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Habjan E, Lepioshkin A, Charitou V, Egorova A, Kazakova E, Ho VQT, Bitter W, Makarov V, Speer A. Modulating mycobacterial envelope integrity for antibiotic synergy with benzothiazoles. Life Sci Alliance 2024; 7:e202302509. [PMID: 38744470 PMCID: PMC11094368 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202302509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 04/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Developing effective tuberculosis drugs is hindered by mycobacteria's intrinsic antibiotic resistance because of their impermeable cell envelope. Using benzothiazole compounds, we aimed to increase mycobacterial cell envelope permeability and weaken the defenses of Mycobacterium marinum, serving as a model for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Initial hit, BT-08, significantly boosted ethidium bromide uptake, indicating enhanced membrane permeability. It also demonstrated efficacy in the M. marinum-zebrafish embryo infection model and M. tuberculosis-infected macrophages. Notably, BT-08 synergized with established antibiotics, including vancomycin and rifampicin. Subsequent medicinal chemistry optimization led to BT-37, a non-toxic and more potent derivative, also enhancing ethidium bromide uptake and maintaining synergy with rifampicin in infected zebrafish embryos. Mutants of M. marinum resistant to BT-37 revealed that MMAR_0407 (Rv0164) is the molecular target and that this target plays a role in the observed synergy and permeability. This study introduces novel compounds targeting a new mycobacterial vulnerability and highlights their cooperative and synergistic interactions with existing antibiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Habjan
- https://ror.org/00q6h8f30 Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Alexander Lepioshkin
- Federal Research Centre "Fundamentals of Biotechnology" of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Research Centre of Biotechnology RAS), Moscow, Russia
| | - Vicky Charitou
- https://ror.org/00q6h8f30 Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Anna Egorova
- Federal Research Centre "Fundamentals of Biotechnology" of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Research Centre of Biotechnology RAS), Moscow, Russia
| | - Elena Kazakova
- Federal Research Centre "Fundamentals of Biotechnology" of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Research Centre of Biotechnology RAS), Moscow, Russia
| | - Vien QT Ho
- https://ror.org/00q6h8f30 Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Wilbert Bitter
- https://ror.org/00q6h8f30 Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Vadim Makarov
- Federal Research Centre "Fundamentals of Biotechnology" of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Research Centre of Biotechnology RAS), Moscow, Russia
| | - Alexander Speer
- https://ror.org/00q6h8f30 Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Kim D, Na Y, Chang H, Boo J, Kang S, Jin C, Kang S, Lee SY, Lee B. Domain swapping of the C-terminal helix promotes the dimerization of a novel ribonuclease protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Protein Sci 2023; 32:e4644. [PMID: 37070717 PMCID: PMC10182728 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/16/2023] [Indexed: 04/19/2023]
Abstract
Polyketide metabolism-associated proteins in Mycobacterium tuberculosis play an essential role in the survival of the bacterium, which makes them potential drug targets for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB). The novel ribonuclease protein Rv1546 is predicted to be a member of the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein-related lipid-transfer (START) domain superfamily, which comprises bacterial polyketide aromatase/cyclases (ARO/CYCs). Here, we determined the crystal structure of Rv1546 in a V-shaped dimer. The Rv1546 monomer consists of four α-helices and seven antiparallel β-strands. Interestingly, in the dimeric state, Rv1546 forms a helix-grip fold, which is present in START domain proteins, via three-dimensional domain swapping. Structural analysis revealed that the conformational change of the C-terminal α-helix of Rv1546 might contribute to the unique dimer structure. Site-directed mutagenesis followed by in vitro ribonuclease activity assays was performed to identify catalytic sites of the protein. This experiment suggested that surface residues R63, K84, K88, and R113 are important in the ribonuclease function of Rv1546. In summary, this study presents the structural and functional characterization of Rv1546 and supplies new perspectives for exploiting Rv1546 as a novel drug target for TB treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Do‐Hee Kim
- Jeju Research Institute of Pharmaceutical SciencesCollege of Pharmacy, Jeju National UniversityJejuKorea
