Identification of novel inhibitors of bacterial translation elongation factors

Three novel immunogenic proteins determined through 2-Dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry with immune serum confer protection against challenge with porcine Pasteurella multocida in mouse models

Pasteurella multocida is an important zoonotic pathogen that causes multiple diseases in both animals and humans. Test of good immunogenic proteins is beneficial for vaccine development and disease control. In the present study, we determined four novel immunogenic proteins of P. multocida by using 2-DE MALDI-TOF MS with immune serum. These four proteins included a trimethylamine-N-oxide reductase TorA, a translation elongation factor Ts, a phosphoglyceromutase PGAM, and a peroxiredoxin PrX. Among these proteins, TorA, Prx, and PGAM were successfully expressed by using E. coli. Western-blotting assays showed that recombinant TorA, Prx, and/or PGAM displayed good reactions with infectious sera of P. multocida serogroups A, B, D and F. Immunization of either rTorA, rPrx, and/or rPGAM induced significantly high levels of antibodies as well as IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-10 in mice (P < 0.01). Protective efficacy tests revealed that vaccination of either rTorA, rPrx, and/or rPGAM protected 60% ~ 80% of the tested mice against the challenge with P. multocida field isolate. Our results obtained from the present study suggest that these three proteins could be tested as good vaccine candidates against P. multocida infections.

Profiling of Haemophilus influenzae strain R2866 with carbohydrate-based covalent probes

We demonstrate the application of four covalent probes based on anomerically pure d-galactosamine and d-glucosamine scaffolds for the profiling of Haemophilus influenzae strain R2866. The probes have been used successfully for the labelling of target proteins not only in cell lysates, but also in intact cells. Differences in the labelling patterns between lysates and intact cells indicate that the probes can penetrate into the periplasm, but not the cytoplasm of H. influenzae. Analysis of selected target proteins by LC-MS/MS suggests predominant labelling of nucleotide-binding proteins, including several known antibacterial drug targets. Our protocols will aid the identification of molecular determinants of bacterial pathogenicity in Haemophilus influenzae and other bacterial pathogens.

Development and Optimization of a Higher-Throughput Bacterial Compound Accumulation Assay

The Gram-negative bacterial permeability barrier, coupled with efflux, raises formidable challenges to antibiotic drug discovery. The absence of efficient assays to determine compound penetration into the cell and impact of efflux makes the process resource-intensive, small-scale, and lacking much success. Here, we present BacPK: a label-free, solid phase extraction-mass spectrometry (SPE-MS)-based assay that measures total cellular compound accumulation in Escherichia coli. The BacPK assay is a 96-well accumulation assay that takes advantage of 9 s/sample SPE-MS throughput. This enables the analysis of each compound in a four-point dose-response in isogenic strain pairs along with a no-cell control and 16-point external standard curve, all in triplicate. To validate the assay, differences in accumulation were examined for tetracycline (Tet) and two analogs, confirming that close analogs can differ greatly in accumulation. Tet cellular accumulation was also compared for isogenic strains exhibiting Tet resistance due to the expression of an efflux pump (TetA) or ribosomal protection protein (TetM), confirming only TetA affected cellular Tet accumulation. Finally, using a diverse set of antibacterial compounds, we confirmed the assay's ability to quantify differences in accumulation for isogenic strain pairs with efflux or permeability alterations that are consistent with differences in susceptibility seen for the compounds.

Antibacterials Developed to Target a Single Organism: Mechanisms and Frequencies of Reduced Susceptibility to the Novel Anti-Clostridium difficile Compounds Fidaxomicin and LFF571

Clostridium difficile is the most common cause of antibacterial-associated diarrhea. Clear clinical presentation and rapid diagnostics enable targeted therapy for C. difficile infection (CDI) to start quickly. CDI treatment includes metronidazole and vancomycin (VAN). Despite decades of use for CDI, no clinically meaningful resistance to either agent has emerged. Fidaxomicin (FDX), an RNA polymerase inhibitor, is also approved to treat CDI. Mutants with reduced susceptibility to FDX have been selected in vitro by single and multistep methods. Strains with elevated FDX minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were also identified from FDX-treated patients in clinical trials. LFF571 is an exploratory agent that inhibits EF-Tu. In a proof-of-concept study, LFF571 was safe and effective for treating CDI. Spontaneous mutants with reduced susceptibility to LFF571 were selected in vitro in a single step, but not via serial passage. Although there are several agents in development for treatment of CDI, this review summarizes the frequencies and mechanisms of C. difficile mutants displaying reduced susceptibility to FDX or LFF71.

