MIT and Harvard University chemists have discovered the structure of an unusual bacterial enzyme that can break down an amino acid found in collagen, which is the most abundant protein in the human body.
The enzyme, known as hydroxy-L-proline dehydratase (HypD), has been found in a few hundred species of bacteria that live in the human gut, including Clostridioides difficile. The enzyme performs a novel chemical reaction that dismantles hydroxy-L-proline, the molecule that gives collagen its tough, triple-helix structure.
Now that researchers know the structure of the enzyme, they can try to develop drugs that inhibit it. Such a drug could be useful in treating C. difficile infections, which are resistant to many existing antibiotics.
“This is very exciting because this enzyme doesn’t exist in humans, so it could be a potential target,” says Catherine Drennan, an MIT professor of chemistry and biology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. “If you could...
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