Hijacking of the Enterobactin Pathway by a Synthetic Catechol Vector Designed for Oxazolidinone Antibiotic Delivery in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Enterobactin (ENT) is a tris-catechol siderophore used to acquire iron by multiple bacterial species. These ENT-dependent iron uptake systems have often been considered as potential gates in the bacterial envelope through which one can shuttle antibiotics (Trojan horse strategy). In practice, siderophore analogues containing catechol moieties have shown promise as vectors to which antibiotics may be attached. Bis- and tris-catechol vectors (BCVs and TCVs, respectively) were shown using structural biology and molecular modeling to mimic ENT binding to the outer membrane transporter PfeA in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. TCV but not BCV appears to cross the outer membrane via PfeA when linked to an antibiotic (linezolid). TCV is therefore a promising vector for Trojan horse strategies against P. aeruginosa, confirming the ENT-dependent iron uptake system as a gate to transport antibiotics into P. aeruginosa cells.

Phenotypic Adaptation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the Presence of Siderophore-Antibiotic Conjugates during Epithelial Cell Infection.

Iron acquisition pathways have often been considered to be gateways for the uptake of antibiotics into bacteria. Bacteria excrete chelators, called siderophores, to access iron. Antibiotic molecules can be covalently attached to siderophores for their transport into pathogens during the iron-uptake process. P. aeruginosa produces two siderophores and is also able to use many siderophores produced by other bacteria. We investigated the phenotypic plasticity of iron-uptake pathway expression in an epithelial cell infection assay in the presence of two different siderophore-antibiotic conjugates, one with a hydroxamate siderophore and the second with a tris-catechol. Proteomic and RT-qPCR approaches showed that P. aeruginosa was able to sense the presence of both compounds in its environment and adapt the expression of its iron uptake pathways to access iron via them. Moreover, the catechol-type siderophore-antibiotic was clearly more efficient in inducing the expression of its corresponding transporter than the hydroxamate compound when both were simultaneously present. In parallel, the expression of the proteins of the two iron uptake pathways using siderophores produced by P. aeruginosa was significantly repressed in the presence of both conjugates. Altogether, the data indicate that catechol-type siderophores are more promising vectors for antibiotic vectorization using a Trojan-horse strategy.

Catechol siderophores repress the pyochelin pathway and activate the enterobactin pathway in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: an opportunity for siderophore-antibiotic conjugates development.

Previous studies have suggested that antibiotic vectorization by siderophores (iron chelators produced by bacteria) considerably increases the efficacy of such drugs. The siderophore serves as a vector: when the pathogen tries to take up iron via the siderophore, it also takes up the antibiotic. Catecholates are among the most common iron-chelating compounds used in synthetic siderophore-antibiotic conjugates. Using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and proteomic approaches, we showed that the presence of catecholate compounds in the medium of Pseudomonas aeruginosa led to strong activation of the transcription and expression of the outer membrane transporter PfeA, the ferri-enterobactin importer. Iron-55 uptake assays on bacteria with and without PfeA expression confirmed that catechol compounds imported iron into P. aeruginosa cells via PfeA. Uptake rates were between 0.3 × 10(3) and 2 × 10(3) Fe atoms/bacterium/min according to the used catechol siderophore in iron-restricted medium, and remained as high as 0.8 × 10(3) Fe atoms/bacterium/min for enterobactin, even in iron-rich medium. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and proteomic approaches showed that in parallel to this switching on of PfeA expression, a repression of the expression of pyochelin (PCH) pathway genes (PCH being one of the two siderophores produced by P. aeruginosa for iron acquisition) was observed.

A novel example of double 6-exo-trig heterocyclization: nitrile conversion to new anticancer active (HeLa cells) primary amine ionic liquids.

Conversion of nitriles under mild conditions leads to a new class of primary amines, including room temperature ionic liquids, acting as efficient anticancer agents.

Stereoselective multicomponent assembly of enantiopure oxazolopiperidines and -azepines.

A multicomponent reaction (MCR) based on a cyclohydrocarbonylation (CHC) driven by hydroformylation was set up toward the efficient diastereoselective preparation of oxazolopiperidines (4a-e) and -azepines (7a-d). The bicyclic oxazolidines were obtained from chiral N-alkenylamino alcohols via transient cyclic iminium intermediates that underwent an intramolecular cyclization from the appendant oxygen. On the basis of a series of different experimental conditions, the diastereocontrol observed during the formation of the oxazolidines is best explained by the stereoelectronic effect induced by an A(1,3)-strain in a common cyclic iminium intermediate (A). This new sequence is suitable for diversity oriented syntheses, allowing the preparation of enantiopure (S)- and (R)-coniceine in five steps from commercially available material.

Cyclohydrocarbonylation-based strategy toward poly-substituted piperidines.

Convenient accesses to enantiomerically pure 2-, 2,3-, 2,6-, 2,3,6-substituted piperidines and 1,4-substituted indolizine are described. At first, indium-mediated aminoallylation and -crotylation of aldehydes with (R)-phenylglycinol or (1R,2S)-1-amino-2-indanol gave homoallylamines with high stereocontrol. Then, these products, submitted to a Rh(I)-catalyzed hydroformylative cyclohydrocarbonylation, afforded perhydrooxazolo[3,2-a]piridines whose oxazolidines are opened with nucleophiles. Finally, the removal of the chiral auxiliaries delivered the enantiomerically pure piperidines.