Unique electrophysiological property of a novel Nav1.7, Nav1.8, and Nav1.9 sodium channel blocker, ANP-230.

Voltage-gated sodium channel subtypes, Nav1.7, Nav1.8, and Nav1.9 are predominantly expressed in peripheral sensory neurons. Recent genetic studies have revealed that they are involved in pathological pain processing and that the blockade of Nav1.7, Nav1.8, or Nav1.9 will become a promising pharmacotherapy especially for neuropathic pain. A growing number of drug discovery programs have targeted either of the subtypes to obtain a selective inhibitor which can provide pain relief without affecting the cardiovascular and central nervous systems, though none of them has been approved yet. Here we describe the in vitro characteristics of ANP-230, a novel sodium channel blocker under clinical development. Surprisingly, ANP-230 was shown to block three pain-related subtypes, human Nav1.7, Nav1.8, and Nav1.9 with similar potency, but had only low inhibitory activity to human cardiac Nav1.5 channel and rat central Nav channels. The voltage clamp experiments using different step pulse protocols revealed that ANP-230 had a "tonic block" mode of action without state- and use-dependency. In addition, ANP-230 caused a depolarizing shift of the activation curve and decelerated gating kinetics in human Nav1.7-stably expressing cells. The depolarizing shift of activation curve was commonly observed in human Nav1.8-stably expressing cells as well as rat dorsal root ganglion neurons. These data suggested a quite unique mechanism of Nav channel inhibition by ANP-230. Finally, ANP-230 reduced excitability of rat dorsal root ganglion neurons in a concentration dependent manner. Collectively, these promising results indicate that ANP-230 could be a potent drug for neuropathic pain.

Reduced pain sensitivity of episodic pain syndrome model mice carrying a Nav1.9 mutation by ANP-230, a novel sodium channel blocker.

The sodium channel Nav1.9 is expressed in the sensory neurons of small diameter dorsal root ganglia that transmit pain signals, and gain-of-function Nav1.9 mutations have been associated with both painful and painless disorders. We initially determined that some Nav1.9 mutations are responsible for familial episodic pain syndrome observed in the Japanese population. We therefore generated model mice harboring one of the more painful Japanese mutations, R222S, and determined that dorsal root ganglia hyperexcitability was the cause of the associated pain. ANP-230 is a novel non-opioid drug with strong inhibitory effects on Nav1.7, 1.8 and 1.9, and is currently under clinical trials for patients suffering from familial episodic pain syndrome. However, little is known about its mechanism of action and effects on pain sensitivity. In this study, we therefore investigated the inhibitory effects of ANP-230 on the hypersensitivity of Nav1.9 p.R222S mutant model mouse to pain. In behavioral tests, ANP-230 reduced the pain response of the mice, particularly to heat or mechanical stimuli, in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, ANP-230 suppressed the repetitive firing of dorsal root ganglion neurons of these mutant mice. Our results clearly demonstrate that ANP-230 is an effective analgesic for familial episodic pain syndrome resulting from DRG neuron hyperexcitability, and that such analgesic effects are likely to be of clinical significance.

Nicotinic receptors and lurasidone-mediated reversal of phencyclidine-induced deficit in novel object recognition.

BACKGROUND: Enhancement of cholinergic function via nicotinic acetylcholine (ACh) receptor (nAChR) agonism is a potential approach for the treatment of cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia (CIAS). Some atypical antipsychotic drugs (AAPDs) enhance ACh release in rodent brain, indirectly stimulating these receptors. Here, we elucidate which nAChR subtypes mediate novel object recognition (NOR) in normal rats and contribute to the ability of the AAPD, lurasidone, to improve the NOR deficit in sub-chronic (sc) phencyclidine (PCP)-treated rats, a model for CIAS. METHODS: The ability of lurasidone and nAChR ligands to reverse the scPCP-induced deficit in NOR was assessed in female, Long-Evans rats. RESULTS: The broad acting nAChR antagonist, mecamylamine (MEC), induced a NOR deficit in normal rats. The NOR deficit secondary to scPCP was reversed by either selective α4ß2* nAChR agonism (A-85380) or α7 nAChRs agonism (PNU-282987); these effects were blocked by DHßE and MLA, selective antagonists of α4ß2* and α7 nAChR, respectively. The ability of lurasidone to reverse the scPCP-induced NOR deficit was blocked by MEC, but not MLA or DHßE. However, sub-effective doses (SED) of either A-85380 or PNU-282987 potentiated the ability of SED lurasidone to reverse the scPCP-induced NOR deficit. CONCLUSIONS: These results identify both α4ß2* and α7 nAChRs as candidates for enhancing the ability of lurasidone and other AAPDs, which increase the release of ACh, to improve CIAS.

