QSAR, Docking, and Molecular Dynamics Simulation Studies of Sigmacidins as Antimicrobials against <i>Streptococci</i>

<i>Streptococci</i> are a family of bacterial species significantly affecting human health. In addition, environmental <i>Streptococci</i> represent one of the major causes of diverse livestock diseases. Due to antimicrobial resistance, there is an urgent need for novel antim...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jiqing Ye, Xiao Yang, Cong Ma
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-04-01
Series:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/8/4085
Description
Summary:<i>Streptococci</i> are a family of bacterial species significantly affecting human health. In addition, environmental <i>Streptococci</i> represent one of the major causes of diverse livestock diseases. Due to antimicrobial resistance, there is an urgent need for novel antimicrobial agent discovery against <i>Streptococci</i>. We discovered a class of benzoic acid derivatives named sigmacidins inhibiting the bacterial RNA polymerase-σ factor interaction and demonstrating excellent antimicrobial activity against <i>Streptococci</i>. In this work, a combinational computer approach was applied to gain insight into the structural basis and mechanism of action of sigmacidins as antimicrobials against <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i>. Both two- and three-dimensional quantitative structure-active relationships (2D and 3D QSAR) of sigmacidins displayed good predictive ability. Moreover, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation studies disclosed possible contacts between the inhibitors and the protein. The results obtained in this study provided understanding and new directions to the further optimizations of sigmacidins as novel antimicrobials.
ISSN:1661-6596
1422-0067