Biomedical subjects

Robert D O'Connor

Publications and source records attributed to Robert D O'Connor.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

Rotational-echo double-resonance NMR distance measurements for the tubulin-bound Paclitaxel conformation.

The important anticancer drug Taxol (paclitaxel, PTX) owes its unique activity to its ability to bind to tubulin in a stoichiometric ratio and promote its assembly into microtubules. The conformation of the microtubule-bound drug has been the focus of numerous research efforts, since the inability of polymerized tubulin to form crystals precludes structure proof by X-ray crystallography. Likewise, although the alpha,beta-tubulin dimer structure has been solved by electron crystallography, the 3.7 A resolution is too low to permit direct determination of either ligand conformation or binding pose. In this article, we present experimental results from 2H{19F} REDOR NMR that provide direct confirmation that paclitaxel adopts a T-shaped conformation when it is bound to tubulin.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Rotational-echo double-resonance NMR-restrained model of the ternary complex of 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase.

The 46-kD enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase catalyzes the condensation of shikimate-3-phosphate (S3P) and phosphoenolpyruvate to form EPSP. The reaction is inhibited by N-(phosphonomethyl)-glycine (Glp), which, in the presence of S3P, binds to EPSP synthase to form a stable ternary complex. We have used solid-state NMR and molecular modeling to characterize the EPSP synthase-S3P-Glp ternary complex. Modeling began with the crystal coordinates of the unliganded protein, published distance restraints, and information from the chemical modification and mutagenesis literature on EPSP synthase. New inter-ligand and ligand-protein distances were obtained. These measurements utilized the native (31)P in S3P and Glp, biosynthetically (13)C-labeled S3P, specifically (13)C and (15)N labeled Glp, and a variety of protein-(15)N labels. Several models were investigated and tested for accuracy using the results of both new and previously published rotational-echo double resonance (REDOR) NMR experiments. The REDOR model is compared with the recently published X-ray crystal structure of the ternary complex, PDB code 1G6S. There is general agreement between the REDOR model and the crystal structure with respect to the global folding of the two domains of EPSP synthase and the relative positioning of S3P and Glp in the binding pocket. However, some of the REDOR data are in disagreement with predictions based on the coordinates of 1G6S, particularly those of the five arginines lining the binding site. We attribute these discrepancies to substantive differences in sample preparation for REDOR and X-ray crystallography. We applied the REDOR restraints to the 1G6S coordinates and created a REDOR-refined xray structure that agrees with the NMR results.

3-Phosphoshikimate 1-Carboxyvinyltransferase↗

PubMed2003

Conformation of a bound inhibitor of blood coagulant factor Xa.

13C[(15)N] and (13)C[(19)F] rotational-echo double-resonance NMR have been used to characterize the enzyme-bound structure of ZK-816042, an amidine-imidazoline inhibitor of human factor Xa (FXa). The NMR experiments were performed on a lyophilized FXa-inhibitor complex. The complex was formed in solution in the presence of stabilizing excipients and frozen after gradual supercooling prior to lyophilization. The results indicate that the inhibitor binds with a distribution of orientations of the imidazoline ring.

Amidines↗

PubMed2003

Human factor Xa bound amidine inhibitor conformation by double rotational-echo double resonance nuclear magnetic resonance and molecular dynamics simulations.

Double rotational-echo double resonance (double REDOR) NMR was used to investigate the conformation of a (13)C-, (15)N-, and (19)F-labeled inhibitor (Berlex Biosciences compound no. ZK-806299) bound to human factor Xa. Conformationally dependent carbon-fluorine dipolar couplings were measured by (13)C[(19)F] REDOR. Natural abundance carbon signals in the full-echo spectra were removed by (13)C[(15)N] REDOR. Major and minor binding modes were suggested by the NMR data, but only the former had adequate signal to noise for distance determinations. Molecular dynamics simulations restrained by double-REDOR-determined intramolecular (13)C-(19)F distances revealed two models for the dominant binding mode that are consistent with the NMR data. We conclude that ZK-806299 binds similarly to both FXa. Moreover, it appears to bind to FXa in a fashion previously demonstrated for ZK-807834, a more selective FXa inhibitor.

