The Bombyx mori G protein ß subunit 1 (BmGNß1) gene inhibits BmNPV infection.

G protein ß subunit 1 (GNß1) has several functions, including cell growth regulation, the control of second messenger levels, and ion channel switching. Previous transcriptome analyses in our laboratory have shown that BmGNß1 transcription is reduced following infection with Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV), but it is unknown what role this gene may have in the host response to BmNPV infection. In this study, the BmGNß1 gene was cloned using the RACE method. After BmNPV infection, BmGNß1 was downregulated in Baiyu strains in tissues such as the hemolymph and midgut. Indirect immunofluorescence showed that BmGNß1 was localized to the cytoplasm. We further constructed a BmGNß1-pIZ/V5-His-mCherry overexpression plasmid and designed siRNA to evaluate the role of BmGNß1 in host response to infection. The results showed that BmGNß1 overexpression inhibited BmNPV proliferation, while knockdown of BmGNß1 was correlated with increased BmNPV proliferation. The siRNA-mediated reduction of BmGNß1 was correlated with an increase in BmNPV infection of BmN cells, increased BmNPV vp39 transcription, and reduced survival time of BmNPV-infected B. mori. Overexpression of BmGNß1 in BmN cells was also correlated with apoptosis and a modification in transcript levels of genes involved in host response to BmNPV infection (PI3K, AKT, Bmp53, BmFOXO, Caspase-1, Bmp21, BmPKN and BmCREB), suggesting that BmGNß1 may influence the apoptotic host response of infected B. mori through the PI3K-AKT pathway. This study provides potential targets and theoretical support for breeding BmNPV-resistant silkworm varieties.

Design, synthesis, and structure-activity relationship studies of novel thioether pleuromutilin derivatives as potent antibacterial agents.

A series of novel thioether pleuromutilin derivatives incorporating various heteroaromatic substituents into the C14 side chain have been reported. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies resulted in compounds 52 and 55 with the most potent in vitro antibacterial activity among the series (MIC = 0.031-0.063 µg/mL). Further optimization to overcome the poor water solubility of compound 55 resulted in compounds 87, 91, 109, and 110 possessing good in vitro antibacterial activity with increased hydrophilicity. Compound 114, the water-soluble phosphate prodrug of compound 52, was also prepared and evaluated. Among the derivatives, compound 110 showed moderate pharmacokinetic profiles and good in vivo efficacy in both MSSA and MRSA systemic infection models. Compound 110 was further evaluated in CYP450 inhibition assay and displayed intermediate in vitro inhibition of CYP3A4.

Design, synthesis, and structure-activity relationship studies of conformationally restricted mutilin 14-carbamates.

We report herein the design, synthesis, and structure-activity relationship studies of conformationally restricted mutilin 14-carbamates based on the structure of SB-222734. The antibacterial activities of these newly synthesized compounds were also evaluated and compared with linezolid and retapamulin. Results showed that most of the target compounds exhibit good potency in inhibiting the growth of Gram-positive bacteria including Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus MSSA (MIC: 0.0625-2µg/mL), Methicillin-resistant S. aureus MRSA (MIC: 0.0625-2µg/mL), Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus epidermidis MSSE (MIC: 0.0625-2µg/mL), Methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis MRSE (MIC: 0.0625-2µg/mL), and Streptococcus pneumonia (MIC: 0.0625-4µg/mL). In particular, three remarkable compounds of this series (12l, 12m, and 21l) exhibited comparable in vitro antibacterial profiles to that of retapamulin.