Competitive interactions facilitate resistance development against antimicrobials.

While the evolution of antimicrobial resistance is well studied in free-living bacteria, information on resistance development in dense and diverse biofilm communities is largely lacking. Therefore, we explored how the social interactions in a duo-species biofilm composed of the brewery isolates Pseudomonas rhodesiae and Raoultella terrigena influence the adaptation to the broad-spectrum antimicrobial sulfathiazole. Previously, we showed that the competition between these brewery isolates enhances the antimicrobial tolerance of P. rhodesiae. Here, we found that this enhanced tolerance in duo-species biofilms is associated with a strongly increased antimicrobial resistance development in P. rhodesiae. Whereas P. rhodesiae was not able to evolve resistance against sulfathiazole in monospecies conditions, it rapidly evolved resistance in the majority of the duo-species communities. Although the initial presence of R. terrigena was thus required for P. rhodesiae to acquire resistance, the resistance mechanisms did not depend on the presence of R. terrigena. Whole genome sequencing of resistant P. rhodesiae clones showed no clear mutational hot spots. This indicates that the acquired resistance phenotype depends on complex interactions between low-frequency mutations in the genetic background of the strains. We hypothesize that the increased tolerance in duo-species conditions promotes resistance by enhancing the selection of partially resistant mutants and opening up novel evolutionary trajectories that enable such genetic interactions. This hypothesis is reinforced by experimentally excluding potential effects of increased initial population size, enhanced mutation rate, and horizontal gene transfer. Altogether, our observations suggest that the community mode of life and the social interactions therein strongly affect the accessible evolutionary pathways toward antimicrobial resistance.IMPORTANCEAntimicrobial resistance is one of the most studied bacterial properties due to its enormous clinical and industrial relevance; however, most research focuses on resistance development of a single species in isolation. In the present study, we showed that resistance evolution of brewery isolates can differ greatly between single- and mixed-species conditions. Specifically, we observed that the development of antimicrobial resistance in certain species can be significantly enhanced in co-culture as compared to the single-species conditions. Overall, the current study emphasizes the need of considering the within bacterial interactions in microbial communities when evaluating antimicrobial treatments and resistance evolution.

Synthesis, characterization, biological evaluation, and in silico studies of novel 1,3-diaryltriazene-substituted sulfathiazole derivatives.

In the present study, a series of eleven novel 1,3-diaryltriazene-substituted sulfathiazole moieties (ST1-11) was synthesized by the reaction of diazonium salt of sulfathiazole with substituted aromatic amines and their chemical structures were characterized by Fourier transform infrared, 1 H-NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance), 13 C-NMR, and high-resolution mass spectroscopy methods. These synthesized novel derivatives were found to be effective inhibitor molecules for α-glycosidase (α-GLY), human carbonic anhydrase (hCA), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), with KI values in the range of 426.84 ± 58.42-708.61 ± 122.67 nM for α-GLY, 450.37 ± 50.35-1,094.34 ± 111.37 nM for hCA I, 504.37 ± 57.22-1,205.36 ± 195.47 nM for hCA II, and 68.28 ± 10.26-193.74 ± 19.75 nM for AChE. Among the synthesized novel compounds, several lead compounds were investigated against the tested metabolic enzymes. More specifically, ST11 (4-[3-(perfluorophenyl)triaz-1-en-1-yl]-N-(thiazol-2-yl)benzenesulfonamide) showed a highly efficient inhibition profile against hCA I, hCA II, and AChE, with KI values of 450.37 ± 50.35, 504.37 ± 57.22, and 68.28 ± 10.26 nM, respectively. Due to its significant biological inhibitory potency, this derivative may be considered as an interesting lead compound against these enzymes.

Synthesis and Antimicrobial Evaluation of Some New Pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine and Pyrazolo[1,5-c]triazine Derivatives Containing Sulfathiazole Moiety.

