Molecular mechanism of vSGLT inhibition by gneyulin reveals antiseptic properties against multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria

Abstract

Faced with the worldwide spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial strains, together with a lack of any appropriate treatment, urgent steps to combat infectious diseases should be taken. Usually, bacterial components are studied to understand, by analogy, the functioning of human proteins. However, molecular data from bacteria gathered over the past decades provide a sound basis for the search for novel approaches in medical care. With this current work, we want to direct attention to inhibition of the vSGLT glucose transporter from Vibrio parahaemolyticus belonging to the sodium solute symporter (SSS) family, to block sugar transport into the bacterial cell and, as a consequence, to limit its growth. Potential bacteriostatic properties can be drawn from commercially available drugs developed for human diseases. This goal can also be reached with natural components from traditional herbal medicine. The presented data from the numerical analysis of 44 known inhibitors of sodium glucose symporters shed light on potential novel approaches in fighting Gram-negative multidrug-resistant microorganisms.

Prokaryotic Solute/Sodium Symporters: Versatile Functions and Mechanisms of a Transporter Family

“…Whether this and other related proteins indeed catalyze the sodium-coupled uptake of the respective monosaccharide still has to be tested biochemically. In any case, in the fight against bacterial multidrug resistance, vSGLT was recently discussed to represent a drug target [68].…”