Insights into the antibacterial mechanism of action of chelating agents by selective deprivation of iron, manganese and zinc

Paterson, Joy R.; Beecroft, Marikka S.; Mulla, Raminder S.; Osman, Deenah; Reeder, Nancy L.; Caserta, Justin A.; Young, Tessa R.; Pettigrew, Charles A.; Davies, Gareth E.; Williams, J.A. Gareth; Sharples, Gary J.

Abstract

Bacterial growth and proliferation can be restricted by limiting the availability of metal ions in their environment. Humans sequester iron, manganese and zinc to help prevent infection by pathogens, a system termed nutritional immunity. Commercially-used chelants have high binding affinities with a variety of metal ions, which may lead to antibacterial properties that mimic these innate immune processes. However, the modes of action of many of these chelating agents in bacterial growth inhibition and their selectivity in metal deprivation in cellulo remain ill-defined. We address this shortcoming by examining the effect of eleven chelators on Escherichia coli growth and their impact on the cellular concentration of five metals. Four distinct effects were uncovered: i) no apparent alteration in metal composition, ii) depletion of manganese alongside reductions in iron and zinc levels, iii) reduced zinc levels with a modest reduction in manganese, and iv) reduced iron levels coupled with elevated manganese. These effects do not correlate with the absolute known chelant metal ion affinities in solution, however, for at least five chelators for which key data are available, they can be explained by differences in the relative affinity of chelants for each metal ion. The results reveal significant insights into the mechanism of growth inhibition by chelants, highlighting their potential as antibacterials and as tools to probe how bacteria tolerate selective metal deprivation.

Citation

Paterson, J. R., Beecroft, M. S., Mulla, R. S., Osman, D., Reeder, N. L., Caserta, J. A., Young, T. R., Pettigrew, C. A., Davies, G. E., Williams, J. G., & Sharples, G. J. (2022). Insights into the antibacterial mechanism of action of chelating agents by selective deprivation of iron, manganese and zinc. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 88(2), Article e01641-21. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.01641-21

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 9, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Nov 17, 2021
• Publication Date: Jan 25, 2022
• Deposit Date: Nov 22, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 7, 2021
• Journal: Applied and Environmental Microbiology
• Print ISSN: 0099-2240
• Electronic ISSN: 1098-5336
• Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 88
• Issue: 2
• Article Number: e01641-21
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.01641-21
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1222437