Arabinose 5-phosphate isomerase as a target for antibacterial design: studies with substrate analogues and inhibitors.

Structural requirements of D-arabinose 5-phosphate isomerase (KdsD, E.C. 5.3.1.13) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa were analysed in detail using advanced NMR techniques. We performed epitope mapping studies of the binding between the enzyme and the most potent KdsD inhibitors found to date, together with studies of a set of newly synthesised arabinose 5-phosphate (A5P) mimetics. We report here the first experimental evidence that KdsD may bind the furanose form of A5P, suggesting that catalysis of ring opening may be an important part of KdsD catalysis.

Targeting bacterial membranes: identification of Pseudomonas aeruginosa D-arabinose-5P isomerase and NMR characterisation of its substrate recognition and binding properties.

The identification and characterisation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa KdsD (Pa-KdsD), a D-arabinose-5P isomerase involved in the biosynthesis of 3-deoxy-D-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid and thus of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), are reported. We have demonstrated that KdsD is essential for P. aeruginosa survival and thus represents a key target for the development of novel antibacterial drugs. The key amino acid residues for protein activity have been identified. The structural requirements for substrate recognition and binding have been characterised for the wild-type protein, and the effect of mutations of the key residues on catalytic activity and binding have been evaluated by saturation transfer difference (STD) NMR spectroscopy. Our data provide important structural information for the rational design of new KdsD inhibitors as potential antibacterial drugs.

Natural glycoconjugates with antitumor activity.

Cancer is one of the major causes of death worldwide. As a consequence, many different therapeutic approaches, including the use of glycosides as anticancer agents, have been developed. Various glycosylated natural products exhibit high activity against a variety of microbes and human tumors. In this review we classify glycosides according to the nature of their aglycone (non-saccharidic) part. Among them, we describe anthracyclines, aureolic acids, enediyne antibiotics, macrolide and glycopeptides presenting different strengths and mechanisms of action against human cancers. In some cases, the glycosidic residue is crucial for their activity, such as in anthracycline, aureolic acid and enediyne antibiotics; in other cases, Nature has exploited glycosylation to improve solubility or pharmacokinetic properties, as in the glycopeptides. In this review we focus our attention on natural glycoconjugates with anticancer properties. The structure of several of the carbohydrate moieties found in these conjugates and their role are described. The structure­activity relationship of some of these compounds, together with the structural features of their interaction with the biological targets, are also reported. Taken together, all this information is useful for the design of new potential anti-tumor drugs.

Targeting bacterial membranes: NMR spectroscopy characterization of substrate recognition and binding requirements of D-arabinose-5-phosphate isomerase.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is an essential component of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria and consists of three elements: lipid A, the core oligosaccharide, and the O-antigen. The inner-core region is highly conserved and contains at least one residue of 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonate (Kdo). Arabinose-5-phosphate isomerase (API) is an aldo-keto isomerase catalyzing the reversible isomerization of D-ribulose-5-phosphate (Ru5P) to D-arabinose-5-phosphate (A5P), the first step of Kdo biosynthesis. By exploiting saturation transfer difference (STD) NMR spectroscopy, the structural requirements necessary for API substrate recognition and binding were identified, with the aim of designing new API inhibitors. In addition, simple experimental conditions for the STD experiments to perform a fast, robust, and efficient screening of small libraries of potential API inhibitors, allowing the identification of new potential leads, were set up. Due to the essential role of API enzymes in LPS biosynthesis and gram-negative bacteria survival, by exploiting these data, a new generation of potent antibacterial drugs could be developed.