title: Regulation of the interaction of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase with mycophenolic Acid by GTP.
abstract: Inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), a rate-limiting enzyme in the de novo synthesis of guanine nucleotides, is a major therapeutic target. A prototypic uncompetitive inhibitor of IMPDH, mycophenolic acid (MPA), is the active form of mycophenolate mofeteil (CellCept), a widely used immunosuppressive drug. We have found that MPA interacts with intracellular IMPDH in vivo to alter its mobility on SDS-polyacrylamide gels. MPA also induces a striking conformational change in IMPDH protein in intact cells, resulting in the formation of annular aggregates of protein with concomitant inhibition of IMPDH activity. These aggregates are not associated with any known intracellular organelles and are reversible by incubating cells with guanosine, which repletes intracellular GTP, or with GTPgammaS. GTP also restores IMPDH activity. Treatment of highly purified IMPDH with MPA also results in the formation of large aggregates of protein, a process that is both prevented and reversed by the addition of GTP. Finally, GTP binds to IMPDH at physiologic concentrations, induces the formation of linear arrays of tetrameric protein, and prevents the aggregation of protein induced by MPA. We conclude that intracellular GTP acts as an antagonist to MPA by directly binding to IMPDH and reversing the conformational changes in the protein.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and The Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7295, USA.
authors.forename: YanShan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Jingjin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Alexander M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Makhov
authors.forename: Jack D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Griffith
authors.forename: Beverly S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Mitchell
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004347:Drug Interactions; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016244:Guanosine 5'-O-(3-Thiotriphosphate) / Q000494:pharmacology; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007168:IMP Dehydrogenase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D009173:Mycophenolic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D011487:Protein Conformation
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D016244:Guanosine 5'-O-(3-Thiotriphosphate); D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate; D007168:IMP Dehydrogenase; C488211:IMPDH1 protein, human; D009173:Mycophenolic Acid