Dihydrofolate reductase from Eimeria tenella: rationalization of chemotherapeutic efficacy of pyrimethamine.

Dihydrofolate reductase activity of 0.2 nmole of dihydrofolate reduced/min/mg protein was detected in crude extracts of unsporulated oocysts of Eimeria tenella. The enzyme was purified by a combination of affinity and ion-exchange chromatography. Its molecular weight was estimated as 240,000 daltons. An anticoccidial drug pyrimethamine is a potent inhibitor of the activity of E. tenella dihydrofolate reductase (Ki = 3 nM), but it is less effective an inhibitor of dihydrofolate reductase from chicken liver. This difference may explain the in vivo therapeutic action of pyrimethamine against Coccidia.