7l7c

Publication Abstract from PubMed

Bacterial thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase DsbA is essential for bacterial virulence factor assembly and has been identified as a viable antivirulence target. Herein, we report a structure-based elaboration of a benzofuran hit that bound to the active site groove of Escherichia coli DsbA. Substituted phenyl groups were installed at the 5- and 6-position of the benzofuran using Suzuki-Miyaura coupling. HSQC NMR titration experiments showed dissociation constants of this series in the high microM to low mM range and X-ray crystallography produced three co-structures, showing binding in the hydrophobic groove, comparable with that of the previously reported benzofurans. The 6-(m-methoxy)phenyl analogue (2b), which showed a promising binding pose, was chosen for elaboration from the C-2 position. The 2,6-disubstituted analogues bound to the hydrophobic region of the binding groove and the C-2 groups extended into the more polar, previously un-probed, region of the binding groove. Biochemical analysis of the 2,6-disubsituted analogues showed they inhibited DsbA oxidation activity in vitro. The results indicate the potential to develop the elaborated benzofuran series into a novel class of antivirulence compounds.

Elaboration of a benzofuran scaffold and evaluation of binding affinity and inhibition of Escherichia coli DsbA: A fragment-based drug design approach to novel antivirulence compounds.,Duncan LF, Wang G, Ilyichova OV, Dhouib R, Totsika M, Scanlon MJ, Heras B, Abbott BM Bioorg Med Chem. 2021 Jul 22;45:116315. doi: 10.1016/j.bmc.2021.116315. PMID:34364222^[3]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.