Functionalization of bicyclic 2-pyridones targeting pilus biogenesis in uropathogenic Escherichia coli

Substituted bicyclic 2-pyridones, termed pilicides, prevent pilus assembly in uropathogenic Escherichia coli. Based on the bioactive methyl ester protected 2-pyridone 4, further functionalization at C-6 has yielded a set of new compounds, which have been evaluated for their ability to inhibit pilus formation in uropathogenic E. coli. The key intermediate in the synthesis was formylated 2-pyridone 5, which could be obtained via a Vilsmeier reaction. This versatile intermediate was converted into secondary and tertiary amines via reductive amination and could also be converted to other interesting functionalities using simple chemical transformations.     

Improved procedure for the enantioselective synthesis of dihydrooxazolo and dihydrothiazolo ring-fused 2-pyridones

Improved procedures to synthesize enantioselectively analogues of a peptidomimetic scaffold with high biological relevance have been developed. Experimental design led to a general method for the preparation of dihydrooxazolo ring-fused 2-pyridones in good yields and high enantiomeric purity. The knowledge gained from this was also used to improve the microwave-accelerated synthesis of dihydrothiazolo ring-fused 2-pyridones to give complete stereo retention and high yields.     

A selective intramolecular 5-exo-dig or 6-endo-dig cyclization en route to 2-furanone or 2-pyrone containing tricyclic scaffolds

Ringfused bicyclic 2-pyridones exhibit interesting biological properties against pili assembly in uropathogenic Escherichia coli (Pinkner, J. S. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A.2006, 103, 17897-17902; ?berg, V. et al. Org. Biomol. Chem.2007, 5, 1827-1834) as well as curli formation (Cegelski, L. et al. Nat. Chem. Biol.2009, 5, 913-919). In the search for new ring-fused central fragments, highly selective synthetic routes to the 2-furanone or 2-pyrone containing tricyclic scaffolds 1 and 2 have been developed.     

C-Terminal properties are important for ring-fused 2-pyridones that interfere with the chaperone function in uropathogenic E. coli

Virulence-associated organelles, termed pili or fimbriae, are assembled via the highly conserved chaperone-usher pathway in a vast number of pathogenic bacteria. Substituted bicyclic 2-pyridones, pilicides, inhibit pilus formation, possibly by interfering with the active site residues Arg8 and Lys112 of chaperones in uropathogenic E. coli. In this article we describe the synthesis and evaluation of nine analogues of a biologically active pilicide. Derivatization was performed with respect to its C-terminal features and the affinities for the chaperone PapD were studied with 1H relaxation-edited NMR spectroscopy. It could be concluded that the carboxylic acid functionality and also its spatial location was important for binding. In all cases, binding was significantly reduced or even abolished when the carboxylic acid was replaced by other substituents. In addition, in vivo results from a hemagglutination assay are presented where the derivatives have been evaluated for their ability to inhibit pilus formation in uropathogenic E. coli.     

Directed diversity-oriented synthesis. Ring-fused 5- to 10-membered rings from a common peptidomimetic 2-pyridone precursor

A variety of ring-fused 2-pyridone-based central fragments were prepared using a strategy inspired by diversity-oriented synthesis. The produced compounds are diverse, yet focused, analogs of biologically active peptidomimetic 2-pyridones.     

NMR studies of interactions between periplasmic chaperones from uropathogenic E. coli and pilicides that interfere with chaperone function and pilus assembly

Adherence of uropathogenic Escherichia coli to host tissue is mediated by pili, which are hair-like protein structures extending from the outer cell membrane of the bacterium. The chaperones FimC and PapD are key components in pilus assembly since they catalyse folding of subunits that are incorporated in type 1 and P pili, respectively, and also transport the subunits across the periplasmic space. Recently, compounds that inhibit pilus biogenesis and interfere with chaperone-subunit interactions have been discovered and termed pilicides. In this paper NMR spectroscopy was used to study the interaction of different pilicides with PapD and FimC in order to gain structural knowledge that would explain the effect that some pilicides have on pilus assembly. First relaxation-edited NMR experiments revealed that the pilicides bound to the PapD chaperone with mM affinity. Then the pilicide-chaperone interaction surface was investigated through chemical shift mapping using 15N-labelled FimC. Principal component analysis performed on the chemical shift perturbation data revealed the presence of three binding sites on the surface of FimC, which interacted with three different classes of pilicides. Analysis of structure-activity relationships suggested that pilicides reduce pilus assembly in E. coli either by binding in the cleft of the chaperone, or by influencing the orientation of the flexible F1-G1 loop, both of which are part of the surface by which the chaperone forms complexes with pilus subunits. It is suggested that binding to either of these sites interferes with folding of the pilus subunits, which occurs during formation of the chaperone-subunit complexes. In addition, pilicides that influence the F1-G1 loop also appear to reduce pilus formation by their ability to dissociate chaperone-subunit complexes.     

