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Proceedings of the National Academy of... Dec 2023Natural products that possess antibiotic and antitumor qualities are often suspected of working through oxidative mechanisms. In this study, two quinone-based small...
Natural products that possess antibiotic and antitumor qualities are often suspected of working through oxidative mechanisms. In this study, two quinone-based small molecules were compared. Menadione, a classic redox-cycling compound, was confirmed to generate high levels of reactive oxygen species inside . It inactivated iron-cofactored enzymes and blocked growth. However, despite the substantial levels of oxidants that it produced, it was unable to generate significant DNA damage and was not lethal. Streptonigrin, in contrast, was poorer at redox cycling and did not inactivate enzymes or block growth; however, even in low doses, it damaged DNA and killed cells. Its activity required iron and oxygen, and in vitro experiments indicated that its quinone moiety transferred electrons through the adjacent iron atom to oxygen. Additionally, in vitro experiments revealed that streptonigrin was able to damage DNA without inhibition by catalase, indicating that hydrogen peroxide was not involved. We infer that streptonigrin can reduce bound oxygen directly to a ferryl species, which then oxidizes the adjacent DNA, without release of superoxide or hydrogen peroxide intermediates. This scheme allows streptonigrin to kill a bacterial cell without interference by scavenging enzymes. Moreover, its minimal redox-cycling behavior avoids alerting either the OxyR or the SoxRS systems, which otherwise would block killing. This example highlights qualities that may be important in the design of oxidative drugs. These results also cast doubt on proposals that bacteria can be killed by stressors that merely stimulate intracellular O and HO formation.
Topics: Oxidants; Hydrogen Peroxide; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Streptonigrin; Oxidative Stress; Escherichia coli; Oxygen; Iron; DNA; Quinones
PubMed: 38109539
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2312110120 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Jul 2023This review uses the National Cancer Institute (NCI) COMPARE program to establish an extensive list of heterocyclic iminoquinones and quinones with similarities in... (Review)
Review
This review uses the National Cancer Institute (NCI) COMPARE program to establish an extensive list of heterocyclic iminoquinones and quinones with similarities in differential growth inhibition patterns across the 60-cell line panel of the NCI Developmental Therapeutics Program (DTP). Many natural products and synthetic analogues are revealed as potential NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) substrates, through correlations to dipyridoimidazo[5,4-]benzimidazoleiminoquinone (DPIQ), and as potential thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) inhibitors, through correlations to benzo[1,2,4]triazin-7-ones and pleurotin. The strong correlation to NQO1 infers the enzyme has a major influence on the amount of the active compound with benzo[]perimidines, phenoxazinones, benz[]pyrido[1,2-]indole-6,11-quinones, seriniquinones, kalasinamide, indolequinones, and furano[2,3-]naphthoquinones, hypothesised as prodrugs. Compounds with very strong correlations to known TrxR inhibitors had inverse correlations to the expression of both reductase enzymes, NQO1 and TrxR, including naphtho[2,3-][1,4]oxazepane-6,11-diones, benzo[]carbazole-1,4-diones, pyranonaphthoquinones (including kalafungin, nanaomycin A, and analogues of griseusin A), and discorhabdin C. Quinoline-5,8-dione scaffolds based on streptonigrin and lavendamycin can correlate to either reductase. Inhibitors of TrxR are not necessarily (imino)quinones, e.g., parthenolides, while oxidising moieties are essential for correlations to NQO1, as with the mitosenes. Herein, an overview of synthetic methods and biological activity of each family of heterocyclic imino(quinone) is provided.
Topics: United States; National Cancer Institute (U.S.); Quinones; Indolequinones; Oxidoreductases; NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone); Antineoplastic Agents; Neoplasms
PubMed: 37446864
DOI: 10.3390/molecules28135202 -
Microbiology Spectrum Aug 2023The bacterium Riemerella anatipestifer requires iron for growth, but the mechanism of iron uptake is not fully understood. In this study, we disrupted the Feo system and...
The bacterium Riemerella anatipestifer requires iron for growth, but the mechanism of iron uptake is not fully understood. In this study, we disrupted the Feo system and characterized its function in iron import in R. anatipestifer ATCC 11845. Compared to the parent strain, the growth of the Δ Δ and Δ strains was affected under Fe-limited conditions, since the absence of the system led to less intracellular iron than in the parent strain. In parallel, the Δ strain was shown to be less sensitive to streptonigrin, an antibiotic that requires free iron to function. The sensitivity of the Δ strain to hydrogen peroxide was also observed to be diminished compared with that of the parent strain, which could be related to the reduced intracellular iron content in the Δ strain. Further research revealed that and were directly regulated by iron through the Fur regulator and that the transcript levels of and were significantly increased in medium supplemented with 1 mM MnCl, 400 μM ZnSO, and 200 μM CuCl. Finally, it was shown that the Δ strain of R. anatipestifer ATCC 11845 was significantly impaired in its ability to colonize the blood, liver, and brain of ducklings. Taken together, these results demonstrated that FeoAB supports ferrous iron acquisition in R. anatipestifer and plays an important role in R. anatipestifer colonization. In Gram-negative bacteria, the Feo system is an important ferrous iron transport system. R. anatipestifer encodes an Feo system, but its function unknown. As iron uptake may be required for oxidative stress protection and virulence, understanding the contribution of iron transporters to these processes is crucial. This study showed that the Δ strain is debilitated in its ability to import iron and that its intracellular iron content was constitutively low, which enhanced the resistance of the deficient strain to HO. We were surprised to find that, in addition to responding to iron, the Feo system may play an important role in sensing manganese, zinc, and copper stress. The reduced colonization ability of the Δ strain also sheds light on the role of iron transporters in host-pathogen interactions. This study is important for understanding the cross talk between iron and other metal transport pathways, as well as the pathogenic mechanism in R. anatipestifer.
Topics: Virulence; Bacterial Proteins; Hydrogen Peroxide; Iron; Membrane Transport Proteins
PubMed: 37272830
DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01373-23