A number of important fused heterocyclic systems have been prepared by the reaction of 4-((3,5-diamino-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)-diazenyl)-N-(thiazol-2-yl)-benzenesulfonamide with some bifunctional nucleophiles such as ethyl acetoacetate, acetylacetone or arylidenemalonononitrile derivatives to obtain pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives. The structures of the newly synthesized compounds were determined based on their IR, 1H and 13C NMR and mass spectroscopic data. Most of the compounds produced showed good antibacterial and antifungal activity.

Folic acid, but not folate, regulates different stages of neurogenesis in the ventral hippocampus of adult female rats.

Folate is an important regulator of hippocampal neurogenesis, and folic acid is needed prenatally to reduce the risk of neural tube defects. Both high levels of folic acid and low levels of folate can be harmful to health because low levels of folate have been linked to several diseases while high folic acid supplements can mask a vitamin B12 deficiency. Depressed patients exhibit folate deficiencies, lower levels of hippocampal neurogenesis, elevated levels of homocysteine and elevated levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, which may be inter-related. In the present study, we were interested in whether different doses of natural folate or synthetic folic acid diets can influence neurogenesis in the hippocampus, levels of plasma homocysteine and serum corticosterone in adult female rats. Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats underwent dietary interventions for 29 days. Animals were randomly assigned to six different dietary groups: folate deficient + succinylsulphathiazole (SST), low 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF), low 5-MTHF + (SST), high 5-MTHF + SST, low folic acid and high folic acid. SST was added to a subset of the 5-MTHF diets to eliminate folic acid production in the gut. Before and after dietary treatment, blood samples were collected for corticosterone and homocysteine analysis, and brain tissue was collected for neurogenesis analysis. High folic acid and low 5-MTHF without SST increased the number of immature neurones (doublecortin-expressing cells) within the ventral hippocampus compared to folate deficient controls. Low 5-MTHF without SST significantly increased the number of immature neurones compared to low and high 5-MTHF + SST, indicating that SST interfered with elevations in neurogenesis. Low folic acid and high 5-MTHF + SST reduced plasma homocysteine levels compared to controls, although there was no significant effect of diet on serum corticosterone levels. In addition, low folic acid and high 5-MTHF + SST reduced the number of mature new neurones in the ventral hippocampus (bromodeoxyuridine/NeuN-positive cells) compared to folate deficient controls. Overall, folic acid dose-dependently influenced neurogenesis with low levels decreasing but high levels increasing neurogenesis in the ventral hippocampus, suggesting that this region, which is important for regulating stress, is particularly sensitive to folic acid in diets. Furthermore, the addition of SST negated the effects of 5-MTHF to increase neurogenesis in the ventral hippocampus.

Antimicrobial sulfonamides clear latent Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus infection and impair MDM2-p53 complex formation.

Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV), also known as human herpesvirus 8, is the causative agent of Kaposi sarcoma; this malignant angiosarcoma is usually treated with conventional antitumor agents that can control disease evolution, but do not clear the latent KSHV episome that binds to cellular DNA. Some commercial antibacterial sulfonamides were tested for the ability to suppress latent KSHV. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) and cytofluorometry assays were used for detecting both viral DNA and the latency factor LANA (latency-associated nuclear antigen) in BC3 cells, respectively. The capacity of sulfonamides to impair MDM2-p53 complex formation was detected by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. The analysis of variance was performed according to one-way analysis of variance with Fisher as a post hoc test. Here we show that sulfonamide antibiotics are able to suppress the KSHV latent state in permanently infected BC3 lymphoma cells and interfere with the formation of the MDM2-p53 complex that KSHV seemingly needs to support latency and to trigger tumor cell transformation. These findings detected a new molecular target for the activity of sulfonamides and offer a new potential perspective for treating KSHV-induced lymphoproliferative diseases.

Metal-based biologically active azoles and ß-lactams derived from sulfa drugs.

