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Möller AM, Vázquez-Hernández M, Kutscher B, Brysch R, Brückner S, Marino EC, Kleetz J, Senges CHR, Schäkermann S, Bandow JE, Narberhaus F. Common and varied molecular responses of Escherichia coli to five different inhibitors of the lipopolysaccharide biosynthetic enzyme LpxC. J Biol Chem 2024; 300:107143. [PMID: 38458396 PMCID: PMC10998244 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107143] [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] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Revised: 02/19/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/10/2024] Open
Abstract
A promising yet clinically unexploited antibiotic target in difficult-to-treat Gram-negative bacteria is LpxC, the key enzyme in the biosynthesis of lipopolysaccharides, which are the major constituents of the outer membrane. Despite the development of dozens of chemically diverse LpxC inhibitor molecules, it is essentially unknown how bacteria counteract LpxC inhibition. Our study provides comprehensive insights into the response against five different LpxC inhibitors. All compounds bound to purified LpxC from Escherichia coli. Treatment of E. coli with these compounds changed the cell shape and stabilized LpxC suggesting that FtsH-mediated proteolysis of the inactivated enzyme is impaired. LpxC inhibition sensitized E. coli to vancomycin and rifampin, which poorly cross the outer membrane of intact cells. Four of the five compounds led to an accumulation of lyso-phosphatidylethanolamine, a cleavage product of phosphatidylethanolamine, generated by the phospholipase PldA. The combined results suggested an imbalance in lipopolysaccharides and phospholipid biosynthesis, which was corroborated by the global proteome response to treatment with the LpxC inhibitors. Apart from LpxC itself, FabA and FabB responsible for the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids were consistently induced. Upregulated compound-specific proteins are involved in various functional categories, such as stress reactions, nucleotide, or amino acid metabolism and quorum sensing. Our work shows that antibiotics targeting the same enzyme do not necessarily elicit identical cellular responses. Moreover, we find that the response of E. coli to LpxC inhibition is distinct from the previously reported response in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna-Maria Möller
- Microbial Biology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | | | - Blanka Kutscher
- Microbial Biology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Raffael Brysch
- Microbial Biology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Simon Brückner
- Microbial Biology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Emily C Marino
- Microbial Biology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Julia Kleetz
- Microbial Biology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Christoph H R Senges
- Applied Microbiology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sina Schäkermann
- Applied Microbiology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Julia E Bandow
- Applied Microbiology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Franz Narberhaus
- Microbial Biology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
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Ostroumova OS, Efimova SS. Lipid-Centric Approaches in Combating Infectious Diseases: Antibacterials, Antifungals and Antivirals with Lipid-Associated Mechanisms of Action. Antibiotics (Basel) 2023; 12:1716. [PMID: 38136750 PMCID: PMC10741038 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics12121716] [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: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
One of the global challenges of the 21st century is the increase in mortality from infectious diseases against the backdrop of the spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogenic microorganisms. In this regard, it is worth targeting antibacterials towards the membranes of pathogens that are quite conservative and not amenable to elimination. This review is an attempt to critically analyze the possibilities of targeting antimicrobial agents towards enzymes involved in pathogen lipid biosynthesis or towards bacterial, fungal, and viral lipid membranes, to increase the permeability via pore formation and to modulate the membranes' properties in a manner that makes them incompatible with the pathogen's life cycle. This review discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each approach in the search for highly effective but nontoxic antimicrobial agents. Examples of compounds with a proven molecular mechanism of action are presented, and the types of the most promising pharmacophores for further research and the improvement of the characteristics of antibiotics are discussed. The strategies that pathogens use for survival in terms of modulating the lipid composition and physical properties of the membrane, achieving a balance between resistance to antibiotics and the ability to facilitate all necessary transport and signaling processes, are also considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga S. Ostroumova
- Laboratory of Membrane and Ion Channel Modeling, Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tikhoretsky Ave. 4, St. Petersburg 194064, Russia;
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