Chemical biology investigation of a triple-action,smart-decomposition antimicrobial booster based-combination therapy against“ESKAPE”pathogens

The global antibiotic resistance crisis necessitates urgent solutions.One innovative approach involves potentiating antibiotics and non-antibiotic drugs with adjuvants or boosters.A major drawback of these membrane-active boosters is their limited biocompatibility,as they struggle to differentiate between prokaryotic and eukaryotic membranes.This study reports the chemical biology investigation of a dual-action oligoamidine(OA1)booster with a glutathione-triggered decomposition mechanism.OA1,when combined with other antimicrobial molecules,exhibits a triple-targeting mechanism including cell membrane disruption,DNA targeting,and intracellular enzyme inhibition.This multi-targeting mechanism not only enhances the in vitro and in vivo eradication of antibiotic-resistant“ESKAPE”pathogens,but also suppresses the development of bacterial resistance.Furthermore,OA1 maintains its activity in bacterial cells by creating an oxidative environment,while it quickly decomposes in mammalian cells due to high glutathione levels.These mechanistic insights and design principles may provide a feasible approach to develop novel antimicrobial agents and effective anti-resistance combination therapies.

Multivalent Display of Lipophilic DNA Binders for Dual-Selective Anti-Mycobacterium Peptidomimetics with Binary Mechanism of Action

We made oligoamidine-based peptidomimetics highly specific for mycobacteria eradication by introducing and arraying lipophilic DNA binding motifs on macromolecular backbones.The short poly(amidino-phenylindole)(PAPI)structures feature an alternating amphiphilic structure with cationic,lipophilic DNA-binding moieties,enabling fast and selective eradication of mycobacteria through binary,membrane-and DNA-selective mechanisms of action.More importantly,PAPIs address the primary treatment challenge by combating mycobacteria in eukaryotic cells and working as a sensitizer for conventional antibiotics,in bothways promoting more thorough removal of pathogens and reducing the mycobacteria’s resistance generation rate during treatment.Structural optimizationwas achieved to counter specific pathogens,including Mycobacterium tuberculosis,in the Mycobacterium genus.One of the hit peptidomimetics was evaluated in a zebrafish-based aquatic infection model using Mycobacterium fortuitum and a mice tail infection model using Mycobacterium marinum,both revealing excellent in vivo performance.