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Utility of the Biosynthetic Folate Pathway for Targets in Antimicrobial Discovery. Antibiotics (Basel) 2014; 3:1-28. [PMID: 27025730 PMCID: PMC4790348 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics3010001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2013] [Revised: 01/08/2014] [Accepted: 01/09/2014] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The need for new antimicrobials is great in face of a growing pool of resistant pathogenic organisms. This review will address the potential for antimicrobial therapy based on polypharmacological activities within the currently utilized bacterial biosynthetic folate pathway. The folate metabolic pathway leads to synthesis of required precursors for cellular function and contains a critical node, dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), which is shared between prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The DHFR enzyme is currently targeted by methotrexate in anti-cancer therapies, by trimethoprim for antibacterial uses, and by pyrimethamine for anti-protozoal applications. An additional anti-folate target is dihyropteroate synthase (DHPS), which is unique to prokaryotes as they cannot acquire folate through dietary means. It has been demonstrated as a primary target for the longest standing antibiotic class, the sulfonamides, which act synergistically with DHFR inhibitors. Investigations have revealed most DHPS enzymes possess the ability to utilize sulfa drugs metabolically, producing alternate products that presumably inhibit downstream enzymes requiring the produced dihydropteroate. Recent work has established an off-target effect of sulfonamide antibiotics on a eukaryotic enzyme, sepiapterin reductase, causing alterations in neurotransmitter synthesis. Given that inhibitors of both DHFR and DHPS are designed to mimic their cognate substrate, which contain shared substructures, it is reasonable to expect such “off-target” effects. These inhibitors are also likely to interact with the enzymatic neighbors in the folate pathway that bind products of the DHFR or DHPS enzymes and/or substrates of similar substructure. Computational studies designed to assess polypharmacology reiterate these conclusions. This leads to hypotheses exploring the vast utility of multiple members of the folate pathway for modulating cellular metabolism, and includes an appealing capacity for prokaryotic-specific polypharmacology for antimicrobial applications.
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Garçon A, Levy C, Derrick JP. Crystal Structure of the Bifunctional Dihydroneopterin Aldolase/6-hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropterin Pyrophosphokinase from Streptococcus pneumoniae. J Mol Biol 2006; 360:644-53. [PMID: 16781731 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2006.05.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2006] [Revised: 05/11/2006] [Accepted: 05/14/2006] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The enzymes dihydroneopterin aldolase (DHNA) and 6-hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropterin pyrophosphokinase (HPPK) catalyse two consecutive steps in the biosynthesis of folic acid. Neither of these enzymes has a counterpart in mammals, and they have therefore been suggested as ideal targets for antimicrobial drugs. Some of the enzymes within the folate pathway can occur as bi- or trifunctional complexes in bacteria and parasites, but the way in which bifunctional DHNA-HPPK enzymes are assembled is unclear. Here, we report the determination of the structure at 2.9 A resolution of the DHNA-HPPK (SulD) bifunctional enzyme complex from the respiratory pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae. In the crystal, DHNA is assembled as a core octamer, with 422 point group symmetry, although the enzyme is active as a tetramer in solution. Individual HPPK monomers are arranged at the ends of the DHNA octamer, making relatively few contacts with the DHNA domain, but more extensive interactions with adjacent HPPK domains. As a result, the structure forms an elongated cylinder, with the HPPK domains forming two tetramers at each end. The active sites of both enzymes face outward, and there is no clear channel between them that could be used for channelling substrates. The HPPK-HPPK interface accounts for about one-third of the total area between adjacent monomers in SulD, and has levels of surface complementarity comparable to that of the DHNA-DHNA interfaces. There is no "linker" polypeptide between DHNA and HPPK, reducing the conformational flexibility of the HPPK domain relative to the DHNA domain. The implications for the organisation of bi- and trifunctional enzyme complexes within the folate biosynthesis pathway are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnaud Garçon
- Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7ND, UK
