I03-Macromolecular Crystallography
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Emily C.
Hank
,
Nicholas D.
D'Arcy-Evans
,
Emma R.
Scaletti
,
Carlos
Benítez-Buelga
,
Olov
Wallner
,
Florian
Ortis
,
Kaixin
Zhou
,
Liuzhen
Meng
,
Alicia
Del Prado
,
Patricia
Calvo
,
Ingrid
Almlöf
,
Elisée
Wiita
,
Karen
Nierlin
,
Sara
Kosenina
,
Andreas
Krämer
,
Alice
Eddershaw
,
Mario
Kehler
,
Maeve
Long
,
Ann-Sofie
Jemth
,
Holly
Dawson
,
Josephine
Stewart
,
Adam
Dickey
,
Mikhael E.
Astorga
,
Marek
Varga
,
Evert J.
Homan
,
Martin
Scobie
,
Stefan
Knapp
,
Leandro
Sastre
,
Pal
Stenmark
,
Miguel
De Vega
,
Thomas
Helleday
,
Maurice
Michel
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[15806, 21625]
Open Access
Abstract: Bifunctional DNA glycosylases employ an active site lysine or the N-terminus to form a Schiff base with an abasic (AP) site base excision repair intermediate. For 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase 1 (OGG1), cleaving this reversible structure is the rate-determining step in the initiation of 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG) repair in DNA. Evolution has led OGG1 to use a product-assisted catalysis approach, where the excised 8-oxoG acts as a Brønsted base for cleavage of a Schiff base intermediate. However, the physicochemical properties of 8-oxoG significantly limit the inherent enzymatic turnover leading to a weak, cellularly absent, AP lyase activity. We hypothesized that chemical synthesis of purine analogues enables access to complex structures that are suitable as product-like catalysts. Herein, the nucleobase landscape is profiled for its potential to increase OGG1 Schiff base cleavage. 8-Substituted 6-thioguanines emerge as potent and selective scaffolds enabling OGG1 to cleave AP sites opposite any canonical nucleobase by β-elimination. This effectively broadens the enzymatic substrate scope of OGG1, shaping a complete, artificial AP-lyase function. In addition, a second class of compounds, 6-substituted pyrazolo-[3,4-d]-pyrimidines, stimulate OGG1 function at high pH, while thioguanines govern enzymatic control at acidic pH. This enables up to 20-fold increased enzyme turnover and a de novo OGG1 β-elimination in conditions commonly not tolerated. The tool compounds employed here are non-toxic in cells and stimulate the repair of AP sites through a natural, APE1 dependent pathway, as opposed to previously reported β,δ-lyase stimulator TH10785.
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Oct 2025
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I03-Macromolecular Crystallography
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[21625]
Open Access
Abstract: Listeria monocytogenes is a ubiquitous, psychrotrophic human pathogen that can cause listeriosis, a serious illness for vulnerable populations. Some foods, such as Hispanic-style fresh cheeses like queso fresco, pose a specific risk because there are no widely accepted or available methods for L. monocytogenes mitigation that are both effective and able to maintain the properties of the products. Listeria-specific bacteriophages encode endolysins that are able to cleave the peptidoglycan layer of L. monocytogenes cells externally, showing promise as a potential solution to this problem. PlyP100, from the GRAS Listeria phage P100, is one such endolysin that can prevent the growth of L. monocytogenes in both lab culture conditions and a miniaturized queso fresco model. In this work, we aimed to understand the structural and functional properties of PlyP100. An AlphaFold prediction suggested the presence of three separate domains (D1, D2, and D3). By solving a crystal structure of D1 and assessing various domain truncations, we present evidence that D1 is responsible for catalytic activity, D3 is sufficient for cell wall binding, and D2 is necessary for full function of the enzyme against live cells. Additionally, we performed point mutations in D1 and compared PlyP100 to proteins with similar structures, including S. pneumoniae LytA and Listeria endolysin Ply511, in order to understand its specific enzymatic mechanism and target strain specificity. These insights into the structure and function of PlyP100 will aid future work aiming to engineer better endolysins as safe food antimicrobials.
