Characterization of compound A, a novel lincomycin derivative active against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of causative bacteria for hospital- and community-acquired infections. In order to overcome MRSA infection, we synthesized compound A, a lincomycin derivative, and evaluated the biological properties. The MIC50 and MIC90 values of compound A against MRSA clinical isolates, which were susceptible to clindamycin, from infected skin in Japan were 0.12 and 0.25 µg ml-1, respectively, and those against hospital-acquired MRSA with clindamycin resistance were 1.0 and 2.0 µg ml-1, respectively. Linezolid non-susceptible MRSA selected in the laboratory had mutations in the 23S rRNA gene and exhibited cross-resistance to compound A. MRSA non-susceptible to compound A selected in laboratory was not cross-resistant to linezolid, implying that the binding site to 23S rRNA partly overlaps with clindamycin and linezolid. The in vivo efficacies of compound A against mouse skin abscess model infected with clindamycin-susceptible and -resistant MRSA were superior to those of clindamycin and linezolid, respectively. The well-known linezolid-induced myelosuppression is caused by its inhibitory effect on mitochondrial function, but inhibition was weaker for compound A than that of linezolid. In short, compound A has broader anti-MRSA activities than clindamycin and linezolid due to additional binding site, and demonstrated preferable safety profile as a potential anti-MRSA drug.

Synthesis and SARs of novel lincomycin derivatives Part 5: optimization of lincomycin analogs exhibiting potent antibacterial activities by chemical modification at the 6- and 7-positions.

In order to modify lincomycin at the C-6 and C-7 positions, we prepared target molecules, which have substituted pipecolinic acid at the 6-amino group and a para-substituted phenylthio group at the C-7 position, in application of palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling as a key reaction. As the result of structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies at the 6-position, analogs possessing 4'-cis-(cyclopropylmethyl)piperidine showed significantly strong antibacterial activities against Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes with an erm gene. On the basis of SAR, we further synthesized novel analogs possessing 4'-cis-(cyclopropylmethyl)piperidine by transformation of a C-7 substituent. Consequently, novel derivatives possessing a para-heteroaromatic-phenylthio group at the C-7 position exhibited significantly strong activities against S. pneumoniae and S. pyogenes with an erm gene even when compared with those of telithromycin. Finally, in vivo efficacy of selected two derivatives was evaluated in a rat pulmonary infection model with resistant S. pneumoniae with erm + mef genes. One of them exhibited strong and constant in vivo efficacy in this model, and both compounds showed strong in vivo efficacy against resistant S. pneumoniae with a mef gene.

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of novel lincomycin derivatives. IV. Optimization of an N-6 substituent.

The design and synthesis of lincomycin derivatives modified at the C-6 and C-7 positions are described. A substituent at the C-7 position is a 5-aryl-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl-thio group that generates antibacterial activities against macrolide-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes carrying an erm gene. An additional modification at the C-6 position was explored in application of information regarding pirlimycin and other related compounds. These dual modifications were accomplished by using methyl α-thiolincosaminide as a starting material. As a result of these dual modifications, the antibacterial activities were improved compared with those of compounds with a single modification at the C-7 position. The antibacterial activities of selected compounds in this report against macrolide-resistant S. pneumoniae and S. pyogenes with an erm gene were superior to those of telithromycin.

Synthesis and structure-activity relationships of novel lincomycin derivatives. Part 1. Newly generated antibacterial activities against Gram-positive bacteria with erm gene by C-7 modification.

We synthesized 7(S)-7-deoxy-7-arylthiolincomycin derivatives possessing a heterocyclic ring at the C-7 position via sulfur atom by either Mitsunobu reaction of 2,3,4-tris-O-(trimethylsiliyl)lincomycin or SN2 reaction of 7-O-methanesulfonyl-2,3,4-tri-O-trimethylsiliyllincomycin. As a result, 7(S)-7-deoxy-7-arylthiolincomycin derivatives 16, 21 and 27 exhibited antibacterial activities against respiratory infection-related Gram-positive bacteria with erm gene, although clindamycin did not have any activities against those pathogens. Furthermore, 7(S)-configuration of lincomycin derivatives was found to be necessary for enhancing antibacterial activities from the comparison results of configurations of 16 (S-configuration) and 30 (R-configuration) at the 7-position.

Preparation, biodistribution and scintigraphic evaluation of (99m)Tc-lincomycin.

A complex of lincomycin was synthesized with technetium-99m. The synthesis was carried out by using SnCl2.2H2O as reducing agent and ascorbic acid as stabilizer. The effect of various parameters such as amount of ligand/reducing agent, pH value and reaction time on radio labeling process was studied. The characterization of the (99m)Tc-Lincomycin was performed by HPLC and electrophoresis Biodistribution studies were carried out by analyzing the model of bacterial infectious rats (Sprague-Dawley). The uptake of infectious lesions at different time interval was also studied by using scintigraphic technique. The complex showed effective target to non-target ratio for various inflammatory or infectious lesions. The (99m)Tc-Lincomycin effective binding to living bacteria and could be used successfully as an infection imaging agent.

