13-Deoxytetrodecamycin, a new tetronate ring-containing antibiotic that is active against multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
The Journal of Antibiotics advance online publication, May 27 2015. doi:10.1038/ja.2015.60
Authors: Tomas Gverzdys, Michael Kamin Hart, Sheila Pimentel-Elardo, Geoffrey Tranmer & Justin R Nodwell
First total synthesis of (+)-epogymnolactam, a novel autophagy inducer
The Journal of Antibiotics advance online publication, May 27 2015. doi:10.1038/ja.2015.63
Authors: Yuji Okado, Kengo Shigetomi, Shinya Mitsuhashi & Makoto Ubukata
All clinical isolates of group B Streptococcus (GBS; Streptococcus agalactiae) are considered uniformly susceptible to β-lactams, including penicillins. However, GBS with reduced penicillin susceptibility (PRGBS) were first identified by our group in Japan and have also been reported from North America. PRGBS are non-susceptible to penicillin because of acquisition of amino acid substitutions near the conserved active-site motifs in PBP2X. In particular, V405A and Q557E are considered the key amino acid substitutions responsible for penicillin non-susceptibility. We revealed that in addition to the substitutions in PBP2X, an amino acid substitution in PBP1A confers high-level cephalosporin resistance in GBS. As the number of publications on GBS with reduced β-lactam susceptibility (GBS-RBS), especially PRGBS, and concomitantly the need for a systematic classification of GBS-RBS is increasing, we propose here a classification of GBS-RBS based on the amino acid substitutions in their PBPs.
The global burden of antibiotic resistance is tremendous and, without new anti-infective strategies, will continue to increase in the coming decades. Despite the growing need for new antibiotics, few pharmaceutical companies today retain active antibacterial drug discovery programmes. One reason is that it is scientifically challenging to discover new antibiotics that are active against the antibiotic-resistant bacteria of current clinical concern. However, the main hurdle is diminishing economic incentives. Increased global calls to minimize the overuse of antibiotics, the cost of meeting regulatory requirements and the low prices of currently marketed antibiotics are strong deterrents to antibacterial drug development programmes. New economic models that create incentives for the discovery of new antibiotics and yet reconcile these incentives with responsible antibiotic use are long overdue. DRIVE-AB is a 9.4 million public–private consortium, funded by the EU Innovative Medicines Initiative, that aims to define a standard for the responsible use of antibiotics and to develop, test and recommend new economic models to incentivize investment in producing new anti-infective agents.
Antimalarial drugs (e.g. chloroquine and its close structural analogues) were developed primarily to treat malaria; however, they are beneficial for many dermatological, immunological, rheumatological and severe infectious diseases, for which they are used mostly today. Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, two of the most fascinating drugs developed in the last 50 years, are increasingly recognized for their effectiveness in myriad non-malarial diseases. In advanced research, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have been shown to have various immunomodulatory and immunosuppressive effects, and currently have established roles in the management of rheumatic diseases, lupus erythematosus (different forms) and skin diseases, and in the treatment of different forms of cancer. Recently, chloroquine analogues have also been found to have metabolic, cardiovascular, antithrombotic and antineoplastic effects. This review is concerned with the lysosomotropic, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory mechanisms of chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, quinacrine and related analogues, and the current evidence for both their beneficial effects and potential adverse manifestations in various diseases.
Identification of small-molecule inhibitors against SecA by structure-based virtual ligand screening
The Journal of Antibiotics advance online publication, May 20 2015. doi:10.1038/ja.2015.53
Authors: Evelien De Waelheyns, Kenneth Segers, Marios Frantzeskos Sardis, Jozef Anné, Gerry A F Nicolaes & Anastassios Economou
Inhibitory activities of the marine streptomycete-derived compound SF2446A2 against Chlamydia trachomatis and Schistosoma mansoni
The Journal of Antibiotics advance online publication, May 20 2015. doi:10.1038/ja.2015.54
Authors: Anastasija Reimer, Ariane Blohm, Thomas Quack, Christoph G Grevelding, Vera Kozjak-Pavlovic, Thomas Rudel, Ute Hentschel & Usama Ramadan Abdelmohsen
Synthesis and antibacterial activity of 4″ or 6″-alkanoylamino derivatives of arbekacin
