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Metallo-β-Lactamases (MBLs) protect bacteria from almost all β-lactam antibiotics. VIM enzymes are among the most clinically important MBLs, with VIM-1 increasing in carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae) that are amongst the hardest bacterial pathogens to treat. VIM enzymes display sequence variation at residues (224 and 228) that in related MBLs are conserved and participate in substrate binding. How they accommodate this variability, while retaining catalytic efficiency against a broad substrate range, has remained unclear. Here we present crystal structures of VIM-1 and its complexes with a substrate-mimicking thioenolate inhibitor, ML302F, that restores meropenem activity against a range of VIM-1 producing clinical strains, and the hydrolysed product of the carbapenem meropenem. Comparison of these two structures identifies a water-mediated hydrogen bond, between the carboxylate group of substrate/inhibitor and the backbone carbonyl of the active site zinc ligand Cys221, that is common to both complexes. Structural comparisons show that the responsible Cys221-bound water is observed in all known VIM structures, participates in carboxylate binding with other inhibitor classes, and thus effectively replicates the role of the conserved Lys224 in analogous complexes with other MBLs. These results provide a mechanism for substrate binding that permits the variation at positions 224 and 228 that is a hallmark of VIM MBLs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Original publication

DOI

10.1111/febs.14695

Type

Journal article

Journal

FEBS J

Publication Date

15/11/2018

Keywords

VIM-1, X-ray crystallography, antibiotic resistance, carbapenem, hydrolase, metallo-β-lactamase, metalloenzyme, zinc