Pathogen-driven reactivation of metabolite prodrugs defines nitroxoline's iron-deprivation antibiotic activity

Authors

Deschner, F., Kinsinger, T., Kiefer, A. F., Bartel, J., Voltz, A., Schliessmann, K., Walzer, N., Becker, S. L., Kany, A. M., Fries, F., Herrmann, J., Mueller, R.

Abstract

The rise of antimicrobial resistance warrants renewed attention to established but overlooked antibiotics such as nitroxoline (NTX). Here, we systematically dissect NTX's mode of action and investigate the contribution of its first-pass metabolites, NTX-sulphate and NTX-glucuronide. We identified metallophore-mediated cellular iron deprivation as the principal antibacterial mechanism of NTX, characterized by induction of iron acquisition pathways and Fe-S cluster proteins, and concomitant loss of protein-bound iron. In contrast, NTX metabolites were biologically inactive and lacked metal-chelating properties. Ex vivo assays demonstrated that clinically relevant uropathogens, including Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, efficiently reconvert these metabolites into active NTX in human urine. Together, our findings establish a mechanistic framework linking NTX antibacterial activity, host detoxification, and pathogen-dependent metabolite reactivation, and providing a molecular explanation for NTX's enduring therapeutic potential and favourable safety profile.

Preprint server: bioRxiv
The authors list and abstract were imported from bioRxiv on 12 Jun 2026.

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