Amidines↗

PubMed2003

REDOR with a relative full-echo reference.

REDOR and REDOR-like 13C[19F] and 2H[19F] NMR experiments have been performed on lyophilized whole cells of Staphylococcus aureus. The bacteria were grown to maturity on media containing L-[13C(3)]alanine or L-[methyl-d(3)]alanine, and then complexed with the 4-fluorobiphenyl derivative of chloroeremomycin, an analogue of the widely used antibiotic, vancomycin. The position of the 19F of the drug bound in the bacterial cell wall was determined relative to L-alanine 13C and 2H labels in the peptidoglycan peptide stem that was closest to the fluorinated biphenyl moiety of the drug. These determinations were made by dipolar recoupling methods that do not require an absolute measurement of the REDOR full echo (the signal observed without rotor-synchronized dephasing pulses) of the labels in the peptide stem.

Alanine↗

PubMed2002

Rotational-echo double resonance characterization of the effects of vancomycin on cell wall synthesis in Staphylococcus aureus.

Cross-polarization magic-angle spinning and rotational-echo double resonance 13C and 15N NMR experiments have been performed on intact cells of Staphylococcus aureus labeled with D-[1-13C]alanine and [15N]glycine or with [1-13C]glycine and L-[epsilon-15N]lysine. The cells were harvested during stationary or exponential growth conditions, the latter in media with and without the addition of vancomycin. The results of these experiments allowed the in situ determination of the relative concentrations of peptidoglycan cross-links (the number of peptide-stem D-alanines covalently linked to a pentaglycyl bridge) and bridge-links (the number of peptide-stem lysines covalently linked to a pentaglycyl bridge). The concentration of cross-links remained constant in the presence of vancomycin, whereas the number of bridge-links decreased. These changes suggest that vancomycin (at therapeutic levels) interrupts peptidoglycan synthesis in S. aureus by interference with transglycosylation.

Alanine↗

PubMed2002

Rotational-echo double resonance characterization of vancomycin binding sites in Staphylococcus aureus.

Solid-state NMR experiments with stable isotope-labeled Staphylococcus aureus have provided insight into the structure of the peptidoglycan binding site of a potent fluorobiphenyl derivative of chloroeremomycin (Eli Lilly LY329332). Rotational-echo double resonance (REDOR) NMR provided internuclear distances from the 19F of this glycopeptide antibiotic to natural-abundance 31P and to specific 13C and 15N labels biosynthetically incorporated into the bacteria from labeled alanine, glycine, or lysine in the growth medium. Results from experiments with intact late log phase bacteria and cell walls indicated homogeneous drug-peptidoglycan binding. Drug dimers were not detected in situ, and the hydrophobic fluorobiphenyl group of LY329332 did not insert into the bilayer membrane. A model of the binding site consistent with the REDOR results positions the vancomycin cleft around an un-cross-linked D-Ala-D-Ala peptide stem with the fluorobiphenyl moiety of the antibiotic near the base of a second, proximate stem in a locally ordered peptidoglycan matrix.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed2002

Relative CSA-dipolar orientation from REDOR sidebands.

Algebraic expressions are given for the sideband intensities of REDOR dephasing experiments as a function of the relative orientation of the CSA and dipolar tensors. The expressions are straightforward to derive and implement and can be easily modified for variations in the spin systems, including distributions of distances and multiple dephasers. These expressions, along with the high sensitivity, resolution, and general robust nature of REDOR, make determining CSA-dipolar orientations from REDOR experiments reliable and, compared to full simulations, efficient and routine. Additionally, it is shown that even the +/-1 sidebands of fast-spinning samples may contain significant information about orientation. Finally, numerical integration of the expressions supports the intuitive notion that any difference in the sideband dephasing rates is evidence of preferred CSA-dipolar orientations. This fact can be used to gauge the extent of local molecular order in intermolecular dephasing experiments.

Anisotropy↗