Searching for stimulators of the innate antiviral response is an appealing approach to develop novel therapeutics against viral infections. Here, we established a cell-based reporter assay to identify compounds stimulating expression of interferon-inducible antiviral genes. DD264 was selected out of 41,353 compounds for both its immuno-stimulatory and antiviral properties. While searching for its mode of action, we identified DD264 as an inhibitor of pyrimidine biosynthesis pathway. This metabolic pathway was recently identified as a prime target of broad-spectrum antiviral molecules, but our data unraveled a yet unsuspected link with innate immunity. Indeed, we showed that DD264 or brequinar, a well-known inhibitor of pyrimidine biosynthesis pathway, both enhanced the expression of antiviral genes in human cells. Furthermore, antiviral activity of DD264 or brequinar was found strictly dependent on cellular gene transcription, nuclear export machinery, and required IRF1 transcription factor. In conclusion, the antiviral property of pyrimidine biosynthesis inhibitors is not a direct consequence of pyrimidine deprivation on the virus machinery, but rather involves the induction of cellular immune response.

Reversible protein phosphorylation is a major regulation mechanism of fundamental biological processes, not only in eukaryotes but also in bacteria. A growing body of evidence suggests that Ser/Thr phosphorylation play important roles in the physiology and virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the etiological agent of tuberculosis. This pathogen uses 'eukaryotic-like' Ser/Thr protein kinases and phosphatases not only to regulate many intracellular metabolic processes, but also to interfere with signaling pathways of the infected host cell. Disrupting such processes by means of selective inhibitors may thus provide new pharmaceutical weapons to combat the disease. Here we review the current knowledge on Ser/Thr protein kinases and phosphatases in M. tuberculosis, their regulation mechanisms and putative substrates, and we explore their therapeutic potential as possible targets for the development of new anti-mycobacterial compounds.

Tuberculosis remains one of the world's deadliest human diseases, with a high prevalence of antibiotic-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strains. A molecular understanding of processes underlying regulation and adaptation of bacterial physiology may provide novel avenues for the development of antibiotics with unconventional modes of action. Here, we focus on the multidomain S/T protein kinase PknG, a soluble enzyme that controls central metabolism in Actinobacteria and has been linked to Mtb infectivity. Our biochemical and structural studies reveal how different motifs and domains flanking the catalytic core regulate substrate selectivity without significantly affecting the intrinsic kinase activity, whereas a rubredoxin-like domain is shown to downregulate catalysis through specific intramolecular interactions that modulate access to a profound substrate-binding site. Our findings provide the basis for the selective and specific inhibition of PknG, and open new questions about regulation of related bacterial and eukaryotic protein kinases.