Cloning and characterization of EF-Tu and EF-Ts from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

We have cloned genes encoding elongation factors EF-Tu and EF-Ts from Pseudomonas aeruginosa and expressed and purified the proteins to greater than 95% homogeneity. Sequence analysis indicated that P. aeruginosa EF-Tu and EF-Ts are 84% and 55% identical to E. coli counterparts, respectively. P. aeruginosa EF-Tu was active when assayed in GDP exchange assays. Kinetic parameters for the interaction of EF-Tu with GDP in the absence of EF-Ts were observed to be K M = 33 μM, k cat (obs) = 0.003 s(-1), and the specificity constant k cat (obs)/K M was 0.1 × 10(-3) s(-1) μM(-1). In the presence of EF-Ts, these values were shifted to K M = 2 μM, k cat (obs) = 0.005 s(-1), and the specificity constant k(cat)(obs)/K M was 2.5 × 10(-3) s(-1) μM(-1). The equilibrium dissociation constants governing the binding of EF-Tu to GDP (K GDP) were 30-75 nM and to GTP (K GTP) were 125-200 nM. EF-Ts stimulated the exchange of GDP by EF-Tu 10-fold. P. aeruginosa EF-Tu was active in forming a ternary complex with GTP and aminoacylated tRNA and was functional in poly(U)-dependent binding of Phe-tRNA(Phe) at the A-site of P. aeruginosa ribosomes. P. aeruginosa EF-Tu was active in poly(U)-programmed polyphenylalanine protein synthesis system composed of all P. aeruginosa components.

1-Methyl-2-({[(1-methyl-1H-benzimid-azol-2-yl)meth-yl](phen-yl)amino}-meth-yl)1H-benzimidazol-3-ium picrate

In the title molecular salt, C₂₄H₂₄N₅⁺·C₆H₂N₃O₇⁻, the dihedral angle between the benzimidazole rings of the cation is 5.041 (2)°. In the anion, the three nitro groups make dihedral angles of 2.468 (3), 12.795 (3) and 24.958 (4)° with respect to the central ring. In the crystal, weak aromatic π–π stacking [centroid–centroid distance = 3.599 (15) Å] consolidates the packing. In addition, an intra­molecular N—H⋯N hydrogen bond is observed.

Challenges of antibacterial discovery

The discovery of novel small-molecule antibacterial drugs has been stalled for many years. The purpose of this review is to underscore and illustrate those scientific problems unique to the discovery and optimization of novel antibacterial agents that have adversely affected the output of the effort. The major challenges fall into two areas: (i) proper target selection, particularly the necessity of pursuing molecular targets that are not prone to rapid resistance development, and (ii) improvement of chemical libraries to overcome limitations of diversity, especially that which is necessary to overcome barriers to bacterial entry and proclivity to be effluxed, especially in Gram-negative organisms. Failure to address these problems has led to a great deal of misdirected effort.

