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Alfei S, Zuccari G, Bacchetti F, Torazza C, Milanese M, Siciliano C, Athanassopoulos CM, Piatti G, Schito AM. Synthesized Bis-Triphenyl Phosphonium-Based Nano Vesicles Have Potent and Selective Antibacterial Effects on Several Clinically Relevant Superbugs. NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 14:1351. [PMID: 39195389 DOI: 10.3390/nano14161351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2024] [Revised: 08/05/2024] [Accepted: 08/13/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024]
Abstract
The increasing emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens due to antibiotic misuse translates into obstinate infections with high morbidity and high-cost hospitalizations. To oppose these MDR superbugs, new antimicrobial options are necessary. Although both quaternary ammonium salts (QASs) and phosphonium salts (QPSs) possess antimicrobial effects, QPSs have been studied to a lesser extent. Recently, we successfully reported the bacteriostatic and cytotoxic effects of a triphenyl phosphonium salt against MDR isolates of the Enterococcus and Staphylococcus genera. Here, aiming at finding new antibacterial devices possibly active toward a broader spectrum of clinically relevant bacteria responsible for severe human infections, we synthesized a water-soluble, sterically hindered quaternary phosphonium salt (BPPB). It encompasses two triphenyl phosphonium groups linked by a C12 alkyl chain, thus embodying the characteristics of molecules known as bola-amphiphiles. BPPB was characterized by ATR-FTIR, NMR, and UV spectroscopy, FIA-MS (ESI), elemental analysis, and potentiometric titrations. Optical and DLS analyses evidenced BPPB tendency to self-forming spherical vesicles of 45 nm (DLS) in dilute solution, tending to form larger aggregates in concentrate solution (DLS and optical microscope), having a positive zeta potential (+18 mV). The antibacterial effects of BPPB were, for the first time, assessed against fifty clinical isolates of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative species. Excellent antibacterial effects were observed for all strains tested, involving all the most concerning species included in ESKAPE bacteria. The lowest MICs were 0.250 µg/mL, while the highest ones (32 µg/mL) were observed for MDR Gram-negative metallo-β-lactamase-producing bacteria and/or species resistant also to colistin, carbapenems, cefiderocol, and therefore intractable with currently available antibiotics. Moreover, when administered to HepG2 human hepatic and Cos-7 monkey kidney cell lines, BPPB showed selectivity indices > 10 for all Gram-positive isolates and for clinically relevant Gram-negative superbugs such as those of E. coli species, thus being very promising for clinical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvana Alfei
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano, 16148 Genoa, Italy
| | - Guendalina Zuccari
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano, 16148 Genoa, Italy
- Laboratory of Experimental Therapies in Oncology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Via G. Gaslini 5, 16147 Genoa, Italy
| | - Francesca Bacchetti
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano, 16148 Genoa, Italy
| | - Carola Torazza
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano, 16148 Genoa, Italy
| | - Marco Milanese
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano, 16148 Genoa, Italy
- IRCCS, Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Carlo Siciliano
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy
| | | | - Gabriella Piatti
- Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics (DISC), University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV, 6, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Anna Maria Schito
- Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics (DISC), University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV, 6, 16132 Genova, Italy
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Lakshminarayanan K, Murugan D, Venkatesan J, Vasanthakumari Thirumalaiswamy H, Gadais C, Rangasamy L. Siderophore-Conjugated Antifungals: A Strategy to Potentially Cure Fungal Infections. ACS Infect Dis 2024; 10:2448-2466. [PMID: 38905481 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.4c00046] [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] [Indexed: 06/23/2024]
Abstract
