The discovery of new antibiotic adjuvants is an attractive option for overcoming antimicrobial resistance. We have previously reported the discovery of a bis-6-bromoindolglyoxylamide derivative of spermine as being able to enhance the action of antibiotics against Gram-negative bacteria but suffers from being cytotoxic and red-blood cell haemolytic. A series of analogues was prepared exploring variation of the indolglyoxylamide unit, to include indole-3-acrylic, indole-3-acetic and indole-3-carboxylate units, and evaluated for antibiotic enhancing properties against a range of Gram-negative bacteria, and for intrinsic antimicrobial, cytotoxic and haemolytic properties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (DMPM), represents 30% of all malignant mesothelioma, and is characterised by a difficult diagnosis and different presentations. Immunohistochemistry has improved the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity in the differential diagnosis between metastatic adenocarcinoma and malignant mesothelioma, and loss of BRCA-1-associated protein 1 (BAP1) expression is correlated with BAP1 somatic or constitutional genetic defects. Furthermore, cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A) is frequently lost in DMPM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA series of substituted di-indolglyoxylamido-spermine analogues were prepared and evaluated for intrinsic antimicrobial properties and the ability to enhance antibiotic action. As a compound class, intrinsic activity was typically observed towards Gram-positive bacteria and the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans, with notable exceptions being the 5-bromo- and 6-chloro-indole analogues which also exhibited modest activity (MIC 34-50 μM) towards the Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Several analogues enhanced the activity of doxycycline towards the Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe combination of increased incidence of drug-resistant strains of bacteria and a lack of novel drugs in development creates an urgency for the search for new antimicrobials. Initial screening of compounds from an in-house library identified two 6-bromoindolglyoxylamide polyamine derivatives (3 and 4) that exhibited intrinsic antimicrobial activity towards Gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and S. intermedius with polyamine 3 also displaying in vitro antibiotic enhancing properties against the resistant Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBile acids or bile salts, belong to a large family of biological steroid derivatives found predominantly in the bile of mammals and other vertebrates. These amphipathic molecules possess numerous functions, including eliminating cholesterol from the body, driving the flow of bile to eliminate catabolites, emulsifying fat-soluble vitamins to enable their absorption, aiding in motility and in reducing the bacteria flora found in the small intestine and biliary tract. In this review, we investigate progress towards synthetic bile acid derivatives, with special emphasis on how they might be used for various biological applications and the challenges that remain in developing these compounds as potent drugs of the future especially in the field of microbiology (antimicrobial activities) and cancer (anticancer agents).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria and pathogens has created an urgent need for the development of new antibiotics. Herein we report our investigations into the broad-spectrum activity of an easily prepared water-soluble polyaminosterol compound, namely claramine A1, against both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial strains. We also report its peculiar mechanism of action, which differs from that of all the other well-known classes of antibiotics, toward Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDihydromotuporamine C and its derivatives were evaluated for their in vitro antimicrobial activities and antibiotic enhancement properties against Gram-negative bacteria and clinical isolates. The mechanism of action of one of these derivatives, MOTU-N44, was investigated against Enterobacter aerogenes by using fluorescent dyes to evaluate outer-membrane depolarization and permeabilization. Its efficiency correlated with inhibition of dye transport, thus suggesting that these molecules inhibit drug transporters by de-energization of the efflux pump rather than by direct interaction of the molecule with the pump.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEmergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens was responsible for microbial infections and inefficacy of numerous antimicrobial therapies has induced a need for the research of new classes of antibiotics. In this review, we will focus our interest toward the biological properties of polyamino antimicrobial agents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell-penetrating peptides (CPP) are able to efficiently transport cargos across cell membranes without being cytotoxic to cells, thus present a great potential in drug delivery and diagnosis. While the role of cationic residues in CPPs has been well studied, that of Trp is still not clear. Herein 7 peptide analogs of RW9 (RRWWRRWRR, an efficient CPP) were synthesized in which Trp were systematically replaced by Phe residues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpatial increases and temporal shifts in outbreaks of gelatinous plankton have been observed over the past several decades in many estuarine and coastal ecosystems. The effects of these blooms on marine ecosystem functioning and particularly on the dynamics of the heterotrophic bacteria are still unclear. The response of the bacterial community from a Mediterranean coastal lagoon to the addition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from the jellyfish Aurelia aurita, corresponding to an enrichment of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) by 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCáhuil Lagoon in central Chile harbors distinct microbial communities in various solar salterns that are arranged as interconnected ponds with increasing salt concentrations. Here, we report the metagenome of the 3.0- to 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHorizontal gene transfer by conjugation is common among bacterial populations in soil. It is well known that the host range of plasmids depends on several factors, including the identity of the plasmid host cell. In the present study, however, we demonstrate that the composition of the recipient community is also determining for the dissemination of a conjugative plasmid.
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