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Antimicrobial and Antiviral Drugs Discovery
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Antimicrobial and Antiviral Drugs Discovery

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pharmacology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 14356

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Johannes Zuegg

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Community for Open Antimicrobial Drug Discovery, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
Interests: molecular bioscience; synthesis; antibacterial and antifungal

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Due to the increasing prevalence of life-threatening bacterial, fungal and viral infections, and the ability of these human pathogens to develop resistance to current treatment strategies, there is an urgent need for new antimicrobial compounds to combat the growing threat of widespread antibiotic resistance.

With the current inadequate drug pipeline, consisting mostly of derivatives of known antibiotics, new classes of antibiotics are urgently required. These molecules must have a low toxicity, specific activity and high bioavailability. We welcome advanced molecular biology and updated computer technology and various universal tools for our scientific community, including nanocarriers used to improve stability, bioavailability, cellular uptake/internalization, pharmacokinetic profile and reduce the toxicity of natural compounds, as well as the biological activity evaluations in silico or in vitro.

Dr. Johannes Zuegg
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • antimicrobial compounds
  • computer technology
  • bioinformatics
  • drug development
  • antiviral drugs
  • nanocarriers

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 5816 KiB  
Article
Sigma Receptor Ligands Prevent COVID Mortality In Vivo: Implications for Future Therapeutics
by Reed L. Berkowitz, Andrew P. Bluhm, Glenn W. Knox, Christopher R. McCurdy, David A. Ostrov and Michael H. Norris
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(21), 15718; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242115718 - 29 Oct 2023
Viewed by 2595
Abstract
The emergence of lethal coronaviruses follows a periodic pattern which suggests a recurring cycle of outbreaks. It remains uncertain as to when the next lethal coronavirus will emerge, though its eventual emergence appears to be inevitable. New mutations in evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants have [...] Read more.
The emergence of lethal coronaviruses follows a periodic pattern which suggests a recurring cycle of outbreaks. It remains uncertain as to when the next lethal coronavirus will emerge, though its eventual emergence appears to be inevitable. New mutations in evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants have provided resistance to current antiviral drugs, monoclonal antibodies, and vaccines, reducing their therapeutic efficacy. This underscores the urgent need to investigate alternative therapeutic approaches. Sigma receptors have been unexpectedly linked to the SARS-CoV-2 life cycle due to the direct antiviral effect of their ligands. Coronavirus-induced cell stress facilitates the formation of an ER-derived complex conducive to its replication. Sigma receptor ligands are believed to prevent the formation of this complex. Repurposing FDA-approved drugs for COVID-19 offers a timely and cost-efficient strategy to find treatments with established safety profiles. Notably, diphenhydramine, a sigma receptor ligand, is thought to counteract the virus by inhibiting the creation of ER-derived replication vesicles. Furthermore, lactoferrin, a well-characterized immunomodulatory protein, has shown antiviral efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 both in laboratory settings and in living organisms. In the present study, we aimed to explore the impact of sigma receptor ligands on SARS-CoV-2-induced mortality in ACE2-transgenic mice. We assessed the effects of an investigational antiviral drug combination comprising a sigma receptor ligand and an immunomodulatory protein. Mice treated with sigma-2 receptor ligands or diphenhydramine and lactoferrin exhibited improved survival rates and rapid rebound in mass following the SARS-CoV-2 challenge compared to mock-treated animals. Clinical translation of these findings may support the discovery of new treatment and research strategies for SARS-CoV-2. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial and Antiviral Drugs Discovery)
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17 pages, 7373 KiB  
Article
Immunomodulatory Effects of the Pea Defensin Psd1 in the Caco-2/Immune Cells Co-Culture upon Candida albicans Infection
by Ivan V. Bogdanov, Serafima I. Fateeva, Alexander D. Voropaev, Tatiana V. Ovchinnikova and Ekaterina I. Finkina
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(9), 7712; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24097712 - 23 Apr 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1912
Abstract
Candidiasis is one of the most common fungal diseases that can pose a threat to life in immunodeficient individuals, particularly in its disseminated form. Not only fungal invasion but also fatal infection-related inflammation are common causes of systemic candidiasis. In this study, we [...] Read more.
Candidiasis is one of the most common fungal diseases that can pose a threat to life in immunodeficient individuals, particularly in its disseminated form. Not only fungal invasion but also fatal infection-related inflammation are common causes of systemic candidiasis. In this study, we investigated in vitro immunomodulatory properties of the antifungal pea defensin Psd1 upon Candida albicans infection. Using the real-time PCR, we showed that Psd1 inhibited the antimicrobial peptide HBD-2 and pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1 and IL-8 downregulation at mRNA level in epithelium cells caused by C. albicans infection. By using the Caco-2/immune cells co-culture upon C. albicans infection and the multiplex xMAP assay, we demonstrated that this pathogenic fungus induced a pronounced host defense response; however, the cytokine responses were different in the presence of dendritic cells or monocytes. We revealed that Psd1 at a low concentration (2 µM) had a pronounced immunomodulatory effect on the Caco-2/immune cells co-culture upon fungal infection. Thus, we hypothesized that the pea defensin Psd1 might be an effective agent in the treatment of candidiasis not only due to its antifungal activity, but also owing to its ability to modulate a protective immune response upon infection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial and Antiviral Drugs Discovery)
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21 pages, 2532 KiB  
Article
Influence of Lipidation Pattern of the KR12 Fragment of Peptide LL-37 on Its Antibacterial and Hemolytic Activities
by Elżbieta Kamysz, Emilia Sikorska, Marta Bauer, Karol Sikora and Damian Neubauer
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(6), 5505; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24065505 - 13 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1648
Abstract
Contemporary medicine has been confronted by multidrug resistance. Therefore, new antibiotics are sought to alleviate the problem. In this study, we estimated the effect of the positioning and extent of lipidation (mainly octanoic acid residue) in the KR12-NH2 molecule on antibacterial and [...] Read more.