Synthesis of multi ring-fused 2-pyridones via an acyl-ketene imine cyclocondensation

[STRUCTURE: SEE TEXT] Polycyclic ring-fused 2-pyridones (5a-e and 9a-e) have been prepared via a microwave-assisted acyl-ketene imine cyclocondensation. Starting from 3,4-dihydroisoquinolines (4a-b) or 3,4-dihydroharman (8), fused 2-pyridones could be prepared in a one-step procedure. By using either Meldrum's acid derivatives (1a-d) or 1,3-dioxine-4-ones (7a-b) as acyl-ketene sources, mono- or disubstitution of the fused 2-pyridone ring could be accomplished. As an application of the method, a formal synthesis of the indole alkaloid sempervilam was performed.     

Design and synthesis of fluorescent pilicides and curlicides: bioactive tools to study bacterial virulence mechanisms

Pilicides and curlicides are compounds that block the formation of the virulence factors pili and curli, respectively. To facilitate studies of the interaction between these compounds and the pili and curli assembly systems, fluorescent pilicides and curlicides have been synthesized. This was achieved by using a strategy based on structure-activity knowledge, in which key pilicide and curlicide substituents on the ring-fused dihydrothiazolo 2-pyridone central fragment were replaced by fluorophores. Several of the resulting fluorescent compounds had improved activities as measured in pili- and curli-dependent biofilm assays. We created fluorescent pilicides and curlicides by introducing coumarin and 4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (BODIPY) fluorophores at two positions on the peptidomimetic pilicide and curlicide central fragment. Fluorescence images of the uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) strain UTI89 grown in the presence of these compounds shows that the compounds are strongly associated with the bacteria with a heterogeneous distribution.     

Detection by molecular hybridization of pap,afa, and sea adherence systems in Escherichia coli strains associated with urinary and enteral infections

The genetic determinants resposible for the adherence of Escherichia coli to uroepithelial cells have been identified in recent years by genetic and molecular methods. Specific DNA probes for each of the three operons which have been cloned so far (pap, afa, sfa/foc operons) have been used in colony hybridization experiments to detect the presence of each of these operons in the chromosomal DNA of 443 strains of E. coli; 186 strains were frompatients with urinary tract infections (pyelonephritis, 106 strains; cystitis, 59; asymptomatic bacteriuria, 21) and 257 were strains from the stools of healthy subjects (61) or from patients with various enteral infections (196). E.coli strains harbouring the pap operon were found more frequently in the urine of patients with pyelonephritis (ifp < 0.001) and cystitis (p < 0.01) than in control stools. The presence of two operons (pap+afa) or (pap+sfa/foc) was only observed in uropathogenic strains. (p < 0.02).Pap and sfa/foc operons were never found in strains causing enteral infection; however, the afa operon was found in 7.6% of the enteropathogenic E. coli.     

Second Order Rate Constants of Donor-Strand Exchange Reveal Individual Amino Acid Residues Important in Determining the Subunit Specificity of Pilus Biogenesis

P pili are hair-like adhesive structures that are assembled on the outer membrane (OM) of uropathogenic Escherichia coli by the chaperone-usher pathway. In this pathway, chaperone-subunit complexes are formed in the periplasm and targeted to an OM assembly platform, the usher. Pilus subunits display a large groove caused by a missing β-strand which, in the chaperone-subunit complex, is provided by the chaperone. At the usher, pilus subunits are assembled in a mechanism termed “donor-strand exchange (DSE)” whereby the β-strand provided by the chaperone is exchanged by the incoming subunit’s N-terminal extension (Nte). This occurs in a zip-in-zip-out fashion, starting with a defined residue, P5, in the Nte inserting into a defined site in the groove, the P5 pocket. Here, electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) has been used to measure DSE rates in vitro. Second order rate constants between the chaperone-subunit complex and a range of Nte peptides substituted at different residues confirmed the importance of the P5 residue of the Nte in determining the rate of DSE. In addition, residues either side of the P5 residue (P5 + 1 and P5 – 1), the side-chains of which are directed away from the subunit groove, also modulate the rates of DSE, most likely by aiding the docking of the Nte into the P5 pocket on the accepting subunit prior to DSE. The ESI-MS approach developed is applicable to the measurement of rates of DSE in pilus biogenesis in general and demonstrates the scope of ESI-MS in determining biomolecular processes in molecular detail.     

Synthesis of chiral oxa- and azacycle-fused anthraquinone derivatives

A convenient protocol for the synthesis of chiral pyran and piperidine ring-fused anthraquinone derivatives has been developed from (R)-2,3-O-cyclohexylidene-glyceraldehyde using sequential applications of enyne metathesis, Diels–Alder reaction and aromatization as key steps.     

