title: A novel inhibitor of Mycobacterium tuberculosis pantothenate synthetase.
abstract: Pantothenate synthetase (PS; EC 6.3.2.1), encoded by the panC gene, catalyzes the essential adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-dependent condensation of D-pantoate and beta-alanine to form pantothenate in bacteria, yeast, and plants; pantothenate is a key precursor for the biosynthesis of coenzyme A (CoA) and acyl carrier protein (ACP). Because the enzyme is absent in mammals and both CoA and ACP are essential cofactors for bacterial growth, PS is an attractive chemotherapeutic target. An automated high-throughput screen was developed to identify drugs that inhibit Mycobacterium tuberculosis PS. The activity of PS was measured spectrophotometrically through an enzymatic cascade involving myokinase, pyruvate kinase, and lactate dehydrogenase. The rate of PS ATP utilization was quantitated by the reduction of absorbance due to the oxidation of NADH to NAD+ by lactate dehydrogenase, which allowed for an internal control to detect interference from compounds that absorb at 340 nm. This coupled enzymatic reaction was used to screen 4080 compounds in a 96-well format. This discussion describes a novel inhibitor of PS that exhibits potential as an antimicrobial agent.
authors.affiliation: Southern Research Institute, Birmingham, AL 35205-5305, USA. white@sri.org
authors.forename: E Lucile
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Kristen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Southworth
authors.forename: Larry
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cooley
authors.forename: Rachel B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.forename: Melinda Ingrum
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Sosa
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Manouvakhova
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.forename: Celia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Goulding
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Eisenberg
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Fletcher
mesh_terms: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology*; D009257:Nafronyl / Q000737:chemistry; D010453:Peptide Synthases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D009257:Nafronyl; D010453:Peptide Synthases; C022318:pantothenate synthetase