A dual-targeting succinate dehydrogenase and F1Fo-ATP synthase inhibitor rapidly sterilizes replicating and non-replicating Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Mycobacterial bioenergetics is a validated target space for antitubercular drug development. Here, we identify BB2-50F, a 6-substituted 5-(N,N-hexamethylene)amiloride derivative as a potent, multi-targeting bioenergetic inhibitor of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We show that BB2-50F rapidly sterilizes both replicating and non-replicating cultures of M. tuberculosis and synergizes with several tuberculosis drugs. Target identification experiments, supported by docking studies, showed that BB2-50F targets the membrane-embedded c-ring of the F1Fo-ATP synthase and the catalytic subunit (substrate-binding site) of succinate dehydrogenase. Biochemical assays and metabolomic profiling showed that BB2-50F inhibits succinate oxidation, decreases the activity of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and results in succinate secretion from M. tuberculosis. Moreover, we show that the lethality of BB2-50F under aerobic conditions involves the accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Overall, this study identifies BB2-50F as an effective inhibitor of M. tuberculosis and highlights that targeting multiple components of the mycobacterial respiratory chain can produce fast-acting antimicrobials.

Top-Down Identification and Sequence Analysis of Small Membrane Proteins Using MALDI-MS/MS

Identification and sequence determination by mass spectrometry have become routine analyses for soluble proteins. Membrane proteins, however, remain challenging targets due to their hydrophobicity and poor annotation. In particular small membrane proteins often remain unnoticed as they are largely inaccessible to Bottom-Up proteomics. Recent advances in structural biology, though, have led to multiple membrane protein complex structures being determined at sufficiently high resolution to detect uncharacterized, small subunits. In this work we offer a guide for the mass spectrometric characterization of solvent extraction-based purifications of small membrane proteins isolated from protein complexes and cellular membranes. We first demonstrate our Top-Down MALDI-MS/MS approach on a Photosystem II preparation, analyzing target protein masses between 2.5 and 9 kDa with high accuracy and sensitivity. Then we apply our technique to purify and sequence the mycobacterial ATP synthase c subunit, the molecular target of the antibiotic drug bedaquiline. We show that our approach can be used to directly track and pinpoint single amino acid mutations that lead to antibiotic resistance in only 4 h. While not applicable as a high-throughput pipeline, our MALDI-MS/MS and ISD-based approach can identify and provide valuable sequence information on small membrane proteins, which are inaccessible to conventional Bottom-Up techniques. We show that our approach can be used to unambiguously identify single-point mutations leading to antibiotic resistance in mycobacteria.

An amiloride derivative is active against the F1Fo-ATP synthase and cytochrome bd oxidase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Increasing antimicrobial resistance compels the search for next-generation inhibitors with differing or multiple molecular targets. In this regard, energy conservation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been clinically validated as a promising new drug target for combatting drug-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis. Here, we show that HM2-16F, a 6-substituted derivative of the FDA-approved drug amiloride, is an anti-tubercular inhibitor with bactericidal properties comparable to the FDA-approved drug bedaquiline (BDQ; Sirturo^®) and inhibits the growth of bedaquiline-resistant mutants. We show that HM2-16F weakly inhibits the F₁F_o-ATP synthase, depletes ATP, and affects the entry of acetyl-CoA into the Krebs cycle. HM2-16F synergizes with the cytochrome bcc-aa₃ oxidase inhibitor Q203 (Telacebec) and co-administration with Q203 sterilizes in vitro cultures in 14 days. Synergy with Q203 occurs via direct inhibition of the cytochrome bd oxidase by HM2-16F. This study shows that amiloride derivatives represent a promising discovery platform for targeting energy generation in drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Derivatives of the FDA-approved drug, amiloride, can eliminate drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in vitro by interfering with bacterial energy conservation.

Characterization of HIV risks in a Brazilian sickle cell disease population

BACKGROUND

A low prevalence of HIV in sickle cell disease (SCD) patients has been reported in the literature though mechanisms for this are not understood.

METHODS

HIV risk behaviors were compared between SCD cases and non-SCD controls using a self-administered audio computer-assisted self-interview. SCD cases were recruited from a multi-center SCD cohort established in Brazil; controls were recruited from SCD social contacts. Categorical variables were analyzed using Chi-Square or Fisher exact test. Continuous variables were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test.

RESULTS

There were 152 SCD cases and 154 age/location matched controls enrolled at three participating Brazilian centers during 2016-17. No significant differences in number of sexual partners (lifetime or previous 12 months), male-to-male sex partners or intravenous drug use were observed. Cases received more transfusions, surgeries, and acupuncture treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Besides the risk of transfusion-transmitted HIV, which is now exceedingly rare, SCD and non-SCD participants demonstrated similar HIV risk behaviors. Causes other than risk behaviors such as factors inherent to SCD pathophysiology may explain the reported low prevalence of HIV in SCD.

