Strategies in anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug discovery based on phenotypic screening.

The rise of multi- and extensively drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) strains and co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus has escalated the need for new anti-M. tb drugs. Numerous challenges associated with the M. tb, in particular slow growth and pathogenicity level 3, discouraged use of this organism in past primary screening efforts. From current knowledge of the physiology and drug susceptibility of mycobacteria in general and M. tb specifically, it can be assumed that many potentially useful drug leads were missed by failing to screen directly against this pathogen. This review discusses recent high-throughput phenotypic screening strategies for anti-M. tb drug discovery. Emphasis is placed on prioritization of hits, including their extensive biological and chemical profiling, as well as the development status of promising drug candidates discovered with phenotypic screening.

Bioautography with TLC-MS/NMR for Rapid Discovery of Anti-tuberculosis Lead Compounds from Natural Sources.

While natural products constitute an established source of lead compounds, the classical iterative bioassay-guided isolation process is both time- and labor-intensive and prone to failing to identify active minor constituents. (HP)TLC-bioautography-MS/NMR, which combines cutting-edge microbiological, chromatographic, and spectrometric technologies, was developed to accelerate anti-tuberculosis (TB) drug discovery from natural sources by acquiring structural information at a very early stage of the isolation process. Using the avirulent, bioluminescent Mtb strain mc27000 luxABCDE, three variations of bioautography were evaluated and optimized for sensitivity in detecting anti-TB agents, including established clinical agents and new leads with novel mechanisms of action. Several exemplary applications of this approach to microbial extracts demonstrate its potential as a routine method in anti-TB drug discovery from natural sources.

Carbamidocyclophanes F and G with Anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis Activity from the Cultured Freshwater Cyanobacterium Nostoc sp.

Two new (1 and 2) and three known (3-5) carbamidocyclophanes were isolated from a cultured freshwater cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. (UIC 10274) obtained from a sample collected at Des Plaines, Illinois. Their planar structures and stereoconfigurations were determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis including 1D/2D NMR experiments, HRESIMS as well as CD spectroscopy. Carbamidocyclophane F (1) showed potent anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis activity in the microplate Alamar blue assay and low-oxygen-recovery assay with MIC values of 0.8 and 5.4 µM, respectively. Carbamidocyclophane F (1) also displayed antimicrobial activities against the gram positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis with MIC values of 0.1 and 0.2 µM, respectively. Carbamidocyclophane F (1) and Carbamidocyclophane G (2) both showed antiproliferative activity against MDA-MB-435 and HT-29 human cancer cell lines with IC50 values in the range from 0.5 to 0.7 µM.

Hytramycins V and I, anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis hexapeptides from a Streptomyces hygroscopicus strain.

Thirty-five thousand actinomycete extracts were screened for anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) activity, followed by C18 cartridge fractionation of 37 prioritized extracts. Based on MICs against replicating and nonreplicating M. tb, and IC50 values against Vero cells to generate selectivity indices, seven fractions from seven different strains were selected for further examination. When cultured in G.S.S. media and extracted with ethyl acetate, the Streptomyces hygroscopicus strain ECUM 14046 yielded an extract with promising anti-M. tb activity and a well-defined chromatographic profile. Fractionation by preparative HPLC and subsequent structure elucidation of two active fractions using 1D- and 2D-NMR and MS methods revealed the presence of two cyclohexapeptides, hytramycins V and I, each containing three unusual piperazic acid moieties. The use of (1)H iterative full spin analysis (HiFSA) on both hytramycins confirmed that quantum mechanics-simulated spectra match the experimental data, and all J(H,H) and δH values are consistent with the proposed structures. The absolute configuration of each amino acid moiety was determined by Marfey's method. The MICs against replicating and, more importantly, nonreplicating M. tb fall into the range of some existing second-line anti-TB drugs, such as streptomycin and capreomycin, respectively. The activities were maintained against M. tb strains that represent the major global clades, as well as H37Rv-isogenic strains that are resistant to individual clinical anti-TB drugs.

Lipidated steroid saponins from Dioscorea villosa (wild yam).

Two groups of lipidated steroid saponins including seven new compounds (2, 3, 5, and 7-10) were isolated from the widely used botanical, wild yam (Dioscorea villosa), employing a fractionation protocol of metabolomic mining. This methodology recently led to the isolation of 14 diarylheptanoids from the same plant. Together with these lipidated steroid saponins, they establish additional new markers for D. villosa. The lipidation of steroids with analog long-chain fatty acids containing different degrees of unsaturation generates an entire series of compounds which are difficult to purify and analyze. The structures of the two series of lipidated steroid saponins (series A and B) were established by a combination of 1D and 2D NMR as well as GC-MS after chemical modification. Series A was determined to be a mixture of lipidated spirostanol glycosides (1-5), while series B (6-10) was proved to be a mixture of five lipidated clionasterol glucosides. The latter group represents the first derivatives of clionasterol to be found in D. villosa. The discovery of this specific structural type of aliphatic esters of steroid saponins expands the characterization of the secondary metabolome of D. villosa. It may also inspire biological studies which take into account the lipophilic character and significantly altered physiochemical characteristics of these otherwise relatively polar phytoconstituents.

Rapid determination of growth inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by GC-MS/MS quantitation of tuberculostearic acid.

Classical determination of growth inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in macrophages and mice by new candidate anti-TB drugs utilizes the determination of colony forming units (CFUs) from lung homogenates, a labor-intensive process requiring 2-3 weeks incubation. Qualitative analysis of tuberculostearic acid (TBSA), a cell wall associated biomarker found in M. tuberculosis, has been investigated for clinical diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) but few reports exist of attempts to quantitate TBSA. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS/MS) was used in quantitating the derivatized methyl ester of TBSA during growth of M. tuberculosis in axenic medium, macrophage cultures and in the lungs of gamma interferon knockout (GKO) mice with and without exposure to anti-TB agents. The quantity of TBSA methyl ester (TBSAME) in the absence of and following exposure to anti-TB drugs was positively correlated with CFU in all three models. The stability of TBSA precludes its use as a surrogate for bactericidal activity but its exceptional thermal stability enables lung homogenates to be autoclaved prior to analysis. GC-MS/MS determination of TBSA is a rapid, sensitive and accurate means of detecting growth inhibition of any strain of M. tuberculosis in cell culture and in vivo.

Quantitative purity-activity relationships of natural products: the case of anti-tuberculosis active triterpenes from Oplopanax horridus.

The present study provides an extension of the previously developed concept of purity-activity relationships (PARs) and enables the quantitative evaluation of the effects of multiple minor components on the bioactivity of residually complex natural products. The anti-tuberculosis active triterpenes from the Alaskan ethnobotanical Oplopanax horridus were selected as a case for the development of the quantitative PAR (QPAR) concept. The residual complexity of the purified triterpenes was initially evaluated by 1D- and 2D-NMR and identified as a combination of structurally related and unrelated impurities. Using a biochemometric approach, the qHNMR purity and anti-TB activity of successive chromatographic fractions of O. horridus triterpenes were correlated by linear regression analysis to generate a mathematical QPAR model. The results demonstrate that impurities, such as widely occurring monoglycerides, can have a profound impact on the observed antimycobacterial activity of triterpene-enriched fractions. The QPAR concept is shown to be capable of providing a quantitative assessment in situations where residually complex constitution contributes toward the biological activity of natural products.