1
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Sharma V, Madia VN, Tudino V, Nguyen JV, Debnath A, Messore A, Ialongo D, Patacchini E, Palenca I, Basili Franzin S, Seguella L, Esposito G, Petrucci R, Di Matteo P, Bortolami M, Saccoliti F, Di Santo R, Scipione L, Costi R, Podust LM. Miconazole-like Scaffold is a Promising Lead for Naegleria fowleri-Specific CYP51 Inhibitors. J Med Chem 2023; 66:17059-17073. [PMID: 38085955 PMCID: PMC10758121 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c01898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023]
Abstract
Developing drugs for brain infection by Naegleria fowleri is an unmet medical need. We used a combination of cheminformatics, target-, and phenotypic-based drug discovery methods to identify inhibitors that target an essential N. fowleri enzyme, sterol 14-demethylase (NfCYP51). A total of 124 compounds preselected in silico were tested against N. fowleri. Nine primary hits with EC50 ≤ 10 μM were phenotypically identified. Cocrystallization with NfCYP51 focused attention on one primary hit, miconazole-like compound 2a. The S-enantiomer of 2a produced a 1.74 Å cocrystal structure. A set of analogues was then synthesized and evaluated to confirm the superiority of the S-configuration over the R-configuration and the advantage of an ether linkage over an ester linkage. The two compounds, S-8b and S-9b, had an improved EC50 and KD compared to 2a. Importantly, both were readily taken up into the brain. The brain-to-plasma distribution coefficient of S-9b was 1.02 ± 0.12, suggesting further evaluation as a lead for primary amoebic meningoencephalitis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vandna Sharma
- Skaggs
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery
and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University
of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Valentina Noemi Madia
- Dipartimento
di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci
Bolognetti, “Sapienza” Università
di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, Rome I-00185, Italy
| | - Valeria Tudino
- Dipartimento
di Biotecnologie, Università degli
Studi di Siena, Chimica e Farmacia via Aldo Moro 2, Siena 53100, Italy
| | - Jennifer V. Nguyen
- Skaggs
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery
and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University
of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Anjan Debnath
- Skaggs
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery
and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University
of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Antonella Messore
- Dipartimento
di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci
Bolognetti, “Sapienza” Università
di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, Rome I-00185, Italy
| | - Davide Ialongo
- Dipartimento
di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci
Bolognetti, “Sapienza” Università
di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, Rome I-00185, Italy
| | - Elisa Patacchini
- Dipartimento
di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci
Bolognetti, “Sapienza” Università
di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, Rome I-00185, Italy
| | - Irene Palenca
- Department
of Physiology and Pharmacology “V. Erspamer”, “Sapienza″ Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, Rome I-00185, Italy
| | - Silvia Basili Franzin
- Department
of Physiology and Pharmacology “V. Erspamer”, “Sapienza″ Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, Rome I-00185, Italy
| | - Luisa Seguella
- Department
of Physiology and Pharmacology “V. Erspamer”, “Sapienza″ Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, Rome I-00185, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Esposito
- Department
of Physiology and Pharmacology “V. Erspamer”, “Sapienza″ Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, Rome I-00185, Italy
| | - Rita Petrucci
- Dipartimento
di Scienze di Base e Applicate per l’Ingegneria, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, Via Castro Laurenziano 7, Rome 00161, Italy
| | - Paola Di Matteo
- Dipartimento
di Scienze di Base e Applicate per l’Ingegneria, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, Via Castro Laurenziano 7, Rome 00161, Italy
| | - Martina Bortolami
- Dipartimento
di Scienze di Base e Applicate per l’Ingegneria, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, Via Castro Laurenziano 7, Rome 00161, Italy
| | - Francesco Saccoliti
- D3 PharmaChemistry, Italian
Institute of Technology, Via Morego 30, Genova 16163, Italy
| | - Roberto Di Santo
- Dipartimento
di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci
Bolognetti, “Sapienza” Università
di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, Rome I-00185, Italy
| | - Luigi Scipione
- Dipartimento
di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci
Bolognetti, “Sapienza” Università
di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, Rome I-00185, Italy
| | - Roberta Costi
- Dipartimento
di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci
Bolognetti, “Sapienza” Università
di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, Rome I-00185, Italy
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Skaggs
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery
and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University
of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
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2
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Maltarollo VG, da Silva EB, Kronenberger T, Sena Andrade MM, de Lima Marques GV, Cândido Oliveira NJ, Santos LH, Oliveira Rezende Júnior CD, Cassiano Martinho AC, Skinner D, Fajtová P, M Fernandes TH, Silveira Dos Santos ED, Rodrigues Gazolla PA, Martins de Souza AP, da Silva ML, Dos Santos FS, Lavorato SN, Oliveira Bretas AC, Carvalho DT, Franco LL, Luedtke S, Giardini MA, Poso A, Dias LC, Podust LM, Alves RJ, McKerrow J, Andrade SF, Teixeira RR, Siqueira-Neto JL, O'Donoghue A, de Oliveira RB, Ferreira RS. Structure-based discovery of thiosemicarbazones as SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors. Future Med Chem 2023; 15:959-985. [PMID: 37435731 DOI: 10.4155/fmc-2023-0034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Aim: Discovery of novel SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) inhibitors using a structure-based drug discovery strategy. Materials & methods: Virtual screening employing covalent and noncovalent docking was performed to discover Mpro inhibitors, which were subsequently evaluated in biochemical and cellular assays. Results: 91 virtual hits were selected for biochemical assays, and four were confirmed as reversible inhibitors of SARS CoV-2 Mpro with IC50 values of 0.4-3 μM. They were also shown to inhibit SARS-CoV-1 Mpro and human cathepsin L. Molecular dynamics simulations indicated the stability of the Mpro inhibitor complexes and the interaction of ligands at the subsites. Conclusion: This approach led to the discovery of novel thiosemicarbazones as potent SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinícius Gonçalves Maltarollo
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Elany Barbosa da Silva
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
| | - Thales Kronenberger
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) 'Image-Guided & Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies', University of Tübingen, Tübingen, 72076, Germany
- Tübingen Center for Academic Drug Discovery, Auf der Morgenstelle 8, Tübingen, 72076, Germany
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, 70211, Finland
| | - Marina Mol Sena Andrade
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Gabriel V de Lima Marques
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Nereu J Cândido Oliveira
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Lucianna H Santos
- Department of Biochemistry & Immunology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Celso de Oliveira Rezende Júnior
- Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, 38400-902, Brazil
- Instituto de Química, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, 13083-970, Brazil
| | - Ana C Cassiano Martinho
- Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, 38400-902, Brazil
| | - Danielle Skinner
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
| | - Pavla Fajtová
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
- Institute of Organic Chemistry & Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, 16610, Czech Republic
| | - Thaís H M Fernandes
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90160-093, Brazil
- Pharmaceutical Synthesis Group (PHARSG), Departamento de Produção de Matéria-Prima, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90160-093, Brazil
| | - Eduardo da Silveira Dos Santos
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90160-093, Brazil
- Pharmaceutical Synthesis Group (PHARSG), Departamento de Produção de Matéria-Prima, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90160-093, Brazil
| | - Poliana A Rodrigues Gazolla
- Grupo de Síntese e Pesquisa de Compostos Bioativos (GSPCB), Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570-900, Brazil
| | - Ana P Martins de Souza
- Grupo de Síntese e Pesquisa de Compostos Bioativos (GSPCB), Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570-900, Brazil
| | - Milene Lopes da Silva
- Grupo de Síntese e Pesquisa de Compostos Bioativos (GSPCB), Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570-900, Brazil
| | - Fabíola S Dos Santos
- Grupo de Síntese e Pesquisa de Compostos Bioativos (GSPCB), Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570-900, Brazil
| | - Stefânia N Lavorato
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
- Centro das Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Oeste da Bahia, Barreiras, Bahia, 47810-047, Brazil
| | - Ana C Oliveira Bretas
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Diogo Teixeira Carvalho
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Lucas Lopardi Franco
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Stephanie Luedtke
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
| | - Miriam A Giardini
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
| | - Antti Poso
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) 'Image-Guided & Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies', University of Tübingen, Tübingen, 72076, Germany
- Tübingen Center for Academic Drug Discovery, Auf der Morgenstelle 8, Tübingen, 72076, Germany
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, 70211, Finland
| | - Luiz C Dias
- Instituto de Química, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, 13083-970, Brazil
| | - Larissa M Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
| | - Ricardo J Alves
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - James McKerrow
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
| | - Saulo F Andrade
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90160-093, Brazil
- Pharmaceutical Synthesis Group (PHARSG), Departamento de Produção de Matéria-Prima, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90160-093, Brazil
| | - Róbson R Teixeira
- Grupo de Síntese e Pesquisa de Compostos Bioativos (GSPCB), Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570-900, Brazil
| | - Jair L Siqueira-Neto
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
| | - Anthony O'Donoghue
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
| | - Renata B de Oliveira
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Rafaela S Ferreira
- Department of Biochemistry & Immunology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
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3
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Santos LH, Kronenberger T, Almeida RG, Silva EB, Rocha REO, Oliveira JC, Barreto LV, Skinner D, Fajtová P, Giardini MA, Woodworth B, Bardine C, Lourenço AL, Craik CS, Poso A, Podust LM, McKerrow JH, Siqueira-Neto JL, O’Donoghue AJ, da Silva
Júnior EN, Ferreira RS. Structure-Based Identification of Naphthoquinones and Derivatives as Novel Inhibitors of Main Protease M pro and Papain-like Protease PL pro of SARS-CoV-2. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:6553-6573. [PMID: 35960688 PMCID: PMC9397563 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 urgently demands novel direct antiviral treatments. The main protease (Mpro) and papain-like protease (PLpro) are attractive drug targets among coronaviruses due to their essential role in processing the polyproteins translated from the viral RNA. In this study, we virtually screened 688 naphthoquinoidal compounds and derivatives against Mpro of SARS-CoV-2. Twenty-four derivatives were selected and evaluated in biochemical assays against Mpro using a novel fluorogenic substrate. In parallel, these compounds were also assayed with SARS-CoV-2 PLpro. Four compounds inhibited Mpro with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values between 0.41 μM and 9.0 μM. In addition, three compounds inhibited PLpro with IC50 ranging from 1.9 μM to 3.3 μM. To verify the specificity of Mpro and PLpro inhibitors, our experiments included an assessment of common causes of false positives such as aggregation, high compound fluorescence, and inhibition by enzyme oxidation. Altogether, we confirmed novel classes of specific Mpro and PLpro inhibitors. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest stable binding modes for Mpro inhibitors with frequent interactions with residues in the S1 and S2 pockets of the active site. For two PLpro inhibitors, interactions occur in the S3 and S4 pockets. In summary, our structure-based computational and biochemical approach identified novel naphthoquinonal scaffolds that can be further explored as SARS-CoV-2 antivirals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucianna H. Santos
- Department of Biochemistry and Immunology,
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas
Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Thales Kronenberger
- Department of Oncology and Pneumonology, Internal
Medicine VIII, University Hospital Tübingen,
Otfried-Müller-Straße 10, DE72076 Tübingen,
Germany
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences,
University of Eastern Finland, 70211 Kuopio,
Finland
- Institute of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical/Medicinal
Chemistry and Tübingen Center for Academic Drug Discovery (TüCAD2),
Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Auf der
Morgenstelle 8, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Renata G. Almeida
- Institute of Exact Sciences, Department of Chemistry,
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas
Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Elany B. Silva
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La
Jolla, California 92093-0657, United States
| | - Rafael E. O. Rocha
- Department of Biochemistry and Immunology,
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas
Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Joyce C. Oliveira
- Institute of Exact Sciences, Department of Chemistry,
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas
Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Luiza V. Barreto
- Department of Biochemistry and Immunology,
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas
Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Danielle Skinner
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La
Jolla, California 92093-0657, United States
| | - Pavla Fajtová
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La
Jolla, California 92093-0657, United States
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry,
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 16610 Prague,
Czech Republic
| | - Miriam A. Giardini
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La
Jolla, California 92093-0657, United States
| | - Brendon Woodworth
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious
Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla,
California 92093, United States
| | - Conner Bardine
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry,
University of California San Francisco, San Francisco,
California 94143, United States
| | - André L. Lourenço
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry,
University of California San Francisco, San Francisco,
California 94143, United States
| | - Charles S. Craik
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry,
University of California San Francisco, San Francisco,
California 94143, United States
| | - Antti Poso
- Department of Oncology and Pneumonology, Internal
Medicine VIII, University Hospital Tübingen,
Otfried-Müller-Straße 10, DE72076 Tübingen,
Germany
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences,
University of Eastern Finland, 70211 Kuopio,
Finland
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La
Jolla, California 92093-0657, United States
| | - James H. McKerrow
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La
Jolla, California 92093-0657, United States
| | - Jair L. Siqueira-Neto
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La
Jolla, California 92093-0657, United States
| | - Anthony J. O’Donoghue
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La
Jolla, California 92093-0657, United States
| | - Eufrânio N. da Silva
Júnior
- Institute of Exact Sciences, Department of Chemistry,
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas
Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Rafaela S. Ferreira
- Department of Biochemistry and Immunology,
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas
Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
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4
