32nd Annual Student Research Conference
Investigations into Inhibition of the Shigella Type III Secretion System ATPase
Dominic S. Mattock
Dr. Bill R. Miller, Faculty Mentor
Shigella Flexneri is a gram-negative bacteria which, when ingested, can result in dysentery and, if left untreated, death. In recent years the prevalence of antibiotic resistant Shigella bacteria has become a major heath concern. Due to this risk of antibiotic resistance, investigation into possible methods of allowing the host body to gain an immune resistance to the disease without allowing the bacteria to gain a counter immunity are needed. One target is the inhibition of the Shigella ATPase, Spa47, which undergoes a conformation change as it cleaves ATP facilitating the secretion of crucial components for bacterial infection and propagation throughout its hosts.
Computational docking methods allow for preliminary drug screening trials which minimize the cost of drug testing through the obtainment of docking scores to use as a basis for future kinetics trials. Additionally, docking results can be coupled with Molecular Dynamics simulations to gain insight into the mechanisms and key features which drive the drug-enzyme interactions.
Keywords: Computational Chemistry, Computational Biochemistry, Shigella, Antibiotic Resistance
Topic(s):Chemistry
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 108-5
Location: MC 209
Time: 9:30