Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-8-2021
Abstract
© 2020 American Chemical Society. Bacteria depend on a well-regulated iron homeostasis to survive adverse environments. A key component of the iron homeostasis machinery is the compartmentalization of Fe3+ in bacterioferritin and its subsequent mobilization as Fe2+ to satisfy metabolic requirements. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa Fe3+ is compartmentalized in bacterioferritin (BfrB), and its mobilization to the cytosol requires binding of a ferredoxin (Bfd) to reduce the stored Fe3+ and release the soluble Fe2+. Blocking the BfrB-Bfd complex in P. aeruginosa by deletion of the bfd gene triggers an irreversible accumulation of Fe3+ in BfrB, concomitant cytosolic iron deficiency and significant impairment of biofilm development. Herein we report that small molecules developed to bind BfrB at the Bfd binding site block the BfrB-Bfd complex, inhibit the mobilization of iron from BfrB in P. aeruginosa cells, elicit a bacteriostatic effect on planktonic cells, and are bactericidal to cells embedded in mature biofilms.
Publication Source (Journal or Book title)
ACS Infectious Diseases
First Page
123
Last Page
140
Recommended Citation
Soldano, A., Yao, H., Punchi Hewage, A., Meraz, K., Annor-Gyamfi, J., Bunce, R., Battaile, K., Lovell, S., & Rivera, M. (2021). Small Molecule Inhibitors of the Bacterioferritin (BfrB)-Ferredoxin (Bfd) Complex Kill Biofilm-Embedded Pseudomonas aeruginosa Cells. ACS Infectious Diseases, 7 (1), 123-140. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsinfecdis.0c00669