Dihydrofolate reductase from Neisseria sp.

Members of the genus Neisseria are relatively nonsusceptible to trimethoprim, an inhibitor of dihydrofolate reductase. For example, the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of trimethoprim for N. gonorrhoeae ranges from 2 to 70 mug/ml, whereas the MIC for Escherichia coli is 0.2 mug/ml or less. In an effort to understand this difference, dihydrofolate reductase was partially purified from five Neisseria species and compared with the enzyme from E. coli. N. gonorrhoeae dihydrofolate reductase was similar to that from E. coli in molecular weight (18,000) and affinity for the substrates reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate and dihydrofolate (K(m) = 13 and 8 muM, respectively). However, the gonococcal enzyme had a decreased affinity for trimethoprim, with an apparent K(i) of 45 x 10(-9) M, some 30-fold greater than the E. coli value of 1.2 x 10(-9) M. These enzymes also differed in their isoelectric points and pH activity profiles. Within the genus Neisseria, the dihydrofolate reductase isolated from N. meningitidis and N. lactamica resembled the N. gonorrhoeae enzyme, and only small differences were detected for the N. flavescens and Branhamella catarrhalis dihydrofolate reductases. These data indicate that the relatively poor affinity of trimethoprim for the dihydrofolate reductase from these organisms may be largely responsible for the relative nonsusceptibility of Neisseria sp. to trimethoprim. The contribution of other resistance mechanisms to the overall nonsusceptibility was assessed. Strains of N. gonorrhoeae with altered cell envelope permeability had MIC values less than twofold different from those of isogenic wild-type strains. Also, a direct relationship was observed between the affinity of trimethoprim analogs for gonococcal dihydrofolate reductase and the MIC of these compounds for the gonococcus. These observations suggest that the cell envelope of N. gonorrhoeae is not impermeable to trimethoprim. Changes in the amount of dihydrofolate reductase activity could cause alterations in the susceptibility of the gonococcus to trimethoprim, as demonstrated with N. gonorrhoeae strains selected for trimethoprim resistance after chemical mutagenesis. However, the level of dihydrofolate reductase activity in wild-type N. gonorrhoeae was similar to that of E. coli, indicating that the difference in the susceptibility of these organisms is not due to greater amounts of enzyme in N. gonorrhoeae.