved. However, the physiological role(s) of these enzymes remains unclear. Nitroreductase genes are widely spread within bacterial genomes, but are also found in archaea and some eukaryotic species. Although studies on regulation of nitroreductase gene expression are scarce, it seems that nitroreductase genes may be controlled by the MarRA and SoxRS regulatory systems that are involved in responses to several antibiotics and environmental chemical hazards and to specific oxidative stress conditions. This review covers the microbial distribution, types, biochemical properties, structure and regulation of the bacterial nitroreductases. The possible physiological functions and the biotechnological applications of these enzymes are also discussed.
authors: Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Rabanales, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain. bb2rorum@uco.es
authors: María Dolores
authors: MD
authors: Roldán
authors: Eva
authors: E
authors: Pérez-Reinado
authors: Francisco
authors: F
authors: Castillo
authors: Conrado
authors: C
authors: Moreno-Vivián
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D001483:Base Sequence; D001709:Biotechnology; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009574:Nitro Compounds / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity; D009601:Nitroreductases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D009574:Nitro Compounds; D009601:Nitroreductases