Whole cell screen based identification of spiropiperidines with potent antitubercular properties.

Whole cell based screens to identify hits against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), carried out under replicating and non-replicating (NRP) conditions, resulted in the identification of multiple, novel but structurally related spiropiperidines with potent antitubercular properties. These compounds could be further classified into three classes namely 3-(3-aryl-1,2,4-oxadiazol-5-yl)-1'-alkylspiro[indene-1,4'-piperidine] (abbr. spiroindenes), 4-(3-aryl-1,2,4-oxadiazol-5-yl)-1'-alkylspiro[chromene-2,4'-piperidine] (abbr. spirochromenes) and 1'-benzylspiro[indole-1,4'-piperidin]-2(1H)-one (abbr. spiroindolones). Spiroindenes showed ⩾ 4 log10 kill (at 2-12 µM) on replicating Mtb, but were moderately active under non replicating conditions. Whole genome sequencing efforts of spiroindene resistant mutants resulted in the identification of I292L mutation in MmpL3 (Mycobacterial membrane protein Large), required for the assembly of mycolic acid into the cell wall core of Mtb. MIC modulation studies demonstrated that the mutants were cross-resistant to spirochromenes but not to spiroindolones. This Letter describes lead identification efforts to improve potency while reducing the lipophilicity and hERG liabilities of spiroindenes. Additionally, as deduced from the SAR studies, we provide insights regarding the new chemical opportunities that the spiroindolones can offer to the TB drug discovery initiatives.

A high-throughput cidality screen for Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) aerosols is a major threat to tuberculosis (TB) researchers, even in bio-safety level-3 (BSL-3) facilities. Automation and high-throughput screens (HTS) in BSL3 facilities are essential for minimizing manual aerosol-generating interventions and facilitating TB research. In the present study, we report the development and validation of a high-throughput, 24-well 'spot-assay' for selecting bactericidal compounds against Mtb. The bactericidal screen concept was first validated in the fast-growing surrogate Mycobacterium smegmatis (Msm) and subsequently confirmed in Mtb using the following reference anti-tubercular drugs: rifampicin, isoniazid, ofloxacin and ethambutol (RIOE, acting on different targets). The potential use of the spot-assay to select bactericidal compounds from a large library was confirmed by screening on Mtb, with parallel plating by the conventional gold standard method (correlation, r2 = 0.808). An automated spot-assay further enabled an MBC90 determination on resistant and sensitive Mtb clinical isolates. The implementation of the spot-assay in kinetic screens to enumerate residual Mtb after either genetic silencing (anti-sense RNA, AS-RNA) or chemical inhibition corroborated its ability to detect cidality. This relatively simple, economical and quantitative HTS considerably minimized the bio-hazard risk and enabled the selection of novel vulnerable Mtb targets and mycobactericidal compounds. Thus, spot-assays have great potential to impact the TB drug discovery process.

Simple and rapid method to determine antimycobacterial potency of compounds by using autoluminescent Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

A major obstacle in the process of discovery of drugs against Mycobacterium tuberculosis is its extremely slow growth rate and long generation time (∼20 to 24 h). Consequently, determination of MICs and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) of potential drug candidates using current methods requires 7 days (resazurin-based MIC assay [REMA]) and 1 month (CFU enumeration), respectively. We employed a synthetic luciferase operon optimized for expression in high-GC-content bacteria and adapted it for use in mycobacteria. Using luminescence-based readouts, we were able to determine the MICs and bactericidal activities of approved tuberculosis (TB) drugs, which correlated well with currently used methods. Although luminescence-based readouts have been used previously to determine the MICs and bactericidal activities of approved TB drugs, in this study we adapted this assay to carry out a pilot screen using a library of 1,114 compounds belonging to diverse chemical scaffolds. We found that MICs derived from a 3-day luminescence assay matched well with REMA-based MIC values. To determine the bactericidal potencies of compounds, a 1:10 dilution of the cultures from the MIC plate was carried out on day 7, and the bactericidal concentrations determined based on time to positivity in 2 weeks were found to be comparable with MBC values determined by the conventional CFU approach. Thus, the luminescent mycobacterium-based approach not only is very simple and inexpensive but also allowed us to generate the information in half the time required by conventional methods.

In vitro and in vivo efficacy of ß-lactams against replicating and slowly growing/nonreplicating Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Beta-lactams, in combination with beta-lactamase inhibitors, are reported to have activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria growing in broth, as well as inside the human macrophage. We tested representative beta-lactams belonging to 3 different classes for activity against replicating M. tuberculosis in broth and nonreplicating M. tuberculosis under hypoxia, as well as against streptomycin-starved M. tuberculosis strain 18b (ss18b) in the presence or absence of clavulanate. Most of the combinations showed bactericidal activity against replicating M. tuberculosis, with up to 200-fold improvement in potency in the presence of clavulanate. None of the combinations, including those containing meropenem, imipenem, and faropenem, killed M. tuberculosis under hypoxia. However, faropenem- and meropenem-containing combinations killed strain ss18b moderately. We tested the bactericidal activities of meropenem-clavulanate and amoxicillin-clavulanate combinations in the acute and chronic aerosol infection models of tuberculosis in BALB/c mice. Based on pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic indexes reported for beta-lactams against other bacterial pathogens, a cumulative percentage of a 24-h period that the drug concentration exceeds the MIC under steady-state pharmacokinetic conditions (%TMIC) of 20 to 40% was achieved in mice using a suitable dosing regimen. Both combinations showed marginal reduction in lung CFU compared to the late controls in the acute model, whereas both were inactive in the chronic model.