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Lemay-St-Denis C, Pelletier JN. From a binding module to essential catalytic activity: how nature stumbled on a good thing. Chem Commun (Camb) 2023; 59:12560-12572. [PMID: 37791701 DOI: 10.1039/d3cc04209j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Enzymes are complex macromolecules capable of catalyzing a wide variety of chemical reactions with high efficiency. Nonetheless, biological catalysis can be rudimentary. Here, we describe an enzyme that is built from a simple protein fold. This short protein sequence - almost a peptide - belongs to the ancient SH3 family of binding modules. Surprisingly, this binding module catalyzes the specific reduction of dihydrofolate using NADPH as a reducing cofactor, making this a dihydrofolate reductase. Too small to provide all the required binding and catalytic machinery on its own, it homotetramerizes, thus creating a large, central active site environment. Remarkably, none of the active site residues is essential to the catalytic function. Instead, backbone interactions juxtapose the reducing cofactor proximal to the target imine of the folate substrate, and a specific motion of the substrate promotes formation of the transition state. In this feature article, we describe the features that make this small protein a functional enzyme capable of catalyzing a metabolically essential reaction, highlighting the characteristics that make it a model for the evolution of primitive enzymes from binding modules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudèle Lemay-St-Denis
- PROTEO, The Québec Network for Research on Protein, Function, Engineering and Applications, Quebec, QC, Canada
- CGCC, Center in Green Chemistry and Catalysis, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Joelle N Pelletier
- PROTEO, The Québec Network for Research on Protein, Function, Engineering and Applications, Quebec, QC, Canada
- CGCC, Center in Green Chemistry and Catalysis, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Chemistry Department, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
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2
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Lemay-St-Denis C, Alejaldre L, Jemouai Z, Lafontaine K, St-Aubin M, Hitache K, Valikhani D, Weerasinghe NW, Létourneau M, Thibodeaux CJ, Doucet N, Baron C, Copp JN, Pelletier JN. A conserved SH3-like fold in diverse putative proteins tetramerizes into an oxidoreductase providing an antimicrobial resistance phenotype. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220040. [PMID: 36633286 PMCID: PMC9835603 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
We present a potential mechanism for emergence of catalytic activity that is essential for survival, from a non-catalytic protein fold. The type B dihydrofolate reductase (DfrB) family of enzymes were first identified in pathogenic bacteria because their dihydrofolate reductase activity is sufficient to provide trimethoprim (TMP) resistance. DfrB enzymes are described as poorly evolved as a result of their unusual structural and kinetic features. No characterized protein shares sequence homology with DfrB enzymes; how they evolved to emerge in the modern resistome is unknown. In this work, we identify DfrB homologues from a database of putative and uncharacterized proteins. These proteins include an SH3-like fold homologous to the DfrB enzymes, embedded in a variety of additional structural domains. By means of functional, structural and biophysical characterization, we demonstrate that these distant homologues and their extracted SH3-like fold can display dihydrofolate reductase activity and confer TMP resistance. We provide evidence of tetrameric assembly and catalytic mechanism analogous to that of DfrB enzymes. These results contribute, to our knowledge, the first insights into a potential evolutionary path taken by this SH3-like fold to emerge in the modern resistome following introduction of TMP. This article is part of the theme issue 'Reactivity and mechanism in chemical and synthetic biology'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudèle Lemay-St-Denis
- PROTEO, The Québec Network for Research on Protein, Function, Engineering and Applications, Québec, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada
- CGCC, Center in Green Chemistry and Catalysis, Montréal, Québec H2V 0B3, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Lorea Alejaldre
- PROTEO, The Québec Network for Research on Protein, Function, Engineering and Applications, Québec, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada
- CGCC, Center in Green Chemistry and Catalysis, Montréal, Québec H2V 0B3, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Zakaria Jemouai
