The structures of the anti-tuberculosis antibiotics viomycin and capreomycin bound to the 70S ribosome.

Viomycin and capreomycin belong to the tuberactinomycin family of antibiotics, which are among the most effective antibiotics against multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Here we present two crystal structures of the 70S ribosome in complex with three tRNAs and bound to either viomycin or capreomycin at 3.3- and 3.5-A resolution, respectively. Both antibiotics bind to the same site on the ribosome, which lies at the interface between helix 44 of the small ribosomal subunit and helix 69 of the large ribosomal subunit. The structures of these complexes suggest that the tuberactinomycins inhibit translocation by stabilizing the tRNA in the A site in the pretranslocation state. In addition, these structures show that the tuberactinomycins bind adjacent to the binding sites for the paromomycin and hygromycin B antibiotics, which may enable the development of new derivatives of tuberactinomycins that are effective against drug-resistant strains.

Crystal structure and amide H/D exchange of binary complexes of alcohol dehydrogenase from Bacillus stearothermophilus: insight into thermostability and cofactor binding.

The crystal structure of NAD(+)-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase from Bacillus stearothermophilus strain LLD-R (htADH) was determined using X-ray diffraction data at a resolution of 2.35 A. The structure of homotetrameric htADH is highly homologous to those of bacterial and archaeal homotetrameric alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) and also to the mammalian dimeric ADHs. There is one catalytic zinc atom and one structural zinc atom per enzyme subunit. The enzyme was crystallized as a binary complex lacking the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) cofactor but including a zinc-coordinated substrate analogue trifluoroethanol. The binary complex structure is in an open conformation similar to ADH structures without the bound cofactor. Features important for the thermostability of htADH are suggested by a comparison with a homologous mesophilic enzyme (55% identity), NAD(+)-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase from Escherichia coli. To gain insight into the conformational change triggered by NAD(+) binding, amide hydrogen-deuterium exchange of htADH, in the presence and absence of NAD(+), was studied by HPLC-coupled electrospray mass spectrometry. When the deuteron incorporation of the protein-derived peptides was analyzed, it was found that 9 of 21 peptides show some decrease in the level of deuteron incorporation upon NAD(+) binding, and another 4 peptides display slower exchange rates. With one exception (peptide number 8), none of the peptides that are altered by bound NAD(+) are in contact with the alcohol-substrate-binding pocket. Furthermore, peptides 5 and 8, which are located outside the NAD(+)-binding pocket, are notable by displaying changes upon NAD(+) binding. This suggests that the transition from the open to the closed conformation caused by cofactor binding has some long-range effects on the protein structure and dynamics.

Crystallographic studies on the complex behavior of nicotine binding to P450cam (CYP101).

Crystallographic and spectroscopic studies have been undertaken to characterize the binding behavior of the non-native substrate nicotine in the active site of the monooxygenase hemoprotein cytochrome P450cam. Despite the existence of a theoretical model that is consistent with the observed distribution of monooxygenation products, the crystal structure of the complex indicates that the primary binding mode of nicotine is unproductive. The structure is confirmed by spectral data that indicate direct coordination of substrate pyridine nitrogen with the heme iron. This would be the proper structure for evaluating binding affinity and inhibition. Reduction of the heme from Fe(III) to Fe(II) and introduction of carbon monoxide into crystals of the nicotine-P450cam complex, to simulate molecular oxygen binding, produces reorientation of the nicotine. This orientation is the appropriate one for predicting regioselectivity and the kinetic features of substrate oxidation. While it is not clear that such complicated behavior will be exhibited for other enzyme-substrate interactions, it is clear that a single crystal structure for a given substrate-enzyme interaction may not provide a good description of the binding mode responsible for product formation.