New Application of cycloSaligenyl Prodrugs Approach for the Delivery of Fosfoxacin Derivatives in Mycobacteria.

In this work, we implemented for the first time the cycloSaligenyl prodrug strategy to increase the bioavailability of fosmidomycin phosphate analogs in bacteria. Here, we report the synthesis of 34 cycloSaligenyl prodrugs of fosfoxacin and its derivatives. Among them, fifteen double prodrugs efficiently prevented the growth of the non-pathogenic, fast-growing Mycobacterium smegmatis.

α,α-Difluorophosphonohydroxamic Acid Derivatives among the Best Antibacterial Fosmidomycin Analogues.

Three α,α-difluorophosphonate derivatives of fosmidomycin were synthesized from diethyl 1,1-difluorobut-3-enylphosphonate and were evaluated on Escherichia coli. Two of them are among the best 1-deoxy-d-xylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase inhibitors, with IC50 in the nM range, much better than fosmidomycin, the reference compound. They also showed an enhanced antimicrobial activity against E. coli on Petri dishes in comparison with the corresponding phosphates and the non-fluorinated phosphonate.

The specific molecular architecture of plant 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA lyase.

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) lyase (HMGL) is involved in branched-chain amino acid catabolism leading to acetyl-CoA production. Here, using bioinformatics analyses and protein sequence alignments, we found that in Arabidopsis thaliana a single gene encodes two HMGL isoforms differing in size (51 kDa, HMGL51 and 46 kDa, HMGL46). Similar to animal HMGLs, both isoforms comprised a C-terminal type 1 peroxisomal retention motif, and HMGL51 contained a mitochondrial leader peptide. We observed that only a shortened HMGL (35 kDa, HMGL35) is conserved across all kingdoms of life. Most notably, all plant HMGLs also contained a specific N-terminal extension (P100) that is located between the N-terminal mitochondrial targeting sequence TP35 and HMGL35 and is absent in bacteria and other eukaryotes. Interestingly, using HMGL enzyme assays, we found that rather than HMGL46, homodimeric recombinant HMGL35 is the active enzyme catalyzing acetyl-CoA and acetoacetate synthesis when incubated with (S)-HMG-CoA. This suggested that the plant-specific P100 peptide may inactivate HMGL according to specific physiological requirements. Therefore, we investigated whether the P100 peptide in HMGL46 alters its activity, possibly by modifying the HMGL46 structure. We found that induced expression of a cytosolic HMGL35 version in A. thaliana delays germination and leads to rapid wilting and chlorosis in mature plants. Our results suggest that in plants, P100-mediated HMGL inactivation outside of peroxisomes or mitochondria is crucial, protecting against potentially cytotoxic effects of HMGL activity while it transits to these organelles.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of aryl phosphoramidate prodrugs of fosfoxacin and its derivatives.

Aryl phosphoramidate prodrugs of fosfoxacin derivatives 15a-b and 8a-b were synthesized and investigated for their ability to target bacteria. No growth inhibition was observed neither for Mycobacterium smegmatis nor for Escherichia coli on solid medium, demonstrating the absence of release of the active compounds in the bacterial cells. Investigation of the stability of the prodrugs and their multienzymatic cleavage in abiotic and biotic conditions showed that the use of aryl phosphoramidate prodrug approach to deliver non-nucleotides compounds is not obvious and might not be appropriate for an antimicrobial drug.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of phosphate isosters of fosmidomycin and analogs as inhibitors of Escherichia coli and Mycobacterium smegmatis 1-deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerases.

Hydroxamate analogs of fosfoxacin, the phosphate homolog of fosmidomycin, have been synthesized and their activity tested on Escherichia coli and Mycobacterium smegmatis DXRs. Except for compound 4b, the IC50 values of phosphate derivatives are approximately 10-fold higher than those of the corresponding phosphonates. Although their inhibitory activity on Escherichia coli DXR is less efficient than their phosphonate analogs, we report the ability of phosphate compounds to inhibit the growth of Escherichia coli. This work points out that the uptake of fosfoxacin and its analogs is taking place via the GlpT and UhpT transporters. As expected, these compounds are inefficient to inhibit the growth of M. smegmatis growth inhibition probably due to a lack of uptake.

