Gene/Protein
Disease
Symptom
Drug
Enzyme
Compound
Pivot Concepts:
Gene/Protein
Disease
Symptom
Drug
Enzyme
Compound
Target Concepts:
Gene/Protein
Disease
Symptom
Drug
Enzyme
Compound
Query: EC:1.5.1.3 (
dihydrofolate reductase
)
5,819
document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)
The variation with pH of the kinetic parameters associated with
dihydrofolate reductase
from Streptococcus faecium has been used to gain information about the chemical mechanism of the reaction catalyzed by the enzyme. The pH dependence of log V/K for dihydrofolate showed that a group with a pK value of 4.7 must be ionized and that a group with a pK value of 6.6 must be protonated for activity. Temperature and solvent perturbation studies indicate that these groups are probably the carboxyls of the
glutamate
moiety of dihydrofolate and of an aspartate residue on the enzyme, respectively. The similarity of the pH profile and the magnitude of the pK value for the linear competitive inhibitor 2,4-diaminopteridine suggest that the carboxyl group is concerned with the binding of dihydrofolate and its analogues to the enzyme. This conclusion is confirmed by the result that a group with a pK value of 6.7 must be protonated for the binding of methotrexate. It is proposed that the binding involves the formation with N-5 of dihydrofolate or N-1 of methotrexate of a hydrogen bond which has considerable ionic character and which lies within a hydrophobic environment. Further, it is suggested that the same hydrogen acts as an auxiliary catalyst which facilitates hydride transfer from NADPH to dihydrofolate for its conversion to tetrahydrofolate. Evidence to support this suggestion comes from the finding that the V profile is similar to the V/K profile except that the pK of the group which must be protonated for maximum enzyme activity is shifted upward by about 2 pH units. Such an increase in a pK value is consistent with the formation of a hydrogen ionic bond in the ternary enzyme-NADPH-dihydrofolate complex. The results of inactivation experiments with trinitrobenzenesulfonate appear to indicate that a lysine residue is necessary to maintain the enzyme in its active conformation.
...
PMID:Chemical mechanism of the reaction catalyzed by dihydrofolate reductase from Streptococcus faecium: pH studies and chemical modification. 730 91
Variation of the bridge linking the heterocyclic ring and p-aminobenzoyl-L-
glutamate
portions of our previously described classical 2,4-diaminofuro[2,3-d]pyrimidines 1 and 2 are reported as inhibitors of
dihydrofolate reductase
(
DHFR
) and thymidylate synthase (TS) and as antitumor agents. Specifically -CH2CH2- and -CH2NHCH2- bridged analogues, N-[4-[2-(2,4-diaminofuro[2,3-d]pyrimidin-5-yl) ethyl]benzoyl]-L-glutamic acid (3) and N-[4-[[N-[(2,4-diaminofuro[2,3-d]pyrimidin-5-yl) methyl]amino]methyl]benzoyl]-L-glutamic acid (4), respectively, were synthesized. Compound 3 was obtained via a Wittig reaction of the tributylphosphonium salt of 2,4-diamino-5-(chloromethyl)furo[2,3-d]pyrimidine (5) and methyl 4-formylbenzoate (6) followed by reduction and coupling with the diethyl ester of L-glutamic acid. Compound 4 was synthesized by the nucleophilic displacement of 5 with diethyl N-[4-(aminomethyl)benzoyl]-L-
glutamate
(15) and saponification. Both analogues were evaluated in vitro as inhibitors of DHFRs from (recombinant) human, human CCRF-CEM cells, and Lactobacillus casei. Compound 3 showed moderate activity (IC50 10(-6)-10(-7) M). Compound 4 was essentially inactive (IC50 10(-5) M, CCRF-CEM). The compounds were also evaluated against TS from (recombinant) human and L. casei and were of low activity (IC50 10(-5) M). The three-atom-bridged analogue 4 was somewhat more inhibitory to human TS than methotrexate (MTX). Compound 3 inhibited the growth of tumor cells in culture (IC50 10(-7) M) while 4 showed a low level of growth inhibitory activity. The inhibition of the growth of leukemia CCRF-CEM cells by both compounds parallels their inhibition of CCRF-CEM
DHFR
. Analogue 3 was a good substrate for human folylpolyglutamate synthetase (FPGS) derived from CCRF-CEM cells (Km 8.5 microM). Further evaluation of the growth inhibitory activity of 3 against the MTX-resistant subline of CCRF-CEM cells (R30dm) with decreased FPGS indicated that poly-gamma-glutamylation was important for its action. Protection studies with 3 in the FaDu squamous cell carcinoma cell line indicated that inhibition was completely reversed by leucovorin [(6R,S-5-formyltetrahydrofolate] or by a combination of thymidine and hypoxanthine, suggesting an antifolate effect directed at
DHFR
.
