RESUMO
L-amino acid oxidases (LAAOs) are dimeric flavoproteins that catalyze the deamination of L-amino acid to α-keto acid, producing ammonia and hydrogen peroxide. In this study, we report the crystal structure and molecular dynamics simulations of LAAO from the venom of Bothrops atrox (BatroxLAAO). BatroxLAAO presents several biological and pharmacological properties with promising biomedical applications. BatroxLAAO structure contains the highly conserved structural pattern of LAAOs comprising a FAD-binding domain, substrate-binding domain and helical domain, and a dimeric arrangement that can be stabilized by zinc. Also, molecular dynamics results show an asymmetric behavior, and a direct communication between FAD- and substrate-binding domains of counterpart subunits. These findings shed light on the structural role of dimerization to catalytic mechanism of SV-LAAOs.
Assuntos
Bothrops/metabolismo , L-Aminoácido Oxidase/química , Simulação de Dinâmica Molecular , Animais , Peróxido de Hidrogênio , Conformação Proteica , Venenos de Serpentes/química , Especificidade por Substrato , Zinco/metabolismoRESUMO
Malaria remains one of the most serious global infectious diseases. An important target for antimalarial chemotherapy is the enzyme dihydroorotate dehydrogenase from Plasmodium falciparum (PfDHODH), which is responsible for the conversion of dihydroorotate to orotate in the de novo pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway. In this study, we have designed and synthesized fifteen 7-arylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives using ring bioisosteric replacement and molecular hybridization of functional groups based on the highly active 5-methyl-N-(naphthalen-2-yl)-2-(trifluoromethyl)- [1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-7-amine. The compounds were tested against Plasmodium falciparum, as antimalarials in mice with P. berghei, and as inhibitors of PfDHODH. Thirteen compounds were found to be active against P. falciparum, with IC50 values ranging from 1.2 ± 0.3 to 92 ± 26 µM in the anti-HRP2 and hypoxanthine assays. Four compounds showed the highest selective index (SI), which is a ratio between cytotoxicity and activity in vitro. The inhibition of PfDHODH showed that compound 30 (R2 = CH3; R5 = CF3; Ar = 7-ß-naphthyl) displayed higher and selective inhibitory activity, with IC50 = 0.16 ± 0.01 µM, followed by 25 (R2 = CH3; R5 = CH3; Ar = 7-ß-Naphthyl) and 19 (R2 = CF3; R5 = CF3; Ar = 7-ß-naphthyl), with IC50 = 4 ± 1 µM and 6 ± 1 µM, respectively. The trifluoromethyl group at the 2- or 5-positions of the pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine ring led to increased drug activity. The docking results agreed with the values obtained from enzymatic assays.
Assuntos
Antimaláricos/farmacologia , Inibidores Enzimáticos/farmacologia , Oxirredutases atuantes sobre Doadores de Grupo CH-CH/antagonistas & inibidores , Plasmodium falciparum/efeitos dos fármacos , Plasmodium falciparum/enzimologia , Pirimidinas/química , Pirimidinas/farmacologia , Animais , Antimaláricos/química , Antimaláricos/metabolismo , Antimaláricos/toxicidade , Linhagem Celular , Di-Hidro-Orotato Desidrogenase , Avaliação Pré-Clínica de Medicamentos , Inibidores Enzimáticos/química , Inibidores Enzimáticos/metabolismo , Inibidores Enzimáticos/toxicidade , Humanos , Camundongos , Simulação de Acoplamento Molecular , Oxirredutases atuantes sobre Doadores de Grupo CH-CH/química , Oxirredutases atuantes sobre Doadores de Grupo CH-CH/metabolismo , Conformação Proteica , Pirimidinas/metabolismo , Pirimidinas/toxicidadeRESUMO
Dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) is the fourth enzyme in the de novo pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway and has been exploited as the target for therapy against proliferative and parasitic diseases. In this study, we report the crystal structures of DHODH from Leishmania major, the species of Leishmania associated with zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis, in its apo form and in complex with orotate and fumarate molecules. Both orotate and fumarate were found to bind to the same active site and exploit similar interactions, consistent with a ping-pong mechanism described for class 1A DHODHs. Analysis of LmDHODH structures reveals that rearrangements in the conformation of the catalytic loop have direct influence on the dimeric interface. This is the first structural evidence of a relationship between the dimeric form and the catalytic mechanism. According to our analysis, the high sequence and structural similarity observed among trypanosomatid DHODH suggest that a single strategy of structure-based inhibitor design can be used to validate DHODH as a druggable target against multiple neglected tropical diseases such as Leishmaniasis, Sleeping sickness and Chagas' diseases.
