Identification of Potential Therapeutics to Conquer Drug Resistance in Salmonella typhimurium: Drug Repurposing Strategy

Salmonella typhimurium is the main cause of gastrointestinal illness in humans, and treatment options are decreasing because drug-resistant strains have emerged. The objective of this study was to use computational drug repurposing to identify a novel candidate with an effective mechanism of action to circumvent the drug resistance. We used the Mantra 2.0 database to initially screen drug candidates that share similar gene expression profiles to those of quinolones. Data were further reduced using pharmacophore mapping theory. Finally, we employed molecular-simulation studies to calculate the binding affinity of the screened candidates with DNA gyrase, alongside an analysis of side effects. A total of 16 drug candidates from the Mantra 2.0 database were screened. The pharmacophoric features of the screened candidates were examined and nalidixic acid features compared using the PharamGist program. A total of 11 compounds with the highest pharmacophore score were considered for binding energy calculation. Finally, we analysed the side effects of the eight drug candidates that showed significant binding affinity in the simulation study. Overall, flufenamic acid and sulconazole may be potential drug candidates that could be studied in vitro to assess their resistance profile against Salmonella enterica Typhimurium.