title: Structural comparison of MTA phosphorylase and MTA/AdoHcy nucleosidase explains substrate preferences and identifies regions exploitable for inhibitor design.
abstract: The development of new and effective antiprotozoal drugs has been a difficult challenge because of the close similarity of the metabolic pathways between microbial and mammalian systems. 5'-Methylthioadenosine/S-adenosylhomocysteine (MTA/AdoHcy) nucleosidase is thought to be an ideal target for therapeutic drug design as the enzyme is present in many microbes but not in mammals. MTA/AdoHcy nucleosidase (MTAN) irreversibly depurinates MTA or AdoHcy to form adenine and the corresponding thioribose. The inhibition of MTAN leads to a buildup of toxic byproducts that affect various microbial pathways such as quorum sensing, biological methylation, polyamine biosynthesis, and methionine recycling. The design of nucleosidase-specific inhibitors is complicated by its structural similarity to the human MTA phosphorylase (MTAP). The crystal structures of human MTAP complexed with formycin A and 5'-methylthiotubercidin have been solved to 2.0 and 2.1 A resolution, respectively. Comparisons of the MTAP and MTAN inhibitor complexes reveal size and electrostatic potential differences in the purine, ribose, and 5'-alkylthio binding sites, which account for the substrate specificity and reactions catalyzed. In addition, the differences between the two enzymes have allowed the identification of exploitable regions that can be targeted for the development of high-affinity nucleosidase-specific inhibitors. Sequence alignments of Escherichia coli MTAN, human MTAP, and plant MTA nucleosidases also reveal potential structural changes to the 5'-alkylthio binding site that account for the substrate preference of plant MTA nucleosidases.
authors.affiliation: Structural Biology and Biochemistry, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X8, Canada.
authors.forename: Jeffrey E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ethan C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Settembre
authors.forename: Kenneth A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Cornell
authors.forename: Michael K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Riscoe
authors.forename: Janice R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sufrin
authors.forename: Steven E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Ealick
authors.forename: P Lynne
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Howell
mesh_terms: D000227:Adenine Nucleotides / Q000737:chemistry; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D005573:Formycins / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009699:N-Glycosyl Hydrolases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000737:chemistry*; D010710:Phosphates / Q000737:chemistry; D011685:Purine Nucleotides / Q000737:chemistry; D011683:Purine-Nucleoside Phosphorylase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000737:chemistry*; D012266:Ribose / Q000737:chemistry; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D013431:Sulfates / Q000737:chemistry; D013872:Thionucleosides / Q000737:chemistry; D014372:Tubercidin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000227:Adenine Nucleotides; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D005573:Formycins; D010710:Phosphates; D011685:Purine Nucleotides; D013431:Sulfates; D013872:Thionucleosides; C021716:5'-methylthiotubercidin; C034550:formycin; D012266:Ribose; D011683:Purine-Nucleoside Phosphorylase; C021784:5'-methylthioadenosine phosphorylase; D009699:N-Glycosyl Hydrolases; C019606:adenosylhomocysteine nucleosidase; D014372:Tubercidin