Fungi pose a global threat to humankind due to the increasing emergence of multi-drug-resistant fungi. There is a rising incidence of invasive fungal infections. Due to the structural complexity of fungal cell membranes, only a few classes of antifungal agents are effective and have been approved by the U.S. FDA. Hence, researchers globally are focusing on developing novel strategies to cure fungal infections. One of the potential strategies is the "Trojan horse" approach, which uses the siderophore-mediated iron acquisition (SIA) system to scavenge iron to deliver potent antifungal agents for therapeutics and diagnostics. These siderophore conjugates chelate to iron and are taken up through siderophore-iron transporters, which are overexpressed exclusively on microbes such as bacteria or fungi, but not mammalian cells. Our comprehensive review delves into recent advancements in the design of siderophore-conjugated antifungal agents to gain fungal cell entry. Notably, our focus extends to unraveling the intricate relationship between the structure of natural siderophores or siderophore-like molecules and the resulting antifungal activity. By exploring these design strategies, we aim to contribute to the ongoing discourse on combating drug-resistant fungal infections and advancing the landscape of antifungal theranostics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kalaiarasu Lakshminarayanan
- Department of Chemistry, School of Advanced Sciences (SAS), Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, India
- Drug Discovery Unit (DDU), Centre for Biomaterials, Cellular and Molecular Theranostics (CBCMT), Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, India
| | - Dhanashree Murugan
- Drug Discovery Unit (DDU), Centre for Biomaterials, Cellular and Molecular Theranostics (CBCMT), Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, India
| | - Janarthanan Venkatesan
- Department of Chemistry, School of Advanced Sciences (SAS), Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, India
- Drug Discovery Unit (DDU), Centre for Biomaterials, Cellular and Molecular Theranostics (CBCMT), Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, India
| | - Harashkumar Vasanthakumari Thirumalaiswamy
- Department of Chemistry, School of Advanced Sciences (SAS), Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, India
- Drug Discovery Unit (DDU), Centre for Biomaterials, Cellular and Molecular Theranostics (CBCMT), Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, India
| | - Charlène Gadais
- ISCR UMR 6226 (Institute of Chemical Sciences of Rennes), Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Rennes, 35042 Rennes cedex, France
| | - Loganathan Rangasamy
- Drug Discovery Unit (DDU), Centre for Biomaterials, Cellular and Molecular Theranostics (CBCMT), Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, India
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Qian J, Jin P, Yang Y, Ma N, Yang Z, Zhang X. Protein function annotation and virulence factor identification of Klebsiella pneumoniae genome by multiple machine learning models. Microb Pathog 2024; 193:106727. [PMID: 38851362 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2024.106727] [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: 12/10/2023] [Revised: 05/27/2024] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/10/2024]
Abstract
Klebsiella pneumoniae is a type of Gram-negative bacterium which can cause a range of infections in human. In recent years, an increasing number of strains of K. pneumoniae resistant to multiple antibiotics have emerged, posing a significant threat to public health. The protein function of this bacterium is not well known, thus a systematic investigation of K. pneumoniae proteome is in urgent need. In this study, the protein functions of this bacteria were re-annotated, and their function groups were analyzed. Moreover, three machine learning models were built to identify novel virulence factors. Results showed that the functions of 16 uncharacterized proteins were first annotated by sequence alignment. In addition, K. pneumoniae proteins share a high proportion of homology with Haemophilus influenzae and a low homology proportion with Chlamydia pneumoniae. By sequence analysis, 10 proteins were identified as potential drug targets for this bacterium. Our model achieved a high accuracy of 0.901 in the benchmark dataset. By applying our models to K. pneumoniae, we identified 39 virulence factors in this pathogen. Our findings could provide novel clues for the treatment of K. pneumoniae infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinyang Qian
- School of Artificial Intelligence, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Pengfei Jin
- School of Artificial Intelligence, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yueyue Yang
