{"title":"Activity of the Caged Xanthone Morellic Acid against Vancomycin-Resistant <i>Enterococcus</i> Infection by Targeting the Bacterial Membrane.","authors":"Dong-Mei Tang, Zhao-Jie Wang, Wen-Biao Zu, Yue-Ming Jiang, Yan-Yan Zhu, Mei-Zhen Wei, Xiao-Dong Luo","doi":"10.1021/acs.jnatprod.4c00425","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Vancomycin-resistant <i>Enterococcus</i> (VRE) is an important nosocomial opportunistic pathogen that is associated with multidrug resistance. Here, we demonstrate that morellic acid inhibits VRE by restoring its sensitivity to vancomycin and ampicillin with low drug resistance and efficient biofilm clearance effects. Morellic acid binds to inner membrane phospholipids, such as phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), and cardiolipin (CL) of VRE, such that the fluidity and proton-motive force (PMF) interfere with the damaged inner membrane, causing intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and bacterial death. Transcriptional analyses supported this effect on inner membrane-related pathways such as fatty acid biosynthesis and glycerophospholipid metabolism. Moreover, morellic acid significantly eliminated residual bacteria in the spleen, liver, kidneys, and abdominal effusion in mice. Our findings indicate the potential applications of morellic acid as an antibacterial agent or adjuvant for treating VRE infections.</p>","PeriodicalId":47,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Natural Products ","volume":" ","pages":"2366-2375"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Natural Products ","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.4c00425","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/10/10 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MEDICINAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) is an important nosocomial opportunistic pathogen that is associated with multidrug resistance. Here, we demonstrate that morellic acid inhibits VRE by restoring its sensitivity to vancomycin and ampicillin with low drug resistance and efficient biofilm clearance effects. Morellic acid binds to inner membrane phospholipids, such as phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), and cardiolipin (CL) of VRE, such that the fluidity and proton-motive force (PMF) interfere with the damaged inner membrane, causing intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and bacterial death. Transcriptional analyses supported this effect on inner membrane-related pathways such as fatty acid biosynthesis and glycerophospholipid metabolism. Moreover, morellic acid significantly eliminated residual bacteria in the spleen, liver, kidneys, and abdominal effusion in mice. Our findings indicate the potential applications of morellic acid as an antibacterial agent or adjuvant for treating VRE infections.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Natural Products invites and publishes papers that make substantial and scholarly contributions to the area of natural products research. Contributions may relate to the chemistry and/or biochemistry of naturally occurring compounds or the biology of living systems from which they are obtained.
Specifically, there may be articles that describe secondary metabolites of microorganisms, including antibiotics and mycotoxins; physiologically active compounds from terrestrial and marine plants and animals; biochemical studies, including biosynthesis and microbiological transformations; fermentation and plant tissue culture; the isolation, structure elucidation, and chemical synthesis of novel compounds from nature; and the pharmacology of compounds of natural origin.
When new compounds are reported, manuscripts describing their biological activity are much preferred.
Specifically, there may be articles that describe secondary metabolites of microorganisms, including antibiotics and mycotoxins; physiologically active compounds from terrestrial and marine plants and animals; biochemical studies, including biosynthesis and microbiological transformations; fermentation and plant tissue culture; the isolation, structure elucidation, and chemical synthesis of novel compounds from nature; and the pharmacology of compounds of natural origin.