Contemporary medicine has been confronted by multidrug resistance. Therefore, new antibiotics are sought to alleviate the problem. In this study, we estimated the effect of the positioning and extent of lipidation (mainly octanoic acid residue) in the KR12-NH2 molecule on antibacterial and hemolytic activities. The effect of the conjugation of benzoic acid derivatives (C6H5-X-COOH, where X: CH2, CH2-CH2, CH=CH, C≡C, and CH2-CH2-CH2) with the N-terminal part of KR12-NH2 on biological activity was also studied. All analogs were tested against planktonic cells of ESKAPE bacteria and reference strains of Staphylococcus aureus. The effect of lipidation site on the helicity of the KR12-NH2 analogs was studied using CD spectroscopy. The ability of the selected peptides to induce the aggregation of POPG liposomes was evaluated with DLS measurements. We demonstrated that both the site and extent of peptide lipidation play an essential role in the bacterial specificity of the lipopeptides. Most of the C8α-KR12-NH2 (II) analogs that were more hydrophobic than the parent compound were also more hemolytic. A similar relationship was also found between the α-helical structure content in POPC and hemolytic activity. It is worth emphasizing that in our study, the highest selectivity against S. aureus strains with an SI value of at least 21.11 exhibited peptide XII obtained by the conjugation of the octanoic acid with the N-terminus of retro-KR12-NH2. All lipidated analogs with the highest net charge (+5) were the most selective toward pathogens. Therefore, the overall charge of KR12-NH2 analogs plays pivotal role in their biological activity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial and Antiviral Drugs Discovery)
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22 pages, 1951 KiB  
Article
Salvia sclarea Essential Oil Chemical Composition and Biological Activities
by Miroslava Kačániová, Nenad L. Vukovic, Natália Čmiková, Lucia Galovičová, Marianna Schwarzová, Veronika Šimora, Przemysław Łukasz Kowalczewski, Maciej Ireneusz Kluz, Czeslaw Puchalski, Ladislav Bakay and Milena D. Vukic
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(6), 5179; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24065179 - 8 Mar 2023
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3122
Abstract
Salvia sclarea essential oil (SSEO) has a long tradition in the food, cosmetic, and perfume industries. The present study aimed to analyze the chemical composition of SSEO, its antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity in vitro and in situ, antibiofilm, and insecticidal activity. Besides that, [...] Read more.
Salvia sclarea essential oil (SSEO) has a long tradition in the food, cosmetic, and perfume industries. The present study aimed to analyze the chemical composition of SSEO, its antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity in vitro and in situ, antibiofilm, and insecticidal activity. Besides that, in this study, we have evaluated the antimicrobial activity of SSEO constituent (E)-caryophyllene and standard antibiotic meropenem. Identification of volatile constituents was performed by using gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) techniques. Results obtained indicated that the main constituents of SSEO were linalool acetate (49.1%) and linalool (20.6%), followed by (E)-caryophyllene (5.1%), p-cimene (4.9%), a-terpineol (4.9%), and geranyl acetate (4.4%). Antioxidant activity was determined as low by the means of neutralization of the DDPH radical and ABTS radical cation. The SSEO was able to neutralize the DPPH radical to an extent of 11.76 ± 1.34%, while its ability to decolorize the ABTS radical cation was determined at 29.70 ± 1.45%. Preliminary results of antimicrobial activity were obtained with the disc diffusion method, while further results were obtained by broth microdilution and the vapor phase method. Overall, the results of antimicrobial testing of SSEO, (E)-caryophyllene, and meropenem, were moderate. However, the lowest MIC values, determined in the range of 0.22–0.75 µg/mL for MIC50 and 0.39–0.89 µg/mL for MIC90, were observed for (E)-caryophyllene. The antimicrobial activity of the vapor phase of SSEO (towards microorganisms growing on potato) was significantly stronger than that of the contact application. Biofilm analysis using the MALDI TOF MS Biotyper showed changes in the protein profile of Pseudomonas fluorescens that showed the efficiency of SSEO in inhibiting biofilm formation on stainless-steel and plastic surfaces. The insecticidal potential of SSEO against Oxycarenus lavatera was also demonstrated, and results show that the highest concentration was the most effective, showing insecticidal activity of 66.66%. The results obtained in this study indicate the potential application of SSEO as a biofilm control agent, in the shelf-life extension and storage of potatoes, and as an insecticidal agent. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial and Antiviral Drugs Discovery)
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22 pages, 6013 KiB  
Article
Lipidation of Naturally Occurring α-Helical Antimicrobial Peptides as a Promising Strategy for Drug Design
by Marta Makowska, Paulina Kosikowska-Adamus, Magdalena Zdrowowicz, Dariusz Wyrzykowski, Adam Prahl and Emilia Sikorska
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(4), 3951; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24043951 - 16 Feb 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2167
Abstract
In this paper, we describe the chemical synthesis, preliminary evaluation of antimicrobial properties and mechanisms of action of a novel group of lipidated derivatives of three naturally occurring α-helical antimicrobial peptides, LL-I (VNWKKVLGKIIKVAK-NH2), LK6 (IKKILSKILLKKL-NH2), ATRA-1 (KRFKKFFKKLK-NH2). [...] Read more.
In this paper, we describe the chemical synthesis, preliminary evaluation of antimicrobial properties and mechanisms of action of a novel group of lipidated derivatives of three naturally occurring α-helical antimicrobial peptides, LL-I (VNWKKVLGKIIKVAK-NH2), LK6 (IKKILSKILLKKL-NH2), ATRA-1 (KRFKKFFKKLK-NH2). The obtained results showed that biological properties of the final compounds were defined both by the length of the fatty acid and by the structural and physico-chemical properties of the initial peptide. We consider C8–C12 length of the hydrocarbon chain as the optimal for antimicrobial activity improvement. However, the most active analogues exerted relatively high cytotoxicity toward keratinocytes, with the exception of the ATRA-1 derivatives, which had a higher selectivity for microbial cells. The ATRA-1 derivatives had relatively low cytotoxicity against healthy human keratinocytes but high cytotoxicity against human breast cancer cells. Taking into account that ATRA-1 analogues carry the highest positive net charge, it can be assumed that this feature contributes to cell selectivity. As expected, the studied lipopeptides showed a strong tendency to self-assembly into fibrils and/or elongated and spherical micelles, with the least cytotoxic ATRA-1 derivatives forming apparently smaller assemblies. The results of the study also confirmed that the bacterial cell membrane is the target for the studied compounds. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial and Antiviral Drugs Discovery)
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Review