- School of Artificial Intelligence, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Nan Ma
- School of Artificial Intelligence, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zhiyuan Yang
- School of Artificial Intelligence, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Xiaoli Zhang
- School of Artificial Intelligence, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
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Olshvang E, Fritsch S, Scholtyssek OC, Schalk IJ, Metzler-Nolte N. Vectorization via Siderophores Increases Antibacterial Activity of K(RW) 3 Peptides against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Chemistry 2023; 29:e202300364. [PMID: 37541431 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202300364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023]
Abstract
A series of new conjugates comprised from a small synthetic antimicrobial peptide (AMP) and a siderophore-type vector component was designed and tested for activity on P. aeruginosa PAO1 and several genetically modified strains. As AMP, the well-established arginine-tryptophane combination K(RW)3 (P1) was chosen with an added lysine for siderophore attachment. This peptide is easy to prepare, modify, and possesses good anti-bacterial activity. On the vector part, we examined several moieties: (i) the natural siderophore deferoxamine (DFO); (ii) bidentate iron chelators based on the hydroxamate building block (4 a-c) ; (iii) the non-siderophore chelators deferasirox (DFX) and deferiprone-carboxylate (DFP-COOH). All conjugates were prepared by solid phase synthesis techniques and fully characterized by HPLC and mass spectrometry (including HR-MS). 55 Fe uptake assays indicate a receptor-mediated uptake for 4 a-c, DFP-COOH and DFO, which is dependent on the outer membrane transporter FoxA in the case of DFO. All conjugates showed increased antibacterial activity against P. aeruginosa compared to the parent peptide P1 alone when investigated in iron-depleted medium. MIC values were as low as 2 μM (for P1-DFP) on wild type P. aeruginosa. The activity of P1-DFO and P1-DFP was even better on genetically mutated strains unable to produce siderophores (down to 0.5 μM). Although the DFX vector on its own was not able to transport iron inside the bacterial cell as shown by 55 Fe uptake studies, the P1-DFX conjugate had excellent antibacterial activity compared to P1 (2 μM, and as low as 0.25 μM on a receptor-deficient strain unable to produce siderophores), suggesting that the conjugates were indeed recognized and internalized by an (unknown) transporter. Control experiments with an equimolar mixture of P1 and DFX confirm that the observed activity is intrinsic to vectorization. This work thus demonstrates the power of linking small AMPs covalently to siderophores for a new class of Trojan Horse antibiotics, with P1-DFP and P1-DFX being the most potent conjugates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evgenia Olshvang
- Faculty of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Inorganic Chemistry I - Bioinorganic Chemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sarah Fritsch
- UMR7242, ESBS, University of Strasbourg, 67413, Illkirch, Strasbourg, France
- UMR7242, ESBS, CNRS, 67413, Illkirch, Strasbourg, France
| | - Oliver C Scholtyssek
- Faculty of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Inorganic Chemistry I - Bioinorganic Chemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Isabelle J Schalk
- UMR7242, ESBS, University of Strasbourg, 67413, Illkirch, Strasbourg, France
- UMR7242, ESBS, CNRS, 67413, Illkirch, Strasbourg, France
| | - Nils Metzler-Nolte
- Faculty of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Inorganic Chemistry I - Bioinorganic Chemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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Fritsch S, Gasser V, Peukert C, Pinkert L, Kuhn L, Perraud Q, Normant V, Brönstrup M, Schalk IJ. Uptake Mechanisms and Regulatory Responses to MECAM- and DOTAM-Based Artificial Siderophores and Their Antibiotic Conjugates in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. ACS Infect Dis 2022; 8:1134-1146. [PMID: 35500104 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.2c00049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
