The C-terminal Region of D-DT Regulates Molecular Recognition for Protein-Ligand Complexes.
Parkins, A., Pilien, A.V.R., Wolff, A.M., Argueta, C., Vargas, J., Sadeghi, S., Franz, A.H., Thompson, M.C., Pantouris, G.(2024) J Med Chem 67: 7359-7372
- PubMed: 38670943 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c00177
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
8VDY, 8VFK, 8VFL, 8VFN, 8VFO, 8VFW, 8VG5, 8VG7, 8VG8 - PubMed Abstract: 
Systematic analysis of molecular recognition is critical for understanding the biological function of macromolecules. For the immunomodulatory protein D-dopachrome tautomerase (D-DT), the mechanism of protein-ligand interactions is poorly understood. Here, 17 carefully designed protein variants and wild type (WT) D-DT were interrogated with an array of complementary techniques to elucidate the structural basis of ligand recognition. Utilization of a substrate and two selective inhibitors with distinct binding profiles offered previously unseen mechanistic insights into D-DT-ligand interactions. Our results demonstrate that the C-terminal region serves a key role in molecular recognition via regulation of the active site opening, protein-ligand interactions, and conformational flexibility of the pocket's environment. While our study is the first comprehensive analysis of molecular recognition for D-DT, the findings reported herein promote the understanding of protein functionality and enable the design of new structure-based drug discovery projects.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Chemistry, University of the Pacific, Stockton, California 95211, United States.