@phdthesis{Paasche2013,
  author    = {Paasche, Alexander},
  title     = {Mechanistic Insights into SARS Coronavirus Main Protease by Computational Chemistry Methods},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-79029},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {The SARS virus is the etiological agent of the severe acute respiratory syndrome, a deadly disease that caused more than 700 causalities in 2003. One of its viral proteins, the SARS coronavirus main protease, is considered as a potential drug target and represents an important model system for other coronaviruses. Despite extensive knowledge about this enzyme, it still lacks an effective anti-viral drug. Furthermore, it possesses some unusual features related to its active-site region. This work gives atomistic insights into the SARS coronavirus main protease and tries to reveal mechanistic aspects that control catalysis and inhibition. Thereby, it applies state-of-the-art computational methods to develop models for this enzyme that are capable to reproduce and interpreting the experimental observations. The theoretical investigations are elaborated over four main fields that assess the accuracy of the used methods, and employ them to understand the function of the active-site region, the inhibition mechanism, and the ligand binding. The testing of different quantum chemical methods reveals that their performance depends partly on the employed model. This can be a gas phase description, a continuum solvent model, or a hybrid QM/MM approach. The latter represents the preferred method for the atomistic modeling of biochemical reactions. A benchmarking uncovers some serious problems for semi-empirical methods when applied in proton transfer reactions. To understand substrate cleavage and inhibition of SARS coronavirus main protease, proton transfer reactions between the Cys/His catalytic dyad are calculated. Results show that the switching between neutral and zwitterionic state plays a central role for both mechanisms. It is demonstrated that this electrostatic trigger is remarkably influenced by substrate binding. Whereas the occupation of the active-site by the substrate leads to a fostered zwitterion formation, the inhibitor binding does not mimic this effect for the employed example. The underlying reason is related to the coverage of the active-site by the ligand, which gives new implications for rational improvements of inhibitors. More detailed insights into reversible and irreversible inhibition are derived from in silico screenings for the class of Michael acceptors that follow a conjugated addition reaction. From the comparison of several substitution patterns it becomes obvious that different inhibitor warheads follow different mechanisms. Nevertheless, the initial formation of a zwitterionic catalytic dyad is found as a common precondition for all inhibition reactions. Finally, non-covalent inhibitor binding is investigated for the case of SARS coranavirus main protease in complex with the inhibitor TS174. A novel workflow is developed that includes an interplay between theory and experiment in terms of molecular dynamic simulation, tabu search, and X-ray structure refinement. The results show that inhibitor binding is possible for multiple poses and stereoisomers of TS174.},
  subject      = {SARS},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Mishra2013,
  author    = {Mishra, Shambhavi},
  title     = {Structural and Functional Characterization of the Enzymes Involved in the Menaquinone Biosynthesis and Benzoate Degradation},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-90848},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {The present work illustrates the structural and biochemical characterization of two diverse proteins, BadI and MenD from Rhodopseudomonas palustris and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. BadI or 2-ketocyclohexanecarboxyl-CoA is one of the key enzymes involved in the anaerobic degradation of aromatic compounds. The degradation of aromatic compounds is a vital process for the maintenance of the biogeochemical carbon cycle and bioremediation of xenobiotic compounds, which if present at higher concentrations can cause potential hazards to humans. Due to the relatively inert nature of aromatic compounds, enzymes catalyzing their degradation are of special interest for industrial applications. BadI is one of the key enzymes involved in the anaerobic degradation of aromatic compounds into an aliphatic moiety. The major focus of this study was to provide mechanistic insights into the reaction catalyzed by BadI. BadI belongs to the crotonase superfamily and shares high sequence homology with the family members of MenB or dihydroxynaphthoate synthase. BadI is known to catalyze the cleavage of the cyclic ring of 2-ketocyclohexane carboxyl-CoA by hydrolyzing the C-C bond leading to the formation of the aliphatic compound pimelyl CoA. On the other hand MenB catalyzes the condensation reaction of o-succinylbenzoyl-CoA to dihydroxylnaphthoyl-CoA. A comprehensive amino acid sequence analysis between BadI and MenB showed that the active site residues of MenB from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (mtMenB) are conserved