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Advanced Convergence Technology and ScienceJeju National UniversityJejuKorea
| | - Youngseo Na
- The Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National UniversitySeoulKorea
| | - Heesun Chang
- The Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National UniversitySeoulKorea
| | - Jun‐Hyuk Boo
- Jeju Research Institute of Pharmaceutical SciencesCollege of Pharmacy, Jeju National UniversityJejuKorea
| | - Sung‐Min Kang
- College of Pharmacy, Duksung Women's UniversitySeoulKorea
| | - Chenglong Jin
- The Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National UniversitySeoulKorea
| | - Su‐Jin Kang
- College of Pharmacy, Dongduk Women's UniversitySeoulKorea
| | - Su Yeon Lee
- The Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National UniversitySeoulKorea
| | - Bong‐Jin Lee
- The Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National UniversitySeoulKorea
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Hua Y, Yuan X, Shen YH, Wang J, Azeem W, Yang S, Gade A, Lellahi SM, Øyan AM, Ke X, Zhang WD, Kalland KH. Novel STAT3 Inhibitors Targeting STAT3 Dimerization by Binding to the STAT3 SH2 Domain. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:836724. [PMID: 35712699 PMCID: PMC9196127 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.836724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Our drug discovery model has identified two novel STAT3 SH2 domain inhibitors 323–1 and 323–2 (delavatine A stereoisomers) in a series of experiments. In silico computational modeling, drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS), and fluorescence polarization (FP) assays altogether determined that 323–1 and 323–2 directly target the STAT3 SH2 domain and inhibited both phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated STAT3 dimerization. Computational docking predicted that compound 323s bind to three subpockets of the STAT3 SH2 domain. The 323s inhibition of STAT3 dimerization was more potent than the commercial STAT3 SH2 domain inhibitor S3I-201 in the co-immunoprecipitation assay, correlating with computational docking data. The fluorescence polarization assay further confirmed that the compound 323s target the STAT3 SH2 domain by competitively abrogating the interaction between STAT3 and the SH2-binding peptide GpYLPQTV. Compared with S3I-201, the 323 compounds exhibited stronger inhibition of STAT3 and reduced the level of IL-6-stimulated phosphorylation of STAT3 (Tyr705) in LNCaP cells over the phosphorylation of STAT1 (Tyr701) induced by IFN-ɣ in PC3 cells or the phosphorylation of STAT1 (Ser727) in DU145 cells. Both compounds downregulated STAT3 target genes MCL1 and cyclin D1. Thus, the two compounds are promising lead compounds for the treatment of cancers with hyper-activated STAT3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaping Hua
- Centre for Cancer Biomarkers (CCBIO), Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- *Correspondence: Yaping Hua, ; Wei-dong Zhang, ; Karl-Henning Kalland,
| | - Xing Yuan
- Department of Phytochemistry, School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yun-heng Shen
- Department of Phytochemistry, School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jinxin Wang
- Department of Phytochemistry, School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Waqas Azeem
- Centre for Cancer Biomarkers (CCBIO), Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Department of Microbiology, Haukeland University Hospital, Helse Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Centre for Cancer Biomarkers, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Shuo Yang
- School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Alexandra Gade
- Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Seyed Mohammad Lellahi
- Centre for Cancer Biomarkers (CCBIO), Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Anne Margrete Øyan
- Centre for Cancer Biomarkers (CCBIO), Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Department of Microbiology, Haukeland University Hospital, Helse Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Xisong Ke
- Centre for Cancer Biomarkers (CCBIO), Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Wei-dong Zhang
- Department of Phytochemistry, School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- *Correspondence: Yaping Hua, ; Wei-dong Zhang, ; Karl-Henning Kalland,
| | - Karl-Henning Kalland
- Centre for Cancer Biomarkers (CCBIO), Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Department of Microbiology, Haukeland University Hospital, Helse Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Department of Immunology and Transfusion Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
- *Correspondence: Yaping Hua, ; Wei-dong Zhang, ; Karl-Henning Kalland,
