Inhibition of archaeal growth and DNA topoisomerase VI activities by the Hsp90 inhibitor radicicol

Type II DNA topoisomerases have been classified into two families, Topo IIA and Topo IIB, based on structural and mechanistic dissimilarities. Topo IIA is the target of many important antibiotics and antitumoural drugs, most of them being inactive on Topo IIB. The effects and mode of action of Topo IIA inhibitors in vitro and in vivo have been extensively studied for the last twenty-five years. In contrast, studies of Topo IIB inhibitors were lacking. To document this field, we have studied two Hsp90 inhibitors (radicicol and geldanamycin), known to interact with the ATP-binding site of Hsp90 (the Bergerat fold), which is also present in Topo IIB. Here, we report that radicicol inhibits the decatenation and relaxation activities of Sulfolobus shibatae DNA topoisomerase VI (a Topo IIB) while geldanamycin does not. In addition, radicicol has no effect on the Topo IIA Escherichia coli DNA gyrase. In agreement with their different effects on DNA topoisomerase VI, we found that radicicol can theoretically fit in the ATP-binding pocket of the DNA topoisomerase VI ‘Bergerat fold’, whereas geldanamycin cannot. Radicicol inhibited growths of Sulfolobus acidocaldarius (a crenarchaeon) and of Haloferax volcanii (a euryarchaeon) at the same doses that inhibited DNA topoisomerase VI in vitro. In contrast, the bacteria E.coli was resistant to this drug. Radicicol thus appears to be a very promising compound to study the mechanism of Topo IIB in vitro, as well as the biological roles of these enzymes in vivo.