Interaction of fosfomycin with the glycerol 3-phosphate transporter of Escherichia coli

Abstract

Background: Fosfomycin is widely used to treat urinary tract and pediatric gastrointestinal infections of bacteria. It is supposed that this antibiotic enters cells via two transport systems, including the bacterial Glycerol-3-phosphate Transporter (GlpT). Impaired function of GlpT is one mechanism for fosfomycin resistance.

Methods: The interaction of fosfomycin with the recombinant and purified GlpT of Escherichia coli reconstituted in liposomes has been studied. IC(50) and the half-saturation constant of the transporter for external fosfomycin (K(i)) were determined by transport assay of [(14)C]glycerol-3-phosphate catalyzed by recombinant GlpT. Efficacy of fosfomycin on growth rates of GlpT defective bacteria strains transformed with recombinant GlpT was measured.

Results: Fosfomycin, externally added to the proteoliposomes, poorly inhibited the glycerol-3-phosphate/glycerol-3-phosphate antiport catalyzed by the reconstituted transporter with an IC(50) of 6.4mM. A kinetic analysis revealed that the inhibition was completely competitive, that is, fosfomycin interacted with the substrate-binding site and the K(i) measured was 1.65mM. Transport assays performed with proteoliposomes containing internal fosfomycin indicate that it was not very well transported by GlpT. Complementation study, performed with GlpT defective bacteria strains, indicated that the fosfomycin resistance, beside deficiency in antibiotic transporter, could be due to other gene defects.

Conclusions: The poor transport observed in a reconstituted system together with the high value of K(i) and the results of complementation study well explain the usual high dosage of this drug for the treatment of the urinary tract infections.

General significance: This is the first report regarding functional analysis of interaction between fosfomycin and GlpT.