The in silico screening and X-ray structure analysis of the inhibitor complex of Plasmodium falciparum orotidine 5'-monophosphate decarboxylase
Takashima, Y., Mizohata, E., Krungkrai, S.R., Fukunishi, Y., Kinoshita, T., Sakata, T., Matsumura, H., Krungkrai, J., Horii, T., Inoue, T.(2012) J Biochem 152: 133-138
- PubMed: 22740703 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jb/mvs070
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
3VI2 - PubMed Abstract: 
Orotidine 5'-monophosphate decarboxylase from Plasmodium falciparum (PfOMPDC) catalyses the final step in the de novo synthesis of uridine 5'-monophosphate (UMP) from orotidine 5'-monophosphate (OMP). A defective PfOMPDC enzyme is lethal to the parasite. Novel in silico screening methods were performed to select 14 inhibitors against PfOMPDC, with a high hit rate of 9%. X-ray structure analysis of PfOMPDC in complex with one of the inhibitors, 4-(2-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)-4-oxobutanoic acid, was carried out to at 2.1 Å resolution. The crystal structure revealed that the inhibitor molecule occupied a part of the active site that overlaps with the phosphate-binding region in the OMP- or UMP-bound complexes. Space occupied by the pyrimidine and ribose rings of OMP or UMP was not occupied by this inhibitor. The carboxyl group of the inhibitor caused a dramatic movement of the L1 and L2 loops that play a role in the recognition of the substrate and product molecules. Combining part of the inhibitor molecule with moieties of the pyrimidine and ribose rings of OMP and UMP represents a suitable avenue for further development of anti-malarial drugs.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.