Targeting virulence: salmochelin modification tunes the antibacterial activity spectrum of β-lactams for pathogen-selective killing of Escherichia coli

New antibiotics are required to treat bacterial infections and counteract the emergence of antibiotic resistance. Pathogen-specific antibiotics have several advantages over broad-spectrum drugs, which include minimal perturbation to the commensal microbiota. We present a strategy for targeting antibiotics to bacterial pathogens that utilises the salmochelin-mediated iron uptake machinery of Gram-negative Escherichia coli. Salmochelins are C-glucosylated derivatives of the siderophore enterobactin. The biosynthesis and utilisation of salmochelins are important for virulence because these siderophores allow pathogens to acquire iron and evade the enterobactin-scavenging host-defense protein lipocalin-2. Inspired by the salmochelins, we report the design and chemoenzymatic preparation of glucosylated enterobactin–β-lactam conjugates that harbour the antibiotics ampicillin (Amp) and amoxicillin (Amx), hereafter GlcEnt–Amp/Amx. The GlcEnt scaffolds are based on mono- and diglucosylated Ent where one catechol moiety is functionalized at the C5 position for antibiotic attachment. We demonstrate that GlcEnt–Amp/Amx provide up to 1000-fold enhanced antimicrobial activity against uropathogenic E. coli relative to the parent β-lactams. Moreover, GlcEnt–Amp/Amx based on a diglucosylated Ent (DGE) platform selectively kill uropathogenic E. coli that express the salmochelin receptor IroN in the presence of non-pathogenic E. coli and other bacterial strains that include the commensal microbe Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG. Moreover, GlcEnt–Amp/Amx evade the host-defense protein lipocalin-2, and exhibit low toxicity to mammalian cells. Our work establishes that siderophore–antibiotic conjugates provide a strategy for targeting virulence, narrowing the activity spectrum of antibiotics in clinical use, and achieving selective delivery of antibacterial cargos to pathogenic bacteria on the basis of siderophore receptor expression.     

Synthesis of latonduine derivatives via intramolecular Heck reaction

The synthesis of indole ring-fused benzazepinone series as latonduine derivatives has been developed via an intramolecular Heck reaction. The scope has been enlarged not only to indole moiety but also to pyrrolo and benzo[b]thiophene nuclei. Several derivatives prepared have been evaluated in vitro for their antiproliferative activities on breast cancer cell lines. Some of them showed promising cytotoxic activities.     

Expedient synthesis of a tetrasaccharide and a pentasaccharide corresponding to the cell wall O-antigen of Escherichia coli O77 and Escherichia coli O17

A concise chemical synthetic strategy has been developed for the synthesis of a tetrasaccharide and a pentasaccharide corresponding to the O-antigen of Escherichia coli O77 and E. coli O17 strains, respectively using [2+2] and [3+2] block glycosylation approaches from suitably functionalized common monosaccharide intermediates. All of the intermediate steps are high yielding while the glycosylation steps are highly stereoselective. A number of recently developed methodologies have been used in the synthesis.     

Enterobactin- and salmochelin-β-lactam conjugates induce cell morphologies consistent with inhibition of penicillin-binding proteins in uropathogenic Escherichia coli CFT073

The design and synthesis of narrow-spectrum antibiotics that target a specific bacterial strain, species, or group of species is a promising strategy for treating bacterial infections when the causative agent is known. In this work, we report the synthesis and evaluation of four new siderophore-β-lactam conjugates where the broad-spectrum β-lactam antibiotics cephalexin (Lex) and meropenem (Mem) are covalently attached to either enterobactin (Ent) or diglucosylated Ent (DGE) via a stable polyethylene glycol (PEG₃) linker. These siderophore-β-lactam conjugates showed enhanced minimum inhibitory concentrations against Escherichia coli compared to the parent antibiotics. Uptake studies with uropathogenic E. coli CFT073 demonstrated that the DGE-β-lactams target the pathogen-associated catecholate siderophore receptor IroN. A comparative analysis of siderophore-β-lactams harboring ampicillin (Amp), Lex and Mem indicated that the DGE-Mem conjugate is advantageous because it targets IroN and exhibits low minimum inhibitory concentrations, fast time-kill kinetics, and enhanced stability to serine β-lactamases. Phase-contrast and fluorescence imaging of E. coli treated with the siderophore-β-lactam conjugates revealed cellular morphologies consistent with the inhibition of penicillin-binding proteins PBP3 (Ent/DGE-Amp/Lex) and PBP2 (Ent/DGE-Mem). Overall, this work illuminates the uptake and cell-killing activity of Ent- and DGE-β-lactam conjugates against E. coli and supports that native siderophore scaffolds provide the opportunity for narrowing the activity spectrum of antibiotics in clinical use and targeting pathogenicity.

