1
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Henry SA, Webster CM, Shaw LN, Torres NJ, Jobson ME, Totzke BC, Jackson JK, McGreig JE, Wass MN, Robinson GK, Shepherd M. Steroid Drugs Inhibit Bacterial Respiratory Oxidases and Are Lethal Toward Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus. J Infect Dis 2024; 230:e149-e158. [PMID: 39052707 PMCID: PMC11272085 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiad540] [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: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cytochrome bd complexes are respiratory oxidases found exclusively in prokaryotes that are important during infection for numerous bacterial pathogens. METHODS In silico docking was employed to screen approved drugs for their ability to bind to the quinol site of Escherichia coli cytochrome bd-I. Respiratory inhibition was assessed with oxygen electrodes using membranes isolated from E. coli and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains expressing single respiratory oxidases (ie, cytochromes bd, bo', or aa3). Growth/viability assays were used to measure bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects. RESULTS The steroid drugs ethinylestradiol and quinestrol inhibited E. coli bd-I activity with median inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 47 ± 28.9 µg/mL (158 ± 97.2 µM) and 0.2 ± 0.04 µg/mL (0.5 ± 0.1 µM), respectively. Quinestrol inhibited growth of an E. coli "bd-I only" strain with an IC50 of 0.06 ± 0.02 µg/mL (0.2 ± 0.07 µM). Growth of an S. aureus "bd only" strain was inhibited by quinestrol with an IC50 of 2.2 ± 0.43 µg/mL (6.0 ± 1.2 µM). Quinestrol exhibited potent bactericidal effects against S. aureus but not E. coli. CONCLUSIONS Quinestrol inhibits cytochrome bd in E. coli and S. aureus membranes and inhibits the growth of both species, yet is only bactericidal toward S. aureus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha A Henry
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
| | - Calum M Webster
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
| | - Lindsey N Shaw
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa
| | | | | | - Brendan C Totzke
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa
| | - Jessica K Jackson
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa
| | - Jake E McGreig
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
| | - Mark N Wass
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
| | - Gary K Robinson
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
| | - Mark Shepherd
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
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2
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Seitz C, Ahn SH, Wei H, Kyte M, Cook GM, Krause KL, McCammon JA. Targeting Tuberculosis: Novel Scaffolds for Inhibiting Cytochrome bd Oxidase. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:5232-5241. [PMID: 38874541 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.4c00344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2024]
Abstract
Discovered in the 1920s, cytochrome bd is a terminal oxidase that has received renewed attention as a drug target since its atomic structure was first determined in 2016. Only found in prokaryotes, we study it here as a drug target for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Most previous drug discovery efforts toward cytochrome bd have involved analogues of the canonical substrate quinone, known as Aurachin D. Here, we report six new cytochrome bd inhibitor scaffolds determined from a computational screen and confirmed on target activity through in vitro testing. These scaffolds provide new avenues for lead optimization toward Mtb therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Seitz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Surl-Hee Ahn
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis, Davis, California 95616, United States
| | - Haixin Wei
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Matson Kyte
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
| | - Gregory M Cook
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
| | - Kurt L Krause
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
| | - J Andrew McCammon
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
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3
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Dartois V, Dick T. Therapeutic developments for tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease. Nat Rev Drug Discov 2024; 23:381-403. [PMID: 38418662 PMCID: PMC11078618 DOI: 10.1038/s41573-024-00897-5] [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] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) drug discovery and development has undergone nothing short of a revolution over the past 20 years. Successful public-private partnerships and sustained funding have delivered a much-improved understanding of mycobacterial disease biology and pharmacology and a healthy pipeline that can tolerate inevitable attrition. Preclinical and clinical development has evolved from decade-old concepts to adaptive designs that permit rapid evaluation of regimens that might greatly shorten treatment duration over the next decade. But the past 20 years also saw the rise of a fatal and difficult-to-cure lung disease caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), for which the drug development pipeline is nearly empty. Here, we discuss the similarities and differences between TB and NTM lung diseases, compare the preclinical and clinical advances, and identify major knowledge gaps and areas of cross-fertilization. We argue that applying paradigms and networks that have proved successful for TB, from basic research to clinical trials, will help to populate the pipeline and accelerate curative regimen development for NTM disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Véronique Dartois
- Center for Discovery and Innovation, Hackensack Meridian Health, Nutley, NJ, USA.