Metal complexes of Schiff bases derived from sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) and sulfathiazole (STZ), converted to their ß-lactam derivatives have been synthesized and experimentally characterized by elemental analysis, spectral (IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, and EI-mass), molar conductance measurements and thermal analysis techniques. The structural and electronic properties of the studied molecules were investigated theoretically by performing density functional theory (DFT) to access reliable results to the experimental values. The spectral and thermal analysis reveals that the Schiff bases act as bidentate ligands via the coordination of azomethine nitrogen to metal ions as well as the proton displacement from the phenolic group through the metal ions; therefore, Cu complexes can attain the square planner arrangement and Zn complexes have a distorted tetrahedral structure. The thermogravimetric (TG/DTG) analyses confirm high stability for all complexes followed by thermal decomposition in different steps. In addition, the antibacterial activities of synthesized compounds have been screened in vitro against various pathogenic bacterial species. Inspection of the results revealed that all newly synthesized complexes individually exhibit varying degrees of inhibitory effects on the growth of the tested bacterial species, therefore, they may be considered as drug candidates for bacterial pathogens. The free Schiff base ligands (1-2) exhibited a broad spectrum antibacterial activity against Gram negative Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Proteus spp., and Gram positive Staphylococcus aureus bacterial strains. The results also indicated that the ß-lactam derivatives (3-4) have high antibacterial activities on Gram positive bacteria as well as the metal complexes (5-8), particularly Zn complexes, have a significant activity against all Gram negative bacterial strains. It has been shown that the metal complexes have significantly higher activity than corresponding ligands due to chelation process which reduces the polarity of metal ion by coordinating with ligands.

Preparation of alginate-chitosan fibers with potential biomedical applications.

The preparation of alginate-chitosan fibers, through wet spinning technique, as well as the study of their properties as a function of chitosan's molecular weight and retention time in the coagulation bath, is presented and discussed in this work. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the fibers presented irregular and rough surfaces, with a grooved and heavily striated morphology distributed throughout the structure. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) showed that, with the exception of elongation at break, the incorporation of chitosan into the fibers improved their tensile properties. The in vitro release profile of sulfathiazole as a function of chitosan's molecular weight indicated that the fibers are viable carriers of drugs. Kinetic models showed that the release of the model drug is first-order, and the release mechanism is governed by the Korsmeyer-Peppas model. Likewise, fibers loaded with sulfathiazole showed excellent inhibition of Escherichia coli growth after an incubation time of 24h at 37 °C.

Structural characterization of new Schiff bases of sulfamethoxazole and sulfathiazole, their antibacterial activity and docking computation with DHPS protein structure.

New Schiff bases (1, 2) of substituted salicylaldehydes and sulfamethoxazole (SMX)/sulfathiazole (STZ) are synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis and spectroscopic data. Single crystal X-ray structure of one of the compounds (E)-4-((3,5-dichloro-2-hydroxybenzylidene)amino)-N-(5-methylisoxazol-3-yl)benzenesulfonamide (1c) has been determined. Antimicrobial activities of the Schiff bases and parent sulfonamides (SMX, STZ) have been examined against several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and sulfonamide resistant pathogens; the lowest MIC is observed for (E)-4-((3,5-dichloro-2-hydroxybenzylidene)amino)-N-(thiazol-2-yl)benzene sulfonamide (2c) (8.0 µg mL(-1)) and (E)-4-((3,5-dichloro-2-hydroxybenzylidene)amino)-N-(5-methylisoxazol-3-yl)benzene sulfonamide (1c) (16.0 µg mL(-1)) against sulfonamide resistant pathogens. DFT optimized structures of the Schiff bases have been used to carry out molecular docking studies with DHPS (dihydropteroate synthase) protein structure (downloaded from Protein Data Bank) using Discovery Studio 3.5 to find the most preferred binding mode of the ligand inside the protein cavity. The theoretical data have been well correlated with the experimental results. Cell viability assay and ADMET studies predict that 1c and 2c have good drug like characters.

