Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2
pubmed:dateCreated
2000-2-15
pubmed:databankReference
pubmed:abstractText
Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) catalyzes the NADPH-dependent reduction of dihydrofolate to tetrahydrofolate and is essential for the synthesis of thymidylate, purines and several amino acids. Inhibition of the enzyme's activity leads to arrest of DNA synthesis and cell death. The enzyme has been studied extensively as a drug target for bacterial, protozoal and fungal infections, and also for neoplastic and autoimmune diseases. Here, we report the crystal structure of dihydrofolate reductase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a human pathogen responsible for the death of millions of human beings per year. Three crystal structures of ternary complexes of M. tuberculosis DHFR with NADP and different inhibitors have been determined, as well as the binary complex with NADP, with resolutions ranging from 1.7 to 2.0 A. The three DHFR inhibitors are the anticancer drug methotrexate, the antimicrobial trimethoprim and Br-WR99210, an analogue of the antimalarial agent WR99210. Structural comparison of these complexes with human dihydrofolate reductase indicates that the overall protein folds are similar, despite only 26 % sequence identity, but that the environments of both NADP and of the inhibitors contain interesting differences between the enzymes from host and pathogen. Specifically, residues Ala101 and Leu102 near the N6 of NADP are distinctly more hydrophobic in the M. tuberculosis than in the human enzyme. Another striking difference occurs in a region near atoms N1 and N8 of methotrexate, which is also near atom N1 of trimethoprim, and near the N1 and two methyl groups of Br-WR99210. A glycerol molecule binds here in a pocket of the M. tuberculosis DHFR:MTX complex, while this pocket is essentially filled with hydrophobic side-chains in the human enzyme. These differences between the enzymes from pathogen and host provide opportunities for designing new selective inhibitors of M. tuberculosis DHFR.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jan
pubmed:issn
0022-2836
pubmed:author
pubmed:copyrightInfo
Copyright 2000 Academic Press.
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
14
pubmed:volume
295
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
307-23
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2000
pubmed:articleTitle
Three-dimensional structure of M. tuberculosis dihydrofolate reductase reveals opportunities for the design of novel tuberculosis drugs.
pubmed:affiliation
Departments of Biological Structure and Biochemistry Biomolecular Structure Center and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't