in BadI from Rhodopseudomonas palustris. MenB is involved in the menaquinone biosynthesis pathway and is a potential drug target against Mycobacterium tuberculosis as it has no known human homologs. Due to the high homology between MenB and BadI and the inability to obtain MenB-inhibitor complex structures we extended our interest to BadI to explore a potential substitute model for mtMenB as a drug target. In addition, BadI possesses some unique mechanistic characteristics. As mentioned before, it hydrolyzes the substrate via a retro Dieckmann's reaction contrasting its closest homolog MenB that catalyzes a ring closing reaction through a Dieckmann's reaction. Nevertheless the active site residues in both enzymes seem to be highly conserved. We therefore decided to pursue the structural characterization of BadI to shed light on the similarities and differences between BadI and MenB and thereby provide some insights how they accomplish the contrasting reactions described above. We determined the first structures of BadI, in its apo and a substrate mimic bound form. The crystal structures revealed that the overall fold of BadI is similar to other crotonase superfamily members. However, there is no indication of domain swapping in BadI as observed for MenB. The absence of domain swapping is quite remarkable because the domain swapped C-terminal helical domain in MenB provides a tyrosine that is imperative for catalysis and is also conserved in the BadI sequence. Comparison of the active sites revealed that the C-terminus of BadI folds onto its core in such a way that the conserved tyrosine is located in the same position as in MenB and can form interactions with the ligand molecule. The structure of BadI also confirms the role of a serine and an aspartate in ligand interaction, thus validating that the conserved active site triad participates in the enzymatic reaction. The structures also reveal a noteworthy movement of the active site aspartate that adopts two major conformations. Structural studies further illuminated close proximity of the active site serine to a water and chlorine molecule and to the carbon atom at which the carbonyl group of the true substrate would reside. Biochemical characterization of BadI using enzyme kinetics validated that the suggested active site residues are involved in substrate interaction. However, the role of these residues is very distinct, with the serine assuming a major role. Thus, the present work ascertain the participation of putative active site residues and demonstrates that the active site residues of BadI adopt very distinctive roles compared to their closest homolog MenB. The MenD protein also referred to as SEPHCHC (2-succinyl-5-enolpyruvyl-6- hydroxy-3-cyclohexene-1-carboxylic acid) synthase is one of the enzymes involved in menaquinone biosynthesis in Staphylococcous aureus. Though S. aureus is usually considered as a commensal it can act as a remarkable pathogen when it crosses the epithelium, causing a wide spectrum of disorders ranging from skin infection to life threatening diseases. Small colony variants (SCVs), a slow growing, small sized subpopulation of the bacteria has been associated with persistent, recurrent and antibiotic resistant infections. These variants show autotrophy for thiamine, menaquinone or hemin. Menaquinone is an essential component in the electron transport pathway in gram-positive organisms. Therefore, enzymes partaking in this pathway are attractive drug targets against pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Bacillus subtilis. MenD, an enzyme catalyzing the first irreversible step in the menaquinone biosynthetic pathway has been implicated in the SCV phenotype of S. aureus. In the present work we explored biochemical and structural properties of this important enzyme. Our structural analysis revealed that despite its low sequence identity of 28\%, the overall fold of staphylococcal MenD (saMenD) is similar to Escherichia coli MenD (ecMenD) albeit with some significant disparities. Major structural differences can be observed near the active site region of the protein and are profound in the C-terminal helix and a loop near the active site. The loop contains critical residues for cofactor binding and is well ordered only in the ecMenD-ThDP structure, while in the apo and substrate bound structures of ecMenD the loop is primarily disordered. In our saMenD structure the loop is for the first time completely ordered in the apo form and displays a novel conformation of the cofactor-binding loop. The loop adopts an unusual open conformation and the conserved residues, which are responsible for cofactor binding are located too far away to form a productive complex with the cofactor in this conformation. Additionally, biochemical studies in conjugation with the structural data aided in the identification of the substrate-binding pocket and delineated residues contributing to its binding and catalysis. Thus the present work successfully divulged the unique biochemical and structural characteristics of saMenD.},
  subject      = {Benzoate},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Lee2013,
  author    = {Lee, Wook},
