Chloralanyl and propargylglycyl dipeptides. Suicide substrate containing antibacterials

An outlook on suicide enzyme inhibition and drug design

There have been recent renewed interests in the importance of suicide enzyme inhibition. The principal objective of this review is to investigate all types of suicide inhibitions for natural enzymes, artificial biocatalysts as well as therapeutic potential of enzyme suicide inhibition. It is discussed the suicide inhibition beneficial in drug design and treatments and non-beneficial achievements for some industrial enzymes such as HRP peroxidase enzyme. The design of biomimetic artificial enzymes explained to prevent inhibition by protecting the active site via environmental conditions. Suicide enzyme inhibition development can be the key mechanism against sever diseases such as SARS. In this report, suicide enzyme inactivation classes are classified based on target enzyme groups via their substrates.

Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activity of Phosphonopeptide Derivatives Incorporating Single and Dual Inhibitors

In diagnostic microbiology, culture media are widely used for detection of pathogenic bacteria. Such media employ various ingredients to optimize detection of specific pathogens such as chromogenic enzyme substrates and selective inhibitors to reduce the presence of commensal bacteria. Despite this, it is rarely possible to inhibit the growth of all commensal bacteria, and thus pathogens can be overgrown and remain undetected. One approach to attempt to remedy this is the use of “suicide substrates” that can target specific bacterial enzymes and selectively inhibit unwanted bacterial species. With the purpose of identifying novel selective inhibitors, six novel phosphonopeptide derivatives based on d/l-fosfalin and β-chloro-l-alanine were synthesized and tested on 19 different strains of clinically relevant bacteria. Several compounds show potential as useful selective agents that could be exploited in the recovery of several bacterial pathogens including Salmonella, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Listeria.

Cytoplasmic steps of peptidoglycan biosynthesis

The biosynthesis of bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan is a complex process that involves enzyme reactions that take place in the cytoplasm (synthesis of the nucleotide precursors) and on the inner side (synthesis of lipid-linked intermediates) and outer side (polymerization reactions) of the cytoplasmic membrane. This review deals with the cytoplasmic steps of peptidoglycan biosynthesis, which can be divided into four sets of reactions that lead to the syntheses of (1) UDP-N-acetylglucosamine from fructose 6-phosphate, (2) UDP-N-acetylmuramic acid from UDP-N-acetylglucosamine, (3) UDP-N-acetylmuramyl-pentapeptide from UDP-N-acetylmuramic acid and (4) D-glutamic acid and dipeptide D-alanyl-D-alanine. Recent data concerning the different enzymes involved are presented. Moreover, special attention is given to (1) the chemical and enzymatic synthesis of the nucleotide precursor substrates that are not commercially available and (2) the search for specific inhibitors that could act as antibacterial compounds.

Over-production, purification and properties of the uridine-diphosphate-N-acetylmuramate:L-alanine ligase from Escherichia coli

The UDP-N-acetylmuramate:L-alanine ligase of Escherichia coli was over-produced in strains harbouring recombinant plasmids bearing the murC gene under the control of the lac or trc promoter. Plasmid pAM1005, in which the promoter and ribosome-binding site region of murC were removed and in which the gene was directly under the control of promoter trc, led to a 2000-fold amplification of the L-alanine-adding activity after induction by isopropyl-thio-beta-D-galactopyranoside. The murC gene product was visualized as a 50-kDa protein accounting for approximately 50% of the cell protein. A two-step purification led to 1 g of a homogeneous protein from an 18-1 culture. The N-terminal sequence of the purified protein correlated with the nucleotide sequence of the murC gene. The presence of 2-mercaptoethanol and glycerol was essential for the stability of the enzyme. The Km values for UDP-N-acetylmuramic acid, L-alanine and ATP/Mg2+ were estimated at 100, 20 and 450 microM, respectively. Under the optimal in vitro conditions a turnover number of 928 min-1 was calculated and a copy number/cell of 600 could be roughly estimated. The specificity of the enzyme for its substrates was investigated with various analogues. The enzyme also catalysed the reverse reaction.

Antibacterial activity of phosphono peptides based on 4-amino-4-phosphonobutyric acid

Phosphono dipeptides based on 4-amino-4-phosphonobutyric acid (phosphonic acid analogue of glutamic acid, GluP) were synthesized and evaluated for their antibacterial activity. Dipeptides containing N-terminal alanine, leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine or lysine showed marked antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, whilst those containing alanine, leucine, valine or proline were active against Serratia marcescens. AlaGluP and LeuGluP were nearly equipotent with the respective dipeptides based on 1-aminoethylphosphonic acid (phosphonic acid analogue of alanine). The structure-activity relationship, i.e. dependence of the activity of phosphono dipeptides on the nature of their N-terminal component, indicated that transport of the peptide through the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane constitutes a crucial step in its antibacterial activity.