Farnesol-mediated shift in the metabolic origin of prenyl groups used for protein prenylation in plants.

Little is known about how plant cells regulate the exchange of prenyl diphosphates between the two compartmentalized isoprenoid biosynthesis pathways. Prenylation of proteins is a suitable model to study such interactions between the plastidial methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) and the cytosolic mevalonate (MVA) pathways because prenyl moieties used to modify proteins rely on both origins. Tobacco cells expressing a prenylatable GFP were treated with specific MEP and/or MVA pathways inhibitors to block the formation of prenyl diphosphates and therefore the possibility to modify the proteins. Chemical complementation assays using prenyl alcohol precursors restore the prenylation. Indeed, geranylgeraniol (C20 prenyl alcohol) and to a lesser but significant level C15-farnesol restored the prenylation of a protein bearing a geranylgeranylation CaaX motif, which under standard conditions is modified by a MEP-derived prenyl group. However, the restoration takes place in different ways. While geranylgeraniol operates directly as a metabolic precursor, the C15-prenyl alcohol functions indirectly as a signal that leads to shift the metabolic origin of prenyl groups in modified proteins, here from the plastidial MEP pathway in favor of the cytosolic MVA pathway. Furthermore, farnesol interferes negatively with the MEP pathway in an engineered Escherichia coli strain synthesizing isoprenoids either starting from MVA or from MEP. Following the cellular uptake of a fluorescent analog of farnesol, we showed its close interaction with tobacco plastids and modification of plastid homeostasis. As a consequence, in tobacco farnesol supposedly inhibits the plastidial MEP pathway and activates the cytosolic MVA pathway, leading to the shift in the metabolic origin and thereby acts as a potential regulator of crosstalk between the two pathways. Together, those results suggest a new role for farnesol (or a metabolite thereof) as a central molecule for the regulation of isoprenoid biosynthesis in plants.

C35 Hopanoid Side Chain Biosynthesis: Reduction of Ribosylhopane into Bacteriohopanetetrol by a Cell-Free System Derived from Methylobacterium organophilum.

The major bacterial triterpenoids of the hopane series each consist of a C30 triterpene hopane moiety and an additional nonterpene C5 side chain derived from D-ribose and linked through its C-5 carbon atom to the hopane side chain. Bacteriohopanetetrol and aminobacteriohopanetriol are the most common representatives of this natural product series, adenosylhopane and ribosylhopane being putative precursors. Deuterium-labelled ribosylhopane was obtained by hemisynthesis and converted into deuterium-labelled bacteriohopanetetrol in the presence of NADPH, thus giving evidence of this as yet unknown precursor-to-product relationship in the bacterial hopanoid metabolic pathway.

Flavonoids: true or promiscuous inhibitors of enzyme? The case of deoxyxylulose phosphate reductoisomerase.

Flavonoids, due to their physical and chemical properties (among them hydrophobicity and metal chelation abilities), are potential inhibitors of the 1-deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase and most of the tested flavonoids effectively inhibited its activity with encouraging IC50 values in the micromolar range. The addition of 0.01% Triton X100 in the assays led however, to a dramatic decrease of the inhibition revealing that a non-specific inhibition probably takes place. Our study highlights the possibility of erroneous conclusions regarding the inhibition of enzymes by flavonoids that are able to produce aggregates in micromolar range. Therefore, the addition of a detergent in the assays prevents possible false positive hits in high throughput screenings.

Catechol-rhodanine derivatives: Specific and promiscuous inhibitors of Escherichia coli deoxyxylulose phosphate reductoisomerase (DXR).

To develop more effective inhibitors than fosmidomycin, a natural compound which inhibits the deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase (DXR), the second enzyme of the MEP pathway, we designed molecules possessing on the one hand a catechol that is able to chelate the magnesium dication and on the other hand a group able to occupy the NADPH recognition site. Catechol-rhodanine derivatives (1-6) were synthesized and their potential inhibition was tested on the DXR of Escherichia coli. For the inhibitors 1 and 2, the presence of detergent in the enzymatic assays led to a dramatic decrease of the inhibition suggesting, that these compounds are rather promiscuous inhibitors. The compounds 4 and 5 kept their inhibition capacity in the presence of Triton X100 and could be considered as specific inhibitors of DXR. Compound 4 showed antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli. The only partial protection of NADPH against the inhibition suggested that the catechol-rhodanine derivatives did not settle in the coenzyme binding site. This paper points out the necessity to include a detergent in the DXR enzymatic assays to avoid false positive when putative hydrophobic inhibitors are tested and especially when the IC50, are in the micromolar range.

