Cryptosporidium parvum IMP dehydrogenase: identification of functional, structural, and dynamic properties that can be exploited for drug design.
The protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium parvum causes severe enteritis with substantial morbidity and mortality among AIDS patients and young children. No fully effective treatment is available. C. parvum relies on inosine 5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) to produce guanine nucleotides and is highly susceptible to IMPDH inhibition. Furthermore, C. parvum obtained its IMPDH gene by lateral transfer from an epsilon-proteobacterium, suggesting that the parasite enzyme might have very different characteristics than the human counterpart. Here we describe the expression of recombinant C. parvum IMPDH in an Escherichia coli strain lacking the bacterial homolog. Expression of the parasite gene restores growth of this mutant on minimal medium, confirming that the protein has IMPDH activity. The recombinant protein was purified to homogeneity and used to probe the enzyme's mechanism, structure, and inhibition profile in a series of kinetic experiments. The mechanism of the C. parvum enzyme involves the random addition of substrates and ordered release of products with rate-limiting hydrolysis of a covalent enzyme intermediate. The pronounced resistance of C. parvum IMPDH to mycophenolic acid inhibition is in strong agreement with its bacterial origin. The values of Km for NAD and Ki for mycophenolic acid as well as the synergistic interaction between tiazofurin and ADP differ significantly from those of the human enzymes. These data suggest that the structure and dynamic properties of the NAD binding site of C. parvum IMPDH can be exploited to develop parasite-specific inhibitors.
Department of Cellular Biology, Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.
Nwakaso N
NN
Umejiego
Catherine
C
Li
Thomas
T
Riera
Lizbeth
L
Hedstrom
Boris
B
Striepen
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D016785:Cryptosporidium parvum / Q000201:enzymology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D015195:Drug Design; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D006801:Humans; D007168:IMP Dehydrogenase / Q000737:chemistry*; D007700:Kinetics; D008954:Models, Biological; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009173:Mycophenolic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D010802:Phylogeny; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013997:Time Factors
D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012254:Ribavirin; D007168:IMP Dehydrogenase; D009173:Mycophenolic Acid; C033706:tiazofurin