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Geißler A, Junca H, Kany AM, Daumann LJ, Hirsch AKH, Pieper DH, Sieber SA. Isocyanides inhibit bacterial pathogens by covalent targeting of essential metabolic enzymes. Chem Sci 2024; 15:11946-11955. [PMID: 39092115 PMCID: PMC11290450 DOI: 10.1039/d4sc01940g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 06/23/2024] [Indexed: 08/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Isonitrile natural products, also known as isocyanides, demonstrate potent antimicrobial activities, yet our understanding of their molecular targets remains limited. Here, we focus on the so far neglected group of monoisonitriles to gain further insights into their antimicrobial mode of action (MoA). Screening a focused monoisonitrile library revealed a potent S. aureus growth inhibitor with a different MoA compared to previously described isonitrile antibiotics. Chemical proteomics via competitive cysteine reactivity profiling, uncovered covalent modifications of two essential metabolic enzymes involved in the fatty acid biosynthetic process (FabF) and the hexosamine pathway (GlmS) at their active site cysteines. In-depth studies with the recombinant enzymes demonstrated concentration-dependent labeling, covalent binding to the catalytic site and corresponding functional inhibition by the isocyanide. Thermal proteome profiling and full proteome studies of compound-treated S. aureus further highlighted the destabilization and dysregulation of proteins related to the targeted pathways. Cytotoxicity and the inhibition of cytochrome P450 enzymes require optimization of the hit molecule prior to therapeutic application. The here described novel, covalent isocyanide MoA highlights the versatility of the functional group, making it a useful tool and out-of-the-box starting point for the development of innovative antibiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Geißler
- Center for Functional Protein Assemblies, Department of Bioscience, TUM School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of Munich Ernst-Otto-Fischer-Straße 8 85748 Garching Germany
| | - Howard Junca
- Microbial Interactions and Processes Research Group, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research Inhoffenstraße 7 38124 Braunschweig Germany
| | - Andreas M Kany
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) - Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) Campus E8.1 66123 Saarbrücken Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (DZIF) e.V. 38124 Braunschweig Germany
| | - Lena J Daumann
- Chair of Bioinorganic Chemistry, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf Universitätsstraße 1 40225 Düsseldorf Germany
| | - Anna K H Hirsch
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) - Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) Campus E8.1 66123 Saarbrücken Germany
- Saarland University, Department of Pharmacy 66123 Saarbrücken Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (DZIF) e.V. 38124 Braunschweig Germany
| | - Dietmar H Pieper
- Microbial Interactions and Processes Research Group, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research Inhoffenstraße 7 38124 Braunschweig Germany
| | - Stephan A Sieber
- Center for Functional Protein Assemblies, Department of Bioscience, TUM School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of Munich Ernst-Otto-Fischer-Straße 8 85748 Garching Germany
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) - Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) Campus E8.1 66123 Saarbrücken Germany
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Zheng Z, Clardy J, Liu HW. Biosynthesis of the Unusual Epoxy Isonitrile-Containing Antibiotics Aerocyanidin and Amycomicin. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:21061-21068. [PMID: 39039999 PMCID: PMC11334264 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c06411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/24/2024]
Abstract
Aerocyanidin and amycomicin are two antibiotics derived from long-chain acids with a rare epoxy isonitrile moiety, the complexity of which renders the total synthesis of these two natural products rather challenging. How this functionality is biosynthesized has also remained obscure. While the biosynthetic gene clusters for these compounds have been identified, both appear to be deficient in genes encoding enzymes seemingly necessary for the oxidative modifications observed in these antibiotics. Herein, the biosynthetic pathways of aerocyanidin and amycomicin are fully elucidated. They share a conserved pathway to isonitrile intermediates that involves a bifunctional thioesterase and a nonheme iron α-ketoglutarate-dependent enzyme. In both cases, the isonitrile intermediates are then loaded onto an acyl carrier protein (ACP) catalyzed by a ligase. The isonitrile-tethered ACP is subsequently processed by polyketide synthase(s) to undergo chain extension, thereby assembling a long-chain γ-hydroxy isonitrile acid skeleton. The epoxide is installed by the cupin domain-containing protein AecF to conclude the biosynthesis of aerocyanidin. In contrast, three P450 enzymes AmcB, AmcC, and AmcQ are involved in epoxidation and keto formation to finalize the biosynthesis of amycomicin. These results thus explain the sequence of oxidation events that result in the final structures of aerocyanidin and amycomicin as well as the biosynthesis of the key γ-hydroxy epoxy isonitrile functional group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziyang Zheng
- Department of Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
| | - Jon Clardy
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School and Blavatnik Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Hung-Wen Liu
- Department of Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
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Wong HPH, Mokkawes T, de Visser SP. Can the isonitrile biosynthesis enzyme ScoE assist with the biosynthesis of isonitrile groups in drug molecules? A computational study. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:27250-27262. [DOI: 10.1039/d2cp03409c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Computational studies show that the isonitrile synthesizing enzyme ScoE can catalyse the conversion of γ-Gly substituents in substrates to isonitrile. This enables efficient isonitrile substitution into target molecules such as axisonitrile-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henrik P. H. Wong
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, UK
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
| | - Thirakorn Mokkawes
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, UK
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
| | - Sam P. de Visser
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, UK
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
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Massarotti A, Brunelli F, Aprile S, Giustiniano M, Tron GC. Medicinal Chemistry of Isocyanides. Chem Rev 2021; 121:10742-10788. [PMID: 34197077 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