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Corpuz JC, Patel A, Davis TD, Podust LM, McCammon JA, Burkart MD. Essential Role of Loop Dynamics in Type II NRPS Biomolecular Recognition. ACS Chem Biol 2022; 17:2890-2898. [PMID: 36173802 PMCID: PMC9808923 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.2c00523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Non-ribosomal peptides play a critical role in the clinic as therapeutic agents. To access more chemically diverse therapeutics, non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) have been targeted for engineering through combinatorial biosynthesis; however, this has been met with limited success in part due to the lack of proper protein-protein interactions between non-cognate proteins. Herein, we report our use of chemical biology to enable X-ray crystallography, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and biochemical studies to elucidate binding specificities between peptidyl carrier proteins (PCPs) and adenylation (A) domains. Specifically, we determined X-ray crystal structures of a type II PCP crosslinked to its cognate A domain, PigG and PigI, and of PigG crosslinked to a non-cognate PigI homologue, PltF. The crosslinked PCP-A domain structures possess large protein-protein interfaces that predominantly feature hydrophobic interactions, with specific electrostatic interactions that orient the substrate for active site delivery. MD simulations of the PCP-A domain complexes and unbound PCP structures provide a dynamical evaluation of the transient interactions formed at PCP-A domain interfaces, which confirm the previously hypothesized role of a PCP loop as a crucial recognition element. Finally, we demonstrate that the interfacial interactions at the PCP loop 1 region can be modified to control PCP binding specificity through gain-of-function mutations. This work suggests that loop conformational preferences and dynamism account for improved shape complementary in the PCP-A domain interactions. Ultimately, these studies show how crystallographic, biochemical, and computational methods can be used to rationally re-engineer NRPSs for non-cognate interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua C. Corpuz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0332, USA
| | - Ashay Patel
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0332, USA
| | - Tony D. Davis
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0332, USA
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0332, USA
| | - J. Andrew McCammon
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0332, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla CA 92093, USA
| | - Michael D. Burkart
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0332, USA
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5
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Nienhaus K, Sharma V, Nienhaus GU, Podust LM. Homodimerization Counteracts the Detrimental Effect of Nitrogenous Heme Ligands on the Enzymatic Activity of Acanthamoeba castellanii CYP51. Biochemistry 2022; 61:1363-1377. [PMID: 35730528 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Acanthamoeba castellanii is a free-living amoeba that can cause severe eye and brain infections in humans. At present, there is no uniformly effective treatment for any of these infections. However, sterol 14α-demethylases (CYP51s), heme-containing cytochrome P450 enzymes, are known to be validated drug targets in pathogenic fungi and protozoa. The catalytically active P450 form of CYP51 from A. castellanii (AcCYP51) is stabilized against conversion to the inactive P420 form by dimerization. In contrast, Naegleria fowleri CYP51 (NfCYP51) is monomeric in its active P450 and inactive P420 forms. For these two CYP51 enzymes, we have investigated the interplay between the enzyme activity and oligomerization state using steady-state and time-resolved UV-visible absorption spectroscopy. In both enzymes, the P450 → P420 transition is favored under reducing conditions. The transition is accelerated at higher pH, which excludes a protonated thiol as the proximal ligand in P420. Displacement of the proximal thiolate ligand is also promoted by adding exogenous nitrogenous ligands (N-ligands) such as imidazole, isavuconazole, and clotrimazole that bind at the opposite, distal heme side. In AcCYP51, the P450 → P420 transition is faster in the monomer than in the dimer, indicating that the dimeric assembly is critical for stabilizing thiolate coordination to the heme and thus for sustaining AcCYP51 activity. The spectroscopic experiments were complemented with size-exclusion chromatography and X-ray crystallography studies. Collectively, our results indicate that effective inactivation of the AcCYP51 function by azole drugs is due to synergistic interference with AcCYP51 dimerization and promoting irreversible displacement of the proximal heme-thiolate ligand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Nienhaus
- Institute of Applied Physics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), D-76049 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Vandna Sharma
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Gerd Ulrich Nienhaus
- Institute of Applied Physics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), D-76049 Karlsruhe, Germany.,Institute of Nanotechnology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany.,Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany.,Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Larissa M Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
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6
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Barbosa Da Silva E, Sharma V, Hernandez-Alvarez L, Tang AH, Stoye A, O’Donoghue AJ, Gerwick WH, Payne RJ, McKerrow JH, Podust LM. Intramolecular Interactions Enhance the Potency of Gallinamide A Analogues against Trypanosoma cruzi. J Med Chem 2022; 65:4255-4269. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c02063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Elany Barbosa Da Silva
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Vandna Sharma
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Lilian Hernandez-Alvarez
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Departamento de Física, Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas, Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, CEP 15054-000, Brazil
| | - Arthur H. Tang
- School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Alexander Stoye
- School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Anthony J. O’Donoghue
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - William H. Gerwick
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Richard J. Payne
- School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - James H. McKerrow
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
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7
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Santos LH, Kronenberger T, Almeida RG, Silva EB, Rocha REO, Oliveira JC, Barreto LV, Skinner D, Fajtová P, Giardini MA, Woodworth B, Bardine C, Lourenço AL, Craik CS, Poso A, Podust LM, McKerrow JH, Siqueira-Neto JL, O'Donoghue AJ, da Silva Júnior EN, Ferreira RS. Structure-based identification of naphthoquinones and derivatives as novel inhibitors of main protease Mpro and papain-like protease PLpro of SARS-CoV-2. bioRxiv 2022:2022.01.05.475095. [PMID: 35018373 PMCID: PMC8750648 DOI: 10.1101/2022.01.05.475095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 urgently demands novel direct antiviral treatments. The main protease (Mpro) and papain-like protease (PLpro) are attractive drug targets among coronaviruses due to their essential role in processing the polyproteins translated from the viral RNA. In the present work, we virtually screened 688 naphthoquinoidal compounds and derivatives against Mpro of SARS-CoV-2. Twenty-four derivatives were selected and evaluated in biochemical assays against Mpro using a novel fluorogenic substrate. In parallel, these compounds were also assayed with SARS-CoV-2 PLpro. Four compounds inhibited Mpro with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) values between 0.41 µM and 66 µM. In addition, eight compounds inhibited PLpro with IC 50 ranging from 1.7 µM to 46 µM. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest stable binding modes for Mpro inhibitors with frequent interactions with residues in the S1 and S2 pockets of the active site. For two PLpro inhibitors, interactions occur in the S3 and S4 pockets. In summary, our structure-based computational and biochemical approach identified novel naphthoquinonal scaffolds that can be further explored as SARS-CoV-2 antivirals.
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8
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Newmister SA, Srivastava KR, Espinoza RV, Caddell Haatveit K, Khatri Y, Martini RM, Garcia-Borràs M, Podust LM, Houk KN, Sherman DH. Molecular Basis of Iterative C─H Oxidation by TamI, a Multifunctional P450 monooxygenase from the Tirandamycin Biosynthetic Pathway. ACS Catal 2020; 10:13445-13454. [PMID: 33569241 DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.0c03248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Biocatalysis offers an expanding and powerful strategy to construct and diversify complex molecules by C─H bond functionalization. Due to their high selectivity, enzymes have become an essential tool for C─H bond functionalization and offer complementary reactivity to small-molecule catalysts. Hemoproteins, particularly cytochromes P450, have proven effective for selective oxidation of unactivated C─H bonds. Previously, we reported the in vitro characterization of an oxidative tailoring cascade in which TamI, a multifunctional P450 functions co-dependently with the TamL flavoprotein to catalyze regio- and stereoselective hydroxylations and epoxidation to yield tirandamycin A and tirandamycin B. TamI follows a defined order including 1) C10 hydroxylation, 2) C11/C12 epoxidation, and 3) C18 hydroxylation. Here we present a structural, biochemical, and computational investigation of TamI to understand the molecular basis of its substrate binding, diverse reactivity, and specific reaction sequence. The crystal structure of TamI in complex with tirandamycin C together with molecular dynamics simulations and targeted mutagenesis suggest that hydrophobic interactions with the polyene chain of its natural substrate are critical for molecular recognition. QM calculations and molecular dynamics simulations of TamI with variant substrates provided detailed information on the molecular basis of sequential reactivity, and pattern of regio- and stereo-selectivity in catalyzing the three-step oxidative cascade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean A. Newmister
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Kinshuk Raj Srivastava
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
- Laboratory of Biocatalysis & Enzyme Engineering, Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Rosa V. Espinoza
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
- Program in Chemical Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Kersti Caddell Haatveit
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Yogan Khatri
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Rachel M. Martini
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Marc Garcia-Borràs
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - K. N. Houk
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - David. H. Sherman
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
- Department of Micobiology & Immunology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
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9
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Abstract
Primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), caused by the free-living ameba Naegleria fowleri, has a fatality rate of over 97%. Treatment of PAM relies on amphotericin B in combination with other drugs, but few patients have survived with the existing drug treatment regimens. Therefore, development of effective drugs is a critical unmet need to avert deaths from PAM. Since ergosterol is one of the major sterols in the membrane of N. fowleri, disruption of isoprenoid and sterol biosynthesis by small-molecule inhibitors may be an effective intervention strategy against N. fowleri. The genome of N. fowleri contains a gene encoding HMG-CoA reductase (HMGR); the catalytic domains of human and N. fowleri HMGR share <60% sequence identity with only two amino acid substitutions in the active site of the enzyme. Considering the similarity of human and N. fowleri HMGR, we tested well-tolerated and widely used HMGR inhibitors, known as cholesterol-lowering statins, against N. fowleri. We identified blood-brain-barrier-permeable pitavastatin as a potent amebicidal agent against the U.S., Australian, and European strains of N. fowleri. Pitavastatin was equipotent to amphotericin B against the European strain of N. fowleri; it killed about 80% of trophozoites within 16 h of drug exposure. Pretreatment of trophozoites with mevalonate, the product of HMGR, rescued N. fowleri from inhibitory effects of statins, demonstrating that HMGR of N. fowleri is the target of statins. Because of the good safety profile and availability for both adult and pediatric uses, consideration should be given to repurposing the fast-acting pitavastatin for the treatment of PAM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hye Jee Hahn
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0756, United States
| | - Ruben Abagyan
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0756, United States
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0756, United States
| | - Shantanu Roy
- Free-Living and Intestinal Amebas (FLIA) Laboratory, Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia 30329-4018, United States
| | - Ibne Karim M. Ali
- Free-Living and Intestinal Amebas (FLIA) Laboratory, Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia 30329-4018, United States
| | - Anjan Debnath
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0756, United States
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10
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Sharma V, Shing B, Hernandez-Alvarez L, Debnath A, Podust LM. Domain-Swap Dimerization of Acanthamoeba castellanii CYP51 and a Unique Mechanism of Inactivation by Isavuconazole. Mol Pharmacol 2020; 98:770-780. [PMID: 33008918 DOI: 10.1124/molpharm.120.000092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Cytochromes P450 (P450, CYP) metabolize a wide variety of endogenous and exogenous lipophilic molecules, including most drugs. Sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) is a target for antifungal drugs known as conazoles. Using X-ray crystallography, we have discovered a domain-swap homodimerization mode in CYP51 from a human pathogen, Acanthamoeba castellanii CYP51 (AcCYP51). Recombinant AcCYP51 with a truncated transmembrane helix was purified as a heterogeneous mixture corresponding to the dimer and monomer units. Spectral analyses of these two populations have shown that the CO-bound ferrous form of the dimeric protein absorbed at 448 nm (catalytically competent form), whereas the monomeric form absorbed at 420 nm (catalytically incompetent form). AcCYP51 dimerized head-to-head via N-termini swapping, resulting in formation of a nonplanar protein-protein interface exceeding 2000 Å2 with a total solvation energy gain of -35.4 kcal/mol. In the dimer, the protomers faced each other through the F and G α-helices, thus blocking the substrate access channel. In the presence of the drugs clotrimazole and isavuconazole, the AcCYP51 drug complexes crystallized as monomers. Although clotrimazole-bound AcCYP51 adopted a typical CYP monomer structure, isavuconazole-bound AcCYP51 failed to refold 74 N-terminal residues. The failure of AcCYP51 to fully refold upon inhibitor binding in vivo would cause an irreversible loss of a structurally aberrant enzyme through proteolytic degradation. This assumption explains the superior potency of isavuconazole against A. castellanii The dimerization mode observed in this work is compatible with membrane association and may be relevant to other members of the CYP family of biologic, medical, and pharmacological importance. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: We investigated the mechanism of action of antifungal drugs in the human pathogen Acanthamoeba castellanii. We discovered that the enzyme target [Acanthamoeba castellanii sterol 14α-demethylase (AcCYP51)] formed a dimer via an N-termini swap, whereas drug-bound AcCYP51 was monomeric. In the AcCYP51-isavuconazole complex, the protein target failed to refold 74 N-terminal residues, suggesting a fundamentally different mechanism of AcCYP51 inactivation than only blocking the active site. Proteolytic degradation of a structurally aberrant enzyme would explain the superior potency of isavuconazole against A. castellanii.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vandna Sharma
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California (V.S., B.S., L.H.-A., A.D., L.M.P.) and Departamento de Física, Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas, Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil (L.H.-A.)
| | - Brian Shing
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California (V.S., B.S., L.H.-A., A.D., L.M.P.) and Departamento de Física, Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas, Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil (L.H.-A.)
| | - Lilian Hernandez-Alvarez
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California (V.S., B.S., L.H.-A., A.D., L.M.P.) and Departamento de Física, Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas, Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil (L.H.-A.)
| | - Anjan Debnath
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California (V.S., B.S., L.H.-A., A.D., L.M.P.) and Departamento de Física, Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas, Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil (L.H.-A.)
| | - Larissa M Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California (V.S., B.S., L.H.-A., A.D., L.M.P.) and Departamento de Física, Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas, Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil (L.H.-A.)