Sulfa drugs inhibit sepiapterin reduction and chemical redox cycling by sepiapterin reductase.

Sepiapterin reductase (SPR) catalyzes the reduction of sepiapterin to dihydrobiopterin (BH2), the precursor for tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), a cofactor critical for nitric oxide biosynthesis and alkylglycerol and aromatic amino acid metabolism. SPR also mediates chemical redox cycling, catalyzing one-electron reduction of redox-active chemicals, including quinones and bipyridinium herbicides (e.g., menadione, 9,10-phenanthrenequinone, and diquat); rapid reaction of the reduced radicals with molecular oxygen generates reactive oxygen species (ROS). Using recombinant human SPR, sulfonamide- and sulfonylurea-based sulfa drugs were found to be potent noncompetitive inhibitors of both sepiapterin reduction and redox cycling. The most potent inhibitors of sepiapterin reduction (IC50s = 31-180 nM) were sulfasalazine, sulfathiazole, sulfapyridine, sulfamethoxazole, and chlorpropamide. Higher concentrations of the sulfa drugs (IC50s = 0.37-19.4 µM) were required to inhibit redox cycling, presumably because of distinct mechanisms of sepiapterin reduction and redox cycling. In PC12 cells, which generate catecholamine and monoamine neurotransmitters via BH4-dependent amino acid hydroxylases, sulfa drugs inhibited both BH2/BH4 biosynthesis and redox cycling mediated by SPR. Inhibition of BH2/BH4 resulted in decreased production of dopamine and dopamine metabolites, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and homovanillic acid, and 5-hydroxytryptamine. Sulfathiazole (200 µM) markedly suppressed neurotransmitter production, an effect reversed by BH4. These data suggest that SPR and BH4-dependent enzymes, are "off-targets" of sulfa drugs, which may underlie their untoward effects. The ability of the sulfa drugs to inhibit redox cycling may ameliorate ROS-mediated toxicity generated by redox active drugs and chemicals, contributing to their anti-inflammatory activity.

[SAR of benzoyl sulfathiazole derivatives as PTP1B inhibitors].

Protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) 1B is a potential target for the treatment of diabetes and obesity. We have previously identified the benzoyl sulfathiazole derivative II as a non-competitive PTP1B inhibitor with in vivo insulin sensitizing effects. Preliminary SAR study on this compound series has been carried out herein, and thirteen new compounds have been designed and synthesized. Among them, compound 10 exhibited potent inhibition against human recombinant PTP1B with the IC50 value of 3.97 micromol x L(-1), and is comparable to that of compound II.

Effect of a novel synthesized sulfonamido-based gallate-SZNTC on chondrocytes metabolism in vitro.

The ideal therapeutic agent for treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) should have not only potent anti-inflammatory effect but also favorable biological properties to restore cartilage function. Gallic acid (GA) and its derivatives are anti-inflammatory agents reported to have an effect on OA (Singh et al., 2003) [1]. However, GA has much weaker antioxidant effects and inferior bioactivity compared with its derivatives. We modified GA with the introduction of sulfonamide to synthesize a novel sulfonamido-based gallate named sodium salt of 3,4,5-trihydroxy-N-[4-(thiazol-2-ylsulfamoyl)-phenyl]-benzamide (SZNTC) and analyzed its chondro-protective and pharmacological effects. Comparison of SZNTC with GA and sulfathiazole sodium (ST-Na) was also performed. Results showed that SZNTC could effectively inhibit the Interleukin-1 (IL-1)-mediated induction of metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and MMP-3 and could induce the expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1), which demonstrated ability to reduce the progression of OA. SZNTC can also exert chondro-protective effects by promoting cell proliferation and maintaining the phenotype of articular chondrocytes, as evidenced by improved cell growth, enhanced synthesis of cartilage specific markers such as aggrecan, collagen II and Sox9. Expression of the collagen I gene was effectively down-regulated, revealing the inhibition of chondrocytes dedifferentiation by SZNTC. Hypertrophy that may lead to chondrocyte ossification was also undetectable in SZNTC groups. The recommended dose of SZNTC ranges from 3.91µg/ml to 15.64µg/ml, among which the most profound response was observed with 7.82µg/ml. In contrast, its source products of GA and ST-Na have a weak effect in the bioactivity of chondrocytes, which indicated the significance of this modification. This study revealed SZNTC as a promising novel agent in the treatment of chondral and osteochondral lesions.

