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Teixobactin kills bacteria by a two-pronged attack on the cell envelope
Open accessAbstract
Antibiotics that use novel mechanisms are needed to combat antimicrobial resistance 1–3 . Teixobactin 4 represents a new class of antibiotics with a unique chemical scaffold and lack of detectable resistance. Teixobactin targets lipid II, a precursor of peptidoglycan 5 . Here we unravel the mechanism of teixobactin at the atomic level using a combination of solid-state NMR, microscopy, in vivo assays and molecular dynamics simulations. The unique enduracididine C-terminal headgroup of teixobactin specifically binds to the pyrophosphate-sugar moiety of lipid II, whereas the N terminus coordinates the pyrophosphate of another lipid II molecule. This configuration favours the formation of a β-sheet of teixobactins bound to the target, creating a supramolecular fibrillar structure. Specific binding to the conserved pyrophosphate-sugar moiety accounts for the lack of resistance to teixobactin 4 . The supramolecular structure compromises membrane integrity. Atomic force microscopy and molecular dynamics simulations show that the supramolecular structure displaces phospholipids, thinning the membrane. The long hydrophobic tails of lipid II concentrated within the supramolecular structure apparently contribute to membrane disruption. Teixobactin hijacks lipid II to help destroy the membrane. Known membrane-acting antibiotics also damage human cells, producing undesirable side effects. Teixobactin damages only membranes that contain lipid II, which is absent in eukaryotes, elegantly resolving the toxicity problem. The two-pronged action against cell wall synthesis and cytoplasmic membrane produces a highly effective compound targeting the bacterial cell envelope. Structural knowledge of the mechanism of teixobactin will enable the rational design of improved drug candidates.
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“Teixobactin exhibits a powerful inhibitory activity against S. aureus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis with no detectable resistance and acts through a unique mode of action.”
From Connecting metabolome and phenotype: recent advances in functional metabolomics tools for the identification of bioactive natural products (2024) · cites this paper as [50]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Shukla, R., Lavore, F., Maity, S., Derks, M. G. N., Jones, C. R., Vermeulen, B. J. A., Melcrová, A., Morris, M. A., Becker, L. M., Wang, X., Kumar, R., Medeiros-Silva, J., van Beekveld, R. A. M., Bonvin, A. M. J. J., Lorent, J. H., Lelli, M., Nowick, J. S., MacGillavry, H. D., Peoples, A. J., Spoering, A. L., Ling, L. L., Hughes, D. E., Roos, W. H., Breukink, E., Lewis, K., & Weingarth, M.
- Affiliations
- Utrecht University (NL)
- University of Groningen (NL)
- University of California, Irvine (US)
- Consorzio Interuniversitario Risonanze Magnetiche di Metallo Proteine (IT)
- NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals (US)
- Northeastern University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Weingarth, Markus
- ORCID
- Shukla, Rhythm
- Lavore, Francesca
- Maity, Sourav
- Derks, Maik G. N.
- Jones, Chelsea R.
- Vermeulen, Bram J. A.
- Melcrová, Adéla
- Morris, Michael A.
- Becker, Lea Marie
- Wang, Xiaoqi
- Kumar, Raj
- Medeiros-Silva, João
- van Beekveld, Roy A. M.
- Bonvin, Alexandre M. J. J.
- Lorent, Joseph H.
- Lelli, Moreno
- Nowick, James S.
- MacGillavry, Harold D.
- Peoples, Aaron J.
- Ling, Losee L.
- Hughes, Dallas E.
- Roos, Wouter H.
- Breukink, Eefjan
- Lewis, Kim
- Weingarth, Markus
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2022-08-03
- Volume
- 608
- Issue
- 7922
- Pages
- 390-396
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- PMC
- PMC9365693
- OpenAlex
- W4289638129
- Cited by
- 201
- References
- 67
- Citations by year
- 2026: 30 · 2025: 65 · 2024: 53 · 2023: 48 · 2022: 5
- FWCI
- 26.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Florence Research (University of Florence) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Dipartimenti di Eccellenza (Dipartimenti di Eccellenza 2018-2022, 2018–2022)
- European Commission (675728, 101045485, 823830, 2018-2022, HORIZON2020, 871037)
- Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (711.018.001, 680-91-007, 723.014.003, 718.015.001, 184.032.207)
- Università degli Studi di Firenze
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Microbiology › Antimicrobial Peptides and Activities
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology › Antimicrobial agents and applications
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology › Microbial Natural Products and Biosynthesis
- Keywords
- teixobactin, lipid II, peptidoglycan precursor, antibiotic mechanism of action, bacterial cell envelope, membrane damage, antimicrobial resistance
- MeSH terms
- Sugars, Alanine, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Bacteria, Cell Membrane, Cell Wall, Humans, Lipids, Microbial Sensitivity Tests, Diphosphates, Pyrrolidines, Protein Structure, Secondary, Microscopy, Atomic Force, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular, Drug Resistance, Bacterial, Depsipeptides, Microbial Viability, Molecular Dynamics Simulation
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