Prolonged reversal of the phencyclidine-induced impairment in novel object recognition by a serotonin (5-HT)1A-dependent mechanism.

Many acute treatments transiently reverse the deficit in novel object recognition (NOR) produced by subchronic treatment with the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor non-competitive antagonist, phencyclidine (PCP), in rodents. Treatments which restore NOR for prolonged periods after subchronic PCP treatment may have greater relevance for treating the cognitive impairment in schizophrenia than those which restore NOR transiently. We examined the ability of post-PCP subchronic lurasidone, an atypical APD with potent serotonin (5-HT)1A partial agonism and subchronic tandospirone, a selective 5-HT1A partial agonist, to enable prolonged reversal of the subchronic PCP-induced NOR deficit. Rats treated with subchronic PCP (2mg/kg, twice daily for 7 days) or vehicle, followed by a 7day washout period were subsequently administered lurasidone or tandospirone twice daily for 7 days (day 15-21), and tested for NOR weekly for up to two additional weeks. Subchronic lurasidone (1, but not 0.1mg/kg) or tandospirone (5, but not 0.6mg/kg) significantly reversed the PCP-induced NOR deficit at 24h and 7days after the last injection, respectively. The effect of lurasidone persisted for one more week (day 36, 14 days after the last lurasidone dose), while tandospirone-treated rats were able to perform NOR at 7, but not 14, days after the last tandospirone dose. Co-administration of WAY100635 (0.6mg/kg), a 5-HT1A antagonist, with lurasidone, blocked the ability of lurasidone to restore NOR, suggesting that 5-HT1A receptor stimulation is necessary for lurasidone to reverse the effects of PCP. The role of dopamine, GABA and the MAPK/ERK signalling pathway in the persistent, but not indefinite, restoration of NOR is discussed.

Subchronic phencyclidine treatment in adult mice increases GABAergic transmission and LTP threshold in the hippocampus.

Repeated administration of non-competitive N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists such as phencyclidine (PCP) to rodents causes long-lasting deficits in cognition and memory, and has effects on behaviors that have been suggested to be models of the cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia (CIAS). Despite this being a widely studied animal model, little is known about the long lasting changes in synapses and circuits that underlie the altered behaviors. Here we examined synaptic transmission ex-vivo in the hippocampus of mice after a subchronic PCP (scPCP) administration regime. We found that after at least one week of drug free washout period when mice have impaired cognitive function, the threshold for long-term potentiation (LTP) of CA1 excitatory synapses was elevated. This elevated LTP threshold was directly related to increased inhibitory input to CA1 pyramidal cells through increased activity of GABAergic neurons. These results suggest repeated PCP administration causes a long-lasting metaplastic change in the inhibitory circuits in the hippocampus that results in impaired LTP, and could contribute to the deficits in hippocampal-dependent memory in PCP-treated mice. Changes in GABA signaling have been described in patients with schizophrenia, therefore our results support using scPCP as a model of CIAS. This article is part of the Special Issue entitled 'Synaptopathy--from Biology to Therapy'.

Dopamine D3 receptor antagonism contributes to blonanserin-induced cortical dopamine and acetylcholine efflux and cognitive improvement.

Blonanserin is a novel atypical antipsychotic drug (APD), which, unlike most atypical APDs, has a slightly higher affinity for dopamine (DA) D2 than serotonin (5-HT)2A receptors, and is an antagonist at both, as well as at D3 receptors. The effects of atypical APDs to enhance rodent cortical, hippocampal, limbic, and dorsal striatal (dSTR) DA and acetylcholine (ACh) release, contribute to their ability to improve novel object recognition (NOR) in rodents treated with sub-chronic (sc) phencyclidine (PCP) and cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia (CIAS). Here we determined the ability of blonanserin, the D3 antagonist NGB 2904, and the typical APD, haloperidol, a D2 antagonist, to enhance neurotransmitter efflux in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and dSTR of mice, and to ameliorate the scPCP-induced deficit in NOR in rats. Blonanserin, 10mg/kg, i.p., increased DA, norepinephrine (NE), and ACh efflux in mPFC and dSTR. NGB 2904, 3mg/kg, increased DA and ACh, but not NE, efflux in mPFC, and DA, but not ACh, efflux in dSTR. Haloperidol increased DA and NE efflux in dSTR only. The selective D3 agonist PD 128907 partially blocked the blonanserin-induced cortical ACh, DA, NE and striatal DA efflux. NGB 2904, 3mg/kg, like blonanserin, 1mg/kg, and the combination of sub-effective doses of NGB 2904 and blonanserin (both 0.3mg/kg), ameliorated the scPCP-induced NOR deficit in rats. These results suggest that D3 receptor blockade may contribute to the ability of blonanserin to increase cortical DA and ACh efflux, as well as to restore NOR and improve CIAS.