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11
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Corpuz JC, Podust LM, Davis TD, Jaremko MJ, Burkart MD. Dynamic visualization of type II peptidyl carrier protein recognition in pyoluteorin biosynthesis. RSC Chem Biol 2020; 1:8-12. [PMID: 33305272 PMCID: PMC7723355 DOI: 10.1039/c9cb00015a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Using a covalent chemical probe and X-ray crystallography coupled to nuclear magnetic resonance data, we elucidated the dynamic molecular basis of protein recognition between the carrier protein and adenylation domain in pyoluteorin biosynthesis. These findings reveal a unique binding mode, which contrasts previously solved carrier protein and partner protein interfaces. The interface interactions of a type II peptidyl carrier protein and partner enzyme are observed to be unique and dynamic.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua C Corpuz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California-San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0358, USA
| | - Larissa M Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California-San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA 92093-0755, USA
| | - Tony D Davis
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California-San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0358, USA
| | - Matt J Jaremko
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California-San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0358, USA
| | - Michael D Burkart
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California-San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0358, USA
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12
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Shi D, Chahal KK, Oto P, Nothias LF, Debnath A, McKerrow JH, Podust LM, Abagyan R. Identification of Four Amoebicidal Nontoxic Compounds by a Molecular Docking Screen of Naegleria fowleri Sterol Δ8-Δ7-Isomerase and Phenotypic Assays. ACS Infect Dis 2019; 5:2029-2038. [PMID: 31583882 PMCID: PMC7085920 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.9b00227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Naegleria fowleri is a free-living amoeba causing primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, a rapid-onset brain infection in humans with over 97% mortality rate. Despite some progress in the treatment of the disease, there is no single, proven, evidence-based treatment with a high probability of cure. Here we report the chemical library screening and experimental identification of four new compounds with amoebicidal effects against N. fowleri. The chemical library was screened by molecular docking against a homology model of sterol Δ8-Δ7 isomerase (NfERG2). Thirty top-ranking hits were then tested in a cell-based assay for antiproliferative/amoebicidal activities. Eight chemicals exhibited nearly 100% inhibition of N. fowleri at 50 μM, with the EC50 values ranging from 6 to 25 μM. A cell toxicity assay using human HEK-293 cells was also performed. Four of the compounds preferentially kill amoeba cells with no apparent human cell toxicities. These compounds fall into two distinct chemical scaffolds with druglike properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Da Shi
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, University of California San Diego,9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California, 92093, United States of America
| | - Kirti Kandhwal Chahal
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, University of California San Diego,9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California, 92093, United States of America
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar-Delhi Bypass Road, Hisar, Haryana 125001, India
| | - Patricia Oto
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, University of California San Diego,9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California, 92093, United States of America
| | - Louis-Felix Nothias
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, University of California San Diego,9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California, 92093, United States of America
| | - Anjan Debnath
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, University of California San Diego,9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California, 92093, United States of America
| | - James H. McKerrow
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, University of California San Diego,9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California, 92093, United States of America
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, University of California San Diego,9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California, 92093, United States of America
| | - Ruben Abagyan
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, University of California San Diego,9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California, 92093, United States of America
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13
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DeMars MD, Samora NL, Yang S, Garcia-Borràs M, Sanders JN, Houk KN, Podust LM, Sherman DH. Exploring the molecular basis for substrate specificity in homologous macrolide biosynthetic cytochromes P450. J Biol Chem 2019; 294:15947-15961. [PMID: 31488542 PMCID: PMC6827315 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra119.010352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2019] [Revised: 08/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Cytochromes P450 (P450s) are nature's catalysts of choice for performing demanding and physiologically vital oxidation reactions. Biochemical characterization of these enzymes over the past decades has provided detailed mechanistic insight and highlighted the diversity of substrates P450s accommodate and the spectrum of oxidative transformations they catalyze. Previously, we discovered that the bacterial P450 MycCI from the mycinamicin biosynthetic pathway in Micromonospora griseorubida possesses an unusually broad substrate scope, whereas the homologous P450 from tylosin-producing Streptomyces fradiae (TylHI) exhibits a high degree of specificity for its native substrate. Here, using biochemical, structural, and computational approaches, we aimed to understand the molecular basis for the disparate reactivity profiles of these two P450s. Turnover and equilibrium binding experiments with substrate analogs revealed that TylHI strictly prefers 16-membered ring macrolides bearing the deoxyamino sugar mycaminose. To help rationalize these results, we solved the X-ray crystal structure of TylHI in complex with its native substrate at 1.99-Å resolution and assayed several site-directed mutants. We also conducted molecular dynamics simulations of TylHI and MycCI and biochemically characterized a third P450 homolog from the chalcomycin biosynthetic pathway in Streptomyces bikiniensis These studies provided a basis for constructing P450 chimeras to gain further insight into the features dictating the differences in reaction profile among these structurally and functionally related enzymes, ultimately unveiling the central roles of key loop regions in influencing substrate binding and turnover. Our work highlights the complex nature of P450/substrate interactions and raises interesting questions regarding the evolution of functional diversity among biosynthetic enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew D DeMars
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
| | - Nathan L Samora
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, California 92093
| | - Song Yang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - Marc Garcia-Borràs
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - Jacob N Sanders
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - K N Houk
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - Larissa M Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, California 92093
| | - David H Sherman
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
- Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
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14
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Davydov RM, Jennings G, Hoffman BM, Podust LM. Short-lived neutral FMN and FAD semiquinones are transient intermediates in cryo-reduced yeast NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase. Arch Biochem Biophys 2019; 673:108080. [PMID: 31445894 DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2019.108080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2019] [Revised: 08/14/2019] [Accepted: 08/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The electron configuration of flavin cofactors, FMN and FAD, is a critical factor governing the reactivity of NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR). The current view of electron transfer by the mammalian CPR, based on equilibrium redox potentials of the flavin cofactors, is that the two electron-reduced FMN hydroquinone (FMNH2), rather than one electron-reduced FMN semiquinone, serves as electron donor to the terminal protein acceptors. However, kinetic and thermodynamic studies on the CPR species originated from different organisms have shown that redox potentials measured at distinct electron transfer steps differ from redox potentials determined by equilibrium titration. Collectively, previous observations suggest that the short-lived transient semiquinone species may carry electrons in diflavin reductases. In this work, we have investigated spectroscopic properties of the CPR-bound FAD and FMN reduced at 77 K by radiolytically-generated thermalized electrons. Using UV-vis spectroscopy, we demonstrated that upon cryo-reduction of oxidized yeast CPR (yCPR) containing an equimolar ratio of both FAD and FMN, or FAD alone, neutral semiquinones were trapped at 77 K. During annealing at the elevated temperatures, unstable short-lived neutral semiquinones relaxed to spectroscopically distinct air-stable neutral semiquinones. This transition was independent of pH within the 6.0-10.7 range. Our data on yeast CPR are in line with the previous observations of others that the flavin short-lived transient semiquinone intermediates may have a role in the electron transfer by CPR at physiological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roman M Davydov
- The Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Gareth Jennings
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Brian M Hoffman
- The Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Larissa M Podust
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
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15
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Saccoliti F, Madia VN, Tudino V, De Leo A, Pescatori L, Messore A, De Vita D, Scipione L, Brun R, Kaiser M, Mäser P, Calvet CM, Jennings GK, Podust LM, Pepe G, Cirilli R, Faggi C, Di Marco A, Battista MR, Summa V, Costi R, Di Santo R. Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of New 1-(Aryl-1 H-pyrrolyl)(phenyl)methyl-1 H-imidazole Derivatives as Antiprotozoal Agents. J Med Chem 2019; 62:1330-1347. [PMID: 30615444 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b01464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
We have designed and synthesized a series of new imidazole-based compounds structurally related to an antiprotozoal agent with nanomolar activity which we identified recently. The new analogues possess micromolar activities against Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and Leishmania donovani and nanomolar potency against Plasmodium falciparum. Most of the analogues displayed IC50 within the low nanomolar range against Trypanosoma cruzi, with very high selectivity toward the parasite. Discussion of structure-activity relationships and in vitro biological data for the new compounds are provided against a number of different protozoa. The mechanism of action for the most potent derivatives (5i, 6a-c, and 8b) was assessed by a target-based assay using recombinant T. cruzi CYP51. Bioavailability and efficacy of selected hits were assessed in a T. cruzi mouse model, where 6a and 6b reduced parasitemia in animals >99% following intraperitoneal administration of 25 mg/kg/day dose for 4 consecutive days.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Saccoliti
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti , Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma , p. le Aldo Moro 5 , I-00185 Rome , Italy
| | - Valentina Noemi Madia
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti , Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma , p. le Aldo Moro 5 , I-00185 Rome , Italy
| | - Valeria Tudino
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti , Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma , p. le Aldo Moro 5 , I-00185 Rome , Italy
| | - Alessandro De Leo
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti , Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma , p. le Aldo Moro 5 , I-00185 Rome , Italy
| | - Luca Pescatori
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti , Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma , p. le Aldo Moro 5 , I-00185 Rome , Italy
| | - Antonella Messore
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti , Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma , p. le Aldo Moro 5 , I-00185 Rome , Italy
| | - Daniela De Vita
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti , Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma , p. le Aldo Moro 5 , I-00185 Rome , Italy
| | - Luigi Scipione
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti , Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma , p. le Aldo Moro 5 , I-00185 Rome , Italy
| | - Reto Brun
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute , Socinstrasse 57 , CH-4002 Basel , Switzerland
| | - Marcel Kaiser
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute , Socinstrasse 57 , CH-4002 Basel , Switzerland
| | - Pascal Mäser
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute , Socinstrasse 57 , CH-4002 Basel , Switzerland
| | - Claudia M Calvet
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences , University of California San Diego , La Jolla , California 92093 , United States.,Laboratório de Ultraestrutura Celular , Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (IOC), FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro , Rio de Janeiro 21040-360 , Brazil
| | - Gareth K Jennings
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences , University of California San Diego , La Jolla , California 92093 , United States
| | - Larissa M Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences , University of California San Diego , La Jolla , California 92093 , United States
| | - Giacomo Pepe
- Dipartimento di Farmacia , Università di Salerno , Via Giovanni Paolo II 132 , I-84084 Fisciano , Salerno , Italy
| | - Roberto Cirilli
- Centro Nazionale per il Controllo e la Valutazione dei Farmaci , Istituto Superiore di Sanita , Viale Regina Elena 299 , I-00161 Rome , Italy
| | - Cristina Faggi
- Dipartimento di Chimica , Università degli studi di Firenze , Via della Lastruccia 13 , I-50019 , Sesto Fiorentino , Florence , Italy
| | - Annalise Di Marco
- Drug Discovery , IRBM Science Park , Via Pontina km 30,600 , Pomezia, Rome 00071 , Italy
| | - Maria Rosaria Battista
- Drug Discovery , IRBM Science Park , Via Pontina km 30,600 , Pomezia, Rome 00071 , Italy
| | - Vincenzo Summa
- Drug Discovery , IRBM Science Park , Via Pontina km 30,600 , Pomezia, Rome 00071 , Italy
