Multi gram synthesis of UDP-N-acetylmuramic acid

Identification of an inhibitor of the MurC enzyme, which catalyzes an essential step in the peptidoglycan precursor synthesis pathway

The pathway for synthesis of the peptidoglycan precursor UDP-N-acetylmuramyl pentapeptide is essential in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. This pathway has been exploited in the recent past to identify potential new antibiotics as inhibitors of one or more of the Mur enzymes. In the present study, a high-throughput screen was employed to identify potential inhibitors of the Escherichia coli MurC (UDP-N-acetylmuramic acid:L-alanine ligase), the first of four paralogous amino acid-adding enzymes. Inhibition of ATP consumed during the MurC reaction, using an adaptation of a kinase assay format, identified a number of potential inhibitory chemotypes. After nonspecific inhibition testing and chemical attractiveness were assessed, C-1 emerged as a compound for further characterization. The inhibition of MurC by this compound was confirmed in both a kinetic-coupled enzyme assay and a direct nuclear magnetic resonance product detection assay. C-1 was found to be a low micromolar inhibitor of the E. coli MurC reaction, with preferential inhibition by one of two enantiomeric forms. Experiments indicated that it was a competitive inhibitor of ATP binding to the MurC enzyme. Further work with MurC enzymes from several bacterial sources revealed that while the compound was equally effective at inhibiting MurC from genera (Proteus mirabilis and Klebsiella pneumoniae) closely related to E. coli, MurC enzymes from more distant Gram-negative species such as Haemophilus influenzae, Acinetobacter baylyi, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were not inhibited.

Cytoplasmic steps of peptidoglycan biosynthesis

The biosynthesis of bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan is a complex process that involves enzyme reactions that take place in the cytoplasm (synthesis of the nucleotide precursors) and on the inner side (synthesis of lipid-linked intermediates) and outer side (polymerization reactions) of the cytoplasmic membrane. This review deals with the cytoplasmic steps of peptidoglycan biosynthesis, which can be divided into four sets of reactions that lead to the syntheses of (1) UDP-N-acetylglucosamine from fructose 6-phosphate, (2) UDP-N-acetylmuramic acid from UDP-N-acetylglucosamine, (3) UDP-N-acetylmuramyl-pentapeptide from UDP-N-acetylmuramic acid and (4) D-glutamic acid and dipeptide D-alanyl-D-alanine. Recent data concerning the different enzymes involved are presented. Moreover, special attention is given to (1) the chemical and enzymatic synthesis of the nucleotide precursor substrates that are not commercially available and (2) the search for specific inhibitors that could act as antibacterial compounds.