...
PMID:Effect of bridge region variation on antifolate and antitumor activity of classical 5-substituted 2,4-diaminofuro[2,3-d]pyrimidines. 756 10
The transport properties and growth-inhibitory potential of 37 classic and novel antifolate compounds have been tested in vitro against human and murine cell lines expressing different levels of the reduced folate carrier (RFC), the membrane-associated folate binding protein (mFBP), or both. The intracellular targets of these drugs were
dihydrofolate reductase
(
DHFR
), glycinamide ribonucleotide transformylase (GARTF), folylpolyglutamate synthetase (FPGS), and thymidylate synthase (TS). Parameters that were investigated included the affinity of both folate-transport systems for the antifolate drugs, their growth-inhibitory potential as a function of cellular RFC/mFBP expression, and the protective effect of either FA or leucovorin against growth inhibition. Methotrexate, aminopterin, N10-propargyl-5,8-dideazafolic acid (CB3717), ZD1694, 5,8-dideazaisofolic acid (IAHQ), 5,10-dideazatetrahydrofolic acid (DDATHF), and 5-deazafolic acid (efficient substrate for FPGS) were used as the basic structures in the present study, from which modifications were introduced in the pteridine/quinazoline ring, the C9-N10 bridge, the benzoyl ring, and the
glutamate
side chain. It was observed that RFC exhibited an efficient substrate affinity for all analogues except CB3717, 2-NH2-ZD1694, and
glutamate
side-chain-modified FPGS inhibitors. Substitutions at the 2-position (e.g., 2-CH3) improved the RFC substrate affinity for methotrexate and aminopterin. Other good substrates included PT523 (N alpha-(4-amino-4-deoxypteroyl)-N delta-hemiphthaloyl-L-ornithine), 10-ethyl-10-deazaaminopterin, and DDATHF. With respect to mFBP, modifications at the N-3 and 4-oxo positions resulted in a substantial loss of binding affinity. Modifications at other sites of the molecule were well tolerated. Growth-inhibition studies identified a series of drugs that were preferentially transported via RFC (2,4-diamino structures) or mFBP (CB3717, 2-NH-ZD1694, or 5,8-dideazaisofolic acid), whereas other drugs were efficiently transported via both transport pathways (e.g., DDATHF, ZD1694, BW1843U89, or LY231514). Given the fact that for an increasing number of normal and neoplastic cells and tissue, different expression levels of RFC and mFBP are being recognized, this folate antagonist structure-activity relationship can be of value for predicting drug sensitivity and resistance of tumor cells or drug-related toxicity to normal cells and for the rational design and development of novel antifolates.
...
