The alarming rise in superbugs that are resistant to drugs of last resort, including vancomycin-resistant enterococci and staphylococci, has become a significant global health hazard. Here, we report the click chemistry synthesis of an unprecedented class of shapeshifting vancomycin dimers (SVDs) that display potent activity against bacteria that are resistant to the parent drug, including the ESKAPE pathogens, vancomycin-resistant
Enterococcus
(VRE), methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA), as well as vancomycin-resistant
S. aureus
(VRSA). The shapeshifting modality of the dimers is powered by a triazole-linked bullvalene core, exploiting the dynamic covalent rearrangements of the fluxional carbon cage and creating ligands with the capacity to inhibit bacterial cell wall biosynthesis. The new shapeshifting antibiotics are not disadvantaged by the common mechanism of vancomycin resistance resulting from the alteration of the C-terminal dipeptide with the corresponding
d
-Ala-
d
-Lac depsipeptide. Further, evidence suggests that the shapeshifting ligands destabilize the complex formed between the flippase MurJ and lipid II, implying the potential for a new mode of action for polyvalent glycopeptides. The SVDs show little propensity for acquired resistance by enterococci, suggesting that this new class of shapeshifting antibiotic will display durable antimicrobial activity not prone to rapidly acquired clinical resistance.
包括耐
万古霉素肠球菌和葡萄球菌在内的超级细菌对万不得已的药物产生了抗药性,这种抗药性的惊人增长已成为全球健康的重大隐患。在这里,我们报告了一种前所未有的变形
万古霉素二聚体(SVDs)的点击
化学合成,这种二聚体对母体药物耐药的细菌(包括 ESKAPE 病原体、耐
万古霉素肠球菌和耐
万古霉素葡萄球菌)具有强效活性。
耐
万古霉素肠球菌
(耐
甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌、耐
万古霉素肠球菌(VRE)
耐
甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌
(MRSA) 以及耐
万古霉素金黄色葡萄球菌。
金黄色葡萄球菌
(VRSA)。二聚体的变形模式由三唑连接的牛脂烯核心提供动力,利用通性碳笼的动态共价重排,创造出具有抑制细菌细胞壁
生物合成能力的
配体。这种新型变形抗生素不会因 C 端二肽与相应的
d
-Ala-
d
-Lac二肽而导致的
万古霉素耐药性的共同机制。此外,有证据表明,变形
配体会破坏翻转酶 MurJ 与脂质 II 之间形成的复合物的稳定性,这意味着多价糖肽可能具有新的作用模式。SVDs 几乎不会使肠球菌产生耐药性,这表明这种新型的变形抗生素将显示出持久的抗菌活性,而不会迅速产生临床耐药性。