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Nitschke J, Huber R, Vossio S, Moreau D, Marcourt L, Gindro K, Queiroz EF, Soldati T, Hanna N. Discovery of anti-infective compounds against Mycobacterium marinum after biotransformation of simple natural stilbenes by a fungal secretome. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1439814. [PMID: 39355425 PMCID: PMC11443511 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1439814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2024] [Accepted: 08/29/2024] [Indexed: 10/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis, remains a serious threat to human health worldwide and the quest for new anti-tubercular drugs is an enduring and demanding journey. Natural products (NPs) have played a significant role in advancing drug therapy of infectious diseases. Methods This study evaluated the suitability of a high-throughput infection system composed of the host amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum (Dd) and Mycobacterium marinum (Mm), a close relative of Mtb, to identify anti-infective compounds. Growth of Dd and intracellular Mm were quantified by using luminescence and fluorescence readouts in phenotypic assays. The system was first benchmarked with a set of therapeutic anti-Mtb antibiotics and then used to screen a library of biotransformed stilbenes. Results The study confirmed both efficacy of established antibiotics such as rifampicin and bedaquiline, with activities below defined anti-mycobacterium susceptibility breakpoints, and the lack of activity of pyrazinamide against Mm. The screening revealed the promising anti-infective activities of trans-δ-viniferins and in particular of two compounds 17 and 19 with an IC50 of 18.1 μM, 9 μM, respectively. Both compounds had no activity on Mm in broth. Subsequent exploration via halogenation and structure-activity relationship studies led to the identification of derivatives with improved selectivity and potency. The modes of action of the anti-infective compounds may involve inhibition of mycobacterial virulence factors or boosting of host defense. Discussion The study highlights the potential of biotransformation and NP-inspired derivatization approaches for drug discovery and underscores the utility of the Dd-Mm infection system in identifying novel anti-infective compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jahn Nitschke
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Robin Huber
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, CMU, Geneva, Switzerland
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, CMU, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Stefania Vossio
- ACCESS Screening Platform, NCCR Chemical Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Dimitri Moreau
- ACCESS Screening Platform, NCCR Chemical Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Laurence Marcourt
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, CMU, Geneva, Switzerland
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, CMU, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Katia Gindro
- Mycology Group, Research Department Plant Protection, Agroscope, Nyon, Switzerland
| | - Emerson F. Queiroz
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, CMU, Geneva, Switzerland
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, CMU, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Thierry Soldati
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Nabil Hanna
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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Shankar G, Akhter Y. Stealing survival: Iron acquisition strategies of Mycobacteriumtuberculosis. Biochimie 2024:S0300-9084(24)00142-1. [PMID: 38901792 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2024.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2024] [Revised: 06/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024]
Abstract
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), faces iron scarcity within the host due to immune defenses. This review explores the importance of iron for Mtb and its strategies to overcome iron restriction. We discuss how the host limits iron as an innate immune response and how Mtb utilizes various iron acquisition systems, particularly the siderophore-mediated pathway. The review illustrates the structure and biosynthesis of mycobactin, a key siderophore in Mtb, and the regulation of its production. We explore the potential of targeting siderophore biosynthesis and uptake as a novel therapeutic approach for TB. Finally, we summarize current knowledge on Mtb's iron acquisition and highlight promising directions for future research to exploit this pathway for developing new TB interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gauri Shankar
- Department of Biotechnology, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Vidya Vihar, Raebareli Road, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, 226 025, India
| | - Yusuf Akhter
- Department of Biotechnology, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Vidya Vihar, Raebareli Road, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, 226 025, India.
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Singh N, Sharma N, Singh P, Pandey M, Ilyas M, Sisodiya L, Choudhury T, Gosain TP, Singh R, Atmakuri K. HupB, a nucleoid-associated protein, is critical for survival of Mycobacterium tuberculosis under host-mediated stresses and for enhanced tolerance to key first-line antibiotics. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:937970. [PMID: 36071978 PMCID: PMC9441915 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.937970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
To survive and establish its niche, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) engages in a steady battle against an array of host defenses and a barrage of antibiotics. Here, we demonstrate that Mtb employs HupB, a nucleoid-associated protein (NAP) as its key player to simultaneously battle and survive in these two stress-inducing fronts. Typically, NAPs are key to bacterial survival under a wide array of environmental or host-mediated stresses. Here, we report that for Mtb to survive under different macrophage-induced assaults including acidic pH, nutrient depletion, oxidative and nitrosative stresses, HupB presence is critical. As expected, the hupB knockout mutant is highly sensitive to these host-mediated stresses. Furthermore, Mtb aptly modulates HupB protein levels to overcome these stresses. We also report that HupB aids Mtb to gain tolerance to high levels of rifampicin (RIF) and isoniazid (INH) exposure. Loss of hupB makes Mtb highly susceptible to even short exposures to reduced amounts of RIF and INH. Overexpressing hupB in Mtb or complementing hupB in the hupB knockout mutant triggers enhanced survival of Mtb under these stresses. We also find that upon loss of hupB, Mtb significantly enhances the permeability of its cell wall by modulating the levels of several surface lipids including phthiocerol dimycocerosates (PDIMs), thus possibly influencing overall susceptibility to host-mediated stresses. Loss of hupB also downregulates efflux pump expression possibly influencing increased susceptibility to INH and RIF. Finally, we find that therapeutic targeting of HupB with SD1, a known small molecule inhibitor, significantly enhances Mtb susceptibility to INH and THP-1 macrophages and significantly reduces MIC to INH. Thus, our data strongly indicate that HupB is a highly promising therapeutic target especially for potential combinatorial shortened therapy with reduced INH and RIF doses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niti Singh
- Infection and Immunology Group, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad, Haryana, India
- Manipal University, Manipal, Karnataka, India
| | - Nishant Sharma
- Infection and Immunology Group, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Padam Singh
- Infection and Immunology Group, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Manitosh Pandey
- Infection and Immunology Group, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad, Haryana, India
- Department of Life Sciences, ITM University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Mohd Ilyas
- Infection and Immunology Group, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad, Haryana, India
- School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Lovely Sisodiya
- Infection and Immunology Group, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad, Haryana, India
- School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Tejaswini Choudhury
- Infection and Immunology Group, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Tannu Priya Gosain
- Infection and Immunology Group, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad, Haryana, India
- School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Ramandeep Singh
- Infection and Immunology Group, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Krishnamohan Atmakuri
- Infection and Immunology Group, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad, Haryana, India
- *Correspondence: Krishnamohan Atmakuri
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