New ß-lactam - Tetramic acid hybrids show promising antibacterial activities.

ß-Lactams are the most important class of antibiotics, for which the emergence of resistance threatens their utility. As such, we explored the extent to which the tetramic acid motif, frequently found in naturally occurring antibiotics, can be used to generate novel ß-lactam antibiotics with improved antibacterial activity. We synthesized new ampicillin - tetramic acid, cephalosporin - tetramic acid, and cephamycin - tetramic acid analogs and evaluated their activities against problematic Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens. Amongst the analogs, a 7-aminocephalosporanic acid analog, 3397, and a 7-amino-3-vinyl cephalosporanic acid, 3436, showed potent activities against S. aureus NRS 70 (MRSA) with MICs of 6.25 µg/mL and 3.13 µg/mL respectively. These new analogs were ≥16-fold more potent than cefaclor and cephalexin. Additionally, a Δ2 cephamycin - tetramic acid analog 3474 which contained a basic guanidinium substituent at the 5-position of the tetramic acid core displayed potent activity against several clinical strains of K. pneumoniae and E. coli.

Chlamydia trachomatis Relies on Autonomous Phospholipid Synthesis for Membrane Biogenesis.

The obligate intracellular parasite Chlamydia trachomatis has a reduced genome and is thought to rely on its mammalian host cell for nutrients. Although several lines of evidence suggest C. trachomatis utilizes host phospholipids, the bacterium encodes all the genes necessary for fatty acid and phospholipid synthesis found in free living Gram-negative bacteria. Bacterially derived phospholipids significantly increased in infected HeLa cell cultures. These new phospholipids had a distinct molecular species composition consisting of saturated and branched-chain fatty acids. Biochemical analysis established the role of C. trachomatis-encoded acyltransferases in producing the new disaturated molecular species. There was no evidence for the remodeling of host phospholipids and no change in the size or molecular species composition of the phosphatidylcholine pool in infected HeLa cells. Host sphingomyelin was associated with C. trachomatis isolated by detergent extraction, but it may represent contamination with detergent-insoluble host lipids rather than being an integral bacterial membrane component. C. trachomatis assembles its membrane systems from the unique phospholipid molecular species produced by its own fatty acid and phospholipid biosynthetic machinery utilizing glucose, isoleucine, and serine.

Gastrointestinal localization of metronidazole by a lactobacilli-inspired tetramic acid motif improves treatment outcomes in the hamster model of Clostridium difficile infection.

OBJECTIVES: Metronidazole, a mainstay treatment for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), is often ineffective for severe CDI. Whilst this is thought to arise from suboptimal levels of metronidazole in the colon due to rapid absorption, empirical validation is lacking. In contrast, reutericyclin, an antibacterial tetramic acid from Lactobacillus reuteri, concentrates in the gastrointestinal tract. In this study, we modified metronidazole with reutericyclin's tetramic acid motif to obtain non-absorbed compounds, enabling assessment of the impact of pharmacokinetics on treatment outcomes. METHODS: A series of metronidazole-bearing tetramic acid substituents were synthesized and evaluated in terms of anti-C. difficile activities, gastric permeability, in vivo pharmacokinetics, efficacy in the hamster model of CDI and mode of action. RESULTS: Most compounds were absorbed less than metronidazole in cell-based Caco-2 permeability assays. In hamsters, lead compounds compartmentalized in the colon rather than the bloodstream with negligible levels detected in the blood, in direct contrast with metronidazole, which was rapidly absorbed into the blood and was undetectable in caecum. Accordingly, four leads were more efficacious (P < 0.05) than metronidazole in C. difficile-infected animals. Improved efficacy was not due to an alternative mode of action, as the leads retained the mode of action of metronidazole. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the clearest empirical evidence that the high absorption of metronidazole lowers treatment outcomes for CDI and suggests a role for the tetramic acid motif for colon-specific drug delivery. This approach also has the potential to lower systemic toxicity and drug interactions of nitroheterocyclic drugs for treating gastrointestine-specific diseases.

