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Full-Text Articles in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology

Crystal Structure Of Human Thymidylate Synthase: A Structural Mechanism For Guiding Substrates Into The Active Site, Celia Schiffer, Ian Clifton, V. Jo Davisson, Daniel Santi, Robert Stroud Nov 2011

Crystal Structure Of Human Thymidylate Synthase: A Structural Mechanism For Guiding Substrates Into The Active Site, Celia Schiffer, Ian Clifton, V. Jo Davisson, Daniel Santi, Robert Stroud

Celia A. Schiffer

The crystal structure of human thymidylate synthase, a target for anti-cancer drugs, is determined to 3.0 A resolution and refined to a crystallographic residual of 17.8%. The structure implicates the enzyme in a mechanism for facilitating the docking of substrates into the active site. This mechanism involves a twist of approximately 180 degrees of the active site loop, pivoted around the neighboring residues 184 and 204, and implicates ordering of external, eukaryote specific loops along with the well-characterized closure of the active site upon substrate binding. The highly conserved, but eukaryote-specific insertion of twelve residues 90-101 (h117-128), and of eight …


Expression, Purification, And Characterization Of Thymidylate Synthase From Lactococcus Lactis, Patricia Greene, Pak-Lam Yu, Jia Zhao, Celia Schiffer, Daniel Santi Nov 2011

Expression, Purification, And Characterization Of Thymidylate Synthase From Lactococcus Lactis, Patricia Greene, Pak-Lam Yu, Jia Zhao, Celia Schiffer, Daniel Santi

Celia A. Schiffer

The thymidylate synthase (TS) gene from Lactococcus lactis has been highly expressed in Escherichia coli. The TS protein was purified by sequential chromatography on Q-Sepharose and phenyl-Sepharose. Six grams of cell pellet yielded 140 mg of homogeneous TS. TS is a highly conserved enzyme, and several of the conserved amino acid residues that have been implicated in catalytic function are altered in L. lactis TS. By use of a 3-dimensional homology model, we have predicted covariant changes that might compensate for these differences. With the large amounts of L. lactis TS now available, studies can be pursued to understand the …


Discovery Of Hiv-1 Protease Inhibitors With Picomolar Affinities Incorporating N-Aryl-Oxazolidinone-5-Carboxamides As Novel P2 Ligands, Akbar Ali, G. S. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Hong Cao, Saima Anjum, Madhavi Nalam, Celia Schiffer, Tariq Rana Nov 2011

Discovery Of Hiv-1 Protease Inhibitors With Picomolar Affinities Incorporating N-Aryl-Oxazolidinone-5-Carboxamides As Novel P2 Ligands, Akbar Ali, G. S. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Hong Cao, Saima Anjum, Madhavi Nalam, Celia Schiffer, Tariq Rana

Celia A. Schiffer

Here, we describe the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel HIV-1 protease inhibitors incorporating N-phenyloxazolidinone-5-carboxamides into the (hydroxyethylamino)sulfonamide scaffold as P2 ligands. Series of inhibitors with variations at the P2 phenyloxazolidinone and the P2' phenylsulfonamide moieties were synthesized. Compounds with the (S)-enantiomer of substituted phenyloxazolidinones at P2 show highly potent inhibitory activities against HIV-1 protease. The inhibitors possessing 3-acetyl, 4-acetyl, and 3-trifluoromethyl groups at the phenyl ring of the oxazolidinone fragment are the most potent in each series, with K(i) values in the low picomolar (pM) range. The electron-donating groups 4-methoxy and 1,3-dioxolane are preferred at P2' phenyl ring, …


Computational Design And Experimental Study Of Tighter Binding Peptides To An Inactivated Mutant Of Hiv-1 Protease, Michael Altman, Ellen Nalivaika, Moses Prabu-Jeyabalan, Celia Schiffer, Bruce Tidor Nov 2011

Computational Design And Experimental Study Of Tighter Binding Peptides To An Inactivated Mutant Of Hiv-1 Protease, Michael Altman, Ellen Nalivaika, Moses Prabu-Jeyabalan, Celia Schiffer, Bruce Tidor