  title     = {Computational study on the catalytic mechanism of mtKasA},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-83989},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {Das Enzym KasA spielt eine entscheidende Rolle in der Biosynthese von Mykols{\"a}uren, den Bausteinen der Zellw{\"a}nde von Mycobacteriumtuberculosis. Dessen essentielle Notwendigkeit zeigt sich bei Abwesenheit von KasA in einer Zelllyse (Aufl{\"o}sung von Zellen) bei Mycobacteriumtuberculosis. Durch seine Bedeutung f{\"u}r Mycobacteriumtuberculosis, dem Erreger von Tuberkulose und damit der zweith{\"a}ufigsten Todesursache durch Infektionskrankheiten, stellt KasA ein vielversprechendes Ziel f{\"u}r die Entwicklung neuer Medikamente gegen Tuberkulose dar. Durch das Auftreten von extensiv resistenten St{\"a}mmen welche die meisten bekannten Antibiotika zur Bek{\"a}mpfung von Tuberkulose inaktivieren wird es dringend notwendig neue Medikamente gegen Tuberkulose zu entwickeln. In Kapitel 3.1 wird der Protonierungszustand der katalytischen Reste im Ruhezustand untersucht. F{\"u}r diese Untersuchungen wurden Free Energy Perturbation (FEP) Rechnungen und MD Simulationen verwendet. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass der zwitterionische Zustand am wahrscheinlichsten ist. Um diese Aussage mit weiteren handfesten Daten zu untermauern wurden Potential(hyper)fl{\"a}chen (PES) f{\"u}r den Protonentransfer zwischen neutralen und zwitterionischen Zustand mit Hilfe von QM/MM Methoden berechnet. Durch die starke Abh{\"a}ngigkeit der QM/MM Optimierung von der Ausgangsstruktur war es nicht m{\"o}glich konsistente Ergebnisse f{\"u}r diese Berechnungen zu bekommen. Um dieses Problem zu umgehen wurde ein auf QM/MM basierendes Umbrella Sampling mit Semiempirischen Methoden (RM1) durchgef{\"u}hrt. Die sich daraus ergebende PMF Fl{\"a}che zeigt das der zwitterionische Zustand stabiler ist als der neutrale Zustand. In Kapitel 3.2 wurde der Protonierungszustand der entsprechenden Reste im Acyl-Enzym Zustand untersucht. Im Unterschied zu anderen katalytischen Resten ist der Protonierungszustand von His311 ist nicht eindeutig im Acyl-Enzym Zustand und es ergeben sich aus den verschiedenen Protonierungszust{\"a}nden verschiedene Decarboxylierungsmechanismen. Um den wahrscheinlichsten Protonierungszustand bez{\"u}glich der freien Energie zu bestimmen wurden FEP Rechnungen durchgef{\"u}hrt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der pKa Wert an Nδ betr{\"a}chtlich durch die Enzymumgebung verringert wird, w{\"a}hrend dies f{\"u}r Nε nicht der Fall ist. Zus{\"a}tzlich dazu wurden die PMF Profile f{\"u}r den Protonentransfer zwischen Lys340 und Glu354 mit der QM/MM basierten Umbrella Sampling Methode berechnet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass das Lys340/Glu354 Paar eher neutral als ionisch ist, wenn His311 an Nε protoniert ist. Ein relativ hoher ionischer Charakter des Lys340/Glu354 Paares, wenn His311 doppelt protoniert ist, gibt einen wertvollen Einblick in die Rolle welche das Lys340/Glu354 Paar beim verschieben des Protonierungszustandes von Nδ zu Nε im His311 nach dem Acyltransferschritt spielt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass His311 neutral und an Nε protoniert ist. Ebenso ist das Lys340/Glu354 Paar neutral im Acyl-Enzym Zustand. Diese berechneten Ergebnisse f{\"u}hren zu dem Schluss, dass die Decarboxylierung durch ein Oxyanion Loch erleichtert wird welches aus zwei katalytischen Histidin Resten besteht. In Kapitel 3.3 wurde der Protonierungszustand der katalytischen Reste im Ruhezustand erneut untersucht da eine aktuelle Benchmarkstudie zeigte, dass die verwendete Semiempirische Methode (RM1) in Kapitel 3.1 dazu tendiert die Stabilisation des zwitterionischen Zustandes zu {\"u}bersch{\"a}tzen. Auch wurde in Kapitel 3.1 das Lys340/Glu354 Paar als rein ionisch angesehen, w{\"a}hrend sich in Kapitel 3.2 herausstellte, dass es sich um eine Mischung aus neutralen und ionischen Charakter handelt. Die neuen Untersuchungen beinhalten eine gr{\"o}ßere QM Region inklusive des Lys340/Glu354 Paares. Der daf{\"u}r verwendete BLYP/6-31G** Ansatz ist ausreichend akkurat f{\"u}r die aktuelle Fragestellung, was durch Vergleichsrechnungen bewiesen wurde. Die neuen Ergebnisse der QM/MM MD und FEP Rechnungen deuten an, dass die katalytischen Reste im Ruhezustand h{\"o}chst wahrscheinlich neutral vorliegen. Dies wiederum f{\"u}hrt zu der Frage wie KasA aktiviert werden kann um die katalytische Reaktion zu initiieren. Auf der Basis der Ergebnisse der MD Simulationen und FEP Rechnungen f{\"u}r den His311Ala Mutanten in Kapitel 3.1 stellten wir die Hypothese auf, dass die offene Konformation von Phe404 die Aktivierung der katalytischen Reste durch die (Aus)bildung einer starken Wasserstoffbindung einleitet. Die QM/MM MD Simulation best{\"a}tigt dass diese Aktivierung der katalytischen Reste durch die offene Konformation des Phe404 bewerkstelligt werden kann. Das entsprechende auf Kraftfeld basierende PMF Profil zeigt auch, dass dieser Konformationswechsel energetisch realisierbar ist. Die Verteilung der hydrophilen und hydrophoben Reste in der Malonyl Bindungstasche in Verbindung mit unseren berechneten Ergebnissen geben einen Einblick in den detaillierten},
  subject      = {Tuberkelbakterium},
  language  = {en}
}