The membrane as a target for controlling hypervirulent Clostridium difficile infections.

OBJECTIVES: The stationary phase of Clostridium difficile, which is primarily responsible for diarrhoeal symptoms, is refractory to antibiotic killing. We investigated whether disrupting the functions of the clostridial membrane is an approach to control C. difficile infections by promptly removing growing and non-growing cells. METHODS: The bactericidal activities of various membrane-active agents were determined against C. difficile logarithmic-phase and stationary-phase cultures and compared with known antibiotics. Their effects on the synthesis of ATP, toxins A/B and sporulation were also determined. The effect of rodent caecal contents on anti-difficile activities was examined using two reutericyclin lead compounds, clofazimine, daptomycin and other comparator antibiotics. RESULTS: Most membrane-active agents and partially daptomycin showed concentration-dependent killing of both logarithmic-phase and stationary-phase cultures. The exposure of cells to compounds at their MBC resulted in a rapid loss of viability with concomitant reductions in cellular ATP, toxins A/B and spore numbers. With the exception of nisin, these effects were not due to membrane pore formation. Interestingly, the activity of the proton ionophore nigericin significantly increased as the growth of C. difficile decreased, suggesting the importance of the proton gradient to the survival of non-growing cells. The activities of the lipophilic antimicrobials reutericyclins and clofazimine were reduced by caecal contents. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that C. difficile is uniquely susceptible to killing by molecules affecting its membrane function and bioenergetics, indicating that the clostridial membrane is a novel antimicrobial target for agents to alleviate the burden of C. difficile infections.

Acyl-sulfamates target the essential glycerol-phosphate acyltransferase (PlsY) in Gram-positive bacteria.

PlsY is the essential first step in membrane phospholipid synthesis of Gram-positive pathogens. PlsY catalyzes the transfer of the fatty acid from acyl-phosphate to the 1-position of glycerol-3-phosphate to form the first intermediate in membrane biogenesis. A series of non-metabolizable, acyl-sulfamate analogs of the acyl-phosphate PlsY substrate were prepared and evaluated as inhibitors of Staphylococcus aureus PlsY and for their Gram-positive antibacterial activities. From this series phenyl (8-phenyloctanoyl) sulfamate had the best overall profile, selectively inhibiting S. aureus phospholipid biosynthesis and causing the accumulation of both long-chain fatty acids and acyl-acyl carrier protein intermediates demonstrating that PlsY was the primary cellular target. Bacillus anthracis was unique in being more potently inhibited by long chain acyl-sulfamates than other bacterial species. However, it is shown that Bacillus anthracis PlsY is not more sensitive to the acyl-sulfamates than S. aureus PlsY. Metabolic profiling showed that B. anthracis growth inhibition by the acyl-sulfamates was not specific for lipid synthesis illustrating that the amphipathic acyl-sulfamates can also have off-target effects in Gram-positive bacteria. Nonetheless, this study further advances PlsY as a druggable target for the development of novel antibacterial therapeutics, through the discovery and validation of the probe compound phenyl (8-phenyloctanoyl) sulfamate as a S. aureus PlsY inhibitor.

Exploring the PI3K alpha and gamma binding sites with 2,6-disubstituted isonicotinic derivatives.

A homology model of the p110alpha catalytic subunit of PI3Kalpha was generated from the p110gamma crystal structure. Using this model, an isonicotinic scaffold was designed for chemically exploring the PI3Kalpha and gamma binding sites. A focused library of derivatives was synthesized and tested. The morpholine acids 5a and 5b proved to be the most potent analogs.

Design, synthesis and microbiological evaluation of ampicillin-tetramic acid hybrid antibiotics.