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May 2025
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I03-Macromolecular Crystallography
I04-Macromolecular Crystallography
I24-Microfocus Macromolecular Crystallography
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Andreas
Luttens
,
Duc Duy
Vo
,
Emma R.
Scaletti
,
Elisée
Wiita
,
Ingrid
Almlöf
,
Olov
Wallner
,
Jonathan
Davies
,
Sara
Kosenina
,
Liuzhen
Meng
,
Maeve
Long
,
Oliver
Mortusewicz
,
Geoffrey
Masuyer
,
Flavio
Ballante
,
Maurice
Michel
,
Evert
Homan
,
Martin
Scobie
,
Christina
Kalderén
,
Ulrika
Warpman Berglund
,
Andrii V.
Tarnovskiy
,
Dmytro S.
Radchenko
,
Yurii S.
Moroz
,
Jan
Kihlberg
,
Pål
Stenmark
,
Thomas
Helleday
,
Jens
Carlsson
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[21625]
Open Access
Abstract: Fragment-based screening can catalyze drug discovery by identifying novel scaffolds, but this approach is limited by the small chemical libraries studied by biophysical experiments and the challenging optimization process. To expand the explored chemical space, we employ structure-based docking to evaluate orders-of-magnitude larger libraries than those used in traditional fragment screening. We computationally dock a set of 14 million fragments to 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG1), a difficult drug target involved in cancer and inflammation, and evaluate 29 highly ranked compounds experimentally. Four of these bind to OGG1 and X-ray crystallography confirms the binding modes predicted by docking. Furthermore, we show how fragment elaboration using searches among billions of readily synthesizable compounds identifies submicromolar inhibitors with anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects in cells. Comparisons of virtual screening strategies to explore a chemical space of 1022 compounds illustrate that fragment-based design enables enumeration of all molecules relevant for inhibitor discovery. Virtual fragment screening is hence a highly efficient strategy for navigating the rapidly growing combinatorial libraries and can serve as a powerful tool to accelerate drug discovery efforts for challenging therapeutic targets.
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Feb 2025
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I03-Macromolecular Crystallography
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[21625]
Open Access
Abstract: Isoprene pyrophosphates play a crucial role in the synthesis of a diverse array of essential nonsterol and sterol biomolecules and serve as substrates for posttranslational isoprenylation of proteins, enabling specific anchoring to cellular membranes. Hydrolysis of isoprene pyrophosphates would be a means to modulate their levels, downstream products, and protein isoprenylation. While NUDIX hydrolases from plants have been described to catalyze the hydrolysis of isoprene pyrophosphates, homologous enzymes with this function in animals have not yet been reported. In this study, we screened an extensive panel of human NUDIX hydrolases for activity in hydrolyzing isoprene pyrophosphates. We found that human nucleotide triphosphate diphosphatase NUDT15 and 8-oxo-dGDP phosphatase NUDT18 efficiently catalyze the hydrolysis of several physiologically relevant isoprene pyrophosphates. Notably, we demonstrate that geranyl pyrophosphate is an excellent substrate for NUDT18, with a catalytic efficiency of 2.1 × 105 m−1·s−1, thus making it the best substrate identified for NUDT18 to date. Similarly, geranyl pyrophosphate proved to be the best isoprene pyrophosphate substrate for NUDT15, with a catalytic efficiency of 4.0 × 104 M−1·s−1. LC–MS analysis of NUDT15 and NUDT18 catalyzed isoprene pyrophosphate hydrolysis revealed the generation of the corresponding monophosphates and inorganic phosphate. Furthermore, we solved the crystal structure of NUDT15 in complex with the hydrolysis product geranyl phosphate at a resolution of 1.70 Å. This structure revealed that the active site nicely accommodates the hydrophobic isoprenoid moiety and helped identify key binding residues. Our findings imply that isoprene pyrophosphates are endogenous substrates of NUDT15 and NUDT18, suggesting they are involved in animal isoprene pyrophosphate metabolism.