S-carvone suppresses cellulase-induced capsidiol production in Nicotiana tabacum by interfering with protein isoprenylation.

S-Carvone has been described as a negative regulator of mevalonic acid (MVA) production by interfering with 3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) activity, a key player in isoprenoid biosynthesis. The impact of this monoterpene on the production of capsidiol in Nicotiana tabacum, an assumed MVA-derived sesquiterpenoid phytoalexin produced in response to elicitation by cellulase, was investigated. As expected, capsidiol production, as well as early stages of elicitation such as hydrogen peroxide production or stimulation of 5-epi-aristolochene synthase activity, were repressed. Despite the lack of capsidiol synthesis, apparent HMGR activity was boosted. Feeding experiments using (1-13C)Glc followed by analysis of labeling patterns by 13C-NMR, confirmed an MVA-dependent biosynthesis; however, treatments with fosmidomycin, an inhibitor of the MVA-independent 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) isoprenoid pathway, unexpectedly down-regulated the biosynthesis of this sesquiterpene as well. We postulated that S-carvone does not directly inhibit the production of MVA by inactivating HMGR, but possibly targets an MEP-derived isoprenoid involved in the early steps of the elicitation process. A new model is proposed in which the monoterpene blocks an MEP pathway-dependent protein geranylgeranylation necessary for the signaling cascade. The production of capsidiol was inhibited when plants were treated with some inhibitors of protein prenylation or by further monoterpenes. Moreover, S-carvone hindered isoprenylation of a prenylable GFP indicator protein expressed in N. tabacum cell lines, which can be chemically complemented with geranylgeraniol. The model was further validated using N. tabacum cell extracts or recombinant N. tabacum protein prenyltransferases expressed in Escherichia coli. Our study endorsed a reevaluation of the effect of S-carvone on plant isoprenoid metabolism.

Profiling of defense responses in Escherichia coli treated with fosmidomycin.

The mevalonate-independent isoprenoid biosynthesis pathway has been recognized as a promising target for designing new antibiotics. But pathogens treated with compounds such as fosmidomycin, a slow binding inhibitor of 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate reducto-isomerase, the second enzyme in this pathway, develop rapid drug resistance. In Escherichia coli, acquired resistance results mostly from inactivating the cAMP-dependent glpT transporter, thereby preventing import of the inhibitor. Such mutant strains are characterized by cross-resistance to fosfomycin, by susceptibility to efflux pump inhibitors, by disability to use glycerol 3-phosphate as a carbon source or by increased activity of the promoter controlling the expression of the glpABC regulon when grown in presence of fosmidomycin. The quite challenging task consists in conceiving new and efficient inhibitors avoiding resistance acquisition. They should be efficient in blocking the target enzyme, but should also be durably taken up by the organism. To address this issue, it is essential to characterize the mechanisms the pathogen exploits to defeat the antibiotic before resistance is acquired. Having this in mind, a 2-D Fluorescence Difference Gel Electrophoresis proteomic approach has been applied to identify defense responses in E. coli cells being shortly exposed to fosmidomycin (3 h). It seems that combined strategies are promptly induced. The major one consists in preventing toxic effects of the compound either by adapting metabolism and/or by getting rid of the molecule. The strategy adopted by the bacteria is to eliminate the drug from the cell or to increase the tolerance to oxidative stress. The design of new, but still efficient drugs, needs consideration of such rapid modulations required to adapt cell growth in contact of the inhibitor.

Synthesis of tetrazole analogues of phosphonohydroxamic acids: an attempt to improve the inhibitory activity against the DXR.

This work is focused on the design of new antimicrobial drugs and on the development of lipophilic inhibitors of the DXR, the second enzyme of the MEP pathway for the biosynthesis of isoprene units in most bacteria, by replacing the phosphonate group of fosmidomycin derivatives by a tetrazoyl moiety capable of multiple hydrogen bonding. The N- and C-substituted tetrazole analogues of phosphonohydroxamate inhibitors were synthesized and tested on the DXR of Escherichia coli. This work points out the hypothesis that the phosphonate/phosphate recognition site might be too rigid to accommodate other functional groups.

