Elucidating the Role of Residue 67 in IMP-Type Metallo-ß-Lactamase Evolution.

Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is ever changing and adapting, as once-novel ß-lactam antibiotics are losing their efficacy, primarily due to the production of ß-lactamases. Metallo-ß-lactamases (MBLs) efficiently inactivate a broad range of ß-lactam antibiotics, including carbapenems, and are often coexpressed with other antibacterial resistance factors. The rapid dissemination of MBLs and lack of novel antibacterials pose an imminent threat to global health. In an effort to better counter these resistance-conferring ß-lactamases, an investigation of their natural evolution and resulting substrate specificity was employed. In this study, we elucidated the effects of different amino acid substitutions at position 67 in IMP-type MBLs on the ability to hydrolyze and confer resistance to a range of ß-lactam antibiotics. Wild-type ß-lactamases IMP-1 and IMP-10 and mutants IMP-1-V67A and IMP-1-V67I were characterized biophysically and biochemically, and MICs for Escherichia coli cells expressing these enzymes were determined. We found that all variants exhibited catalytic efficiencies (kcat/Km) equal to or higher than that of IMP-1 against all tested ß-lactams except penicillins, against which IMP-1 and IMP-1-V67I showed the highest kcat/Km values. The substrate-specific effects of the different amino acid substitutions at position 67 are discussed in light of their side chain structures and possible interactions with the substrates. Docking calculations were employed to investigate interactions between different side chains and an inhibitor used as a ß-lactam surrogate. The differences in binding affinities determined experimentally and computationally seem to be governed by hydrophobic interactions between residue 67 and the inhibitor and, by inference, the ß-lactam substrates.

Uncovering Molecular Bases Underlying Bone Morphogenetic Protein Receptor Inhibitor Selectivity.

Abnormal alteration of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling is implicated in many types of diseases including cancer and heterotopic ossifications. Hence, small molecules targeting BMP type I receptors (BMPRI) to interrupt BMP signaling are believed to be an effective approach to treat these diseases. However, lack of understanding of the molecular determinants responsible for the binding selectivity of current BMP inhibitors has been a big hindrance to the development of BMP inhibitors for clinical use. To address this issue, we carried out in silico experiments to test whether computational methods can reproduce and explain the high selectivity of a small molecule BMP inhibitor DMH1 on BMPRI kinase ALK2 vs. the closely related TGF-ß type I receptor kinase ALK5 and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor type 2 (VEGFR2) tyrosine kinase. We found that, while the rigid docking method used here gave nearly identical binding affinity scores among the three kinases; free energy perturbation coupled with Hamiltonian replica-exchange molecular dynamics (FEP/H-REMD) simulations reproduced the absolute binding free energies in excellent agreement with experimental data. Furthermore, the binding poses identified by FEP/H-REMD led to a quantitative analysis of physical/chemical determinants governing DMH1 selectivity. The current work illustrates that small changes in the binding site residue type (e.g. pre-hinge region in ALK2 vs. ALK5) or side chain orientation (e.g. Tyr219 in caALK2 vs. wtALK2), as well as a subtle structural modification on the ligand (e.g. DMH1 vs. LDN193189) will cause distinct binding profiles and selectivity among BMP inhibitors. Therefore, the current computational approach represents a new way of investigating BMP inhibitors. Our results provide critical information for designing exclusively selective BMP inhibitors for the development of effective pharmacotherapy for diseases caused by aberrant BMP signaling.

Understanding the determinants of substrate specificity in IMP family metallo-ß-lactamases: the importance of residue 262.

In Gram-negative bacteria, resistance to ß-lactam antibacterials is largely due to ß-lactamases and is a growing public health threat. One of the most concerning ß-lactamases to evolve in bacteria are the Class B enzymes, the metallo-ß-lactamases (MBLs). To date, penams and cephems resistant to hydrolysis by MBLs have not yet been found. As a result of this broad substrate specificity, a better understanding of the role of catalytically important amino acids in MBLs is necessary to design novel ß-lactams and inhibitors. Two MBLs, the wild type IMP-1 with serine at position 262, and an engineered variant with valine at the same position (IMP-1-S262V), were previously found to exhibit very different substrate spectra. These findings compelled us to investigate the impact of a threonine at position 262 (IMP-1-S262T) on the substrate spectrum. Here, we explore MBL sequence-structure-activity relationships by predicting and experimentally validating the effect of the S262T substitution in IMP-1. Using site-directed mutagenesis, threonine was introduced at position 262, and the IMP-1-S262T enzyme, as well as the other two enzymes IMP-1 and IMP-1-S262V, were purified and kinetic constants were determined against a range of ß-lactam antibacterials. Catalytic efficiencies (kcat /KM ) obtained with IMP-1-S262T and minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) observed with bacterial cells expressing the protein were intermediate or comparable to the corresponding values with IMP-1 and IMP-1-S262V, validating the role of this residue in catalysis. Our results reveal the important role of IMP residue 262 in ß-lactam turnover and support this approach to predict activities of certain novel MBL variants.

Diaryl-substituted azolylthioacetamides: Inhibitor discovery of New Delhi metallo-ß-lactamase-1 (NDM-1).

The emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens is a global public health problem. Metallo-ß-lactamases (MßLs) such as New Delhi MßL-1 (NDM-1) are principle contributors to the emergence of resistance because of their ability to hydrolyze almost all known ß-lactam antibiotics including penicillins, cephalosporins, and carbapenems. A clinical inhibitor of MBLs has not yet been found. In this study we developed eighteen new diaryl-substituted azolylthioacetamides and found all of them to be inhibitors of the MßL L1 from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (Ki < 2 µM), thirteen to be mixed inhibitors of NDM-1 (Ki < 7 µM), and four to be broad-spectrum inhibitors of all four tested MßLs CcrA from Bacteroides fragilis, NDM-1 and ImiS from Aeromonas veronii, and L1 (Ki < 52 µM), which are representative of the B1a, B1b, B2, and B3 subclasses, respectively. Docking studies revealed that the azolylthioacetamides, which have the broadest inhibitory activity, coordinate to the Zn(II) ion(s) preferentially via the triazole moiety, while other moieties interact mostly with the conserved active site residues Lys224 (CcrA, NDM-1, and ImiS) or Ser221 (L1).

New ß-phospholactam as a carbapenem transition state analog: Synthesis of a broad-spectrum inhibitor of metallo-ß-lactamases.

In an effort to test whether a transition state analog is an inhibitor of the metallo-ß-lactamases, a phospholactam analog of carbapenem has been synthesized and characterized. The phospholactam 1 proved to be a weak, time-dependent inhibitor of IMP-1 (70%), CcrA (70%), L1 (70%), NDM-1 (53%), and Bla2 (94%) at an inhibitor concentration of 100µM. The phospholactam 1 activated ImiS and BcII at the same concentration. Docking studies were used to explain binding and to offer suggestions for modifications to the phospholactam scaffold to improve binding affinities.

Biochemical characterization of IMP-30, a metallo-ß-lactamase with enhanced activity toward ceftazidime.

IMP-type enzymes constitute a clinically important family of metallo-ß-lactamases that has grown dramatically in the past decade to its current 45 known members. Here, we report the biochemical characterization of IMP-30 in comparison to IMP-1, from which it deviates by a single E59K mutation. Kinetics, MIC assays, docking, and molecular dynamics simulations support a scenario in which Lys59 interacts with the ceftazidime R1 group, resulting in increased water access and enhanced turnover and MIC of ceftazidime.