Conformational heterogeneity in apo and drug-bound structures of Toxoplasma gondii prolyl-tRNA synthetase

In this study, structures of apo and FF-bound T. gondii (TgPRS) are revealed and the dynamic nature of the conformational changes that occur upon FF binding is unraveled. In addition, this study highlights significant conformational plasticity within two different crystal structures of apo PRSs but not within drug-bound PRSs. The apo PRSs exist in multi-conformational states and manifest pseudo-dimeric structures. In contrast, when FF is bound the PRS dimer adopts a highly symmetrical architecture. It is shown that TgPRS does not display extant fold switching, in contrast to P.   falciparum PRS, despite having over 65% sequence identity. Finally, structure-comparison analyses suggest the utility of r.m.s.d. per residue (r.m.s.d./res) as a robust tool to detect structural alterations even when the r.m.s.d. is low. Apo TgPRS reveals FF/HF-induced rigidity and this work has implications for drug-design studies that rely on the apo structures of target proteins.
Source: Acta Crystallographica Section F - Category: Biochemistry Authors: Tags: toxoplasmosis prolyl-tRNA synthetase enzyme – inhibitor complexes comparative crystallography drug design r.m.s.d. per residue profile apo holo transistions research communications Source Type: research
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