10.1021/jm070669h
The research focuses on the synthesis and evaluation of a chemical library of inhibitors targeting Mycobacterium tuberculosis mycothiol-associated enzymes, specifically GlcNAc-Ins deacetylase (MshB) and mycothiol-S-conjugate amidase (MCA). The purpose of this study was to develop small molecules that could interfere with mycothiol (MSH) biosynthesis or MSH-assisted detoxification, which could potentially serve as new antitubercular agents. The researchers synthesized a series of inhibitors based on natural product structures known to competitively inhibit MCA. The library of inhibitors was biased to include structural features of these natural products, and molecular docking studies were used to predict their binding modes within the active sites of the target enzymes. The study concluded that the synthesized inhibitors were the first reported to target MshB and supported the potential of natural product-substrate chimeras to act as dual inhibitors for both MshB and MCA. Key chemicals used in the synthesis process included 1-myo-D-inositol (myo-D-Ins), glucosamine (GlcN), N-acetyl-cysteine, and various sulfonyl chlorides, phosphonates, and other organic compounds to construct the desired inhibitor scaffolds and evaluate their biological activity.
10.1021/ol0269796
The research focuses on the synthesis of a simplified thioglycosidic analogue (2) of mycothiol (1), a low molecular weight thiol found in actinomycetes, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The purpose of this study is to develop a potential starting point for antitubercular drug design by disrupting the enzymatic pathways of mycothiol biosynthesis and detoxification, which could make M. tuberculosis more vulnerable to drugs and other stress factors. The researchers synthesized analogue 2 and evaluated its specific activity against mycothiol S-conjugate amidase from M. tuberculosis, finding it to be a good substrate with specific activity comparable to mycothiol itself.