Synthesis and structure-activity relationships of cephalosporins, 2-isocephems, and 2-oxaisocephems with C-3' or C-7 catechol or related aromatics

Synthesis and in vitro antibacterial activity of new aminothiazole-oximepiperidone cephalosporins

Four new aminothiazole-oximepiperidone cephalosporins (10a-10d) were synthesized, with their in vitro antibacterial activities against hospital isolated Gram-negative bacteria assessed. The results showed that compounds 10a-10d effectively inhibit a variety of Gram-negative bacteria. Compound 10a was the most potent compound, with comparable activity as ceftazidime. The combination of compound 10a and Avibactam was very active against almost all bacteria tested, which including multidrug resistant K. pneumoniae and A. baumannii. Compared to Avycaz, this combination is more potent against ESBL producing K. pneumoniae. Thus, the combination of 10a and Avibactam is of interest for further studies.

Involvement of Fe uptake systems and AmpC β-lactamase in susceptibility to the siderophore monosulfactam BAL30072 in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

BAL30072 is a monosulfactam conjugated with an iron-chelating dihydroxypyridone moiety. It is active against Gram-negative bacteria, including multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We selected mutants with decreased susceptibilities to BAL30072 in P. aeruginosa PAO1 under a variety of conditions. Under iron-deficient conditions, mutants with overexpression of AmpC β-lactamase predominated. These mutants were cross-resistant to aztreonam and ceftazidime. Similar mutants were obtained after selection at >16× the MIC in iron-sufficient conditions. At 4× to 8× the MIC, mutants with elevated MIC for BAL30072 but unchanged MICs for aztreonam or ciprofloxacin were selected. The expression of ampC and the major efflux pump genes were also unchanged. These BAL30072-specific mutants were characterized by transcriptome analysis, which revealed upregulation of the Fe-dicitrate operon, FecIRA. Whole-genome sequencing showed that this resulted from a single nucleotide change in the Fur-box of the fecI promoter. Overexpression of either the FecI ECF sigma factor or the FecA receptor increased BAL30072 MICs 8- to 16-fold. A fecI mutant and a fecA mutant of PAO1 were hypersusceptible to BAL30072 (MICs < 0.06 μg/ml). The most downregulated gene belonged to the pyochelin synthesis operon, although mutants in pyochelin receptor or synthesis genes had unchanged MICs. The piuC gene, coding for a Fe(II)-dependent dioxygenase located next to the piuA iron receptor gene, was also downregulated. The MICs of BAL30072 for piuC and piuA transposon mutants were increased 8- and 16-fold, respectively. We conclude that the upregulation of the Fe-dicitrate system impacts the expression of other TonB-dependent iron transporters and that PiuA and PiuC contribute to the susceptibility of P. aeruginosa PAO1 to BAL30072.

Antimicrobial effects of novel siderophores linked to beta-lactam antibiotics

As a strategy to increase the penetration of antibiotic drugs through the outer membrane of gram-negative pathogens, facilitated transport through siderophore receptors has been frequently exploited. Hydroxamic acids, catechols, or very close isosteres of catechols, which are mimics of naturally occurring siderophores, have been used successfully as covalently linked escorting moieties, but a much wider diversity of iron binding motifs exists. This observation, coupled to the relative lack of specificity of siderophore receptors, prompted us to initiate a program to identify novel, noncatechol siderophoric structures. We screened over 300 compounds for their ability to (1) support growth in low iron medium of a Pseudomonas aeruginosa siderophore biosynthesis deletion mutant, or (2) compete with a bactericidal siderophore-antibiotic conjugate for siderophore receptor access. From these assays we identified a set of small molecules that fulfilled one or both of these criteria. We then synthesized these compounds with functional groups suitable for attachment to both monobactam and cephalosporin core structures. Siderophore-beta-lactam conjugates then were tested against a panel of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus strains. Although several of the resultant chimeric compounds had antimicrobial activity approaching that of ceftazidime, and most compounds demonstrated very potent activity against their cellular targets, only a single compound was obtained that had enhanced, siderophore-mediated antibacterial activity. Results with tonB mutants frequently showed increased rather than decreased susceptibilities. suggesting that multiple factors influenced the intracellular concentration of the drugs.