Mutasynthesis of lincomycin derivatives with activity against drug-resistant staphylococci.

The lincomycin biosynthetic gene lmbX was deleted in Streptomyces lincolnensis ATCC 25466, and deletion of this gene led to abolition of lincomycin production. The results of complementation experiments proved the blockage in the biosynthesis of lincomycin precursor 4-propyl-L-proline. Feeding this mutant strain with precursor derivatives resulted in production of 4'-butyl-4'-depropyllincomycin and 4'-pentyl-4'-depropyllincomycin in high titers and without lincomycin contamination. Moreover, 4'-pentyl-4'-depropyllincomycin was found to be more active than lincomycin against clinical Staphylococcus isolates with genes determining low-level lincosamide resistance.

HPLC-fluorescence detection method for determination of key intermediates of the lincomycin biosynthesis in fermentation broth.

The biosynthetic pathway of the clinically important antibiotic lincomycin is not known in details. The precise knowledge of the lincomycin biosynthesis is a prerequisite for generation of improved derivatives by means of combinatorial genetics. Methods allowing determination of the key intermediates are very important tools of the pathway investigation. Two new high-performance liquid chromatography methods with fluorescence detection for determination of lincomycin precursors in fermentation broth of Streptomyces lincolnensis and its lincomycin nonproducing mutants were developed. The first one enables simultaneous analysis of methylthiolincosamide (MTL) and N-demethyllincomycin (NDL), whereas the second one is suitable for 4-propyl-L-proline (PPL) assay. Both methods are based on the pre-column derivatization: MTL and NDL with 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan; PPL with o-phthaldialdehyde. The methods were validated with lower limit of quantification values of 2.50, 3.75, and 3.75 microg ml(-1) for MTL, NDL, and PPL, respectively. The inter- and intra-day accuracies and precisions were all within 12%. Stability of oxidized and derivatized analytes was investigated.

Hybridization analysis and mapping of the celesticetin gene cluster revealed genes shared with lincomycin biosynthesis.

The first insight into celesticetin biosynthetic gene cluster of S. caelestis is presented. The genomic DNA of producing strain was digested, digoxigenin-labeled and hybridized with a set of probes designed according to S. lincolnensis gene sequences. Genes with high homology to the lincomycin biosynthetic genes coding for the predicted common parts of the pathway were identified in S. caelestis. Then, genomic DNA of S. caelestis treated by a multiple digestion was hybridized with five digoxigenin-labeled probes to construct a rough restriction map. Two consecutive islands formed by the genes with a putative function in biosynthesis of the shared saccharide moiety revealed an organization similar to the lincomycin biosynthetic gene cluster. The celesticetin cluster was mapped and essential information was obtained for subsequent steps, i.e. isolation and sequence analysis of the cluster.

3-N,N-Dimethylamino-3-deoxy lincomycin: a structure-based hybrid between lincomycin and the desosamine unit of erythromycin.

The observation that the desosamine sugar unit in erythromycin and the methyl thiolincosaminide portion of lincomycin occupy virtually identical sites on the 23S rRNA according to X-ray crystallograpaic data, instigated the synthesis of 3-N,N-dimethylamino-3-deoxy lincomycin as a hybrid structure. The synthesis in eight steps from lincomycin, involving a trans-diequatorial opening of an intermediate epoxide as the key step, is described.

Oxidation of lincomycin by hydrogen peroxide restricts its potential biotransformation with haloperoxidases.

Lincomycin biotransformation was conducted by using Streptomyces venezuelae and Streptomyces phaeochromogenes cell-free extracts. Reaction products were isolated and identified by MS and NMR spectroscopy as lincomycin sulfoxide and lincomycin sulfone. Both compounds arise also by chemical oxidation with hydrogen peroxide; this reaction represents a new efficient way for the preparation of lincomycin sulfoxide and lincomycin sulfone and simultaneously excludes the biotransformation of lincomycin using haloperoxidases.

Chemical synthesis and structural study of lincomycin sulfoxides and a sulfone.

Oxidation of lincomycin with dimethyldioxirane resulted in the sulfoxide-glycosides 3a and 3b, whose treatment with osmium tetraoxide and N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide afforded the same sulfone; 4. According to FAB-MS and CD investigations, the absolute configuration of the sulfur atom in 3a and 3b is R and S, respectively. The new, unsaturated antibiotic analog (6) derived from clindamycin exists in the 4C1 conformation. The antibiotic activities of the synthesized compounds were also studied.

A spontaneous point mutation in the single 23S rRNA gene of the thermophilic arachaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius confers multiple drug resistance.

Development of transformable vectors for thermophilic archaea requires the characterization of appropriate selectable marker genes. Many antibiotic inhibitors of protein biosynthesis are known to bind to rRNA; therefore, we screened 14 for their capacity to inhibit growth of the thermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius. Carbomycin, celesticetin, chloramphenicol, puromycin, sparsomycin, tetracycline, and thiostrepton all inhibited growth by different degrees. Spontaneous drug-resistant mutants were isolated from plates containing celesticetin or chloramphenicol. Six mutants from each plate exhibited a C-2585-to-U transition in the peptidyl transferase loop of 23S rRNA (corresponding to C-2452 in Escherichia coli 23S rRNA). The single-site mutation also conferred resistance to carbomycin. The mutated 23S rRNA gene provides a potentially useful and dominant marker for a thermophilic archael vector.