PMID:Carrier- and receptor-mediated transport of folate antagonists targeting folate-dependent enzymes: correlates of molecular-structure and biological activity. 756 26
Poly(gamma-glutamylation) of
glutamate
(L-Glu)-containing antifolates and natural folates is important in pharmacological mechanisms and in physiological processes. Based on previous work from our laboratories, we hypothesized that replacement of the L-Glu moiety in parent molecules with DL-beta,beta-difluoroglutamic acid (DL-beta,beta-F2Glu) might be a generic means of increasing polyglutamylation by both increasing the synthesis rate and decreasing the degradation rate (J. J. McGuire et al., J. Biol. Chem. 265, 14073-14079 (1990)); thus biological potency might be increased without other biochemical properties being altered. DL-beta,beta-F2Glu, synthesized by an improved route (B. P. Hart and J. K. Coward, Tetrahedron Lett. 34, 4917-4920 (1993)), has been incorporated into a methotrexate (MTX) homolog, beta,beta-difluoromethotrexate (beta,beta-F2MTX), and a folic acid (PteGlu) homolog, beta,beta-difluorofolic acid (beta,beta-PteF2Glu). Biochemical properties of beta,beta-F2MTX (e.g., inhibition of isolated
dihydrofolate reductase
, transport in whole cells) are similar to those of MTX except that, in accord with our hypothesis, apparent substrate efficiency for rat and human folylpolyglutamate synthetase (FPGS) is 4- to 7.5-fold higher, respectively, for beta,beta-F2MTX than for MTX. Analysis of the products synthesized by purified FPGS, however, suggests that while addition of the first gamma-Glu to beta,beta-F2MTX is highly efficient, subsequent additions occur at a negligible rate; this premise was confirmed by directly comparing the in vitro FPGS substrate activity of MTX-gamma-Glu and beta,beta-F2MTX-gamma-Glu. Furthermore, the dramatically diminished in vitro growth inhibitory potency of beta,beta-F2MTX as compared to MTX when exposure time to drug is decreased (despite otherwise similar biochemical properties) suggests that polyglutamylation is also impaired in intact cells. Similar results with FPGS have been obtained with oxidized and reduced forms of beta,beta-PteF2Glu. These data suggest that the effect of beta,beta-F2Glu on polyglutamylation by FPGS is dependent on its position relative to the point of L-Glu ligation. When beta,beta-F2Glu is the acceptor amino acid (i.e., point of attachment), ligation of Glu is enhanced; however, if beta,beta-F2Glu is one residue distal to the acceptor amino acid, further elongation is blocked.
...
PMID:DL-beta,beta-difluoroglutamic acid mediates position-dependent enhancement or termination of pteroylpoly(gamma-glutamate) synthesis catalyzed by folylpolyglutamate synthetase. 764 57
gamma-Glutamyl hydrolase is a ubiquitous enzyme that has the capacity to cleave gamma-glutamyl bonds of cellular folyl- and antifolylpoly-gamma-glutamates. This study has revealed that the enzyme is secreted by primary cultures of rat hepatocytes and by H35 hepatoma cells. It was found that more than 99% of the total enzyme from H35 cells accumulated in the medium after 48 hr incubation with the serum-free medium. The cells were shown to remain intact during the secretion period since lactate dehydrogenase,
dihydrofolate reductase
and lysosomal hydrolases other than gamma-glutamyl hydrolase were retained within the cell. When PteGlu5 (folylGlu4) is used as a substrate the initial product is PteGlu (folate), and there is no appearance of intermediate chain length pteroyl polyglutamates. Therefore, the secreted and cellular gamma-glutamyl hydrolase from hepatoma cells appears to be an endopeptidase. Polyclonal antibodies to the poly-gamma-
glutamate
substrates of the enzyme were prepared and characterized. The antibodies recognize the structural differences between alpha- and gamma-glutamyl linkages but appear equally active with PteGlu5 and its analogs such as 4-NH2-10-CH3PteGlu5 and pABAGlu5. The affinity of the antibodies is related to the gamma-glutamyl structure since L-glutamic acid, folate or p-aminobenzoic acid are inactive with the antibodies. Furthermore, poly-gamma-
glutamate
has lower affinity for the antibodies than the poly-gamma-
glutamate
derivatives of PteGlu, 4-NH2-10-CH3PteGlu or pABA.
...
PMID:The properties and function of gamma-glutamyl hydrolase and poly-gamma-glutamate. 768 89
The conformational properties of the lipophilic antifolate trimetrexate (TMQ) were calculated and compared to the structurally-analogous prototypical antifolate methotrexate (MTX) using both empirical force-field and AM1 quantum mechanical methods. The conformational preferences of TMQ and MTX are diametrically opposed with respect to the bridge-system set of torsion angles tau 1, tau 2: TMQ prefers gauche, trans while MTX prefers approximately trans, gauche. These predictions are consistent with the observed crystal structures of TMQ (i.e., tau 1 = 79 degrees, tau 2 = 178 degrees) and of
DHFR
-bound MTX (i.e., tau 1 = -157 degrees, tau 2 = 57 degrees in L. casei). The crystal structure of MTX.4H2O deviates from this pattern with tau 1 closer to cis (i.e., 39 degrees) than the predicted trans, yet this near-cis conformation is driven by intermolecular hydrogen-bonding and electrostatic forces operative in the MTX crystal. As a consequence of these strong intermolecular forces, MTX incurs 1.8 kcal/mole in conformational-strain energy in its crystalline form. In contrast, TMQ experiences virtually no conformational strain in its crystalline form. This disparity is attributed to two distinctions between TMQ and MTX: (i) MTX crystallizes as a zwitterion while TMQ crystallizes as the free base, and (ii) the hydrophilic
glutamate
tail in MTX is replaced by three lipophilic trimethoxy groups in TMQ. The corresponding conformational-strain energy of
DHFR
-bound MTX is 2.0 kcal/mole while that of
DHFR
-bound TMQ is only 0.65 kcal/mole based on the assumption that the latter adopts the same bridge conformation as the former. This cost in conformational-strain energy for TMQ and MTX is paid at the expense of their respective free energies of binding of
DHFR
. Consequently, the present study offers the possibility of designing a new class of antifolates which are conformationally strain-free when bound to
DHFR
and thereby more effective as chemotherapeutic agents.