Exploiting iron-uptake pathways by conjugating ß-lactam antibiotics with iron-chelators, such as catechol and hydroxamic acid is a proven strategy to overcome permeability-related resistance in Gram-negative bacteria. As naturally occurring iron-chelating tetramic acids have not been previously examined for this purpose, an exploratory series of novel ampicillin-tetramic acid hybrids that structurally resemble ureidopenicillins was designed and synthesized. The new analogs were evaluated for the ability to chelate iron and their MIC activities determined against a representative panel of clinically significant bacterial pathogens. The tetramic acid ß-lactam hybrids demonstrated a high affinity to iron in the order of 10-30 M3. The hybrids were less active against Gram-positive bacteria. However, against Gram-negative bacteria, their activity was species dependent with several hybrids displaying improved activity over ampicillin against wild-type Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The anti-Gram-negative activities of the hybrids improved in the presence of clavulanic acid revealing that the tetramic acid moiety did not provide added protection against ß-lactamases. In addition, the hybrids were found to be efflux pump substrates as their activities markedly improved against pump-inactivated strains. Unlike the catechol and hydroxamic acid siderophore ß-lactam conjugates, the activities of the hybrids did not improve under iron-deficient conditions. These results suggest that the tetramic acid hybrids gain permeability via different membrane receptors, or they are outcompeted by native bacterial siderophores with stronger affinities for iron. This study provides a foundation for the further exploitation of the tetramic acid moiety to achieve novel ß-lactam anti-Gram-negative agents, providing that efflux and ß-lactamase mediated resistance is addressed.

SB-224289 Antagonizes the Antifungal Mechanism of the Marine Depsipeptide Papuamide A.

In order to expand the repertoire of antifungal compounds a novel, high-throughput phenotypic drug screen targeting fungal phosphatidylserine (PS) synthase (Cho1p) was developed based on antagonism of the toxin papuamide A (Pap-A). Pap-A is a cyclic depsipeptide that binds to PS in the membrane of wild-type Candida albicans, and permeabilizes its plasma membrane, ultimately causing cell death. Organisms with a homozygous deletion of the CHO1 gene (cho1ΔΔ) do not produce PS and are able to survive in the presence of Pap-A. Using this phenotype (i.e. resistance to Pap-A) as an indicator of Cho1p inhibition, we screened over 5,600 small molecules for Pap-A resistance and identified SB-224289 as a positive hit. SB-224289, previously reported as a selective human 5-HT1B receptor antagonist, also confers resistance to the similar toxin theopapuamide (TPap-A), but not to other cytotoxic depsipeptides tested. Structurally similar molecules and truncated variants of SB-224289 do not confer resistance to Pap-A, suggesting that the toxin-blocking ability of SB-224289 is very specific. Further biochemical characterization revealed that SB-224289 does not inhibit Cho1p, indicating that Pap-A resistance is conferred by another undetermined mechanism. Although the mode of resistance is unclear, interaction between SB-224289 and Pap-A or TPap-A suggests this screening assay could be adapted for discovering other compounds which could antagonize the effects of other environmentally- or medically-relevant depsipeptide toxins.

Chemical modulation of the biological activity of reutericyclin: a membrane-active antibiotic from Lactobacillus reuteri.

Whilst the development of membrane-active antibiotics is now an attractive therapeutic concept, progress in this area is disadvantaged by poor knowledge of the structure-activity relationship (SAR) required for optimizing molecules to selectively target bacteria. This prompted us to explore the SAR of the Lactobacillus reuteri membrane-active antibiotic reutericyclin, modifying three key positions about its tetramic acid core. The SAR revealed that lipophilic analogs were generally more active against Gram-positive pathogens, but introduction of polar and charged substituents diminished their activity. This was confirmed by cytometric assays showing that inactive compounds failed to dissipate the membrane potential. Radiolabeled substrate assays indicated that dissipation of the membrane potential by active reutericyclins correlated with inhibition of macromolecular synthesis in cells. However, compounds with good antibacterial activities also showed cytotoxicity against Vero cells and hemolytic activity. Although this study highlights the challenge of optimizing membrane-active antibiotics, it shows that by increasing antibacterial potency the selectivity index could be widened, allowing use of lower non-cytotoxic doses.