Summary Novel inhibitors are needed to counteract the rapid emergence of drug-resistant HIV variants. HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) has both DNA polymerase and RNase H (RNH) enzymatic activities, but approved drugs that inhibit RT target the polymerase. Inhibitors that act against new targets, like RNH, would be effective against all of the current drug-resistant variants. Here, we present 2.80 Å and 2.04 Å resolution crystal structures of an RNH inhibitor, β-thujaplicinol, bound at the RNH active site of both HIV-1 RT and an isolated RNH domain. β-thujaplicinol chelates two divalent metal ions at the RNH active site. We provide biochemical evidence that β-thujaplicinol is a slow-binding RNH inhibitor with non-competitive kinetics and suggest that it forms a tropylium ion that interacts favorably with RT and the RNA:DNA substrate.

Squalene synthase catalyzes the biosynthesis of squalene, a key cholesterol precursor, through a reductive dimerization of two farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) molecules. The reaction is unique when compared with those of other FPP-utilizing enzymes and proceeds in two distinct steps, both of which involve the formation of carbocationic reaction intermediates. Because FPP is located at the final branch point in the isoprenoid biosynthesis pathway, its conversion to squalene through the action of squalene synthase represents the first committed step in the formation of cholesterol, making it an attractive target for therapeutic intervention. We have determined, for the first time, the crystal structures of recombinant human squalene synthase complexed with several different inhibitors. The structure shows that SQS is folded as a single domain, with a large channel in the middle of one face. The active sites of the two half-reactions catalyzed by the enzyme are located in the central channel, which is lined on both sides by conserved aspartate and arginine residues, which are known from mutagenesis experiments to be involved in FPP binding. One end of this channel is exposed to solvent, whereas the other end leads to a completely enclosed pocket surrounded by conserved hydrophobic residues. These observations, along with mutagenesis data identifying residues that affect substrate binding and activity, suggest that two molecules of FPP bind at one end of the channel, where the active center of the first half-reaction is located, and then the stable reaction intermediate moves into the deep pocket, where it is sequestered from solvent and the second half-reaction occurs. Five ␣ helices surrounding the active center are structurally homologous to the active core in the three other isoprenoid biosynthetic enzymes whose crystal structures are known, even though there is no detectable sequence homology.The isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway yields a structurally diverse family of low molecular weight molecules with a variety of physiological functions (1-3). In humans, the pathway produces such critical end-products as cholesterol, bile acids, dolichol, ubiquinone, steroid hormones, and prenylated proteins. Chain length-selective prenyltransferases catalyze the successive head-to-tail addition of the 5-carbon (C5-) isopentenyl diphosphate to the growing isoprene chain to form a series of linear C10-, C15-, C20-and C25-isoprenoid diphosphates. Cyclic terpenes are formed from these linear isoprenoid diphosphates through the actions of numerous class I terpene cyclases (3). The longer 30-carbon linear terpene, squalene, of cholesterol biosynthesis and the 40-carbon linear terpene, phytoene, of carotenoid biosynthesis are formed by head-to-head condensations, respectively, of two 15-carbon and 20-carbon isoprenoid diphosphates, through the actions of the prenyltransferases squalene synthase and phytoene synthase (4) and are subsequently converted into their respective cyclic terpenes through the action of specific class II terpene c...

Sorbitol dehydrogenase (hSDH) and aldose reductase form the polyol pathway that interconverts glucose and fructose. Redox changes from overproduction of the coenzyme NADH by SDH may play a role in diabetes-induced dysfunction in sensitive tissues, making SDH a therapeutic target for diabetic complications. We have purified and determined the crystal structures of human SDH alone, SDH with NAD(+), and SDH with NADH and an inhibitor that is competitive with fructose. hSDH is a tetramer of identical, catalytically active subunits. In the apo and NAD(+) complex, the catalytic zinc is coordinated by His69, Cys44, Glu70, and a water molecule. The inhibitor coordinates the zinc through an oxygen and a nitrogen atom with the concomitant dissociation of Glu70. The inhibitor forms hydrophobic interactions to NADH and likely sterically occludes substrate binding. The structure of the inhibitor complex provides a framework for developing more potent inhibitors of hSDH.

Cathepsin S, a lysosomal cysteine protease of the papain superfamily, has been implicated in the preparation of MHC class II alphabeta-heterodimers for antigen presentation to CD4+ T lymphocytes and is considered a potential target for autoimmune-disease therapy. Selective inhibition of this enzyme may be therapeutically useful for attenuating the hyperimmune responses in a number of disorders. We determined the three-dimensional crystal structures of human cathepsin S in complex with potent covalent inhibitors, the aldehyde inhibitor 4-morpholinecarbonyl-Phe-(S-benzyl)Cys-Psi(CH=O), and the vinyl sulfone irreversible inhibitor 4-morpholinecarbonyl-Leu-Hph-Psi(CH=CH-SO(2)-phenyl) at resolutions of 1.8 and 2.0 A, respectively. In the structure of the cathepsin S-aldehyde complex, the tetrahedral thiohemiacetal adduct favors the S-configuration, in which the oxygen atom interacts with the imidazole group of the active site His164 rather than with the oxyanion hole. The present structures provide a detailed map of noncovalent intermolecular interactions established in the substrate-binding subsites S3 to S1' of cathepsin S. In the S2 pocket, which is the binding affinity hot spot of cathepsin S, the Phe211 side chain can assume two stable conformations that accommodate either the P2-Leu or a bulkier P2-Phe side chain. This structural plasticity of the S2 pocket in cathepsin S explains the selective inhibition of cathepsin S over cathepsin K afforded by inhibitors with the P2-Phe side chain. Comparison with the structures of cathepsins K, V, and L allows delineation of local intermolecular contacts that are unique to cathepsin S.