Azole drugs trap cytochrome P450 EryK in alternative conformational states

Biochemistry. 2010 Nov 2;49(43):9199-206. doi: 10.1021/bi101062v.

Abstract

EryK is a bacterial cytochrome P450 that catalyzes the last hydroxylation occurring during the biosynthetic pathway of erythromycin A in Streptomyces erythraeus. We report the crystal structures of EryK in complex with two widely used azole inhibitors: ketoconazole and clotrimazole. Both of these ligands use their imidazole moiety to coordinate the heme iron of P450s. Nevertheless, because of the different chemical and structural properties of their N1-substituent group, ketoconazole and clotrimazole trap EryK, respectively, in a closed and in an open conformation that resemble the two structures previously described for the ligand-free EryK. Indeed, ligands induce a distortion of the internal helix I that affects the accessibility of the binding pocket by regulating the kink of the external helix G via a network of interactions that involves helix F. The data presented thus constitute an example of how a cytochrome P450 may be selectively trapped in different conformational states by inhibitors.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Azoles / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Azoles / pharmacology
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry*
  • Bacterial Proteins / drug effects
  • Catalytic Domain
  • Clotrimazole / chemistry
  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System / chemistry*
  • Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System / drug effects
  • Ketoconazole / chemistry
  • Protein Conformation / drug effects
  • Saccharopolyspora / chemistry*

Substances

  • Azoles
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System
  • Clotrimazole
  • Ketoconazole

Associated data

  • PDB/2JJP
  • PDB/2XFH