UDP-galactopyranose mutase in nematodes

Role of reduced flavin in dehalogenation reactions

Halogenated organic compounds are extensively used in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries. Several naturally occurring halogen-containing natural products are also produced, mainly by marine organisms. These compounds accumulate in the environment due to their chemical stability and lack of biological pathways for their degradation. However, a few enzymes have been identified that perform dehalogenation reactions in specific biological pathways and others have been identified to have secondary activities toward halogenated compounds. Various mechanisms for dehalogenation of I, Cl, Br, and F containing compounds have been elucidated. These have been grouped into reductive, oxidative, and hydrolytic mechanisms. Flavin-dependent enzymes have been shown to catalyze oxidative dehalogenation reactions utilizing the C4a-hydroperoxyflavin intermediate. In addition, flavoenzymes perform reductive dehalogenation, forming transient flavin semiquinones. Recently, flavin-dependent enzymes have also been shown to perform dehalogenation reactions where the reduced form of the flavin produces a covalent intermediate. Here, recent studies on the reactions of flavoenzymes in dehalogenation reactions, with a focus on covalent catalytic dehalogenation mechanisms, are described.

A comparative review of intelectins

Intelectin (ITLN) is a new type of glycan-binding lectin. It has been demonstrated to agglutinate bacteria probably due to its carbohydrate-binding capacity, suggesting its role in an innate immune response. It is involved not only in many physiological processes but also in some human diseases such as asthma, heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer. Up to now, intelectin orthologs have been identified in placozoans, urochordatas, cephalochordates and several vertebrates, such as cyclostomata, fish, amphibians and mammals. Although the sequences of intelectins in different species are conserved, their expression patterns, quaternary structures and functions differ considerably among and within species. We summarize the evolution of the intelectin gene family, the tissue distribution, structure and functions of intelectins. We conclude that intelectin plays a role in innate immune response and there are still potential functions of intelectin awaiting discovery.

Deleterious Consequences of UDP-Galactopyranose Mutase Inhibition for Nematodes

Parasitic nematodes pose a serious threat to agriculture, livestock, and human health. Increasing resistance to antiparasitic agents underscores the need to replenish our anthelmintic arsenal. The nonpathogenic Caenorhabditis elegans, which serves as an effective model of parasitic helminths, has been used to search for new anthelmintic leads. We previously reported small-molecule inhibitors of the essential C. elegans protein UDP-galactopyranose mutase (UGM or Glf). This enzyme is required for the generation of galactofuranose (Galf)-containing glycans and is needed in nematodes for proper cuticle formation. Though our first-generation inhibitors were effective in vitro, they elicited no phenotypic effects. These findings are consistent with the known difficulty of targeting nematodes. C. elegans is recalcitrant to pharmacological modulation; typically, less than 0.02% of small molecules elicit a phenotypic effect, even at 40 μM. We postulated that the lack of activity of the UGM inhibitors was due to their carboxylic acid group, which can be exploited by nematodes for detoxification. We therefore tested whether replacement of the carboxylate with an N-acylsulfonamide surrogate would result in active compounds. UGM inhibitors with the carboxylate mimetic can phenocopy the deleterious consequences of UGM depletion in C. elegans. These findings support the use of UGM inhibitors as anthelmintic agents. They also outline a strategy to render small-molecule carboxylates more effective against nematodes.

Conformational Control of UDP-Galactopyranose Mutase Inhibition

UDP-galactopyranose mutase (Glf or UGM) catalyzes the formation of uridine 5'-diphosphate-α-d-galactofuranose (UDP-Galf) from UDP-galactopyranose (UDP-Galp). The enzyme is required for the production of Galf-containing glycans. UGM is absent in mammals, but members of the Corynebacterineae suborder require UGM for cell envelope biosynthesis. The need for UGM in some pathogens has prompted the search for inhibitors that could serve as antibiotic leads. Optimizing inhibitor potency, however, has been challenging. The UGM from Klebsiella pneumoniae (KpUGM), which is not required for viability, is more effectively impeded by small-molecule inhibitors than are essential UGMs from species such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis or Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Why KpUGM is more susceptible to inhibition than other orthologs is not clear. One potential source of difference is UGM ortholog conformation. We previously determined a structure of CdUGM bound to a triazolothiadiazine inhibitor in the open form, but it was unclear whether the small-molecule inhibitor bound this form or to the closed form. By varying the terminal tag (CdUGM-His₆ and GSG-CdUGM), we crystallized CdUGM to capture the enzyme in different conformations. These structures reveal a pocket in the active site that can be exploited to augment inhibitor affinity. Moreover, they suggest the inhibitor binds the open form of most prokaryotic UGMs but can bind the closed form of KpUGM. This model and the structures suggest strategies for optimizing inhibitor potency by exploiting UGM conformational flexibility.

