Development of anti-fungal pesticides from protein kinase inhibitor-based anticancer agents

Regiocontrolled Synthesis of 1-Substituted-3(5)-carboxyalkyl-1H-pyrazoles Using Trichloromethyl Enones

In this work, we present a regiocontrolled methodology to prepare 1-substituted-3(5)-carboxyalkyl-1H-pyrazoles using trichloromethyl enones as starting materials. It was found that the selectivity of the reaction depends on the nature of the hydrazine: when using arylhydrazine hydrochlorides, synthesis of the 1,3-regioisomer was achieved (22 examples, 37-97% yields), while the corresponding free hydrazine led exclusively to the 1,5-regioisomer (12 examples, 52-83% yields). The trichloromethyl group was used as a precursor for the carboxyalkyl moiety, furnishing a one-pot three-component regioselective protocol suitable for preparing both isomers at moderate to excellent yields. The selectivity of the reaction was investigated through NMR analyses and the structures of the products were unambiguously determined by SCXR analyses.

Protein Kinases as Potential Targets Contribute to the Development of Agrochemicals

Using agrochemicals against pest insects, fungi, and weeds plays a major part in maintaining and improving crop yields, which helps to solve the issue of food security. Due to the limited targets and resistance of agrochemicals, protein kinases are regarded as attractive potential targets to develop new agrochemicals. Recently, a lot of investigations have shown the extension of agrochemicals by targeting protein kinases, implying an increasing concern for this kind of method. However, few people have summarized and discussed the targetability of protein kinases contributing to the development of agrochemicals. In this work, we introduce the research on protein kinases as potential targets used in crop protection and discuss the prospects of protein kinases in the field of agrochemical development. This study may not only provide guidance for the contribution of protein kinases to the development of agrochemicals but also help nonprofessionals such as students learn and understand the role of protein kinases quickly.

Development of 1,5-Diaryl-Pyrazole-3-Formate Analogs as Antifungal Pesticides and Their Application in Controlling Peanut Stem Rot Disease

Stem rot disease caused by Sclerotium rolfsii is one of the destructive diseases in peanut and poses a big risk to peanut production. Current fungicides in the market have not provided satisfactory control efficacy and thus called for novel fungicides with different structures as an alternative treatment strategy. Our previously developed phenylpyrazole compound 3c demonstrated modest inhibitory effect against S. rolfsii. The following structure modification identified an unreported compound 6, which bears a 3-chloropyridinyl moiety as the most prominent derivative with an IC₅₀ of 12 μg/ml in potato dextrose agar (PDA) assay, higher than those of 0.8 and 1.8 μg/ml associated with thifluzamide and tebuconazole, respectively. However, compound 6 showed similar controlling effects to those of thifluzamide and tebuconazole in field study. This study underscores the potential of 1,5-diaryl-pyrazole-3-formate as an antifungal candidate for stem rot disease management.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of pyrazole-aromatic containing carboxamides as potent SDH inhibitors

To continue our ongoing studies on discovery of new potent antifungal leads, 43 novel pyrazole-aromatic containing carboxamides were rationally designed and synthesized. Bioassays indicated that most target compounds displayed good in vitro antifungal activities against Botrytis cinerea, Rhizoctonia cerealis and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and in vivo antifungal activity against R. solani. Compound 11ea exhibited the most significant in vitro activity against R. cerealis (EC₅₀ = 0.93 μg/mL) with about 2-fold more potent than a previously reported lead compound A1 (EC₅₀ = 2.01 μg/mL), and about 11-fold more potent than the positive control/commercial succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor thifluzamide (EC₅₀ = 23.09 μg/mL). Structure-activity relationship analysis and molecular docking simulations indicated that the presence of difluoromethyl pyrazole-(m-benzene) carboxamide scaffold obviously increased the antifungal activity. The further enzymatic bioassay showed that both thifluzamide and compound 11ea displayed excellent SDH inhibitory effects, and fluorescence quenching analysis suggested that they may share the same target SDH.

