Rainer Endermann

In vitro Activity of BAY 12-8039, a New 8-Methoxyquinolone

BAY 12-8039 is a new 8-methoxyquinolone with antibacterial activity against gram-positive bacteria which is significantly better than those of sparfloxacin or ciprofloxacin. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for 90% of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis were 0.062 and 2 mg/l, respectively. The MIC90s for ciprofloxacin-resistant, methicillin-susceptible and methicillin-resistant S. aureus were 8 mg/l. Against the staphylococcal strains tested sparfloxacin was 2-fold and ciprofloxacin > or = 10-fold less active. MIC90s for Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus agalactiae were 0.125-0.5 mg/l, irrespective of whether strains with diminished ciprofloxacin susceptibility or ciprofloxacin-susceptible strains were tested. Against the streptococci sparfloxacin was 2- to 4-fold less active. Against gram-negative bacteria BAY 12-8039 is almost as active as ciprofloxacin, except for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Against Bacteroides fragilis, Bacteroides spp. and Clostridium spp. BAY 12-8039 was as active as metronidazole. The bactericidal activity against S. aureus and S. pneumoniae was in contrast to that of the other quinolones tested, penicillin G, amoxicillin+/-clavulanate, cefuroxime and clarithromycin, concentration-dependent. As compared to ciprofloxacin, development of resistance was less pronounced. The spontaneous mutation frequency towards BAY 12-8039 resistance was 2.8 x 10(-8) in Escherichia coli, 7.06 x 10(-8) in S. aureus and < 1.4 x 10(-9) in S. pneumoniae.

Target‐Accelerated Combinatorial Synthesis and Discovery of Highly Potent Antibiotics Effective Against Vancomycin‐Resistant Bacteria

Biological activity can be predicted at a prescreening stage by using a target-accelerated combinatorial synthesis. The rate of dimerization of vancomycin analogues (see picture, X=CH=CH2, SAc) in the presence of vancomycins targets Ac-d-Ala-d-Ala and Ac2-l-Lys-d-Ala-d-Ala correlated well with the observed biological activity. From this study three highly potent antibacterial agents effective against both vancomycin-susceptible and vancomycin-resistant bacteria strains were identified.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Vancomycin Dimers with Potent Activity against Vancomycin-Resistant Bacteria: Target-Accelerated Combinatorial Synthesis

Based on the notion that dimerization and/or variation of amino acid 1 of vancomycin could potentially enhance biological activity, a series of synthetic and chemical biology studies were undertaken in order to discover potent antibacterial agents. Herein we describe two ligation methods (disulfide formation and olefin metathesis) for dimerizing vancomycin derivatives and applications of target-accelerated combinatorial synthesis (e.g. combinatorial synthesis in the presence of vancomycins target Ac2-L-Lys-D-Ala-D-Ala) to generate libraries of vancomycin dimers. Screening of these compound libraries led to the identification of a number of highly potent antibiotics effective against vancomycin-suspectible, vancomycin-intermediate resistant and, most significantly, vancomycin-resistant bacteria.

Solid and Solution Phase Synthesis of Vancomycin and Vancomycin Analogues with Activity against Vancomycin-Resistant Bacteria

Vancomycin, the prototypical member of the glycopeptide family of antibiotics, is a clinically used antibiotic employed against a variety of drug-resistant bacterial strains including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The recent emergence of vancomycin resistance, viewed as a growing threat to public health, prompted us to initiate a program aimed at restoring the potency of this important antibiotic through chemical manipulation of the vancomycin structure. Herein, we describe the development of synthetic technology based on the design of a novel selenium safety catch linker, application of this technology to a solid-phase semisynthesis of vancomycin, and the solid- and solution-phase synthesis of vancomycin libraries. Biological evaluation of these compound libraries led to the identification of a number of in vitro highly potent antibacterial agents effective against vancomycin-resistant bacteria. In addition to aiding these investigations, the solid-phase chemistry described herein is expected to enhance the power of combinatorial chemistry and facilitate chemical biology and medicinal chemistry studies.