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Lawrence MC, Iliades P, Fernley RT, Berglez J, Pilling PA, Macreadie IG. The three-dimensional structure of the bifunctional 6-hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropterin pyrophosphokinase/dihydropteroate synthase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. J Mol Biol 2005; 348:655-70. [PMID: 15826662 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2005.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2004] [Revised: 03/03/2005] [Accepted: 03/04/2005] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In Saccharomyces cerevisiae and other fungi, the enzymes dihydroneopterin aldolase, 6-hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropterin pyrophosphokinase (HPPK) and dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS) are encoded by a polycistronic gene that is translated into a single polypeptide having all three functions. These enzymatic functions are essential to both prokaryotes and lower eukaryotes, and catalyse sequential reactions in folate biosynthesis. Deletion or disruption of either function leads to cell death. These enzymes are absent from mammals and thus make ideal antimicrobial targets. DHPS is currently the target of antifolate therapy for a number of infectious diseases, and its activity is inhibited by sulfonamides and sulfones. These drugs are typically used as part of a synergistic cocktail with the 2,4-diaminopyrimidines that inhibit dihydrofolate reductase. A gene encoding the S.cerevisiae HPPK and DHPS enzymes has been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. A complex of the purified bifunctional polypeptide with a pterin monophosphate substrate analogue has been crystallized, and its structure solved by molecular replacement and refined to 2.3A resolution. The polypeptide consists of two structural domains, each of which closely resembles its respective monofunctional bacterial HPPK and DHPS counterpart. The mode of ligand binding is similar to that observed in the bacterial enzymes. The association between the domains within the polypeptide as well as the quaternary association of the polypeptide via its constituent DHPS domains provide insight into the assembly of the trifunctional enzyme in S.cerevisiae and probably other fungal species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael C Lawrence
- CSIRO Health Sciences and Nutrition, 343 Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan M Kompis
- ARPIDA Ltd, Dammstrasse 36, 4142 Münchenstein, Switzerland
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Güldener U, Koehler GJ, Haussmann C, Bacher A, Kricke J, Becher D, Hegemann JH. Characterization of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Fol1 protein: starvation for C1 carrier induces pseudohyphal growth. Mol Biol Cell 2004; 15:3811-28. [PMID: 15169867 PMCID: PMC491839 DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e03-09-0680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Tetrahydrofolate (vitamin B9) and its folate derivatives are essential cofactors in one-carbon (C1) transfer reactions and absolutely required for the synthesis of a variety of different compounds including methionine and purines. Most plants, microbial eukaryotes, and prokaryotes synthesize folate de novo. We have characterized an important enzyme in this pathway, the Saccharomyces cerevisiae FOL1 gene. Expression of the budding yeast gene FOL1 in Escherichia coli identified the folate biosynthetic enzyme activities dihydroneopterin aldolase (DHNA), 7,8-dihydro-6-hydroxymethylpterin-pyrophosphokinase (HPPK), and dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS). All three enzyme activities were also detected in wild-type yeast strains, whereas fol1Delta deletion strains only showed background activities, thus demonstrating that Fol1p catalyzes three sequential steps of the tetrahydrofolate biosynthetic pathway and thus is the central enzyme of this pathway, which starting from GTP consists of seven enzymatic reactions in total. Fol1p is exclusively localized to mitochondria as shown by fluorescence microscopy and immune electronmicroscopy. FOL1 is an essential gene and the nongrowth phenotype of the fol1 deletion leads to a recessive auxotrophy for folinic acid (5'-formyltetrahydrofolate). Growth of the fol1Delta deletion strain on folinic acid-supplemented rich media induced a dimorphic switch with haploid invasive and filamentous pseudohyphal growth in the presence of glucose and ammonium, which are known suppressors of filamentous and invasive growth. The invasive growth phenotype induced by the depletion of C1 carrier is dependent on the transcription factor Ste12p and the flocullin/adhesin Flo11p, whereas the filamentation phenotype is independent of Ste12p, Tec1p, Phd1p, and Flo11p, suggesting other signaling pathways as well as other adhesion proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ulrich Güldener
- Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Funktionelle Genomforschung der Mikroorganismen, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
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Thomas MC, Ballantine SP, Bethell SS, Bains S, Kellam P, Delves CJ. Single amino acid substitutions disrupt tetramer formation in the dihydroneopterin aldolase enzyme of Pneumocystis carinii. Biochemistry 1998; 37:11629-36. [PMID: 9709001 DOI: 10.1021/bi980540x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
