Parallel solution-phase synthesis of sulfide AHL analogues (10a-s) by one-pot or a sequential approach is reported. The corresponding sulfoxides 13a-e and sulfones 14a-e were prepared to expand the diversity of the 19-member array of sulfides . Likewise, dithianes 12a-c were prepared with similarity both to sulfides 10a-s and to bioactive structures from garlic. Design and biological screening of all compounds presented in this work targeted inhibition of quorum-sensing comprising competitive inhibition of transcriptional regulators LuxR and LasR. The design was based on critical interactions within the binding-site and structural motifs in molecular components isolated from garlic, 7 and 8, shown to be quorum-sensing inhibitors but not antibiotics. A potent quorum-sensing inhibitor N-(heptylsulfanylacetyl)-l-homoserine lactone (10c) was identified. Together with data collected for the other analogues, the resulting structure-activity relationship led to a hypothesis in which competitive binding was assumed.

The function of LuxR homologues as quorum sensors is mediated by the binding of N-acyl-l-homoserine lactone (AHL) signal molecules to the N-terminal receptor site of the proteins. In this study, site-directed mutagenesis was carried out of the amino acid residues comprising the receptor site of LuxR from Vibrio fischeri, and the ability of the L42A, L42S, Y62F, W66F, D79N, W94D, V109D, V109T and M135A LuxR mutant proteins to activate green fluorescent protein expression from a PluxI promoter was measured. X-ray crystallographic studies of the LuxR homologue TraR indicated that residues Y53 and W57 form hydrogen bonds to the 1-carbonyl group and the ring carbonyl group, respectively, of the cognate AHL signal. Based on the activity and signal specificity of the LuxR mutant proteins, and on molecular modelling, a model is suggested in which Y62 (corresponding to Y53 in TraR) forms a hydrogen bond with the ring carbonyl group rather than the 1-carbonyl group, while W66 (corresponding to W57 in TraR) forms a hydrogen bond to the 1-carbonyl group. This flips the position of the acyl side chain in the LuxR/signal molecule complex compared to the TraR/signal molecule complex. Halogenated furanones from the marine alga Delisea pulchra and the synthetic signal analogue N-(sulfanylacetyl)-l-homoserine lactone can block quorum sensing. The LuxR mutant proteins were insensitive to inhibition by N-(propylsulfanylacetyl)-l-homoserine lactone. In contrast, the mutations had only a minor effect on the sensitivity of the proteins to halogenated furanones, and the data strongly suggest that these compounds do not compete in a ‘classic’ way with N-3-oxohexanoyl-l-homoserine lactone for the binding site. Based on modelling and experimental data it is suggested that these compounds bind in a non-agonist fashion.

Quorum sensing (QS) systems comprise a new therapeutic target potentially substitutive or complementary to traditional antibiotic treatment of chronic diseases. One route to disrupt the previously established interrelationship between pathogenesis and QS is by blocking the dual functioning signal/receptor transcriptional regulator in some clinically relevant Gram-negative bacteria. The present review contains all reported compound types that are currently known to inhibit the QS transcriptional regulator in Gram-negative bacteria. These compounds are sub-divided into two main groups, one comprising structural analogs of the native signaling molecules and the other compounds lacking structural resemblance. Biological activity is rationalized on the basis of structure-activity relationships and structural insight into the target protein.

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