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Pais JP, Antoniuk O, Pires D, Delgado T, Fortuna A, Costa PJ, Anes E, Constantino L. Synthesis, Activity, Toxicity, and In Silico Studies of New Antimycobacterial N-Alkyl Nitrobenzamides. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2024; 17:608. [PMID: 38794178 PMCID: PMC11124399 DOI: 10.3390/ph17050608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2024] [Revised: 04/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/04/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease that plagues the frailest members of society. We have developed a family of N-alkyl nitrobenzamides that exhibit promising antitubercular activities and can be considered a structural simplification of known inhibitors of decaprenylphosphoryl-β-D-ribofuranose 2'-oxidase (DprE1), an essential Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) enzyme and an emergent antitubercular target. Hereby, we report the development of these compounds via a simple synthetic methodology as well as their stability, cytotoxicity, and antitubercular activity. Studying their in vitro activity revealed that the 3,5-dinitro and the 3-nitro-5-trifluoromethyl derivatives were the most active, and within these, the derivatives with intermediate lipophilicities presented the best activities (MIC of 16 ng/mL). Additionally, in an ex vivo macrophage model of infection, the derivatives with chain lengths of six and twelve carbon atoms presented the best results, exhibiting activity profiles comparable to isoniazid. Although the proof is not definite, the assessment of susceptibility over multiple mycobacterial species, together with the structure similarities with known inhibitors of this enzyme, support DprE1 as a likely target of action for the compounds. This idea is also reinforced by the docking studies, where the fit of our more active compounds to the DprE1 binding pocket is very similar to what was observed for known inhibitors like DNB1.
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Affiliation(s)
- João P. Pais
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal (T.D.); (E.A.)
| | - Olha Antoniuk
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal (T.D.); (E.A.)
| | - David Pires
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal (T.D.); (E.A.)
- Faculdade de Fármácia, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
- Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Saúde (CIIS), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Estrada Octávio Pato, 2635-631 Rio de Mouro, Portugal
| | - Tiago Delgado
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal (T.D.); (E.A.)
| | - Andreia Fortuna
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal (T.D.); (E.A.)
- Instituto de Biosistemas e Ciências Integrativas (BioISI) and Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal;
| | - Paulo J. Costa
- Instituto de Biosistemas e Ciências Integrativas (BioISI) and Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal;
| | - Elsa Anes
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal (T.D.); (E.A.)
- Faculdade de Fármácia, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Luis Constantino
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal (T.D.); (E.A.)
- Faculdade de Fármácia, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
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Pais JP, Antoniuk O, Freire R, Pires D, Valente E, Anes E, Constantino L. Nitrobenzoates and Nitrothiobenzoates with Activity against M. tuberculosis. Microorganisms 2023; 11:microorganisms11040969. [PMID: 37110393 PMCID: PMC10142844 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11040969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 04/01/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Esters of weak acids have shown improved antimycobacterial activity over the corresponding free acids and nitro benzoates in particular have previously shown to have a very intriguing activity. To expand the potential of nitro-derivatives of benzoic acid as antimycobacterial drugs and explore the effects of various structural features on the activity of these compounds, we have obtained a library of 64 derivatives containing esters and thioesters of benzoates and studied their activity against M. tuberculosis, the stability of the compounds, their activation by mycobacterial enzymes and the potential cytotoxicity against human monocytic THP-1 cell line. Our results showed that the most active compounds are those with an aromatic nitro substitution, with the 3,5-dinitro esters series being the most active. Also, the greater antitubercular activity for the nitro derivatives was shown to be unrelated to their pKa values or hydrolysis rates. Given the conventional relationship between nitro-containing substances and toxicity, one might anticipate that the great antimicrobial activity of nitro compounds would be associated with high toxicity; yet, we have not found such a relationship. The nitrobenzoate scaffold, particularly the 3,5-dinitrobenzoate scaffold, merits further investigation, because it has the potential to generate future antimycobacterial agents with improved activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- João P Pais
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Olha Antoniuk
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Raquel Freire
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - David Pires
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Health, Católica Medical School, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Estrada Octávio Pato, 2635-631 Rio de Mouro, Portugal
| | - Emília Valente
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Elsa Anes
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Luis Constantino
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
