Pascal Moser, Renaud Zelli, Leandro J Dos Santos, Mickaël Henry, Kevin Sanchez-Garcia, Yvan Caspar, Florian C Marro, Benoit Chovelon, Jaione Saez Cabodevilla, Sandrine Ollagnier de Choudens, Eric Faudry, Yung-Sing Wong
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Delivering carboxylic acid functions into cells is challenging due to their poor permeability across lipophilic membranes at physiological pH, where they are ionized. Masking carboxylic acids as esters improves cell entry, but once inside the cell, its rapid release is essential to maintain spatiotemporal control which can be beneficial for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. This study evaluates the 2-hydroxyethyl-dithio-benzyl ester functional group which undergoes selective and rapid cleavage of the disulfide bond by thioredoxin (Trx), triggering rapid self-immolation of the thio-benzyl ester releasing the carboxylic acid. Fluorescence-based assays using the pro-fluorescent BODIPY structure have demonstrated the rapid intracellular release of carboxylic acids within minutes in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. The approach was tested on antibiotics, and among them, levofloxacin ester prodrug, having the 2-hydroxyethyl-dithio-benzyl ester functional group, showed significantly enhanced antimicrobial activity against resistant and intracellular bacteria compared to its methyl ester analogue.
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Quality research. Outstanding publications. With an impact factor of 3.124 (2019), ChemMedChem is a top journal for research at the interface of chemistry, biology and medicine. It is published on behalf of Chemistry Europe, an association of 16 European chemical societies.
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