Combined serotonin (5-HT)1A agonism, 5-HT(2A) and dopamine D2 receptor antagonism reproduces atypical antipsychotic drug effects on phencyclidine-impaired novel object recognition in rats.

Subchronic administration of an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist, e.g. phencyclidine (PCP), produces prolonged impairment of novel object recognition (NOR), suggesting they constitute a hypoglutamate-based model of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia (CIS). Acute administration of atypical, e.g. lurasidone, but not typical antipsychotic drugs (APDs), e.g. haloperidol, are able to restore NOR following PCP (acute reversal model). Furthermore, atypical APDs, when co-administered with PCP, have been shown to prevent development of NOR deficits (prevention model). Most atypical, but not typical APDs, are more potent 5-HT(2A) receptor inverse agonists than dopamine (DA) D2 antagonists, and have been shown to enhance cortical and hippocampal efflux and to be direct or indirect 5-HT(1A) agonists in vivo. To further clarify the importance of these actions to the restoration of NOR by atypical APDs, sub-effective or non-effective doses of combinations of the 5-HT(1A) partial agonist (tandospirone), the 5-HT(2A) inverse agonist (pimavanserin), or the D2 antagonist (haloperidol), as well as the combination of all three agents, were studied in the acute reversal and prevention PCP models of CIS. Only the combination of all three agents restored NOR and prevented the development of PCP-induced deficit. Thus, this triple combination of 5-HT(1A) agonism, 5-HT(2A) antagonism/inverse agonism, and D2 antagonism is able to mimic the ability of atypical APDs to prevent or ameliorate the PCP-induced NOR deficit, possibly by stimulating signaling cascades from D1 and 5-HT(1A) receptor stimulation, modulated by D2 and 5-HT(2A) receptor antagonism.

Comparative effect of lurasidone and blonanserin on cortical glutamate, dopamine, and acetylcholine efflux: role of relative serotonin (5-HT)2A and DA D2 antagonism and 5-HT1A partial agonism.

Atypical antipsychotic drugs (AAPDs) have been suggested to be more effective in improving cognitive impairment in schizophrenia than typical APDs, a conclusion supported by differences in receptor affinities and neurotransmitter efflux in the cortex and the hippocampus. More potent serotonin (5-HT)2A than dopamine (DA) D2 receptors antagonism, and direct or indirect 5-HT1A agonism, characterize almost all AAPDs. Blonanserin, an AAPD, has slightly greater affinity for D2 than 5-HT2A receptors. Using microdialysis and ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry, we compared the abilities of the typical APD, haloperidol, three AAPDs, blonanserin, lurasidone, and olanzapine, and a selective 5-HT1A partial agonist, tandospirone, and all, except haloperidol, were found to ameliorate the cognitive deficits produced by the N-methyl-d-aspartate antagonist, phencyclidine, altering the efflux of neurotransmitters and metabolites in the rat cortex and nucleus accumbens. Blonanserin, lurasidone, olanzapine, and tandospirone, but not haloperidol, increased the efflux of cortical DA and its metabolites, homovanillic acid and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid. Olanzapine and lurasidone increased the efflux of acetylcholine; lurasidone increased glutamate as well. None of the compounds significantly altered the efflux of 5-HT or its metabolite, 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid, or GABA, serine, and glycine. The ability to increase cortical DA efflux was the only shared effect of the compounds which ameliorates the deficit in cognition in rodents following phencyclidine.

The novel object recognition test in rodents in relation to cognitive impairment in schizophrenia.