The effect of MEP pathway and other inhibitors on the intracellular localization of a plasma membrane-targeted, isoprenylable GFP reporter protein in tobacco BY-2 cells.

We have established an in vivo visualization system for the geranylgeranylation of proteins in a stably transformed tobacco BY-2 cell line, based on the expression of a dexamethasone-inducible GFP fused to the carboxy-terminal basic domain of the rice calmodulin CaM61, which naturally bears a CaaL geranylgeranylation motif (GFP-BD-CVIL). By using pathway-specific inhibitors it was demonstrated that inhibition of the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway with known inhibitors like oxoclomazone and fosmidomycin, as well as inhibition of the protein geranylgeranyltransferase type 1 (PGGT-1), shifted the localization of the GFP-BD-CVIL protein from the membrane to the nucleus. In contrast, the inhibition of the mevalonate (MVA) pathway with mevinolin did not affect the localization. During the present work, this test system has been used to examine the effect of newly designed inhibitors of the MEP pathway and inhibitors of sterol biosynthesis such as squalestatin, terbinafine and Ro48-8071. In addition, we also studied the impact of different post-prenylation inhibitors or those suspected to affect the transport of proteins to the plasma membrane on the localization of the geranylgeranylable fusion protein GFP-BD-CVIL.

Modifications around the hydroxamic acid chelating group of fosmidomycin, an inhibitor of the metalloenzyme 1-deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase (DXR).

Fosmidomycin derivatives in which the hydroxamic acid group has been replaced by several bidentate chelators as potential hydroxamic alternatives were prepared and tested against the DXR from Escherichia coli. These results illustrate the predominant role of the hydroxamate functional group as the most effective metal binding group in DXR inhibitors.

Growth inhibition of Mycobacterium smegmatis by prodrugs of deoxyxylulose phosphate reducto-isomerase inhibitors, promising anti-mycobacterial agents.

Since Mycobacterium tuberculosis sets up several multiple anti-tuberculosis drug resistance mechanisms, development of new drugs with innovative target is urgent. The methylerythritol phosphate pathway (MEP) involved in the biosynthesis of essential metabolites for the survival of mycobacteria, represents such a target. Fosmidomycin 1a and FR900098 1b, two inhibitors of DXR, do not affect the viability of M. tuberculosis cells, due to a lack of uptake. To overcome the absence of the mycobacterial cell wall crossing of these compounds, we synthesized and tested the inhibition potency of acyloxymethyl phosphonate esters as prodrugs of fosmidomycin 1a, FR900098 1b and their analogs 2a and 2b on Mycobacterium smegmatis. Only the prodrugs 4b-6b inhibit the bacterial growth and could be effective anti-mycobacterial agents.

Isoprenoid biosynthesis via the methylerythritol phosphate pathway: structural variations around phosphonate anchor and spacer of fosmidomycin, a potent inhibitor of deoxyxylulose phosphate reductoisomerase.

Fosmidomycin and its analogue FR-900098 are potent inhibitors of 1-deoxy-d-xylulose 5-phosphate reducto-isomerase (DXR), the second enzyme of the MEP pathway for the biosynthesis of isoprenoids. This paper describes the synthesis of analogues of the two reverse phosphonohydroxamic acids 3 and 4, in which the length of the carbon spacer is modified, the N-methyl group of 3 is replaced by an ethyl group, and the phosphate group is replaced by potential isosteric moieties, i.e., sulfonate or carboxylate functionalities. The potential of the synthesized analogues to inhibit the E. coli DXR was evaluated.

Plant isoprenoid biosynthesis via the MEP pathway: in vivo IPP/DMAPP ratio produced by (E)-4-hydroxy-3-methylbut-2-enyl diphosphate reductase in tobacco BY-2 cell cultures.

