2025/04/11 by Abdelhakim Boudrioua, Joe D. Joiner, Iwan Grin +21 · 2 voices · 2 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · #Bacteria #Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology #Bacteriophages and microbial interactions #Biochemistry #Biology #Cell biology #Effector #Gene #Genetics #Microbiology #Pathogen #Pathogenicity island #Regulator #Salmonella #Salmonella and Campylobacter epidemiology #Salmonella enterica #Secretion #Type three secretion system #Virulence
paper · pdf · doi:10.1126/sciadv.adr5235
published in Science Advances 11(15), eadr5235 (American Association for the Advancement of Science)
openalex publication_date 2025/04/11 · openalex created_date 2025/04/12 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
The enteric pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium relies on the activity of effector proteins to invade, replicate, and disseminate into host epithelial cells and other tissues, thereby causing disease. Secretion and injection of effector proteins into host cells is mediated by dedicated secretion systems, which hence represent major virulence determinants. Here, we report the identification of a synthetic small molecule with drug-like properties, C26, which suppresses the secretion of effector proteins and consequently hinders bacterial invasion of eukaryotic cells. C26 binds to and inhibits HilD, the transcriptional regulator of the major secretion systems. Although sharing the same binding pocket as the previously described long-chain fatty acid ligands, C26 inhibits HilD with a unique binding mode and a distinct mechanism. We provide evidence of intramacrophage activity and present analogs with improved potency and suitability as scaffolds to develop antivirulence agents against Salmonella infections in humans and animals.