Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is a Gram positive, anaerobic bacterium that infects the lumen of the large intestine and produces toxins. This results in a range of syndromes from mild diarrhea to severe toxic megacolon and death. Alarmingly, the prevalence and severity of C. difficile infection are increasing; thus, associated morbidity and mortality rates are rising. 4-Aminothiazolyl analogues of the antibiotic natural product GE2270 A (1) were designed, synthesized, and optimized for the treatment of C. difficile infection. The medicinal chemistry effort focused on enhancing aqueous solubility relative to that of the natural product and previous development candidates (2, 3) and improving antibacterial activity. Structure-activity relationships, cocrystallographic interactions, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy in animal models of infection were characterized. These studies identified a series of dicarboxylic acid derivatives, which enhanced solubility/efficacy profile by several orders of magnitude compared to previously studied compounds and led to the selection of LFF571 (4) as an investigational new drug for treating C. difficile infection.

Argyrins, produced by myxobacteria and actinomycetes, are cyclic octapeptides with antibacterial and antitumor activity. Here, we identify elongation factor G (EF-G) as the cellular target of argyrin B in bacteria, via resistant mutant selection and whole genome sequencing, biophysical binding studies and crystallography. Argyrin B binds a novel allosteric pocket in EF-G, distinct from the known EF-G inhibitor antibiotic fusidic acid, revealing a new mode of protein synthesis inhibition. In eukaryotic cells, argyrin B was found to target mitochondrial elongation factor G1 (EF-G1), the closest homologue of bacterial EF-G. By blocking mitochondrial translation, argyrin B depletes electron transport components and inhibits the growth of yeast and tumor cells. Further supporting direct inhibition of EF-G1, expression of an argyrin B-binding deficient EF-G1 L693Q variant partially rescued argyrin B-sensitivity in tumor cells. In summary, we show that argyrin B is an antibacterial and cytotoxic agent that inhibits the evolutionarily conserved target EF-G, blocking protein synthesis in bacteria and mitochondrial translation in yeast and mammalian cells.

4-Aminothiazolyl analogues of the antibiotic natural product GE2270 A (1) were designed, synthesized, and optimized for their activity against Gram positive bacterial infections. Optimization efforts focused on improving the physicochemical properties (e.g., aqueous solubility and chemical stability) of the 4-aminothiazolyl natural product template while improving the in vitro and in vivo antibacterial activity. Structure-activity relationships were defined, and the solubility and efficacy profiles were improved over those of previous analogues and 1. These studies identified novel, potent, soluble, and efficacious elongation factor-Tu inhibitors, which bear cycloalkylcarboxylic acid side chains, and culminated in the selection of development candidates amide 48 and urethane 58.

Synthetic studies of the antimicrobial secondary metabolite thiomuracin A (1) were initiated to improve chemical stability and physicochemical properties. Functional group modifications of 1 included removing the C2-C7 side chain, derivatizing the C84 epoxide region, and altering the C44 hydroxyphenylalanine motif. The resulting derivatives simplified and stabilized the chemical structure and were evaluated for antibacterial activity relative to 1. The simplified structure and improved organic solubility of the derivatives facilitated isolation yields from fermentation broths and simplified the procedures involved for the process. These advancements increased material supply for continued medicinal chemistry optimization and culminated in the identification of 2, a structurally simplified and chemically stable analogue of 1 which retained potent antibiotic activity.

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