Avraham Liav

Isoxyl Activation Is Required for Bacteriostatic Activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis

ABSTRACT Isoxyl (ISO), a thiourea derivative that was successfully used for the clinical treatment of tuberculosis during the 1960s, is an inhibitor of the synthesis of oleic and mycolic acids in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Its effect on oleic acid synthesis has been shown to be attributable to its inhibitory activity on the stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase DesA3, but its enzymatic target(s) in the mycolic acid pathway remains to be identified. With the goal of elucidating the mode of action of ISO, we have isolated a number of spontaneous ISO-resistant mutants of M. tuberculosis and undertaken their genotypic characterization. We report here the characterization of a subset of these strains carrying mutations in the monooxygenase gene ethA. Through complementation studies, we demonstrate for the first time that the EthA-mediated oxidation of ISO is absolutely required for this prodrug to inhibit its lethal enzymatic target(s) in M. tuberculosis. An analysis of the metabolites resulting from the in vitro transformation of ISO by purified EthA revealed the occurrence of a formimidamide allowing the formulation of an activation pathway in which the oxidation of ISO catalyzed by EthA is followed by chemical transformations involving extrusion or elimination and, finally, hydrolysis.

Development of a microtitre plate-based assay for lipid-linked glycosyltransferase products using the mycobacterial cell wall rhamnosyltransferase WbbL

In Mycobacterium tuberculosis a rhamnosyltransferase (WbbL) catalyses the transfer of an alpha-L-Rhap residue from dTDP-L-rhamnose (dTDP-Rha) to decaprenyldiphosphoryl-alpha-D-N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc-P-P-DP) to form alpha-L-Rhap-(1-->3)-alpha-D-GlcNAc-P-P-DP, which is then further elongated with Galf and Araf units, and finally mycolylated and attached to the peptidoglycan. This enzyme is essential for M. tuberculosis viability and at the same time absent in eukaryotic cells, and is therefore a good target for the development of new antituberculosis therapeutics. Here, we report a microtitre plate-based method for the assay of this enzyme using a crude membrane preparation from an Escherichia coli strain overexpressing wbbL as an enzyme source and the natural acceptor substrate GlcNAc-P-P-DP. Initial characterization of the enzyme included unequivocal identification of the product Rha-GlcNAc-P-P-DP by liquid chromatography (LC)-MS, and the facts that WbbL shows an absolute requirement for divalent cations and that its activity is stimulated by beta-mercaptoethanol. Its pH optimum and basic kinetic parameters were also determined, and the kinetic analysis showed that WbbL uses a ternary complex mechanism. The microtitre plate-based assay for this enzyme was developed by taking advantage of the lipophilic nature of the product. This assay should be readily transferable to other glycosyltransferases which use lipid-based acceptors and aid greatly in obtaining inhibitors of such glycosyltransferases for new drug development.

A modified synthesis and serological evaluation of neoglycoproteins containing the natural disaccharide of PGL-I from Mycobacterium leprae

In order to generate substantial amounts of neoglycoconjugate needed for commercialization of diagnostic kits and high-throughput detection of leprosy, we developed a facile and high-yield synthesis of the corresponding disaccharide. Herein, the non-reducing disaccharide segment of phenolic glycolipid I from Mycobacterium leprae, O-(3,6-di-O-methyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-(1-->4)-O-2,3-di-O-methyl-alpha-L-rhamnopyranose was synthesized by an improved procedure. The disaccharide was efficiently conjugated to bovine/human serum albumin, via acyl-azide intermediate, to form natural disaccharide-BSA/HSA neoglycoproteins that showed a high activity in serodiagnosis of leprosy. The disaccharide incorporated into the proteins was accurately measured by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The serological activities of the neoglycoproteins against pooled human lepromatous leprosy sera were measured by ELISA and they were detectable at picogram amounts.

Neuraminidase Activity as a Potential Enzymatic Marker for Rapid Detection of Airborne Viruses

Viruses offer a limited range of targets for their detection. To date, PCR and RT-PCR have been widely used for detection of viruses. In the case of environmental air sampling, the ability to detect a broad range of viruses would constitute a significant advantage for preventing outbreaks of airborne-transmitted viral infections. Given that neuraminidase is found on some respiratory virus species of medical or agricultural importance, this enzyme could theoretically be used to detect several different airborne viruses in a single assay. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential of neuraminidase activity as a marker for rapid detection of airborne viruses. We first validated the use of a low-pathogenic strain of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) as a model airborne virus. Our findings revealed that neuraminidase activity-based assays are almost as sensitive as RT-PCR assays currently used for detection of NDV. We also validated the utilization of a neuraminidase substrate specific to viral neuraminidase. Experiments conducted in a controlled chamber demonstrated that the neuraminidase activity is preserved after aerosolization, air sampling using impingement and handling. Finally, we tested our method with swine barn air samples. Our results demonstrate that neuraminidase activity-based assays are suitable for detection of viruses in air samples.

N-Glycosyl-N'-[p-(isoamyloxy)phenyl]-thiourea Derivatives : Potential Anti-TB Therapeutic Agents

Abstract Thiocarlide (THC; N,N′‐bis[p‐(isoamyloxy)phenyl]‐thiourea; also known as Isoxyl®) has been used in the past as an anti‐tuberculosis agent. In an effort to improve the therapeutic value of THC, several N‐glycosyl‐N′‐[p‐(isoamyloxy)phenyl]‐thiourea derivatives were synthesized by coupling an aniline derivative and glycosyl isothiocyanates. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of the new products against M. tuberculosis were determined.

Identification of a Novel Mycobacterial Arabinosyltransferase Activity Which Adds an Arabinosyl Residue to α-d-Mannosyl Residues

The arabinosyltransferases responsible for the biosynthesis of the arabinan domains of two abundant heteropolysaccharides of the cell envelope of all mycobacterial species, lipoarabinomannan and arabinogalactan, are validated drug targets. Using a cell envelope preparation from Mycobacterium smegmatis as the enzyme source and di- and trimannoside synthetic acceptors, we uncovered a previously undetected arabinosyltransferase activity. Thin layer chromatography, GC/MS, and LC/MS/MS analyses of the major enzymatic product are consistent with the transfer of an arabinose residue to the 6 position of the terminal mannosyl residue at the nonreducing end of the acceptors. The newly identified enzymatic activity is resistant to ethambutol and could correspond to the priming arabinosyl transfer reaction that occurs during lipoarabinomannan biosynthesis.