In the quest for new targets for pathogen eradication: the adenylosuccinate synthetase from the bacterium Helicobacter pylori

Vitamin B6 inhibits activity of Helicobacter pylori adenylosuccinate synthetase and growth of reference and clinical, antibiotic-resistant H. pylori strains

The current therapies against gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori are ineffective in over 20% of patients. Enzymes belonging to the purine salvage pathway are considered as novel drug targets in this pathogen. Therefore, the main aim of the current study was to determine the antibacterial activity of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP), an active form of vitamin B6, against reference and clinical strains of H. pylori. Using a broad set of microbiological, physicochemical (UV absorption, LC-MS, X-ray analysis) and in silico experiments, we were able to prove that PLP inhibits adenylosuccinate synthetase (AdSS) from H. pylori by the competition with GTP (IC50eq ∼30 nM). This behaviour was attributed to formation of a Schiff base with a lysine residue (a covalent bond with Lys322 in the GTP binding site of AdSS) and was potentiated by the presence of vitamin C. This antibacterial activity of PLP gives hope for its future use against H. pylori.

Structure-based virtual screening approach reveals natural multi-target compounds for the development of antimalarial drugs to combat drug resistance

Compared to the previous year, there has been an increase of nearly 2 million malaria cases in 2021. The emergence of drug-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum, the most deadly malaria parasite, has led to a decline in the effectiveness of existing antimalarial drugs. To address this problem, the present study aimed to identify natural compounds with the potential to inhibit multiple validated antimalarial drug targets. The natural compounds from the Natural Product Activity and Species Source (NPASS) database were screened against ten validated drug targets of Plasmodium falciparum using a structure-based molecular docking method. Twenty compounds, with targets ranging from three to five, were determined as the top hits. The molecular dynamics simulations of the top six complexes (NPC246162 in complex with PfAdSS, PfGDH, and PfNMT; NPC271270 in complex with PfCK, PfGDH, and PfdUTPase) confirmed their stable binding affinity in the dynamic environment. The Tanimoto coefficient and distance matrix score analysis show the structural divergence of all the hit compounds from known antimalarials, indicating minimum chances of cross-resistance. Thus, we propose further investigating these compounds in biochemical and parasite inhibition studies to reveal the real therapeutic potential. If found successful, these compounds may be a new avenue for future drug discovery efforts to combat existing antimalarial drug resistance.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Location Is Everything: Influence of His-Tag Fusion Site on Properties of Adenylosuccinate Synthetase from Helicobacter pylori

The requirement for fast and dependable protein purification methods is constant, either for functional studies of natural proteins or for the production of biotechnological protein products. The original procedure has to be formulated for each individual protein, and this demanding task was significantly simplified by the introduction of affinity tags. Helicobacter pylori adenylosuccinate synthetase (AdSS) is present in solution in a dynamic equilibrium of monomers and biologically active homodimers. The addition of the His6-tag on the C-terminus (C-His-AdSS) was proven to have a negligible effect on the characteristics of this enzyme. This paper shows that the same enzyme with the His6-tag fused on its N-terminus (N-His-AdSS) has a high tendency to precipitate. Circular dichroism and X-ray diffraction studies do not detect any structural change that could explain this propensity. However, the dynamic light scattering, differential scanning fluorimetry, and analytical ultracentrifugation measurements indicate that the monomer of this construct is prone to aggregation, which shifts the equilibrium towards the insoluble precipitant. In agreement, enzyme kinetics measurements showed reduced enzyme activity, but preserved affinity for the substrates, in comparison with the wild-type and C-His-AdSS. The presented results reinforce the notion that testing the influence of the tag on protein properties should not be overlooked.

TMT-Based Quantitative Proteomics and Non-targeted Metabolomic Analyses Reveal the Antibacterial Mechanism of Hexanal against Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Hexanal is a phytochemical with antimicrobial activity. However, its antibacterial effect and mechanism against Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. parahaemolyticus) remain unclear. The study aims to elucidate the associated mechanism using tandem mass tag quantitative proteomics and non-targeted metabolomics. Hexanal treatment reduced intracellular ATP concentration, increased membrane permeability, and destroyed the morphology and ultrastructure of V. parahaemolyticus cells. Proteomics and metabolomics data indicated that 572 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) and 241 differential metabolites (DMs) were identified in hexanal-treated V. parahaemolyticus. These DEPs and DMs were involved in multiple biological pathways including amino acid metabolism, purine and pyrimidine biosynthesis, etc. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that hexanal damaged the structure and function of cell membranes, inhibited nucleotide metabolism, and disturbed carbohydrate metabolism and tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) cycle, which ultimately resulted in growth inhibition and bacterial death. The study is conducive to better understand the mode of action of hexanal against V. parahaemolyticus and offers experimental foundation for the application of hexanal as the antibacterial agent in the seafood-associated industry.