Feeding tobacco BY-2 cells with [2-(13)C,4-(2)H]deoxyxylulose revealed from the (13)C labeling that the plastid isoprenoids, synthesized via the MEP pathway, are essentially derived from the labeled precursor. The ca. 15% (2)H retention observed in all isoprene units corresponds to the isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP)/dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) ratio (85:15) directly produced by the hydroxymethylbutenyl diphosphate reductase, the last enzyme of the MEP pathway. (2)H retention characterizes the isoprene units derived from the DMAPP branch, whereas (2)H loss represents the signature of the IPP branch. Taking into account the enantioselectivity of the reactions catalyzed by the (E)-4-hydroxy-3-methylbut-2-enyl diphosphate reductase, the IPP isomerase and the trans-prenyl transferase, a single biogenetic scheme allows to interpret all labeling patterns observed in bacteria or plants upon incubation with (2)H labeled deoxyxylulose.

Electron transfer from NADH bound to horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase (NAD+ dependent dehydrogenase): visualisation of the activity in the enzyme crystals and adsorption of formazan derivatives by these crystals.

The crystals of holoenzyme from native and cross-linked alcohol dehydrogenase exhibit electron transfer from NADH to phenazinium methosulfate (PMS), and then to the tetrazolium salt sodium 3,3'-{1-[(phenylamino)carbonyl]-3,4-tetrazolium}-bis(4-methoxy-6-nitro)benzenesulfonate (XXT). The slow dissociation of the cofactor and/or the conformational change associated can now be bypassed. The reduction product, formazan, did not diffuse out of the crystals in buffer and the crystals turned colored. In the presence of dimethyl sulfoxide or dimethoxyethane, the formazan diffused out to the solution. The reaction rates were found to be, respectively, 18% and 15% of the redox reaction rate of ethanol with cinnamaldehyde, close to the activity determined for the enzyme in solution in the presence of dimethoxyethane. The use of system PMS-tetrazolium salt is a useful tool to visualize the activity of dehydrogenases and other electron transferring systems in the crystalline state. The adsorption of formazan by the alcohol dehydrogenase crystals occurs in solution.

A cytosolic Arabidopsis D-xylulose kinase catalyzes the phosphorylation of 1-deoxy-D-xylulose into a precursor of the plastidial isoprenoid pathway.

Plants are able to integrate exogenous 1-deoxy-D-xylulose (DX) into the 2C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate pathway, implicated in the biosynthesis of plastidial isoprenoids. Thus, the carbohydrate needs to be phosphorylated into 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate and translocated into plastids, or vice versa. An enzyme capable of phosphorylating DX was partially purified from a cell-free Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) protein extract. It was identified by mass spectrometry as a cytosolic protein bearing D-xylulose kinase (XK) signatures, already suggesting that DX is phosphorylated within the cytosol prior to translocation into the plastids. The corresponding cDNA was isolated and enzymatic properties of a recombinant protein were determined. In Arabidopsis, xylulose kinases are encoded by a small gene family, in which only two genes are putatively annotated. The additional gene is coding for a protein targeted to plastids, as was proved by colocalization experiments using green fluorescent protein fusion constructs. Functional complementation assays in an Escherichia coli strain deleted in xk revealed that the cytosolic enzyme could exclusively phosphorylate xylulose in vivo, not the enzyme that is targeted to plastids. xk activities could not be detected in chloroplast protein extracts or in proteins isolated from its ancestral relative Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. The gene encoding the plastidic protein annotated as "xylulose kinase" might in fact yield an enzyme having different phosphorylation specificities. The biochemical characterization and complementation experiments with DX of specific Arabidopsis knockout mutants seedlings treated with oxo-clomazone, an inhibitor of 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase, further confirmed that the cytosolic protein is responsible for the phosphorylation of DX in planta.

Isoprenoid biosynthesis as a target for antibacterial and antiparasitic drugs: phosphonohydroxamic acids as inhibitors of deoxyxylulose phosphate reducto-isomerase.

Isoprenoid biosynthesis via the methylerythritol phosphate pathway is a target against pathogenic bacteria and the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. 4-(Hydroxyamino)-4-oxobutylphosphonic acid and 4-[hydroxy(methyl)amino]-4-oxobutyl phosphonic acid, two novel inhibitors of DXR (1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate reducto-isomerase), the second enzyme of the pathway, have been synthesized and compared with fosmidomycin, the best known inhibitor of this enzyme. The latter phosphonohydroxamic acid showed a high inhibitory activity towards DXR, much like fosmidomycin, as well as significant antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli in tests on Petri dishes.