Discovery of a quorum-sensing inhibitor of drug-resistant staphylococcal infections by structure-based virtual screening

Mol Pharmacol. 2008 May;73(5):1578-86. doi: 10.1124/mol.107.044164. Epub 2008 Feb 26.

Abstract

Staphylococci are a major health threat because of increasing resistance to antibiotics. An alternative to antibiotic treatment is preventing virulence by inhibition of bacterial cell-to-cell communication using the quorum-sensing inhibitor RNAIII-inhibiting peptide (RIP). In this work, we identified 2',5-di-O-galloyl-d-hamamelose (hamamelitannin) as a nonpeptide analog of RIP by virtual screening of a RIP-based pharmacophore against a database of commercially available small-molecule compounds. Hamamelitannin is a natural product found in the bark of Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel), and it has no effect on staphylococcal growth in vitro; but like RIP, it does inhibit the quorum-sensing regulator RNAIII. In a rat graft model, hamamelitannin prevented device-associated infections in vivo, including infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis strains. These findings suggest that hamamelitannin may be used as a suppressor to staphylococcal infections.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bacterial Adhesion / drug effects
  • Drug Evaluation, Preclinical
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial / drug effects*
  • Gallic Acid / analogs & derivatives*
  • Gallic Acid / chemistry
  • Gallic Acid / pharmacology
  • Hemolysin Proteins / metabolism
  • Hexoses / chemistry*
  • Hexoses / pharmacology*
  • Male
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Models, Molecular
  • Oligopeptides / chemistry*
  • Prosthesis-Related Infections / microbiology
  • Quorum Sensing / drug effects*
  • RNA, Bacterial / biosynthesis
  • Rats
  • Rats, Wistar
  • Staphylococcal Infections / microbiology*
  • Staphylococcus / cytology
  • Staphylococcus / drug effects
  • Staphylococcus / growth & development

Substances

  • Hemolysin Proteins
  • Hexoses
  • Oligopeptides
  • RNA, Bacterial
  • RNAIII inhibiting peptide
  • RNAIII, Staphylococcus aureus
  • Gallic Acid
  • hamamelitannin