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Thomas SE, McCarthy WJ, El Bakali J, Brown KP, Kim SY, Blaszczyk M, Mendes V, Abell C, Floto RA, Coyne AG, Blundell TL. Structural Characterization of Mycobacterium abscessus Phosphopantetheine Adenylyl Transferase Ligand Interactions: Implications for Fragment-Based Drug Design. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:880432. [PMID: 35712348 PMCID: PMC9197168 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.880432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Anti-microbial resistance is a rising global healthcare concern that needs urgent attention as growing number of infections become difficult to treat with the currently available antibiotics. This is particularly true for mycobacterial infections like tuberculosis and leprosy and those with emerging opportunistic pathogens such as Mycobacterium abscessus, where multi-drug resistance leads to increased healthcare cost and mortality. M. abscessus is a highly drug-resistant non-tuberculous mycobacterium which causes life-threatening infections in people with chronic lung conditions such as cystic fibrosis. In this study, we explore M. abscessus phosphopantetheine adenylyl transferase (PPAT), an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of Coenzyme A, as a target for the development of new antibiotics. We provide structural insights into substrate and feedback inhibitor binding modes of M. abscessus PPAT, thereby setting the basis for further chemical exploration of the enzyme. We then utilize a multi-dimensional fragment screening approach involving biophysical and structural analysis, followed by evaluation of compounds from a previous fragment-based drug discovery campaign against M. tuberculosis PPAT ortholog. This allowed the identification of an early-stage lead molecule exhibiting low micro molar affinity against M. abscessus PPAT (Kd 3.2 ± 0.8 µM) and potential new ways to design inhibitors against this enzyme. The resulting crystal structures reveal striking conformational changes and closure of solvent channel of M. abscessus PPAT hexamer providing novel strategies of inhibition. The study thus validates the ligandability of M. abscessus PPAT as an antibiotic target and identifies crucial starting points for structure-guided drug discovery against this bacterium.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sherine E. Thomas
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - William J. McCarthy
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Jamal El Bakali
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Karen P. Brown
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Molecular Immunity Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - So Yeon Kim
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Michal Blaszczyk
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Vítor Mendes
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Molecular Immunity Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Chris Abell
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - R. Andres Floto
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Molecular Immunity Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Cambridge Centre for Lung Infection, Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Anthony G. Coyne
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Tom L. Blundell
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Butman HS, Kotzé TJ, Dowd CS, Strauss E. Vitamin in the Crosshairs: Targeting Pantothenate and Coenzyme A Biosynthesis for New Antituberculosis Agents. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2020; 10:605662. [PMID: 33384970 PMCID: PMC7770189 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.605662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite decades of dedicated research, there remains a dire need for new drugs against tuberculosis (TB). Current therapies are generations old and problematic. Resistance to these existing therapies results in an ever-increasing burden of patients with disease that is difficult or impossible to treat. Novel chemical entities with new mechanisms of action are therefore earnestly required. The biosynthesis of coenzyme A (CoA) has long been known to be essential in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of TB. The pathway has been genetically validated by seminal studies in vitro and in vivo. In Mtb, the CoA biosynthetic pathway is comprised of nine enzymes: four to synthesize pantothenate (Pan) from l-aspartate and α-ketoisovalerate; five to synthesize CoA from Pan and pantetheine (PantSH). This review gathers literature reports on the structure/mechanism, inhibitors, and vulnerability of each enzyme in the CoA pathway. In addition to traditional inhibition of a single enzyme, the CoA pathway offers an antimetabolite strategy as a promising alternative. In this review, we provide our assessment of what appear to be the best targets, and, thus, which CoA pathway enzymes present the best opportunities for antitubercular drug discovery moving forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hailey S. Butman
- Department of Chemistry, George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Timothy J. Kotzé
- Department of Biochemistry, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Cynthia S. Dowd
- Department of Chemistry, George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Erick Strauss
- Department of Biochemistry, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
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Timofeev VI, Zhukhlistova NE, Kuranova IP. Crystal Packing of Phosphopantetheine Adenylyltransferase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Two Crystal Modifications. CRYSTALLOGR REP+ 2020. [DOI: 10.1134/s1063774520010265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Duncan D, Auclair K. The coenzyme A biosynthetic pathway: A new tool for prodrug bioactivation. Arch Biochem Biophys 2019; 672:108069. [PMID: 31404525 DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2019.108069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2019] [Revised: 08/05/2019] [Accepted: 08/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Prodrugs account for more than 5% of pharmaceuticals approved worldwide. Over the past decades several prodrug design strategies have been firmly established; however, only a few functional groups remain amenable to this approach. The aim of this overview is to highlight the use of coenzyme A (CoA) biosynthetic enzymes as a recently explored bioactivation scheme and provide information about its scope of utility. This emerging tool is likely to have a strong impact on future medicinal and biological studies as it offers promiscuity, orthogonal selectivity, and the capability of assembling exceptionally large molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dustin Duncan
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 0B8, Canada
| | - Karine Auclair
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 0B8, Canada.
