Identification of the catalytic subunit of acetohydroxyacid synthase in Haemophilus influenzae and its potent inhibitors

Acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS; EC 2.2.1.6) is a thiamin diphosphate- (ThDP)- and FAD-dependent enzyme that catalyzes the first common step in the biosynthetic pathway of the branched-amino acids (BCAAs) leucine, isoleucine, and valine. The gene from Haemophilus influenzae that encodes the AHAS catalytic subunit was cloned, overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3), and purified to homogeneity. The purified H. influenzae AHAS catalytic subunit (Hin-AHAS) appeared as a single band on SDS–PAGE gel, with a molecular mass of approximately 63 kDa. The enzyme catalyzes the condensation of two molecules of pyruvate to form acetolactate, with a Km of 9.2 mM and the specific activity of 1.5 μmol/min/mg. The cofactor activation constant (Kc = 13.5 μM) and the dissociation constant (Kd = 3.3 μM) of ThDP were also determined by enzymatic assay and tryptophan fluorescence quenching studies, respectively. We screened a chemical library to discover new inhibitors of the Hin AHAS catalytic subunit. Through which, AVS-2087 (IC50 = 0.53 μM), KSW30191 (IC50 = 1.42 μM), and KHG20612 (IC50 = 4.91 μM) displayed potent inhibition as compare to sulfometuron methyl (IC50 = 276.31 μM).