Synthesis, characterization and antibacterial activity of a Schiff base derived from cephalexin and sulphathiazole and its transition metal complexes.

Metal(II) coordination compounds of a cephalexin Schiff base (HL) derived from the condensation of cephalexin antibiotic with sulphathiazole were synthesized. The Schiff base ligand, mononuclear [ML(OAc)(H2O)2] (M(II)=Mn, Co, Ni, Zn) complexes and magnetically diluted trinuclear copper(II) complex [Cu3L(OH)5] were characterized by several techniques, including elemental and thermal analysis, molar conductance and magnetic susceptibility measurements, electronic, FT-IR, EPR and (1)H NMR spectral studies. The analytical and molar conductance values indicated that the acetate ions coordinate to the metal ions. The Schiff base ligand HL behaves as a monoanionic tridentate NNO and tetradentate NNOO chelating agent in the mono and trinuclear complexes respectively.

Distribution of sulfathiazole in honey, beeswax, and honeybees and the persistence of residues in treated hives.

This study was performed to evaluate the distribution and depletion of sulfathiazole in different beehive matrices: honey, honeybees, "pre-existing" honeycomb, "new" honeycomb, and capping wax. Sulfathiazole was dissolved in sugar syrup or directly powdered on the combs, the matrices were sampled at different time points, and sulfathiazole residues were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. In honey, the higher concentration of sulfathiazole (180 mg kg(-1)) occurred 2 weeks after the last treatment in syrup. In beeswax, drug concentration was higher than in honey, particularly with powder administration, with a maximum level (340 mg kg(-1)) 3 days following the last treatment. The strongest contamination in honeybees (28 mg kg(-1)) was achieved with sulfathiazole administered in powder 3 days after the second treatment. The high persistence of sulfathiazole in the different beehive matrices suggests that it could be a reliable marker of previous treatments performed by beekeepers.

Responses of the terrestrial ammonia-oxidizing archaeon Ca. Nitrososphaera viennensis and the ammonia-oxidizing bacterium Nitrosospira multiformis to nitrification inhibitors.

Nitrification inhibitors have been used for decades to improve nitrogen fertilizer utilization in farmland. However, their effect on ammonia-oxidizing Archaea (AOA) in soil is little explored. Here, we compared the impact of diverse inhibitors on nitrification activity of the soil archaeon Ca. Nitrososphaera viennensis EN76 and compared it to that of the ammonia-oxidizing bacterium (AOB) Nitrosospira multiformis. Allylthiourea, amidinothiourea, and dicyandiamide (DCD) inhibited ammonia oxidation in cultures of both N. multiformis and N. viennensis, but the effect on N. viennensis was markedly lower. In particular, the effective concentration 50 (EC50) of allylthiourea was 1000 times higher for the AOA culture. Among the tested nitrification inhibitors, DCD was the least potent against N. viennensis. Nitrapyrin had at the maximal soluble concentration only a very weak inhibitory effect on the AOB N. multiformis, but showed a moderate effect on the AOA. The antibiotic sulfathiazole inhibited the bacterium, but barely affected the archaeon. Only the NO-scavenger carboxy-PTIO had a strong inhibitory effect on the archaeon, but had little effect on the bacterium in the concentrations tested. Our results reflect the fundamental metabolic and cellular differences of AOA and AOB and will be useful for future applications of inhibitors aimed at distinguishing activities of AOA and AOB in soil environments.