Novel object recognition (NOR) in rodents is analogous in some ways to human declarative (episodic) memory, one of the seven cognitive domains which are abnormal in schizophrenia. Cognitive impairment in schizophrenia (CIS) accounts for the largest proportion of the poor functional outcomes in this complex syndrome, with psychosis and negative symptoms accounting for much of the rest. Current atypical antipsychotic drugs (APDs) e.g. amisulpride, aripiprazole, clozapine, lurasidone, olanzapine and risperidone, and typical APDs as well, significantly improve some, but not all aspects of CIS, including declarative memory, but not in all patients, and rarely restore normal function. Thus, finding new ways to prevent or treat CIS is a major goal of current schizophrenia research, with animal models as an essential tool. NOR in rodents is valuable in this regard because of its relationship to declarative memory, the extensive knowledge of its underlying circuitry, and the ease and reliability of assessment. Sub-chronic administration of an N-methyl-Daspartate receptor (NMDAR) non-competitive antagonist, e.g. phencyclidine (PCP), dizocilpine (MK-801) or ketamine, is a favored means to study NOR as a model of CIS, because it produces deficient glutamatergic and GABAergic function, both of which have been implicated in the development of CIS. Transgenic mice and anti-cholinergic-induced deficits in NOR have received less attention. We review here NOR studies in rodents that bear upon CIS, including the evidence that atypical, but not typical APDs, as well as specific ligands, e.g. 5-HT1A partial agonists, 5-HT7 antagonists, D1 agonists, among others, can restore NOR following sub-chronic NMDAR antagonist treatment, and can also prevent the impairment in NOR produced by sub-chronic NMDAR antagonists. We discuss how well these findings translate to the bedside.

Translating the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist model of schizophrenia to treatments for cognitive impairment in schizophrenia.

The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonists, phencyclidine (PCP), dizocilpine (MK-801), or ketamine, given subchronically (sc) to rodents and primates, produce prolonged deficits in cognitive function, including novel object recognition (NOR), an analog of human declarative memory, one of the cognitive domains impaired in schizophrenia. Atypical antipsychotic drugs (AAPDs) have been reported to improve declarative memory in some patients with schizophrenia, as well as to ameliorate and prevent the NOR deficit in rodents following scNMDAR antagonist treatment. While the efficacy of AAPDs to improve cognitive impairment in schizophrenia (CIS) is limited, at best, and controversial, single doses of all currently available AAPDs so far tested transiently restore NOR in rodents following scNMDAR antagonist treatment. Typical antipsychotic drugs (APDs), e.g. haloperidol and perphenazine, are ineffective in this rodent model, and may be less effective as treatments of some domains of CIS. Serotonergic mechanisms, including, but not limited to serotonin (5-HT)2A and 5-HT7 antagonism, 5-HT(1A), and GABA(A) agonism, contribute to the efficacy of the AAPDs in the scNMDAR antagonist rodent models, which are relevant to the loss of GABA interneuron/hyperglutamate hypothesis of the etiology of CIS. The ability of sub-effective doses of the atypical APDs to ameliorate NOR in the scNMDAR-treated rodents can be restored by the addition of a sub-effective dose of the 5-HT(1A) partial agonist, tandospirone, or the 5-HT7 antagonist, SB269970. The mGluR2/3 agonist, LY379268, which itself is unable to restore NOR in the scNMDAR-treated rodents, can also restore NOR when given with lurasidone, an AAPD. Enhancing cortical and hippocampal dopamine and acetylcholine efflux, or both, may contribute to the restoration of NOR by the atypical APDs. Importantly, co-administration of lurasidone, tandospirone, or SB269970, with PCP, to rodents, at doses 5-10 fold greater than those acutely effective to restore NOR following scNMDAR treatment, prevents the effect of scPCP to produce an enduring deficit in NOR. This difference in dosage may be relevant to utilizing AAPDs to prevent the onset of CIS in individuals at high risk for developing schizophrenia. The scNMDAR paradigm may be useful for identifying possible means to treat and prevent CIS.