The Journal of Antibiotics advance online publication, May 20 2015. doi:10.1038/ja.2015.61
Authors: Kazushige Sasaki, Yoshihiko Kobayashi, Takashi Kurihara, Yohei Yamashita, Yoshiaki Takahashi, Toshiaki Miyake & Yuzuru Akamatsu
Evaporative light scattering quantification of natural products possessing a carbon–phosphorus bond
The Journal of Antibiotics advance online publication, May 20 2015. doi:10.1038/ja.2015.62
Authors: Matthew C Chi & Geoff P Horsman
Botryoisocoumarin A, a new COX-2 inhibitor from the mangrove Kandelia candel endophytic fungus Botryosphaeria sp. KcF6
The Journal of Antibiotics advance online publication, May 13 2015. doi:10.1038/ja.2015.46
Authors: Zhiran Ju, Xiuping Lin, Xin Lu, Zhengchao Tu, Junfeng Wang, Kumaravel Kaliyaperumal, Juan Liu, Yongqi Tian, Shihai Xu & Yonghong Liu
Better visualization and photodocumentation of zone of inhibition by staining cells and background agar differently
The Journal of Antibiotics advance online publication, May 13 2015. doi:10.1038/ja.2015.49
Author: Mrinal K Bhattacharjee
Cycloexpansamines A and B: spiroindolinone alkaloids from a marine isolate of Penicillium sp. (SF-5292)
The Journal of Antibiotics advance online publication, May 13 2015. doi:10.1038/ja.2015.56
Authors: Chiwook Lee, Jae Hak Sohn, Jae-Hyuk Jang, Jong Seog Ahn, Hyuncheol Oh, Jonas Baltrusaitis, In Hyun Hwang & James B Gloer
Micromonospora endophytica sp. nov., an endophytic actinobacteria of Thai upland rice (Oryza sativa)
The Journal of Antibiotics advance online publication, May 13 2015. doi:10.1038/ja.2015.57
Authors: Dusanee Thanaboripat, Chitti Thawai, Chokchai Kittiwongwattana, Chamroon Laosinwattana, Prommart Koohakan & Nonglak Parinthawong
Structure–activity relationships of the plasminogen modulator SMTP with respect to the inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase
The Journal of Antibiotics advance online publication, May 13 2015. doi:10.1038/ja.2015.58
Authors: Naoki Matsumoto, Eriko Suzuki, Kota Tsujihara, Yuuichi Nishimura & Keiji Hasumi
Discovery of secondary metabolites in an extractive liquid-surface immobilization system and its application to high-throughput interfacial screening of antibiotic-producing fungi
The Journal of Antibiotics advance online publication, May 13 2015. doi:10.1038/ja.2015.59
Authors: Shinobu Oda, Arisa Kameda, Masanori Okanan, Yusuke Sakakibara & Shinichi Ohashi
Induced sclerotium formation exposes new bioactive metabolites from Aspergillus sclerotiicarbonarius
The Journal of Antibiotics advance online publication, May 6 2015. doi:10.1038/ja.2015.40
Authors: Lene M Petersen, Jens C Frisvad, Peter B Knudsen, Marko Rohlfs, Charlotte H Gotfredsen & Thomas O Larsen
Ascosteroside C, a new mitochondrial respiration inhibitor discovered by pesticidal screening using recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae
The Journal of Antibiotics advance online publication, May 6 2015. doi:10.1038/ja.2015.43
Authors: Takuya Suga, Yukihiro Asami, Shohei Hashimoto, Kenichi Nonaka, Masato Iwatsuki, Takuji Nakashima, Ryohei Sugahara, Takahiro Shiotsuki, Takenori Yamamoto, Yasuo Shinohara, Naoya Ichimaru, Masatoshi Murai, Hideto Miyoshi, Satoshi Ōmura & Kazuro Shiomi
Dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans from Schisandra spp. selectively inhibit the growth of the intracellular bacteria Chlamydia pneumoniae and Chlamydia trachomatis
The Journal of Antibiotics advance online publication, May 6 2015. doi:10.1038/ja.2015.48
Authors: Elina Hakala, Leena Hanski, Hanna Uvell, Teijo Yrjönen, Heikki Vuorela, Mikael Elofsson & Pia Maarit Vuorela
Avellanin C, an inhibitor of quorum-sensing signaling in Staphylococcus aureus, from Hamigera ingelheimensis
The Journal of Antibiotics advance online publication, May 6 2015. doi:10.1038/ja.2015.50
Authors: Yasuhiro Igarashi, Fumiya Gohda, Taito Kadoshima, Takao Fukuda, Tomoaki Hanafusa, Akane Shojima, Jiro Nakayama, Gerald F Bills & Stephen Peterson
Evaluation of agar dilution and broth microdilution methods to determine the disinfectant susceptibility
The Journal of Antibiotics advance online publication, May 6 2015. doi:10.1038/ja.2015.51
Authors: Guoyan Wu, Qianru Yang, Mei Long, Lijuan Guo, Bei Li, Yue Meng, Anyun Zhang, Hongning Wang, Shuliang Liu & Likou Zou
Activity of lipophilic and hydrophilic drugs against dormant and replicating Mycobacterium tuberculosis
The Journal of Antibiotics advance online publication, May 6 2015. doi:10.1038/ja.2015.52
Authors: Giovanni Piccaro, Giovanna Poce, Mariangela Biava, Federico Giannoni & Lanfranco Fattorini
Sydoxanthone C and acremolin B produced by deep-sea-derived fungus Aspergillus sp. SCSIO Ind09F01
The Journal of Antibiotics advance online publication, May 6 2015. doi:10.1038/ja.2015.55
Authors: Yongqi Tian, Xiaochu Qin, Xiuping Lin, Kumaravel Kaliyaperumal, Xuefeng Zhou, Juan Liu, Zhiran Ju, Zhengchao Tu & Yonghong Liu