In eons of evolution, isocyanides carved out a niche in the ecological systems probably thanks to their metal coordinating properties. In 1859 the first isocyanide was synthesized by humans and in 1950 the first natural isocyanide was discovered. Now, at the beginning of XXI century, hundreds of isocyanides have been isolated both in prokaryotes and eukaryotes and thousands have been synthesized in the laboratory. For some of them their ecological role is known, and their potent biological activity as antibacterial, antifungal, antimalarial, antifouling, and antitumoral compounds has been described. Notwithstanding, the isocyanides have not gained a good reputation among medicinal chemists who have erroneously considered them either too reactive or metabolically unstable, and this has restricted their main use to technical applications as ligands in coordination chemistry. The aim of this review is therefore to show the richness in biological activity of the isocyanide-containing molecules, to support the idea of using the isocyanide functional group as an unconventional pharmacophore especially useful as a metal coordinating warhead. The unhidden hope is to convince the skeptical medicinal chemists of the isocyanide potential in many areas of drug discovery and considering them in the design of future drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Massarotti
- Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Largo Donegani 2, 28100 Novara, Italy
| | - Francesca Brunelli
- Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Largo Donegani 2, 28100 Novara, Italy
| | - Silvio Aprile
- Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Largo Donegani 2, 28100 Novara, Italy
| | - Mariateresa Giustiniano
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II", Via D. Montesano 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy
| | - Gian Cesare Tron
- Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Largo Donegani 2, 28100 Novara, Italy
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinming Zhang
- CNRS, BioCIS; Université Paris-Saclay; 92290 Châtenay-Malabry France
| | - Laurent Evanno
- CNRS, BioCIS; Université Paris-Saclay; 92290 Châtenay-Malabry France
| | - Erwan Poupon
- CNRS, BioCIS; Université Paris-Saclay; 92290 Châtenay-Malabry France
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Hu F, Chen Z, Tan Y, Xu D, Huang S, Jia S, Gong X, Qin W, Yan H. Organocatalytic Enantioselective γ-Elimination: Applications in the Preparation of Chiral Peroxides and Epoxides. Org Lett 2020; 22:1934-1940. [PMID: 32057244 DOI: 10.1021/acs.orglett.0c00295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
An organocatalyzed enantioselective γ-elimination process has been achieved and applied in the kinetic resolution of peroxides to access chiral peroxides and epoxides. The reaction provided a pathway for the preparation of two useful synthetic and biologically important structural motifs through a single-step reaction. A range of substrates has been resolved with a selectivity factor up to 63. The obtained enantioenriched peroxides and epoxides allowed a series of transformations with retained optical purities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangli Hu
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Natural Product Synthesis and Drug Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, P. R. China
| | - Zhili Chen
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Natural Product Synthesis and Drug Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, P. R. China
| | - Yu Tan
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Natural Product Synthesis and Drug Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, P. R. China
| | - Da Xu
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Natural Product Synthesis and Drug Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, P. R. China
| | - Shengli Huang
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Natural Product Synthesis and Drug Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, P. R. China
| | - Shiqi Jia
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Natural Product Synthesis and Drug Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, P. R. China
| | - Xiangnan Gong
- Analytical and Testing Center of Chongqing University, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, P. R. China
| | - Wenling Qin
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Natural Product Synthesis and Drug Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, P. R. China
| | - Hailong Yan
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Natural Product Synthesis and Drug Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, P. R. China
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Altundas B, Marrazzo JPR, Fleming FF. Metalated isocyanides: formation, structure, and reactivity. Org Biomol Chem 2020; 18:6467-6482. [PMID: 32766609 DOI: 10.1039/d0ob01340d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Metalated isocyanides are highly versatile organometallics. Central to the reactivity of metalated isocyanides is the presence of two orthogonally reactive carbons, a highly nucleophilic "carbanion" inductively stabilized by a carbene-like isocyanide carbon. The two reactivities are harnessed in the attack of metalated isocyanides on π-electrophiles where an initial nucleophilic attack leads to an electron pair that cyclizes onto the terminal isocyanide carbon in a rapid route to diverse, nitrogenous heterocycles. Harnessing the potent nucleophilicity of metalated isocyanides while preventing electrophilic attack on the terminal isocyanide carbon has largely been driven by empirical heuristics. This review provides a foundational understanding by surveying the formation, structure, and properties of metalated isocyanides. The focus on the interplay between the structure and reactivity of metalated isocyanides is anticipated to facilitate the development and deployment of these exceptional nucleophiles in complex bond constructions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bilal Altundas
- Chemistry, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
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Naturally occurring of α,β-diepoxy-containing compounds: origin, structures, and biological activities. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2019; 103:3249-3264. [PMID: 30852659 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-019-09711-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2018] [Revised: 02/19/2019] [Accepted: 02/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Diepoxy-containing compounds are widely distributed in nature. These metabolites are found in plants and marine organisms and are also produced by many microorganisms, fungi, or fungal endophytes. Many of these metabolites are antibiotics and exhibit a wide variety of biological activities. More than 80 α,β-diepoxy-containing compounds are presented in this article, which belong to different classes of chemical compounds including lipids, terpenoids, alkaloids, quinones, hydroquinones, and pyrones. The main activities that characterize α,β-diepoxy-containing compounds are antineoplastic with confidence up to 99%, antifungal with confidence up to 94%, antiinflammatory with confidence up to 92%, or antibacterial with confidence up to 78%. In addition, these metabolites can be used as a lipid metabolism regulator with a certainty of up to 81%, antiviral (Arbovirus) activity with a certainty of up to 71%, or antiallergic activity with confidence up to 69%. These data on the biological activity of diepoxy-containing compounds are of considerable interest to pharmacologists, chemists, and medical professionals who are involved in phytomedicine and related areas of science and industry.
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