- Department of Medical Sciences, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Nutley, NJ, USA.
| | - Thomas Dick
- Center for Discovery and Innovation, Hackensack Meridian Health, Nutley, NJ, USA
- Department of Medical Sciences, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Nutley, NJ, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
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4
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Saha P, Das S, Indurthi HK, Kumar R, Roy A, Kalia NP, Sharma DK. Cytochrome bd oxidase: an emerging anti-tubercular drug target. RSC Med Chem 2024; 15:769-787. [PMID: 38516593 PMCID: PMC10953478 DOI: 10.1039/d3md00587a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Cytochrome bd (cyt-bd) oxidase, one of the two terminal oxidases in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) oxidative phosphorylation pathway, plays an indispensable role in maintaining the functionality of the metabolic pathway under stressful conditions. However, the absence of this oxidase in eukaryotic cells allows researchers to select it as a potential drug target for the synthesis of anti-tubercular (anti-TB) molecules. Cyt-bd inhibitors have often been combined with cytochrome bcc/aa3 super-complex inhibitors in anti-TB drug regimens to achieve a desired bactericidal response. The functional redundancy between both the terminal oxidases is responsible for this. The cryo-EM structure of cyt-bd oxidase from Mtb (PDB ID: 7NKZ) further accelerated the research to identify its inhibitor. Herein, we have summarized the reported anti-TB cyt-bd inhibitors, insight into the rationale behind targeting cyt-bd oxidase, and an outline of the architecture of Mtb cyt-bd oxidase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pallavi Saha
- Department of Pharmaceutical Engg. and Tech, IIT-Banaras Hindu University Varanasi UP 221005 India
| | - Samarpita Das
- Department of Pharmaceutical Engg. and Tech, IIT-Banaras Hindu University Varanasi UP 221005 India
| | - Harish K Indurthi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Engg. and Tech, IIT-Banaras Hindu University Varanasi UP 221005 India
| | - Rohit Kumar
- Department of Pharmaceutical Engg. and Tech, IIT-Banaras Hindu University Varanasi UP 221005 India
| | - Arnab Roy
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, NIPER-Hyderabad Hyderabad 500037 India
| | - Nitin Pal Kalia
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, NIPER-Hyderabad Hyderabad 500037 India
| | - Deepak K Sharma
- Department of Pharmaceutical Engg. and Tech, IIT-Banaras Hindu University Varanasi UP 221005 India
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5
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Perveen S, Negi A, Saini S, Gangwar A, Sharma R. Identification of Chemical Scaffolds Targeting Drug-Resistant and Latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis through High-Throughput Whole-Cell Screening. ACS Infect Dis 2024; 10:513-526. [PMID: 38238154 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.3c00463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Identification of structurally unique chemical entities targeting unexplored bacterial targets is a prerequisite to combat increasing drug resistance against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This study employed a whole-cell screening approach as an initial filter to scrutinize a 10,000-compound chemical library, resulting in the discovery of seven potent compounds with MIC values ranging from 1.56 to 25 μM. These compounds were categorized into four distinct chemical groups. Remarkably, they demonstrated efficacy against drug-resistant and nonreplicating tuberculosis strains, highlighting their effectiveness across different infection states. With a favorable selectivity index (>10), these compounds showed a safe therapeutic range and exhibited potency in an intracellular model of Mtb infection, mimicking the in vivo setup. Combining these identified hits with established anti-TB drugs revealed additive effects with rifampicin, isoniazid, and bedaquiline. Notably, IIIM-IDD-01 exhibited synergy with isoniazid and bedaquiline, likely due to their complementary mechanisms of targeting Mtb. Most potent hits, IIIM-IDD-01 and IIIM-IDD-02, displayed time- and concentration-dependent killing of Mtb. Mechanistic insights were sought through SEM and docking studies, although comprehensive evaluation is ongoing to unravel the hits' specific targets and modes of action. The hits demonstrated favorable pharmacokinetic properties (ADME-Tox) and showed a low risk of adverse effects, along with a predicted high level of oral bioavailability. These promising hits can serve as an initial basis for subsequent medicinal chemistry endeavors aimed at developing a new series of anti-TB agents. Moreover, the study affirms the significance of high-throughput in vitro assays for the TB drug discovery. It also emphasizes the necessity of targeting diverse TB strains to address the heterogeneity of tuberculosis bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Summaya Perveen
