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Jacobs LMC, Consol P, Chen Y. Drug Discovery in the Field of β-Lactams: An Academic Perspective. Antibiotics (Basel) 2024; 13:59. [PMID: 38247618 PMCID: PMC10812508 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics13010059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
β-Lactams are the most widely prescribed class of antibiotics that inhibit penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs), particularly transpeptidases that function in peptidoglycan synthesis. A major mechanism of antibiotic resistance is the production of β-lactamase enzymes, which are capable of hydrolyzing β-lactam antibiotics. There have been many efforts to counter increasing bacterial resistance against β-lactams. These studies have mainly focused on three areas: discovering novel inhibitors against β-lactamases, developing new β-lactams less susceptible to existing resistance mechanisms, and identifying non-β-lactam inhibitors against cell wall transpeptidases. Drug discovery in the β-lactam field has afforded a range of research opportunities for academia. In this review, we summarize the recent new findings on both β-lactamases and cell wall transpeptidases because these two groups of enzymes are evolutionarily and functionally connected. Many efforts to develop new β-lactams have aimed to inhibit both transpeptidases and β-lactamases, while several promising novel β-lactamase inhibitors have shown the potential to be further developed into transpeptidase inhibitors. In addition, the drug discovery progress against each group of enzymes is presented in three aspects: understanding the targets, screening methodology, and new inhibitor chemotypes. This is to offer insights into not only the advancement in this field but also the challenges, opportunities, and resources for future research. In particular, cyclic boronate compounds are now capable of inhibiting all classes of β-lactamases, while the diazabicyclooctane (DBO) series of small molecules has led to not only new β-lactamase inhibitors but potentially a new class of antibiotics by directly targeting PBPs. With the cautiously optimistic successes of a number of new β-lactamase inhibitor chemotypes and many questions remaining to be answered about the structure and function of cell wall transpeptidases, non-β-lactam transpeptidase inhibitors may usher in the next exciting phase of drug discovery in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yu Chen
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA; (L.M.C.J.); (P.C.)
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2
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Lembke HK, Carlson EE. Activity-based probes in pathogenic bacteria: Investigating drug targets and molecule specificity. Curr Opin Chem Biol 2023; 76:102359. [PMID: 37406424 PMCID: PMC10526982 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2023.102359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023]
Abstract
Bacteria comprise complex communities within our bodies and largely have beneficial roles, however a small percentage are pathogenic. While all pathogens are important to public health, immediate action is necessary to combat bacterial strains developing pan- and multi-resistance to antibiotics. As present therapeutics fail to tackle this problem, novel strategies are required to address this threat. Activity-based probes (ABPs) are one method to investigate proteins of interest in pathogens. These probes can serve multiple purposes to better our understanding of bacterial pathogenicity. Herein, we highlight recent studies that used ABPs to identify new drug targets or visualize antibiotic resistance- or bacterial virulence-associated proteins, and introduce strategies to determine the specificity of ABPs within a targeted enzyme class.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah K Lembke
- Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
| | - Erin E Carlson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States; Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States; Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States; Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States.
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3
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Han L, Chang PV. Activity-based protein profiling in microbes and the gut microbiome. Curr Opin Chem Biol 2023; 76:102351. [PMID: 37429085 PMCID: PMC10527501 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2023.102351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 05/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
Activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) is a powerful chemical approach for probing protein function and enzymatic activity in complex biological systems. This strategy typically utilizes activity-based probes that are designed to bind a specific protein, amino acid residue, or protein family and form a covalent bond through a reactivity-based warhead. Subsequent analysis by mass spectrometry-based proteomic platforms that involve either click chemistry or affinity-based labeling to enrich for the tagged proteins enables identification of protein function and enzymatic activity. ABPP has facilitated elucidation of biological processes in bacteria, discovery of new antibiotics, and characterization of host-microbe interactions within physiological contexts. This review will focus on recent advances and applications of ABPP in bacteria and complex microbial communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Han
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Pamela V Chang
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA; Cornell Center for Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA; Cornell Institute of Host-Microbe Interactions and Disease, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
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4
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Malarney KP, Chang PV. Chemoproteomic Approaches for Unraveling Prokaryotic Biology. Isr J Chem 2023; 63:e202200076. [PMID: 37842282 PMCID: PMC10575470 DOI: 10.1002/ijch.202200076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 03/07/2023]
Abstract
Bacteria are ubiquitous lifeforms with important roles in the environment, biotechnology, and human health. Many of the functions that bacteria perform are mediated by proteins and enzymes, which catalyze metabolic transformations of small molecules and modifications of proteins. To better understand these biological processes, chemical proteomic approaches, including activity-based protein profiling, have been developed to interrogate protein function and enzymatic activity in physiologically relevant contexts. Here, chemoproteomic strategies and technological advances for studying bacterial physiology, pathogenesis, and metabolism are discussed. The development of chemoproteomic approaches for characterizing protein function and enzymatic activity within bacteria remains an active area of research, and continued innovations are expected to provide breakthroughs in understanding bacterial biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kien P Malarney
