Discovery of Novel Antimicrobial-Active Compounds and Their Analogues by In Silico Small Chemical Screening Targeting <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> MurB

Methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> is a serious problem in healthcare due to its lethal severe infections and resistance to most antimicrobial agents. The number of new approved antimicrobial agents is declining, and combined with the spread of drug-resistant bacteria, it...

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Main Authors: Saya Okubo, Shoki Hirose, Shunsuke Aoki
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Molecules
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/7/1477
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author Saya Okubo
Shoki Hirose
Shunsuke Aoki
author_facet Saya Okubo
Shoki Hirose
Shunsuke Aoki
author_sort Saya Okubo
collection DOAJ
description Methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> is a serious problem in healthcare due to its lethal severe infections and resistance to most antimicrobial agents. The number of new approved antimicrobial agents is declining, and combined with the spread of drug-resistant bacteria, it is predicted that effective antimicrobial agents against multidrug-resistant bacteria will be exhausted. We conducted in silico and in vitro discovery of novel antimicrobial small molecules targeting the SaMurB enzyme involved in cell wall synthesis in <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (<i>S. aureus</i>). We performed hierarchical structure-based drug screenings to identify compounds and their analogues using a library of approximately 1.3 million compound structures. In vitro experiments with <i>Staphylococcus epidermidis</i> (<i>S. epidermidis</i>) identified three compounds (SH5, SHa6, and SHa13) that exhibit antibacterial activity. These three compounds do not have toxicity against human-derived cells. SHa13 exhibited remarkable activity (IC<sub>50</sub> value =1.64 ± 0.01 µM). The active compound was predicted to bind to the active site of SaMurB by forming a hydrogen bond with Arg188 in both R and S bodies. These data provide a starting point for the development of novel cell wall synthesis inhibitors as antimicrobial agents targeting SaMurB.
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spelling doaj-art-e77e618dc9e44696aab22a5d923353c22025-08-20T03:08:55ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492025-03-01307147710.3390/molecules30071477Discovery of Novel Antimicrobial-Active Compounds and Their Analogues by In Silico Small Chemical Screening Targeting <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> MurBSaya Okubo0Shoki Hirose1Shunsuke Aoki2Department of Bioscience and Bioinformatics, Graduate School of Computer Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Iizuka 820-8502, JapanDepartment of Bioscience and Bioinformatics, Graduate School of Computer Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Iizuka 820-8502, JapanDepartment of Bioscience and Bioinformatics, Graduate School of Computer Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Iizuka 820-8502, JapanMethicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> is a serious problem in healthcare due to its lethal severe infections and resistance to most antimicrobial agents. The number of new approved antimicrobial agents is declining, and combined with the spread of drug-resistant bacteria, it is predicted that effective antimicrobial agents against multidrug-resistant bacteria will be exhausted. We conducted in silico and in vitro discovery of novel antimicrobial small molecules targeting the SaMurB enzyme involved in cell wall synthesis in <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (<i>S. aureus</i>). We performed hierarchical structure-based drug screenings to identify compounds and their analogues using a library of approximately 1.3 million compound structures. In vitro experiments with <i>Staphylococcus epidermidis</i> (<i>S. epidermidis</i>) identified three compounds (SH5, SHa6, and SHa13) that exhibit antibacterial activity. These three compounds do not have toxicity against human-derived cells. SHa13 exhibited remarkable activity (IC<sub>50</sub> value =1.64 ± 0.01 µM). The active compound was predicted to bind to the active site of SaMurB by forming a hydrogen bond with Arg188 in both R and S bodies. These data provide a starting point for the development of novel cell wall synthesis inhibitors as antimicrobial agents targeting SaMurB.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/7/1477<i>Staphylococcus</i>MurB<i>SBDS</i>virtual screeningMD simulationin vitro experiment
spellingShingle Saya Okubo
Shoki Hirose
Shunsuke Aoki
Discovery of Novel Antimicrobial-Active Compounds and Their Analogues by In Silico Small Chemical Screening Targeting <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> MurB
Molecules
<i>Staphylococcus</i>
MurB
<i>SBDS</i>
virtual screening
MD simulation
in vitro experiment
title Discovery of Novel Antimicrobial-Active Compounds and Their Analogues by In Silico Small Chemical Screening Targeting <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> MurB
title_full Discovery of Novel Antimicrobial-Active Compounds and Their Analogues by In Silico Small Chemical Screening Targeting <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> MurB
title_fullStr Discovery of Novel Antimicrobial-Active Compounds and Their Analogues by In Silico Small Chemical Screening Targeting <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> MurB
title_full_unstemmed Discovery of Novel Antimicrobial-Active Compounds and Their Analogues by In Silico Small Chemical Screening Targeting <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> MurB
title_short Discovery of Novel Antimicrobial-Active Compounds and Their Analogues by In Silico Small Chemical Screening Targeting <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> MurB
title_sort discovery of novel antimicrobial active compounds and their analogues by in silico small chemical screening targeting i staphylococcus aureus i murb
topic <i>Staphylococcus</i>
MurB
<i>SBDS</i>
virtual screening
MD simulation
in vitro experiment
url https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/7/1477
work_keys_str_mv AT sayaokubo discoveryofnovelantimicrobialactivecompoundsandtheiranaloguesbyinsilicosmallchemicalscreeningtargetingistaphylococcusaureusimurb
AT shokihirose discoveryofnovelantimicrobialactivecompoundsandtheiranaloguesbyinsilicosmallchemicalscreeningtargetingistaphylococcusaureusimurb
AT shunsukeaoki discoveryofnovelantimicrobialactivecompoundsandtheiranaloguesbyinsilicosmallchemicalscreeningtargetingistaphylococcusaureusimurb