Insightful Improvement in the Design of Potent Uropathogenic E. coli FimH Antagonists

Selective antiadhesion antagonists of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) type-1 Fimbrial adhesin (FimH) are attractive alternatives for antibiotic therapies and prophylaxes against acute or recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) caused by UPECs. A rational small library of FimH antagonists based on previously described C-linked allyl α-D-mannopyranoside was synthesized using Heck cross-coupling reaction using a series of iodoaryl derivatives. This work reports two new members of FimH antagonist amongst the above family with sub nanomolar affinity. The resulting hydrophobic aglycones, including constrained alkene and aryl groups, were designed to provide additional favorable binding interactions with the so-called FimH "tyrosine gate". The newly synthesized C-linked glycomimetic antagonists, having a hydrolytically stable anomeric linkage, exhibited improved binding when compared to previously published analogs, as demonstrated by affinity measurement through interactions by FimH lectin. The crystal structure of FimH co-crystallized with one of the nanomolar antagonists revealed the binding mode of this inhibitor into the active site of the tyrosine gate. In addition, selected mannopyranoside constructs neither affected bacterial growth or cell viability nor interfered with antibiotic activity. C-linked mannoside antagonists were effective in decreasing bacterial adhesion to human bladder epithelial cells (HTB-9). Therefore, these molecules constituted additional therapeutic candidates' worth further development in the search for potent anti-adhesive drugs against infections caused by UPEC.

Recent Advances in Stereocontrolled Mannosylation: Focus on Glycans Comprising Acidic and/or Amino Sugars

The main focus of this review is to describe accomplishments made in the stereoselective synthesis of β-linked mannosides functionalized with carboxyls or amines/amides. These ManNAc, ManA and ManNAcA residues found in many glycoconjugates, bacterial polysaccharides, and alginates have consistently captured interest of the glycoscience community both due to synthetic challenge and therapeutic potential.

Analysis of the diversity of the glycoside hydrolase family 130 in mammal gut microbiomes reveals a novel mannoside-phosphorylase function

Mannoside phosphorylases are involved in the intracellular metabolization of mannooligosaccharides, and are also useful enzymes for the in vitro synthesis of oligosaccharides. They are found in glycoside hydrolase family GH130. Here we report on an analysis of 6308 GH130 sequences, including 4714 from the human, bovine, porcine and murine microbiomes. Using sequence similarity networks, we divided the diversity of sequences into 15 mostly isofunctional meta-nodes; of these, 9 contained no experimentally characterized member. By examining the multiple sequence alignments in each meta-node, we predicted the determinants of the phosphorolytic mechanism and linkage specificity. We thus hypothesized that eight uncharacterized meta-nodes would be phosphorylases. These sequences are characterized by the absence of signal peptides and of the catalytic base. Those sequences with the conserved E/K, E/R and Y/R pairs of residues involved in substrate binding would target β-1,2-, β-1,3- and β-1,4-linked mannosyl residues, respectively. These predictions were tested by characterizing members of three of the uncharacterized meta-nodes from gut bacteria. We discovered the first known β-1,4-mannosyl-glucuronic acid phosphorylase, which targets a motif of the Shigella lipopolysaccharide O-antigen. This work uncovers a reliable strategy for the discovery of novel mannoside-phosphorylases, reveals possible interactions between gut bacteria, and identifies a biotechnological tool for the synthesis of antigenic oligosaccharides.

Effective anti-adhesives of uropathogenic Escherichia coli

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) caused by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) are among the most common infectious diseases in humans. Due to their frequent occurrence in the community and nosocomial settings, as well as the development of resistance to the commonly prescribed antimicrobial agents, an enormous financial burden is placed on healthcare systems around the world. Therefore, novel approaches to the prevention and treatment of UTIs are needed. Although UPEC may harbour a plethora of virulence factors, type I fimbriae and P pili are two of the most studied adhesive organelles, since the attachment to host cells in the urinary tract is a crucial step towards infection. Design of receptor analogues that competitively bind to UPEC surface adhesins placed at the top of pili organelles led to the development of anti-adhesive drugs that are increasingly recognized as important and promising alternatives to antibiotic treatment of UTIs.

