Abstract
With some advances in modern medicine (such as cancer chemotherapy, broad exposure to antibiotics, and immunosuppression), the incidence of opportunistic fungal pathogens such as Candida albicans has increased. Cases of drug resistance among these pathogens have become more frequent, requiring the development of new drugs and a better understanding of the targeted enzymes. Sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) is a cytochrome P450 enzyme required for biosynthesis of sterols in eukaryotic cells and is the major target of clinical drugs for managing fungal pathogens, but some of the CYP51 key features important for rational drug design have remained obscure. We report the catalytic properties, ligand-binding profiles, and inhibition of enzymatic activity of C. albicans CYP51 by clinical antifungal drugs that are used systemically (fluconazole, voriconazole, ketoconazole, itraconazole, and posaconazole) and topically (miconazole and clotrimazole) and by a tetrazolebased drug candidate, VT-1161 (oteseconazole: (R)-2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-1,1-difluoro-3-(1H-Tetrazol-1-yl)-1-(5-(4-(2,2,2-Trifluoroethoxy)phenyl)pyridin-2-yl)propan-2-ol). Among the compounds tested, the first-line drug fluconazole was the weakest inhibitor, whereas posaconazole and VT-1161 were the strongest CYP51 inhibitors. We determined the X-ray structures of C. albicans CYP51 complexes with posaconazole and VT-1161, providing a molecular mechanism for the potencies of these drugs, including the activity of VT-1161 against Candida krusei and Candida glabrata, pathogens that are intrinsically resistant to fluconazole. Our comparative structural analysis outlines phylum-specific CYP51 features that could direct future rational development of more efficient broadspectrum antifungals.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 6728-6743 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Journal of Biological Chemistry |
Volume | 292 |
Issue number | 16 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 21 2017 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Molecular Biology
- Biochemistry
- Cell Biology
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Dive into the research topics of 'Structural analyses of Candida albicans sterol 14α-demethylase complexed with azole drugs address the molecular basis of azole-mediated inhibition of fungal sterol biosynthesis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Datasets
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Crystal structure of sterol 14-alpha demethylase (CYP51) from a pathogenic yeast Candida albicans in complex with the antifungal drug posaconazole
Hargrove, T. Y. (Contributor), Friggeri, L. (Contributor), Wawrzak, Z. (Contributor), Qi, A. (Contributor), Hoekstra, W. J. (Contributor), Schotzinger, R. J. (Contributor), York, J. D. (Contributor), Peter, G. F. (Contributor) & Lepesheva, G. I. (Contributor), Protein Data Bank (PDB), Mar 15 2017
DOI: 10.2210/pdb5FSA/pdb, https://www.wwpdb.org/pdb?id=pdb_00005fsa
Dataset
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Crystal structure of sterol 14-alpha demethylase (CYP51) from Candida albicans in complex with the tetrazole-based antifungal drug candidate VT1161 (VT1)
Hargrove, T. Y. (Contributor), Friggeri, L. (Contributor), Wawrzak, Z. (Contributor), Qi, A. (Contributor), Hoekstra, W. J. (Contributor), Schotzinger, R. J. (Contributor), York, J. D. (Contributor), Peter, G. F. (Contributor) & Lepesheva, G. I. (Contributor), Protein Data Bank (PDB), Mar 15 2017
DOI: 10.2210/pdb5TZ1/pdb, https://www.wwpdb.org/pdb?id=pdb_00005tz1
Dataset