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Jun 2024
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I03-Macromolecular Crystallography
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[21625]
Open Access
Abstract: The glycosyltransferase WaaG in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PaWaaG) is involved in synthesis of the core region of lipopolysaccharides. It is a promising target for developing adjuvants that could help in the uptake of antibiotics. Herein we have determined structures of PaWaaG in complex with the nucleotide-sugars UDP-glucose, UDP-galactose and UDP-GalNAc. Structural comparison with the homologue from Escherichia coli (EcWaaG) revealed five key differences in the sugar binding pocket. Solution-state NMR analysis showed that wildtype PaWaaG specifically hydrolyzes UDP-GalNAc and unlike EcWaaG, does not hydrolyze UDP-glucose. Furthermore, we found that a PaWaaG mutant (Y97F/T208R/N282A/T283A/T285I) designed to resemble the EcWaaG sugar binding site, only hydrolyzed UDP-glucose, underscoring the importance of the identified amino acids in substrate specificity. However, neither wildtype PaWaaG nor the PaWaaG mutant capable of hydrolyzing UDP-glucose was able to complement an E. coli ΔwaaG strain, indicating that more remains to be uncovered about the function of PaWaaG in vivo. This structural and biochemical information will guide future structure-based drug design efforts targeting PaWaaG.
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Sep 2023
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I04-1-Macromolecular Crystallography (fixed wavelength)
I04-Macromolecular Crystallography
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Olov
Wallner
,
Armando
Cázares-Körner
,
Emma R.
Scaletti
,
Geoffrey
Masuyer
,
Tove
Bekkhus
,
Torkild
Visnes
,
Kirill
Mamonov
,
Florian
Ortis
,
Thomas
Lundbäck
,
Maria
Volkova
,
Tobias
Koolmeister
,
Elisée
Wiita
,
Olga
Loseva
,
Monica
Pandey
,
Evert
Homan
,
Carlos
Benítez-Buelga
,
Jonathan
Davies
,
Martin
Scobie
,
Ulrika Warpman
Berglund
,
Christina
Kalderén
,
Pal
Stenmark
,
Thomas
Helleday
,
Maurice
Michel
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[15806, 21625]
Open Access
Abstract: 8-oxo Guanine DNA Glycosylase 1 is the initiating enzyme within base excision repair and removes oxidized guanines from damaged DNA. Since unrepaired 8-oxoG could lead to G:C→T:A transversion, base removal is of utmost importance for cells to ensure genomic integrity. For cells with elevated levels of reactive oxygen species this dependency is further increased. In the past we and others have validated OGG1 as a target for inhibitors to treat cancer and inflammation. Here, we present the optimization campaign that led to the broadly used tool compound TH5487. Based on results from a small molecule screening campaign, we performed hit to lead expansion and arrived at potent and selective substituted N -piperidinyl-benzimidazolones. Using X-ray crystallography data, we describe the surprising binding mode of different members of the class. Potent members adopt a chair within the N -Piperidinyl-linker, while a boat conformation was found for weaker analogues.
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Sep 2022
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I04-1-Macromolecular Crystallography (fixed wavelength)
I04-Macromolecular Crystallography
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Maurice
Michel
,
Carlos
Benítez-Buelga
,
Patricia A.
Calvo
,
Bishoy M. F.
Hanna
,
Oliver
Mortusewicz
,
Geoffrey
Masuyer
,
Jonathan
Davies
,
Olov
Wallner
,
Sanjiv
Kumar
,
Julian J.
Albers
,
Sergio
Castañeda-Zegarra
,
Ann-Sofie
Jemth
,
Torkild
Visnes
,
Ana
Sastre-Perona
,
Akhilesh N.
Danda
,
Evert J.
Homan
,
Karthick
Marimuthu
,
Zhao
Zhenjun
,
Celestine N.
Chi
,
Antonio
Sarno
,
Elisée
Wiita
,
Catharina
Von Nicolai
,
Anna J.
Komor
,
Varshni
Rajagopal
,
Sarah
Müller
,
Emily C.
Hank
,
Marek
Varga
,
Emma R.