- Infectious Diseases Division, CSIR- Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu 180001, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
| | - Anjali Negi
- Infectious Diseases Division, CSIR- Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu 180001, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
| | - Sapna Saini
- Infectious Diseases Division, CSIR- Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu 180001, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
| | - Anjali Gangwar
- Infectious Diseases Division, CSIR- Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu 180001, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
| | - Rashmi Sharma
- Infectious Diseases Division, CSIR- Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu 180001, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
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6
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Werman J, Chen YC, Yuan T, Yang X, Sampson NS. A Chemoproteomic Approach to Elucidate the Mechanism of Action of 6-Azasteroids with Unique Activity in Mycobacteria. ACS Infect Dis 2023; 9:1993-2004. [PMID: 37774412 PMCID: PMC10580313 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.3c00296] [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: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
By illuminating key 6-azasteroid-protein interactions in both Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and the closely related model organism Mycobacterium marinum (Mm), we sought to improve the antimycobacterial potency of 6-azasteroids and further our understanding of the mechanisms responsible for their potentiation of the antituberculosis drug bedaquiline. We selected a newly developed 6-azasteroid analog and an analog reported previously (ACS Infect. Dis. 2019, 5 (7), 1239-1251) to study their phenotypic effects on Mtb and Mm, both alone and in combination with bedaquiline. The 6-azasteroid analog, 17β-[N-(4-trifluoromethoxy-diphenylmethyl)carbamoyl]-6-propyl-azaandrostan-3-one, robustly potentiated bedaquiline-mediated antimycobacterial activity, with a nearly 8-fold reduction in Mm bedaquiline minimal inhibitory concentration (85 nM alone versus 11 nM with 20 μM 6-azasteroid). This analog displayed minimal inhibitory activity against recombinant mycobacterial 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, a previously identified target of several 6-azasteroids. Dose-dependent potentiation of bedaquiline by this analog reduced mycobacterial intracellular ATP levels and impeded the ability of Mtb to neutralize exogenous oxidative stress in culture. We developed two 6-azasteroid photoaffinity probes to investigate azasteroid-protein interactions in Mm whole cells. Using bottom-up mass spectrometric profiling of the cross-linked proteins, we identified eight potential Mm/Mtb protein targets for 6-azasteroids. The nature of these potential targets indicates that proteins related to oxidative stress resistance play a key role in the BDQ-potentiating activity of azasteroids and highlights the potential impact of inhibition of these targets on the generation of drug sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua
M. Werman
- Department
of Chemistry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-3400, United States
| | - Yu-Ching Chen
- Program
in Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony
Brook, New York 11794-5215, United States
| | - Tianao Yuan
- Department
of Chemistry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-3400, United States
| | - Xinxin Yang
- Department
of Chemistry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-3400, United States
| | - Nicole S. Sampson
- Department
of Chemistry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-3400, United States
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627-0216, United States
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7
