Xu Wang, Yuna Zeng, Li Sheng, Peter Larson, Xue Liu, Xiaowen Zou, Shufang Wang, Kaijing Guo, Chen Ma, Gang Zhang, Huaqing Cui, David M Ferguson, Yan Li, Jing-Ren Zhang, Courtney C Aldrich
Optochin, a cinchona alkaloid derivative discovered over 100 years ago, possesses highly selective antibacterial activity towards Streptococcus pneumoniae. Pneumococcal disease remains the leading source of bacterial pneumonia and meningitis worldwide. The structure activity relationships of optochin were examined through modification to both the quinoline and quinuclidine subunits, which led to the identification of analogue 48 with substantially improved activity. Resistance and molecular modeling studies indicate 48 likely binds to the c-ring of ATP synthase near the conserved glutamate 52 ion binding site while mechanistic studies demonstrated 48 causes cytoplasmic acidification...
February 19, 2019: Journal of Medicinal Chemistry