| | - Roberta Costi
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti , Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma , p. le Aldo Moro 5 , I-00185 Rome , Italy
| | - Roberto Di Santo
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti , Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma , p. le Aldo Moro 5 , I-00185 Rome , Italy
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16
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Zhou W, Debnath A, Jennings G, Hahn HJ, Vanderloop BH, Chaudhuri M, Nes WD, Podust LM. Enzymatic chokepoints and synergistic drug targets in the sterol biosynthesis pathway of Naegleria fowleri. PLoS Pathog 2018; 14:e1007245. [PMID: 30212566 PMCID: PMC6136796 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2018] [Accepted: 07/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Naegleria fowleri is a free-living amoeba that can also act as an opportunistic pathogen causing severe brain infection, primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), in humans. The high mortality rate of PAM (exceeding 97%) is attributed to (i) delayed diagnosis, (ii) lack of safe and effective anti-N. fowleri drugs, and (iii) difficulty of delivering drugs to the brain. Our work addresses identification of new molecular targets that may link anti-Naegleria drug discovery to the existing pharmacopeia of brain-penetrant drugs. Using inhibitors with known mechanism of action as molecular probes, we mapped the sterol biosynthesis pathway of N. fowleri by GC-MS analysis of metabolites. Based on this analysis, we chemically validated two enzymes downstream to CYP51, sterol C24-methyltransferase (SMT, ERG6) and sterol Δ8-Δ7 -isomerase (ERG2), as potential therapeutic drug targets in N. fowleri. The sterol biosynthetic cascade in N. fowleri displayed a mixture of canonical features peculiar to different domains of life: lower eukaryotes, plants and vertebrates. In addition to the cycloartenol→ergosterol biosynthetic route, a route leading to de novo cholesterol biosynthesis emerged. Isotopic labeling of the de novo-synthesized sterols by feeding N. gruberi trophozoites on the U13C-glucose-containing growth medium identified an exogenous origin of cholesterol, while 7-dehydrocholesterol (7DHC) had enriched 13C-content, suggesting a dual origin of this metabolite both from de novo biosynthesis and metabolism of scavenged cholesterol. Sterol homeostasis in Naegleria may be orchestrated over the course of its life-cycle by a "switch" between ergosterol and cholesterol biosynthesis. By demonstrating the growth inhibition and synergistic effects of the sterol biosynthesis inhibitors, we validated new, potentially druggable, molecular targets in N. fowleri. The similarity of the Naegleria sterol Δ8-Δ7 -isomerase to the human non-opioid σ1 receptor, implicated in human CNS conditions such as addiction, amnesia, pain and depression, provides an incentive to assess structurally diverse small-molecule brain-penetrant drugs targeting the human receptor for anti-Naegleria activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenxu Zhou
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States of America
| | - Anjan Debnath
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Gareth Jennings
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Hye Jee Hahn
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Boden H. Vanderloop
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States of America
| | - Minu Chaudhuri
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - W. David Nes
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States of America
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
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17
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Saccoliti F, Madia VN, Tudino V, De Leo A, Pescatori L, Messore A, De Vita D, Scipione L, Brun R, Kaiser M, Mäser P, Calvet CM, Jennings GK, Podust LM, Costi R, Di Santo R. Biological evaluation and structure-activity relationships of imidazole-based compounds as antiprotozoal agents. Eur J Med Chem 2018; 156:53-60. [PMID: 30006174 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2018.06.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2018] [Revised: 06/25/2018] [Accepted: 06/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
We discovered a series of azole antifungal compounds as effective antiprotozoal agents. They displayed promising inhibitory activities within the micromolar-submicromolar range against P. falciparum, L. donovani, and T. b. rhodesiense. Moreover, most of such compounds showed excellent nanomolar IC50 against T. cruzi, showing also very low cytotoxicity. Discussion of structure-activity relationships and biological data for these compounds are provided against the different parasites. To assess the mechanism of action against T. cruzi we proved that the most potent compounds (3b, 3j-l) inhibited the T. cruzi CYP51. Moreover, the most active derivative 3j dramatically reduced parasitemia in T. cruzi mouse model without acute toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Saccoliti
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185, Rome, Italy.
| | - Valentina Noemi Madia
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185, Rome, Italy.
| | - Valeria Tudino
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185, Rome, Italy.
| | - Alessandro De Leo
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185, Rome, Italy.
| | - Luca Pescatori
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185, Rome, Italy.
| | - Antonella Messore
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185, Rome, Italy.
| | - Daniela De Vita
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185, Rome, Italy.
| | - Luigi Scipione
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185, Rome, Italy.
| | - Reto Brun
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, CH-4002, Basel, Switzerland.
| | - Marcel Kaiser
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, CH-4002, Basel, Switzerland.
| | - Pascal Mäser
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, CH-4002, Basel, Switzerland.
| | - Claudia Magalhaes Calvet
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA; Laboratório de Ultraestrutura Celular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21040-360, Brazil.
| | - Gareth K Jennings
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
| | - Larissa M Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
| | - Roberta Costi
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185, Rome, Italy.
| | - Roberto Di Santo
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, "Sapienza" Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185, Rome, Italy.
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18
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DeMars MD, Yang S, Sheng F, Samora NL, Park SR, Lowell AN, Houk KN, Podust LM, Sherman DH. Comparative Analysis of Bacterial Cytochromes P450 Involved in the Biosynthesis of 16‐ Membered Ring Macrolide Antibiotics. FASEB J 2018. [DOI: 10.1096/fasebj.2018.32.1_supplement.529.4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Song Yang
- Department of Chemistry & BiochemistryUniversity of CaliforniaLos AngelesLos AngelesCA
| | - Fang Sheng
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical SciencesUniversity of CaliforniaSan DiegoLa JollaCA
| | - Nathan L. Samora
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical SciencesUniversity of CaliforniaSan DiegoLa JollaCA
| | | | | | - K. N. Houk
- Department of Chemistry & BiochemistryUniversity of CaliforniaLos AngelesLos AngelesCA
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical SciencesUniversity of CaliforniaSan DiegoLa JollaCA
| | - David H. Sherman
- Department of Medicinal ChemistryUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMI
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMI
- Department of Microbiology & ImmunologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMI
- Life Sciences InstituteUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMI
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19
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Calvet CM, Choi JY, Thomas D, Suzuki B, Hirata K, Lostracco-Johnson S, de Mesquita LB, Nogueira A, Meuser-Batista M, Silva TA, Siqueira-Neto JL, Roush WR, de Souza Pereira MC, McKerrow JH, Podust LM. 4-aminopyridyl-based lead compounds targeting CYP51 prevent spontaneous parasite relapse in a chronic model and improve cardiac pathology in an acute model of Trypanosoma cruzi infection. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017; 11:e0006132. [PMID: 29281643 PMCID: PMC5744913 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2017] [Accepted: 11/22/2017] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is the leading cause of heart failure in Latin America. The clinical treatment of Chagas disease is limited to two 60 year-old drugs, nifurtimox and benznidazole, that have variable efficacy against different strains of the parasite and may lead to severe side effects. CYP51 is an enzyme in the sterol biosynthesis pathway that has been exploited for the development of therapeutics for fungal and parasitic infections. In a target-based drug discovery program guided by x-ray crystallography, we identified the 4-aminopyridyl-based series of CYP51 inhibitors as being efficacious versus T.cruzi in vitro; two of the most potent leads, 9 and 12, have now been evaluated for toxicity and efficacy in mice. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Both acute and chronic animal models infected with wild type or transgenic T. cruzi strains were evaluated. There was no evidence of toxicity in the 28-day dosing study of uninfected animals, as judged by the monitoring of multiple serum and histological parameters. In two acute models of Chagas disease, 9 and 12 drastically reduced parasitemia, increased survival of mice, and prevented liver and heart injury. None of the compounds produced long term sterile cure. In the less severe acute model using the transgenic CL-Brenner strain of T.cruzi, parasitemia relapsed upon drug withdrawal. In the chronic model, parasitemia fell to a background level and, as evidenced by the bioluminescence detection of T. cruzi expressing the red-shifted luciferase marker, mice remained negative for 4 weeks after drug withdrawal. Two immunosuppression cycles with cyclophosphamide were required to re-activate the parasites. Although no sterile cure was achieved, the suppression of parasitemia in acutely infected mice resulted in drastically reduced inflammation in the heart. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE The positive outcomes achieved in the absence of sterile cure suggest that the target product profile in anti-Chagasic drug discovery should be revised in favor of safe re-administration of the medication during the lifespan of a Chagas disease patient. A medication that reduces parasite burden may halt or slow progression of cardiomyopathy and therefore improve both life expectancy and quality of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Magalhaes Calvet
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
- Cellular Ultra-Structure Laboratory, Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC), FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Jun Yong Choi
- Department of Chemistry, Scripps Florida, Jupiter, Florida, United States of America
| | - Diane Thomas
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Brian Suzuki
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Ken Hirata
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Sharon Lostracco-Johnson
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Liliane Batista de Mesquita
- Cellular Ultra-Structure Laboratory, Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC), FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Alanderson Nogueira
- Cellular Ultra-Structure Laboratory, Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC), FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Marcelo Meuser-Batista
- Department of Pathologic Anatomy, Fernandes Figueira Institute (IFF), FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Tatiana Araujo Silva
- Cellular Ultra-Structure Laboratory, Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC), FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Jair Lage Siqueira-Neto
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - William R. Roush
- Department of Chemistry, Scripps Florida, Jupiter, Florida, United States of America
| | | | - James H. McKerrow
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
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Abstract
MycG is a P450 monooxygenase that catalyzes the sequential hydroxylation and epoxidation of mycinamicin IV (M-IV), the last two steps in the biosynthesis of mycinamicin II, a macrolide antibiotic isolated from Micromonospora griseorubida. The crystal structure of MycG with M-IV bound was previously determined but showed the bound substrate in an orientation that did not rationalize the observed regiochemistry of M-IV hydroxylation. Nuclear magnetic resonance paramagnetic relaxation enhancements provided evidence of an orientation of M-IV in the MycG active site more compatible with the observed chemistry, but substrate-induced changes in the enzyme structure were not characterized. We now describe the use of amide 1H-15N residual dipolar couplings as experimental restraints in solvated "soft annealing" molecular dynamics simulations to generate solution structural ensembles of M-IV-bound MycG. Chemical shift perturbations, hydrogen-deuterium exchange, and 15N relaxation behavior provide insight into the dynamic and electronic perturbations in the MycG structure in response to M-IV binding. The solution and crystallographic structures are compared, and the possibility that the crystallographic orientation of bound M-IV represents an inhibitory mode is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Larissa M Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California , San Diego, California 92093, United States
| | - David H Sherman
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2216, United States
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21
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Ottilie S, Goldgof GM, Calvet CM, Jennings GK, LaMonte G, Schenken J, Vigil E, Kumar P, McCall LI, Lopes ESC, Gunawan F, Yang J, Suzuki Y, Siqueira-Neto JL, McKerrow JH, Amaro RE, Podust LM, Durrant JD, Winzeler EA. Rapid Chagas Disease Drug Target Discovery Using Directed Evolution in Drug-Sensitive Yeast. ACS Chem Biol 2017; 12:422-434. [PMID: 27977118 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.6b01037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Recent advances in cell-based, high-throughput phenotypic screening have identified new chemical compounds that are active against eukaryotic pathogens. A challenge to their future development lies in identifying these compounds' molecular targets and binding modes. In particular, subsequent structure-based chemical optimization and target-based screening require a detailed understanding of the binding event. Here, we use directed evolution and whole-genome sequencing of a drug-sensitive S. cerevisiae strain to identify the yeast ortholog of TcCyp51, lanosterol-14-alpha-demethylase (TcCyp51), as the target of MMV001239, a benzamide compound with activity against Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease. We show that parasites treated with MMV0001239 phenocopy parasites treated with another TcCyp51 inhibitor, posaconazole, accumulating both lanosterol and eburicol. Direct drug-protein binding of MMV0001239 was confirmed through spectrophotometric binding assays and X-ray crystallography, revealing a binding site shared with other antitrypanosomal compounds that target Cyp51. These studies provide a new probe chemotype for TcCyp51 inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Ottilie
