Dataset Information

Discovery of PqsE Thioesterase Inhibitors for Pseudomonas aeruginosa Using DNA-Encoded Small Molecule Library Screening.

ABSTRACT: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections in the United States. PqsE, a thioesterase enzyme, is vital for virulence of P. aeruginosa, making PqsE an attractive target for inhibition. Neither the substrate nor the product of PqsE catalysis has been identified. A library of 550 million DNA-encoded drug-like small molecules was screened for those that bind to the purified PqsE protein. The structures of the bound molecules were identified by high throughput sequencing of the attached DNA barcodes. Putative PqsE binders with the strongest affinity features were examined for inhibition of PqsE thioesterase activity in vitro. The most potent inhibitors were resynthesized off DNA and examined for the ability to alter PqsE thermal melting and for PqsE thioesterase inhibition. Here, we report the synthesis, biological activity, mechanism of action, and early structure-activity relationships of a series of 2-(phenylcarbamoyl)benzoic acids that noncompetitively inhibit PqsE. A small set of analogs designed to probe initial structure-activity relationships showed increases in potency relative to the original hits, the best of which has an IC₅₀ = 5 ?M. Compound refinement is required to assess their in vivo activities as the current compounds do not accumulate in the P. aeruginosa cytosol. Our strategy validates DNA-encoded compound library screening as a rapid and effective method to identify catalytic inhibitors of the PqsE protein, and more generally, for discovering binders to bacterial proteins revealed by genetic screening to have crucial in vivo activities but whose biological functions have not been well-defined.

SUBMITTER: Valastyan JS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7036018 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Discovery of PqsE Thioesterase Inhibitors for Pseudomonas aeruginosa Using DNA-Encoded Small Molecule Library Screening.

Valastyan Julie S JS Tota Michael R MR Taylor Isabelle R IR Stergioula Vasiliki V Hone Graham A B GAB Smith Chari D CD Henke Brad R BR Carson Kenneth G KG Bassler Bonnie L BL

ACS chemical biology 20200110 2

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections in the United States. PqsE, a thioesterase enzyme, is vital for virulence of P. aeruginosa, making PqsE an attractive target for inhibition. Neither the substrate nor the product of PqsE catalysis has been identified. A library of 550 million DNA-encoded drug-like small molecules was screened for those that bind to the purified PqsE protein. The structures of the bound molecules were identified by high throug ...[more]

PMID: 31880429

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Project description:The bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa has emerged as a central threat in health care settings and can cause a large variety of infections. It expresses an arsenal of virulence factors and a diversity of survival functions, many of which are finely and tightly regulated by an intricate circuitry of three quorum sensing (QS) systems. The las system is considered at the top of the QS hierarchy and activates the rhl and pqs systems. It is composed of the LasR transcriptional regulator and the LasI autoinducer synthase, which produces 3-oxo-C12-homoserine lactone (3-oxo-C12-HSL), the ligand of LasR. RhlR is the transcriptional regulator for the rhl system and is associated with RhlI, which produces its cognate autoinducer C4-HSL. The third QS system is composed of the pqsABCDE operon and the MvfR (PqsR) regulator. PqsABCD synthetize 4-hydroxy-2-alkylquinolines (HAQs), which include ligands activating MvfR. PqsE is not required for HAQ production and instead is associated with the expression of genes controlled by the rhl system. While RhlR is often considered the main regulator of rhlI, we confirmed that LasR is in fact the principal regulator of C4-HSL production and that RhlR regulates rhlI and production of C4-HSL essentially only in the absence of LasR by using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry quantifications and gene expression reporters. Investigating the expression of RhlR targets also clarified that activation of RhlR-dependent QS relies on PqsE, especially when LasR is not functional. This work positions RhlR as the key QS regulator and points to PqsE as an essential effector for full activation of this regulation.IMPORTANCE Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a versatile bacterium found in various environments. It can cause severe infections in immunocompromised patients and naturally resists many antibiotics. The World Health Organization listed it among the top priority pathogens for research and development of new antimicrobial compounds. Quorum sensing (QS) is a cell-cell communication mechanism, which is important for P. aeruginosa adaptation and pathogenesis. Here, we validate the central role of the PqsE protein in QS particularly by its impact on the regulator RhlR. This study challenges the traditional dogmas of QS regulation in P. aeruginosa and ties loose ends in our understanding of the traditional QS circuit by confirming RhlR to be the main QS regulator in P. aeruginosa PqsE could represent an ideal target for the development of new control methods against the virulence of P. aeruginosa This is especially important when considering that LasR-defective mutants frequently arise, e.g., in chronic infections.

Dataset Information

Discovery of PqsE Thioesterase Inhibitors for Pseudomonas aeruginosa Using DNA-Encoded Small Molecule Library Screening.

Publications

Discovery of PqsE Thioesterase Inhibitors for <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> Using DNA-Encoded Small Molecule Library Screening.

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