Deciphering the sugar biosynthetic pathway and tailoring steps of nucleoside antibiotic A201A unveils a GDP-l-galactose mutase

Galactose, a monosaccharide capable of assuming two possible configurational isomers (d-/l-), can exist as a six-membered ring, galactopyranose (Galp), or as a five-membered ring, galactofuranose (Galf). UDP-galactopyranose mutase (UGM) mediates the conversion of pyranose to furanose thereby providing a precursor for d-Galf Moreover, UGM is critical to the virulence of numerous eukaryotic and prokaryotic human pathogens and thus represents an excellent antimicrobial drug target. However, the biosynthetic mechanism and relevant enzymes that drive l-Galf production have not yet been characterized. Herein we report that efforts to decipher the sugar biosynthetic pathway and tailoring steps en route to nucleoside antibiotic A201A led to the discovery of a GDP-l-galactose mutase, MtdL. Systematic inactivation of 18 of the 33 biosynthetic genes in the A201A cluster and elucidation of 10 congeners, coupled with feeding and in vitro biochemical experiments, enabled us to: (i) decipher the unique enzyme, GDP-l-galactose mutase associated with production of two unique d-mannose-derived sugars, and (ii) assign two glycosyltransferases, four methyltransferases, and one desaturase that regiospecifically tailor the A201A scaffold and display relaxed substrate specificities. Taken together, these data provide important insight into the origin of l-Galf-containing natural product biosynthetic pathways with likely ramifications in other organisms and possible antimicrobial drug targeting strategies.

Bioinformatics and Drug Discovery

Bioinformatic analysis can not only accelerate drug target identification and drug candidate screening and refinement, but also facilitate characterization of side effects and predict drug resistance. High-throughput data such as genomic, epigenetic, genome architecture, cistromic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and ribosome profiling data have all made significant contribution to mechanismbased drug discovery and drug repurposing. Accumulation of protein and RNA structures, as well as development of homology modeling and protein structure simulation, coupled with large structure databases of small molecules and metabolites, paved the way for more realistic protein-ligand docking experiments and more informative virtual screening. I present the conceptual framework that drives the collection of these high-throughput data, summarize the utility and potential of mining these data in drug discovery, outline a few inherent limitations in data and software mining these data, point out news ways to refine analysis of these diverse types of data, and highlight commonly used software and databases relevant to drug discovery.

Comparing Galactan Biosynthesis in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Corynebacterium diphtheriae

The suborder Corynebacterineae encompasses species like Corynebacterium glutamicum, which has been harnessed for industrial production of amino acids, as well as Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which cause devastating human diseases. A distinctive component of the Corynebacterineae cell envelope is the mycolyl-arabinogalactan (mAG) complex. The mAG is composed of lipid mycolic acids, and arabinofuranose (Araf) and galactofuranose (Galf) carbohydrate residues. Elucidating microbe-specific differences in mAG composition could advance biotechnological applications and lead to new antimicrobial targets. To this end, we compare and contrast galactan biosynthesis in C. diphtheriae and M. tuberculosis In each species, the galactan is constructed from uridine 5'-diphosphate-α-d-galactofuranose (UDP-Galf), which is generated by the enzyme UDP-galactopyranose mutase (UGM or Glf). UGM and the galactan are essential in M. tuberculosis, but their importance in Corynebacterium species was not known. We show that small molecule inhibitors of UGM impede C. glutamicum growth, suggesting that the galactan is critical in corynebacteria. Previous cell wall analysis data suggest the galactan polymer is longer in mycobacterial species than corynebacterial species. To explore the source of galactan length variation, a C. diphtheriae ortholog of the M. tuberculosis carbohydrate polymerase responsible for the bulk of galactan polymerization, GlfT2, was produced, and its catalytic activity was evaluated. The C. diphtheriae GlfT2 gave rise to shorter polysaccharides than those obtained with the M. tuberculosis GlfT2. These data suggest that GlfT2 alone can influence galactan length. Our results provide tools, both small molecule and genetic, for probing and perturbing the assembly of the Corynebacterineae cell envelope.