- Department of Microbiology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (USA)
| | - Pamela V Chang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (USA)
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (USA)
- Cornell Center for Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (USA)
- Cornell Institute of Host-Microbe Interactions and Disease, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (USA)
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5
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Racioppo B, Qiu N, Adibekian A. Serine Hydrolase Activity‐Based Probes for use in Chemical Proteomics. Isr J Chem 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/ijch.202300016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Brittney Racioppo
- Department of Chemistry University of Illinois Chicago Chicago Illinois 60607 United States
- Skaggs Doctoral Program in the Chemical and Biological Sciences, Scripps Research La Jolla California 92037 United States
| | - Nan Qiu
- Department of Chemistry University of Illinois Chicago Chicago Illinois 60607 United States
- Skaggs Doctoral Program in the Chemical and Biological Sciences, Scripps Research La Jolla California 92037 United States
| | - Alexander Adibekian
- Department of Chemistry University of Illinois Chicago Chicago Illinois 60607 United States
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6
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Fisher JF, Mobashery S. β-Lactams from the Ocean. Mar Drugs 2023; 21:86. [PMID: 36827127 PMCID: PMC9963991 DOI: 10.3390/md21020086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 01/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The title of this essay is as much a question as it is a statement. The discovery of the β-lactam antibiotics-including penicillins, cephalosporins, and carbapenems-as largely (if not exclusively) secondary metabolites of terrestrial fungi and bacteria, transformed modern medicine. The antibiotic β-lactams inactivate essential enzymes of bacterial cell-wall biosynthesis. Moreover, the ability of the β-lactams to function as enzyme inhibitors is of such great medical value, that inhibitors of the enzymes which degrade hydrolytically the β-lactams, the β-lactamases, have equal value. Given this privileged status for the β-lactam ring, it is therefore a disappointment that the exemplification of this ring in marine secondary metabolites is sparse. It may be that biologically active marine β-lactams are there, and simply have yet to be encountered. In this report, we posit a second explanation: that the value of the β-lactam to secure an ecological advantage in the marine environment might be compromised by its close structural similarity to the β-lactones of quorum sensing. The steric and reactivity similarities between the β-lactams and the β-lactones represent an outside-of-the-box opportunity for correlating new structures and new enzyme targets for the discovery of compelling biological activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jed F Fisher
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, 354 McCourtney Hall, University of Note Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46656-5670, USA
| | - Shahriar Mobashery
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, 354 McCourtney Hall, University of Note Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46656-5670, USA
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Flanders PL, Contreras-Martel C, Brown NW, Shirley JD, Martins A, Nauta KN, Dessen A, Carlson EE, Ambrose EA. Combined Structural Analysis and Molecular Dynamics Reveal Penicillin-Binding Protein Inhibition Mode with β-Lactones. ACS Chem Biol 2022; 17:3110-3120. [PMID: 36173746 PMCID: PMC10057605 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.2c00503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
β-Lactam antibiotics comprise one of the most widely used therapeutic classes to combat bacterial infections. This general scaffold has long been known to inhibit bacterial cell wall biosynthesis by inactivating penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs); however, bacterial resistance to β-lactams is now widespread, and new strategies are urgently needed to target PBPs and other proteins involved in bacterial cell wall formation. A key requirement in the identification of strategies to overcome resistance is a deeper understanding of the roles of the PBPs and their associated proteins during cell growth and division, such as can be obtained with the use of selective chemical probes. Probe development has typically depended upon known PBP inhibitors, which have historically been thought to require a negatively charged moiety that mimics the C-terminus of the PBP natural peptidoglycan substrate, d-Ala-d-Ala. However, we have identified a new class of β-lactone-containing molecules that interact with PBPs, often in an isoform-specific manner, and do not incorporate this C-terminal mimetic. Here, we report a series of structural biology experiments and molecular dynamics simulations that we utilized to evaluate specific binding modes of this novel PBP inhibitor class. In this work, we obtained <2 Å resolution X-ray structures of four β-lactone probes bound to PBP1b from Streptococcus pneumoniae. Despite their diverging recognition modes beyond the site of covalent modification, these four probes all efficiently labeled PBP1b, as well as other PBPs from S. pneumoniae. From these structures, we analyzed protein-ligand interactions and characterized the β-lactone-bound active sites using in silico mutagenesis and molecular dynamics. Our approach has clarified the dynamic interaction profile in this series of ligands, expanding the understanding of PBP inhibitor binding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parker L Flanders
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 208 Harvard Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454, United States
| | - Carlos Contreras-Martel
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS), F-38044 Grenoble, France
| | - Nathaniel W Brown
- Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Joshua D Shirley
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 208 Harvard Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454, United States
| | - Alexandre Martins
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS), F-38044 Grenoble, France
| | - Kelsie N Nauta
- Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Andréa Dessen
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS), F-38044 Grenoble, France.,Brazilian Biosciences National Laboratory (LNBio), CNPEM, Campinas 13084-971, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Erin E Carlson
