Hydrophobic polyoxins are resistant to intracellular degradation in Candida albicans

Two novel polyoxins, N-epsilon-(octanoyl)-lysyl-uracil polyoxin C (Oct-Lys-UPOC) and N-gamma-(octyl)-glutaminyluracil polyoxin C (Oct-Gln-UPOC), were synthesized by reacting uracil polyoxin C with the appropriate amino acid p-nitrophenyl ester. Oct-Lys-UPOC and Oct-Gln-UPOC were strong inhibitors (Kis = 1.7 X 10(-6)M) of chitin synthetase from Candida albicans membrane preparations. In a permeabilized-cell assay, Oct-Gln-UPOC had a 10-fold-lower inhibitory activity toward chitin synthetase than did the Oct-Lys-UPOC analog. Both compounds were resistant to hydrolysis by a cell extract of C. albicans H317; however, Oct-Gln-UPOC was hydrolyzed with a half-life of 23 min by a permeabilized-cell preparation. Oct-Lys-UPOC was resistant to hydrolysis by permeabilized cells. Oct-Gln-UPOC and Oct-Lys-UPOC did not compete with the transport of peptides or uridine into the cell. At concentrations up to 2 mM these two new polyoxins were ineffective in the inhibition of cell growth or reduction of cell viability, but they induced aberrant morphologies in C. albicans at a concentration of 0.25 mM. These data suggest that polyoxins containing hydrophobic amino acids retain strong chitin synthetase inhibitory activity and are resistant to cellular hydrolysis. They provide the first example of effective synthetic chitin synthetase inhibitors which are stable inside C. albicans.