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Zhou Z, Wattiez R, Constant P, Marrakchi H, Soetaert K, Mathys V, Fontaine V, Zeng S. Telacebec Interferes with Virulence Lipid Biosynthesis Protein Expression and Sensitizes to Other Antibiotics. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2469. [PMID: 37894127 PMCID: PMC10609169 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11102469] [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: 09/07/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), remains a public health issue, particularly due to multi-drug-resistant Mtb. The bacillus is wrapped in a waxy envelope containing lipids acting as essential virulence factors, accounting for the natural antibiotic resistance of mycobacteria. Telacebec (previously known as Q203) is a promising new anti-TB agent inhibiting the cytochrome bc1 complex of a mycobacterial electron transport chain (ETC). Here, we show that the telacebec-challenged M. bovis BCG exhibited a reduced expression of proteins involved in the synthesis of phthiocerol dimycocerosates (PDIMs)/phenolic glycolipids (PGLs), lipid virulence factors associated with cell envelope impermeability. Consistently, telacebec, at concentrations lower than its MIC, downregulated the transcription of a PDIM/PGL-synthesizing operon, suggesting a metabolic vulnerability triggered by the drug. The drug was able to synergize on BCG with rifampicin or vancomycin, the latter being a drug exerting a marginal effect on PDIM-bearing bacilli. Telacebec at a concentration higher than its MIC had no detectable effect on cell wall PDIMs, as shown by TLC analysis, a finding potentially explained by the retaining of previously synthesized PDIMs due to the inhibition of growth. The study extends the potential of telacebec, demonstrating an effect on mycobacterial virulence lipids, allowing for the development of new anti-TB strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiyu Zhou
- Microbiology, Bioorganic & Macromolecular Chemistry Research Unit, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Boulevard du Triomphe, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Ruddy Wattiez
- Laboratory of Proteomics and Microbiology, Research Institute for Biosciences, University of Mons, Place du Parc 23, 7000 Mons, Belgium
| | - Patricia Constant
- Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale (IPBS), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Université Toulouse III-Paul Sabatier (UT3), 31077 Toulouse, France
| | - Hedia Marrakchi
- Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale (IPBS), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Université Toulouse III-Paul Sabatier (UT3), 31077 Toulouse, France
| | - Karine Soetaert
- National Reference Laboratory "Mycobacterium", Sciensano, 1180 Uccle, Belgium
| | - Vanessa Mathys
- National Reference Laboratory "Mycobacterium", Sciensano, 1180 Uccle, Belgium
| | - Véronique Fontaine
- Microbiology, Bioorganic & Macromolecular Chemistry Research Unit, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Boulevard du Triomphe, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Sheng Zeng
- School of Nursing and Health, Nanfang College Guangzhou, Guangzhou 510970, China
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8
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Lee BS, Singh S, Pethe K. Inhibiting respiration as a novel antibiotic strategy. Curr Opin Microbiol 2023; 74:102327. [PMID: 37235914 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2023.102327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The approval of the first-in-class antibacterial bedaquiline for tuberculosis marks a breakthrough in antituberculosis drug development. The drug inhibits mycobacterial respiration and represents the validation of a wholly different metabolic process as a druggable target space. In this review, we discuss the advances in the development of mycobacterial respiratory inhibitors, as well as the potential of applying this strategy to other pathogens. The non-fermentative nature of mycobacteria explains their vulnerability to respiration inhibition, and we caution that this strategy may not be equally effective in other organisms. Conversely, we also showcase fundamental studies that reveal ancillary functions of the respiratory pathway, which are crucial to some pathogens' virulence, drug susceptibility and fitness, introducing another perspective of targeting bacterial respiration as an antibiotic strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bei Shi Lee
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 636921, Singapore.
| | - Samsher Singh
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 636921, Singapore
| | - Kevin Pethe
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 636921, Singapore; Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 637551, Singapore; National Centre for Infectious Diseases, Singapore 308442, Singapore.
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