Avibactam is a β-lactamase inhibitor that is in clinical development, combined with β-lactam partners, for the treatment of bacterial infections comprising Gram-negative organisms. Avibactam is a structural class of inhibitor that does not contain a β-lactam core but maintains the capacity to covalently acylate its β-lactamase targets. Using the TEM-1 enzyme, we characterized avibactam inhibition by measuring the on-rate for acylation and the offrate for deacylation. The deacylation off-rate was 0.045 min −1 , which allowed investigation of the deacylation route from TEM-1. Using NMR and MS, we showed that deacylation proceeds through regeneration of intact avibactam and not hydrolysis. Other than TEM-1, four additional clinically relevant β-lactamases were shown to release intact avibactam after being acylated. We showed that avibactam is a covalent, slowly reversible inhibitor, which is a unique mechanism of inhibition among β-lactamase inhibitors.antibacterial | drug discovery | enzymology T here is an urgent need for new antibacterial agents that are active against drug-resistant bacteria. In particular, some Gram-negative pathogens have accumulated enough resistance mechanisms to render them virtually untreatable by modern antibacterial chemotherapy (1, 2). A mainstay for treatment of Gram-negative infections is the β-lactam classes of drugs. The most common form of resistance to β-lactam antibiotics is the expression of various β-lactamase enzymes capable of hydrolyzing the β-lactam ring of β-lactam drugs, rendering them ineffective. As new β-lactams have been introduced into clinical use, a changing landscape of β-lactamases has been selected and disseminated. Presently, over 1,000 β-lactamases have been documented comprising several structural classes and a wide range of substrate promiscuities and catalytic efficiencies (3, 4).In efforts to restore the efficacy of β-lactam antibiotics, β-lactamases have also been targeted with a variety of inhibitors (5, 6). The three inhibitors approved for clinical use are clavulanic acid, tazobactam, and sulbactam, all of which contain a β-lactam core. A challenge for the development of broad-spectrum β-lactamase inhibitors is the mechanistic diversity in β-lactamase enzymes, with the largest distinction being between the enzyme classes that use a serine residue as the nucleophilic species and the metallo-β-lactamases, which directly activate water for hydrolysis (7). A shared mechanistic feature of the marketed β-lactam-based inhibitors is their reaction with the serine enzymes to form a covalent acylenzyme intermediate. On ring opening, the acyl-enzyme intermediate can undergo additional rearrangements or be released through hydrolysis to regenerate the active β-lactamase enzyme (8). Originally designed to combat class A serine β-lactamase enzymes such as TEM-1, the clinical use of β-lactam-based inhibitors has been diminished by the emergence of enzymes against which they are ineffective. Despite intense investigation by pharmaceutical companies, no new β-lactamas...

Background:Avibactam is a ␤-lactamase inhibitor with a broad spectrum of activity. Results: Kinetic parameters of inhibition as well as acyl enzyme stability are reported against six clinically relevant enzymes. Conclusion: Inhibition efficiency is highest against class A, then class C, and then class D. Significance: These base-line inhibition values across enzyme classes provide the foundation for future structural and mechanistic enzymology experiments.

Mutations reducing the functional activity of leptin, the leptin receptor, alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormones (alpha-MSH) and the melanocortin-4 receptor (Mc4r) all lead to obesity in mammals. Moreover, mutant mice that ectopically express either agouti (Ay/a mice) or agouti-related protein (Agrp), antagonists of melanocortin signalling, become obese. These data suggest that alpha-MSH signalling transduced by Mc4r tonically inhibits feeding; however, it is not known to what extent this pathway mediates leptin signalling. We show here that Mc4r-deficient (Mc4r-/-) mice do not respond to the anorectic actions of MTII, an MSH-like agonist, suggesting that alpha-MSH inhibits feeding primarily by activating Mc4r. Obese Mc4r-/-mice do not respond significantly to the inhibitory effects of leptin on feeding, whereas non-obese Mc4r-/- mice do. These data demonstrate that melanocortin signalling transduced by Mc4r is not an exclusive target of leptin action and that factors resulting from obesity contribute to leptin resistance. Leptin resistance of obese Mc4r-/- mice does not prevent their response to the anorectic actions of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), corticotropin releasing factor (CRF), or urocortin; or the orexigenic actions of neuropeptide Y (NPY) or peptide YY (PYY), indicating that these neuromodulators act independently or downstream of Mc4r signalling.

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A plasmid-borne transposon encodes enzymes and regulator proteins that confer resistance of enterococcal bacteria to the antibiotic vancomycin. Purification and characterization of individual proteins encoded by this operon has helped to elucidate the molecular basis of vancomycin resistance. This new understanding provides opportunities for intervention to reverse resistance.