In Crystallo Capture of a Covalent Intermediate in the UDP-Galactopyranose Mutase Reaction

UDP-galactopyranose mutase (UGM) plays an essential role in galactofuranose biosynthesis in pathogens by catalyzing the conversion of UDP-galactopyranose to UDP-galactofuranose. Here we report the first crystal structure of a covalent intermediate in the UGM reaction. The 2.3 Å resolution structure reveals UDP bound in the active site and galactopyranose linked to the FAD through a covalent bond between the anomeric C of galactopyranose and N5 of the FAD. The structure confirms the role of the flavin as nucleophile and supports the hypothesis that the proton destined for O5 of galactofuranose is shuttled from N5 of the FAD via O4 of the FAD.

Virtual Screening for UDP-Galactopyranose Mutase Ligands Identifies a New Class of Antimycobacterial Agents

Galactofuranose (Galf) is present in glycans critical for the virulence and viability of several pathogenic microbes, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, yet the monosaccharide is absent from mammalian glycans. Uridine 5'-diphosphate-galactopyranose mutase (UGM) catalyzes the formation of UDP-Galf, which is required to produce Galf-containing glycoconjugates. Inhibitors of UGM have therefore been sought, both as antimicrobial leads and as tools to delineate the roles of Galf in cells. Obtaining cell permeable UGM probes by either design or high throughput screens has been difficult, as has elucidating how UGM binds small molecule, noncarbohydrate inhibitors. To address these issues, we employed structure-based virtual screening to uncover new inhibitor chemotypes, including a triazolothiadiazine series. These compounds are among the most potent antimycobacterial UGM inhibitors described. They also facilitated determination of a UGM-small molecule inhibitor structure, which can guide optimization. A comparison of results from the computational screen and a high-throughput fluorescence polarization (FP) screen indicated that the scaffold hits from the former had been evaluated in the FP screen but missed. By focusing on promising compounds, the virtual screen rescued false negatives, providing a blueprint for generating new UGM probes and therapeutic leads.

Recognition of microbial glycans by human intelectin-1

The glycans displayed on mammalian cells can differ markedly from those on microbes. Such differences could, in principle, be 'read' by carbohydrate-binding proteins, or lectins. We used glycan microarrays to show that human intelectin-1 (hIntL-1) does not bind known human glycan epitopes but does interact with multiple glycan epitopes found exclusively on microbes: β-linked D-galactofuranose (β-Galf), D-phosphoglycerol-modified glycans, heptoses, D-glycero-D-talo-oct-2-ulosonic acid (KO) and 3-deoxy-D-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid (KDO). The 1.6-Å-resolution crystal structure of hIntL-1 complexed with β-Galf revealed that hIntL-1 uses a bound calcium ion to coordinate terminal exocyclic 1,2-diols. N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac), a sialic acid widespread in human glycans, has an exocyclic 1,2-diol but does not bind hIntL-1, probably owing to unfavorable steric and electronic effects. hIntL-1 marks only Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes that display surface glycans with terminal 1,2-diol groups. This ligand selectivity suggests that hIntL-1 functions in microbial surveillance.