- Department
of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Gregory M. Goldgof
- Department
of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Department
of Synthetic Biology and Bioenergy, J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Claudia Magalhaes Calvet
- Skaggs
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Cellular Ultrastructure Laboratory, IOC, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 21045-360
| | - Gareth K. Jennings
- Skaggs
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Greg LaMonte
- Department
of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Jake Schenken
- Department
of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Edgar Vigil
- Department
of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Prianka Kumar
- Department
of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Laura-Isobel McCall
- Skaggs
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Eduardo Soares Constantino Lopes
- Department
of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Department
of Pharmacy, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil 80210-170
| | - Felicia Gunawan
- Department
of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Jennifer Yang
- Department
of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Yo Suzuki
- Department
of Synthetic Biology and Bioenergy, J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Jair L. Siqueira-Neto
- Skaggs
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - James H. McKerrow
- Skaggs
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Rommie E. Amaro
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0340, United States
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Skaggs
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Jacob D. Durrant
- Department
of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
| | - Elizabeth A. Winzeler
- Department
of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
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22
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DeMars MD, Sheng F, Park SR, Lowell AN, Podust LM, Sherman DH. Biochemical and Structural Characterization of MycCI, a Versatile P450 Biocatalyst from the Mycinamicin Biosynthetic Pathway. ACS Chem Biol 2016; 11:2642-54. [PMID: 27420774 PMCID: PMC5026600 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.6b00479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s) are some of nature's most ubiquitous and versatile enzymes for performing oxidative metabolic transformations. Their unmatched ability to selectively functionalize inert C-H bonds has led to their increasing employment in academic and industrial settings for the production of fine and commodity chemicals. Many of the most interesting and potentially biocatalytically useful P450s come from microorganisms, where they catalyze key tailoring reactions in natural product biosynthetic pathways. While most of these enzymes act on structurally complex pathway intermediates with high selectivity, they often exhibit narrow substrate scope, thus limiting their broader application. In the present study, we investigated the reactivity of the P450 MycCI from the mycinamicin biosynthetic pathway toward a variety of macrocyclic compounds and discovered that the enzyme exhibits appreciable activity on several 16-membered ring macrolactones independent of their glycosylation state. These results were corroborated by performing equilibrium substrate binding experiments, steady-state kinetics studies, and X-ray crystallographic analysis of MycCI bound to its native substrate mycinamicin VIII. We also characterized TylHI, a homologous P450 from the tylosin pathway, and showed that its substrate scope is severely restricted compared to MycCI. Thus, the ability of the latter to hydroxylate both macrocyclic aglycones and macrolides sets it apart from related biosynthetic P450s and highlights its potential for developing novel P450 biocatalysts with broad substrate scope and high regioselectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew D. DeMars
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Fang Sheng
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
| | - Sung Ryeol Park
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Andrew N. Lowell
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
| | - David H. Sherman
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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23
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Parsonage D, Sheng F, Hirata K, Debnath A, McKerrow JH, Reed SL, Abagyan R, Poole LB, Podust LM. X-ray structures of thioredoxin and thioredoxin reductase from Entamoeba histolytica and prevailing hypothesis of the mechanism of Auranofin action. J Struct Biol 2016; 194:180-90. [PMID: 26876147 PMCID: PMC5003402 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsb.2016.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2016] [Revised: 02/09/2016] [Accepted: 02/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The anti-arthritic gold-containing drug Auranofin is lethal to the protozoan intestinal parasite Entamoeba histolytica, the causative agent of human amebiasis, in both culture and animal models of the disease. A putative mechanism of Auranofin action proposes that monovalent gold, Au(I), released from the drug, can bind to the redox-active dithiol group of thioredoxin reductase (TrxR). Au(I) binding in the active site is expected to prevent electron transfer to the downstream substrate thioredoxin (Trx), thus interfering with redox homeostasis in the parasite. To clarify the molecular mechanism of Auranofin action in more detail, we determined a series of atomic resolution X-ray structures for E. histolytica thioredoxin (EhTrx) and thioredoxin reductase (EhTrxR), the latter with and without Auranofin. Only the disulfide-bonded form of the active site dithiol (Cys(140)-Cys(143)) was invariably observed in crystals of EhTrxR in spite of the addition of reductants in various crystallization trials, and no gold was found associated with these cysteines. Non-catalytic Cys(286) was identified as the only site of modification, but further mutagenesis studies using the C286Q mutant demonstrated that this site was not responsible for inhibition of EhTrxR by Auranofin. Interestingly, we obtained both of the catalytically-relevant conformations of this bacterial-like, low molecular weight TrxR in crystals without requiring an engineered disulfide linkage between Cys mutants of TrxR and Trx (as was originally done with Escherichia coli TrxR and Trx). We note that the -CXXC- catalytic motif, even if reduced, would likely not provide space sufficient to bind Au(I) by both cysteines of the dithiol group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derek Parsonage
- Department of Biochemistry, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
| | - Fang Sheng
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Ken Hirata
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; Department of Pathology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Anjan Debnath
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - James H McKerrow
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Sharon L Reed
- Department of Pathology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Ruben Abagyan
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Leslie B Poole
- Department of Biochemistry, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
| | - Larissa M Podust
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
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24
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Ziniel PD, Karumudi B, Barnard AH, Fisher EMS, Thatcher GRJ, Podust LM, Williams DL. Correction: The Schistosoma mansoni Cytochrome P450 (CYP3050A1) Is Essential for Worm Survival and Egg Development. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2016; 10:e0004439. [PMID: 26828364 PMCID: PMC4734659 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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25
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Ziniel PD, Karumudi B, Barnard AH, Fisher EMS, Thatcher GRJ, Podust LM, Williams DL. The Schistosoma mansoni Cytochrome P450 (CYP3050A1) Is Essential for Worm Survival and Egg Development. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2015; 9:e0004279. [PMID: 26713732 PMCID: PMC4694641 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2015] [Accepted: 11/13/2015] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Schistosomiasis affects millions of people in developing countries and is responsible for more than 200,000 deaths annually. Because of toxicity and limited spectrum of activity of alternatives, there is effectively only one drug, praziquantel, available for its treatment. Recent data suggest that drug resistance could soon be a problem. There is therefore the need to identify new drug targets and develop drugs for the treatment of schistosomiasis. Analysis of the Schistosoma mansoni genome sequence for proteins involved in detoxification processes found that it encodes a single cytochrome P450 (CYP450) gene. Here we report that the 1452 bp open reading frame has a characteristic heme-binding region in its catalytic domain with a conserved heme ligating cysteine, a hydrophobic leader sequence present as the membrane interacting region, and overall structural conservation. The highest sequence identity to human CYP450s is 22%. Double stranded RNA (dsRNA) silencing of S. mansoni (Sm)CYP450 in schistosomula results in worm death. Treating larval or adult worms with antifungal azole CYP450 inhibitors results in worm death at low micromolar concentrations. In addition, combinations of SmCYP450-specific dsRNA and miconazole show additive schistosomicidal effects supporting the hypothesis that SmCYP450 is the target of miconazole. Treatment of developing S. mansoni eggs with miconazole results in a dose dependent arrest in embryonic development. Our results indicate that SmCYP450 is essential for worm survival and egg development and validates it as a novel drug target. Preliminary structure-activity relationship suggests that the 1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-2-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)ethan-1-ol moiety of miconazole is necessary for activity and that miconazole activity and selectivity could be improved by rational drug design. Over 600 million people in endemic countries are at risk of contracting schistosomiasis, which results in over 200,000 deaths each year and significant illness to most people that are infected. There are concerns that the drug widely used for the treatment of schistosomiasis, praziquantel, may be losing efficacy due to evolution of drug resistant worms. Since the disease mainly affects the poor in developing countries, pharmaceutical companies have little interest in developing new drugs and none are currently being tested. In this paper we focus on a novel parasite protein, cytochrome P450, which we propose to be a new drug target. Worms are unusual in having only one cytochrome P450 gene; humans have 57 cytochrome P450 genes. By using reverse genetic and chemical approaches we found that the schistosome cytochrome P450 is essential for worm survival and egg development and, therefore, is an essential and druggable target. Drugs that target fungal cytochrome P450s and are already in use for treating several human diseases were identified as potential hits for further development for schistosomiasis treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter D. Ziniel
- Department of Immunology & Microbiology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Bhargava Karumudi
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, University of Illinois College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Andrew H. Barnard
- Department of Immunology & Microbiology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Ethan M. S. Fisher
- Department of Immunology & Microbiology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Gregory R. J. Thatcher
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, University of Illinois College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - David L. Williams
- Department of Immunology & Microbiology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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26
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Narayan ARH, Jiménez-Osés G, Liu P, Negretti S, Zhao W, Gilbert MM, Ramabhadran RO, Yang YF, Furan LR, Li Z, Podust LM, Montgomery J, Houk KN, Sherman DH. Enzymatic hydroxylation of an unactivated methylene C-H bond guided by molecular dynamics simulations. Nat Chem 2015. [PMID: 26201742 DOI: 10.1038/nchem.2285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The hallmark of enzymes from secondary metabolic pathways is the pairing of powerful reactivity with exquisite site selectivity. The application of these biocatalytic tools in organic synthesis, however, remains under-utilized due to limitations in substrate scope and scalability. Here, we report how the reactivity of a monooxygenase (PikC) from the pikromycin pathway is modified through computationally guided protein and substrate engineering, and applied to the oxidation of unactivated methylene C-H bonds. Molecular dynamics and quantum mechanical calculations were used to develop a predictive model for substrate scope, site selectivity and stereoselectivity of PikC-mediated C-H oxidation. A suite of menthol derivatives was screened computationally and evaluated through in vitro reactions, where each substrate adhered to the predicted models for selectivity and conversion to product. This platform was also expanded beyond menthol-based substrates to the selective hydroxylation of a variety of substrate cores ranging from cyclic to fused bicyclic and bridged bicyclic compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison R H Narayan
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
| | - Gonzalo Jiménez-Osés
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Peng Liu
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Solymar Negretti
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
| | - Wanxiang Zhao
- Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
| | - Michael M Gilbert
- Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
| | | | - Yun-Fang Yang
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Lawrence R Furan
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Zhe Li
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Larissa M Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy &Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, California 92093, USA
| | - John Montgomery
- 1] Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA [2] Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
| | - K N Houk
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - David H Sherman
- 1] Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA [2] Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA [3] Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA [4] Department of Microbiology &Immunology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
