A specific inhibitor of the ubiquitin activating enzyme: synthesis and characterization of adenosyl-phospho-ubiquitinol, a nonhydrolyzable ubiquitin adenylate analogue.

A nonhydrolyzable analogue of ubiquitin adenylate has been synthesized for use as a specific inhibitor of the ubiquitination of proteins. Ubiquitin adenylate is a tightly bound intermediate formed by the ubiquitin activating enzyme. The inhibitor adenosyl-phospho-ubiquitinol (APU) is the phosphodiester of adenosine and the C-terminal alcohol derived from ubiquitin. APU is isosteric with the normal reaction intermediate, the mixed anhydride of ubiquitin and AMP, but results from the replacement of the carbonyl oxygen of Gly76 with a methylene group. This stable analogue would be expected to bind to both ubiquitin and adenosine subsites and result in a tightly bound competitive inhibitor of ubiquitin activation. APU inhibits the ATP-PPi exchange reaction catalyzed by the purified ubiquitin activating enzyme in a manner competitive with ATP (Ki = 50 nM) and noncompetitive with ubiquitin (Ki = 35 nM). AMP has no effect on the inhibition, confirming that the inhibitor binds to the free form of the enzyme and not the thiol ester form. This inhibition constant is 10-fold lower than the dissociation constants for each substrate and 30-1000-fold lower than the respective Km values for ubiquitin and ATP. APU also effectively inhibits conjugation of ubiquitin to endogenous proteins catalyzed by reticulocyte fraction II with an apparent Ki of 0.75 microM. This weaker inhibition is consistent with the fact that activation of ubiquitin is not rate limiting in the conjugation reactions catalyzed by fraction II. APU is similarly effective as an inhibitor of the ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis of beta-lactoglobulin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Portage transport of sulfanilamide and sulfanilic acid.

Sulfanilic acid, in contrast to sulfanilamide, has poor in vitro antibacterial activity. Paradoxically, it has been shown to be a more effective inhibitor than sulfanilamide of dihydropteroic acid synthase. In order to circumvent the presumed permeability barrier to sulfanilic acid, advantage was taken of the technique of portage transport. Derivatives of the compound were prepared in which it was linked via its primary amino group to the alpha-carbon of glycine residues in di- and tripeptides. L-Alanyl-L-alanyl-L-2-[(4-sulfophenyl)amino]glycine proved to be 207 times more potent than sulfanilic acid and 8 times more active than either sulfanilamide or L-alanyl-L-alanyl-L-2-[[4-(aminosulfonyl)-phenyl]amino]glycine when tested against Escherichia coli. These findings confirm that the weak in vitro activity of sulfanilic acid is due to its limited ability to penetrate the bacterial membrane. They also emphasize the ability of portage transport to reveal therapeutic capability that had been attenuated by poor drug permeation.

Studies on the active site of succinyl-CoA:tetrahydrodipicolinate N-succinyltransferase. Characterization using analogs of tetrahydrodipicolinate.

Cyclic and acyclic analogs of tetrahydrodipicolinate (THDPA) are evaluated in a study of the active site of succinyl-CoA:tetrahydrodipicolinate N-succinyltransferase. In addition to the natural substrate, THDPA, one cyclic and several acyclic compounds are also succinylated. 2-Hydroxytetrahydropyran-2,6-dicarboxylic acid is a potent competitive inhibitor having a Kis of 58 nM. Based on the results of this study, a stereochemical model for the succinylation of THDPA is proposed. The major features of this model are as follows. 1) The succinylase binds THDPA (L-configuration). 2) Hydration of the imine group follows to give 2-hydroxypiperidine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid in which the two carboxyl groups are trans. 3) Succinylation then occurs and the ring opens to give the acyclic product. It is suggested that 2-hydroxytetrahydropyran-2,6-dicarboxylic acid is a transition state analog by virtue of the fact that it structurally resembles the hydrated intermediate.

Peptides of 2-aminopimelic acid: antibacterial agents that inhibit diaminopimelic acid biosynthesis.

Succinyl-CoA:tetrahydrodipicolinate-N-succinyltransferase is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of diaminopimelic acid (DAP), a component of the cell wall peptidoglycan of nearly all bacteria. This enzyme converts the cyclic precursor tetrahydrodipicolinic acid (THDPA) to a succinylated acyclic product. L-2-Aminopimelic acid (L-1), an acyclic analogue of THDPA, was found to be a good substrate for this enzyme and was shown to cause a buildup of THDPA in a cell-free enzyme system but was devoid of antibacterial activity. Incorporation of 1 into a di- or tripeptide yielded derivatives that exhibited antibacterial activity against a range of Gram-negative organisms. Of the five peptide derivatives tested, (L-2-aminopimelyl)-L-alanine (6) was the most potent. These peptides were shown to inhibit DAP production in intact resting cells. High levels (30 mM) of 2-aminopimelic acid were achieved in the cytoplasm of bacteria as a result of efficient uptake of the peptide derivatives through specific peptide transport systems followed, presumably, by cleavage by intracellular peptidases. Finally, the antibacterial activity of these peptides could be reversed by DAP or a DAP-containing peptide. These results demonstrate that the peptides containing L-2-aminopimelic acid exert their antibacterial action by inhibition of diaminopimelic acid biosynthesis.

Orally active 7-phenylglycyl cephalosporins. Structure-activity studies related to cefatrizine (SK&F 60771).

The synthesis of a series of related broad-spectrum 7-phenylglycyl cephalosporins with 3-heterocyclicthiomethyl substituents is described. The effects of benzene-ring hydroxylation and 3-substituent variation on the in vitro antibacterial activity, height and duration of mouse serum levels, and effectiveness in protecting against bacterial infection in the mouse are examined. Included for comparison are cephalexin, cephaloglycin and their ortho-, meta- and para-hydroxy derivatives. The biological properties examined were influenced by the position of the hydroxyl group and by the nature of the 3-substituent. The 7-(p-hydroxyphenylglycyl)-3-heterocyclicthiomethyl analogs were found to produce significantly higher serum levels on oral administration to mice than their unhydroxylated counterparts. This effect was not observed with the 7-(m-hydroxyphenylglycyl)-3-heterocyclicthiomethyl cephalosporins, nor with the p-hydroxyphenylglycyl analog of cephalexin. While m- and p-hydroxylation had little effect on in vitro activity and o-hydroxyphenylglycyl cephalosporins tested had very low antibacterial activities and were not examined further. One derivative, 7-[R-2-amino-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)acetamido]-3-(1H-1, 2, 3-triazole-4(5)-ylthiomethyl)-3-cephem-4-carboxylic acid (SK&F 60771) was found to have outstanding in vitro and in vivo activities along with oral and subcutaneous serum levels in the mouse that were significantly higher than those obtained with cephalexin. This derivative which has been given the generic name cefatrizine was selected for extensive additional biological evaluation.