A thiol-reactive Ru(II) ion, not CO release, underlies the potent antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties of CO-releasing molecule-3.

ABSTRACT: Carbon monoxide (CO)-releasing molecules (CORMs), mostly metal carbonyl compounds, are extensively used as experimental tools to deliver CO, a biological 'gasotransmitter', in mammalian systems. CORMs are also explored as potential novel antimicrobial drugs, effectively and rapidly killing bacteria in vitro and in animal models, but are reportedly benign towards mammalian cells. Ru-carbonyl CORMs, exemplified by CORM-3 (Ru(CO)₃Cl(glycinate)), exhibit the most potent antimicrobial effects against Escherichia coli. We demonstrate that CORM-3 releases little CO in buffers and cell culture media and that the active antimicrobial agent is Ru(II), which binds tightly to thiols. Thus, thiols and amino acids in complex growth media - such as histidine, methionine and oxidised glutathion

SUBMITTER: Southam HM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6067063 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature