Domain requirement of moenomycin binding to bifunctional transglycosylases and development of high-throughput discovery of antibiotics

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Jan 15;105(2):431-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0710868105. Epub 2008 Jan 8.

Abstract

Moenomycin inhibits bacterial growth by blocking the transglycosylase activity of class A penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs), which are key enzymes in bacterial cell wall synthesis. We compared the binding affinities of moenomycin A with various truncated PBPs by using surface plasmon resonance analysis and found that the transmembrane domain is important for moenomycin binding. Full-length class A PBPs from 16 bacterial species were produced, and their binding activities showed a correlation with the antimicrobial activity of moenomycin against Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus. On the basis of these findings, a fluorescence anisotropy-based high-throughput assay was developed and used successfully for identification of transglycosylase inhibitors.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anisotropy
  • Cell Wall / metabolism
  • Chemistry, Pharmaceutical / methods
  • Drug Design
  • Enterococcus faecalis / metabolism
  • Glycosyltransferases / chemistry*
  • Inhibitory Concentration 50
  • Kinetics
  • Models, Chemical
  • Oligosaccharides / chemistry
  • Oligosaccharides / pharmacology*
  • Penicillin-Binding Proteins / chemistry
  • Spectrometry, Fluorescence / methods
  • Staphylococcus aureus / metabolism
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance / methods
  • Technology, Pharmaceutical / methods

Substances

  • Oligosaccharides
  • Penicillin-Binding Proteins
  • Glycosyltransferases
  • moenomycin