Total and Semisyntheses of Polymyxin Analogues with 2-Thr or 10-Thr Modifications to Decipher the Structure-Activity Relationship and Improve the Antibacterial Activity

J Med Chem. 2021 May 13;64(9):5746-5765. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c02217. Epub 2021 Apr 28.

Abstract

Herein, we report the total and semisyntheses of a series of polymyxin analogues with 2-Thr and 10-Thr modifications to reveal the structure-activity relationship (SAR), which has not been fully elucidated previously. We employed two total-synthetic strategies to facilitate the diversified replacements on 2-Thr or 10-Thr, respectively. Moreover, semisynthetic approaches were utilized to achieve selective esterification of 2-Thr or dual esterification of both 2- and 10-Thr. Based on the results of in vitro antibacterial assays, SAR analysis implicated that the replacement of 2-/10-Thr with amino acids carrying hydrophobic side chains can maintain the activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa but had varied effects on other tested Gram-negative bacteria. The aminoacetyl esterification on 2-/10-Thr achieved excellent antibacterial activity, and the compound 76 exhibited 2-8-fold higher activity against different strains and lower toxicity toward the HK-2 cell line. This work explored the SAR of polymyxin 2-/10-Thr and provided a promising strategy for the development of novel polymyxin derivatives.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / chemical synthesis*
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Cell Line
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Drug Design
  • Esterification
  • Gram-Negative Bacteria / drug effects
  • Gram-Positive Bacteria / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Polymyxins / analogs & derivatives*
  • Polymyxins / pharmacology
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / drug effects
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Threonine / chemistry

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Polymyxins
  • Threonine