Acyldepsipeptide Antibiotics and a Bioactive Fragment Thereof Differentially Perturb Mycobacterium tuberculosis ClpXP1P2 Activity in Vitro.

Proteolytic complexes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the deadliest bacterial pathogen, are major foci in tuberculosis drug development programs. The Clp proteases, which are essential for Mtb viability, are high-priority targets. These proteases function through the collaboration of ClpP1P2, a barrel-shaped heteromeric peptidase, with associated ATP-dependent chaperones like ClpX and ClpC1 that recognize and unfold specific substrates in an ATP-dependent fashion. The critical interaction of the peptidase and its unfoldase partners is blocked by the competitive binding of acyldepsipeptide antibiotics (ADEPs) to the interfaces of the ClpP2 subunits. The resulting inhibition of Clp protease activity is lethal to Mtb. Here, we report the surprising discovery that a fragment of the ADEPs retains anti-Mtb activity yet stimulates rather than inhibits the ClpXP1P2-catalyzed degradation of proteins. Our data further suggest that the fragment stabilizes the ClpXP1P2 complex and binds ClpP1P2 in a fashion distinct from that of the intact ADEPs. A structure-activity relationship study of the bioactive fragment defines the pharmacophore and points the way toward the development of new drug leads for the treatment of tuberculosis.

Genetic and Proteomic Analyses of Pupylation in Streptomyces coelicolor.

UNLABELLED: Pupylation is a posttranslational modification peculiar to actinobacteria wherein proteins are covalently modified with a small protein called the prokaryotic ubiquitin-like protein (Pup). Like ubiquitination in eukaryotes, this phenomenon has been associated with proteasome-mediated protein degradation in mycobacteria. Here, we report studies of pupylation in a streptomycete that is phylogentically related to mycobacteria. We constructed mutants of Streptomyces coelicolor lacking PafA (Pup ligase), the proteasome, and the Pup-proteasome system. We found that these mutants share a high susceptibility to oxidative stress compared to that of the wild-type strain. Remarkably, we found that the pafA null mutant has a sporulation defect not seen in strains lacking the Pup-proteasome system. In proteomics experiments facilitated by an affinity-tagged variant of Pup, we identified 110 pupylated proteins in S. coelicolor strains having and lacking genes encoding the 20S proteasome. Our findings shed new light on this unusual posttranslational modification and its role in Streptomyces physiology. IMPORTANCE: The presence of 20S proteasomes reminiscent of those in eukaryotes and a functional equivalent of ubiquitin, known as the prokaryotic ubiquitin-like protein (Pup), in actinobacteria have motivated reevaluations of protein homeostasis in prokaryotes. Though the Pup-proteasome system has been studied extensively in mycobacteria, it is much less understood in streptomycetes, members of a large genus of actinobacteria known for highly choreographed life cycles in which phases of morphological differentiation, sporulation, and secondary metabolism are often regulated by protein metabolism. Here, we define constituents of the pupylome in Streptomyces coelicolor for the first time and present new evidence that links pupylation and the oxidative stress response in this bacterium. Surprisingly, we found that the Pup ligase has a Pup-independent role in sporulation.

Fragment-Based Strategy for Investigating and Suppressing the Efflux of Bioactive Small Molecules.

Membrane protein-mediated drug efflux is a phenomenon that compromises our ability to treat both infectious diseases and cancer. Accordingly, there is much interest in the development of strategies for suppression of the mechanisms by which therapeutic agents are effluxed. Here, using resistance to the cyclic acyldepsipeptide (ADEP) antibacterial agents as a model, we demonstrate a new counter-efflux strategy wherein a fragment of an actively exported bioactive compound competitively interferes with its efflux and potentiates its activity. A fragment comprising the N-heptenoyldifluorophenylalanine side chain of the pharmacologically optimized ADEPs potentiates the antibacterial activity of the ADEPs against actinobacteria to a greater extent than reserpine, a well-known efflux inhibitor. Beyond their validation of a new approach to studying molecular recognition by drug efflux pumps, our findings have important implications for killing Mycobacterium tuberculosis with ADEPs and reclaiming the efficacies of therapeutic agents whose activity has been compromised by efflux pumps.

A simple fragment of cyclic acyldepsipeptides is necessary and sufficient for ClpP activation and antibacterial activity.

The development of new antibacterial agents, particularly those with unique biological targets, is essential to keep pace with the inevitable emergence of drug resistance in pathogenic bacteria. We identified the minimal structural component of the cyclic acyldepsipeptide (ADEP) antibiotics that exhibits antibacterial activity. We found that N-acyldifluorophenylalanine fragments function via the same mechanism of action as ADEPs, as evidenced by the requirement of ClpP for the fragments' antibacterial activity, the ability of fragments to activate Bacillus subtilis ClpP in vitro, and the capacity of an N-acyldifluorophenylalanine affinity matrix to capture ClpP from B. subtilis cell lysates. N-acyldifluorophenylalanine fragments are much simpler in structure than the full ADEPs and are also highly amenable to structural diversification. Thus, the stage has been set for the development of non-peptide activators of ClpP that can be used as antibacterial agents.

Antibacterial activity of and resistance to small molecule inhibitors of the ClpP peptidase.

There is rapidly mounting evidence that intracellular proteases in bacteria are compelling targets for antibacterial drugs. Multiple reports suggest that the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other actinobacteria may be particularly sensitive to small molecules that perturb the activities of self-compartmentalized peptidases, which catalyze intracellular protein turnover as components of ATP-dependent proteolytic machines. Here, we report chemical syntheses and evaluations of structurally diverse ß-lactones, which have a privileged structure for selective, suicide inhibition of the self-compartmentalized ClpP peptidase. ß-Lactones with certain substituents on the α- and ß-carbons were found to be toxic to M. tuberculosis. Using an affinity-labeled analogue of a bioactive ß-lactone in a series of chemical proteomic experiments, we selectively captured the ClpP1P2 peptidase from live cultures of two different actinobacteria that are related to M. tuberculosis. Importantly, we found that the growth inhibitory ß-lactones also inactivate the M. tuberculosis ClpP1P2 peptidase in vitro via formation of a covalent adduct at the ClpP2 catalytic serine. Given the potent antibacterial activity of these compounds and their medicinal potential, we sought to identify innate mechanisms of resistance. Using a genome mining strategy, we identified a genetic determinant of ß-lactone resistance in Streptomyces coelicolor, a non-pathogenic relative of M. tuberculosis. Collectively, these findings validate the potential of ClpP inhibition as a strategy in antibacterial drug development and define a mechanism by which bacteria could resist the toxic effects of ClpP inhibitors.