The separate effects of E60Q in Lactobacillus casei thymidylate synthase delineate between mechanisms for formation of intermediates in catalysis

Explaining an unusually fast parasitic enzyme: folate tail-binding residues dictate substrate positioning and catalysis in Cryptosporidium hominis thymidylate synthase

The essential enzyme TS-DHFR from Cryptosporidium hominis undergoes an unusually rapid rate of catalysis at the conserved TS domain, facilitated by two nonconserved residues, Ala287 and Ser290, in the folate tail-binding region. Mutation of these two residues to their conserved counterparts drastically affects multiple steps of the TS catalytic cycle. We have determined the crystal structures of all three mutants (A287F, S290G, and A287F/S290G) in complex with active site ligands dUMP and CB3717. The structural data show two effects of the mutations: an increased distance between the ligands in the active site and increased flexibility of the folate ligand in the partially open enzyme state that precedes conformational change to the active catalytic state. The latter effect is able to be rescued by the mutants containing the A287F mutation. In addition, the conserved water network of TS is altered in each of the mutants. The structural results point to a role of the folate tail-binding residues in closely positioning ChTS ligands and restricting ligand flexibility in the partially open state to allow for a rapid transition to the active closed state and enhanced rate of catalysis. These results provide an explanation on how folate tail-binding residues at one end of the active site affect long-range interactions throughout the TS active site and validate these residues as targets for species-specific drug design.

Multi-targeted antifolates aimed at avoiding drug resistance form covalent closed inhibitory complexes with human and Escherichia coli thymidylate synthases

Crystal structures of four pyrrolo(2,3-d)pyrimidine-based antifolate compounds, developed as inhibitors of thymidylate synthase (TS) in a strategy to circumvent drug-resistance, have been determined in complexes with their in vivo target, human thymidylate synthase, and with the structurally best-characterized Escherichia coli enzyme, to resolutions of 2.2-3.0 A. The 2.9 A crystal structure of a complex of human TS with one of the inhibitors, the multi-targeted antifolate LY231514, demonstrates that this compound induces a "closed" enzyme conformation and leads to formation of a covalent bond between enzyme and substrate. This structure is one of the first liganded human TS structures, and its solution was aided by mutation to facilitate crystallization. Structures of three other pyrrolo(2,3-d)pyrimidine-based antifolates in complex with Escherichia coli TS confirm the orientation of this class of inhibitors in the active site. Specific interactions between the polyglutamyl moiety and a positively charged groove on the enzyme surface explain the marked increase in affinity of the pyrrolo(2,3-d)pyrimidine inhibitors once they are polyglutamylated, as mediated in vivo by the cellular enzyme folyl polyglutamate synthetase.