Here we show that a new class of antibiotics-acyldepsipeptides-has antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria in vitro and in several rodent models of bacterial infection. The acyldepsipeptides are active against isolates that are resistant to antibiotics in clinical application, implying a new target, which we identify as ClpP, the core unit of a major bacterial protease complex. ClpP is usually tightly regulated and strictly requires a member of the family of Clp-ATPases and often further accessory proteins for proteolytic activation. Binding of acyldepsipeptides to ClpP eliminates these safeguards. The acyldepsipeptide-activated ClpP core is capable of proteolytic degradation in the absence of the regulatory Clp-ATPases. Such uncontrolled proteolysis leads to inhibition of bacterial cell division and eventually cell death.

To create a drug, nature's blueprints often have to be improved through semisynthesis or total synthesis (chemical postevolution). Selected contributions from industrial and academic groups highlight the arduous but rewarding path from natural products to drugs. Principle modification types for natural products are discussed herein, such as decoration, substitution, and degradation. The biological, chemical, and socioeconomic environments of antibacterial research are dealt with in context. Natural products, many from soil organisms, have provided the majority of lead structures for marketed anti-infectives. Surprisingly, numerous "old" classes of antibacterial natural products have never been intensively explored by medicinal chemists. Nevertheless, research on antibacterial natural products is flagging. Apparently, the "old fashioned" natural products no longer fit into modern drug discovery. The handling of natural products is cumbersome, requiring nonstandardized workflows and extended timelines. Revisiting natural products with modern chemistry and target-finding tools from biology (reversed genomics) is one option for their revival.

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Summary The Clp protease complex in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is unusual in its composition, functional importance, and activation mechanism. While most bacterial species contain a single ClpP protein that is dispensable for normal growth, mycobacteria have two ClpPs, ClpP1 and ClpP2, which are essential for viability and together form the ClpP1P2 tetradecamer. Acyldepsipeptide antibiotics of the ADEP class inhibit the growth of Gram-positive firmicutes by activating ClpP and causing unregulated protein degradation. Here we show that, in contrast, mycobacteria are killed by ADEP through inhibition of ClpP function. Although ADEPs can stimulate purified M. tuberculosis ClpP1P2 to degrade larger peptides and unstructured proteins, this effect is weaker than for ClpP from other bacteria and depends on the presence of an additional activating factor (e.g. the dipeptide benzyloxycarbonyl-leucyl-leucine in vitro) to form the active ClpP1P2 tetradecamer. The cell division protein FtsZ, which is a particularly sensitive target for ADEP-activated ClpP in firmicutes, is not degraded in mycobacteria. Depletion of the ClpP1P2 level in a conditional Mycobacterium bovis BCG mutant enhanced killing by ADEP unlike in other bacteria. In summary, ADEPs kill mycobacteria by preventing interaction of ClpP1P2 with the regulatory ATPases, ClpX or ClpC1, thus inhibiting essential ATP-dependent protein degradation.

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Zur Entwicklung von Medikamenten müssen die Strukturvorlagen aus der Natur oft durch Semisynthese oder Totalsynthese verbessert werden (chemische Post‐Evolution). Der Weg vom Naturstoff zum Arzneimittel ist mühsam aber lohnenswert. Die grundlegenden Typen der chemischen Naturstoffmodifikation – Dekoration, Substitution und Abbau – werden hier besprochen, und das biologische, chemische und sozioökonomische Umfeld antibakterieller Forschung wird betrachtet. Naturstoffe waren und bleiben die ergiebigste Leitstrukturquelle für vermarktete Antiinfektiva, und obwohl viele lange bekannte Klassen nie grundlegend erforscht worden sind, erlahmen die industrielle wie die akademische Forschung auf diesem Gebiet – die “altmodischen” Naturstoffe scheinen nicht mehr ins Bild der modernen Wirkstoff‐Forschung zu passen, ihre Handhabung ist aufwändig und erfordert oft nichtstandardisierte Prozesse und längere Bearbeitungszeiten. Eine Neubetrachtung von Naturstoffen mit Methoden der modernen Chemie und Biologie (Reversed Genomics) könnte ihre Renaissance in der Arzneimittelforschung einleiten.

The need for in silico characterization of HTS hit structures as part of a data-driven hit-selection process is demonstrated. A solution is described in the form of an in silico ADMET traffic light and PhysChem scoring system. This has been extensively validated with in-house data at Bayer, published data, and a collection of launched small-molecule oral drugs.

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