Benzimidazoles: Novel Mycobacterial Gyrase Inhibitors
from Scaffold Morphing
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Abstract
Type II topoisomerases are well conserved
across the bacterial
species, and inhibition of DNA gyrase by fluoroquinolones has provided
an attractive option for treatment of tuberculosis (TB). However,
the emergence of fluoroquinolone-resistant strains of <i>Mycobacterium
tuberculosis</i> (<i>Mtb</i>) poses a threat for its
sustainability. A scaffold hopping approach using the binding mode
of novel bacterial topoisomerase inhibitors (NBTIs) led to the identification
of a novel class of benzimidazoles as DNA gyrase inhibitors with potent
anti-TB activity. Docking of benzimidazoles to a NBTI bound crystal
structure suggested that this class of compound makes key contacts
in the enzyme active site similar to the reported NBTIs. This observation
was further confirmed through the measurement of DNA gyrase inhibition,
and activity against <i>Mtb</i> strains harboring mutations
that confer resistance to aminopiperidines based NBTIs and <i>Mtb</i> strains resistant to moxifloxacin. Structure–activity
relationship modification at the C-7 position of the left-hand side
ring provided further avenue to improve hERG selectivity for this
chemical series that has been the major challenges for NBTIs