Enzymatic biosynthesis of novel 2-(2-phenylethyl)chromone glycosides catalyzed by UDP-glycosyltransferase UGT71BD1

2-(2-Phenylethyl)chromones (PECs) are the main bioactive components of agarwood which showed diverse pharmaceutical activities. Glycosylation is a useful structural modification method to improve compounds' druggability. However, PEC glycosides were rarely reported in nature which largely limited their further medicinal investigations and applications. In this study, the enzymatic glycosylation of four naturally separated PECs 1-4 was achieved using a promiscuous glycosyltransferase UGT71BD1 identified from Cistanche tubulosa. It could accept UDP-Glucose, UDP-N-acetylglucosamine and UDP-xylose as sugar donors and conduct the corresponding O-glycosylation of 1-4 with high conversion efficiencies. Three O-glucosylated products 1a (5-hydroxy-2-(2-phenylethyl)chromone 8-O-β-D-glucopyranoside), 2a (8-chloro-2-(2-phenylethyl)chromone 6-O-β-D-glucopyranoside) and 3a (2-(2-phenylethyl)chromone 6-O-β-D-glucopyranoside) were prepared and structurally elucidated as novel PEC glucosides based on NMR spectroscopic analyses. Subsequent pharmaceutical evaluation found that 1a showed remarkably improved cytotoxicity against HL-60 cells, whose cell inhibition rate was 19 times higher than that of its aglycon 1. The IC50 value of 1a was further determined to be 13.96 ± 1.10 μM, implying its potential as a promising antitumor-leading candidate. To improve the production of 1, docking, simulation and site-directed mutagenesis were performed. The important role of P15 in the glucosylation of PECs was discovered. Besides, a mutant K288A with a two-fold increased yield for 1a production was also afforded. This research reported the enzymatic glycosylation of PECs for the first time, and also provide an eco-friendly pathway for the alternative production of PEC glycosides for leading compounds discovery.