抗ウイルス薬ファビピラビルの活性化の鍵となる酵素反応を可視化 ―高い薬効を発揮できる新薬の創製へ向けた新たな手法開拓―

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2026-2-12 北里大学

北里大学などの研究チームは、抗ウイルス薬ファビピラビルがヒト酵素HGPRTにより活性型へ変換される過程を、核磁気共鳴(NMR)分光法でリアルタイム観測する手法を確立した。反応進行を直接追跡し、酵素活性に重要な「ホットスポット残基」を同定。さらに分子動力学シミュレーションと統合解析することで、HGPRTが基質を認識・触媒する分子機構の一端を解明した。本成果は、プロドラッグ活性化機構の理解を深め、より高薬効な抗ウイルス薬設計へつながる新たな創薬アプローチを提示する。研究はScientific Reportsに掲載。

抗ウイルス薬ファビピラビルの活性化の鍵となる酵素反応を可視化 ―高い薬効を発揮できる新薬の創製へ向けた新たな手法開拓―

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NMRと計算手法を用いた酵素反応のリアルタイムモニタリングによる酵素の機能的ホットスポット残基の調査 Investigation of the functional hot-spot residues of an enzyme by real-time monitoring of the enzymatic reaction using NMR and computational approaches

Toshihiko Sugiki,Tomoki Yoshida,Masaki Tsukamoto,Koichiro Miyanishi,Akinori Kagawa,Natsuko Miura,Tomoto Ura,Jun Fukazawa,Yuko Hatanaka,Tsuyoshi Murata,Toshimichi Fujiwara,Masahiro Kitagawa,Yasushi Morita,Kumiko Sakai-Kato,Yoichi Takakusagi,Nobutada Tanaka & Makoto Negoro
Scientific Reports  Published:13 January 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-35354-3

Abstract

Favipiravir is an anti-influenza prodrug that is metabolized to its phosphoribosylated form, favipiravir-ribofuranosyl-5′-monophosphate (favipiravir-RMP), by human endogenous enzyme hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGPRT). This enzymatic reaction is the rate-determining step in generating the active form of favipiravir, making it important to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the HGPRT-catalyzed RMP-modification of favipiravir. However, the pharmacokinetics of this reaction have not been fully elucidated, despite X-ray crystallographic studies on the HGPRT-favipiravir complex. Here, we identified functional hot-spot residues in HGPRT that play important roles in the enzymatic conversion of favipiravir to favipiravir-RMP. Real-time monitoring of the HGPRT reaction via ligand-observed solution NMR experiments, biochemical mutagenesis of HGPRT, and computational calculations and molecular dynamics simulations, allowed us to investigate the free binding energetics and structural properties of the interaction between HGPRT and favipiravir-RMP. This powerful hybrid experimental strategy allows the identification of functional hot-spot residues in the enzyme and provide complementary structural biological information. This approach could be universally applicable to investigating drug-protein interaction modes.

有機化学・薬学
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