Structural analysis of a holoenzyme complex of mouse dihydrofolate reductase with NADPH and a ternary complex with the potent and selective inhibitor 2,4-diamino-6-(2′-hydroxydibenz[b,f]azepin-5-yl)methylpteridine

The structures of mouse DHFR holo enzyme and a ternary complex with NADPH and a potent inhibitor are described

Targeting species specific amino acid residues: Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of 6-substituted pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines as dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors and potential anti-opportunistic infection agents

To combine the potency of trimetrexate (TMQ) or piritrexim (PTX) with the species selectivity of trimethoprim (TMP), target based design was carried out with the X-ray crystal structure of human dihydrofolate reductase (hDHFR) and the homology model of Pneumocystis jirovecii DHFR (pjDHFR). Using variation of amino acids such as Met33/Phe31 (in pjDHFR/hDHFR) that affect the binding of inhibitors due to their distinct positive or negative steric effect at the active binding site of the inhibitor, we designed a series of substituted-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines. The best analogs displayed better potency (IC50) than PTX and high selectivity for pjDHFR versus hDHFR, with 4 exhibiting a selectivity for pjDHFR of 24-fold

Combined QM/MM Study of Thyroid and Steroid Hormone Analogue Interactions with αvβ3 Integrin

Recent biochemical studies have identified a cell surface receptor for thyroid and steroid hormones that bind near the arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) recognition site on the heterodimeric αvβ3 integrin. To further characterize the intermolecular interactions for a series of hormone analogues, combined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical (QM/MM) methods were used to calculate their interaction energies. All calculations were performed in the presence of either calcium (Ca2+) or magnesium (Mg2+) ions. These data reveal that 3,5′-triiodothyronine (T3) and 3,5,3′,5′-tetraiodothyroacetic acid (T4ac) bound in two different modes, occupying two alternate sites, one of which is along the Arg side chain of the RGD cyclic peptide site. These orientations differ from those of the other ligands whose alternate binding modes placed the ligands deeper within the RGD binding pocket. These observations are consistent with biological data that indicate the presence of two discrete binding sites that control distinct downstream signal transduction pathways for T3

Structural analysis of Pneumocystis carinii and human DHFR complexes with NADPH and a series of five potent 6-[5′-(ω-carboxyalkoxy)benzyl]pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives

These data reveal that the ethyl esters of a series of 5′-(ω-carboxyalkoxy)benzylpyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidines have flexible side-chain conformations that do not optimize interactions with Arg75 in pcDHFR. Also, a novel conformation not reported in other DHFR structures was observed for one conformer of one of the compounds that had a disordered side chain

QUARTERLY Comparison of binding interactions of dibromoflavonoids with transthyretin ��

The crystal structure of rat transthyretin (rTTR) complex with the dibromoflavone EMD21388 was determined to 2.3 Å resolution and refined to R = 0.203 and R free = 0.288. Two different orientations of EMD21388, which differ in the channel penetration by 1.6 Å, were found in the A/C binding site of rTTR. The single ligand position observed in the B/D site is intermediate between the two positions found in the A/C site. The position of the dibromoflavone in the B/D site is similar to that reported for dibromoaurone in human TTR. The bromine atoms of EMD21388 form strong interactions in the P3 and P3 � pockets of rTTR. Due to the different molecular architectures of both ligands, dibromoflavone forms only one interaction with Lys-15 near the channel entrance, while direct interactions with the pair of Lys-15 were reported for dibromoaurone. The C3 * methyl group of EMD21388 mediates the bridging interactions between two TTR subunits in the P2 pockets. The interactions of the O2* hydroxyl group of dibromoaurone with the Thr-119 side chain in the P3 pockets are not matched by similar interactions in EMD21388. Both these alternative interactions can explain the competitive binding of 3�,5�-dibromoflavonoids to transthyretin

Computer modeling studies of the structural role of NADPH binding to active site mutants of human dihydrofolate reductase in complex with piritrexim.

Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR, EC 1.5.1.3) is one of the enzymes active in the folate cycle which plays an important role in DNA synthesis. Inhibition of DHFR is a key element in the treatment of many diseases, including cancer and AIDS related infections. A search for new selective inhibitors is motivated by the resistance to common drugs observed in the course of treatment. In this paper, results of a detailed computer analysis of human DHFR interactions with the lipophilic inhibitor piritrexim (PTX) are presented. It was found that the NADPH cofactor contributes 30% of the total PTX-enzyme interaction energy. Substitution of the highly conserved Glu30 with alanine does not lead to the release of the inhibitor from the hDHFR pocket. The important L22F point mutation does affect PTX orientation but does not change the binding energy. Simulations of the dynamics of binary hDHFR-TX complexes were performed with the use of Extensible Systematic Force Field (ESFF) and the results indicate structural changes in the enzyme induced by NADPH binding

Structural basis of negative cooperativity in transthyretin

A comparison of the AC and BD binding sites of transthyretin (TTR) was made in terms of the interatomic distances between the Cα atoms of equivalent amino acids, measured across the tetramer channel in each binding site. The comparison of the channel diameter for apo TTR from different sources revealed that in the unliganded transthyretin tetramers the distances between the A, D and H β-strands are consistently larger, while the distances between the G β-strands are smaller in one site than in the other. These differences might be described to have a 'wave' character. An analogous analysis performed for transthyretin complexes reveals that the shape of the plot is similar, although the amplitudes of the changes are smaller. The analysis leads us to a model of the changes in the binding sites caused by ligand binding. The sequence of events includes ligand binding in the first site, followed by a slight collapse of this site and concomitant opening of the second site, binding of the second molecule and collapse of the second site. The following opening of the first, already occupied site upon ligand binding in the second site is smaller because of the bridging interactions already formed by the first ligand. This explains the negative cooperativity (NC) effect observed for many ligands in transthyretin