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27
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Yong Choi
- Department
of Chemistry, Scripps Florida, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, Florida 33458, United States
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, and Department of
Pathology, University of California—San
Francisco, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - William R. Roush
- Department
of Chemistry, Scripps Florida, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, Florida 33458, United States
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28
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Vieira DF, Choi JY, Calvet CM, Siqueira-Neto JL, Johnston JB, Kellar D, Gut J, Cameron MD, McKerrow JH, Roush WR, Podust LM. Binding mode and potency of N-indolyloxopyridinyl-4-aminopropanyl-based inhibitors targeting Trypanosoma cruzi CYP51. J Med Chem 2014; 57:10162-75. [PMID: 25393646 PMCID: PMC4266343 DOI: 10.1021/jm501568b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
![]()
Chagas disease is a chronic infection
in humans caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and manifested
in progressive cardiomyopathy
and/or gastrointestinal dysfunction. Limited therapeutic options to
prevent and treat Chagas disease put 8 million people infected with T. cruzi worldwide at risk. CYP51, involved in the biosynthesis
of the membrane sterol component in eukaryotes, is a promising drug
target in T. cruzi. We report the structure–activity
relationships (SAR) of an N-arylpiperazine series
of N-indolyloxopyridinyl-4-aminopropanyl-based inhibitors
designed to probe the impact of substituents in the terminal N-phenyl
ring on binding mode, selectivity and potency. Depending on the substituents
at C-4, two distinct ring binding modes, buried and solvent-exposed,
have been observed by X-ray structure analysis (resolution of 1.95–2.48
Å). The 5-chloro-substituted analogs 9 and 10 with no substituent at C-4 demonstrated improved selectivity
and potency, suppressing ≥99.8% parasitemia in mice when administered
orally at 25 mg/kg, b.i.d., for 4 days.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debora F Vieira
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, ‡Department of Pathology, and §Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California-San Francisco , San Francisco, California 94158, United States
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29
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Calvet C, Vieira D, Choi JY, Kellar D, Cameron MD, Siqueira-Neto JL, Gut J, Johnston JB, Lin L, Khan S, McKerrow JH, Roush WR, Podust LM. 4-Aminopyridyl-based CYP51 inhibitors as anti-Trypanosoma cruzi drug leads with improved pharmacokinetic profile and in vivo potency. J Med Chem 2014; 57:6989-7005. [PMID: 25101801 PMCID: PMC4148169 DOI: 10.1021/jm500448u] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2014] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
CYP51 is a P450 enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of the sterol components of eukaryotic cell membranes. CYP51 inhibitors have been developed to treat infections caused by fungi, and more recently the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease. To specifically optimize drug candidates for T. cruzi CYP51 (TcCYP51), we explored the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of a N-indolyl-oxopyridinyl-4-aminopropanyl-based scaffold originally identified in a target-based screen. This scaffold evolved via medicinal chemistry to yield orally bioavailable leads with potent anti-T. cruzi activity in vivo. Using an animal model of infection with a transgenic T. cruzi Y luc strain expressing firefly luciferase, we prioritized the biaryl and N-arylpiperazine analogues by oral bioavailability and potency. The drug-target complexes for both scaffold variants were characterized by X-ray structure analysis. Optimization of both binding mode and pharmacokinetic properties of these compounds led to potent inhibitors against experimental T. cruzi infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia
M. Calvet
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic
Diseases, Department of Pathology and Department of Medicine, Department of Pharmaceutical
Chemistry, University of California San
Francisco, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
- Cellular
Ultra-Structure Laboratory, Oswaldo Cruz
Institute (IOC), FIOCRUZ, Rio de
Janeiro, Re de Janeiro 21040-362, Brazil
| | - Debora
F. Vieira
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic
Diseases, Department of Pathology and Department of Medicine, Department of Pharmaceutical
Chemistry, University of California San
Francisco, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - Jun Yong Choi
- Department
of Chemistry, Department of Molecular Therapeutics, Scripps
Florida, Jupiter, Florida 33458, United
States
| | - Danielle Kellar
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic
Diseases, Department of Pathology and Department of Medicine, Department of Pharmaceutical
Chemistry, University of California San
Francisco, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - Michael D. Cameron
- Department
of Chemistry, Department of Molecular Therapeutics, Scripps
Florida, Jupiter, Florida 33458, United
States
| | - Jair Lage Siqueira-Neto
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic
Diseases, Department of Pathology and Department of Medicine, Department of Pharmaceutical
Chemistry, University of California San
Francisco, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - Jiri Gut
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic
Diseases, Department of Pathology and Department of Medicine, Department of Pharmaceutical
Chemistry, University of California San
Francisco, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - Jonathan B. Johnston
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic
Diseases, Department of Pathology and Department of Medicine, Department of Pharmaceutical
Chemistry, University of California San
Francisco, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - Li Lin
- Department
of Chemistry, Department of Molecular Therapeutics, Scripps
Florida, Jupiter, Florida 33458, United
States
| | - Susan Khan
- Department
of Chemistry, Department of Molecular Therapeutics, Scripps
Florida, Jupiter, Florida 33458, United
States
| | - James H. McKerrow
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic
Diseases, Department of Pathology and Department of Medicine, Department of Pharmaceutical
Chemistry, University of California San
Francisco, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - William R. Roush
- Department
of Chemistry, Department of Molecular Therapeutics, Scripps
Florida, Jupiter, Florida 33458, United
States
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic
Diseases, Department of Pathology and Department of Medicine, Department of Pharmaceutical
Chemistry, University of California San
Francisco, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
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30
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Vieira DF, Choi JY, Roush WR, Podust LM. Expanding the binding envelope of CYP51 inhibitors targeting Trypanosoma cruzi with 4-aminopyridyl-based sulfonamide derivatives. Chembiochem 2014; 15:1111-20. [PMID: 24771705 PMCID: PMC4091728 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201402027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2014] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Chagas disease is a chronic infection caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, manifested in progressive cardiomyopathy and/or gastrointestinal dysfunction. Therapeutic options to prevent or treat Chagas disease are limited. CYP51, the enzyme key to the biosynthesis of eukaryotic membrane sterols, is a validated drug target in both fungi and T. cruzi. Sulfonamide derivatives of 4-aminopyridyl-based inhibitors of T. cruzi CYP51 (TcCYP51), including the sub-nanomolar compound 3, have molecular structures distinct from other validated CYP51 inhibitors. They augment the biologically relevant chemical space of molecules targeting TcCYP51. In a 2.08 Å X-ray structure, TcCYP51 is in a conformation that has been influenced by compound 3 and is distinct from the previously characterized ground-state conformation of CYP51 drug-target complexes. That the binding site was modulated in response to an incoming inhibitor for the first time characterizes TcCYP51 as a flexible target rather than a rigid template.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debora F. Vieira
- Department of Pathology, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Francisco, 1700 4th Street, San Francisco, California, 94158 (USA), Fax: (+)1 415 502-8193
| | - Jun Yong Choi
- Department of Chemistry, Scripps Florida, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, Florida, 33458, (USA), Fax: (+)1 561 228-3052
| | - William R. Roush
- Department of Chemistry, Scripps Florida, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, Florida, 33458, (USA), Fax: (+)1 561 228-3052
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Department of Pathology, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Francisco, 1700 4th Street, San Francisco, California, 94158 (USA), Fax: (+)1 415 502-8193
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31
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Choi JY, Calvet CM, Vieira DF, Gunatilleke SS, Cameron MD, McKerrow JH, Podust LM, Roush WR. R-Configuration of 4-Aminopyridyl-Based Inhibitors of CYP51 Confers Superior Efficacy Against Trypanosoma cruzi. ACS Med Chem Lett 2014; 5:434-9. [PMID: 24900854 DOI: 10.1021/ml500010m] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2014] [Accepted: 01/15/2014] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) is an important therapeutic target for fungal and parasitic infections due to its key role in the biosynthesis of ergosterol, an essential component of the cell membranes of these pathogenic organisms. We report the development of potent and selective d-tryptophan-derived inhibitors of T. cruzi CYP51. Structural information obtained from the cocrystal structure of CYP51 and (R)-2, which is >1000-fold more potent than its enantiomer (S)-1, was used to guide design of additional analogues. The in vitro efficacy data presented here for (R)-2-(R)-8, together with preliminary in vitro pharmacokinetic data suggest that this new CYP51 inhibitor scaffold series has potential to deliver drug candidates for treatment of T. cruzi infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Yong Choi
- Department
of Chemistry, Scripps Florida, Jupiter, Florida 33458, United States
| | - Claudia M. Calvet
- Cellular
Ultra-Structure Laboratory, Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC), FIOCRUZ, Rio de
Janeiro, RJ 21040-362, Brazil
| | | | | | - Michael D. Cameron
- Department
of Molecular Therapeutics, Scripps Florida, Jupiter, Florida 33458, United States
| | | | | | - William R. Roush
- Department
of Chemistry, Scripps Florida, Jupiter, Florida 33458, United States
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32
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Negretti S, Narayan ARH, Chiou K, Kells PM, Stachowski JL, Hansen DA, Podust LM, Montgomery J, Sherman DH. Directing group-controlled regioselectivity in an enzymatic C-H bond oxygenation. J Am Chem Soc 2014; 136:4901-4. [PMID: 24627965 PMCID: PMC4012894 DOI: 10.1021/ja5016052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Highly regioselective remote hydroxylation of a natural product scaffold is demonstrated by exploiting the anchoring mechanism of the biosynthetic P450 monooxygenase PikCD50N-RhFRED. Previous studies have revealed structural and biochemical evidence for the role of a salt bridge between the desosamine N,N-dimethylamino functionality of the natural substrate YC-17 and carboxylate residues within the active site of the enzyme, and selectivity in subsequent C-H bond functionalization. In the present study, a substrate-engineering approach was conducted that involves replacing desosamine with varied synthetic N,N-dimethylamino anchoring groups. We then determined their ability to mediate enzymatic total turnover numbers approaching or exceeding that of the natural sugar, while enabling ready introduction and removal of these amino anchoring groups from the substrate. The data establish that the size, stereochemistry, and rigidity of the anchoring group influence the regioselectivity of enzymatic hydroxylation. The natural anchoring group desosamine affords a 1:1 mixture of regioisomers, while synthetic anchors shift YC-17 analogue C-10/C-12 hydroxylation from 20:1 to 1:4. The work demonstrates the utility of substrate engineering as an orthogonal approach to protein engineering for modulation of regioselective C-H functionalization in biocatalysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Solymar Negretti
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Life Sciences Institute, Department of Chemistry, and Department of
Microbiology & Immunology, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United
States
| | - Alison R. H. Narayan
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Life Sciences Institute, Department of Chemistry, and Department of
Microbiology & Immunology, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United
States
| | - Karoline
C. Chiou
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Life Sciences Institute, Department of Chemistry, and Department of
Microbiology & Immunology, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United
States
| | - Petrea M. Kells
- Department
of Pathology and Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic
Disease, University of California, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - Jessica L. Stachowski
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Life Sciences Institute, Department of Chemistry, and Department of
Microbiology & Immunology, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United
States
| | - Douglas A. Hansen
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Life Sciences Institute, Department of Chemistry, and Department of
Microbiology & Immunology, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United
States
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Department
of Pathology and Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic
Disease, University of California, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - John Montgomery
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Life Sciences Institute, Department of Chemistry, and Department of
Microbiology & Immunology, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United
States
| | - David H. Sherman
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Life Sciences Institute, Department of Chemistry, and Department of
Microbiology & Immunology, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United
States
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Zhang W, Liu Y, Yan J, Cao S, Bai F, Yang Y, Huang S, Yao L, Anzai Y, Kato F, Podust LM, Sherman DH, Li S. New reactions and products resulting from alternative interactions between the P450 enzyme and redox partners. J Am Chem Soc 2014; 136:3640-6. [PMID: 24521145 PMCID: PMC3985502 DOI: 10.1021/ja4130302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
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Cytochrome
P450 enzymes are capable of catalyzing a great variety
of synthetically useful reactions such as selective C–H functionalization.
