Abstact

The crystal structure of endothiapepsin complexed with the gem-diol inhibitor PD-135,040 has been anisotropically refined to a resolution of 1.37 A. The structure of this inhibitor complex is in agreement with previous structures of endothiapepsin gem-diol inhibitor complexes that have been used to develop proposed catalytic mechanisms. However, the increase in resolution over previous structures confirms the presence of a number of short hydrogen bonds within the active site that are likely to play an important role in the catalytic mechanism. The presence of low-barrier hydrogen bonds was indicated in a previous one-dimensional H NMR spectrum.