Fragment-based discovery of a new class of inhibitors targeting mycobacterial tRNA modification
Translational frameshift errors are often deleterious to the synthesis of functional proteins as they lead to the production of truncated or inactive proteins. TrmD (tRNA-(N(1)G37) methyltransferase) is an essential tRNA modification enzyme in bacteria that prevents +1 errors in the reading frame during protein translation and has been identified as a therapeutic target for several bacterial infections. Here we validate TrmD as a target in Mycobacterium abscessus and describe the application of a structure-guided fragment-based drug discovery approach for the design of a new class of inhibitors against this enzyme. A fragment library screening followed by structure-guided chemical elaboration of hits led to the development of compounds with potent in vitro TrmD inhibitory activity. Several of these compounds exhibit activity against planktonic M. abscessus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The compounds were further active in macrophage infection models against Mycobacterium leprae and M. abscessus suggesting the potential for novel broad-spectrum mycobacterial drugs.