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Zhou Y, Zhong T, Wei W, Wu Z, Yang A, Liu N, Wang M, Zhang X. Single START-domain protein Mtsp17 is involved in transcriptional regulation in Mycobacterium smegmatis. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0249379. [PMID: 33857164 PMCID: PMC8049324 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Tuberculosis caused by the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), remains a significant threat to global health. Elucidating the mechanisms of essential MTB genes provides an important theoretical basis for drug exploitation. Gene mtsp17 is essential and is conserved in the Mycobacterium genus. Although Mtsp17 has a structure closely resembling typical steroidogenic acute regulatory protein-related lipid transfer (START) family proteins, its biological function is different. This study characterizes the transcriptomes of Mycobacterium smegmatis to explore the consequences of mtsp17 downregulation on gene expression. Suppression of the mtsp17 gene resulted in significant down-regulation of 3% and upregulation of 1% of all protein-coding genes. Expression of desA1, an essential gene involved in mycolic acid synthesis, and the anti-SigF antagonist MSMEG_0586 were down-regulated in the conditional Mtsp17 knockout mutant and up-regulated in the Mtsp17 over-expression strain. Trends in the changes of 70 of the 79 differentially expressed genes (Log2 fold change > 1.5) in the conditional Mtsp17 knockout strain were the same as in the SigF knockout strain. Our data suggest that Mtsp17 is likely an activator of desA1 and Mtsp17 regulates the SigF regulon by SigF regulatory pathways through the anti-SigF antagonist MSMEG_0586. Our findings indicate the role of Mtsp17 may be in transcriptional regulation, provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms of START family proteins, and uncover a new node in the regulatory network of mycobacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Zhou
- Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Tianying Zhong
- Guangdong Province Green and High Performance Novel Materials Engineering Research Center, Jiangmen Polytechnic, Jiangmen, China
| | - Wenjing Wei
- Center for Tuberculosis Control of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhuhua Wu
- Center for Tuberculosis Control of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, China
| | - Anping Yang
- School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong, China
| | - Ning Liu
- Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
- * E-mail: (NL); (MW); (XZ)
| | - Ming Wang
- Key Laboratory of RNA Biology, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- * E-mail: (NL); (MW); (XZ)
| | - Xiaoli Zhang
- School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong, China
- * E-mail: (NL); (MW); (XZ)
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Mycobacterium smegmatis MSMEG_0129 is a nutrition-associated regulator that interacts with CarD and ClpP2. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 2020; 124:105763. [PMID: 32389745 DOI: 10.1016/j.biocel.2020.105763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2019] [Revised: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Mycobacterium smegmatis MSMEG_0129 and Rv0164, its homologue in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, are single START-domain proteins essential for bacterial growth and survival, but their biochemical activities and biological roles remain undetermined. Here, we probed the possible functions of MSMEG_0129 and its underlying mechanisms by determining its cellular location, searching for its interaction partners and monitoring its transcription profile. MSMEG_0129, and Rv0164 by extension, were found to be cytosolic proteins rather than secreted components as previously understood. Increases in MSMEG_0129 expression at physiological levels accelerated bacterial growth in a proportional manner, but additional growth acceleration was not observed when MSMEG_0129 was overexpressed up to 20 fold. MSMEG_0129 is a short-lived protein, unstable at both the mRNA and protein levels. Co-IP and GST pull-down assays showed that MSMEG_0129 interacts with the ClpP2 protease and a global transcription factor, CarD, their expression being correlated with that of MSMEG_0129. Nutrient deficiency led to the downregulation of MSMEG_0129 but upregulation of CarD. However, in the context of constitutive MSMEG_0129 overexpression under nutrient-rich or starvation conditions, the mRNA level of CarD was reduced 3 fold. Conversely, expression of ClpP2 decreased with MSMEG_0129 downregulation under starvation conditions, but increased 4-8 fold when MSMEG_0129 was overexpressed. Our data suggest that MSMEG_0129, and Rv0164 by analogy, are likely to be nutrition sensing factors that regulate mycobacterial growth and may be involved in signal transfer under nutrient deficiency, possibly via physical and regulatory interactions with CarD and ClpP2.
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