Death inducing and cytoprotective autophagy in T-47D cells by two common antibacterial drugs: sulphathiazole and sulphacetamide.

The broad spectrum of the pharmacological effects of sulphonamide family of drugs motivated us to investigate the cellular mechanisms for anti-cancer effects of sulphathiazole and sulphacetamide on T-47D breast cancer cells. Fluorescent microscopy, flow cytometric analysis, caspase-3 activity and DNA fragmentation assays were used to detect apoptosis. The distribution of the cells among different phases of the cell cycle was measured by flow cytometry. The expression of several genes with important roles in some critical cellular pathways including apoptosis, mTOR/AKT pathway and autophagy were determined by real-time RT-PCR analysis. Sulphathiazole and sulphacetamide induced anti-proliferative effects on T-47D cells were independent of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. The overexpression of critical genes involved in autophagy including ATG5, p53 and DRAM indicated that the main effect of the drug-induced anti-proliferative effects was through induction of autophagy. This process was induced in two different forms, including death inducing and cytoprotective autophagy. Sulphathiazole treatment was followed by higher expression of p53/DRAM and downregulation of Akt/mTOR pathway resulting in death autophagy. In contrast, sulphacetamide treatment lowered expression of p53/DRAM pathway in parallel with upregulation of Akt/mTOR pathway promoting cytoprotective autophagy. The results indicated that autophagy is the main mechanism mediating the anti-cancer effects of sulphathiazole and sulphacetamide on T-47D cells. Alignment of the p53 and DRAM expression along with activation level of Akt survival pathway therefore determines the type of autophagy that occurs.

Design, synthesis and insulin-sensitising effects of novel PTP1B inhibitors.

Fifteen novel sulfathiazole-related compounds were designed as PTP1B inhibitors based on a previously reported allosteric inhibitor (1) of PTP1B. These compounds were synthesized and evaluated against human recombinant PTP1B. Six compounds (3, 4, 8 and 14-16) exhibited significant inhibitory activity against PTP1B. The most active compound (16) showed IC50 value of 3.2 µM and kinetic analysis indicated that it is a non-competitive inhibitor of PTP1B. Furthermore, compound 16 demonstrated excellent selectivity to PTP1B over other PTPs. It also displayed in vivo insulin sensitizing effect in the insulin resistant mice.

Identification and dynamic modeling of biomarkers for bacterial uptake and effect of sulfonamide antimicrobials.

The effects of sulfathiazole (STA) on Escherichia coli with glucose as a growth substrate was investigated to elucidate the effect-based reaction of sulfonamides in bacteria and to identify biomarkers for bacterial uptake and effect. The predominant metabolite was identified as pterine-sulfathiazole by LC-high resolution mass spectrometry. The formation of pterine-sulfathiazole per cell was constant and independent of the extracellular STA concentrations, as they exceeded the modeled half-saturation concentration K(M)(S) of 0.011 µmol L(-1). The concentration of the dihydrofolic acid precursor para-aminobenzoic acid (pABA) increased with growth and with concentrations of the competitor STA. This increase was counteracted for higher STA concentrations by growth inhibition as verified by model simulation of pABA dynamics. The EC value for the inhibition of pABA increase was 6.9 ± 0.7 µmol L(-1) STA, which is similar to that calculated from optical density dynamics indicating that pABA is a direct biomarker for the SA effect.

Arsenic urinary speciation in Mthfr deficient mice injected with sodium arsenate.