Celia A. Schiffer

Drug resistance in HIV-1 protease, a barrier to effective treatment, is generally caused by mutations in the enzyme that disrupt inhibitor binding but still allow for substrate processing. Structural studies with mutant, inactive enzyme, have provided detailed information regarding how the substrates bind to the protease yet avoid resistance mutations; insights obtained inform the development of next generation therapeutics. Although structures have been obtained of complexes between substrate peptide and inactivated (D25N) protease, thermodynamic studies of peptide binding have been challenging due to low affinity. Peptides that bind tighter to the inactivated protease than the natural substrates would be valuable …


Design And Synthesis Of Hiv-1 Protease Inhibitors Incorporating Oxazolidinones As P2/P2' Ligands In Pseudosymmetric Dipeptide Isosteres, G. S. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Akbar Ali, Madhavi Nalam, Saima Anjum, Hong Cao, Robin Nathans, Celia Schiffer, Tariq Rana Nov 2011

Design And Synthesis Of Hiv-1 Protease Inhibitors Incorporating Oxazolidinones As P2/P2' Ligands In Pseudosymmetric Dipeptide Isosteres, G. S. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Akbar Ali, Madhavi Nalam, Saima Anjum, Hong Cao, Robin Nathans, Celia Schiffer, Tariq Rana

Celia A. Schiffer

A series of novel HIV-1 protease inhibitors based on two pseudosymmetric dipeptide isosteres have been synthesized and evaluated. The inhibitors were designed by incorporating N-phenyloxazolidinone-5-carboxamides into the hydroxyethylene and (hydroxyethyl)hydrazine dipeptide isosteres as P2 and P2' ligands. Compounds with (S)-phenyloxazolidinones attached at a position proximal to the central hydroxyl group showed low nM inhibitory activities against wild-type HIV-1 protease. Selected compounds were further evaluated for their inhibitory activities against a panel of multidrug-resistant protease variants and for their antiviral potencies in MT-4 cells. The crystal structures of lopinavir (LPV) and two new inhibitors containing phenyloxazolidinone-based ligands in complex with wild-type …


Hiv-1 Protease Inhibitors From Inverse Design In The Substrate Envelope Exhibit Subnanomolar Binding To Drug-Resistant Variants, Michael Altman, Akbar Ali, G. S. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Madhavi Nalam, Saima Anjum, Hong Cao, Sripriya Chellappan, Visvaldas Kairys, Miguel Fernandes, Michael Gilson, Celia Schiffer, Tariq Rana, Bruce Tidor Nov 2011

Hiv-1 Protease Inhibitors From Inverse Design In The Substrate Envelope Exhibit Subnanomolar Binding To Drug-Resistant Variants, Michael Altman, Akbar Ali, G. S. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Madhavi Nalam, Saima Anjum, Hong Cao, Sripriya Chellappan, Visvaldas Kairys, Miguel Fernandes, Michael Gilson, Celia Schiffer, Tariq Rana, Bruce Tidor

Celia A. Schiffer

The acquisition of drug-resistant mutations by infectious pathogens remains a pressing health concern, and the development of strategies to combat this threat is a priority. Here we have applied a general strategy, inverse design using the substrate envelope, to develop inhibitors of HIV-1 protease. Structure-based computation was used to design inhibitors predicted to stay within a consensus substrate volume in the binding site. Two rounds of design, synthesis, experimental testing, and structural analysis were carried out, resulting in a total of 51 compounds. Improvements in design methodology led to a roughly 1000-fold affinity enhancement to a wild-type protease for the …


Lack Of Synergy For Inhibitors Targeting A Multi-Drug-Resistant Hiv-1 Protease, Nancy King, Laurence Melnick, Moses Prabu-Jeyabalan, Ellen Nalivaika, Shiow-Shong Yang, Yun Gao, Xiaoyi Nie, Charles Zepp, Donald Heefner, Celia Schiffer Nov 2011

Lack Of Synergy For Inhibitors Targeting A Multi-Drug-Resistant Hiv-1 Protease, Nancy King, Laurence Melnick, Moses Prabu-Jeyabalan, Ellen Nalivaika, Shiow-Shong Yang, Yun Gao, Xiaoyi Nie, Charles Zepp, Donald Heefner, Celia Schiffer