Assuntos
Domínio Catalítico , Leishmania major/enzimologia , Oxirredutases atuantes sobre Doadores de Grupo CH-CH/química , Conformação Proteica , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Cristalografia por Raios X/métodos , Di-Hidro-Orotato Desidrogenase , Fumaratos/química , Humanos , Leishmania major/patogenicidade , Leishmaniose/enzimologia , Leishmaniose/parasitologia , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Ácido Orótico/química , Especificidade por SubstratoRESUMO
Fumarate hydratases (FHs; EC 4.2.1.2) are enzymes that catalyze the reversible hydration of fumarate to S-malate. Parasitic protists that belong to the genus Leishmania and are responsible for a complex of vector-borne diseases named leishmaniases possess two genes that encode distinct putative FH enzymes. Genome sequence analysis of Leishmania major Friedlin reveals the existence of genes LmjF24.0320 and LmjF29.1960 encoding the putative enzymes LmFH-1 and LmFH-2, respectively. In the present work, the FH activity of both L. major enzymes has been confirmed. Circular dichroism studies suggest important differences in terms of secondary structure content when comparing LmFH isoforms and even larger differences when comparing them to the homologous human enzyme. CD melting experiments revealed that both LmFH isoforms are thermolabile enzymes. The catalytic efficiency under aerobic and anaerobic environments suggests that they are both highly sensitive to oxidation and damaged by oxygen. Intracellular localization studies located LmFH-1 in the mitochondrion, whereas LmFH-2 was found predominantly in the cytosol with possibly also some in glycosomes. The high degree of sequence conservation in different Leishmania species, together with the relevance of FH activity for the energy metabolism in these parasites suggest that FHs might be exploited as targets for broad-spectrum antileishmanial drugs.
Assuntos
Fumarato Hidratase/química , Fumarato Hidratase/metabolismo , Leishmania major/enzimologia , Dicroísmo Circular , Clonagem Molecular , Fumarato Hidratase/genética , Genoma Bacteriano , Isoenzimas , Cinética , Leishmania major/genética , Transporte Proteico , Proteínas Recombinantes/química , Proteínas Recombinantes/isolamento & purificação , Proteínas Recombinantes/metabolismo , Análise de Sequência de DNARESUMO
Dihydroorotate dehydrogenases (DHODHs) are flavin-containing enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of L-dihydroorotate to orotate, the fourth step in the de novo pyrimidine nucleotide synthesis pathway. In this study, DHODH from Leishmania major has been crystallized by the vapour-diffusion technique using lithium sulfate as the precipitating agent. The crystals belong to space group P6(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 143.7, c = 69.8 A. X-ray diffraction data were collected to 2.0 A resolution using an in-house rotating-anode generator. Analysis of the solvent content and the self-rotation function indicate the presence of two molecules in the asymmetric unit. The structure has been solved by the molecular-replacement technique.
Assuntos
Leishmania major/enzimologia , Oxirredutases atuantes sobre Doadores de Grupo CH-CH/química , Animais , Cristalização , Di-Hidro-Orotato Desidrogenase , Compostos de Lítio/metabolismo , Oxirredutases atuantes sobre Doadores de Grupo CH-CH/isolamento & purificação , Sulfatos/metabolismo , Difração de Raios XRESUMO
Leishmania major Friedlin (LmjF) is a protozoan parasite whose genomic sequence has been recently elucidated. Here we have cloned, overexpressed, purified, and characterized the product of the gene from LmjF chromosome 16: LmjF16.0530, which encodes a protein with putative dihydroorotate dehydrogenase activity. Dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) is a flavoprotein that catalyses the oxidation of L-dihydroorotate to orotate, the fourth sequential step in the de novo pyrimidine nucleotide synthesis pathway. The predicted enzyme from L. major was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli strain BL21(DE3) as a histidine-tag fusion protein and purified to homogeneity using affinity chromatography. The final product was homogeneous in SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis. The dihydroorotate oxidase activity has been assayed and the steady-state kinetic mechanism has been determined using fumarate as the oxidizing substrate. The catalysis by LmDHODH enzyme proceeds by a Ping-Pong Bi-Bi mechanism and the kinetic parameters Km were calculated to be 90 and 418 microM for dihydroorotate and fumarate, respectively, and Vmax was calculated to be 11 micromol min-1 mg-1. Our results confirmed that the product of the gene LmjF16.0530, whose function has previously been predicted based on homology to known proteins, can therefore be positively assigned as L. major DHODH.