AUTHOR=Douglas Edward J. A. , Alkhzem Abdulaziz H. , Wonfor Toska , Li Shuxian , Woodman Timothy J. , Blagbrough Ian S. , Laabei Maisem 

TITLE=Antibacterial activity of novel linear polyamines against Staphylococcus aureus

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.948343

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.948343

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>New therapeutic options are urgently required for the treatment of <italic>Staphylococcus aureus</italic> infections. Accordingly, we sought to exploit the vulnerability of <italic>S. aureus</italic> to naturally occurring polyamines. We have developed and tested the anti-staphylococcal activity of three novel linear polyamines based on spermine and norspermine. Using a panel of genetically distinct and clinically relevant multidrug resistant <italic>S. aureus</italic> isolates, including the polyamine resistant USA300 strain LAC, compound AHA-1394 showed a greater than 128-fold increase in inhibition against specific <italic>S. aureus</italic> strains compared to the most active natural polyamine. Furthermore, we show that AHA-1394 has superior biofilm prevention and biofilm dispersal properties compared to natural polyamines while maintaining minimal toxicity toward human HepG2 cells. We examined the potential of <italic>S. aureus</italic> to gain resistance to AHA-1394 following <italic>in vitro</italic> serial passage. Whole genome sequencing of two stable resistant mutants identified a gain of function mutation (S337L) in the phosphatidylglycerol lysyltransferase <italic>mprF</italic> gene. Inactivation of mutant <italic>mprF</italic> confirmed the importance of this allele to AHA-1394 resistance. Importantly, AHA-1394 resistant mutants showed a marked decrease in relative fitness and increased generation time. Intriguingly, <italic>mprF</italic>::S337L contributed to altered surface charge only in the USA300 background whereas increased cell wall thickness was observed in both USA300 and SH1000. Lastly, we show that AHA-1394 displays a particular proclivity for antibiotic potentiation, restoring sensitivity of MRSA and VRSA isolates to daptomycin, oxacillin and vancomycin. Together this study shows that polyamine derivatives are impressive drug candidates that warrant further investigation.</p>