Surrogate redox partners are widely used for reconstitution of P450
activity based on the assumption that the choice of these auxiliary
proteins or their mode of action does not affect the type and selectivity
of reactions catalyzed by P450s. Herein, we present an exceptional
example to challenge this postulate. MycG, a multifunctional biosynthetic
P450 monooxygenase responsible for hydroxylation and epoxidation of
16-membered ring macrolide mycinamicins, is shown to catalyze the
unnatural N-demethylation(s) of a range of mycinamicin
substrates when partnered with the free Rhodococcus reductase domain RhFRED or the engineered Rhodococcus-spinach hybrid reductase RhFRED-Fdx. By contrast, MycG fused with
the RhFRED or RhFRED-Fdx reductase domain mediates only physiological
oxidations. This finding highlights the larger potential role of variant
redox partner protein–protein interactions in modulating the
catalytic activity of P450 enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Biofuels, and Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Genetics, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Qingdao, Shandong 266101, China
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Choi JY, Calvet CM, Gunatilleke SS, Ruiz C, Cameron MD, McKerrow JH, Podust LM, Roush WR. Rational development of 4-aminopyridyl-based inhibitors targeting Trypanosoma cruzi CYP51 as anti-chagas agents. J Med Chem 2013; 56:7651-68. [PMID: 24079662 DOI: 10.1021/jm401067s] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
A new series of 4-aminopyridyl-based lead inhibitors targeting Trypanosoma cruzi CYP51 (TcCYP51) has been developed using structure-based drug design as well as structure-property relationship (SPR) analyses. The screening hit starting point, LP10 (KD ≤ 42 nM; EC50 = 0.65 μM), has been optimized to give the potential leads 14t, 27i, 27q, 27r, and 27t, which have low-nanomolar binding affinity to TcCYP51 and significant activity against T. cruzi amastigotes cultured in human myoblasts (EC50 = 14-18 nM for 27i and 27r). Many of the optimized compounds have improved microsome stability, and most are selective against human CYPs 1A2, 2D6, and 3A4 (<50% inhibition at 1 μM). A rationale for the improvement in microsome stability and selectivity of inhibitors against human metabolic CYP enzymes is presented. In addition, the binding mode of 14t with the Trypanosoma brucei CYP51 (TbCYP51) orthologue has been characterized by X-ray structure analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Yong Choi
- Department of Chemistry and ∥Department of Molecular Therapeutics, Scripps Florida , Jupiter, Florida 33458, United States
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35
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García-Fernández E, Frank DJ, Galán B, Kells PM, Podust LM, García JL, Ortiz de Montellano PR. A highly conserved mycobacterial cholesterol catabolic pathway. Environ Microbiol 2013; 15:2342-59. [PMID: 23489718 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.12108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2012] [Revised: 01/25/2013] [Accepted: 02/04/2013] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Degradation of the cholesterol side-chain in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is initiated by two cytochromes P450, CYP125A1 and CYP142A1, that sequentially oxidize C26 to the alcohol, aldehyde and acid metabolites. Here we report characterization of the homologous enzymes CYP125A3 and CYP142A2 from Mycobacterium smegmatis mc(2) 155. Heterologously expressed, purified CYP125A3 and CYP142A2 bound cholesterol, 4-cholesten-3-one, and antifungal azole drugs. CYP125A3 or CYP142A2 reconstituted with spinach ferredoxin and ferredoxin reductase efficiently hydroxylated 4-cholesten-3-one to the C-26 alcohol and subsequently to the acid. The X-ray structures of both substrate-free CYP125A3 and CYP142A2 and of cholest-4-en-3-one-bound CYP142A2 reveal significant differences in the substrate binding sites compared with the homologous M. tuberculosis proteins. Deletion only of cyp125A3 causes a reduction of both the alcohol and acid metabolites and a strong induction of cyp142 at the mRNA and protein levels, indicating that CYP142A2 serves as a functionally redundant back up enzyme for CYP125A3. In contrast to M. tuberculosis, the M. smegmatis Δcyp125Δcyp142 double mutant retains its ability to grow on cholesterol albeit with a diminished capacity, indicating an additional level of redundancy within its genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther García-Fernández
- Department of Environmental Biology, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, CSIC, Madrid, Spain
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36
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Choy JW, Bryant C, Calvet CM, Doyle PS, Gunatilleke SS, Leung SSF, Ang KKH, Chen S, Gut J, Oses-Prieto JA, Johnston JB, Arkin MR, Burlingame AL, Taunton J, Jacobson MP, McKerrow JM, Podust LM, Renslo AR. Chemical-biological characterization of a cruzain inhibitor reveals a second target and a mammalian off-target. Beilstein J Org Chem 2013; 9:15-25. [PMID: 23400640 PMCID: PMC3566858 DOI: 10.3762/bjoc.9.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2012] [Accepted: 11/27/2012] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Inhibition of the Trypanosoma cruzi cysteine protease cruzain has been proposed as a therapeutic approach for the treatment of Chagas’ disease. Among the best-studied cruzain inhibitors to date is the vinylsulfone K777 (1), which has proven effective in animal models of Chagas’ disease. Recent structure–activity studies aimed at addressing potential liabilities of 1 have now produced analogues such as N-[(2S)-1-[[(E,3S)-1-(benzenesulfonyl)-5-phenylpent-1-en-3-yl]amino]-3-(4-methylphenyl)-1-oxopropan-2-yl]pyridine-4-carboxamide (4), which is trypanocidal at ten-fold lower concentrations than for 1. We now find that the trypanocidal activity of 4 derives primarily from the inhibition of T. cruzi 14-α-demethylase (TcCYP51), a cytochrome P450 enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of ergosterol in the parasite. Compound 4 also inhibits mammalian CYP isoforms but is trypanocidal at concentrations below those required to significantly inhibit mammalian CYPs in vitro. A chemical-proteomics approach employing an activity-based probe derived from 1 was used to identify mammalian cathepsin B as a potentially important off-target of 1 and 4. Computational docking studies and the evaluation of truncated analogues of 4 reveal structural determinants for TcCYP51 binding, information that will be useful in further optimization of this new class of inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan W Choy
- Small Molecule Discovery Center, University of California San Francisco, 1700 4th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA ; Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, 1700 4th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA ; Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California San Francisco, 1700 4th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
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37
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Abstract
Diverse oxygenation patterns of natural products generated by secondary metabolic pathways in microorganisms and plants are largely achieved through the tailoring reactions catalysed by cytochrome P450 enzymes (P450s). P450s are a large family of oxidative hemoproteins found in all life forms from prokaryotes to humans. Understanding the reactivity and selectivity of these fascinating C-H bond-activating catalysts will advance their use in generating valuable pharmaceuticals and products for medicine, agriculture and industry. A major strength of this P450 group is its set of established enzyme-substrate relationships, the source of the most detailed knowledge on how P450 enzymes work. Engineering microbial-derived P450 enzymes to accommodate alternative substrates and add new functions continues to be an important near- and long-term practical goal driving the structural characterization of these molecules. Understanding the natural evolution of P450 structure-function should accelerate metabolic engineering and directed evolutionary approaches to enhance diversification of natural product structures and other biosynthetic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larissa M. Podust
- Department of Pathology, Molecular Structure Group and Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases (CDIPD), University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, 94158, USA. Fax: 415 502 8193; Tel: 415 514 1381;
| | - David H. Sherman
- Life Sciences Institute, Departments of Medicinal Chemistry, Chemistry, and Microbiology & Immunology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA. Fax: 734-615-3641; Tel: 734 615 9907;
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38
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Li S, Tietz DR, Rutaganira FU, Kells PM, Anzai Y, Kato F, Pochapsky TC, Sherman DH, Podust LM. Substrate recognition by the multifunctional cytochrome P450 MycG in mycinamicin hydroxylation and epoxidation reactions. J Biol Chem 2012; 287:37880-90. [PMID: 22952225 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m112.410340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The majority of characterized cytochrome P450 enzymes in actinomycete secondary metabolic pathways are strictly substrate-, regio-, and stereo-specific. Examples of multifunctional biosynthetic cytochromes P450 with broader substrate and regio-specificity are growing in number and are of particular interest for biosynthetic and chemoenzymatic applications. MycG is among the first P450 monooxygenases characterized that catalyzes both hydroxylation and epoxidation reactions in the final biosynthetic steps, leading to oxidative tailoring of the 16-membered ring macrolide antibiotic mycinamicin II in the actinomycete Micromonospora griseorubida. The ordering of steps to complete the biosynthetic process involves a complex substrate recognition pattern by the enzyme and interplay between three tailoring modifications as follows: glycosylation, methylation, and oxidation. To understand the catalytic properties of MycG, we structurally characterized the ligand-free enzyme and its complexes with three native metabolites. These include substrates mycinamicin IV and V and their biosynthetic precursor mycinamicin III, which carries the monomethoxy sugar javose instead of the dimethoxylated sugar mycinose. The two methoxy groups of mycinose serve as sensors that mediate initial recognition to discriminate between closely related substrates in the post-polyketide oxidative tailoring of mycinamicin metabolites. Because x-ray structures alone did not explain the mechanisms of macrolide hydroxylation and epoxidation, paramagnetic NMR relaxation measurements were conducted. Molecular modeling based on these data indicates that in solution substrate may penetrate the active site sufficiently to place the abstracted hydrogen atom of mycinamicin IV within 6 Å of the heme iron and ~4 Å of the oxygen of iron-ligated water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengying Li
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
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39
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Gunatilleke SS, Calvet CM, Johnston JB, Chen CK, Erenburg G, Gut J, Engel JC, Ang KKH, Mulvaney J, Chen S, Arkin MR, McKerrow JH, Podust LM. Diverse inhibitor chemotypes targeting Trypanosoma cruzi CYP51. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2012; 6:e1736. [PMID: 22860142 PMCID: PMC3409115 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0001736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2012] [Accepted: 06/04/2012] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Chagas Disease, a WHO- and NIH-designated neglected tropical disease, is endemic in Latin America and an emerging infection in North America and Europe as a result of population moves. Although a major cause of morbidity and mortality due to heart failure, as well as inflicting a heavy economic burden in affected regions, Chagas Disease elicits scant notice from the pharmaceutical industry because of adverse economic incentives. The discovery and development of new routes to chemotherapy for Chagas Disease is a clear priority. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS The similarity between the membrane sterol requirements of pathogenic fungi and those of the parasitic protozoon Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas human cardiopathy, has led to repurposing anti-fungal azole inhibitors of sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) for the treatment of Chagas Disease. To diversify the therapeutic pipeline of anti-Chagasic drug candidates we exploited an approach that included directly probing the T. cruzi CYP51 active site with a library of synthetic small molecules. Target-based high-throughput screening reduced the library of ∼104,000 small molecules to 185 hits with estimated nanomolar K(D) values, while cross-validation against T. cruzi-infected skeletal myoblast cells yielded 57 active hits with EC(50) <10 µM. Two pools of hits partially overlapped. The top hit inhibited T. cruzi with EC(50) of 17 nM and was trypanocidal at 40 nM. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE The hits are structurally diverse, demonstrating that CYP51 is a rather permissive enzyme target for small molecules. Cheminformatic analysis of the hits suggests that CYP51 pharmacology is similar to that of other cytochromes P450 therapeutic targets, including thromboxane synthase (CYP5), fatty acid ω-hydroxylases (CYP4), 17α-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase (CYP17) and aromatase (CYP19). Surprisingly, strong similarity is suggested to glutaminyl-peptide cyclotransferase, which is unrelated to CYP51 by sequence or structure. Lead compounds developed by pharmaceutical companies against these targets could also be explored for efficacy against T. cruzi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shamila S. Gunatilleke
- Sandler Center for Drug Discovery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Claudia M. Calvet
- Sandler Center for Drug Discovery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- Cellular Ultra-Structure Laboratory, Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC), FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Jonathan B. Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Chiung-Kuang Chen
- Sandler Center for Drug Discovery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Grigori Erenburg
- King's University College at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jiri Gut
- Sandler Center for Drug Discovery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Juan C. Engel
- Sandler Center for Drug Discovery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Kenny K. H. Ang
- Small Molecule Discovery Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Joseph Mulvaney
- Small Molecule Discovery Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Steven Chen
- Small Molecule Discovery Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Michelle R. Arkin
- Small Molecule Discovery Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - James H. McKerrow
- Sandler Center for Drug Discovery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Sandler Center for Drug Discovery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
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40
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Carlson JC, Li S, Gunatilleke SS, Anzai Y, Burr DA, Podust LM, Sherman DH. Tirandamycin biosynthesis is mediated by co-dependent oxidative enzymes. Nat Chem 2011; 3:628-33. [PMID: 21778983 PMCID: PMC3154026 DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2011] [Accepted: 06/03/2011] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Elucidation of natural product biosynthetic pathways provides important insights about the assembly of potent bioactive molecules, and expands access to unique enzymes able to selectively modify complex substrates. Here we show full reconstitution in vitro of an unusual multi-step oxidative cascade for post-assembly line tailoring of tirandamycin antibiotics. This pathway involves a remarkably versatile and iterative cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (TamI) and an FAD-dependent oxidase (TamL), which act co-dependently through repeated exchange of substrates. TamI hydroxylates tirandamycin C (TirC) to generate tirandamycin E (TirE), a heretofore unidentified tirandamycin intermediate. TirE is subsequently oxidized by TamL, giving rise to the ketone of tirandamycin D (TirD), after which a unique exchange back to TamI enables successive epoxidation and hydroxylation to afford, respectively, the final products tirandamycin A (TirA) and tirandamycin B (TirB). Ligand-free, substrate- and product-bound crystal structures of bicovalently flavinylated TamL oxidase reveal a likely mechanism for the C-10 oxidation of TirE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob C Carlson
- Life Sciences Institute and Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
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41
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Ouellet H, Kells PM, Ortiz de Montellano PR, Podust LM. Reverse type I inhibitor of Mycobacterium tuberculosis CYP125A1. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2011; 21:332-7. [PMID: 21109436 PMCID: PMC3011832 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2010.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2010] [Accepted: 11/01/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Cytochrome P450 CYP125A1 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a potential therapeutic target for tuberculosis in humans, initiates degradation of the aliphatic chain of host cholesterol and is essential for establishing M. tuberculosis infection in a mouse model of disease. We explored the interactions of CYP125A1 with a reverse type I inhibitor by X-ray structure analysis and UV-vis spectroscopy. Compound LP10 (α-[(4-methylcyclohexyl)carbonyl amino]-N-4-pyridinyl-1H-indole-3-propanamide), previously identified as a potent type II inhibitor of Trypanosomacruzi CYP51, shifts CYP125A1 to a water-coordinated low-spin state upon binding with low micromolar affinity. When LP10 is present in the active site, the crystal structure and spectral characteristics both demonstrate changes in lipophilic and electronic properties favoring coordination of the iron axial water ligand. These results provide an insight into the structural requirements for developing selective CYP125A1 inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugues Ouellet