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34 pages, 4294 KiB  
Review
Epoxide-Based Synthetic Approaches toward Polypropionates and Related Bioactive Natural Products
by Raúl R. Rodríguez-Berríos, Stephen R. Isbel and Alejandro Bugarin
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(7), 6195; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24076195 - 24 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2321
Abstract
Polypropionate units are a common structural feature of many of the natural products in polyketides, some of which have shown a broad range of antimicrobial and therapeutic potential. Polypropionates are composed of a carbon skeleton with alternating methyl and hydroxy groups with a [...] Read more.
Polypropionate units are a common structural feature of many of the natural products in polyketides, some of which have shown a broad range of antimicrobial and therapeutic potential. Polypropionates are composed of a carbon skeleton with alternating methyl and hydroxy groups with a specific configuration. Different approaches have been developed for the synthesis of polypropionates and herein we include, for the first time, all of the epoxide-based methodologies that have been reported over the years by several research groups such as Kishi, Katsuki, Marashall, Miyashita, Prieto, Sarabia, Jung, McDonald, etc. Several syntheses of polypropionate fragments and natural products that employed epoxides as key intermediates have been described and summarized in this review. These synthetic approaches involve enatio- and diastereoselective synthesis of epoxides (epoxy-alcohols, epoxy-amides, and epoxy-esters) and their regioselective cleavage with carbon and/or hydride nucleophiles. In addition, we included a description of the isolation and biological activities of the polypropionates and related natural products that have been synthetized using epoxide-based approaches. In conclusion, the epoxide-based methodologies are a non-aldol alternative approach for the construction of polypropionate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial and Antiviral Drugs Discovery)
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