The pursuit of new alternative ways to eradicate Helicobacter pylori continues: Detailed characterization of interactions in the adenylosuccinate synthetase active site

Purine nucleotide synthesis is realised only through the salvage pathway in pathogenic bacterium Helicobacter pylori. Therefore, the enzymes of this pathway, among them also the adenylosuccinate synthetase (AdSS), present potential new drug targets. This paper describes characterization of His₆-tagged AdSS from H. pylori. Thorough analysis of 3D-structures of fully ligated AdSS (in a complex with guanosine diphosphate, 6-phosphoryl-inosine monophosphate, hadacidin and Mg²⁺) and AdSS in a complex with inosine monophosphate (IMP) only, enabled identification of active site interactions crucial for ligand binding and enzyme activity. Combination of experimental and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations data, particularly emphasized the importance of hydrogen bond Arg135-IMP for enzyme dimerization and active site formation. The synergistic effect of substrates (IMP and guanosine triphosphate) binding was suggested by MD simulations. Several flexible elements of the structure (loops) are stabilized by the presence of IMP alone, however loops comprising residues 287-293 and 40-44 occupy different positions in two solved H. pylori AdSS structures. MD simulations discovered the hydrogen bond network that stabilizes the closed conformation of the residues 40-50 loop, only in the presence of IMP. Presented findings provide a solid basis for the design of new AdSS inhibitors as potential drugs against H. pylori.

A comprehensive method for determining cellular uptake of purine nucleoside phosphorylase and adenylosuccinate synthetase inhibitors by H. pylori

Abstract

Due to the growing number of Helicobacter pylori strains resistant to currently available antibiotics, there is an urgent need to design new drugs utilizing different molecular mechanisms than those that have been used up to now. Enzymes of the purine salvage pathway are possible targets of such new antibiotics because H. pylori is not able to synthetize purine nucleotides de novo. The bacterium’s recovery of purines and purine nucleotides from the environment is the only source of these essential DNA and RNA building blocks. We have identified formycins and hadacidin as potent inhibitors of purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) and adenylosuccinate synthetase (AdSS) from H. pylori — two key enzymes of the purine salvage pathway. However, we have found that these compounds are not effective in H. pylori cell cultures. To address this issue, we have developed a universal comprehensive method for assessing H. pylori cell penetration by drug candidates, with three alternative detection assays. These include liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, UV absorption, and inhibition of the target enzyme by the tested compound. Using this approach, we have shown that cellular uptake by H. pylori of formycins and hadacidin is very poor, which reveals why their in vitro inhibition of PNP and AdSS and their effect on H. pylori cell cultures are so different. The cell penetration assessment method developed here will be extremely useful for validating the cellular uptake of other drug candidates, facilitating the design of new potent therapeutic agents against H. pylori.

Key points

• A method for assessing H. pylori cells penetration by drug candidates is described.

• Three alternative detection assays that complement each other can be used.

• The method may be adapted for other bacteria as well.

Quantitative proteomics approach to investigate the antibacterial response of Helicobacter pylori to daphnetin, a traditional Chinese medicine monomer

Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative bacterium related to the development of peptic ulcers and stomach cancer. An increasing number of infected individuals are found to harbor antibiotic-resistant H. pylori, which results in treatment failure. Daphnetin, a traditional Chinese medicine, has a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity without the development of bacterial resistance. However, the antibacterial mechanisms of daphnetin have not been elucidated entirely. To better understand the mechanisms of daphnetin's effect on H. pylori, a label-free quantitative proteomics approach based on an EASY-nLC 1200 system coupled with an Orbitrap Fusion Lumos mass spectrometer was established to investigate the key protein differences between daphnetin- and non-daphnetin-treated H. pylori. Using the criteria of greater than 1.5-fold changes and adjusted p value <0.05, proteins related to metabolism, membrane structure, nucleic acid and protein synthesis, ion binding, H. pylori colonization and infection, stress reaction, flagellar assembly and so on were found to be changed under daphnetin pressure. And the changes of selected proteins in expression level were confirmed by targeted proteomics. These new data provide us a more comprehensive horizon of the proteome changes in H. pylori that occur in response to daphnetin.

Helicobacter pylori treatment in the post-antibiotics era-searching for new drug targets

Abstract

Helicobacter pylori, a member of Epsilonproteobacteria, is a Gram-negative microaerophilic bacterium that colonizes gastric mucosa of about 50% of the human population. Although most infections caused by H. pylori are asymptomatic, the microorganism is strongly associated with serious diseases of the upper gastrointestinal tract such as chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer, duodenal ulcer, and gastric cancer, and it is classified as a group I carcinogen. The prevalence of H. pylori infections varies worldwide. The H. pylori genotype, host gene polymorphisms, and environmental factors determine the type of induced disease. Currently, the most common therapy to treat H. pylori is the first line clarithromycin–based triple therapy or a quadruple therapy replacing clarithromycin with new antibiotics. Despite the enormous recent effort to introduce new therapeutic regimens to combat this pathogen, treatment for H. pylori still fails in more than 20% of patients, mainly due to the increased prevalence of antibiotic resistant strains. In this review we present recent progress aimed at designing new anti-H. pylori strategies to combat this pathogen. Some novel therapeutic regimens will potentially be used as an extra constituent of antibiotic therapy, and others may replace current antibiotic treatments.

Key points

• Attempts to improve eradication rate of H. pylori infection.

• Searching for new drug targets in anti-Helicobacter therapies.