Cell-wall thickness: possible mechanism of acriflavine resistance in meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Acriflavine resistance in the clinical meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolate KT24 was found not to be mediated by multidrug efflux pumps encoded by qacA/B, smr, qacE, qacG, qacH, qacJ or norA. Early uptake and accumulation of ethidium bromide in MRSA KT24 was significantly lower than that in a susceptible strain, although the efflux rates were similar. Therefore, a permeability barrier in MRSA KT24 may be the conceivable mechanism of acriflavine resistance. Interestingly, it was found that MRSA KT24 had a significantly thickened cell wall, and that cell-wall thickness increased gradually during bacterial growth. In contrast, cell size and surface area in MRSA KT24 were not different from those in the susceptible strain. Moreover, MRSA KT24 exposure to sub-MIC concentrations of acriflavine resulted in a thicker cell wall. These results indicate that cell-wall thickness may be responsible for acriflavine resistance in S. aureus.

Mechanism of inhibition of DNA gyrase by ES-1273, a novel DNA gyrase inhibitor.

We investigated the mode of action of ES-1273, a novel DNA gyrase inhibitor obtained by optimization of ES-0615, which was found by screening our chemical library using anucleate cell blue assay. ES-1273 exhibited the same antibacterial activity against S. aureus strains with amino acid change(s) conferring quinolone- and coumarin-resistance as that against a susceptible strain. In addition, ES-1273 inhibited DNA gyrase supercoiling activity, but not ATPase activity of the GyrB subunit of DNA gyrase. Moreover, ES-1273 did not induce cleavable complex. These findings demonstrate that the mechanism by which ES-1273 inhibits DNA gyrase is different from that of the quinolones or the coumarins. Preincubation of DNA gyrase and substrate DNA prevented inhibition of DNA gyrase supercoiling activity by ES-1273. ES-1273 antagonized quinolone-induced cleavage. In electrophoretic mobility shift assay, no band representing DNA gyrase-DNA complex was observed in the presence of ES-1273. Taken together, these results indicate that ES-1273 prevents DNA from binding to DNA gyrase. Furthermore, our results from surface plasmon resonance experiments strongly suggest that ES-1273 interacts with DNA. Therefore, the interaction between ES-1273 and DNA prevents DNA from binding to DNA gyrase, resulting in inhibition of DNA gyrase supercoiling. Interestingly, we also found that ES-1273 inhibits topoisomerase IV and human topoisomerase IIalpha, but not human topoisomerase I. These findings indicate that ES-1273 is a type II topoisomerase specific inhibitor.

A new screening method to identify inhibitors of the Lol (localization of lipoproteins) system, a novel antibacterial target.

As the Lol system, which is involved in localization of lipoproteins, is essential for Escherichia coli growth and widely conserved among gram-negative bacteria, it is considered to be a promising target for the development of anti-gram-negative bacterial agents. However, no high-throughput screening method has so far been developed to screen for Lol system inhibitors. By combining three assay systems (anucleate cell blue assay, Lpp assay, and LolA-dependent release inhibition assay) and a drug susceptibility test, we have successfully developed a new screening method for identification of compounds that inhibit the Lol system. Using this new screening method, we screened 23,600 in-house chemical compounds and found 2 Lol system inhibitors. We therefore conclude that our new screening method can efficiently identify new antibacterial agents that target the Lol system.

A 4-aminofurazan derivative-A189-inhibits assembly of bacterial cell division protein FtsZ in vitro and in vivo.

Out of 95,000 commercially available chemical compounds screened by the anucleate cell blue assay, 138 selected hit compounds were further screened. As a result, A189, a 4-aminofurazan derivative was found to inhibit FtsZ GTPase with an IC(50) of 80 mug/ml and to exhibit antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Light scattering demonstrated that A189 inhibited FtsZ assembly in vitro, and microscopic observation of A189-treated E. coli indicated that A189 perturbed FtsZ ring formation and made bacterial cells filamentous. However, nucleoids staining with DAPI revealed that A189 did not affect DNA replication and chromosome segregation in bacterial filamentous cells. Furthermore, A189 made sulA-deleted E. coli cells filamentous. Taken together, these findings suggest that A189 inhibits FtsZ GTPase activity, resulting in perturbation of FtsZ ring formation, which leads to bacterial cell death.

Topoisomerase mutations and efflux are associated with fluoroquinolone resistance in Enterococcus faecalis.

