Inhibitors of staphylococcus SarA protein function involved in the expression of staphylococcal virulence factors and the use thereof in treating staphylococcal infections

摘要

The present invention relates to inhibitors of iStaphylococcus/i SarA protein function involved in the expression of staphylococcal virulence factors and the use of these inhibitors to treat and prevent staphylococcal infections in subjects. Particularly, the inhibitors act to interfere with the binding of the SarA protein to its binding site(s). The selection of specific inhibitors of the SarA protein is made possible as a result of the identification of the binding sites of SarA protein on at least a portion of the iagr/i (accessory gene regulator) gene, a gene that like the isar/i (staphylococcal accessory regulator) gene, plays a role in the virulence of iStaphylococcus/i. The present invention also is directed to a method of designing, synthesizing and identifying inhibitors of SarA function and its role in the expression of staphylococcal virulence factors.