title: Molecular interactions of the CcdB poison with its bacterial target, the DNA gyrase.
abstract: The ccd poison/antidote system of the F plasmid encodes CcdB, a toxin targeting the essential DNA gyrase of E. coli, and CcdA, the unstable antidote that interacts with CcdB to neutralise its toxicity. Gyrase belongs to the topoisomerase II class of enzymes and is a well-validated target for efficient therapeutic drugs, i. e. the quinolones. CcdB acts on gyrase in a similar way as quinolones do, both compounds induce double-strand breaks in DNA. Interestingly, the CcdB-binding domain of gyrase is different than that of quinolones. Therefore, novel classes of therapeutic drugs could be derived from the analysis of the interaction between CcdB and gyrase.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Génétique des Procaryotes, Institut de Biologie et Médecine Moléculaires, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Gosselies, Belgium. lvmelder@dbm.ulb.ac.be
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Van Melderen
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000378:metabolism*; D027081:DNA Gyrase / Q000378:metabolism*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000737:chemistry / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010957:Plasmids; D011485:Protein Binding; D015363:Quinolones / Q000494:pharmacology; D059005:Topoisomerase II Inhibitors
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; C068356:CcdB protein, Plasmid F; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D015363:Quinolones; D059005:Topoisomerase II Inhibitors; D027081:DNA Gyrase