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 208 Harvard Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454, United States.,Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States.,Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, 321 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454, United States.,Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota, 321 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454, United States
| | - Elizabeth A Ambrose
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 208 Harvard Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454, United States.,Minnesota Supercomputing Institute for Advanced Computational Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
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Sharan D, Carlson EE. Expanded profiling of β-lactam selectivity for penicillin-binding proteins in Streptococcus pneumoniae D39. Biol Chem 2022; 403:433-443. [PMID: 35218689 DOI: 10.1515/hsz-2021-0386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) are integral to bacterial cell division as they mediate the final steps of cell wall maturation. Selective fluorescent probes are useful for understanding the role of individual PBPs, including their localization and activity during growth and division of bacteria. For the development of new selective probes for PBP imaging, several β-lactam antibiotics were screened, as they are known to covalently bind PBP in vivo. The PBP inhibition profiles of 16 commercially available β-lactam antibiotics were evaluated in an unencapsulated derivative of the D39 strain of Streptococcus pneumoniae, IU1945. These β-lactams have not previously been characterized for their PBP inhibition profiles in S. pneumoniae and these data augment those obtained from a library of 20 compounds that we previously reported. We investigated seven penicillins, three carbapenems, and six cephalosporins. Most of these β-lactams were found to be co-selective for PBP2x and PBP3, as was noted in our previous studies. Six out of 16 antibiotics were selective for PBP3 and one molecule was co-selective for PBP1a and PBP3. Overall, this work expands the chemical space available for development of future β-lactam-based probes for specific pneumococcal PBP labeling and these methods can be used for the development of probes for PBP labelling in other bacterial species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepti Sharan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Erin E Carlson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.,Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 208 Harvard Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA.,Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, 321 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA.,Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota, 321 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA
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Wodzanowski KA, Caplan JL, Kloxin AM, Grimes CL. Multiscale Invasion Assay for Probing Macrophage Response to Gram-Negative Bacteria. Front Chem 2022; 10:842602. [PMID: 35242744 PMCID: PMC8886205 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2022.842602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The immune system is a complex network of various cellular components that must differentiate between pathogenic bacteria and the commensal bacteria of the human microbiome, where misrecognition is linked to inflammatory disorders. Fragments of bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan bind to pattern recognition receptors within macrophages, leading to immune activation. To study this complex process, a methodology to remodel and label the bacterial cell wall of two different species of bacteria was established using copper (I) catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) and strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC). Additionally, an approach for three-dimensional (3D) culture of human macrophages and their invasion with relevant bacteria in a well-defined hydrogel-based synthetic matrix inspired by the microenvironment of the gut was established. Workflows were developed for human monocyte encapsulation and differentiation into macrophages in 3D culture with high viability. Bacteria invaded into macrophages permitted in situ peptidoglycan labeling. Macrophages exhibited biologically-relevant cytokine release in response to bacteria. This molecularly engineered, multi-dimensional bacteria-macrophage co-culture system will prove useful in future studies to observe immunostimulatory, bacterial fragment production and localization in the cell at the carbohydrate level for insights into how the immune system properly senses bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jeffrey L. Caplan
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States,Bioimaging Center, Delaware Biotechnology Institute, Newark, DE, United States
| | - April M. Kloxin
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States,Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States,*Correspondence: April M. Kloxin, ; Catherine L. Grimes,
| | - Catherine L. Grimes
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States,*Correspondence: April M. Kloxin, ; Catherine L. Grimes,
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Verhelst SHL, Bonger KM, Willems LI. Bioorthogonal Reactions in Activity-Based Protein Profiling. Molecules 2020; 25:E5994. [PMID: 33352858 PMCID: PMC7765892 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25245994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Revised: 12/15/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) is a powerful technique to label and detect active enzyme species within cell lysates, cells, or whole animals. In the last two decades, a wide variety of applications and experimental read-out techniques have been pursued in order to increase our understanding of physiological and pathological processes, to identify novel drug targets, to evaluate selectivity of drugs, and to image probe targets in cells. Bioorthogonal chemistry has substantially contributed to the field of ABPP, as it allows the introduction of tags, which may be bulky or have unfavorable physicochemical properties, at a late stage in the experiment. In this review, we give an overview of the bioorthogonal reactions that have been implemented in ABPP, provide examples of applications of bioorthogonal chemistry in ABPP, and share some thoughts on future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven H. L. Verhelst
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestr. 49, Box 802, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- AG Chemical Proteomics, Leibniz Institute for Analytical Sciences ISAS, e.V., Otto-Hahn-Str. 6b, 44227 Dortmund, Germany
| | - Kimberly M. Bonger
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Lianne I. Willems
- York Structural Biology Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
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