We studied the endocytosis of fluorescent glycosphingolipid (GSL) analogs in various cell types using pathway-specific inhibitors and colocalization studies with endocytic markers and DsRed caveolin-1 (cav-1). Based on inhibitor studies, all GSLs tested were internalized predominantly (Ͼ80%) by a clathrin-independent, caveolar-related mechanism, regardless of cell type. In addition, fluorescent lactosylceramide (LacCer) colocalized with DsRed-cav-1 in vesicular structures upon endocytosis in rat fibroblasts. The internalization mechanism for GSLs was unaffected by varying the carbohydrate headgroup or sphingosine backbone chain length; however, a fluorescent phosphatidylcholine analog was not internalized via caveolae, suggesting that the GSL ceramide core may be important for caveolar uptake. Internalization of fluorescent LacCer was reduced 80 -90% in cell types with low cav-1, but was dramatically stimulated by cav-1 overexpression. However, even in cells with low levels of cav-1, residual LacCer internalization was clathrin independent. In contrast, cholera toxin B subunit (CtxB), which binds endogenous GM 1 , was internalized via clathrin-independent endocytosis in cells with high cav-1 expression, whereas significant clathrin-dependent uptake occurred in cells with low cav-1. Fluorescent GM 1 , normally internalized by clathrin-independent endocytosis in HeLa cells with low cav-1, was induced to partially internalize via the clathrin pathway in the presence of CtxB. These results suggest that GSL analogs are selectively internalized via a caveolar-related mechanism in most cell types, whereas CtxB may undergo "pathway switching" when cav-1 levels are low.

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 C␣s, 0.30 Å). 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.Treatment of Plasmodium falciparum malaria has depended for decades on the use of the aminoquinoline chloroquine or the synergistic antifolate combination pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine. These drugs were characterized by their potency against the P. falciparum asexual intra-erythrocytic stages (responsible for malaria pathogenesis), their affordability and their safety. The occurrence and spread of drug-resistant strains of P. falciparum have largely contributed to a recent resurgence of malaria, which claims 1 to 3 million lives annually and which is endemic in inter-tropical areas representing 40% of the world's population (1). The current situation of antimalarial chemotherapy and resistance, in conjunction with the reappearance of malaria in formerly well-controlled areas, reinforces the need for new, highly potent antimalarials.Recent investigations into Apicomplexan parasites, including Plasmodium and Toxoplasma, have uncovered the existence of a unique organelle, the apicoplast (2-4). The finding that ciprofloxacin-mediated inhibition of plastid replication in Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites blocked parasite propagation provided evidence for the indispensable nature of this nonphotosynthetic plastid organelle (5). Studies of plastid inhibitors and apicoplast mis-segregation mutants confirmed the essential requirement of this organelle for normal parasite development and indicated that inhibition of apicoplast function or loss of this organelle resulted in parasite death following reinvasion of host cells (5-7). This organelle appears to derive ultimately from a cyanobacterial endosymbiont (4,8,9) and as such was postulated to contain prokaryotic-type metabolic pathways, of significant interest from the perspective of developing antiparasitic drugs (10). Recent studies indicate that these pathways include fatty acid and isoprenoid bios...

S-Adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (AdoMetDC) is a critical enzyme in the polyamine biosynthetic pathway and depends on a pyruvoyl group for the decarboxylation process. The crystal structures of the enzyme with various inhibitors at the active site have shown that the adenine base of the ligands adopts an unusual syn conformation when bound to the enzyme. To determine whether compounds that favor the syn conformation in solution would be more potent AdoMetDC inhibitors, several series of AdoMet substrate analogues with a variety of substituents at the 8-position of adenine were synthesized and analyzed for their ability to inhibit hAdoMetDC. The biochemical analysis indicated that an 8-methyl substituent resulted in more potent inhibitors, yet most other 8-substitutions provided no benefit over the parent compound. To understand these results, we used computational modeling and X-ray crystallography to study C8-substituted adenine analogues bound in the active site.