Structural elucidation of the specificity of the antibacterial agent triclosan for malarial enoyl acyl carrier protein reductase

J Biol Chem. 2002 Apr 12;277(15):13106-14. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M112000200. Epub 2002 Jan 15.

Abstract

The human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum synthesizes fatty acids using a type II pathway that is absent in humans. The final step in fatty acid elongation is catalyzed by enoyl acyl carrier protein reductase, a validated antimicrobial drug target. Here, we report the cloning and expression of the P. falciparum enoyl acyl carrier protein reductase gene, which encodes a 50-kDa protein (PfENR) predicted to target to the unique parasite apicoplast. Purified PfENR was crystallized, and its structure resolved as a binary complex with NADH, a ternary complex with triclosan and NAD(+), and as ternary complexes bound to the triclosan analogs 1 and 2 with NADH. Novel structural features were identified in the PfENR binding loop region that most closely resembled bacterial homologs; elsewhere the protein was similar to ENR from the plant Brassica napus (root mean square for Calphas, 0.30 A). Triclosan and its analogs 1 and 2 killed multidrug-resistant strains of intra-erythrocytic P. falciparum parasites at sub to low micromolar concentrations in vitro. These data define the structural basis of triclosan binding to PfENR and will facilitate structure-based optimization of PfENR inhibitors.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Anti-Infective Agents / chemistry
  • Anti-Infective Agents / metabolism*
  • Base Sequence
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • DNA Primers
  • Enoyl-(Acyl-Carrier-Protein) Reductase (NADH)
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Oxidoreductases / chemistry
  • Oxidoreductases / genetics
  • Oxidoreductases / metabolism*
  • Plasmodium falciparum / enzymology*
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Substrate Specificity
  • Triclosan / chemistry
  • Triclosan / metabolism*

Substances

  • Anti-Infective Agents
  • DNA Primers
  • Triclosan
  • Oxidoreductases
  • Enoyl-(Acyl-Carrier-Protein) Reductase (NADH)