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Pais JP, Policarpo M, Pires D, Francisco AP, Madureira AM, Testa B, Anes E, Constantino L. Fluoroquinolone Derivatives in the Treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2022; 15:ph15101213. [PMID: 36297325 PMCID: PMC9609866 DOI: 10.3390/ph15101213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) is currently one of the leading causes of death due to infective agents, and the growing rate of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) cases poses an emergent public health threat. Fluoroquinolones are commonly used in the treatment of both MDR TB and drug-sensitive tuberculosis patients who are intolerant to first-line antitubercular agents. Unfortunately, these drugs have mild side effects, relevant to the prolonged treatment regimens and diminished bioavailability due to binding of metal ions. Moreover, the resistance to fluoroquinolones is also on the rise, a characteristic of extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR TB). Here, we developed esters as prodrugs of the fluoroquinolones levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin, with long-chain fatty alcohols. Both the alcohols and the quinolone have previously shown antimycobacterial activity and the aim was to develop esters with improved lipophilicity and capable of delivering the free acid inside mycobacterial cells. The carboxylic acid group of fluoroquinolones is essential to the mode of action but is also responsible for many of its side effects and metal-chelating properties. The synthesis, stability in biological media, and antibacterial activity were evaluated, the latter not only against Mycobacterium tuberculosis but also against other clinically relevant bacterial species, since the parent compounds display a broad spectrum of activity. The biological results show a reduction in the antitubercular activity of the synthesized derivatives, probably due to deficient activation of the ester prodrug. Despite this, it was found that the derivatives exhibit bioactivity against other fluoroquinolone-resistant bacteria, indicating a different mode of action and suggesting that it may be worthwhile to research further modifications to the carboxylic acid group. This might lead to new compounds that are efficient against resistant strains. This idea that the compounds may act by a different mechanism of action was further supported by a brief computer investigation that demonstrated the potential lack of selectivity of the esters to the fluoroquinolone target.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Pedro Pais
- Research Institute for Medicines and Pharmaceutical Sciences (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Margarida Policarpo
- Research Institute for Medicines and Pharmaceutical Sciences (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - David Pires
- Research Institute for Medicines and Pharmaceutical Sciences (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Ana Paula Francisco
- Research Institute for Medicines and Pharmaceutical Sciences (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Ana Margarida Madureira
- Research Institute for Medicines and Pharmaceutical Sciences (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | | | - Elsa Anes
- Research Institute for Medicines and Pharmaceutical Sciences (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Luís Constantino
- Research Institute for Medicines and Pharmaceutical Sciences (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +35-19-6548-8519
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Valente E, Testa B, Constantino L. Activation of benzoate model prodrugs by mycobacteria. Comparison with mammalian plasma and liver hydrolysis. Eur J Pharm Sci 2021; 162:105831. [PMID: 33839258 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejps.2021.105831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2020] [Revised: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Due to difficulties in drug penetration in M. tuberculosis, a prodrug approach based on mycobacterial activation appears as a promising strategy to increase the delivery of antitubercular drugs to the target microorganisms. Esters have been successful used by us and others to deliver drugs to mycobacteria, however because very little is known about the metabolic hydrolysis of esters by mycobacteria in connection with prodrug activation, we decided to study the process further. For that we selected a series of 13 benzoates with different chain lengths and ramifications in the alkoxy side as model prodrugs and examined their hydrolysis by a mycobacterial homogenate, comparing the results with those obtained parallelly in human plasma and in total rat liver homogenate. In all biological media, the benzoates with a linear alkyl group showed a parabolic dependence between log(k) and logP (or the number of carbons of the linear alkyl chain) that reached a maximal value for the n-butyl chain. Considering linear correlations for the total number of compounds between log(k) and chosen descriptors, for mycobacterial esterases, pKa of the leaving alcohol (pKaLG) seem to be the most important descriptor. Plasma esterases seem to be quite sensitive to the Taft polarity parameter σ* and also to pKaLG and less sensitive to steric effects. Liver esterases seem to be more sensitive to the Taft steric descriptor ESc. Lipophilicity correlates weakly with log(k) in all the 3 media, however, is more important when one looks for mycobacterial activation selectivity in relation to plasma metabolism or in relation to liver homogenate metabolism. The importance of lipophilicity increases further when biparametric expressions are considered. We showed that it is easy to activate a wide variety of benzoate esters using a mycobacterial homogenate. The data also suggest that with careful design is possible to obtain tuberculostatic prodrug esters sensitive to mycobacterial hydrolases while reasonably resistant to plasma and liver hydrolysis. One important observation is that mycobacterial hydrolysis is less affected by bulky substituents than liver homogenate or plasma hydrolysis. tert-Butyl is probably the substituent in the alkoxy side that seems more adequate to resist simultaneously plasma and liver metabolism, while allowing activation by mycobacterial esterases. Hexyl is also a good option for the medicinal chemist if a linear alkoxy chain is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emília Valente
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | | | - Luís Constantino
- Research Institute for Medicines and Pharmaceutical Sciences (iMed.UL), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal; Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal.