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Thomas SE, Mendes V, Kim SY, Malhotra S, Ochoa-Montaño B, Blaszczyk M, Blundell TL. Structural Biology and the Design of New Therapeutics: From HIV and Cancer to Mycobacterial Infections: A Paper Dedicated to John Kendrew. J Mol Biol 2017; 429:2677-2693. [PMID: 28648615 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2017.06.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2017] [Accepted: 06/19/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Interest in applications of protein crystallography to medicine was evident, as the first high-resolution structures emerged in the 50s and 60s. In Cambridge, Max Perutz and John Kendrew sought to understand mutations in sickle cell and other genetic diseases related to hemoglobin, while in Oxford, the group of Dorothy Hodgkin became interested in long-lasting zinc-insulin crystals for treatment of diabetes and later considered insulin redesign, as synthetic insulins became possible. The use of protein crystallography in structure-guided drug discovery emerged as enzyme structures allowed the identification of potential inhibitor-binding sites and optimization of interactions of hits using the structure of the target protein. Early examples of this approach were the use of the structure of renin to design antihypertensives and the structure of HIV protease in design of AIDS antivirals. More recently, use of structure-guided design with fragment-based drug discovery, which reduces the size of screening libraries by decreasing complexity, has improved ligand efficiency in drug design and has been used to progress three oncology drugs through clinical trials to FDA approval. We exemplify current developments in structure-guided target identification and fragment-based lead discovery with efforts to develop new antimicrobials for mycobacterial infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sherine E Thomas
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1GA UK
| | - Vitor Mendes
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1GA UK
| | - So Yeon Kim
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1GA UK
| | - Sony Malhotra
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1GA UK
| | - Bernardo Ochoa-Montaño
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1GA UK
| | - Michal Blaszczyk
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1GA UK
| | - Tom L Blundell
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1GA UK.
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Podshivalov DD, Timofeev VI, Sidorov-Biryukov DD, Kuranova IP. Virtual screening of selective inhibitors of phosphopantetheine adenylyltransferase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. CRYSTALLOGR REP+ 2017. [DOI: 10.1134/s106377451703018x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Timofeev VI, Chupova LA, Esipov RS, Kuranova IP. Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction study of phosphopantetheine adenylyltransferase from M. tuberculosis crystallizing in space group P32. CRYSTALLOGR REP+ 2015. [DOI: 10.1134/s106377451505017x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Timofeev V, Smirnova E, Chupova L, Esipov R, Kuranova I. X-ray study of the conformational changes in the molecule of phosphopantetheine adenylyltransferase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis during the catalyzed reaction. ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D: BIOLOGICAL CRYSTALLOGRAPHY 2012; 68:1660-70. [PMID: 23151631 DOI: 10.1107/s0907444912040206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2012] [Accepted: 09/22/2012] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Structures of recombinant phosphopantetheine adenylyltransferase (PPAT) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (PPATMt) in the apo form and in complex with the substrate ATP were determined at 1.62 and 1.70 Å resolution, respectively, using crystals grown in microgravity by the counter-diffusion method. The ATP molecule of the PPATMt-ATP complex was located with full occupancy in the active-site cavity. Comparison of the solved structures with previously determined structures of PPATMt complexed with the reaction product dephosphocoenzyme A (dPCoA) and the feedback inhibitor coenzyme A (CoA) was performed using superposition on C(α) atoms. The peculiarities of the arrangement of the ligands in the active-site cavity of PPATMt are described. The conformational states of the PPAT molecule in the consequent steps of the catalyzed reaction in the apo enzyme and the enzyme-substrate and enzyme-product complexes are characterized. It is shown that the binding of ATP and dPCoA induces the rearrangement of a short part of the polypeptide chain restricting the active-site cavity in the subunits of the hexameric enzyme molecule. The changes in the quaternary structure caused by this rearrangement are accompanied by a variation of the size of the inner water-filled channel which crosses the PPAT molecule along the threefold axis of the hexamer. The molecular mechanism of the observed changes is described.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir Timofeev
- Laboratory of X-ray Analysis Methods and Synchrotron Radiation, Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 59, Moscow, Russian Federation.
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Timofeev VI, Smirnova EA, Chupova LA, Esipov RS, Kuranova IP. Three-dimensional structure of phosphopantetheine adenylyltransferase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the apo form and in complexes with coenzyme A and dephosphocoenzyme A. CRYSTALLOGR REP+ 2012. [DOI: 10.1134/s1063774512010142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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