Diazirine-functionalized mannosides for photoaffinity labeling: trouble with FimH

Photoaffinity labeling is frequently employed for the investigation of ligand–receptor interactions in solution. We have employed an interdisciplinary methodology to achieve facile photolabeling of the lectin FimH, which is a bacterial protein, crucial for adhesion, colonization and infection. Following our earlier work, we have here designed and synthesized diazirine-functionalized mannosides as high-affinity FimH ligands and performed an extensive study on photo-crosslinking of the best ligand (mannoside 3) with a series of model peptides and FimH. Notably, we have employed high-performance mass spectrometry to be able to detect radiation results with the highest possible accuracy. We are concluding from this study that photolabeling of FimH with sugar diazirines has only very limited success and cannot be regarded a facile approach for covalent modification of FimH.

Mannoside recognition and degradation by bacteria

Mannosides constitute a vast group of glycans widely distributed in nature. Produced by almost all organisms, these carbohydrates are involved in numerous cellular processes, such as cell structuration, protein maturation and signalling, mediation of protein-protein interactions and cell recognition. The ubiquitous presence of mannosides in the environment means they are a reliable source of carbon and energy for bacteria, which have developed complex strategies to harvest them. This review focuses on the various mannosides that can be found in nature and details their structure. It underlines their involvement in cellular interactions and finally describes the latest discoveries regarding the catalytic machinery and metabolic pathways that bacteria have developed to metabolize them.

The Antiadhesive Strategy in Crohn's Disease: Orally Active Mannosides to Decolonize Pathogenic Escherichia coli from the Gut

Blocking the adherence of bacteria to cells is an attractive complementary approach to current antibiotic treatments, which are faced with increasing resistance. This strategy has been particularly studied in the context of urinary tract infections (UTIs), in which the adhesion of pathogenic Escherichia coli strains to uroepithelial cells is prevented by blocking the FimH adhesin expressed at the tips of bacteria organelles called fimbriae. Recently, we extended the antiadhesive concept, showing that potent FimH antagonists can block the attachment of adherent-invasive E. coli (AIEC) colonizing the intestinal mucosa of patients with Crohn's disease (CD). In this work, we designed a small library of analogues of heptyl mannoside (HM), a previously identified nanomolar FimH inhibitor, but one that displays poor antiadhesive effects in vivo. The anomeric oxygen atom was replaced by a sulfur or a methylene group to prevent hydrolysis by intestinal glycosidases, and chemical groups were attached at the end of the alkyl tail. Importantly, a lead compound was shown to reduce AIEC levels in the feces and in the colonic and ileal mucosa after oral administration (10 mg kg(-1) ) in a transgenic mouse model of CD. The compound showed a low bioavailability, preferable in this instance, thus suggesting the possibility of setting up an innovative antiadhesive therapy, based on the water-soluble and non-cytotoxic FimH antagonists developed here, for the CD subpopulation in which AIEC plays a key role.

Antivirulence Isoquinolone Mannosides: Optimization of the Biaryl Aglycone for FimH Lectin Binding Affinity and Efficacy in the Treatment of Chronic UTI

Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) employ the mannose-binding adhesin FimH to colonize the bladder epithelium during urinary tract infection (UTI). Previously reported FimH antagonists exhibit good potency and efficacy, but low bioavailability and a short half-life in vivo. In a rational design strategy, we obtained an X-ray structure of lead mannosides and then designed mannosides with improved drug-like properties. We show that cyclizing the carboxamide onto the biphenyl B-ring aglycone of biphenyl mannosides into a fused heterocyclic ring, generates new biaryl mannosides such as isoquinolone 22 (2-methyl-4-(1-oxo-1,2-dihydroisoquinolin-7-yl)phenyl α-d-mannopyranoside) with enhanced potency and in vivo efficacy resulting from increased oral bioavailability. N-Substitution of the isoquinolone aglycone with various functionalities produced a new potent subseries of FimH antagonists. All analogues of the subseries have higher FimH binding affinity than unsubstituted lead 22, as determined by thermal shift differential scanning fluorimetry assay. Mannosides with pyridyl substitution on the isoquinolone group inhibit bacteria-mediated hemagglutination and prevent biofilm formation by UPEC with single-digit nanomolar potency, which is unprecedented for any FimH antagonists or any other antivirulence compounds reported to date.