Angela Basilio

Platensimycin is a selective FabF inhibitor with potent antibiotic properties

Bacterial infection remains a serious threat to human lives because of emerging resistance to existing antibiotics. Although the scientific community has avidly pursued the discovery of new antibiotics that interact with new targets, these efforts have met with limited success since the early 1960s. Here we report the discovery of platensimycin, a previously unknown class of antibiotics produced by Streptomyces platensis. Platensimycin demonstrates strong, broad-spectrum Gram-positive antibacterial activity by selectively inhibiting cellular lipid biosynthesis. We show that this anti-bacterial effect is exerted through the selective targeting of β-ketoacyl-(acyl-carrier-protein (ACP)) synthase I/II (FabF/B) in the synthetic pathway of fatty acids. Direct binding assays show that platensimycin interacts specifically with the acyl-enzyme intermediate of the target protein, and X-ray crystallographic studies reveal that a specific conformational change that occurs on acylation must take place before the inhibitor can bind. Treatment with platensimycin eradicates Staphylococcus aureus infection in mice. Because of its unique mode of action, platensimycin shows no cross-resistance to other key antibiotic-resistant strains tested, including methicillin-resistant S. aureus, vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus and vancomycin-resistant enterococci. Platensimycin is the most potent inhibitor reported for the FabF/B condensing enzymes, and is the only inhibitor of these targets that shows broad-spectrum activity, in vivo efficacy and no observed toxicity.

Discovery of platencin, a dual FabF and FabH inhibitor with in vivo antibiotic properties.

Emergence of bacterial resistance is a major issue for all classes of antibiotics; therefore, the identification of new classes is critically needed. Recently we reported the discovery of platensimycin by screening natural product extracts using a target-based whole-cell strategy with antisense silencing technology in concert with cell free biochemical validations. Continued screening efforts led to the discovery of platencin, a novel natural product that is chemically and biologically related but different from platensimycin. Platencin exhibits a broad-spectrum Gram-positive antibacterial activity through inhibition of fatty acid biosynthesis. It does not exhibit cross-resistance to key antibiotic resistant strains tested, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus, and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci. Platencin shows potent in vivo efficacy without any observed toxicity. It targets two essential proteins, β-ketoacyl-[acyl carrier protein (ACP)] synthase II (FabF) and III (FabH) with IC50 values of 1.95 and 3.91 μg/ml, respectively, whereas platensimycin targets only FabF (IC50 = 0.13 μg/ml) in S. aureus, emphasizing the fact that more antibiotics with novel structures and new modes of action can be discovered by using this antisense differential sensitivity whole-cell screening paradigm.

Antimicrobial activity of phenolic acids against commensal, probiotic and pathogenic bacteria

Phenolic acids (benzoic, phenylacetic and phenylpropionic acids) are the most abundant phenolic structures found in fecal water. As an approach towards the exploration of their action in the gut, this paper reports the antimicrobial activity of thirteen phenolic acids towards Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans. The growth of E. coli ATCC 25922 was inhibited by only four of the phenolic acids tested at a concentration of 1000 microg/mL, whereas pathogenic E. coli O157:H7 (CECT 5947) was susceptible to ten of them. The genetically manipulated E. coli lpxC/tolC strain was highly susceptible to phenolic acids. The growth of lactobacilli (Lactobacillus paraplantarum LCH7, Lactobacillus plantarum LCH17, Lactobacillus fermentum LPH1, L. fermentum CECT 5716, Lactobacillus brevis LCH23, and Lactobacillus coryniformis CECT 5711) and pathogens (S. aureus EP167 and C. albicans MY1055) was also inhibited by phenolic acids, but to varying extents. Only P. aeruginosa PAO1 was not susceptible to any of the phenolic compounds tested. Structure-activity relationships of phenolic acids and some of their diet precursors [(+)-catechin and (-)-epicatechin] were established, based on multivariate analysis of microbial activities. The antimicrobial properties of phenolic acids reported in this paper might be relevant in vivo.

Discovery of FabH/FabF Inhibitors from Natural Products

ABSTRACT Condensing enzymes are essential in type II fatty acid synthesis and are promising targets for antibacterial drug discovery. Recently, a new approach using a xylose-inducible plasmid to express antisense RNA in Staphylococcus aureus has been described; however, the actual mechanism was not delineated. In this paper, the mechanism of decreased target protein production by expression of antisense RNA was investigated using Northern blotting. This revealed that the antisense RNA acts posttranscriptionally by targeting mRNA, leading to 5′ mRNA degradation. Using this technology, a two-plate assay was developed in order to identify FabF/FabH target-specific cell-permeable inhibitors by screening of natural product extracts. Over 250,000 natural product fermentation broths were screened and then confirmed in biochemical assays, yielding a hit rate of 0.1%. All known natural product FabH and FabF inhibitors, including cerulenin, thiolactomycin, thiotetromycin, and Tü3010, were discovered using this whole-cell mechanism-based screening approach. Phomallenic acids, which are new inhibitors of FabF, were also discovered. These new inhibitors exhibited target selectivity in the gel elongation assay and in the whole-cell-based two-plate assay. Phomallenic acid C showed good antibacterial activity, about 20-fold better than that of thiolactomycin and cerulenin, against S. aureus. It exhibited a spectrum of antibacterial activity against clinically important pathogens including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, and Haemophilus influenzae.

Screening of basidiomycetes for antimicrobial activities.

