Feifei Chen

TL;DR: Virtual screening and optimization of inhibitor structure is used to identify 3,6-disubstituted triazolothiadiazole compounds as inhibitors of sortase, an enzyme that incorporates surface proteins into the staphylococcal envelope that may prevent hospital-acquired S. aureus infection in high-risk patients without the side effects of antibiotics.

TL;DR: It is shown that naftifine, a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved antifungal drug, blocks biosynthesis of carotenoid pigment at nanomolar concentrations, providing proof of concept that CrtN is a druggable target against S. aureus infections.

TL;DR: It is shown that citrate, the first intermediate of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, binds to and activates the catabolite control protein E (CcpE) of S. aureus, and inactivation of CcpE results in increased staphyloxanthin production, improved ability to acquire iron, increased resistance to whole-blood–mediated killing, and enhanced bacterial virulence in a mouse model of systemic infection.

TL;DR: A series of novel vancomycin derivatives carrying a sulfonium moiety exhibited enhanced antibacterial activity against VRB both in”vitro and in vivo, and the in’vivo pharmacokinetic profile, stability, and toxicity of these derivatives demonstrated good druggability of the sulfonia-vancomyquin analogues.

TL;DR: A previously unexplored signal transduction pathway, BfmS/BfmR/RhlR, for the regulation of rhl QS in P. aeruginosa is uncovered and it is proposed that BfmRS TCS may have an important role in the regulation and evolution of P.aeruginose virulence during chronic infection in CF lungs.