Antifungal Drug Repurposing

Control of fungal pathogens is increasingly problematic due to the limited number of effective drugs available for antifungal therapy. Conventional antifungal drugs could also trigger human cytotoxicity associated with the kidneys and liver, including the generation of reactive oxygen species. Moreover, increased incidences of fungal resistance to the classes of azoles, such as fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, or posaconazole, or echinocandins, including caspofungin, anidulafungin, or micafungin, have been documented. Of note, certain azole fungicides such as propiconazole or tebuconazole that are applied to agricultural fields have the same mechanism of antifungal action as clinical azole drugs. Such long-term application of azole fungicides to crop fields provides environmental selection pressure for the emergence of pan-azole-resistant fungal strains such as Aspergillus fumigatus having TR34/L98H mutations, specifically, a 34 bp insertion into the cytochrome P450 51A (CYP51A) gene promoter region and a leucine-to-histidine substitution at codon 98 of CYP51A. Altogether, the emerging resistance of pathogens to currently available antifungal drugs and insufficiency in the discovery of new therapeutics engender the urgent need for the development of new antifungals and/or alternative therapies for effective control of fungal pathogens. We discuss the current needs for the discovery of new clinical antifungal drugs and the recent drug repurposing endeavors as alternative methods for fungal pathogen control.

2,4-Diketo esters: Crucial intermediates for drug discovery

Convenient structures such as 2,4-diketo esters have been widely used as an effective pattern in medicinal chemistry and pharmacology for drug discovery. 2,4-Diketonate is a common scaffold that can be found in many biologically active and naturally occurring compounds. Also, many 2,4-diketo ester derivatives have been prepared due to their suitable synthesis. These synthetic drugs and natural products have shown numerous interesting biological properties with clinical potential as a cure for the broad specter of diseases. This review aims to highlight the important evidence of 2,4-diketo esters as a privileged scaffold in medicinal chemistry and pharmacology. Herein, numerous aspects of 2,4-diketo esters will be summarized, including synthesis and isolation of their derivatives, development of novel synthetic methodologies, the evaluation of their biological properties as well as the mechanisms of action of the diketo ester derivates. This paperwork is expected to be a comprehensive, trustworthy, and critical review of the 2,4-diketo ester intermediate to the chemistry community.

Development of celecoxib-derived antifungals for crop protection

Selective COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib was found directly inhibiting the growth of tested phytopathogenic fungi with the inhibitory rate ranging from 30 to 40% at 100 µg/ml. Lead optimization of celecoxib led to the identification of compound 12 among its derivatives as the most active antifungal candidate. The antifungal effect of compound 12 was supposed to be independent of COX-2 inhibition. Transcriptome profiling analysis of Fusarium graminearium (PH-1) treated with compound 12 brought about 406 up-regulated and 572 down-regulated differentially express genes (DEGs) respectively.

High Efficiency Drug Repurposing Design for New Antifungal Agents

Current antifungal interventions have often limited efficiency in treating fungal pathogens, particularly those resistant to commercial drugs or fungicides. Antifungal drug repurposing is an alternative intervention strategy, whereby new utility of various marketed, non-antifungal drugs could be repositioned as novel antifungal agents. In this study, we investigated “chemosensitization” as a method to improve the efficiency of antifungal drug repurposing, wherein combined application of a second compound (viz., chemosensitizer) with a conventional, non-antifungal drug could greatly enhance the antifungal activity of the co-applied drug. Redox-active natural compounds or structural derivatives, such as thymol (2-isopropyl-5-methylphenol), 4-isopropyl-3-methylphenol, or 3,5-dimethoxybenzaldehyde, could serve as potent chemosensitizers to enhance antifungal activity of the repurposed drug bithionol. Of note, inclusion of fungal mutants, such as antioxidant mutants, could also facilitate drug repurposing efficiency, which is reflected in the enhancement of antifungal efficacy of bithionol. Bithionol overcame antifungal (viz., fludioxonil) tolerance of the antioxidant mutants of the human/animal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. Altogether, our strategy can lead to the development of a high efficiency drug repurposing design, which enhances the susceptibility of pathogens to drugs, reduces time and costs for new antifungal development, and abates drug or fungicide resistance.