Issue Date: September 30, 2013
Despite an arsenal of antibiotics, tuberculosis still kills more than 1 million people annually as it continually evolves resistance to the latest drugs. Now, researchers have identified a set of cyclic ester compounds known as β-lactones that show promise against Mycobacterium tuberculosis by targeting an enzyme it needs to survive but that current drugs don’t attack (ACS Chem. Biol. 2013, DOI: 10.1021/cb400577b). Corey L. Compton and Jason K. Sello of Brown University and colleagues tested 14 β-lactones on a nonpathogenic close relative of M. tuberculosis; four of them curbed bacterial growth. The team’s additional study on the two most potent compounds showed that they also inhibited the growth of M. tuberculosis. The researchers deduced through enzymatic assays that the new β-lactones probably work by reacting with ClpP, a TB enzyme that degrades and eliminates damaged or unneeded bacterial proteins. The most effective compound (shown) had potency similar to streptomycin, an antibiotic used to treat TB. The researchers believe the β-lactone’s potency stems from an aromatic benzyl group attached to the compound’s α-carbon. Although the β-lactone hasn’t been tested in animals, the researchers say the findings show ClpP’s viability as a target for developing drugs.
- Chemical & Engineering News
- ISSN 0009-2347
- Copyright © American Chemical Society