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Isoniazid is a key drug used in the treatment
of tuberculosis. Isoniazid is a pro-drug, which, after activation
by the katG-encoded catalase peroxidase, reacts nonenzymatically
with NAD(+) and NADP(+) to generate several isonicotinoyl adducts
of these pyridine nucleotides. One of these, the acyclic 4S
isomer of isoniazid-NAD, targets the inhA-encoded enoyl-ACP
reductase, an enzyme essential for mycolic acid biosynthesis
in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Here we show that the
acyclic 4R isomer of isoniazid-NADP inhibits the M. tuberculosis
dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), an enzyme essential for nucleic
acid synthesis. This biologically relevant form of the isoniazid
adduct is a subnanomolar bisubstrate inhibitor of M. tuberculosis
DHFR. Expression of M. tuberculosis DHFR in Mycobacterium
smegmatis mc(2)155 protects cells against growth inhibition
by isoniazid by sequestering the drug. Thus, M. tuberculosis
DHFR is the first new target for isoniazid identified in the
last decade.
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