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Castro-Falcón G, Straetener J, Bornikoel J, Reimer D, Purdy TN, Berscheid A, Schempp FM, Liu DY, Linington RG, Brötz-Oesterhelt H, Hughes CC. Antibacterial Marinopyrroles and Pseudilins Act as Protonophores. ACS Chem Biol 2024; 19:743-752. [PMID: 38377384 PMCID: PMC10949930 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.3c00773] [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] [Received: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Elucidating the mechanism of action (MoA) of antibacterial natural products is crucial to evaluating their potential as novel antibiotics. Marinopyrroles, pentachloropseudilin, and pentabromopseudilin are densely halogenated, hybrid pyrrole-phenol natural products with potent activity against Gram-positive bacterial pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus. However, the exact way they exert this antibacterial activity has not been established. In this study, we explore their structure-activity relationship, determine their spatial location in bacterial cells, and investigate their MoA. We show that the natural products share a common MoA based on membrane depolarization and dissipation of the proton motive force (PMF) that is essential for cell viability. The compounds show potent protonophore activity but do not appear to destroy the integrity of the cytoplasmic membrane via the formation of larger pores or interfere with the stability of the peptidoglycan sacculus. Thus, our current model for the antibacterial MoA of marinopyrrole, pentachloropseudilin, and pentabromopseudilin stipulates that the acidic compounds insert into the membrane and transport protons inside the cell. This MoA may explain many of the deleterious biological effects in mammalian cells, plants, phytoplankton, viruses, and protozoans that have been reported for these compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Castro-Falcón
- Center
for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, California 92093, United States
| | - Jan Straetener
- Department
of Microbial Bioactive Compounds, Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology
and Infection Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Jan Bornikoel
- Department
of Microbial Bioactive Compounds, Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology
and Infection Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Daniela Reimer
- Center
for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, California 92093, United States
| | - Trevor N. Purdy
- Center
for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, California 92093, United States
| | - Anne Berscheid
- Department
of Microbial Bioactive Compounds, Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology
and Infection Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Florence M. Schempp
- Center
for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, California 92093, United States
| | - Dennis Y. Liu
- Department
of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Roger G. Linington
- Department
of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Heike Brötz-Oesterhelt
- Department
of Microbial Bioactive Compounds, Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology
and Infection Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
- Cluster
of Excellence EXC 2124: Controlling Microbes to Fight Infection, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
- German
Center for Infection Research, Partner Site Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Chambers C. Hughes
- Center
for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, California 92093, United States
- Department
of Microbial Bioactive Compounds, Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology
and Infection Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
- Cluster
of Excellence EXC 2124: Controlling Microbes to Fight Infection, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
- German
Center for Infection Research, Partner Site Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| |
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