Small Molecule Carboxylates Inhibit Metallo-β-lactamases and Resensitize Carbapenem-Resistant Bacteria to Meropenem

Kamaleddin H.M.E. Tehrani, Nora C. Brüchle, Nicola Wade, Vida Mashayekhi, Diego Pesce, Matthijs J. van Haren, Nathaniel I. Martin*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In the search for new inhibitors of bacterial metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs), a series of commonly used small molecule carboxylic acid derivatives were evaluated for their ability to inhibit New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM)-, Verona integron-encoded metallo-β-lactamase (VIM)-, and imipenemase (IMP)-type enzymes. Nitrilotriacetic acid (3) and N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid (5) showed promising activity especially against NDM-1 and VIM-2 with IC50 values in the low-to-sub μM range. Binding assays using isothermal titration calorimetry reveal that 3 and 5 bind zinc with high affinity with dissociation constant (Kd) values of 121 and 56 nM, respectively. The in vitro biological activity of 3 and 5 against E. coli expressing NDM-1 was evaluated in checkerboard format, demonstrating a strong synergistic relationship for both compounds when combined with Meropenem. Compounds 3 and 5 were then tested against 35 pathogenic strains expressing MBLs of the NDM, VIM, or IMP classes. Notably, when combined with Meropenem, compounds 3 and 5 were found to lower the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Meropenem up to 128-fold against strains producing NDM- and VIM-type enzymes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1366-1371
Number of pages6
JournalACS Infectious Diseases
Volume6
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 12 Jun 2020

Keywords

  • isothermal titration calorimetry
  • MBL inhibitors
  • NDM-1
  • synergy
  • zinc binding

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