As a part of a screening programme developed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of basidiomycetes, 317 isolates representing 204 species collected in Spain were screened against a range of human clinical pathogens and laboratory controls. Extracts from 45% of the isolates, representing 109 species, showed antimicrobial activity. Antibacterial activity was more pronounced than antifungal activity. The proportion of extracts from basidiomycetes showing antimicrobial activity was similar to or above that obtained for representative orders of Ascomycetes, such as Pezizales and Xylariales, but lower than that produced by members of the orders Diaporthales, Eurotiales, Hypocreales, Leotiales and Sordariales. Suprageneric taxa (orders and families) did not show pronounced differences in their antimicrobial activities though such differences were observed at the genus level, suggesting that the ability to produce these bioactive compounds is not homogenously distributed amongst the basidiomycetes. Isolates from some species showed large differences in their ability to produce metabolites with antimicrobial activity, possibly reflecting genetic differences at the infraspecific level.

Endophytic fungi from plants living on gypsum soils as a source of secondary metabolites with antimicrobial activity

Endophytic fungi were isolated from nine plant species growing on gypsum and saline soils in central Spain. The plants sampled were Arundo donax, Afriplex halimus, Diplotaxis erucoides, Ephedra nebrodensis, Phragmites australis, Rosmarinus officinalis, Scirpus holoschoenus, S maritimus and Stipa tenacissima. A total of 152 fungal species were recovered from 2880 samples of leaves, stems or twigs, taken from 45 individual plants. Ephedra and Rosmarinus showed the highest diversity of endophytes, whereas both species of Scirpus showed the lowest. The most frequently isolated fungi were Allernaria alternata, Sporormiella intermedia, Rhizoctonia sp., Epicoccum purpurascens, Pleospora herbarum, Cladosporium herbarum, Sporormiella australis and a sterile fungus. A total of 187 strains belonging to 136 species were tested for the production of antimicrobial activities, using a panel of bacteria and yeasts, some of them of clinical relevance. Production of antimicrobial compounds was detected in 45 strains, belonging to 37 species. Large differences were observed among isolates from the same species, with respect to their ability to produce metabolites with antimicrobial activity.

Patterns of antimicrobial activities from soil actinomycetes isolated under different conditions of pH and salinity

Aims: To evaluate the patterns of the production of antimicrobial compounds by diverse collection of actinomycetes isolated from different geographies under alternative conditions of pH and salinity in the media.

The Discovery of Enfumafungin, a Novel Antifungal Compound Produced by an Endophytic Hormonema Species Biological Activity and Taxonomy of the Producing Organisms

In a screening of natural products with antifungal activity derived from endophytic fungi, we detected a potent activity in a culture belonging to the form-genus Hormonema, isolated from leaves of Juniperus communis. The compound is a new triterpene glycoside, showing an antifungal activity highly potent in vitro against Candida and Aspergillus and with moderate efficacy in an in vivo mouse model of disseminated candidiasis. The agent is especially interesting since its antifungal spectrum and its effect on morphology of Aspergillus fumigatus is comparable to that of the glucan synthase inhibitor pneumocandin B,,, the natural precursor of the clinical candidate MK-0991 (caspofungin acetate). An additional search for other Hormonema isolates producing improved titers or derivatives resulted in the isolation of two more strains recovered from the same plant host showing identical activity. The producing isolates were compared with other non-producing Hormonema strains by DNA fingerprinting and sequencing of the rDNA internal transcribed spacers. Comparison of rDNA sequences with other fungal species suggests that the producing fungus could be an undetermined Kabatina species. Kabatina is a coelomycetous genus whose members are known to produce Hormonema-like states in culture.

Isolation, structure, and antibacterial activity of philipimycin, a thiazolyl peptide discovered from Actinoplanes philippinensis MA7347

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics, particularly to multiple drug resistant antibiotics, is becoming cause for significant concern. The only really viable course of action is to discover new antibiotics with novel mode of actions. Thiazolyl peptides are a class of natural products that are architecturally complex potent antibiotics but generally suffer from poor solubility and pharmaceutical properties. To discover new thiazolyl peptides potentially with better desired properties, we designed a highly specific assay with a pair of thiazomycin sensitive and resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus, which led to the discovery of philipimycin, a new thiazolyl peptide glycoside. It was isolated along with an acid-catalyzed degradation product by bioassay-guided fractionation. Structure of both compounds was elucidated by extensive application of 2D NMR, 1D TOCSY, and HRESIFT-MS/MS. Both compounds showed strong antibacterial activities against gram-positive bacteria including MRSA and exhibited MIC values ranging from 0.015 to 1 microg/mL. Philipimycin was significantly more potent than the degradation product. Both compounds showed selective inhibition of protein synthesis, indicating that they targeted the ribosome. Philipimycin was effective in vivo in a mouse model of S. aureus infection exhibiting an ED50 value of 8.4 mg/kg. The docking studies of philipimycin suggested that a part of the molecule interacts with the ribosome and another part with Pro23, Pro22, and Pro26 of L11 protein, which helped in explaining the differential of activities between the sensitive and resistant strains. The design and execution of the bioassay, the isolation, structure, in vitro and in vivo antibacterial activity, and docking studies of philipimycin and its degradation product are described.

Isolation, structure elucidation, and biological activity of virgineone from Lachnum virgineum using the genome-wide Candida albicans fitness test

A glycosylated tetramic acid, virgineone (1), was isolated from saprotrophic Lachnum virgineum. The antifungal activity of the fermentation extract of L. virgineum was characterized in the Candida albicans fitness test as distinguishable from other natural products tested. Bioassay-guided fractionation yielded 1, a tyrosine-derived tetramic acid with a C-22 oxygenated chain and a beta-mannose. It displayed broad-spectrum antifungal activity against Candida spp. and Aspergillus fumigatus with a MIC of 4 and 16 microg/mL, respectively. Virgineone was also identified in a number of Lachnum strains collected from diverse geographies and habitats.