Structural Simplification of Bedaquiline: the Discovery of 3-(4-(N,N-Dimethylaminomethyl)phenyl)quinoline-Derived Antitubercular Lead Compounds

Bedaquiline (BDQ) is a novel and highly potent last-line antituberculosis drug that was approved by the US FDA in 2013. Owing to its stereo-structural complexity, chemical synthesis and compound optimization are rather difficult and expensive. This study describes the structural simplification of bedaquiline while preserving antitubercular activity. The compound's structure was split into fragments and reassembled in various combinations while replacing the two chiral carbon atoms with an achiral linkage instead. Four series of analogues were designed; these candidates retained their potent antitubercular activity at sub-microgram per mL concentrations against both sensitive and multidrug-resistant (MDR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains. Six out of the top nine MIC-ranked candidates were found to inhibit mycobacterial ATP synthesis activity with IC₅₀ values between 20 and 40 μm, one had IC₅₀ >66 μm, and two showed no inhibition, despite their antitubercular activity. These results provide a basis for the development of chemically less complex, lower-cost bedaquiline derivatives and describe the identification of two derivatives with antitubercular activity against non-ATP synthase related targets.

Alkaliphilic Bacteria with Impact on Industrial Applications, Concepts of Early Life Forms, and Bioenergetics of ATP Synthesis

Alkaliphilic bacteria typically grow well at pH 9, with the most extremophilic strains growing up to pH values as high as pH 12–13. Interest in extreme alkaliphiles arises because they are sources of useful, stable enzymes, and the cells themselves can be used for biotechnological and other applications at high pH. In addition, alkaline hydrothermal vents represent an early evolutionary niche for alkaliphiles and novel extreme alkaliphiles have also recently been found in alkaline serpentinizing sites. A third focus of interest in alkaliphiles is the challenge raised by the use of proton-coupled ATP synthases for oxidative phosphorylation by non-fermentative alkaliphiles. This creates a problem with respect to tenets of the chemiosmotic model that remains the core model for the bioenergetics of oxidative phosphorylation. Each of these facets of alkaliphilic bacteria will be discussed with a focus on extremely alkaliphilic Bacillus strains. These alkaliphilic bacteria have provided a cogent experimental system to probe adaptations that enable their growth and oxidative phosphorylation at high pH. Adaptations are clearly needed to enable secreted or partially exposed enzymes or protein complexes to function at the high external pH. Also, alkaliphiles must maintain a cytoplasmic pH that is significantly lower than the pH of the outside medium. This protects cytoplasmic components from an external pH that is alkaline enough to impair their stability or function. However, the pH gradient across the cytoplasmic membrane, with its orientation of more acidic inside than outside, is in the reverse of the productive orientation for bioenergetic work. The reversed gradient reduces the trans-membrane proton-motive force available to energize ATP synthesis. Multiple strategies are hypothesized to be involved in enabling alkaliphiles to circumvent the challenge of a low bulk proton-motive force energizing proton-coupled ATP synthesis at high pH.

Structure of the mycobacterial ATP synthase Fo rotor ring in complex with the anti-TB drug bedaquiline

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is more prevalent today than at any other time in human history. Bedaquiline (BDQ), a novel Mycobacterium-specific adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase inhibitor, is the first drug in the last 40 years to be approved for the treatment of MDR-TB. This bactericidal compound targets the membrane-embedded rotor (c-ring) of the mycobacterial ATP synthase, a key metabolic enzyme required for ATP generation. We report the x-ray crystal structures of a mycobacterial c9 ring without and with BDQ bound at 1.55- and 1.7-Å resolution, respectively. The structures and supporting functional assays reveal how BDQ specifically interacts with the rotor ring via numerous interactions and thereby completely covers the c-ring's ion-binding sites. This prevents the rotor ring from acting as an ion shuttle and stalls ATP synthase operation. The structures explain how diarylquinoline chemicals specifically inhibit the mycobacterial ATP synthase and thus enable structure-based drug design of next-generation ATP synthase inhibitors against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other bacterial pathogens.

