Computational and Biological Evaluation of <i>β</i>-Adrenoreceptor Blockers as Promising Bacterial Anti-Virulence Agents

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is an increasing public health threat as it has the potential to affect people at any stage of life, as well as veterinary. Various approaches have been proposed to counteract the bacterial resistance development. Tackling bacterial virulence is one of the most pr...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ahmad J. Almalki, Tarek S. Ibrahim, Sameh S. Elhady, Wael A. H. Hegazy, Khaled M. Darwish
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-01-01
Series:Pharmaceuticals
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/15/2/110
_version_ 1797477329565384704
author Ahmad J. Almalki
Tarek S. Ibrahim
Sameh S. Elhady
Wael A. H. Hegazy
Khaled M. Darwish
author_facet Ahmad J. Almalki
Tarek S. Ibrahim
Sameh S. Elhady
Wael A. H. Hegazy
Khaled M. Darwish
author_sort Ahmad J. Almalki
collection DOAJ
description Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is an increasing public health threat as it has the potential to affect people at any stage of life, as well as veterinary. Various approaches have been proposed to counteract the bacterial resistance development. Tackling bacterial virulence is one of the most promising approaches that confer several merits. The bacterial virulence is mainly regulated by a communication system known as quorum sensing (QS) system. Meanwhile, bacteria can sense the adrenergic hormones and eavesdrops on the host cells to establish their infection, adrenergic hormones were shown to enhance the bacterial virulence. In this study, <i>β</i>-adrenoreceptor blockers were proposed not only to stop bacterial espionage on our cells but also as inhibitors to the bacterial QS systems. In this context, a detailed in silico study has been conducted to evaluate the affinities of twenty-two <i>β</i>-blockers to compete on different structural QS receptors. Among the best docked and thermodynamically stable <i>β</i>-blockers; atenolol, esmolol, and metoprolol were subjected to further in vitro and in vivo investigation to evaluate their anti-QS activities against <i>Chromobacterium violaceum</i>, <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> and <i>Salmonella</i> <i>typhimurium</i>. The three tested <i>β</i>-blockers decreased the production of QS-controlled <i>C. violaceum</i>, and the formation of biofilm by <i>P. aeruginosa</i> and <i>S. typhimurium</i>. Additionally, the tested <i>β</i>-blockers down-regulated the <i>P. aeruginosa</i> QS-encoding genes and <i>S.</i> <i>typhimurium</i> sensor kinase encoding genes. Furthermore, metoprolol protected mice against <i>P. aeruginosa</i> and <i>S.</i> <i>typhimurium</i>. Conclusively, these investigated <i>β</i>-blockers are promising anti-virulence agents antagonizing adrenergic hormones induced virulence, preventing bacterial espionage, and blocking bacterial QS systems.
first_indexed 2024-03-09T21:16:04Z
format Article
id doaj.art-8e44a09a877e465dabea9d5a7b8d1d2a
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1424-8247
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-09T21:16:04Z
publishDate 2022-01-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Pharmaceuticals
spelling doaj.art-8e44a09a877e465dabea9d5a7b8d1d2a2023-11-23T21:33:11ZengMDPI AGPharmaceuticals1424-82472022-01-0115211010.3390/ph15020110Computational and Biological Evaluation of <i>β</i>-Adrenoreceptor Blockers as Promising Bacterial Anti-Virulence AgentsAhmad J. Almalki0Tarek S. Ibrahim1Sameh S. Elhady2Wael A. H. Hegazy3Khaled M. Darwish4Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Natural Products, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, EgyptDepartment of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, EgyptBacterial resistance to antibiotics is an increasing public health threat as it has the potential to affect people at any stage of life, as well as veterinary. Various approaches have been proposed to counteract the bacterial resistance development. Tackling bacterial virulence is one of the most promising approaches that confer several merits. The bacterial virulence is mainly regulated by a communication system known as quorum sensing (QS) system. Meanwhile, bacteria can sense the adrenergic hormones and eavesdrops on the host cells to establish their infection, adrenergic hormones were shown to enhance the bacterial virulence. In this study, <i>β</i>-adrenoreceptor blockers were proposed not only to stop bacterial espionage on our cells but also as inhibitors to the bacterial QS systems. In this context, a detailed in silico study has been conducted to evaluate the affinities of twenty-two <i>β</i>-blockers to compete on different structural QS receptors. Among the best docked and thermodynamically stable <i>β</i>-blockers; atenolol, esmolol, and metoprolol were subjected to further in vitro and in vivo investigation to evaluate their anti-QS activities against <i>Chromobacterium violaceum</i>, <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> and <i>Salmonella</i> <i>typhimurium</i>. The three tested <i>β</i>-blockers decreased the production of QS-controlled <i>C. violaceum</i>, and the formation of biofilm by <i>P. aeruginosa</i> and <i>S. typhimurium</i>. Additionally, the tested <i>β</i>-blockers down-regulated the <i>P. aeruginosa</i> QS-encoding genes and <i>S.</i> <i>typhimurium</i> sensor kinase encoding genes. Furthermore, metoprolol protected mice against <i>P. aeruginosa</i> and <i>S.</i> <i>typhimurium</i>. Conclusively, these investigated <i>β</i>-blockers are promising anti-virulence agents antagonizing adrenergic hormones induced virulence, preventing bacterial espionage, and blocking bacterial QS systems.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/15/2/110bacterial virulence<i>β</i>-adrenergic blockersquorum sensingadrenergic hormonesbacterial espionage<i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>
spellingShingle Ahmad J. Almalki
Tarek S. Ibrahim
Sameh S. Elhady
Wael A. H. Hegazy
Khaled M. Darwish
Computational and Biological Evaluation of <i>β</i>-Adrenoreceptor Blockers as Promising Bacterial Anti-Virulence Agents
Pharmaceuticals
bacterial virulence
<i>β</i>-adrenergic blockers
quorum sensing
adrenergic hormones
bacterial espionage
<i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>
title Computational and Biological Evaluation of <i>β</i>-Adrenoreceptor Blockers as Promising Bacterial Anti-Virulence Agents
title_full Computational and Biological Evaluation of <i>β</i>-Adrenoreceptor Blockers as Promising Bacterial Anti-Virulence Agents
title_fullStr Computational and Biological Evaluation of <i>β</i>-Adrenoreceptor Blockers as Promising Bacterial Anti-Virulence Agents
title_full_unstemmed Computational and Biological Evaluation of <i>β</i>-Adrenoreceptor Blockers as Promising Bacterial Anti-Virulence Agents
title_short Computational and Biological Evaluation of <i>β</i>-Adrenoreceptor Blockers as Promising Bacterial Anti-Virulence Agents
title_sort computational and biological evaluation of i β i adrenoreceptor blockers as promising bacterial anti virulence agents
topic bacterial virulence
<i>β</i>-adrenergic blockers
quorum sensing
adrenergic hormones
bacterial espionage
<i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/15/2/110
work_keys_str_mv AT ahmadjalmalki computationalandbiologicalevaluationofibiadrenoreceptorblockersaspromisingbacterialantivirulenceagents
AT tareksibrahim computationalandbiologicalevaluationofibiadrenoreceptorblockersaspromisingbacterialantivirulenceagents
AT samehselhady computationalandbiologicalevaluationofibiadrenoreceptorblockersaspromisingbacterialantivirulenceagents
AT waelahhegazy computationalandbiologicalevaluationofibiadrenoreceptorblockersaspromisingbacterialantivirulenceagents
AT khaledmdarwish computationalandbiologicalevaluationofibiadrenoreceptorblockersaspromisingbacterialantivirulenceagents