Sulfonamide-Based Inhibitors of Biotin Protein Ligase as New Antibiotic Leads

ACS Chem Biol. 2019 Sep 20;14(9):1990-1997. doi: 10.1021/acschembio.9b00463. Epub 2019 Aug 21.

Abstract

Here, we report the design, synthesis, and evaluation of a series of inhibitors of Staphylococcus aureus BPL (SaBPL), where the central acyl phosphate of the natural intermediate biotinyl-5'-AMP (1) is replaced by a sulfonamide isostere. Acylsulfamide (6) and amino sulfonylurea (7) showed potent in vitro inhibitory activity (Ki = 0.007 ± 0.003 and 0.065 ± 0.03 μM, respectively) and antibacterial activity against S. aureus ATCC49775 with minimum inhibitory concentrations of 0.25 and 4 μg/mL, respectively. Additionally, the bimolecular interactions between the BPL and inhibitors 6 and 7 were defined by X-ray crystallography and molecular dynamics simulations. The high acidity of the sulfonamide linkers of 6 and 7 likely contributes to the enhanced in vitro inhibitory activities by promoting interaction with SaBPL Lys187. Analogues with alkylsulfamide (8), β-ketosulfonamide (9), and β-hydroxysulfonamide (10) isosteres were devoid of significant activity. Binding free energy estimation using computational methods suggests deprotonated 6 and 7 to be the best binders, which is consistent with enzyme assay results. Compound 6 was unstable in whole blood, leading to poor pharmacokinetics. Importantly, 7 has a vastly improved pharmacokinetic profile compared to that of 6 presumably due to the enhanced metabolic stability of the sulfonamide linker moiety.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / chemical synthesis
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacokinetics
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Bacterial Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry
  • Carbon-Nitrogen Ligases / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Carbon-Nitrogen Ligases / chemistry
  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • Drug Design
  • Drug Stability
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / chemical synthesis
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / pharmacokinetics
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Mice
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation
  • Rats
  • Staphylococcus aureus / drug effects
  • Staphylococcus aureus / enzymology
  • Sulfonamides / chemical synthesis
  • Sulfonamides / pharmacokinetics
  • Sulfonamides / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Sulfonamides
  • Carbon-Nitrogen Ligases