Synergistic activity of 5-trifluoromethylthioribose and inhibitors of methionine synthesis against Klebsiella pneumoniae

5-Methylthioribose (MTR) is an intermediate in the methionine recycling pathway of organisms containing the enzyme MTR kinase. Analogs of MTR have been proposed as a new class of antimicrobial agents because of their ability to perturb the growth of MTR kinase-containing pathogens through inhibition of methionine salvage or by conversion to toxic products. One such analog, 5-trifluoromethylthioribose (TFMTR), has demonstrated potent inhibitory effects on the growth of Klebsiella pneumoniae (A. G. Gianotti, P. A. Tower, J. H. Sheley, P. A. Conte, C. Spiro, J. H. Fitchen, and M. K. Riscoe, J. Biol. Chem. 265:831-837, 1990). Although the mode of action of TFMTR has yet to be determined, it is believed that the drug is converted to the toxic products trifluoromethionine or carbonothioic difluoride via MTR kinase and the methionine recycling pathway. On the basis of this assumption, we theorized that blocking de novo methionine synthesis would increase dependence on the methionine salvage pathway and lead to an increased rate of synthesis of toxic metabolites from TFMTR. In this report, we show that three separate inhibitors of de novo methionine synthesis (1,2,4-triazole, azaserine, and propargylglycine) act synergistically with TFMTR in inhibiting the growth of K. pneumoniae.

Antibacterial activity of phosphono dipeptides based on 1-amino-1-methylethanephosphonic acid

Phosphono dipeptides containing 1-amino-1-methylethanephosphonic acid (phosphonic acid analogue of alpha-methylalanine, MeAlaP) and glycine, alanine, valine, leucine phenylalanine, proline, methionine or lysine as N- terminal component were synthesized in order to determine their antibacterial properties. Peptides containing alanine, leucine, valine phenylalanine and methionine showed marked in vitro activity, especially against Escherichia coli and Serratia marcescens strains. There were, however, generally less potent than the respective phosphono dipeptides based on 1-aminoethanephosphonic acid (phosphonic acid analogue of alanine, AlaP). The possible mechanism of action of the peptides of MeAlaP involves their active transport into the bacterial cell, followed by intracellular release of MeAlaP, which most likely inhibits alanine racemase, a key enzyme in peptidoglycan biosynthesis. Studies on the uptake of AlaMeAlaP and LeuMeAlaP by Escherichia coli mutants defective in the oligopeptide permease suggest that these peptides are not transported by the oligopeptide transport system.

Antibacterial activities of fluorovinyl- and chlorovinylglycine and several derived dipeptides

The in vitro antibacterial activities of several halovinylglycine compounds and their L-norvalyl peptide derivatives are presented. The most potent of them, L-norvalyl-L-chlorovinylglycine, displayed good activity against gram-positive organisms, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus species. Chlorovinylglycine is an efficient inhibitor of alanine racemase, but the antibacterial activity of L-norvalyl-L-chlorovinylglycine may involve other physiological targets as well.

Inactivation of alanine racemase by beta-chloro-L-alanine released enzymatically from amino acid and peptide C10-esters of deacetylcephalothin

The reactions of a set of amino acid and peptidyl C10-esters of deacetylcephalothin (1-5) have been examined with purified enzymes in vitro. Each of the compounds examined is a substrate for the Escherichia coli TEM-2 beta-lactamase, and enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of the lactam bond gives release of an amino acid or a peptidyl fragment from a cephem nucleus. 7 beta-(2-Thienylacetamido)-3-[[(beta-chloro-L-alanyl)oxy]methyl]-3- cephem-4-carboxylate (4) gives time-dependent inactivation of E. coli JSR-O alanine racemase in a process that requires beta-lactamase for the initial liberation of beta-chloro-L-alanine from the cephalosporin. Alanine racemase is similarly inactivated by 7 beta-(2-thienylacetamido)-3-[[[(beta-chloro-L-alanyl)-beta-chloro- L- alanyl]oxy]methyl]-3-cephem-4-carboxylate (1), but this inhibition requires the sequential action of both beta-lactamase and alanine aminopeptidase. Analysis of the enzymatic transformations of 7 beta-(2-thienylacetamido)-3-[[[(beta-chloro-L-alanyl)-L- alanyl]oxy]methyl]-3-cephem-4-carboxylate (3), monitored by high-field 1H NMR, reveals that (1) beta-lactamase releases the dipeptide beta-chloro-L-alanyl-L-alanine from 3 and (2) leucine aminopeptidase effects stoichiometric hydrolysis of the dipeptide to beta-chloro-L-alanine and L-alanine. These biochemical findings are discussed with reference to the mechanism of antibacterial action of 1 against beta-lactamase-producing, penicillin-resistant microorganisms [Mobashery, S., Lerner, S. A., & Johnston, M. (1986) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 108, 1685].