Screening of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae LuxS inhibitors

Curr Microbiol. 2013 Nov;67(5):564-71. doi: 10.1007/s00284-013-0403-9. Epub 2013 Jun 7.

Abstract

LuxS, a conserved bacterial enzyme involved in the activated methyl cycle, catalyzes S-ribosylhomocysteine (SRH) into homocysteine and AI-2 (the inter-species quorum-sensing signal molecule). This enzyme has been reported to be essential for the survival of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae in its natural host. Therefore, it is a potential drug target against A. pleuropneumoniae, an important swine respiratory pathogen causing great economic losses in the pig industry worldwide. In this study, the enzymatic activity determination method was established using the recombinant LuxS of A. pleuropneumoniae. Thirty-five compounds similar to the shape of SRH were screened from the Specs compound library by the software vROCS and were evaluated for LuxS inhibition. Three compounds could inhibit LuxS activity. Two of them were confirmed to be competitive inhibitors and the third one was uncompetitive. All the three compounds displayed inhibitory effects on the growth of A. pleuropneumoniae and two other important swine pathogens, Haemophilis parasuis and Streptococcus suis, with MIC50 values ranging from 11 to 51 μg/ml. No significant cytotoxic effect of the compounds was detected on porcine PK-15 cells at the concentration which showed inhibitory effect on bacterial growth. These results suggest that LuxS is an ideal target to develop antimicrobials for porcine bacterial pathogens. The three LuxS inhibitors identified in this study can be used as lead compounds for drug design.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae / drug effects*
  • Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae / enzymology*
  • Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae / genetics
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / chemistry
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Bacterial Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism
  • Carbon-Sulfur Lyases / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Carbon-Sulfur Lyases / genetics
  • Carbon-Sulfur Lyases / metabolism
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • Drug Discovery*
  • Enzyme Activation / drug effects
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / chemistry
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Gene Expression
  • Inhibitory Concentration 50
  • Kinetics
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Recombinant Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Proteins / isolation & purification
  • Recombinant Proteins / metabolism
  • Small Molecule Libraries

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Small Molecule Libraries
  • Carbon-Sulfur Lyases
  • LuxS protein, Bacteria