There is an urgent need for new, potent antituberculosis (anti-TB) drugs with novel mechanisms of action that can be included in new regimens to shorten the treatment period for TB. After screening a library of carbostyrils, we optimized 3,4-dihydrocarbostyril derivatives and identified OPC-167832 as having potent antituberculosis activity. The MICs of the compound for Mycobacterium tuberculosis ranged from 0.00024 to 0.002 μg/ml. It had bactericidal activity against both growing and intracellular bacilli, and the frequency of spontaneous resistance for M. tuberculosis H37Rv was less than 1.91 × 10−7. It did not show antagonistic effects with other anti-TB agents in an in vitro checkerboard assay. Whole-genome and targeted sequencing of isolates resistant to OPC-167832 identified decaprenylphosphoryl-β-d-ribose 2′-oxidase (DprE1), an essential enzyme for cell wall biosynthesis, as the target of the compound, and further studies demonstrated inhibition of DprE1 enzymatic activity by OPC-167832. In a mouse model of chronic TB, OPC-167832 showed potent bactericidal activities starting at a dose of 0.625 mg/kg of body weight. Further, it exhibited significant combination effects in 2-drug combinations with delamanid, bedaquiline, or levofloxacin. Finally, 3- or 4-drug regimens comprised of delamanid and OPC-167832 as the core along with bedaquiline, moxifloxacin, or linezolid showed efficacy in reducing the bacterial burden and preventing relapse superior to that of the standard treatment regimen. In summary, these results suggest that OPC-167832 is a novel and potent anti-TB agent, and regimens containing OPC-167832 and new or repurposed anti-TB drugs may have the potential to shorten the duration of treatment for TB.

Lewis base-catalyzed perfluoroalkylation of carbonyl compounds and aldimines with (perfluoroalkyl)trimethylsilanes (TMSCF3, TMSC2F5, and TMSC3F7) is described. The nitrogen- or oxygen-containing anions generated from amides, imides, and carboxylic acids have been found to work as effective Lewis-base catalysts in perfluoroalkylation that proceeds via activation of the carbon–silicon bonds of (perfluoroalkyl)trimethylsilanes. Reactions of carbonyl compounds such as aldehydes, ketones, and esters with TMSCF3 in the presence of a catalytic amount of Lewis bases proceeded smoothly to afford the corresponding adducts in good-to-high yields under mild conditions. Although it was considered difficult, this catalytic perfluoroalkylation of various aldimines with (perfluoroalkyl)trimethylsilane in the presence of Lewis bases such as lithium acetate or benzoate proceeded efficiently to give the corresponding perfluoroalkylated adducts, because the aldimines here were weak electrophiles toward (perfluoroalkyl)trimethylsilanes. The present reaction is, therefore, the first example of a catalytic perfluoroalkylation of aldimines.

No abstract

Delamanid (DLM), a nitro-dihydroimidazooxazole derivative currently approved for pulmonary multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) therapy, is a prodrug activated by mycobacterial 7,8-didemethyl-8-hydroxy 5-deazaflavin electron transfer coenzyme (F420)-dependent nitroreductase (Ddn). Despite inhibiting the biosynthesis of a subclass of mycolic acids, the active DLM metabolite remained unknown. Comparative liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis of DLM metabolites revealed covalent binding of reduced DLM with a nicotinamide ring of NAD derivatives (oxidized form) in DLM-treated Mycobacterium tuberculosis var. Bacille de Calmette et Guérin. Isoniazid-resistant mutations in the type II NADH dehydrogenase gene (ndh) showed a higher intracellular NADH/NAD ratio and cross-resistance to DLM, which were restored by complementation of the mutants with wild-type ndh. Our data demonstrated for the first time the adduct formation of reduced DLM with NAD in mycobacterial cells and its importance in the action of DLM.

Catalytic cyanomethylation of various carbonyl compounds with (trimethylsilyl)acetonitrile (TMSCH2CN) in the presence of Lewis bases such as cesium or lithium acetate proceeded smoothly to afford the corresponding cyanomethylated adducts in good yields.