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Kiana Lafontaine
- PROTEO, The Québec Network for Research on Protein, Function, Engineering and Applications, Québec, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada
- CGCC, Center in Green Chemistry and Catalysis, Montréal, Québec H2V 0B3, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Maxime St-Aubin
- PROTEO, The Québec Network for Research on Protein, Function, Engineering and Applications, Québec, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada
- CGCC, Center in Green Chemistry and Catalysis, Montréal, Québec H2V 0B3, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Katia Hitache
- PROTEO, The Québec Network for Research on Protein, Function, Engineering and Applications, Québec, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada
- CGCC, Center in Green Chemistry and Catalysis, Montréal, Québec H2V 0B3, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Donya Valikhani
- PROTEO, The Québec Network for Research on Protein, Function, Engineering and Applications, Québec, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada
- CGCC, Center in Green Chemistry and Catalysis, Montréal, Québec H2V 0B3, Canada
- Chemistry Department, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Nuwani W. Weerasinghe
- Department of Chemistry and Centre de Recherche en Biologie Structurale, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3A 0B8, Canada
| | - Myriam Létourneau
- PROTEO, The Québec Network for Research on Protein, Function, Engineering and Applications, Québec, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada
- Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Université du Québec, Laval, Québec H7V 1B7, Canada
| | - Christopher J. Thibodeaux
- Department of Chemistry and Centre de Recherche en Biologie Structurale, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3A 0B8, Canada
| | - Nicolas Doucet
- PROTEO, The Québec Network for Research on Protein, Function, Engineering and Applications, Québec, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada
- Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Université du Québec, Laval, Québec H7V 1B7, Canada
| | - Christian Baron
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada
- Department of Microbiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Janine N. Copp
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Joelle N. Pelletier
- PROTEO, The Québec Network for Research on Protein, Function, Engineering and Applications, Québec, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada
- CGCC, Center in Green Chemistry and Catalysis, Montréal, Québec H2V 0B3, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada
- Chemistry Department, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada
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3
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Computational Development of Inhibitors of Plasmid-Borne Bacterial Dihydrofolate Reductase. Antibiotics (Basel) 2022; 11:antibiotics11060779. [PMID: 35740185 PMCID: PMC9220120 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics11060779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Revised: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Resistance to trimethoprim and other antibiotics targeting dihydrofolate reductase may arise in bacteria harboring an atypical, plasmid-encoded, homotetrameric dihydrofolate reductase, called R67 DHFR. Although developing inhibitors to this enzyme may be expected to be promising drugs to fight trimethoprim-resistant strains, there is a paucity of reports describing the development of such molecules. In this manuscript, we describe the design of promising lead compounds to target R67 DHFR. Density-functional calculations were first used to identify the modifications of the pterin core that yielded derivatives likely to bind the enzyme and not susceptible to being acted upon by it. These unreactive molecules were then docked to the active site, and the stability of the docking poses of the best candidates was analyzed through triplicate molecular dynamics simulations, and compared to the binding stability of the enzyme–substrate complex. Molecule 32 ([6-(methoxymethyl)-4-oxo-3,7-dihydro-4H-pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidin-2-yl]methyl-guanidinium) was shown by this methodology to afford extremely stable binding towards R67 DHFR and to prevent simultaneous binding to the substrate. Additional docking and molecular dynamics simulations further showed that this candidate also binds strongly to the canonical prokaryotic dihydrofolate reductase and to human DHFR, and is therefore likely to be useful to the development of chemotherapeutic agents and of dual-acting antibiotics that target the two types of bacterial dihydrofolate reductase.