The c-ring ion binding site of the ATP synthase from Bacillus pseudofirmus OF4 is adapted to alkaliphilic lifestyle

In the c-ring rotor of ATP synthases ions are shuttled across the membrane during ATP synthesis by a unique rotary mechanism. We investigated characteristics of the c-ring from the alkaliphile Bacillus pseudofirmus OF4 with respect to evolutionary adaptations to operate with protons at high environmental pH. The X-ray structures of the wild-type c13 ring at pH 9.0 and a 'neutralophile-like' mutant (P51A) at pH 4.4, at 2.4 and 2.8 Å resolution, respectively, reveal a dependency of the conformation and protonation state of the proton-binding glutamate (E(54) ) on environmental hydrophobicity. Faster labelling kinetics with the inhibitor dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD) demonstrate a greater flexibility of E(54) in the mutant due to reduced water occupancy within the H(+) binding site. A second 'neutralophile-like' mutant (V21N) shows reduced growth at high pH, which is explained by restricted conformational freedom of the mutant's E(54) carboxylate. The study directly connects subtle structural adaptations of the c-ring ion binding site to in vivo effects of alkaliphile cell physiology.

Mutations in a helix-1 motif of the ATP synthase c-subunit of Bacillus pseudofirmus OF4 cause functional deficits and changes in the c-ring stability and mobility on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

The ATP synthase of the alkaliphile Bacillus pseudofirmus OF4 has a tridecameric c-subunit rotor ring. Each c-subunit has an AxAxAxA motif near the center of the inner helix, where neutralophilic bacteria generally have a GxGxGxG motif. Here, we studied the impact of four single and six multiple Ala-to-Gly chromosomal mutations in the A16xAxAxA22 motif on the capacity for nonfermentative growth and, for most of the mutants, on ATP synthesis by ADP- and P(i)-loaded membrane vesicles at pH 7.5 and 10.5. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analyses of the holo-ATP synthases were used to probe stability of the mutant c-rotors and mobility properties of the c-rotors as well as the monomeric c-subunits that are released from them by trichloroacetic acid treatment. Mutants containing an Ala16-to-Gly mutation exhibited the most severe functional defects. Via SDS-PAGE, most of the mutant c-monomers exhibited increased mobility relative to the wild-type (WT) c-subunit, but among the intact c-rings, only Ala16-to-Gly mutants exhibited significantly increased mobility relative to that of the WT c-ring. The hypothesis that these c-rings have a decreased c-subunit stoichiometry is still untested, but the functional impact of an Ala16-to-Gly mutation clearly depended upon additional Ala-to-Gly mutation(s) and their positions. The A16/20G double mutant exhibited a larger functional deficit than both the A16G and A16/18G mutants. Most of the mutant c-rings showed in vitro instability relative to that of the WT c-ring. However, the functional deficits of mutants did not correlate well with the extent of c-ring stability loss, so this property is unlikely to be a major factor in vivo.

ATP synthases: cellular nanomotors characterized by LILBID mass spectrometry

Mass spectrometry of membrane protein complexes is still a methodological challenge due to hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts of the species and the fact that all subunits are bound non-covalently together. The present study with the novel laser induced liquid bead ion desorption mass spectrometry (LILBID-MS) reports on the determination of the subunit composition of the F(1)F(o)-ATP synthase from Bacillus pseudofirmus OF4, that of both bovine heart and, for the first time, of human heart mitochondrial F(1)F(o)-ATP synthases. Under selected buffer conditions the mass of the intact F(1)F(o)-ATP synthase of B. pseudofirmus OF4 could be measured, allowing the analysis of complex subunit stoichiometry. The agreement with theoretical masses derived from sequence databases is very good. A comparison of the ATP synthase subunit composition of 5 different ATPases reveals differences in the complexity of eukaryotic and bacterial ATP synthases. However, whereas the overall construction of eukaryotic enzymes is more complex than the bacterial ones, functionally important subunits are conserved among all ATPases.

A new type of proton coordination in an F(1)F(o)-ATP synthase rotor ring

The high-resolution structure of the rotor ring from alkaliphilic Bacillus pseudofirmus OF4 reveals a new type of ion binding in F₁F_o-ATP synthases.

We solved the crystal structure of a novel type of c-ring isolated from Bacillus pseudofirmus OF4 at 2.5 Å, revealing a cylinder with a tridecameric stoichiometry, a central pore, and an overall shape that is distinct from those reported thus far. Within the groove of two neighboring c-subunits, the conserved glutamate of the outer helix shares the proton with a bound water molecule which itself is coordinated by three other amino acids of outer helices. Although none of the inner helices contributes to ion binding and the glutamate has no other hydrogen bonding partner than the water oxygen, the site remains in a stable, ion-locked conformation that represents the functional state present at the c-ring/membrane interface during rotation. This structure reveals a new, third type of ion coordination in ATP synthases. It appears in the ion binding site of an alkaliphile in which it represents a finely tuned adaptation of the proton affinity during the reaction cycle.

