1-(1-naphthylmethyl)piperazine and 2-naphthylamide

Multidrug efflux protein complexes such as AcrAB-TolC from Escherichia coli are paramount in multidrug resistance in Gram-negative bacteria and are also implicated in other processes such as virulence and biofilm formation. Hence efflux pump inhibition, as a means to reverse antimicrobial resistance in clinically relevant pathogens, has gained increased momentum over the past two decades. Significant advances in the structural and functional analysis of AcrB have informed the selection of efflux pump inhibitors (EPIs). However, an accurate method to determine the kinetics of efflux pump inhibition was lacking. In this study we standardised and optimised surface plasmon resonance (SPR) to probe the binding kinetics of substrates and inhibitors to AcrB. The SPR method was also combined with a fluorescence drug binding method by which affinity of two fluorescent AcrB substrates were determined using the same conditions and controls as for SPR. Comparison of the results from the fluorescent assay to those of the SPR assay showed excellent correlation and provided validation for the methods and conditions used for SPR. The kinetic parameters of substrate (doxorubicin, novobiocin and minocycline) binding to AcrB were subsequently determined. Lastly, the kinetics of inhibition of AcrB were probed for two established inhibitors (phenylalanine arginyl β-naphthylamide and 1-1-naphthylmethyl-piperazine) and three novel EPIs: 4-isobutoxy-2-naphthamide (A2), 4-isopentyloxy-2-naphthamide (A3) and 4-benzyloxy-2-naphthamide (A9) have also been probed. The kinetic data obtained could be correlated with inhibitor efficacy and mechanism of action. This study is the first step in the quantitative analysis of the kinetics of inhibition of the clinically important RND-class of multidrug efflux pumps and will allow the design of improved and more potent inhibitors of drug efflux pumps. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Beyond the Structure-Function Horizon of Membrane Proteins edited by Ute Hellmich, Rupak Doshi and Benjamin McIlwain.

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; Dipeptides; Doxorubicin; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli Proteins; Kinetics; Minocycline; Molecular Structure; Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins; Naphthalenes; Novobiocin; Piperazines; Protein Binding; Surface Plasmon Resonance

Active efflux has an important role in the antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli. The effects of two putative efflux pump inhibitors (EPIs), phenylalanine-arginine β-naphthylamide and 1-(1-naphthylmethyl)-piperazine, and the effects of inactivation of the cmeB,cmeF and cmeR genes on resistance to a broad range of antimicrobials were studied using the broth microdilution method. The antimicrobials tested in C. jejuni and C. coli were the biocides triclosan, benzalkonium chloride, chlorhexidine diacetate, cetylpyridinium chloride and trisodium phosphate, along with the anionic surfactant SDS and the antibiotics erythromycin and ciprofloxacin. Both EPIs partially reversed the resistance to all of these antimicrobials. Differences between these EPIs were seen for substrate preference and reductions in MIC. The MICs of the antimicrobials were reduced in the cmeB and cmeF mutants and increased in the cmeR mutant, with few exceptions. Both of these putative EPIs further decreased the MICs of the antimicrobials in these mutant strains. These data confirm that active efflux is an important mechanism in biocide resistance in C. jejuni and C. coli. At least one non-CmeABC efflux system or reduced uptake is responsible for resistance to biocides.

Topics: Animals; Biological Transport, Active; Campylobacter coli; Campylobacter Infections; Campylobacter jejuni; Disinfectants; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Environmental Microbiology; Enzyme Inhibitors; Gene Deletion; Humans; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Naphthalenes; Piperazines