Discovery of novel 1,4-dicarbonylthiosemicarbazides as DNA gyrase inhibitors for the treatment of MRSA infection

Abstract

AbstractAntibiotic resistance has become a serious threat to public health, thus novel antibiotics are urgently needed to combat drug-resistant bacteria including MRSA (methicillin-resistantS. aureus). The 1,4-dicarbonylthiosemicarbazide is an interesting chemotype that could exhibit antibacterial activity. However, the currently available compounds are not as potent as clinical antibiotics. Herein, we adopted the computer-aided drug design strategy, substructure search, to retrieve antibacterial 1,4-dicarbonylthiosemicarbazide derivatives, and identified compoundB5(Specs ID: AG-690/15432331) from the Specs chemical library that exhibited moderate activity (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC): 6.25 µg/mL) againstS. aureus(ATCC 29213). Based on that compound, we further designed and synthesized 45 derivatives, and evaluated their antibacterial activity. Eight derivatives were more potent than or equivalent to vancomycin (MIC: 1.56 µg/mL). We compared the three most potent ones for their cytotoxicity to HepG2 and HUVEC cells and selected compound1bas our lead compound for comprehensive biological evaluation. As a result, compound1bexhibited a bacteriostatic mode, and was active against a panel of gram-positive bacteria strains, metabolically stable, and effective to protect the mice from MRSA infection. More importantly, we applied 2D similarity calculation and reverse docking to predict potential targets of compound1b. Through experimental validation and molecular dynamics simulation, we were able to confirm that compound1binhibitedS. aureusDNA gyrase (IC50: 1.81 µM) and DNA supercoiling, potentially by binding to the ATPase domain, where ASP81, GLU58 and GLN91 formed key hydrogen bonds. Taken together, we have discovered a new class of DNA gyrase inhibitors represented by compound1bfor the treatment of MRSA infection, through the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel 1,4-dicarbonylthiosemicarbazides.Graphic AbstractHighlightsAn interesting 1,4-dicarbonylthiosemicarbazide derivativeB5with moderate antibacterial activity forS. aureuswas discovered by substructure search.Based onB5, 45 new 1,4-dicarbonylthiosemicarbazides were designed, synthesized and biologically evaluated, which led to the discovery of a promising lead compound1b.Compound1bexhibited good antibacterial activity for a panel of gram-positive bacteria strains, and was effective to protect mice from MRSA infection.The 1,4-dicarbonylthiosemicarbazides represented by compound1bwere discovered as a new class of DNA gyrase inhibitors, by target prediction and experimental validation.