Molecular modeling and functional characterization of a pertinent enzyme in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> serotype-2: A potential target for the development of novel pneumonia drug

Abstract

<i>Streptococcus pneumoniae </i><span style="font-size:9.0pt;mso-bidi-font-style:italic" lang="EN-GB">is the causative agent of Pneumonia resulting in a substantial portion of childhood deaths in Bangladesh. Though drugs are in sufficient availability but the emergence of multi-drug resistant varieties of <i>S. pneumoniae </i>has led to the search for novel drug targets. The metabolic pathways of host (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Homo sapiens</i>) and pathogen (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">S. pneumoniae </i>serotype-2)<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"> </i>were compared where six biochemical pathways of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">S. pneumonia</i>, distinct from human pathways, were identified. These comprised of 20 unique enzymes, which being non-homologous proteins in contrast to human host proteins, can be considered as probable drug targets. Among them, the 3D structure of an uncharacterized protein molecule was built in by homology modeling and the binding pockets of protein molecule responsible for specific functions were identified. These structural and functional characterizations of the protein, unique in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">S. pneumoniae</i> in host condition, made the possibility for the sophisticated rational drug design.

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