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Pilicides and curlicides are compounds that block the formation of the virulence factors pili and curli, respectively. To facilitate studies of the interaction between these compounds and the pili and curli assembly systems, fluorescent pilicides and curlicides have been synthesized. This was achieved by using a strategy based on structure-activity knowledge, in which key pilicide and curlicide substituents on the ring-fused dihydrothiazolo 2-pyridone central fragment were replaced by fluorophores. Several of the resulting fluorescent compounds had improved activities as measured in pili- and curli-dependent biofilm assays. We created fluorescent pilicides and curlicides by introducing coumarin and 4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (BODIPY) fluorophores at two positions on the peptidomimetic pilicide and curlicide central fragment. Fluorescence images of the uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) strain UTI89 grown in the presence of these compounds shows that the compounds are strongly associated with the bacteria with a heterogeneous distribution.

Curli are functional extracellular amyloid fibers produced by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) and other Enterobacteriaceae. Ring-fused 2-pyridones, such as FN075 and BibC6, inhibited curli biogenesis in UPEC and prevented the in vitro polymerization of the major curli subunit protein CsgA. The curlicides FN075 and BibC6 share a common chemical lineage with other ring-fused 2-pyridones termed pilicides. Pilicides inhibit the assembly of type 1pili, which are required for pathogenesis during urinary tract infection. Notably, the curlicides retained pilicide activities and inhibited both curli-dependent and type 1–dependent biofilms. Furthermore, pretreatment of UPEC with FN075 significantly attenuated virulence in a mouse model of urinary tract infection. Curli and type 1pili exhibited exclusive and independent roles in promoting UPEC biofilms, and curli provided a fitness advantage in vivo. Thus, the ability of FN075 to block the biogenesis of both curli and type 1pili endows unique anti-biofilm and anti-virulence activities on these compounds., Published online 25 October 2009

Pilicides and curlicides block formation of the E. coli virulence factors pili and curli. To facilitate studies of the interaction between these compounds and the pili and curli assembly systems, fluorescent pilicides and curlicides have been synthesized. This was achieved using a strategy where key pilicide and curlicide substituents were replaced by fluorophores having similar physicochemical properties. The resulting fluorescent compounds had improved anti-virulence activities as measured in pili- and curli-dependent biofilm assays. We created fluorescent pilicides and curlicides by introducing both coumarin and 4,4-Difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (BODIPY) fluorophores at two positions on the peptidomimetic pilicide and curlicide scaffold. Fluorescence images of the uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) strain UTI89 grown in the presence of these compounds shows that the compounds are strongly associated to the bacteria and seem to discriminate between different bacteria in a population.