Structure-Activity Relationship of Anti-Mycobacterium abscessus Piperidine-4-carboxamides, a New Class of NBTI DNA Gyrase Inhibitors.

Mycobacterium abscessus causes difficult-to-cure pulmonary infections. The bacterium is resistant to most anti-infective agents, including first line antituberculosis (anti-TB) drugs. MMV688844 (844) is a piperidine-4-carboxamide (P4C) with bactericidal properties against M. abscessus. We recently identified DNA gyrase as the molecular target of 844. Here, we present in silico docking and genetic evidence suggesting that P4Cs display a similar binding mode to DNA gyrase as gepotidacin. Gepotidacin is a member of the Novel Bacterial Topoisomerase Inhibitors (NBTIs), a new class of nonfluoroquinolone DNA gyrase poisons. Thus, our work suggests that P4Cs present a novel structural subclass of NBTI. We describe structure-activity relationship studies of 844 leading to analogues showing increased antibacterial activity. Selected derivatives were tested for their inhibitory activity against recombinant M. abscessus DNA gyrase. Further optimization of the lead structures led to improved stability in mouse plasma and increased oral bioavailability.

Piperidine-4-Carboxamides Target DNA Gyrase in Mycobacterium abscessus.

New, more-effective drugs for the treatment of lung disease caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are needed. Among NTM opportunistic pathogens, Mycobacterium abscessus is the most difficult to cure and intrinsically multidrug resistant. In a whole-cell screen of a compound collection active against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, we previously identified the piperidine-4-carboxamide (P4C) MMV688844 (844) as a hit against M. abscessus. Here, we identified a more potent analog of 844 and showed that both the parent and improved analog retain activity against strains representing all three subspecies of the M. abscessus complex. Furthermore, P4Cs showed bactericidal and antibiofilm activity. Spontaneous resistance against the P4Cs emerged at a frequency of 10-8/CFU and mapped to gyrA and gyrB encoding the subunits of DNA gyrase. Biochemical studies with recombinant M. abscessus DNA gyrase showed that P4Cs inhibit the wild-type enzyme but not the P4C-resistant mutant. P4C-resistant strains showed limited cross-resistance to the fluoroquinolone moxifloxacin, which is in clinical use for the treatment of macrolide-resistant M. abscessus disease, and no cross-resistance to the benzimidazole SPR719, a novel DNA gyrase inhibitor in clinical development for the treatment of mycobacterial diseases. Analyses of P4Cs in recA promoter-based DNA damage reporter strains showed induction of recA promoter activity in the wild type but not in the P4C-resistant mutant background. This indicates that P4Cs, similar to fluoroquinolones, cause DNA gyrase-mediated DNA damage. Together, our results show that P4Cs present a novel class of mycobacterial DNA gyrase inhibitors with attractive antimicrobial activities against the M. abscessus complex.

A solid solution of ethyl and d 3-methyl 2-[(4-meth-yl-pyridin-2-yl)amino]-4-(pyridin-2-yl)thia-zole-5-carboxyl-ate.

The synthesis of ethyl 2-[(4-methyl-pyridin-2-yl)amino)-4-(pyridin-2-yl)thia-zole- 5-carboxyl-ate via the Hantzsch reaction and partial in situ transesterification during recrystallization from methanol-d 4 to the d 3-methyl ester, resulting in the title solid solution, ethyl 2-[(4-methyl-pyridin-2-yl)amino)-4-(pyridin-2-yl)thia-zole-5-carboxyl-ate-d 3-methyl 2-[(4-methyl-pyridin-2-yl)amino)-4-(pyridin-2-yl)thia-zole-5-carboxyl-ate (0.88/0.12), 0.88C17H16N4O2S·0.12C16D3H11N4O2S, is reported. The refined ratio of ethyl to d 3-methyl ester in the crystal is 0.880 (6):0.120 (6). The pyridine ring is significantly twisted out of the plane of the approximately planar picoline thia-zole ester moiety. N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds between the secondary amino group and the pyridine nitro-gen atom of an adjacent symmetry-related mol-ecule link the mol-ecules into polymeric hydrogen-bonded zigzag tapes extending by glide symmetry in the [001] direction. There is structural evidence for intra-molecular N⋯S chalcogen bonding and inter-molecular weak C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds between adjacent zigzag tapes.