In most mammalian species, arsenic biotransformation occurs primarily by biomethylation and reduction reactions, with dimethylarsinic acid being the predominant metabolite excreted in the urine. Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (Mthfr) plays a key role in folate metabolism by channeling one-carbon units between nucleotide synthesis and methylation reactions. In the study on transgenic Mtfhr knockout mice we investigated: (1) whether Mthfr is an important determinant in arsenic biotransformation by performing urinary arsenic speciation, and (2) whether dietary folate deficiency alters arsenic biotransformation in these mice. The Mthfr mice fed folate replete or folate deficient diet were injected with sodium arsenate 1mg/kg, and placed in metabolic cages for a urine collection. The urine was analyzed for arsenic species. Additionally, folate and homocysteine plasma level was analyzed in Mthfr mice. When fed a folate control diet, the Mthfr(-/-) mice excreted significantly less of the total arsenic in urine than did the Mthfr(+/+) and Mthfr(+/-) mice. The Mthfr(-/-) had significantly lower levels of pentavalent arsenic in their urine than did the Mthfr(+/+)mice. The wild type mice excreted significantly less pentavalent arsenic when they were fed folate deficient diet comparing to control diet. The current data suggest that both the Mthfr status and food folate level modulate in a significant manner excretion of arsenic in mice, following intraperitoneal administration of sodium arsenate.

Catalysis and sulfa drug resistance in dihydropteroate synthase.

The sulfonamide antibiotics inhibit dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS), a key enzyme in the folate pathway of bacteria and primitive eukaryotes. However, resistance mutations have severely compromised the usefulness of these drugs. We report structural, computational, and mutagenesis studies on the catalytic and resistance mechanisms of DHPS. By performing the enzyme-catalyzed reaction in crystalline DHPS, we have structurally characterized key intermediates along the reaction pathway. Results support an S(N)1 reaction mechanism via formation of a novel cationic pterin intermediate. We also show that two conserved loops generate a substructure during catalysis that creates a specific binding pocket for p-aminobenzoic acid, one of the two DHPS substrates. This substructure, together with the pterin-binding pocket, explains the roles of the conserved active-site residues and reveals how sulfonamide resistance arises.

Effects of sulfathiazole, oxytetracycline and chlortetracycline on steroidogenesis in the human adrenocarcinoma (H295R) cell line and freshwater fish Oryzias latipes.

Pharmaceuticals in the environment are of growing concern for their potential consequences on human and ecosystem health. Alterations in the endocrine system in humans or wildlife are of special interest because these alterations could eventually lead to changes in reproductive fitness. Using the H295R cell line, the potential endocrine disrupting effects of six pharmaceuticals including diclofenac, erythromycin, sulfamethazine, sulfathiazole, oxytetracycline, and chlortetracycline were investigated. After exposure to each target pharmaceutical for 48 h, production of 17beta-estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T), aromatase (CYP19) enzyme activity, or expression of steroidogenic genes were measured. Concentrations of E2 in blood plasma were determined in male Japanese medaka fish after 14 d exposure to sulfathiazole, oxytetracycline, or chlortetracycline. Among the pharmaceuticals studied, sulfathiazole, oxytetracycline and chlortetracycline all significantly affected E2 production by H295R cells. This mechanism of the effect was enhanced aromatase activity and up-regulation of mRNAs for CYP17, CYP19, and 3betaHSD, all of which are important components of steroidogenic pathways. Sulfathiazole was the most potent compound affecting steroidogenesis in H295R cells, followed by chlortetracycline and oxytetracycline. Sulfathiazole significantly increased aromatase activity at 0.2 mg/l. In medaka fish, concentrations of E2 in plasma increased significantly during 14-d exposure to 50 or 500 mg/l sulfathiazole, or 40 mg/l chlortetracycline. Based on the results of this study, certain pharmaceuticals could affect steroidogenic pathway and alter sex hormone balance. Concentrations of the pharmaceuticals studied that have been reported to occur in rivers of Korea are much less than the thresholds for effects on the endpoints studied here. Thus, it is unlikely that these pharmaceuticals are causing adverse effects on fish in those rivers.