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Lemay-St-Denis C, Diwan SS, Pelletier JN. The Bacterial Genomic Context of Highly Trimethoprim-Resistant DfrB Dihydrofolate Reductases Highlights an Emerging Threat to Public Health. Antibiotics (Basel) 2021; 10:433. [PMID: 33924456 PMCID: PMC8103504 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics10040433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Revised: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Type B dihydrofolate reductase (dfrb) genes were identified following the introduction of trimethoprim in the 1960s. Although they intrinsically confer resistance to trimethoprim (TMP) that is orders of magnitude greater than through other mechanisms, the distribution and prevalence of these short (237 bp) genes is unknown. Indeed, this knowledge has been hampered by systematic biases in search methodologies. Here, we investigate the genomic context of dfrbs to gain information on their current distribution in bacterial genomes. Upon searching publicly available databases, we identified 61 sequences containing dfrbs within an analyzable genomic context. The majority (70%) of those sequences also harbor virulence genes and 97% of the dfrbs are found near a mobile genetic element, representing a potential risk for antibiotic resistance genes. We further identified and confirmed the TMP-resistant phenotype of two new members of the family, dfrb10 and dfrb11. Dfrbs are found both in Betaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria, a majority (59%) being in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Previously labelled as strictly plasmid-borne, we found 69% of dfrbs in the chromosome of pathogenic bacteria. Our results demonstrate that the intrinsically TMP-resistant dfrbs are a potential emerging threat to public health and justify closer surveillance of these genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudèle Lemay-St-Denis
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medecine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada; (C.L.-S.-D.); (S.-S.D.)
- PROTEO, The Québec Network for Research on Protein, Function, Engineering and Applications, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
- CGCC, Center in Green Chemistry and Catalysis, Montréal, QC H3A 0B8, Canada
| | - Sarah-Slim Diwan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medecine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada; (C.L.-S.-D.); (S.-S.D.)
- PROTEO, The Québec Network for Research on Protein, Function, Engineering and Applications, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
- CGCC, Center in Green Chemistry and Catalysis, Montréal, QC H3A 0B8, Canada
| | - Joelle N. Pelletier
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medecine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada; (C.L.-S.-D.); (S.-S.D.)
- PROTEO, The Québec Network for Research on Protein, Function, Engineering and Applications, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
- CGCC, Center in Green Chemistry and Catalysis, Montréal, QC H3A 0B8, Canada
- Chemistry Department, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H2V 0B3, Canada
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5
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Fuente-Gómez GJ, Kellum CL, Miranda AC, Duff MR, Howell EE. Differentiation of the binding of two ligands to a tetrameric protein with a single symmetric active site by 19 F NMR. Protein Sci 2020; 30:477-484. [PMID: 33269489 PMCID: PMC7784773 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2020] [Revised: 11/20/2020] [Accepted: 11/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
R67 dihydrofolate reductase (R67 DHFR) is a plasmid‐encoded enzyme that confers resistance to the antibacterial drug trimethoprim. R67 DHFR is a tetramer with a single active site that is unusual as both cofactor and substrate are recognized by symmetry‐related residues. Such promiscuity has limited our previous efforts to differentiate ligand binding by NMR. To address this problem, we incorporated fluorine at positions 4, 5, 6, or 7 of the indole rings of tryptophans 38 and 45 and characterized the spectra to determine which probe was optimal for studying ligand binding. Two resonances were observed for all apo proteins. Unexpectedly, the W45 resonance appeared broad, and truncation of the disordered N‐termini resulted in the appearance of one sharp W45 resonance. These results are consistent with interaction of the N‐terminus with W45. Binding of the cofactor broadened W38 for all fluorine probes, whereas substrate, dihydrofolate, binding resulted in the appearance of three new resonances for 4‐ and 5‐fluoroindole labeled protein and severe line broadening for 6‐ and 7‐fluoroindole R67 DHFR. W45 became slightly broader upon ligand binding. With only two peaks in the 19F NMR spectra, our data were able to differentiate cofactor and substrate binding to the single, symmetric active site of R67 DHFR and yield binding affinities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel J Fuente-Gómez
- Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Creighton L Kellum
- Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Alexis C Miranda
- Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Michael R Duff
- Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Elizabeth E Howell
- Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
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Toulouse JL, Shi G, Lemay-St-Denis C, Ebert MCCJC, Deon D, Gagnon M, Ruediger E, Saint-Jacques K, Forge D, Vanden Eynde JJ, Marinier A, Ji X, Pelletier JN. Dual-Target Inhibitors of the Folate Pathway Inhibit Intrinsically Trimethoprim-Resistant DfrB Dihydrofolate Reductases. ACS Med Chem Lett 2020; 11:2261-2267. [PMID: 33214838 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.0c00393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Trimethoprim (TMP) is widely used to treat infections in humans and in livestock, accelerating the incidence of TMP resistance. The emergent and largely untracked type II dihydrofolate reductases (DfrBs) are intrinsically TMP-resistant plasmid-borne Dfrs that are structurally and evolutionarily unrelated to chromosomal Dfrs. We report kinetic characterization of the known DfrB family members. Their kinetic constants are conserved and all are poorly inhibited by TMP, consistent with TMP resistance. We investigate their inhibition with known and novel bisubstrate inhibitors of 6-hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropterin pyrophosphokinase (HPPK). Importantly, all are inhibited by the HPPK inhibitors, making these molecules dual-target inhibitors of two folate pathway enzymes that are strictly microbial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacynthe L. Toulouse
- Département de biochimie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada
- PROTEO, Quebec G1V 0A6, Canada
- CGCC, Center in Green Chemistry and Catalysis, Montréal, Quebec H2V 0B3, Canada
| | - Genbin Shi
- Macromolecular Crystallography Laboratory, NCI, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Claudèle Lemay-St-Denis
- Département de biochimie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada
- PROTEO, Quebec G1V 0A6, Canada
- CGCC, Center in Green Chemistry and Catalysis, Montréal, Quebec H2V 0B3, Canada
| | | | - Daniel Deon
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC), Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Marc Gagnon
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC), Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Edward Ruediger
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC), Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Kévin Saint-Jacques
- Département de chimie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Delphine Forge
- Laboratoire de chimie organique, Université de Mons, 7000 Mons, Belgium
| | | | - Anne Marinier
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC), Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Xinhua Ji
- Macromolecular Crystallography Laboratory, NCI, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Joelle N. Pelletier
- Département de biochimie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada
- PROTEO, Quebec G1V 0A6, Canada
- CGCC, Center in Green Chemistry and Catalysis, Montréal, Quebec H2V 0B3, Canada
- Département de biochimie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada
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Azzam RA, Elsayed RE, Elgemeie GH. Design, Synthesis, and Antimicrobial Evaluation of a New Series of N-Sulfonamide 2-Pyridones as Dual Inhibitors of DHPS and DHFR Enzymes. ACS OMEGA 2020; 5:10401-10414. [PMID: 32426597 PMCID: PMC7226860 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.0c00280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 04/13/2020] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Sulfonamides and trimethoprim (TMP) drugs are normally used to inhibit the action of dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS) and dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) enzymes, respectively. In this work, a new series of N-sulfonamide 2-pyridone derivatives that combine the inhibitory activities of DHPS and DHFR into one molecule were synthesized and evaluated for its in vitro antimicrobial activity and the ability to inhibit the action of both enzymes simultaneously. The synthesis was carried out via the reaction of novel benzothiazol sulfonylhydrazide with ketene dithioacetal derivatives, and the structures of the resultant compounds were confirmed using spectral and elemental techniques. Among the synthesized compounds, five compounds 3b, 5a, 5b, 11a, and 11b were found to possess significant antimicrobial activities against tested bacterial and fungi strains. The compounds were also examined for their cytotoxicity on HFB4 human dermal fibroblast cell line using MTT assay. The in vitro enzyme assay study of these compounds against DHPS and DHFR enzymes showed that compound 11a was the most potent inhibitor against both enzymes with IC50 values of 2.76 and 0.20 μg/mL, respectively. Docking studies showed that this compound has occupied both the p-aminobenzoic acid and pterin binding pockets of DHPS as well as the pterin binding pocket of DHFR. The results of these investigations confirmed that compound 11a is the most potent dual DHPS/DHFR inhibitor.
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