Galactofuranose Biosynthesis: Discovery, Mechanisms and Therapeutic Relevance

Galactofuranose, the atypical and thermodynamically disfavored form of d-galactose, has in reality a very old history in chemistry and biochemistry. The purpose of this book chapter is to give an overview on the fundamental aspects of the galactofuranose biosynthesis, from the biological occurrence to the search of inhibitors.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of nonionic substrate mimics of UDP-Galp as candidate inhibitors of UDP galactopyranose mutase (UGM)

The synthesis of 1-[5-O-(α-D-galactopyranosyl)-D-glucityl]pyrimidine-2,4(3H)-dione and 1-[(5-O-(β-D-galactopyranosyl)-D-glucityl]pyrimidine-2,4(3H)-dione as non-ionic substrate mimics of UDP-Galp are described. UDP-Galp is a precursor of Galf, which is a primary component of the cell-wall glycans of several microorganisms. The interconversion of UDP-Galp and UDP-Galf is catalyzed by UDP galactopyranose mutase (UGM); its inhibition comprises a mode of compromising the microorganisms. The nonionic polyhydroxylated chain was intended to mimic the ionic pyrophosphate group and the ribose moiety in UDP-Galp and increase the bioavailabilities of the candidate inhibitors. Inhibition assays with UGM of Mycobacterium tuberculosis showed only weak inhibition of the enzyme by these compounds.

Synthesis of galactofuranosyl-(1 → 5)-thiodisaccharide glycomimetics as inhibitors of a β-d-galactofuranosidase

Description of the synthesis, molecular modeling and inhibitory properties of furanosyl thiodisaccharides that are mimetics of the motif β-d-Galf-(1 → 5)-d-Galf, found in glycoconjugates of pathogenic microorganisms.

Synthesis of a novel UDP-carbasugar as UDP-galactopyranose mutase inhibitor

The multistep synthesis of a novel UDP-C-cyclohexene, designed as a high energy intermediate analogue of the UDP-galactopyranose mutase (UGM) catalyzed isomerization reaction, is reported. The synthesis of the central carbasugar involved the preparation of a galactitol derivative bearing two olefins necessary for the construction of the cyclohexene ring by a ring-closing metathesis as a key step. Further successive phosphonylation, deprotection, and UMP coupling provided the target molecule. The final molecule was assayed against UGM and compared with UDP-C-Galf, the C-glycosidic UGM substrate analogue.

Unraveling the substrate recognition mechanism and specificity of the unusual glycosyl hydrolase family 29 BT2192 from Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron

Glycosyl hydrolase (GH) family 29 (CAZy database) consists of retaining α-l-fucosidases. We have identified BT2192, a protein from Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, as the first GH29 representative exhibiting both weak α-l-fucosidase and β-d-galactosidase activities. Determination and analysis of X-ray structures of BT2192 in complex with β-d-galactoside competitive inhibitors showed a new binding mode different from that of known GH29 enzymes. Three point mutations, specific to BT2192, prevent the canonical GH29 substrate α-l-fucose from binding efficiently to the fucosidase-like active site relative to other GH29 enzymes. β-d-Galactoside analogues bind and interact in a second pocket, which is not visible in other reported GH29 structures. Molecular simulations helped in the assessment of the flexibility of both substrates in their respective pocket. Hydrolysis of the fucosyl moiety from the putative natural substrates like 3-fucosyllactose or Lewis(X) antigen would be mainly due to the efficient interactions with the galactosyl moiety, in the second binding site, located more than 6-7 Å apart.

UDP-galactopyranose mutases from Leishmania species that cause visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne, neglected tropical disease caused by parasites from the genus Leishmania. Galactofuranose (Galf) is found on the cell surface of Leishmania parasites and is important for virulence. The flavoenzyme that catalyzes the isomerization of UDP-galactopyranose to UDP-Galf, UDP-galactopyranose mutase (UGM), is a validated drug target in protozoan parasites. UGMs from L. mexicana and L. infantum were recombinantly expressed, purified, and characterized. The isolated enzymes contained tightly bound flavin cofactor and were active only in the reduced form. NADPH is the preferred redox partner for both enzymes. A kcat value of 6 ± 0.4s(-1) and a Km value of 252 ± 42 μM were determined for L. infantum UGM. For L. mexicana UGM, these values were ∼4-times lower. Binding of UDP-Galp is enhanced 10-20 fold in the reduced form of the enzymes. Changes in the spectra of the reduced flavin upon interaction with the substrate are consistent with formation of a flavin-iminium ion intermediate.