PMID: 19397311

Authors:

Gay SC, Sun L, Maekawa K, Halpert JR, Stout CD

Title:

Crystal structures of cytochrome P450 2B4 in complex with the inhibitor 1-biphenyl-4-methyl-1Himidazole: ligand induced structural response through -helical repositioning.

Journal:

Biochemistry. 2009 Apr 27.

Abstract:

Two different ligand occupancy structures of cytochrome P450 2B4 (CYP2B4) in complex with 1-biphenyl-4-methyl-1H-imidazole (1-PBI) have been solved by x-ray crystallography. 1-PBI belongs to a series of tight binding, imidazole-based CYP2B4 inhibitors. 1-PBI binding to CYP2B4 yields a type II spectrum with a Ks value of 0.23 microM and inhibits enzyme activity with an IC50 value of 0.035 microM. Previous CYP2B4 structures have shown a large degree of structural movement in response to ligand size. With two phenyl rings, 1-PBI is larger than 1-(4-chlorophenyl)imidazole (1-CPI) and 4-(4-chlorophenyl)imidazole (4-CPI) but smaller than bifonazole, which is branched and contains three phenyl rings. The CYP2B4:1-PBI complex is a structural intermediate to the closed CPI and the open bifonazole structures. The B/C loop reorganizes itself to include two short partial helices while closing one side of the active site. The F-G helix cassette pivots over the I-helix in direct response to the size of the ligand in the active site. A cluster of Phe residues at the fulcrum of this pivot point allows for dramatic repositioning of the cassette with only a relatively small amount of secondary structure rearrangement. Comparisons of ligand bound CYP2B4 structures reveal trends in plastic region mobility that could allow for predictions of their position in future structures based on ligand shape and size.