Celia A. Schiffer

The three-dimensional structures of indinavir and three newly synthesized indinavir analogs in complex with a multi-drug-resistant variant (L63P, V82T, I84V) of HIV-1 protease were determined to approximately 2.2 A resolution. Two of the three analogs have only a single modification of indinavir, and their binding affinities to the variant HIV-1 protease are enhanced over that of indinavir. However, when both modifications were combined into a single compound, the binding affinity to the protease variant was reduced. On close examination, the structural rearrangements in the protease that occur in the tightest binding inhibitor complex are mutually exclusive with the structural rearrangements …


Discovery And Selection Of Tmc114, A Next Generation Hiv-1 Protease Inhibitor, Dominique Surleraux, Abdellah Tahri, Wim Verschueren, Geert Pille, Herman De Kock, Tim Jonckers, Anik Peeters, Sandra De Meyer, Hilde Azijn, Rudi Pauwels, Marie-Pierre De Bethune, Nancy King, Moses Prabu-Jeyabalan, Celia Schiffer, Piet Wigerinck Nov 2011

Discovery And Selection Of Tmc114, A Next Generation Hiv-1 Protease Inhibitor, Dominique Surleraux, Abdellah Tahri, Wim Verschueren, Geert Pille, Herman De Kock, Tim Jonckers, Anik Peeters, Sandra De Meyer, Hilde Azijn, Rudi Pauwels, Marie-Pierre De Bethune, Nancy King, Moses Prabu-Jeyabalan, Celia Schiffer, Piet Wigerinck

Celia A. Schiffer

The screening of known HIV-1 protease inhibitors against a panel of multi-drug-resistant viruses revealed the potent activity of TMC126 on drug-resistant mutants. In comparison to amprenavir, the improved affinity of TMC126 is largely the result of one extra hydrogen bond to the backbone of the protein in the P2 pocket. Modification of the substitution pattern on the phenylsulfonamide P2' substituent of TMC126 created an interesting SAR, with the close analogue TMC114 being found to have a similar antiviral activity against the mutant and the wild-type viruses. X-ray and thermodynamic studies on both wild-type and mutant enzymes showed an extremely high …


Structure-Based Design, Synthesis, And Structure-Activity Relationship Studies Of Hiv-1 Protease Inhibitors Incorporating Phenyloxazolidinones, Akbar Ali, G. S. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Madhavi Nalam, Saima Anjum, Hong Cao, Celia Schiffer, Tariq Rana Nov 2011

Structure-Based Design, Synthesis, And Structure-Activity Relationship Studies Of Hiv-1 Protease Inhibitors Incorporating Phenyloxazolidinones, Akbar Ali, G. S. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Madhavi Nalam, Saima Anjum, Hong Cao, Celia Schiffer, Tariq Rana

Celia A. Schiffer

A series of new HIV-1 protease inhibitors with the hydroxyethylamine core and different phenyloxazolidinone P2 ligands were designed and synthesized. Variation of phenyl substitutions at the P2 and P2' moieties significantly affected the binding affinity and antiviral potency of the inhibitors. In general, compounds with 2- and 4-substituted phenyloxazolidinones at P2 exhibited lower binding affinities than 3-substituted analogues. Crystal structure analyses of ligand-enzyme complexes revealed different binding modes for 2- and 3-substituted P2 moieties in the protease S2 binding pocket, which may explain their different binding affinities. Several compounds with 3-substituted P2 moieties demonstrated picomolar binding affinity and low nanomolar …


Structure-Based Prediction Of Potential Binding And Nonbinding Peptides To Hiv-1 Protease, Nese Kurt, Turkan Haliloglu, Celia Schiffer Nov 2011

Structure-Based Prediction Of Potential Binding And Nonbinding Peptides To Hiv-1 Protease, Nese Kurt, Turkan Haliloglu, Celia Schiffer

Celia A. Schiffer

HIV-1 protease is a major drug target against AIDS as it permits viral maturation by processing the gag and pol polyproteins of the virus. The cleavage sites in these polyproteins do not have obvious sequence homology or a binding motif and the specificity of the protease is not easily determined. We used various threading approaches, together with the crystal structures of substrate complexes which served as template structures, to study the substrate specificity of HIV-1 protease with the aim of obtaining a better differentiation between binding and nonbinding sequences. The predictions from threading improved when distance-dependent interaction energy functions were …