Cloning, overexpression and characterization of Leishmania donovani squalene synthase

Squalene synthase (SSN, EC 2.5.1.21), a major enzyme in the sterol biosynthetic pathway, catalyses an unusual head-to-head reductive dimerization of two molecules of farnesyl-pyrophosphate (FPP) in a two-step reaction to form squalene. FPP serves as a metabolic intermediate in the formation of sterols, dolichols, ubiquinones and farnesylated proteins. Here, we report cloning, expression and purification of a catalytically active recombinant squalene synthase of Leishmania donovani (LdSSN). The pH and temperature optima of LdSSN were 7.4 and 37 °C, respectively. Biochemical studies revealed that the Km and Vmax for the substrate FPP were 3.8 μM and 0.59 nM min−1 mg−1 and for NADPH were 43.23 μM and 0.56 nM min−1 mg−1. LdSSN was found to be sensitive towards denaturants as manifested by a loss of enzyme activity at the concentration of 1 M urea or 0.25 M guanidine hydrochloride. Zaragozic acid A, a potent inhibitor of mammalian SSN, was also a competitive inhibitor of recombinant LdSSN, with a Ki of 74 nM. This is the first report on the purification and characterization of full-length recombinant SSN from L. donovani. Studies on recombinant LdSSN will help in evaluating this enzyme as a potential drug target for visceral leishmaniasis.