Drug design of selective 5'-nucleotidases inhibitors
Petr Pachl1), Jiří Brynda1,2), Ivan Rosenberg 2),
Milan Fábry1), Pavlína Řezáčová1,2),
1)Institute of Molecular Genetics, Flemingovo nam. 2, Prague 6, Prague, 16610, Czech Republic, 2)Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry AS CR, Flemingovo nam. 2, Prague 6, Prague, 16610, Czech Republic, Email: petr.pachl@img.cas.cz
The monophosphate 5'-nucleotidases, including 5'(3')-deoxyribonucleotidase,
belong to a family of enzymes that catalyze the dephosphorylation of nucleoside
monophosphates. The ribonucleotides and deoxyribonucleotides could be
synthesized de novo from
low-molecular-weight precursors or by salvage from nucleosides or nucleobases
coming from catabolism of nucleic acids[1]. In this salvage pathway,
ribonucleotides and deoxyribonucleotides are phosphorylated by nucleoside and
nucleotide kinases to maintain sufficient pools of dNTP's and NTP's for
synthesis of DNA and RNA. The phosphorylation by cellular nucleoside kinases is
opposed by 5'-nucleotidases that dephosphorylate ribo- and deoxyribonucleoside
monophosphates[2,3,4]. Besides their role in the regulation of physiological
dNTP pools, substrate cycles between ribonucleotidases and kinases may affect
the therapeutic action of pyrimidine nucleoside analogs used as anticancer and
antiviral agents. Such compounds require the nucleoside kinases activity for
phosphorylation to their active forms. Results of clinical and in vitro studies propose that an
increase in nucleotidase activity can interfere with nucleoside analogue
activation resulting in drug resistance[5].
The main goal of this project is the search for potent and selective inhibitors of mammalian 5'-nucleotidases based on nucleoside phosphonic acids and their derivatives and comparison of sensitivity of 5'-nucleotidases isolated from various sources toward individual inhibitors.
We have prepared 2 types of human 5'-nucleotidase: cytosolic and mitochondrial by recombinant expression in E. coli. The inhibitory properties of a series of nucleoside phosphonic acids derivatives are tested and for the most promising compounds the enzyme-inhibitor structure will be determined to serve as a lead for structure-based drug design efforts.
In general, compounds of strong and selective inhibitory potency are of high medicinal interest as antimetabolites for anticancer and antiviral therapy.
[1] P. Reichard: Interactions between deoxyribonucleotide and DNA synthesis. Annu Rev Biochem., 57 (1988), 349-74.
[2] S.A. Hunsucker, B.S. Mitchell, J. Spychala: The 5'-nucleotidases as regulators of nucleotide and drug metabolism. Pharmacol Ther., 107 (2005), 1-30.
[3] V. Bianchi, E. Pontis, P. Reichard: Interrelations between substrate cycles and de novo synthesis of pyrimidine deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates in 3T6 cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 83 (1986), 986-90.
[4] P. Bianchi, E. Fermo, F. Alfinito, C. Vercellati, M. Baserga, F. Ferraro, I. Guzzo, B. Rotoli, A. Zanella: Molecular characterization of six unrelated Italian patients affected by pyrimidine 5'-nucleotidase deficiency. Br J Haematol, 122 (2003), 847-51.
[5] C. Mazzon, C. Rampazzo, M.C. Scaini, L. Gallinaro, A. Karlsson, C. Meier, J. Balzarini, P. Reichard, V. Bianchi: Cytosolic and mitochondrial deoxyribonucleotidases: activity with substrate analogs, inhibitors and implications for therapy. Biochem Pharmacol, 66 (2003), 471-9.
Figure 1. X-ray structure structure of human cytosolic 5'-nucleotidase with catalytic magnesium ion represented
as a cyan sphere and modeled dGMP shown in stick model with yellow carbon atoms.