Like the wind turbines that generate electricity, the F₁F_o-ATP synthases are natural “ion turbines” each made up of a stator and a rotor that turns, when driven by a flow of ions, to generate the cell's energy supply of ATP. The F_o motor rotates by reversible binding and release of coupling ions that flow down the electrochemical ion gradient across the cytoplasmic cell membrane (in the case of bacteria) or intracellular organelle membranes (in the case of eukaryotic cells). Here, we present the structure of a rotor (c-)ring from a Bacillus species (B. pseudofirmus OF4) determined at high-resolution by X-ray crystallography. This bacterium prefers alkaline environments where the concentration of protons (H⁺) is lower outside than inside the cell – the inverse of the situation usually found in organisms that prefer neutral or acidic environments. The amino acid sequence of the protein subunits in this rotor, nevertheless, has features common to an important group of ATP synthases in organisms from bacteria to man. The structure reveals a new type of ion binding in which a protonated glutamate residue in the protein associates with a water molecule. This finding raises the possibility considered by Nobel laureate Paul Boyer several decades ago that a hydronium ion (a protonated water molecule, H₃O⁺), rather than a proton alone, might be the coupling species that energizes ATP synthesis. Also, it demonstrates the finely tuned adaptation of ATP synthase rotor rings and their ion-binding sites to the specific requirements of different organisms.

The c13 ring from a thermoalkaliphilic ATP synthase reveals an extended diameter due to a special structural region

We have structurally characterized the c-ring from the thermoalkaliphilic Bacillus sp. strain TA2.A1 F(1)F(o)-ATP synthase. Atomic force microscopy imaging and cryo-electron microscopy analyses confirm previous mass spectrometric data indicating that this c-ring contains 13 c-subunits. The cryo-electron microscopy map obtained from two-dimensional crystals shows less closely packed helices in the inner ring compared to those of Na(+)-binding c(11) rings. The inner ring of alpha-helices in c(11) rings harbors a conserved GxGxGxGxG motif, with glycines located at the interface between c-subunits, which is responsible for the close packing of these helices. This glycine motif is altered in the c(13) ring of Bacillus sp. strain TA2.A1 to AxGxSxGxS, leading to a change in c-c subunit contacts and thereby enlarging the c-ring diameter to host a greater number of c-subunits. An altered glycine motif is a typical feature of c-subunit sequences in alkaliphilic Bacillus species. We propose that enlarged c-rings in proton-dependent F-ATP synthases may represent an adaptation to facilitate ATP synthesis at low overall proton-motive force, as occurs in bacteria that grow at alkaline pH.

Cholesterol and coronary heart disease: predicting risks in men by changes in levels and ratios

BACKGROUND

Little is known about the relative ability of different measures of change in cholesterol to discriminate coronary heart disease risk. We evaluated this ability for changes in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, LDL/HDL ratios, and total cholesterol/HDL ratios.

METHODS

We predicted risks of coronary heart disease using data from 3641 men in the Lipid Research Clinics Coronary Primary Prevention Trial. Treating these patients as a cohort, we estimated risks associated with changes in cholesterol levels independent of the patients' randomization group.

RESULTS

Changes in LDL and HDL cholesterol when used in combination were each significant predictors of coronary heart disease risk (odds ratios [OR] for 10% increases, 1.15 and 0.84, respectively; P < 0.001). Changes in LDL/HDL and total cholesterol/HDL ratios had similar discriminating ability (OR for 10% increases, 1.17 and 1.21, respectively; P < 0.0001). In the best discriminating models, changes in ratios added information about risks to changes in LDL cholesterol, although changes in LDL cholesterol levels failed to add information to changes in ratios.

CONCLUSIONS

Changes in total cholesterol/HDL and LDL/HDL ratios were better predictors of risk for coronary heart disease than were changes in LDL cholesterol levels alone. When assessed as percentage changes averaged during the first two months of intervention, they were among the best discriminators of risk. Clinicians selecting treatments for intervention should include among their considerations the treatment's effect on both LDL and HDL cholesterol rather than their effects on LDL cholesterol levels alone.

Detection of human immunodeficiency virus and other retroviruses in cell culture supernatants by a reverse transcriptase microassay

A micromethod for the detection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other retroviruses in cell culture supernatants is described which applies a DEAE ion exchanger for recovery of polynucleotides synthesized in vitro by the retroviral reverse transcriptase. Cell culture, sample preparation, and test performance including the washing step are adapted to microtitre plates. Compared to the standard method this technique produced less non-specific reactions, resulting in a more than 3-fold higher sensitivity, a higher reproducibility due to lower intrarun variations and allowed an increase in the daily sample accomplishment per person 3- to 4-fold at lower costs per sample.