Inhibition Mechanism of Class D β-Lactamases by Avibactam

Escalation of antibiotic resistance due to class D β-lactamases (DBLs) carrying bacteria is a matter of grave concern. This class of enzymes can efficiently hydrolyze the carbapenem group of antibiotics that are the last-reserved therapeutics for infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria. The development of efficient inhibitors against DBLs calls for a molecular-level understanding of the hydrolysis mechanism. Here, we investigate the mechanism of inhibition of OXA-48 DBL enzyme by one of the diazobicyclooctane class of inhibitors, namely avibactam, through molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations. Hydrolysis as well as inhibition mechanisms are expected to be intricate due to the presence of N-carbamylated lysine (Lys73), multiple acidic and basic active site residues, and active site water molecules. Our extensive mechanistic study characterizes the most probable reaction route and critical reaction intermediates starting from the acylation to the full hydrolysis of the covalent intermediate. This study discerns the residues that act as the general bases at different steps. Free energies and reaction intermediate structures are corroborated with the available experimental kinetics data and crystal structures. We also simulated the deacylation of a β-lactam drug, namely meropenem, which is known to be hydrolyzed efficiently by the enzyme. By comparing the mechanism of meropenem hydrolysis with that of avibactam, our study reveals the important chemical features that are useful for designing inhibitors.