Scaletti
,
Monica
Pandey
,
Stella
Karsten
,
Hanne
Haslene-Hox
,
Simon
Loevenich
,
Petra
Marttila
,
Azita
Rasti
,
Kirill
Mamonov
,
Florian
Ortis
,
Fritz
Schömberg
,
Olga
Loseva
,
Josephine
Stewart
,
Nicholas
D’arcy-Evans
,
Tobias
Koolmeister
,
Martin
Henriksson
,
Dana
Michel
,
Ana
De Ory
,
Lucia
Acero
,
Oriol
Calvete
,
Martin
Scobie
,
Christian
Hertweck
,
Ivan
Vilotijevic
,
Christina
Kalderén
,
Ana
Osorio
,
Rosario
Perona
,
Alexandra
Stolz
,
Pal
Stenmark
,
Ulrika
Warpman Berglund
,
Miguel
De Vega
,
Thomas
Helleday
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[15806, 21625]
Abstract: Oxidative DNA damage is recognized by 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG) DNA glycosylase 1 (OGG1), which excises 8-oxoG, leaving a substrate for apurinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) and initiating repair. Here, we describe a small molecule (TH10785) that interacts with the phenylalanine-319 and glycine-42 amino acids of OGG1, increases the enzyme activity 10-fold, and generates a previously undescribed β,δ-lyase enzymatic function. TH10785 controls the catalytic activity mediated by a nitrogen base within its molecular structure. In cells, TH10785 increases OGG1 recruitment to and repair of oxidative DNA damage. This alters the repair process, which no longer requires APE1 but instead is dependent on polynucleotide kinase phosphatase (PNKP1) activity. The increased repair of oxidative DNA lesions with a small molecule may have therapeutic applications in various diseases and aging.
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Jun 2022
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I03-Macromolecular Crystallography
I04-Macromolecular Crystallography
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Nadilly
Bonagas
,
Nina M. S.
Gustafsson
,
Martin
Henriksson
,
Petra
Marttila
,
Robert
Gustafsson
,
Elisée
Wiita
,
Sanjay
Borhade
,
Alanna C.
Green
,
Karl S. A.
Vallin
,
Antonio
Sarno
,
Richard
Svensson
,
Camilla
Göktürk
,
Therese
Pham
,
Ann-Sofie
Jemth
,
Olga
Loseva
,
Victoria
Cookson
,
Nicole
Kiweler
,
Lars
Sandberg
,
Azita
Rasti
,
Judith E.
Unterlass
,
Martin
Haraldsson
,
Yasmin
Andersson
,
Emma R.
Scaletti
,
Christoffer
Bengtsson
,
Cynthia B. J.
Paulin
,
Kumar
Sanjiv
,
Eldar
Abdurakhmanov
,
Linda
Pudelko
,
Ben
Kunz
,
Matthieu
Desroses
,
Petar
Iliev
,
Katarina
Färnegårdh
,
Andreas
Krämer
,
Neeraj
Garg
,
Maurice
Michel
,
Sara
Häggblad
,
Malin
Jarvius
,
Christina
Kalderén
,
Amanda Bögedahl
Jensen
,
Ingrid
Almlöf
,
Stella
Karsten
,
Si Min
Zhang
,
Maria
Häggblad
,
Anders
Eriksson
,
Jianping
Liu
,
Björn
Glinghammar
,
Natalia
Nekhotiaeva
,
Fredrik
Klingegård
,
Tobias
Koolmeister
,
Ulf
Martens
,
Sabin
Llona-Minguez
,
Ruth
Moulson
,
Helena
Nordström
,
Vendela
Parrow
,
Leif
Dahllund
,
Birger
Sjöberg
,
Irene L.
Vargas
,
Duy Duc
Vo
,
Johan
Wannberg
,
Stefan
Knapp
,
Hans E.
Krokan
,
Per I.
Arvidsson
,
Martin
Scobie
,
Johannes
Meiser
,
Pal
Stenmark
,
Ulrika Warpman
Berglund
,
Evert J.
