A team of investigators will develop and implement a novel, cell-based assay to discover small molecules that disrupt the attachment of virulence factors to the Gram-positive bacterial cell wall. The assay will be used to discover protein display inhibitors that target Staphylococcus aureus, a leading cause of lethal hospital- and community-acquired infections in the United States. During infections, S. aureus uses surface-attached virulence factors to adhere to specific organ tissues, resist phagocytosis, and acquire essential nutrients. These proteins are attached to the cell surface by the sortase A (SrtA) enzyme, which catalyzes a transpeptidation reaction that joins surface proteins to the cell wall. Small molecules that inhibit the enzymatic activity of SrtA could serve as powerful anti-infective agents by rendering S. aureus defenseless against the immune response. Moreover, these molecules could have broad-spectrum activity against other Gram-positive pathogens, which also rely on sortase enzymes to display virulence factors. All previously reported high- throughput screening (HTS) efforts to discover a SrtA inhibitor have employed an in vitro assay in which the enzyme exhibits limited enzymatic activity presumably because it is removed from its natural context on the cell surface where it normally associates with components of the protein secretion and cell wall synthesis machinery. As a result, most previously described SrtA inhibitors are ineffective at limiting protein display in intact cells and have, therefore, not entered clinical development. To overcome this problem, we will develop a robust, cell-based assay for HTS. The assay exploits the recently discovered growth dependence of Actinomyces oris on the activity of its SrtA enzyme, which enables sortase-specific protein display inhibitors to be identified by comparing the growth effects of small molecules on wild-type and ?srtA bacterial strains. This robust phenotype is much better suited for HTS as compared to existing low-throughput approaches that monitor SrtA activity indirectly by tracking the appearance of SrtA-attached surface proteins. The results from a preliminary pilot screen using 384-well plates and validation experiments indicate that the new cell-based assay detects S. aureus SrtA inhibitors. The approach promises to uncover potent surface display inhibitors with novel molecular scaffolds that are uniquely suited for traversing the cell wall and inhibiting SrtA enzymes located in the cell membrane.

Public Health Relevance

Infections caused by community and hospital-acquired methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are a threat to public health in the United States. We will develop a novel cell- based assay to discover small molecules that can be used to treat infections by this bacterial pathogen.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01AI121360-01A1
Application #
9175757
Study Section
Drug Discovery and Mechanisms of Antimicrobial Resistance Study Section (DDR)
Program Officer
Huntley, Clayton C
Project Start
2016-05-10
Project End
2019-04-30
Budget Start
2016-05-10
Budget End
2017-04-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Los Angeles
Department
Chemistry
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
092530369
City
Los Angeles
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90095