Analysis of mutations leading to para-aminosalicylic acid resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Thymidylate synthase A (ThyA) is the key enzyme involved in the folate pathway in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Mutation of key residues of ThyA enzyme which are involved in interaction with substrate 2′-deoxyuridine-5′-monophosphate (dUMP), cofactor 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate (MTHF), and catalytic site have caused para-aminosalicylic acid (PAS) resistance in TB patients. Focusing on R127L, L143P, C146R, L172P, A182P, and V261G mutations, including wild-type, we performed long molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in explicit solvent to investigate the molecular principles underlying PAS resistance due to missense mutations. We found that these mutations lead to (i) extensive changes in the dUMP and MTHF binding sites, (ii) weak interaction of ThyA enzyme with dUMP and MTHF by inducing conformational changes in the structure, (iii) loss of the hydrogen bond and other atomic interactions and (iv) enhanced movement of protein atoms indicated by principal component analysis (PCA). In this study, MD simulations framework has provided considerable insight into mutation induced conformational changes in the ThyA enzyme of Mycobacterium.