Benzimidazole derivatives related to 2,3-acrylonitriles, benzimidazo[1,2-a]quinolines and fluorenes: synthesis, antitumor evaluation in vitro and crystal structure determination

A synthesis and biological evaluation of new benzimidazole derivatives, related to 2,3-disubstituted acrylonitriles, benzimidazo[1,2-a]quinoline-6-carbonitriles and heteroaromatic fluorenes was described. The molecular and crystal structures of three compounds 4, 16 and 17 reveal that non-fused fluoro derivative, 4, deviates from planarity by 13.11(2) degrees, while fused methyl, 16, and fluoro, 17, derivatives are planar within 4 degrees exhibiting a planar aromatic surface capable to intercalate into double-stranded DNA. Compound 4 exists as E-isomer. The crystal structures confirmed that hydrogen bonding patterns are characterized dominantly by the weak C-H...N(F) bonds, except in the case of 4 where the presence of ethanol molecule of crystallization resulted in the N-H...O and O-H...N hydrogen bonds formation. In the crystal structures of 16 and 17 cyano group participates in hydrogen bonding formation, while in 4 this is not the case. All compounds, except 16 and 14 exerted pronounced antiproliferative activity on five tumor cell lines, whereby 2-benzimidazolyl-3-N-methylpyrolyl-acrylonitrile 13 and its fused analogue 23 exerted the highest activity on all cell lines (IC50=0.8-30 microM) and showed a special selectivity toward HeLa cells. There is no major difference in the biological activity between non-fused and fused analogues. Similarly, all compounds showed significant interaction with ct-DNA, supporting the fact that their antitumor activity could partially be the consequence of DNA-binding. The cyano moiety is important for the activity, but not the selectivity of tested compounds.

Novel amidino-substituted thienyl- and furylvinylbenzimidazole: derivatives and their photochemical conversion into corresponding diazacyclopenta[c]fluorenes. synthesis, interactions with DNA and RNA, and antitumor evaluation. 4

Synthesis of novel nonfused amidino-substituted thienyl- and furylvinylbenzimidazole: derivatives and their photochemical cyclization into corresponding diazacyclopenta[ c]fluorenes is described. All studied compounds showed prominent growth inhibitory effect. The fused compounds showed stronger activity than nonfused ones, whereby imidazolyl-substituted compound 11 proved to be the most active one. Besides, it induced strong G2/M arrest of the cell cycle followed by drastic apoptosis, which is in accordance with the DNA intercalative binding mode determined by the spectroscopic studies. Nonfused derivatives induced strong S phase arrest of the cell cycle followed by apoptosis that together with DNA minor groove binding mode pointed to topoisomerase I inhibition. In addition, all nonfused compounds revealed pronounced selectivity toward tumor cells in comparison with nontumor cells. On the basis of the presented results, both nonfused and fused thiophene-containing imidazolyl derivatives should be considered as promising lead compounds for further investigation.

Antituberculosis drugs: ten years of research

Tuberculosis is today amongst the worldwide health threats. As resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis have slowly emerged, treatment failure is too often a fact, especially in countries lacking the necessary health care organisation to provide the long and costly treatment adapted to patients. Because of lack of treatment or lack of adapted treatment, at least two million people will die of tuberculosis this year. Due to this concern, this infectious disease was the focus of renewed scientific interest in the last decade. Regimens were optimized and much was learnt on the mechanisms of action of the antituberculosis drugs used. Moreover, the quest for original drugs overcoming some of the problems of current regimens also became the focus of research programmes and many new series of M. tuberculosis growth inhibitors were reported. This review presents the drugs currently used in antituberculosis treatments and the most advanced compounds undergoing clinical trials. We then provide a description of their mechanism of action along with other series of inhibitors known to act on related biochemical targets. This is followed by other inhibitors of M. tuberculosis growth, including recently reported compounds devoid of a reported mechanism of action.

New advances in antibiotic development and discovery

The development of new antibiotics is crucial to controlling current and future infectious diseases caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Increased development costs, the difficulty in identifying new drug classes, unanticipated drug toxicities, the ease by which bacteria develop resistance to new antibiotics and the failure of many agents to address antibiotic resistance specifically, however, have all led to an overall decline in the number of antibiotics that are being introduced into clinical practice. Although there are few, if any, advances likely in the immediate future, there are agents in both clinical and preclinical development that can address some of the concerns of the infectious disease community. Many of these antibiotics will be tailored to specific infections caused by a relatively modest number of susceptible and resistant organisms.