Hybrids of antibiotics inhibiting protein synthesis. Synthesis and biological activity.

Four hybrid antibiotics combining structural features of chloramphenicol (1a), sparsomycin (2b), lincomycin (5c), and puromycin (6d)--lincophenicol (1c), chloramlincomycin (5a), sparsolincomycin (5b), and sparsopuromycin (6b)--were synthesized. They were investigated as inhibitors of several partial reactions of procaryotic and eucaryotic protein synthesis as well as potential antimicrobial agents. Lincophenicol (1c) was active as inhibitor of Escherichia coli ribosomal peptidyltransferase-catalyzed puromycin reaction. Both lincophenicol (1c) and sparsophenicol (1b) inhibited the binding of the iodophenol analogue of sparsomycin to E. coli ribosomes. The results are discussed in terms of a retro-inverso hypothesis advanced earlier for interpretation of biological activity of chloramphenicol (1a) and sparsophenicol (1b). Chloramlincomycin (5a) suppressed the growth of Streptococcus pyogenes with MIC 6.25 micrograms/mL.

Binding sites of the antibiotics pactamycin and celesticetin on ribosomal RNAs.

The binding sites of the antibiotics pactamycin and celesticetin on the rRNAs of Escherichia coli ribosomes were investigated by a chemical footprinting procedure. Pactamycin protected residues G-693 and C-795 in 16S RNA which are located in an important functional region of the 30S subunit participating in initiation complex formation and ribosomal subunit interaction. Celesticetin altered the reactivities of 5 residues A-2058, A-2059, A-2062, A-2451 and G-2505 within the central loop of domain V of 23S RNA which has been implicated in peptidyltransferase activity. Inferences are drawn concerning the mode of action of the antibiotics.

Lincocinamides and the incidence of antibiotic-associated colitis.

Reports of antibiotic-associated colitis (AAC) and of pseudomembranous colitis in patients treated with lincocinamides and other antimicrobial agents are reviewed. It is apparent that the incidence of colitis in patients treated with antimicrobials is declining. The greatest risk for AAC is seen in patients treated with ampicillin, followed by the cephalosporins, and then the lincocinamides. Treatment of AAC with vancomycin, metronidazole, or bacitracin is usually effective.

End-plate ion channel block produced by lincosamide antibiotics and their chemical analogs.

Five lincosamide compounds were studied for their effects on end-plate currents (epcs), miniature end-plate currents and acetylcholine-induced current fluctuations in the garter snake costocutaneous nerve-muscle preparation. At high concentrations, lincomycin and clindamycin reduced epc amplitude, but analysis of driving functions showed that only with clindamycin was this due solely to changes in epc quantal content. The effect of lincomycin on epc amplitude was exaggerated by rapid channel block during the rising phase of the epc. Clindamycin produced currents with a single exponential decay and single Lorentzian noise spectra. All the other compounds produced currents which decayed as the sum of two exponential components. For lincomycin and epilincomycin, noise spectra consisted of two Lorentzian components. For epiclindamycin and deoxylincomycin, although epcs and miniature end-plate currents decayed with two components, it was not possible to separate two components in the noise spectra. A kinetic analysis of ion channel blocking actions showed only small differences between the two pairs of stereoisomers studied. End-plate ion channel blocking and unblocking rate constants did not vary greatly among the compounds but the end-plate ion channel unblocking rate constant values for the two lincomycin stereoisomers were larger than those for the two clindamycin stereoisomers. Deoxylincomycin exhibited properties similar to those of the clindamycins. It was concluded that lipid solubility, not stereochemical conformation, plays the greater role in determining the ion channel blocking properties within the series, particularly that of the rate of dissociation of the compound from end-plate ion channels.

Cloning of a lincosamide resistance determinant from Streptomyces caelestis, the producer of celesticetin, and characterization of the resistance mechanism.

Self-resistance has been investigated in Streptomyces caelestis (producer of the lincosamide antibiotic celesticetin), from which a lincosamide resistance determinant (clr) has been isolated on a 1-kilobase DNA fragment and cloned in Streptomyces lividans. The clr product is a specific methylase which produces a single residue of N6-monomethyladenine in 23S rRNA at position 2058, thereby rendering the 50S ribosmal subunit resistant to the action of lincosamides.

Terapéutica actual con lincocinamidas / Current therapeutics with lincocinamides

Las lincocinamidas tienen una acción terapéutica definida en infecciones por anaerobios. Tanto la lincomicina como la clindamicina tienen el mismo espectro que las penicilinas; sin embargo, no son hidrolizadas por las beta-lactamasas. Comparten por lo menos el sistema de resistencia MLS (macrólidos, lincocinamidas, streptogramin) con los macrólidos. Por su difusión a tejidos y las concentraciones mínimas inhibitorias a dosis terapéuticas, se presentan como fármacos de elección para patógenos específicos