In the opportunistic pathogen Pneumocystis carinii, dihydroneopterin aldolase function is expressed as the N-terminal portion of the multifunctional folic acid synthesis protein (Fas). This region encompasses two domains, FasA and FasB, which are 27% amino acid identical. FasA and FasB also share significant amino acid sequence similarity with bacterial dihydroneopterin aldolases. In the present study, this enzyme function has been overproduced as an independent monofunctional activity in Escherichia coli. Recombinant FasAB-Met23 (amino acids 23-290 of the predicted open reading frame) was purified and shown to contain dihydroneopterin aldolase activity. The native FasAB-Met23 is a tetramer of the 30-kDa subunit, demonstrating characteristics of an associating-dissociating equilibrium system in which only the multimeric form of the enzyme is active. Multiple sequence alignment of FasA and FasB with other dihydroneopterin aldolases highlights only three positions where the amino acid is invariable between all the predicted proteins. The role of these conserved amino acid residues in enzyme function was investigated using site-directed mutagenesis. Mutant FasAB-Met23 species were overproduced and purified to near homogeneity. Three FasA domain mutants and two FasB domain mutants had little or no detectable dihydroneopterin aldolase activity, implicating both FasA and FasB in the catalytic mechanism. We show that each mutant protein containing an inactivating amino acid substitution has lost its ability to form stable tetramers.
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Affiliation(s)
- M C Thomas
- Glaxo Wellcome Research and Development, Medicines Research Centre, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK
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Haussmann C, Rohdich F, Schmidt E, Bacher A, Richter G. Biosynthesis of pteridines in Escherichia coli. Structural and mechanistic similarity of dihydroneopterin-triphosphate epimerase and dihydroneopterin aldolase. J Biol Chem 1998; 273:17418-24. [PMID: 9651328 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.273.28.17418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
An open reading frame located at 69.0 kilobases on the Escherichia coli chromosome was shown to code for dihydroneopterin aldolase, catalyzing the conversion of 7,8-dihydroneopterin to 6-hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropterin in the biosynthetic pathway of tetrahydrofolate. The gene was subsequently designated folB. The FolB protein shows 30% identity to the paralogous dihydroneopterin-triphosphate epimerase, which is specified by the folX gene located at 2427 kilobases on the E. coli chromosome. The folX and folB gene products were both expressed to high yield in recombinant E. coli strains, and the recombinant proteins were purified to homogeneity. Both enzymes form homo-octamers. Aldolase can use L-threo-dihydroneopterin and D-erythro-dihydroneopterin as substrates for the formation of 6-hydroxymethyldihydropterin, but it can also catalyze the epimerization of carbon 2' of dihydroneopterin and dihydromonapterin at appreciable velocity. Epimerase catalyzes the epimerization of carbon 2' in the triphosphates of dihydroneopterin and dihydromonapterin. However, the enzyme can also catalyze the cleavage of the position 6 side chain of several pteridine derivatives at a slow rate. Steady-state kinetic parameters are reported for the various enzyme-catalyzed reactions. We propose that the polarization of the 2'-hydroxy group of the substrate could serve as the initial reaction step for the aldolase as well as for the epimerase activity. A deletion mutant obtained by targeting the folX gene of E. coli has normal growth properties on complete medium as well as on minimal medium. Thus, the physiological role of the E. coli epimerase remains unknown. The open reading frame ygiG of Hemophilus influenzae specifies a protein with the catalytic properties of an aldolase. However, the genome of H. influenzae does not specify a dihydroneopterin-triphosphate epimerase.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Haussmann
- Department of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstrasse 4, D-85747 Garching, Federal Republic of Germany
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Hennig M, D'Arcy A, Hampele IC, Page MG, Oefner C, Dale GE. Crystal structure and reaction mechanism of 7,8-dihydroneopterin aldolase from Staphylococcus aureus. NATURE STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY 1998; 5:357-62. [PMID: 9586996 DOI: 10.1038/nsb0598-357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Dihydroneopterin aldolase catalyzes the conversion of 7,8-dihydroneopterin to 6-hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropterin during the de novo synthesis of folic acid from guanosine triphosphate. The gene encoding the dihydroneopterin aldolase from S. aureus has been cloned, sequenced and expressed in Escherichia coli. The protein has been purified for biochemical characterization and its X-ray structure determined at 1.65 A resolution. The protein forms an octamer of 110,000 Mr molecular weight. Four molecules assemble into a ring, and two rings come together to give a cylinder with a hole of at least 13 A diameter. The structure of the binary complex with the product 6-hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropterin has defined the location of the active site. The structural information and results of site directed mutagenesis allow an enzyme reaction mechanism to be proposed.
