Visible-Light-Activated Molecular Machines Kill Fungi by Necrosis Following Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Calcium Overload.

Invasive fungal infections are a growing public health threat. As fungi become increasingly resistant to existing drugs, new antifungals are urgently needed. Here, it is reported that 405-nm-visible-light-activated synthetic molecular machines (MMs) eliminate planktonic and biofilm fungal populations more effectively than conventional antifungals without resistance development. Mechanism-of-action studies show that MMs bind to fungal mitochondrial phospholipids. Upon visible light activation, rapid unidirectional drilling of MMs at ≈3 million cycles per second (MHz) results in mitochondrial dysfunction, calcium overload, and ultimately necrosis. Besides their direct antifungal effect, MMs synergize with conventional antifungals by impairing the activity of energy-dependent efflux pumps. Finally, MMs potentiate standard antifungals both in vivo and in an ex vivo porcine model of onychomycosis, reducing the fungal burden associated with infection.

Alternative role of motif B in template dependent polymerase inhibition

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) relies on the central molecular machine RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) for the viral replication and transcription. Remdesivir at the template strand has been shown to effectively inhibit the RNA synthesis in SARS-CoV-2 RdRp by deactivating not only the complementary UTP incorporation but also the next nucleotide addition. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of the second inhibitory point remains unclear. In this work, we have performed molecular dynamics simulations and demonstrated that such inhibition has not directly acted on the nucleotide addition at the active site. Instead, the translocation of Remdesivir from +1 to-1 site is hindered thermodynamically as the post-Translocation state is less stable than the pre-Translocation state due to the motif B residue G683. Moreover, another conserved residue S682 on motif B further hinders the dynamic translocation of Remdesivir due to the steric clash with the 1′-cyano substitution. Overall, our study has unveiled an alternative role of motif B in mediating the translocation when Remdesivir is present in the template strand and complemented our understanding about the inhibitory mechanisms exerted by Remdesivir on the RNA synthesis in SARS-CoV-2 RdRp. © 2022 Chinese Physical Society.