Vancomycin Derivative Inactivates Carbapenem-Resistant and Induces Autophagy.

Vancomycin is a standard drug for the treatment of multidrug-resistant Gram-positive bacterial infections. Albeit, development of resistance (VRE, VRSA) and its inefficacy against persistent infections is a demerit. It is also intrinsically inactive against Gram-negative bacteria. Herein, we report a vancomycin derivative, VanQAmC, that addresses these challenges. VanQAmC was rapidly bactericidal against carbapenem-resistant (6 log CFU/mL reduction in 6 h), disrupted biofilms, and eradicated their stationary phase cells. In MRSA infected macrophages, the compound reduced the bacterial burden by 1.3 log CFU/mL while vancomycin exhibited a static effect. Further investigation indicated that the compound, unlike vancomycin, promoted the intracellular degradative mechanism, autophagy, in mammalian cells, which may have contributed to its intracellular activity. The findings of the work provide new perspectives on the field of glycopeptide antibiotics.