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Abstract
Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia remains a prevalent opportunistic disease among immunocompromised individuals. Although aggressive prophylaxis has decreased the number of acute P. carinii pneumonia cases, many patients cannot tolerate the available drugs, and experience recurrence of the infection, which can be fatal. It is now generally agreed that the organism should be placed with the fungi, but the identification of extant fungal species representing its closest kins, remains debated. Most recent data indicate that P. carinii represents a diverse group of organisms. Since the lack of methods for the continuous subcultivation of this organism hampered P. carinii research, molecular cloning and nucleotide sequencing approaches led the way for understanding the biochemical nature of this pathogen. However, within the last 5 years, the development of improved protocols for isolating and purifying viable organisms from infected mammalian host lungs has enabled direct biochemical and metabolism studies on the organism. The protein moiety of the major high mol. wt surface antigen, represented by numerous isoforms, is encoded by different genes. These proteins are post-transcriptionally modified by carbohydrates and lipids. The organism has the shikimic acid pathway that leads to the formation of compounds which mammals cannot synthesise (e.g., folic acid), hence drugs that inhibit these pathways are effective against the pathogen. Ornithine decarboxylase has now been detected; rapid and complete depletion of polyamines occurs in response to difluoromethylornithine (DFMO). Instead of ergosterol (the major sterol of higher fungi), P. carinii synthesises distinct delta7, C-24-alkylated sterols. An unusual C32 sterol, pneumocysterol, has been identified in human-derived P. carinii. Another signature lipid discovered is cis-9,10-epoxy stearic acid. CoQ10, identified as the major ubiquinone homologue, is synthesised de novo by P. carinii. Atovaquone and other hydroxynaphthoquinone drugs with anti-P. carinii activity probably inhibit pathogen respiration as CoQ analogues. Unlike its effects on Plasmodium, atovaquone does not inhibit the P. carinii dihydroorotate dehydrogenase and pyrimidine metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- E S Kaneshiro
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, OH, USA.
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Sen-Gupta M, Güldener U, Beinhauer J, Fiedler T, Hegemann JH. Sequence analysis of the 33 kb long region between ORC5 and SUI1 from the left arm of chromosome XIV from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Yeast 1997; 13:849-60. [PMID: 9234673 DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0061(199707)13:9<849::aid-yea106>3.0.co;2-n] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
We have determined the nucleotide sequence of a chromosomal region of 33,016 bp located on the left arm of chromosome XIV from budding yeast between the ORC5 and the SUI1 gene. Subsequent sequence analysis revealed the presence of 18 non-overlapping open reading frames (ORFs) including eight previously identified and sequenced genes (ORC5, ATX1, SIP3, NRD1, RAD50, MPA43, RPA49 and SUI1). Three other ORFs (YNL256w, YNL255c and YNL247w) code for putative proteins with significant homology to proteins from other organisms, while 4 ORFs exhibit only weak homology to known proteins. Three ORFs have no homology with sequences in the databases.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Sen-Gupta
- Institut für Mikrobiologie und Molekularbiologie, Justus-Liebig-Universitat Giessen, Germany
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Haussmann C, Rohdich F, Lottspeich F, Eberhardt S, Scheuring J, Mackamul S, Bacher A. Dihydroneopterin triphosphate epimerase of Escherichia coli: purification, genetic cloning, and expression. J Bacteriol 1997; 179:949-51. [PMID: 9006053 PMCID: PMC178780 DOI: 10.1128/jb.179.3.949-951.1997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The enzyme catalyzing the epimerization at position 2' of dihydroneopterin triphosphate was purified by a factor of about 10,000 from cell extract of Escherichia coli. The cognate gene was cloned, sequenced, expressed, and mapped to kb 2427 on the E. coli chromosome.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Haussmann
- Institut für Organische Chemie und Biochemie, Technische Universität München, Garching, Federal Republic of Germany
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