...
PMID:Conformational analysis of the lipophilic antifolate trimetrexate. 776 2
An inhibitor complex structure of glycinamide ribonucleotide transformylase (GAR-Tfase; EC 2.1.2.2) from Escherichia coli has been determined with a multisubstrate adduct BW1476U89 to an R-value of 19.1% at 1.96 A resolution. The structure was determined by a combination of molecular and single isomorphous replacement using data from two different monoclinic crystal lattices and collecting data from crystals soaked in 20% (w/v) methyl-pentanediol as cryoprotectant for shock-freezing at -150 degrees C. The multisubstrate adduct is bound in an extended crevice at the interface between the two functional domains of the enzyme. This inhibitor is positioned in the binding site by three sets of tight interactions with its phosphate,
glutamate
and pyrimidone ring moieties, while its interventing linker atoms are more flexible and adopt two distinct sets of conformations. The highly conserved Arg103, His108 and Gln170 residues that are key in ligand binding and catalysis (His108), have compensatory conformational variation that gives some clues as to their role in substrate specificity and in the formyl transfer. The molecular design of 1476U89 as a multisubstrate adduct inhibitor (Ki approximately 100 pM at pH 8.5), is confirmed as it closely mimics the shape, molecular interaction and combined binding constants of the natural 10-formyltetrahydrofolate (10-CHO-H4F; Km approximately 77.4 microM at pH 8.5) and glycinamide-ribonucleotide (GAR; Km approximately 8.1 microM at pH 8.5) substrates. The stereochemistry of this ligand complex suggests that His108 may act as an electrophile stabilizing the oxyanion of the tetrahedral intermediate that is formed as a result of the direct attack on the 10-CHO-H4F by the amino group of GAR. Structural comparison of the folate binding modes among GAR-Tfase,
dihydrofolate reductase
and thymidylate synthase reveals that folate derivates bound to GAR-Tfase differentially adopt the trans conformation for the dihedral angle between atoms C-6 and C-9 providing a handle for targeting specific folate-dependent enzymes. The structural information derived from two different discrete conformations of the ligand in the binding site also suggests several leads for the de novo design of inhibitors of GAR-Tfase that may develop into useful chemotherapeutic agents.
...
PMID:Towards structure-based drug design: crystal structure of a multisubstrate adduct complex of glycinamide ribonucleotide transformylase at 1.96 A resolution. 777 69
Eight novel, nonclassical, antifolate 2,4-diamino-5-(anilinomethyl)pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines, 1-8, with 3',4',5'-trimethoxyphenyl, 3',4'-dimethoxyphenyl, 2',5'-dimethoxyphenyl, 4'-methoxyphenyl, 2',5'-diethoxyphenyl, 3',4'-dichlorophenyl, 1'naphthyl, and phenyl substituents were synthesized as potential inhibitors of dihydrofolate reductases (DHFRs). The classical analogue N-[4-[N-[(2,4-diaminopyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin- 5-yl)methyl]amino]benzoyl]-L-glutamic acid (9) was also synthesized as an inhibitor of
DHFR
and an antitumor agent. The classical and nonclassical analogues were obtained via reductive condensations of the key intermediate 2,4-diamino-5-cyanopyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine (12) with the appropriate substituted aniline or (p-aminobenzoyl)-L-
glutamate
followed by reduction of the intermediate Schiff bases with NaCNBH3. Compounds 1-9 were evaluated in vitro as inhibitors of rat liver (rl), Pneumocystis carinii (pc), and Toxoplasma gondii (tg) DHFRs. The nonclassical analogues were significantly selective against tgDHFR (vs rat liver
DHFR
), ranging from 7- to 92-fold. The inhibitory activity was lower in pcDHFR and rlDHFR (IC50s > 10(-5) M) than in tgDHFR (IC50s = 10(-6) M). The classical analogue had inhibitory activity similar to that of methotrexate (MTX) against the growth of human leukemia CCRF-CEM, A253, and FaDu squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the head and neck cell lines. Further evaluation of 9 against CCRF-CEM and its sublines having defined mechanisms of MTX resistance demonstrated that the analogue utilizes the reduced folate/MTX-transport system and primarily inhibits
DHFR
and poly-gamma-glutamylation plays a role in its mechanism of action. Compound 9 was found to be 3-fold more efficient than aminopterin as a substrate for human folylpolyglutamate synthetase.