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Sandler Center for Drug Discovery, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
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42
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Kells PM, Ouellet H, Santos-Aberturas J, Aparicio JF, Podust LM. Structure of cytochrome P450 PimD suggests epoxidation of the polyene macrolide pimaricin occurs via a hydroperoxoferric intermediate. Chem Biol 2010; 17:841-51. [PMID: 20797613 PMCID: PMC2932657 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2010.05.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2010] [Revised: 05/12/2010] [Accepted: 05/25/2010] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
We present the X-ray structure of PimD, both substrate-free and in complex with 4,5-desepoxypimaricin. PimD is a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase with native epoxidase activity that is critical in the biosynthesis of the polyene macrolide antibiotic pimaricin. Intervention in this secondary metabolic pathway could advance the development of drugs with improved pharmacologic properties. Epoxidation by P450 typically includes formation of a charge-transfer complex between an oxoferryl pi-cation radical species (Compound I) and the olefin pi-bond as the initial intermediate. Catalytic and structural evidence presented here suggest that epoxidation of 4,5-desepoxypimaricin proceeds via a hydroperoxoferric intermediate (Compound 0). The oxygen atom of Compound 0 distal to the heme iron may insert into the double bond of the substrate to make an epoxide ring. Stereoelectronic features of the putative transition state suggest substrate-assisted proton delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petrea M. Kells
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, California 94158, USA
| | - Hugues Ouellet
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, California 94158, USA
| | - Javier Santos-Aberturas
- Institute of Biotechnology INBIOTEC, 24006 and Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of León, 24071, León, Spain
| | - Jesus F. Aparicio
- Institute of Biotechnology INBIOTEC, 24006 and Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of León, 24071, León, Spain
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, California 94158, USA
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43
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Ivanov AS, Gnedenko OV, Molnar AA, Archakov AI, Podust LM. FMN binding site of yeast NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase exposed at the surface is highly specific. ACS Chem Biol 2010; 5:767-76. [PMID: 20557022 DOI: 10.1021/cb100055v] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) transfers two reducing equivalents derived from NADPH via FAD and FMN to microsomal P450 monooxygenases in one-electron transfer steps. The crystal structure of yeast CPR (yCPR) contains a surface-exposed FMN binding site (FMN2 site) at the interface of the FMN binding and connecting domains, in addition to the single buried site that has been observed in rat CPR. This finding provides a testable hypothesis of how intramolecular (between FAD and FMN) and intermolecular (between FMN and P450) electron transfer may occur in CPR. To verify that occupancy of the FMN2 site is not an artifact of crystallization, a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor technique has been applied to probe the selectivity of this site under functional conditions. A series of kinetic and equilibrium binding experiments involving yCPR immobilized on different sensor chip surfaces was performed using FMN and FAD, as well as FMN-derived compounds, including riboflavin, dimethylalloxazine, and alloxazine, and other molecules that resemble the planar isoalloxazine ring structure. Only FMN and FAD showed stoichiometric binding responses. Binding affinity for FMN was in the submicromolar range, 30 times higher than that for FAD. Association kinetic rates for the yCPR/FMN complex were up to 60-fold higher than for the yCPR/FAD complex. Taken together, these data indicate that (i) the surface-exposed site in yCPR is highly selective toward binding flavins, (ii) binding of FMN in this site is notably favored, and finally, (iii) both the phosphate group and the isoalloxazine ring of FMN are essential for binding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis S. Ivanov
- Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow 119121, Russia
| | - Oksana V. Gnedenko
- Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow 119121, Russia
| | - Andrey A. Molnar
- Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow 119121, Russia
| | - Alexander I. Archakov
- Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow 119121, Russia
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143
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44
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Johnston JB, Ouellet H, Podust LM, Ortiz de Montellano PR. Structural control of cytochrome P450-catalyzed ω-hydroxylation. Arch Biochem Biophys 2010; 507:86-94. [PMID: 20727847 DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2010.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2010] [Revised: 08/11/2010] [Accepted: 08/13/2010] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The regiospecific or preferential ω-hydroxylation of hydrocarbon chains is thermodynamically disfavored because the ease of C-H bond hydroxylation depends on the bond strength, and the primary C-H bond of a terminal methyl group is stronger than the secondary or tertiary C-H bond adjacent to it. The hydroxylation reaction will therefore occur primarily at the adjacent secondary or tertiary C-H bond unless the protein structure specifically enforces primary C-H bond oxidation. Here we review the classes of enzymes that catalyze ω-hydroxylation and our current understanding of the structural features that promote the ω-hydroxylation of unbranched and methyl-branched hydrocarbon chains. The evidence indicates that steric constraints are used to favor reaction at the ω-site rather than at the more reactive (ω-1)-site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan B Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California-San Francisco, CA 94158-2517, United States
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45
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Ouellet H, Guan S, Johnston JB, Chow ED, Kells PM, Burlingame AL, Cox JS, Podust LM, de Montellano PRO. Mycobacterium tuberculosis CYP125A1, a steroid C27 monooxygenase that detoxifies intracellularly generated cholest-4-en-3-one. Mol Microbiol 2010; 77:730-42. [PMID: 20545858 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2010.07243.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The infectivity and persistence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis requires the utilization of host cell cholesterol. We have examined the specific role of cytochrome P450 CYP125A1 in the cholesterol degradation pathway using genetic, biochemical and high-resolution mass spectrometric approaches. The analysis of lipid profiles from cells grown on cholesterol revealed that CYP125A1 is required to incorporate the cholesterol side-chain carbon atoms into cellular lipids, as evidenced by an increase in the mass of the methyl-branched phthiocerol dimycocerosates. We observed that cholesterol-exposed cells lacking CYP125A1 accumulate cholest-4-en-3-one, suggesting that this is a physiological substrate for this enzyme. Reconstitution of enzymatic activity with spinach ferredoxin and ferredoxin reductase revealed that recombinant CYP125A1 indeed binds both cholest-4-en-3-one and cholesterol, efficiently hydroxylates both of them at C-27, and then further oxidizes 27-hydroxycholest-4-en-3-one to cholest-4-en-3-one-27-oic acid. We determined the X-ray structure of cholest-4-en-3-one-bound CYP125A1 at a resolution of 1.58 A. CYP125A1 is essential for growth of CDC1551 in media containing cholesterol or cholest-4-en-3-one. In its absence, the latter compound is toxic for both CDC1551 and H37Rv when added with glycerol as a second carbon source. CYP125A1 is a key enzyme in cholesterol metabolism and plays a crucial role in circumventing the deleterious effect of cholest-4-en-3-one.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugues Ouellet
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
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Doyle PS, Chen CK, Johnston JB, Hopkins SD, Leung SSF, Jacobson MP, Engel JC, McKerrow JH, Podust LM. A nonazole CYP51 inhibitor cures Chagas' disease in a mouse model of acute infection. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2010; 54:2480-8. [PMID: 20385875 PMCID: PMC2876414 DOI: 10.1128/aac.00281-10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2010] [Revised: 03/29/2010] [Accepted: 04/06/2010] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Chagas' disease, the leading cause of heart failure in Latin America, is caused by the kinetoplastid protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. The sterols of T. cruzi resemble those of fungi, both in composition and in biosynthesis. Azole inhibitors of sterol 14alpha-demethylase (CYP51) successfully treat fungal infections in humans, and efforts to adapt the success of antifungal azoles posaconazole and ravuconazole as second-use agents for Chagas' disease are under way. However, to address concerns about the use of azoles for Chagas' disease, including drug resistance and cost, the rational design of nonazole CYP51 inhibitors can provide promising alternative drug chemotypes. We report the curative effect of the nonazole CYP51 inhibitor LP10 in an acute mouse model of T. cruzi infection. Mice treated with an oral dose of 40 mg LP10/kg of body weight twice a day (BID) for 30 days, initiated 24 h postinfection, showed no signs of acute disease and had histologically normal tissues after 6 months. A very stringent test of cure showed that 4/5 mice had negative PCR results for T. cruzi, and parasites were amplified by hemoculture in only two treated mice. These results compare favorably with those reported for posaconazole. Electron microscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of sterol composition confirmed that treatment with LP10 blocked the 14alpha-demethylation step and induced breakdown of parasite cell membranes, culminating in severe ultrastructural and morphological alterations and death of the clinically relevant amastigote stage of the parasite.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia S. Doyle
- Sandler Center for Basic Research in Parasitic Diseases, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, California 94158
| | - Chiung-Kuang Chen
- Sandler Center for Basic Research in Parasitic Diseases, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, California 94158
| | - Jonathan B. Johnston
- Sandler Center for Basic Research in Parasitic Diseases, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, California 94158
| | - Stephanie D. Hopkins
- Sandler Center for Basic Research in Parasitic Diseases, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, California 94158
| | - Siegfried S. F. Leung
- Sandler Center for Basic Research in Parasitic Diseases, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, California 94158
| | - Matthew P. Jacobson
- Sandler Center for Basic Research in Parasitic Diseases, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, California 94158
| | - Juan C. Engel
- Sandler Center for Basic Research in Parasitic Diseases, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, California 94158
| | - James H. McKerrow
- Sandler Center for Basic Research in Parasitic Diseases, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, California 94158
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Sandler Center for Basic Research in Parasitic Diseases, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, California 94158
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Abstract
Mycobacterium tuberculosis cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP) attract ongoing interest for their pharmacological development potential, driving direct screening efforts against potential CYP targets with the ultimate goal of developing potent CYP-specific inhibitors and/or molecular probes to address M. tuberculosis biology. The property of CYP enzymes to shift the ferric heme Fe Soret band in response to ligand binding provides the basis for an experimental platform for high-throughput screening (HTS) of compound libraries to select chemotypes with high binding affinities to the target. Promising compounds can be evaluated in in vitro assays or in vivo disease models and further characterized by x-ray crystallography, leading to optimization strategies to assist drug design. Protocols are provided for compound library screening, analysis of inhibitory potential, and co-crystallization with the target CYP, as well as expression and purification of soluble CYP enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jens P von Kries
- Screening Unit, Leibniz Institute for Molecular Pharmacology (FMP), Berlin, Germany
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Chen CK, Leung SSF, Guilbert C, Jacobson MP, McKerrow JH, Podust LM. Structural characterization of CYP51 from Trypanosoma cruzi and Trypanosoma brucei bound to the antifungal drugs posaconazole and fluconazole. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2010; 4:e651. [PMID: 20386598 PMCID: PMC2850312 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0000651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2009] [Accepted: 02/16/2010] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Chagas Disease is the leading cause of heart failure in Latin America. Current drug therapy is limited by issues of both efficacy and severe side effects. Trypansoma cruzi, the protozoan agent of Chagas Disease, is closely related to two other major global pathogens, Leishmania spp., responsible for leishmaniasis, and Trypansoma brucei, the causative agent of African Sleeping Sickness. Both T. cruzi and Leishmania parasites have an essential requirement for ergosterol, and are thus vulnerable to inhibitors of sterol 14alpha-demethylase (CYP51), which catalyzes the conversion of lanosterol to ergosterol. Clinically employed anti-fungal azoles inhibit ergosterol biosynthesis in fungi, and specific azoles are also effective against both Trypanosoma and Leishmania parasites. However, modification of azoles to enhance efficacy and circumvent potential drug resistance has been problematic for both parasitic and fungal infections due to the lack of structural insights into drug binding. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We have determined the crystal structures for CYP51 from T. cruzi (resolutions of 2.35 A and 2.27 A), and from the related pathogen T. brucei (resolutions of 2.7 A and 2.6 A), co-crystallized with the antifungal drugs fluconazole and posaconazole. Remarkably, both drugs adopt multiple conformations when binding the target. The fluconazole 2,4-difluorophenyl ring flips 180 degrees depending on the H-bonding interactions with the BC-loop. The terminus of the long functional tail group of posaconazole is bound loosely in the mouth of the hydrophobic substrate binding tunnel, suggesting that the major contribution of the tail to drug efficacy is for pharmacokinetics rather than in interactions with the target. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE The structures provide new insights into binding of azoles to CYP51 and mechanisms of potential drug resistance. Our studies define in structural detail the CYP51 therapeutic target in T. cruzi, and offer a starting point for rationally designed anti-Chagasic drugs with improved efficacy and reduced toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiung-Kuang Chen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Siegfried S. F. Leung
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Christophe Guilbert
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Matthew P. Jacobson
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - James H. McKerrow
- Sandler Center for Basic Research in Parasitic Diseases, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
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Chen CJ, Mckerrow JH, Podust LM. Structural characterization of the interactions between CYP51 from Trypanosoma cruzi and Trypanosoma brucei and the antifungal drugs posaconazole and fluconazole. FASEB J 2010. [DOI: 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.lb198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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McKerrow JH, Doyle PS, Engel JC, Podust LM, Robertson SA, Ferreira R, Saxton T, Arkin M, Kerr ID, Brinen LS, Craik CS. Two approaches to discovering and developing new drugs for Chagas disease. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 2010; 104 Suppl 1:263-9. [PMID: 19753483 DOI: 10.1590/s0074-02762009000900034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2009] [Accepted: 06/09/2009] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
This review will focus on two general approaches carried out at the Sandler Center, University of California, San Francisco, to address the challenge of developing new drugs for the treatment of Chagas disease. The first approach is target-based drug discovery, and two specific targets, cytochrome P450 CYP51 and cruzain (aka cruzipain), are discussed. A 'proof of concept' molecule, the vinyl sulfone inhibitor K777, is now a clinical candidate. The preclinical assessment compliance for filing as an Investigational New Drug with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is presented, and an outline of potential clinical trials is given. The second approach to identifying new drug leads is parasite phenotypic screens in culture. The development of an assay allowing high throughput screening of Trypanosoma cruzi amastigotes in skeletal muscle cells is presented. This screen has the advantage of not requiring specific strains of parasites, so it could be used with field isolates, drug resistant strains or laboratory strains. It is optimized for robotic liquid handling and has been validated through a screen of a library of FDA-approved drugs identifying 65 hits.
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Affiliation(s)
- J H McKerrow
- Sandler Center at Mission Bay, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158-2330, USA.
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