Download MendeleyThe Three-Dimensional Structure of a Plasmodium Falciparum Cyclophilin in Complex with the Potent Anti-Malarial Cyclosporin A
Peterson, M.R., Hall, D.R., Berriman, M., Leonard, G.A., Fairlamb, A.H., Hunter, W.N.(2000) J Mol Biol 298: 123
- PubMed: 10756109
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1006/jmbi.2000.3633
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
1QNG, 1QNH - PubMed Abstract:
Cyclosporin A (CsA) is a potent anti-malarial compound in vitro and in vivo in mice though better known for its immunosuppressive properties in humans. Crystal structures of wild-type and a double mutant Plasmodium falciparum cyclophilin (PfCyP19 and mPfCyP19) complexed with CsA have been determined using diffraction terms to a resolution of 2.1 A (1 A=0.1 nm). The wild-type has a single PfCyP19/CsA complex per asymmetric unit in space group P1 and refined to an R-work of 0.15 and R-free of 0.19. An altered cyclophilin, with two accidental mutations, Phe120 to Leu in the CsA binding pocket and Leu171 to Trp at the C terminus, presents two complexes per asymmetric unit in the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2. This refined to an R-work of 0.18 and R-free 0.21. The mutations were identified from the crystallographic analysis and the C-terminal alteration helps to explain the different crystal forms obtained. PfCyP19 shares approximately 61 % sequence identity with human cyclophilin A (hCyPA) and the structures are similar, consisting of an eight-stranded antiparallel beta-barrel core capped by two alpha-helices. The fold creates a hydrophobic active-site, the floor of which is formed by side-chains of residues from four antiparallel beta-strands and the walls from loops and turns. We identified C-H.O hydrogen bonds between the drug and protein that may be an important feature of cyclophilins and suggest a general mode of interaction between hydrophobic molecules. Comparisons with cyclophilin-dipeptide complexes suggests that a specific C-H.O hydrogen bonding interaction may contribute to ligand binding. Residues Ser106, His99 and Asp130, located close to the active site and conserved in most cyclophilins, are arranged in a manner reminiscent of a serine protease catalytic triad. A Ser106Ala mutant was engineered to test the hypothesis that this triad contributes to CyP function. Mutant and wild-type enzymes were found to have similar catalytic properties.
Organizational Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry The Wellcome Trust Biocentre, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK.
