Title
Inhibitor discovery for the E. coli meningitis virulence factor IbeA from homology modeling and virtual screening
Abstract
Escherichia coli (E. coli) K1 is the most common Gram-negative bacteria cause of neonatal meningitis. The penetration of E. coli through the blood–brain barrier is a key step of the meningitis pathogenesis. A host receptor protein, Caspr1, interacts with the E. coli virulence factor IbeA and thus facilitates bacterial penetration through the blood–brain barrier. Based on this result, we have now predicted the binding pattern between Caspr1 and IbeA by an integrated computational protocol. Based on the predicted model, we have identified a putative molecular binding pocket in IbeA, that directly bind with Caspr1. This evidence indicates that the IbeA (229–343aa) region might play a key role in mediating the bacteria invasion. Virtual screening with the molecular model was conducted to search for potential inhibitors from 213,279 commercially available chemical compounds. From the top 50 identified compounds, 9 demonstrated a direct binding ability to the residues within the Caspr1 binding site on IbeA. By using human brain microvascular endothelial cells (hBMEC) with E. coli strain RS218, four molecules were characterized that significantly attenuated the bacteria invasions at concentrations devoid of cell toxicity. Our study provides useful structural information for understanding the pathogenesis of neonatal meningitis, and have identified drug-like compounds that could be used to develop effective anti-meningitis agents.
Year
DOI
Venue
2020
10.1007/s10822-019-00250-8
Journal of Computer-Aided Molecular Design
Keywords
Field
DocType
Protein structure, Binding ability, Virtual screening, Bacterial meningitis inhibitor, Bacteria invasion
Binding site,Virulence factor,Chemistry,Neonatal meningitis,Microbiology,Bioinformatics,Bacteria,Virtual screening,Homology modeling,Escherichia coli,Protein structure
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
34
1
1573-4951
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
0
0.34
0
Authors
9
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Xiaoqian Xu100.34
Li Zhang200.34
Ying Cai300.34
Dongxin Liu400.34
Zhengwen Shang500.34
Qiuhong Ren600.34
Qiong Li700.34
Weidong Zhao8222.31
Yuhua Chen900.34