New Class of Bacterial Phenylalanyl-tRNA Synthetase Inhibitors with High Potency and Broad-Spectrum Activity

ABSTRACT Phenylalanyl (Phe)-tRNA synthetase (Phe-RS) is an essential enzyme which catalyzes the transfer of phenylalanine to the Phe-specific transfer RNA (tRNAPhe), a key step in protein biosynthesis. Phenyl-thiazolylurea-sulfonamides were identified as a novel class of potent inhibitors of bacterial Phe-RS by high-throughput screening and chemical variation of the screening hit. The compounds inhibit Phe-RS of Escherichia coli, Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus, with 50% inhibitory concentrations in the nanomolar range. Enzyme kinetic measurements demonstrated that the compounds bind competitively with respect to the natural substrate Phe. All derivatives are highly selective for the bacterial Phe-RS versus the corresponding mammalian cytoplasmic and human mitochondrial enzymes. Phenyl-thiazolylurea-sulfonamides displayed good in vitro activity against Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Haemophilus, and Moraxella strains, reaching MICs below 1 μg/ml. The antibacterial activity was partly antagonized by increasing concentrations of Phe in the culture broth in accordance with the competitive binding mode. Further evidence that inhibition of tRNAPhe charging is the antibacterial principle of this compound class was obtained by proteome analysis of Bacillus subtilis. Here, the phenyl-thiazolylurea-sulfonamides induced a protein pattern indicative of the stringent response. In addition, an E. coli strain carrying a relA mutation and defective in stringent response was more susceptible than its isogenic relA+ parent strain. In vivo efficacy was investigated in a murine S. aureus sepsis model and a S. pneumoniae sepsis model in rats. Treatment with the phenyl-thiazolylurea-sulfonamides reduced the bacterial titer in various organs by up to 3 log units, supporting the potential value of Phe-RS as a target in antibacterial therapy.

Dihydropyrimidinones—A New Class of Anti-Staphylococcal Antibiotics

We report the synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of new derivatives of natural dipeptide antibiotic TAN-1057 A, B. In the course of this program, we identified novel analogues of the natural product that display similar antibacterial activity and showed improved tolerability.

Novel Bacterial Acetyl Coenzyme A Carboxylase Inhibitors with Antibiotic Efficacy In Vivo

ABSTRACT The pseudopeptide pyrrolidinedione antibiotics, such as moiramide B, have recently been discovered to target the multisubunit acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) carboxylases of bacteria. In this paper, we describe synthetic variations of each moiety of the modularly composed pyrrolidinediones, providing insight into structure-activity relationships of biochemical target activity, in vitro potency, and in vivo efficacy. The novel derivatives showed highly improved activities against gram-positive bacteria compared to those of previously reported variants. The compounds exhibited a MIC90 value of 0.1 μg/ml against a broad spectrum of Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates. No cross-resistance to antibiotics currently used in clinical practice was observed. Resistance mutations induced by pyrrolidinediones are exclusively located in the carboxyltransferase subunits of the bacterial acetyl-CoA carboxylase, indicating the identical mechanisms of action of all derivatives tested. Improvement of the physicochemical profile was achieved by salt formation, leading to aqueous solubilities of up to 5 g/liter. For the first time, the in vitro activity of this compound class was compared with its in vivo efficacy, demonstrating a path from compounds weakly active in vivo to agents with significant efficacy. In a murine model of S. aureus sepsis, the 100% effective dose of the best compound reported was 25 mg/kg of body weight, only fourfold higher than that of the comparator molecule linezolid. The obvious improvements achieved by chemical derivatization reflect the potential of this novel antibiotic compound class for future therapy.

Pyrimidinone antibiotics--heterocyclic analogues with improved antibacterial spectrum.

We report the synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of new derivatives of the natural dipeptide antibiotic TAN 1057 A,B containing heterocycles either in the beta-amino acid side chain or as mimics of the urea function. In the course of this program, we identified novel analogues that display activity towards a broader panel of Gram-positive bacteriae.

Straightforward Syntheses of Furanomycin Derivatives and their Biological Evaluation

Several types of furanomycin analogues were synthesized and investigated with respect to their antibacterial activity. Two different synthetic pathways were developed, based on aldol reactions/ring closing metathesis and an ester enolate Claisen rearrangement. Only the natural product and its desmethyl derivative showed antibacterial activity, pointing towards a narrow structure-activity relationship.

Recent developments with oxazolidinone antibiotics

The emerging problems with multiple antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive cocci led to the re-evaluation of an antibacterial class of compounds, the oxazolidinones. During the 1990s, many companies such as Upjohn, Bayer, Zeneca, Roussel Uclaf, Marion Merrell Dow and Glaxo published their work on antibacterial active oxazolidinones. The primary work in this area started in the 1980s at DuPont. The efforts of these scientists led to N-phenyl and N-heteroaryl oxazolidinones with strong antibacterial activity in vitro and in vivo. The most advanced oxazolidinone, linezolid, discovered by scientists at Upjohn, is currently undergoing Phase III clinical trials.