Development of a novel virtual screening cascade protocol to identify potential trypanothione reductase inhibitors.

The implementation of a novel sequential computational approach that can be used effectively for virtual screening and identification of prospective ligands that bind to trypanothione reductase (TryR) is reported. The multistep strategy combines a ligand-based virtual screening for building an enriched library of small molecules with a docking protocol (AutoDock, X-Score) for screening against the TryR target. Compounds were ranked by an exhaustive conformational consensus scoring approach that employs a rank-by-rank strategy by combining both scoring functions. Analysis of the predicted ligand-protein interactions highlights the role of bulky quaternary amine moieties for binding affinity. The scaffold hopping (SHOP) process derived from this computational approach allowed the identification of several chemotypes, not previously reported as antiprotozoal agents, which includes dibenzothiepine, dibenzooxathiepine, dibenzodithiepine, and polycyclic cationic structures like thiaazatetracyclo-nonadeca-hexaen-3-ium. Assays measuring the inhibiting effect of these compounds on T. cruzi and T. brucei TryR confirm their potential for further rational optimization.

NMR solution structures of the apo and peptide-inhibited human rhinovirus 3C protease (Serotype 14): structural and dynamic comparison.

The human rhinovirus (HRV) is a positive sense RNA virus responsible for about 30% of "common colds". It relies on a 182 residue cysteine protease (3C) to proteolytically process its single gene product. Inhibition of this enzyme in vitro and in vivo has consistently demonstrated cessation of viral replication. This suggests that 3C protease inhibitors could serve as good drug candidates. However, significant proteolytic substrate diversity exists within the 110+ known rhinovirus serotypes. To investigate this variability we used NMR to solve the structure of the rhinovirus serotype 14 3C protease (subgenus B) covalently bound to a peptide (acetyl-LEALFQ-ethylpropionate) inhibitor. The inhibitor-bound structure was determined to an overall rmsd of 0.82 A (backbone atoms) and 1.49 A (all heavy atoms). Comparison with the X-ray structure of the serotype 2 HRV 3C protease from subgenus A (51% sequence identity) bound to the inhibitor ruprintrivir allowed the identification of conserved intermolecular interactions involved in proximal substrate binding as well as subgenus differences that might account for the variability observed in SAR studies. To better characterize the 3C protease and investigate the structural and dynamic differences between the apo and bound states we also solved the solution structure of the apo form. The apo structure has an overall rmsd of 1.07 +/- 0.17 A over backbone atoms, which is greater by 0.25 A than what is seen for the inhibited enzyme (2B0F.pdb). This increase is localized to the enzyme's C-terminal beta-barrel domain, which is responsible for recognizing and binding proteolytic substrates. Amide hydrogen exchange dynamics revealed dramatic differences between the two enzyme states. Furthermore, a number of residues exhibited exchange-broadened amide NMR signals in the apo state compared to the inhibited state. The majority of these residues are associated with proteolytic substrate interaction.

Dynamic relationships among type IIa bacteriocins: temperature effects on antimicrobial activity and on structure of the C-terminal amphipathic alpha helix as a receptor-binding region.

Dynamic aspects of structural relationships among class IIa bacteriocins, which are antimicrobial peptides from lactic acid bacteria (LAB), have been examined by use of circular dichroism (CD), molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and activity testing. Pediocin PA-1 is a potent class IIa bacteriocin, which contains a second C-terminal disulfide bond in addition to the highly conserved N-terminal disulfide bond. A mutant of pediocin PA-1, ped[M31Nle], wherein the replacement of methionine by norleucine (Nle) gives enhanced stability toward aerobic oxidation, was synthesized by solid-phase peptide synthesis to study the activity of the peptide in relation to its structure. The secondary structural analysis from CD spectra of ped[M31Nle], carnobacteriocin B2 (cbn B2), and leucocin A (leuA) at different temperatures suggests that the alpha-helical region of these peptides is important for target recognition and activity. Using molecular modeling and dynamic simulations, complete models of pediocin PA-1, enterocin P, sakacin P, and curvacin A in 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) were generated to compare structural relationships among this class of bacteriocins. Their high sequence similarity allows for the use of homology modeling techniques. Starting from homology models based on solution structures of leuA (PDB code 1CW6) and cbnB2 (PDB code 1CW5), results of 2-4 ns MD simulations in TFE and water at 298 and 313 K are reported. The results indicate that these peptides have a common helical C-terminal domain in TFE but a more variable beta sheet or coiled N terminus. At elevated temperatures, pediocin PA-1 maintains its overall structure, whereas peptides without the second C-terminal disulfide bond, such as enterocin P, sakacin P, curvacin A, leuA, and cbnB2 experience partial disruption of the helical section. Pediocin PA-1 and ped[M31Nle] were found to be equally active at different temperatures, whereas the other peptides that lack the second C-terminal disulfide bond are 30-50 times less antimicrobially potent at 310 K (37 degrees C) than at 298 K (25 degrees C). These results indicate that the structural changes in the helical region observed at elevated temperatures account for the loss of activity of these peptides. The presence of C-terminal hydrophobic residues on one side of the amphipathic helix in class IIa bacteriocins is an important feature for receptor recognition and specificity toward particular organisms. This study assists in the understanding of structure-activity relationships in type IIa bacteriocins and demonstrates the importance of the conserved C-terminal amphipathic alpha helix for activity.