Glutamine pretreatment protects bovine mammary epithelial cells from inflammation and oxidative stress induced by γ-d-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelic acid (iE-DAP).

Glutamine (GLN) has many types of biological activity in rats, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidative stress, and anti-apoptosis effects. However, little is known about the effects of GLN on bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMEC). γ-d-Glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelic acid (iE-DAP) is a cell wall peptidoglycan component of gram-negative bacteria that can be recognized by the intracellular receptor nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 1 (NOD1) and can cause bovine mastitis. The goal of the present study was to investigate whether GLN protects BMEC from iE-DAP-induced inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis. We cultured BMEC in a GLN-free medium for 24 h and then separated them into 4 groups: cells treated with 1× PBS for 26 or 32 h (control); cells stimulated by 10 µg/mL iE-DAP for 2 or 8 h (2- or 8-h iE-DAP); cells pretreated with 8 or 4 mM GLN for 24 h followed by 2 or 8 h of 1× PBS treatment (8 or 4 mM GLN); and cells pretreated with 8 or 4 mM GLN for 24 h followed by 2 or 8 h of iE-DAP treatment (DG). In the 2-h iE-DAP group, when levels of inflammation peaked, iE-DAP treatment increased both the mRNA and protein expression of NOD1, inhibitor of nuclear factor-κB (NFKBIA, IκB), and nuclear factor-κB subunit p65 (RELA, NF-κB p65), as well as the mRNA expression of IL6 and IL8 and levels of IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α in cell culture supernatants. In contrast, 8 mM GLN pretreatment inhibited the mRNA and protein expression of inflammatory-related factors by suppressing the NOD1/NF-κB pathway. In the 8-h iE-DAP group, iE-DAP treatment decreased the mRNA and protein expression of extracellular regulated kinase (Erk, ERK) and nuclear factor erythroid 2-associated factor2 (NFE2L2, Nrf2), as well as the mRNA expression of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), catalase (CAT), coenzyme II oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1), and heme oxygenase 1 (HMOX1, HO1). In addition, iE-DAP treatment increased the expression of malondialdehyde in BMEC when oxidative stress levels peaked. Interestingly, 4 mM GLN pretreatment induced the mRNA and protein expression of antioxidative stress-related factors and inhibited the expression of reactive oxygen species in BMEC by promoting the ERK/Nrf2 pathway. Moreover, GLN reduced apoptosis caused by inflammation and oxidative stress in BMEC. This is the first report showing that GLN protects against iE-DAP-induced inflammation and oxidative stress via the NOD1/NF-κB and ERK/Nrf2 pathways in BMEC.

Virtual Screening of potential drug-like inhibitors against Lysine/DAP pathway of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND: An explosive global spreading of multidrug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is a catastrophe, which demands an urgent need to design or develop novel/potent antitubercular agents. The Lysine/DAP biosynthetic pathway is a promising target due its specific role in cell wall and amino acid biosynthesis. Here, we report identification of potential antitubercular candidates targeting Mtb dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHDPS) enzyme of the pathway using virtual screening protocols. RESULTS: In the present study, we generated three sets of drug-like molecules in order to screen potential inhibitors against Mtb drug target DHDPS. The first set of compounds was a combinatorial library, which comprised analogues of pyruvate (substrate of DHDPS). The second set of compounds consisted of pyruvate-like molecules i.e. structurally similar to pyruvate, obtained using 3D flexible similarity search against NCI and PubChem database. The third set constituted 3847 anti-infective molecules obtained from PubChem. These compounds were subjected to Lipinski's rule of drug-like five filters. Finally, three sets of drug-like compounds i.e. 4088 pyruvate analogues, 2640 pyruvate-like molecules and 1750 anti-infective molecules were docked at the active site of Mtb DHDPS (PDB code: 1XXX used in the molecular docking calculations) to select inhibitors establishing favorable interactions. CONCLUSION: The above-mentioned virtual screening procedures helped in the identification of several potent candidates that possess inhibitory activity against Mtb DHDPS. Therefore, these novel scaffolds/candidates which could have the potential to inhibit Mtb DHDPS enzyme would represent promising starting points as lead compounds and certainly aid the experimental designing of antituberculars in lesser time.

Peptides of 2-aminopimelic acid: antibacterial agents that inhibit diaminopimelic acid biosynthesis.

Succinyl-CoA:tetrahydrodipicolinate-N-succinyltransferase is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of diaminopimelic acid (DAP), a component of the cell wall peptidoglycan of nearly all bacteria. This enzyme converts the cyclic precursor tetrahydrodipicolinic acid (THDPA) to a succinylated acyclic product. L-2-Aminopimelic acid (L-1), an acyclic analogue of THDPA, was found to be a good substrate for this enzyme and was shown to cause a buildup of THDPA in a cell-free enzyme system but was devoid of antibacterial activity. Incorporation of 1 into a di- or tripeptide yielded derivatives that exhibited antibacterial activity against a range of Gram-negative organisms. Of the five peptide derivatives tested, (L-2-aminopimelyl)-L-alanine (6) was the most potent. These peptides were shown to inhibit DAP production in intact resting cells. High levels (30 mM) of 2-aminopimelic acid were achieved in the cytoplasm of bacteria as a result of efficient uptake of the peptide derivatives through specific peptide transport systems followed, presumably, by cleavage by intracellular peptidases. Finally, the antibacterial activity of these peptides could be reversed by DAP or a DAP-containing peptide. These results demonstrate that the peptides containing L-2-aminopimelic acid exert their antibacterial action by inhibition of diaminopimelic acid biosynthesis.