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Molecular Mechanism of Thymidylate Synthase Inhibition by N 4-Hydroxy-dCMP in View of Spectrophotometric and Crystallographic Studies. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22094758. [PMID: 33946210 PMCID: PMC8125507 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22094758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2021] [Revised: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Novel evidence is presented allowing further clarification of the mechanism of the slow-binding thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibition by N4-hydroxy-dCMP (N4-OH-dCMP). Spectrophotometric monitoring documented time- and temperature-, and N4-OH-dCMP-dependent TS-catalyzed dihydrofolate production, accompanying the mouse enzyme incubation with N4-OH-dCMP and N5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate, known to inactivate the enzyme by the covalent binding of the inhibitor, suggesting the demonstrated reaction to be uncoupled from the pyrimidine C(5) methylation. The latter was in accord with the hypothesis based on the previously presented structure of mouse TS (cf. PDB ID: 4EZ8), and with conclusions based on the present structure of the parasitic nematode Trichinella spiralis, both co-crystallized with N4-OH-dCMP and N5,10-methylenetetrahdrofolate. The crystal structure of the mouse TS-N4-OH-dCMP complex soaked with N5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate revealed the reaction to run via a unique imidazolidine ring opening, leaving the one-carbon group bound to the N(10) atom, thus too distant from the pyrimidine C(5) atom to enable the electrophilic attack and methylene group transfer.
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Maj P, Mori M, Sobich J, Markowicz J, Uram Ł, Zieliński Z, Quaglio D, Calcaterra A, Cau Y, Botta B, Rode W. Alvaxanthone, a Thymidylate Synthase Inhibitor with Nematocidal and Tumoricidal Activities. Molecules 2020; 25:molecules25122894. [PMID: 32586022 PMCID: PMC7356228 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25122894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2020] [Revised: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
With the aim to identify novel inhibitors of parasitic nematode thymidylate synthase (TS), we screened in silico an in-house library of natural compounds, taking advantage of a model of nematode TS three-dimensional (3D) structure and choosing candidate compounds potentially capable of enzyme binding/inhibition. Selected compounds were tested as (i) inhibitors of the reaction catalyzed by TSs of different species, (ii) agents toxic to a nematode parasite model (C. elegans grown in vitro), (iii) inhibitors of normal human cell growth, and (iv) antitumor agents affecting human tumor cells grown in vitro. The results pointed to alvaxanthone as a relatively strong TS inhibitor that causes C. elegans population growth reduction with nematocidal potency similar to the anthelmintic drug mebendazole. Alvaxanthone also demonstrated an antiproliferative effect in tumor cells, associated with a selective toxicity against mitochondria observed in cancer cells compared to normal cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piotr Maj
- Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, 3 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (P.M.); (J.S.); (Z.Z.)
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3QT, UK
| | - Mattia Mori
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Department of Excellence 2018-2022, via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy; (M.M.); (Y.C.)
| | - Justyna Sobich
- Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, 3 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (P.M.); (J.S.); (Z.Z.)
| | - Joanna Markowicz
- Faculty of Chemistry, Rzeszów University of Technology, 6 Powstańców Warszawy Ave, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland; (J.M.); (Ł.U.)
| | - Łukasz Uram
- Faculty of Chemistry, Rzeszów University of Technology, 6 Powstańców Warszawy Ave, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland; (J.M.); (Ł.U.)
| | - Zbigniew Zieliński
- Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, 3 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (P.M.); (J.S.); (Z.Z.)
| | - Deborah Quaglio
- Department of Chemistry and Technology of Drugs, Department of Excellence 2018–2022, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (D.Q.); (A.C.); (B.B.)
| | - Andrea Calcaterra
- Department of Chemistry and Technology of Drugs, Department of Excellence 2018–2022, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (D.Q.); (A.C.); (B.B.)
| | - Ylenia Cau
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Department of Excellence 2018-2022, via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy; (M.M.); (Y.C.)
| | - Bruno Botta
- Department of Chemistry and Technology of Drugs, Department of Excellence 2018–2022, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (D.Q.); (A.C.); (B.B.)
| | - Wojciech Rode
- Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, 3 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (P.M.); (J.S.); (Z.Z.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +48-608-351-155; Fax: +48-22-822-5342
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