Semi-enzymatic synthesis of pseudouridine

Abstract

Modifications of RNA molecules have a significant effect on their structure and function. One of the most common modifications is the isomerization from uridine to pseudouridine. Despite its prevalence in natural RNA sequences, organic synthesis of pseudouridine has been challenging because of the stereochemistry requirement and the sensitivity of reaction steps to moisture. Herein, a semi-enzymatic synthetic route is developed for the synthesis of pseudouridine using adenosine 5'-monophosphate and uracil as the starting materials and a reverse reaction catalyzed by the pseudouridine monophosphate glycosidase. This synthetic route has only three steps and the overall yield of β-pseudouridine production was 68.4%.

Keywords: Pseudouridine; Pseudouridine 5′-monophosphate; Pseudouridine monophosphate glycosidase; RNA modification; Semi-enzymatic synthesis.