Homan
,
Thomas
Helleday
Open Access
Abstract: The folate metabolism enzyme MTHFD2 (methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase/cyclohydrolase) is consistently overexpressed in cancer but its roles are not fully characterized, and current candidate inhibitors have limited potency for clinical development. In the present study, we demonstrate a role for MTHFD2 in DNA replication and genomic stability in cancer cells, and perform a drug screen to identify potent and selective nanomolar MTHFD2 inhibitors; protein cocrystal structures demonstrated binding to the active site of MTHFD2 and target engagement. MTHFD2 inhibitors reduced replication fork speed and induced replication stress followed by S-phase arrest and apoptosis of acute myeloid leukemia cells in vitro and in vivo, with a therapeutic window spanning four orders of magnitude compared with nontumorigenic cells. Mechanistically, MTHFD2 inhibitors prevented thymidine production leading to misincorporation of uracil into DNA and replication stress. Overall, these results demonstrate a functional link between MTHFD2-dependent cancer metabolism and replication stress that can be exploited therapeutically with this new class of inhibitors.
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Feb 2022
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I03-Macromolecular Crystallography
I04-Macromolecular Crystallography
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Open Access
Abstract: Ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) is an essential enzyme with a complex mechanism of allosteric regulation found in nearly all living organisms. Class I RNRs are composed of two proteins, a large α-subunit (R1) and a smaller β-subunit (R2) that exist as homodimers, that combine to form an active heterotetramer. Aquifex aeolicus is a hyperthermophilic bacterium with an unusual RNR encoding a 346-residue intein in the DNA sequence encoding its R2 subunit. We present the first structures of the A. aeolicus R1 and R2 (AaR1 and AaR2, respectively) proteins as well as the biophysical and biochemical characterization of active and inactive A. aeolicus RNR. While the active oligomeric state and activity regulation of A. aeolicus RNR are similar to those of other characterized RNRs, the X-ray crystal structures also reveal distinct features and adaptations. Specifically, AaR1 contains a β-hairpin hook structure at the dimer interface, which has an interesting π-stacking interaction absent in other members of the NrdAh subclass, and its ATP cone houses two ATP molecules. We determined structures of two AaR2 proteins: one purified from a construct lacking the intein (AaR2) and a second purified from a construct including the intein sequence (AaR2_genomic). These structures in the context of metal content analysis and activity data indicate that AaR2_genomic displays much higher iron occupancy and activity compared to AaR2, suggesting that the intein is important for facilitating complete iron incorporation, particularly in the Fe2 site of the mature R2 protein, which may be important for the survival of A. aeolicus in low-oxygen environments.
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Dec 2021
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I24-Microfocus Macromolecular Crystallography
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Daniel
Rehling
,
Si Min
Zhang
,
Ann-Sofie
Jemth
,
Tobias
Koolmeister
,
Adam
Throup
,
Olov
Wallner
,
Emma
Scaletti
,
Takaya
Moriyama
,
Rina
Nishii
,
Jonathan
Davies
,
Matthieu
Desroses
,
Sean G.
Rudd
,
Martin
Scobie
,
Evert
Homan
,
Ulrika Warpman
Berglund
,
Jun J.
Yang
,
Thomas
Helleday
,
Pal
Stenmark
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[21625]
Open Access
Abstract: The enzyme NUDT15 efficiently hydrolyses the active metabolites of thiopurine drugs, which are routinely used for treating cancer and inflammatory diseases. Loss-of-function variants in NUDT15 are strongly associated with thiopurine intolerance, such as leukopenia, and pre-emptive NUDT15 genotyping has been clinically implemented to personalize thiopurine dosing. However, understanding the molecular consequences of these variants has been difficult, as no structural information was available for NUDT15 proteins encoded by clinically actionable pharmacogenetic variants due to their inherent instability. Recently, the small molecule NUDT15 inhibitor TH1760 has been shown to sensitize cells to thiopurines, through enhanced accumulation of 6-thio-guanine in DNA. Building upon this, we herein report the development of the potent and specific NUDT15 inhibitor, TH7755. TH7755 demonstrates a greatly improved cellular target engagement and 6-thioguanine potentiation compared to TH1760, while showing no cytotoxicity on its own. This potent inhibitor also stabilized NUDT15, enabling analysis by X-ray crystallography. We have determined high-resolution structures of the clinically relevant NUDT15 variants Arg139Cys, Arg139His, Val18Ile and V18_V19insGlyVal. These structures provide clear insights into the structural basis for the thiopurine intolerance phenotype observed in patients carrying these pharmacogenetic variants. These findings will aid in predicting the effects of new NUDT15 sequence variations yet to be discovered in the clinic.
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Mar 2021
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