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  • Title: Novel inhibitors of glutamyl-tRNA(Glu) reductase identified through cell-based screening of the heme/chlorophyll biosynthetic pathway.
    Author: Loida PJ, Thompson RL, Walker DM, CaJacob CA.
    Journal: Arch Biochem Biophys; 1999 Dec 15; 372(2):230-7. PubMed ID: 10600160.
    Abstract:
    The metabolite 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is an early committed intermediate in the biosynthetic pathway of heme and chlorophyll formation. In plants, 5-aminolevulinic acid is synthesized via a two-step pathway in which glutamyl-tRNA(Glu) is reduced by glutamyl-tRNA(Glu) reductase (GluTR) to glutamate 1-semialdehyde, followed by transformation to 5-aminolevulinic acid catalyzed by glutamate 1-semialdehyde aminotransferase. Using an Escherichia coli cell-based high-throughput assay to screen small molecule libraries, we identified several chemical classes that specifically inhibit heme/chlorophyll biosynthesis at this point by demonstrating that the observed cell growth inhibition is reversed by supplementing the medium with 5-aminolevulinic acid. These compounds were further tested in vitro for inhibition of the purified enzymes GluTR and glutamate 1-semialdehyde aminotransferase as confirmation of the specificity and site of action. Several promising compounds were identified from the high-throughput screen that inhibit GluTR with an I(0.5) of less than 10 microM. Our results demonstrate the efficacy of cell-based high-throughput screening for identifying inhibitors of 5-aminolevulinic acid biosynthesis, thus representing the first report of exogenous inhibitors of this enzyme.
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