Siderophore-β-lactam conjugates based on enterobactin and diglucosylated enterobactin enter the periplasm of uropathogenic E. coli CFT073 via the FepA and IroN transporters, and target penicillin-binding proteins.     

Scanning electrochemical microscopy of single human urinary bladder cells using reactive oxygen species as probe of inflammatory response

Scanning electrochemical microscopy of single human bladder (T24) and kidney (A498) epithelial cells after stimulation with heat-killed uropathogenic Escherichia coli GR-12 was investigated for the first time. T24 cells treated with the hk-UPEC in time-lapsed images showed prolonged release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to toll-like receptors (TLR4), while A498 cells without TLR4 did not show the ROS increase after the dosage of the same stimulant. This indicates discrete pathways of triggering the inflammatory. It also reveals that ROS can be used as a probe to detect inflammatory response to gram-negative bacteria.     

Physical Properties of Biopolymers Assessed by Optical Tweezers: Analysis of Folding and Refolding of Bacterial Pili

Bacterial adhesion to surfaces mediated by specific adhesion organelles that promote infections, as exemplified by the pili of uropathogenic E. coli, is studied mostly at the level of cell–cell interactions and thereby reflects the averaged behavior of multiple pili. The role of pilus rod structure has therefore only been estimated from the outcome of experiments involving large numbers of organelles at the same time. It has, however, lately become clear that the biomechanical behavior of the pilus shafts play an important, albeit hitherto rather unrecognized, role in the adhesion process. For example, it has been observed that shafts from two different strains, even though they are similar in structure, result in large differences in the ability of the bacteria to adhere to their host tissue. However, in order to identify all properties of pilus structures that are of importance in the adhesion process, the biomechanical properties of pili must be assessed at the single‐molecule level. Due to the low range of forces of these structures, until recently it was not possible to obtain such information. However, with the development of force‐measuring optical tweezers (FMOT) with force resolution in the low piconewton range, it has lately become possible to assess forces mediated by individual pili on single living bacteria in real time. FMOT allows for a more or less detailed mapping of the biomechanical properties of individual pilus shafts, in particular those that are associated with their elongation and contraction under stress. This Mi‐ nireview presents the FMOT technique, the biological model system, and results from assessment of the biomechanical properties of bacterial pili. The information retrieved is also compared with that obtained by atomic force microscopy.     

The diene synthesis reaction and substitutive addition with 2-pyridones and their thio analogs (review)

The literature on the reactions of 2-pyridones and their thio analogs with unsaturated compounds taking place by a mechanism of diene synthesis or of substitutive addition, depending on the structure of the initial components, has been systematized. The basic synthetic directions of the use of these reactions and also the stereochemistry of the diene synthesis with 2-pyridones and 2-thiopyridones are considered.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 1, pp. 3–20, January, 1984.     

Constraints of opsin structure on the ligand-binding site: studies with ring-fused retinals

Ring-fused retinal analogs were designed to examine the hula-twist mode of the photoisomerization of the 9-cis retinylidene chromophore. Two 9-cis retinal analogs, the C11-C13 five-membered ring-fused and the C12-C14 five-membered ring-fused retinal derivatives, formed the pigments with opsin. The C11-C13 ring-fused analog was isomerized to a relaxed all-trans chromophore (lambda(max) > 400 nm) at even -269 degrees C and the Schiff base was kept protonated at 0 degrees C. The C12-C14 ring-fused analog was converted photochemically to a bathorhodopsin-like chromophore (lambda(max) = 583 nm) at -196 degrees C, which was further converted to the deprotonated Schiff base at 0 degrees C. The model-building study suggested that the analogs do not form pigments in the retinal-binding site of rhodopsin but form pigments with opsin structures, which have larger binding space generated by the movement of transmembrane helices. The molecular dynamics simulation of the isomerization of the analog chromophores provided a twisted C11-C12 double bond for the C12-C14 ring-fused analog and all relaxed double bonds with a highly twisted C10-C11 bond for the C11-C13 ring-fused analog. The structural model of the C11-C13 ring-fused analog chromophore showed a characteristic flip of the cyclohexenyl moiety toward transmembrane segments 3 and 4. The structural models suggested that hula twist is a primary process for the photoisomerization of the analog chromophores.     

A new synthesis of ring-fused alkylidenecyclobutanes by ring-enlargement reaction of bicyclo[n.1.0]alkylidene derivatives

Bicyclo[n.1.0]alkylidene derivatives (ring-fused alkylidenecyclopropanes) reacted with diazomethane to give spiro-pyrazolines regioselectively. Thermal decomposition of spiro-pyrazolines resulted in ring-enlargement and afforded ring-fused alkylidenecyclobutanes (bicyclo[n.2.0]alkylidene derivatives) in high yields.