Ligand binding studies, preliminary structure-activity relationship and detailed mechanistic characterization of 1-phenyl-6,6-dimethyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine derivatives as inhibitors of Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase.

Article Details

Citation Copy to clipboard

Srinivasan B, Tonddast-Navaei S, Skolnick J

Eur J Med Chem. 2015 Oct 20;103:600-14. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2015.08.021. Epub 2015 Sep 5.

PubMed ID

26414808 [ View in PubMed

]

Abstract

Gram-negative bacteria are implicated in the causation of life-threatening hospital-acquired infections. They acquire rapid resistance to multiple drugs and available antibiotics. Hence, there is the need to discover new antibacterial agents with novel scaffolds. For the first time, this study explores the 1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine and 1,2,4-triazine-2,4-diamine group of compounds as potential inhibitors of Escherichia coli DHFR, a pivotal enzyme in the thymidine and purine synthesis pathway. Using differential scanning fluorimetry, DSF, fifteen compounds with various substitutions on either the 3rd or 4th positions on the benzene group of 6,6-dimethyl-1-(benzene)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine were shown to bind to the enzyme with varying affinities. Then, the dose dependence of inhibition by these compounds was determined. Preliminary quantitative structure-activity relationship analysis and docking studies implicate the alkyl linker group and the sulfonyl fluoride group in increasing the potency of inhibition. 4-[4-[3-(4,6-diamino-2,2-dimethyl-1,3,5-triazin-1-yl)phenyl]butyl]benzenesulfonyl fluoride (NSC120927), the best hit from the study and a molecule with no reported inhibition of E. coli DHFR, potently inhibits the enzyme with a Ki value of 42.50 +/- 5.34 nM, followed by 4-[6-[4-(4,6-diamino-2,2-dimethyl-1,3,5-triazin-1-yl)phenyl]hexyl]benzenesulfonyl fluoride (NSC132279), with a Ki value of 100.9 +/- 12.7 nM. Detailed kinetic characterization of the inhibition brought about by five small-molecule hits shows that these inhibitors bind to the dihydrofolate binding site with preferential binding to the NADPH-bound binary form of the enzyme. Furthermore, in search of novel diaminotriazine scaffolds, it is shown that lamotrigine, a 1,2,4-triazine-3,5-diamine and a sodium-ion channel blocker class of antiepileptic drug, also inhibits E. coli DHFR. This is the first comprehensive study on the binding and inhibition brought about by diaminotriazines of a gram-negative prokaryotic enzyme and provides valuable insights into the SAR as an aid to the discovery of novel antibiotics.

DrugBank Data that Cites this Article

Drug Enzymes

Drug	Enzyme	Kind	Organism	Pharmacological Action	Actions
Lamotrigine	Dihydrofolate reductase	Protein	Humans	Unknown	Inhibitor	Details