To understand better the mechanisms of fluoroquinolone resistance in Enterococcus faecalis, fluoroquinolone-resistant mutants isolated from Ent. faecalis ATCC 29212 by stepwise selection with sparfloxacin (SPX) and norfloxacin (NOR) were analysed. The results showed the following. (i) In general, fluoroquinolone-resistance mechanisms in Ent. faecalis are similar to those in other Gram-positive bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae, namely, mutants with amino acid changes in both GyrA and ParC exhibited high fluoroquinolone resistance, and single GyrA mutants and a single ParC mutant were more resistant to SPX and NOR, respectively, than the parent strain, indicating that the primary targets of SPX and NOR in Ent. faecalis are DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV, respectively. (ii) Alterations in GyrB (DeltaKGA, residues 395-397) and ParE (Glu-459 to Lys) were associated with fluoroquinolone resistance in some mutants. Moreover, the facts that the NOR MIC, but not the SPX MIC, decreased in the presence of multidrug efflux pump inhibitors, that NOR accumulation decreased in the cells, and that the EmeA mRNA expression level did not change, strongly suggested that a NorA-like efflux pump, rather than EmeA, was involved in resistance to NOR.

Combination of known and unknown mechanisms confers high-level resistance to fluoroquinolones in Enterococcus faecium.

In order to elucidate the mechanisms of fluoroquinolone resistance in Enterococcus faecium, spontaneous mutants isolated from Ent. faecium ATCC 19434 by stepwise selection with sparfloxacin (SPX) or norfloxacin (NOR) and 13 clinical isolates of Ent. faecium were characterized by analysing quinolone-resistance-determining regions (QRDRs) of the gyrA, gyrB, parC and parE genes and examining changes in MICs of SPX and NOR in the presence of efflux pump inhibitors. The SPX-selected first-step mutant had a point mutation only in gyrA, and the mutants QR7-18 and QR7-39, and clinical isolates that had point mutations in parC, showed NOR resistance. These results indicate that the primary targets of SPX and NOR are DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV, respectively, and therefore that the primary target of fluoroquinolones in Ent. faecium differs depending on the structure of the compound used. The characterization of the spontaneous mutants and the clinical isolates demonstrates that in addition to the previously reported alterations in GyrA and ParC, an alteration in GyrB, a NorA-like pump, an unknown efflux pump, which excretes both SPX and NOR from bacterial cells, and probably other unknown mechanism(s) all contribute to fluoroquinolone resistance in Ent. faecium.

Anucleate cell blue assay: a useful tool for identifying novel type II topoisomerase inhibitors.

About 95,000 compounds were screened by the anucleate cell blue assay. Fifty-one of the hit compounds had various structures and showed inhibitory activity against DNA gyrase and/or topoisomerase IV. Moreover, the compounds exhibited antibacterial activity against a fluoroquinolone- and novobiocin-resistant strain of Staphylococcus aureus. The anucleate cell blue assay is therefore a useful tool for finding novel type II topoisomerase inhibitors.

Identification and molecular characterization of an N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanine amidase Sle1 involved in cell separation of Staphylococcus aureus.

We purified a peptidoglycan hydrolase involved in cell separation from a Staphylococcus aureus atl null mutant and identified its gene. Characterization of the gene product shows a 32 kDa N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanine amidase that we designated Sle1. Analysis of peptidoglycan digests showed Sle1 preferentially cleaved N-acetylmuramyl-L-Ala bonds in dimeric cross-bridges that interlink the two murein strands in the peptidoglycan. An insertion mutation of sle1 impaired cell separation and induced S. aureus to form clusters suggesting Sle1 is involved in cell separation of S. aureus. The Sle1 mutant revealed a significant decrease in pathogenesis using an acute infection mouse model. Atl is the major autolysin of S. aureus, which has been implicated in cell separation of S. aureus. Generation of an atl/sle1 double mutant revealed that the mutant cell separation was heavily impaired suggesting that S. aureus uses two peptidoglycan hydrolases, Atl and Sle1, for cell separation. Unlike Atl, Sle1 is not directly involved in autolysis of S. aureus.

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of a novel series of DNA gyrase inhibitors: 5-[(E)-2-arylvinyl]pyrazoles.

The 2-arylvinyl moiety in 1-(3-chlorophenyl)-3-(4-piperidyl)-5-[(E)-2-(5-chloro-1H-indol-3-yl)vinyl]pyrazole 2, which has previously shown improved DNA gyrase inhibition and target-related antibacterial activity, was transformed to other groups and the in vitro antibacterial activity of the synthesized compounds was evaluated. Many of the 5-[(E)-2-arylvinyl]pyrazoles synthesized in this study exhibited potent antibacterial activity against quinolone-resistant clinical isolates of gram-positive bacteria with minimal inhibitory concentration values equivalent to those against susceptible strains.