1. Discovery of an antivirulence compound that targets the Staphylococcus aureus SaeRS two-component system to inhibit toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 production.
- Author
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Dufresne K, DiMaggio DA Jr, Maduta CS, Brinsmade SR, and McCormick JK
- Subjects
- Humans, Female, Shock, Septic drug therapy, Shock, Septic metabolism, Shock, Septic microbiology, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial drug effects, Protein Kinases metabolism, Protein Kinases genetics, Transcription Factors metabolism, Transcription Factors genetics, Staphylococcal Infections drug therapy, Staphylococcal Infections metabolism, Staphylococcal Infections microbiology, Virulence drug effects, Lymphocytes metabolism, Lymphocytes drug effects, Menstrual Hygiene Products, Superantigens metabolism, Superantigens genetics, Enterotoxins metabolism, Staphylococcus aureus drug effects, Staphylococcus aureus metabolism, Bacterial Toxins metabolism, Bacterial Proteins metabolism, Bacterial Proteins genetics, Bacterial Proteins antagonists & inhibitors
- Abstract
Menstrual toxic shock syndrome (mTSS) is a rare but severe disorder associated with the use of menstrual products such as high-absorbency tampons and is caused by Staphylococcus aureus strains that produce the toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) superantigen. Herein, we screened a library of 3920 small bioactive molecules for the ability to inhibit transcription of the TSST-1 gene without inhibiting the growth of S. aureus. The dominant positive regulator of TSST-1 is the SaeRS two-component system (TCS), and we identified phenazopyridine hydrochloride (PP-HCl) that repressed the production of TSST-1 by inhibiting the kinase function of SaeS. PP-HCl competed with ATP for binding of the kinase SaeS leading to decreased phosphorylation of SaeR and reduced expression of TSST-1 as well as several other secreted virulence factors known to be regulated by SaeRS. PP-HCl targets the virulence of S. aureus, and it also decreases the impact of TSST-1 on human lymphocytes without affecting the healthy vaginal microbiota. Our findings demonstrate the promising potential of PP-HCl as a therapeutic strategy against mTSS., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2024
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