Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen that employs its type III secretion system (T3SS) during the acute phase of infection to translocate cytotoxins into the host cell cytoplasm to evade the immune system. The PcrV protein is located at the tip of the T3SS, facilitates the integration of pore-forming proteins into the eukaryotic cell membrane, and is required for translocation of cytotoxins into the host cell. In this study, we used surface plasmon resonance screening to identify small molecule binders of PcrV. A follow-up structure-activity relationship analysis resulted in PcrV binders that protect macrophages in a P. aeruginosa cell-based infection assay. Treatment of P. aeruginosa infections is challenging due to acquired, intrinsic, and adaptive resistance in addition to a broad arsenal of virulence systems such as the T3SS. Virulence blocking molecules targeting PcrV constitute valuable starting points for development of next generation antibacterials to treat infections caused by P. aeruginosa.
铜绿假单胞菌是一种机会性细菌病原体,它在感染的急性阶段利用其III型分泌系统(T3SS)将细胞毒素转运到宿主细胞胞质中,以逃避免疫系统。PcrV蛋白位于T3SS的顶端,促进孔形成蛋白与真核细胞膜的整合,并且需要将细胞毒素转运到宿主细胞中。在这项研究中,我们使用表面等离子共振筛选识别PcrV的小分子结合物。随后进行的结构-活性关系分析得出了能在基于P. aeruginosa细胞的感染实验中保护巨噬细胞的PcrV结合物。治疗P. aeruginosa感染具有挑战性,因为除了广泛的毒力系统(如T3SS)外,还存在获得性、固有性和适应性抗性。针对PcrV的毒力阻断分子为开发下一代抗菌剂治疗由铜绿假单胞菌引起的感染提供了宝贵的起点。