The development of new antibiotics against Gram-negative bacteria has to deal with the low permeability of the outer membrane. This obstacle can be overcome by utilizing siderophore-dependent iron uptake pathways as entrance routes for antibiotic uptake. Iron-chelating siderophores are actively imported by bacteria, and their conjugation to antibiotics allows smuggling the latter into bacterial cells. Synthetic siderophore mimetics based on MECAM (1,3,5-N,N',N″-tris-(2,3-dihydroxybenzoyl)-triaminomethylbenzene) and DOTAM (1,4,7,10-tetrakis(carbamoylmethyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane) cores, both chelating iron via catechol groups, have been recently applied as versatile carriers of functional cargo. In the present study, we show that MECAM and the MECAM-ampicillin conjugate 3 transport iron into Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells via the catechol-type outer membrane transporters PfeA and PirA and DOTAM solely via PirA. Differential proteomics and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) showed that MECAM import induced the expression of pfeA, whereas 3 led to an increase in the expression of pfeA and ampc, a gene conferring ampicillin resistance. The presence of DOTAM did not induce the expression of pirA but upregulated the expression of two zinc transporters (cntO and PA0781), pointing out that bacteria become zinc starved in the presence of this compound. Iron uptake experiments with radioactive 55Fe demonstrated that import of this nutrient by MECAM and DOTAM was as efficient as with the natural siderophore enterobactin. The study provides a functional validation for DOTAM- and MECAM-based artificial siderophore mimetics as vehicles for the delivery of cargo into Gram-negative bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Fritsch
- CNRS, University of Strasbourg, UMR7242, ESBS, Bld Sébastien Brant, F-67412 Illkirch, Strasbourg 67070, France
| | - Véronique Gasser
- CNRS, University of Strasbourg, UMR7242, ESBS, Bld Sébastien Brant, F-67412 Illkirch, Strasbourg 67070, France
| | - Carsten Peukert
- Department of Chemical Biology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Inhoffenstrasse 7, Braunschweig 38124, Germany
| | - Lukas Pinkert
- Department of Chemical Biology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Inhoffenstrasse 7, Braunschweig 38124, Germany
| | - Lauriane Kuhn
- Plateforme Proteomique Strasbourg-Esplanade, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS, FR1589, 15 rue Descartes, Strasbourg Cedex F-67084, France
| | - Quentin Perraud
- CNRS, University of Strasbourg, UMR7242, ESBS, Bld Sébastien Brant, F-67412 Illkirch, Strasbourg 67070, France
| | - Vincent Normant
- CNRS, University of Strasbourg, UMR7242, ESBS, Bld Sébastien Brant, F-67412 Illkirch, Strasbourg 67070, France
| | - Mark Brönstrup
- Department of Chemical Biology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Inhoffenstrasse 7, Braunschweig 38124, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Site Hannover-Braunschweig, Braunschweig 38124, Germany
- Center of Biomolecular Drug Research (BMWZ), Leibniz Universität, Hannover 30159, Germany
| | - Isabelle J. Schalk
- CNRS, University of Strasbourg, UMR7242, ESBS, Bld Sébastien Brant, F-67412 Illkirch, Strasbourg 67070, France
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Current international and national guidelines for managing skin and soft tissue infections. Curr Opin Infect Dis 2022; 35:61-71. [PMID: 35067522 DOI: 10.1097/qco.0000000000000814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Skin and soft tissue infections account for a significant percentage of both community and nosocomial infections. Several nosological entities are included in this concept. However, there is a very scarce body of doctrine for their treatment based on randomised trials. Therefore, we considered it necessary to review current treatment guidelines to bring new recommendations and improvements to our colleagues. In this review of recent literature, we identified updated guidelines in this area by searching the databases PubMed, evidence-based medicine online, York University reviewers group, Cochrane, MBE-Trip and Sumsearch using the terms: soft tissue infection, therapy, guideline. RECENT FINDINGS Developments focus on using new antimicrobials and on the prescription of shorter antibiotic treatment courses. SUMMARY With the development of new drugs and the current evidence of their use, there is a need to refine the appropriate drug's decision-making. Drugs with a long half-life, which allows weekly administration, can reduce hospital admission and length of stay with fewer healthcare resources. Shorter courses of antibiotics are recommended. The role of stewardship programmes will continue to expand. The surgical indication and its value are evident in many patients. Therefore, management should rely on a collaborative group with experience in this disease.
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