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Jadeja D, Dogra N, Arya S, Singh G, Singh G, Kaur J. Characterization of LipN (Rv2970c) of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis H37Rv and its Probable Role in Xenobiotic Degradation. J Cell Biochem 2016. [PMID: 26212120 DOI: 10.1002/jcb.25285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
LipN (Rv2970c) belongs to the Lip family of M. tuberculosis H37Rv and is homologous to the human Hormone Sensitive Lipase. The enzyme demonstrated preference for short carbon chain substrates with optimal activity at 45°C/pH 8.0 and stability between pH 6.0-9.0. The specific activity of the enzyme was 217 U/mg protein with pNP-butyrate as substrate. It hydrolyzed tributyrin to di- and monobutyrin. The active-site residues of the enzyme were confirmed to be Ser216, Asp316, and His346. Tetrahydrolipstatin, RHC-80267 and N-bromosuccinimide inhibited LipN enzyme activity completely. Interestingly, Trp145, a non active-site residue, demonstrated functional role to retain enzyme activity. The enzyme was localized in cytosolic fraction of M. tuberculosis H37Rv. The enzyme was able to synthesize ester of butyric acid, methyl butyrate, in presence of methanol. LipN was able to hydrolyze 4-hydroxyphenylacetate to hydroquinone. The gene was not expressed in in-vitro growth conditions while the expression of rv2970c gene was observed post 6h of macrophage infection by M. tuberculosis H37Ra. Under individual in-vitro stress conditions, the gene was expressed during acidic stress condition only. These findings suggested that LipN is a cytosolic, acid inducible carboxylesterase with no positional specificity in demonstrating activity with short carbon chain substrates. It requires Trp145, a non active site residue, for it's enzyme activity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nandita Dogra
- Department of Biotechnology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India
| | - Stuti Arya
- Department of Biotechnology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India
| | - Gurpreet Singh
- Department of Biotechnology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India
| | - Gurdyal Singh
- Department of Biotechnology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India
| | - Jagdeep Kaur
- Department of Biotechnology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India
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Pires D, Valente E, Simões MF, Carmo N, Testa B, Constantino L, Anes E. Esters of Pyrazinoic Acid Are Active against Pyrazinamide-Resistant Strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Other Naturally Resistant Mycobacteria In Vitro and Ex Vivo within Macrophages. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2015; 59:7693-9. [PMID: 26438493 PMCID: PMC4649235 DOI: 10.1128/aac.00936-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2015] [Accepted: 09/23/2015] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Pyrazinamide (PZA) is active against major Mycobacterium tuberculosis species (M. tuberculosis, M. africanum, and M. microti) but not against M. bovis and M. avium. The latter two are mycobacterial species involved in human and cattle tuberculosis and in HIV coinfections, respectively. PZA is a first-line agent for the treatment of human tuberculosis and requires activation by a mycobacterial pyrazinamidase to form the active metabolite pyrazinoic acid (POA). As a result of this mechanism, resistance to PZA, as is often found in tuberculosis patients, is caused by point mutations in pyrazinamidase. In previous work, we have shown that POA esters and amides synthesized in our laboratory were stable in plasma (M. F. Simões, E. Valente, M. J. Gómez, E. Anes, and L. Constantino, Eur J Pharm Sci 37:257-263, 2009, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejps.2009.02.012). Although the amides did not present significant activity, the esters were active against sensitive mycobacteria at concentrations 5- to 10-fold lower than those of PZA. Here, we report that these POA derivatives possess antibacterial efficacy in vitro and ex vivo against several species and strains of Mycobacterium with natural or acquired resistance to PZA, including M. bovis and M. avium. Our results indicate that the resistance probably was overcome by cleavage of the prodrugs into POA and a long-chain alcohol. Although it is not possible to rule out that the esters have intrinsic activity per se, we bring evidence here that long-chain fatty alcohols possess a significant antimycobacterial effect against PZA-resistant species and strains and are not mere inactive promoieties. These findings may lead to candidate dual drugs having enhanced activity against both PZA-susceptible and PZA-resistant isolates and being suitable for clinical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Pires
- Research Institute for Medicines, iMed-ULisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Emília Valente
- Research Institute for Medicines, iMed-ULisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Marta Filipa Simões
- Research Institute for Medicines, iMed-ULisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Nuno Carmo
- Research Institute for Medicines, iMed-ULisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Bernard Testa
- Department of Pharmacy, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Luís Constantino
- Research Institute for Medicines, iMed-ULisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Elsa Anes
- Research Institute for Medicines, iMed-ULisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
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