Total Synthesis of Tetrahydrolipstatin, Its Derivatives, and Evaluation of Their Ability to Potentiate Multiple Antibiotic Classes against Mycobacterium Species

Tetrahydrolipstatin (THL, 1a) has been shown to inhibit both mammalian and bacterial α/β hydrolases. In the case of bacterial systems, THL is a known inhibitor of several Mycobacterium tuberculosis hydrolases involved in mycomembrane biosynthesis. Herein we report a highly efficient eight-step asymmetric synthesis of THL using a route that allows modification of the THL α-chain substituent to afford compounds 1a through 1e. The key transformation in the synthesis was use of a (TPP)CrCl/Co₂(CO)₈-catalyzed regioselective and stereospecific carbonylation on an advanced epoxide intermediate to yield a trans-β-lactone. These compounds are modest inhibitors of Ag85A and Ag85C, two α/β hydrolases of M. tuberculosis involved in the biosynthesis of the mycomembrane. Among these compounds, 10d showed the highest inhibitory effect on Ag85A (34 ± 22 μM) and Ag85C (66 ± 8 μM), and its X-ray structure was solved in complex with Ag85C to 2.5 Å resolution. In contrast, compound 1e exhibited the best-in-class MICs of 50 μM (25 μg/mL) and 16 μM (8.4 μg/mL) against M. smegmatis and M. tuberculosis H37Ra, respectively, using a microtiter assay plate. Combination of 1e with 13 well-established antibiotics synergistically enhanced the potency of few of these antibiotics in M. smegmatis and M. tuberculosis H37Ra. Compound 1e applied at concentrations 4-fold lower than its MIC enhanced the MIC of the synergistic antibiotic by 2-256-fold. In addition to observing synergy with first-line drugs, rifamycin and isoniazid, the MIC of vancomycin against M. tuberculosis H37Ra was 65 μg/mL; however, the MIC was lowered to 0.25 μg/mL in the presence of 2.1 μg/mL 1e demonstrating the potential of targeting mycobacterial hydrolases involved in mycomembrane and peptidoglycan biosynthesis.