Basharat Zarrin, Wei Calvin R, Islam Madiha, Ahmed Ibrar, Ogaly Hanan A, Al-Zahrani Fatimah A M, Waheed Yasir, Kim Seil
Alpha Genomics Private Limited, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Department of Research and Development, Shing Huei Group, Taipei, Taiwan.
Front Pharmacol. 2025 Aug 14;16:1630038. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1630038. eCollection 2025.
the causative agent of Whipple disease, presents a diagnostic challenge due to its diverse symptomatology, including weight loss, abdominal pain, diarrhea, joint pain, fever, and occasionally neurological manifestations. Its resistance to fluoroquinolones complicates treatment further. Traditional methods for antibiotic susceptibility testing are ineffective as cannot be cultured in axenic media. To address this, we explored potential drug targets within its core genome as no drug targets from this bacterium have been studied so far. , a macrolide-resistant enzyme, emerged as a promising candidate exhibiting both resistance and drug target characteristics. We screened over 1,000 lead-like Ayurvedic compounds against the target enzyme UDP-N-acetylmuramyl-tripeptide synthetase and identified three promising candidates: (1) Ergost-5-en-3-ol (3beta,24xi), (2) [6]-Gingerdiol 3-monoacetate, and (3) Valtrate. DiffDock and GNINA rescoring yielded consistent binding strength rankings. Molecular dynamics simulations over 100 nanoseconds confirmed stable interactions with these compounds. ADMET analysis indicated low water solubility, but coupling with cyclodextrin SBE-β-CD improved solubility. None of the compounds showed hepatotoxic effects, though Valtrate exhibited AMES toxicity. Based on the favorable properties, we propose scaffold hopping and further studies on [6]-Gingerdiol 3-monoacetate. Our findings offer potential avenues for combating infections, addressing the limitations posed by antibiotic resistance.
惠普尔病的病原体,由于其多样的症状表现,包括体重减轻、腹痛、腹泻、关节疼痛、发热,以及偶尔的神经学表现,带来了诊断挑战。它对氟喹诺酮类药物的耐药性使治疗进一步复杂化。传统的抗生素敏感性测试方法无效,因为其无法在无菌培养基中培养。为解决这一问题,我们在其核心基因组中探索潜在的药物靶点,因为迄今为止尚未对该细菌的药物靶点进行研究。一种大环内酯耐药酶,作为一种兼具耐药性和药物靶点特征的有前景的候选物出现。我们针对目标酶UDP-N-乙酰胞壁酰-三肽合成酶筛选了1000多种类似先导物的阿育吠陀化合物,并确定了三种有前景的候选物:(1)麦角甾-5-烯-3-醇(3β,24ξ),(2)[6]-姜二醇3-单乙酸酯,以及(3)缬草素。DiffDock和GNINA重评分产生了一致的结合强度排名。超过100纳秒的分子动力学模拟证实了与这些化合物的稳定相互作用。ADMET分析表明水溶性低,但与环糊精SBE-β-CD偶联可提高溶解度。尽管缬草素表现出AMES毒性,但这些化合物均未显示出肝毒性作用。基于这些有利特性,我们提出进行骨架跳跃并对[6]-姜二醇3-单乙酸酯进行进一步研究。我们的发现为对抗该病原体感染提供了潜在途径,解决了抗生素耐药性带来的局限性。