Issue 4, 2024

LEGO-lipophosphonoxins: length of hydrophobic module affects permeabilizing activity in target membranes of different phospholipid composition

Abstract

In the past few decades, society has faced rapid development and spreading of antimicrobial resistance due to antibiotic misuse and overuse and the immense adaptability of bacteria. Difficulties in obtaining effective antimicrobial molecules from natural sources challenged scientists to develop synthetic molecules with antimicrobial effect. We developed modular molecules named LEGO-Lipophosphonoxins (LEGO-LPPO) capable of inducing cytoplasmic membrane perforation. In this structure–activity relationship study we focused on the role of the LEGO-LPPO hydrophobic module directing the molecule insertion into the cytoplasmic membrane. We selected three LEGO-LPPO molecules named C9, C8 and C7 differing in the length of their hydrophobic chain and consisting of an alkenyl group containing one double bond. The molecule with the long hydrophobic chain (C9) was shown to be the most effective with the lowest MIC and highest perforation rate both in vivo and in vitro. We observed high antimicrobial activity against both G+ and G bacteria with significant differences in LEGO-LPPOs mechanism of action on these two cell types. We observed a highly cooperative mechanism of LEGO-LPPO action on G bacteria as well as on liposomes resembling G bacteria. LEGO-LPPO action on G bacteria was significantly slower compared to G+ bacteria suggesting the role of the outer membrane in affecting the LEGO-LPPOs perforation rate. This notion was supported by the higher sensitivity of the E. coli strain with a compromised outer membrane. Finally, we noted that the composition of the cytoplasmic membrane affects the activity of LEGO-LPPOs since the presence of phosphatidylethanolamine increases their membrane disrupting activity.

Graphical abstract: LEGO-lipophosphonoxins: length of hydrophobic module affects permeabilizing activity in target membranes of different phospholipid composition

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Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
24 Oct 2023
Accepted
05 Jan 2024
First published
17 Jan 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2024,14, 2745-2756

LEGO-lipophosphonoxins: length of hydrophobic module affects permeabilizing activity in target membranes of different phospholipid composition

M. Dugić, H. Brzobohatá, V. Mojr, T. Dolejšová, P. Lišková, D. D. Do Pham, D. Rejman, G. Mikušová and R. Fišer, RSC Adv., 2024, 14, 2745 DOI: 10.1039/D3RA07251G

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