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Martin, James K; Sheehan, Joseph P; Bratton, Benjamin P; Moore, Gabriel M; Mateus, André; Li, Sophia Hsin-Jung; Kim, Hahn; Rabinowitz, Joshua D; Typas, Athanasios; Savitski, Mikhail M; Wilson, Maxwell Z; Gitai, Zemer
Abstract:
The rise of antibiotic resistance and declining discovery of new antibiotics have created a global health crisis. Of particular concern, no new antibiotic classes have been approved for treating Gram-negative pathogens in decades. Here, we characterize a compound, SCH-79797, that kills both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria through a unique dual-targeting mechanism of action (MoA) with undetectably-low resistance frequencies. To characterize its MoA, we combined quantitative imaging, proteomic, genetic, metabolomic, and cell-based assays. This pipeline demonstrates that SCH-79797 has two independent cellular targets, folate metabolism and bacterial membrane integrity, and outperforms combination treatments in killing MRSA persisters. Building on the molecular core of SCH-79797, we developed a derivative, Irresistin-16, with increased potency and showed its efficacy against Neisseria gonorrheae in a mouse vaginal infection model. This promising antibiotic lead suggests that combining multiple MoAs onto a single chemical scaffold may be an underappreciated approach to targeting challenging bacterial pathogens.