...
PMID:Novel 2,4-diamino-5-substituted-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines as classical and nonclassical antifolate inhibitors of dihydrofolate reductases. 778 47
2,4-Diaminoquinazoline antifolates with a lipophilic side chain at the 5-position, and in one case with a classical (p-aminobenzoyl)-L-
glutamate
side chain, were synthesized as potentially selective inhibitors of a site-directed mutant of human
dihydrofolate reductase
(
DHFR
) containing phenylalanine instead of leucine at position 22. This mutant enzyme is approximately 100-fold more resistant than native enzyme to the classical antifolate methotrexate (MTX), yet shows minimal cross resistance to the nonclassical antifolates piritrexim (PTX) and trimetrexate (TMQ). Although they were much less potent than trimetrexate and piritrexim, the lipophilic 5-substituted analogues were all found to bind approximately 10 times better to the mutant
DHFR
than to the wild-type enzyme. The potency of the analogue with a classical (p-aminobenzoyl)-L-
glutamate
side chain was similarly diminished in comparison with MTX, but the difference in its binding affinity to the two
DHFR
species was only 5-fold. Thus, by making subtle structural changes in the antifolate molecule, it may be possible to attack resistance due to mutational alterations in the active site of the target enzyme. Also, to test the hypothesis that
DHFR
from Pneumocystis carinii and Toxoplasma gondii may have a less sterically restrictive active site than the enzyme from mammalian cells, inhibition assays using several of the lipophilic analogues in the series were carried out against the P. carinii and T. gondii reductases in comparison with the enzyme from rat liver. In contrast to their preferential binding to mutant versus wild-type human
DHFR
, binding of these analogues to the P. carinii and T. gondii enzymes was weaker than binding to rat enzyme. It thus appears that, if the active site of the
DHFR
from these parasites is less sterically restrictive than the active site of the mammalian enzyme, this difference cannot be successfully exploited by moving the side chain from the 6-position to the 5-position.
...
PMID:2,4-Diamino-5-substituted-quinazolines as inhibitors of a human dihydrofolate reductase with a site-directed mutation at position 22 and of the dihydrofolate reductases from Pneumocystis carinii and Toxoplasma gondii. 787 40
The effect of recombinant human nerve growth factor (hNGF) and mouse NGF on cultured rat cortical neurons was examined. The DNA fragment coding the human NGF gene was isolated and inserted downstream from the SV40 promoter in a plasmid containing the
dihydrofolate reductase
cDNA, and this plasmid was introduced into Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells to establish cells producing recombinant hNGF. The recombinant hNGF protein secreted by CHO cells was confirmed to be biologically active in an assay using PC12 cells. Brief exposure of cortical cells to
glutamate
followed by incubation with
glutamate
-free medium reduced cell viability by 60-70% when compared with the control culture. Simultaneous addition of recombinant hNGF or mouse NGF to rat cortical cultures with
glutamate
did not affect this reduction of cell viability. However, 24 h pretreatment of rat cortical cultures with recombinant hNGF or mouse NGF resulted in a significant reduction of
glutamate
-induced neuronal damage. Mouse NGF also protected cortical neurons against N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)- and kainate-induced neuronal damage. These findings suggest that NGF can protect cortical neurons against
glutamate
-induced neurotoxicity.
...
PMID:Protective effect of nerve growth factor against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in cultured cortical neurons. 790 99
<< Previous
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Next >>