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Azevedo LG, Sosa E, de Queiroz ATL, Barral A, Wheeler RJ, Nicolás MF, Farias LP, Do Porto DF, Ramos PIP. High-throughput prioritization of target proteins for development of new antileishmanial compounds. Int J Parasitol Drugs Drug Resist 2024; 25:100538. [PMID: 38669848 PMCID: PMC11068527 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2024.100538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis, a vector-borne disease, is caused by the infection of Leishmania spp., obligate intracellular protozoan parasites. Presently, human vaccines are unavailable, and the primary treatment relies heavily on systemic drugs, often presenting with suboptimal formulations and substantial toxicity, making new drugs a high priority for LMIC countries burdened by the disease, but a low priority in the agenda of most pharmaceutical companies due to unattractive profit margins. New ways to accelerate the discovery of new, or the repositioning of existing drugs, are needed. To address this challenge, our study aimed to identify potential protein targets shared among clinically-relevant Leishmania species. We employed a subtractive proteomics and comparative genomics approach, integrating high-throughput multi-omics data to classify these targets based on different druggability metrics. This effort resulted in the ranking of 6502 ortholog groups of protein targets across 14 pathogenic Leishmania species. Among the top 20 highly ranked groups, metabolic processes known to be attractive drug targets, including the ubiquitination pathway, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, and purine synthesis, were rediscovered. Additionally, we unveiled novel promising targets such as the nicotinate phosphoribosyltransferase enzyme and dihydrolipoamide succinyltransferases. These groups exhibited appealing druggability features, including less than 40% sequence identity to the human host proteome, predicted essentiality, structural classification as highly druggable or druggable, and expression levels above the 50th percentile in the amastigote form. The resources presented in this work also represent a comprehensive collection of integrated data regarding trypanosomatid biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas G Azevedo
- Center for Data and Knowledge Integration for Health (CIDACS), Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz Bahia), Salvador, Bahia, Brazil; Post-graduate Program in Biotechnology and Investigative Medicine, Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
| | - Ezequiel Sosa
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Artur T L de Queiroz
- Center for Data and Knowledge Integration for Health (CIDACS), Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz Bahia), Salvador, Bahia, Brazil; Post-graduate Program in Biotechnology and Investigative Medicine, Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
| | - Aldina Barral
- Laboratório de Medicina e Saúde Pública de Precisão (MeSP2), Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz Bahia), Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
| | - Richard J Wheeler
- Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
| | - Marisa F Nicolás
- Laboratório Nacional de Computação Científica, Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
| | - Leonardo P Farias
- Post-graduate Program in Biotechnology and Investigative Medicine, Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil; Laboratório de Medicina e Saúde Pública de Precisão (MeSP2), Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz Bahia), Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
| | | | - Pablo Ivan P Ramos
- Center for Data and Knowledge Integration for Health (CIDACS), Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz Bahia), Salvador, Bahia, Brazil; Post-graduate Program in Biotechnology and Investigative Medicine, Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
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Marín M, López M, Gallego-Yerga L, Álvarez R, Peláez R. Experimental structure based drug design (SBDD) applications for anti-leishmanial drugs: A paradigm shift? Med Res Rev 2024; 44:1055-1120. [PMID: 38142308 DOI: 10.1002/med.22005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/25/2023]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a group of neglected tropical diseases caused by at least 20 species of Leishmania protozoa, which are spread by the bite of infected sandflies. There are three main forms of the disease: cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL, the most common), visceral leishmaniasis (VL, also known as kala-azar, the most serious), and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis. One billion people live in areas endemic to leishmaniasis, with an annual estimation of 30,000 new cases of VL and more than 1 million of CL. New treatments for leishmaniasis are an urgent need, as the existing ones are inefficient, toxic, and/or expensive. We have revised the experimental structure-based drug design (SBDD) efforts applied to the discovery of new drugs against leishmaniasis. We have grouped the explored targets according to the metabolic pathways they belong to, and the key achieved advances are highlighted and evaluated. In most cases, SBDD studies follow high-throughput screening campaigns and are secondary to pharmacokinetic optimization, due to the majoritarian belief that there are few validated targets for SBDD in leishmaniasis. However, some SBDD strategies have significantly contributed to new drug candidates against leishmaniasis and a bigger number holds promise for future development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Marín
- Laboratorio de Química Orgánica y Farmacéutica, Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, Universidad de Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, Salamanca, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Salamanca, Spain
- Centro de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales de la Universidad de Salamanca (CIETUS), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Marta López
- Laboratorio de Química Orgánica y Farmacéutica, Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, Universidad de Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, Salamanca, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Salamanca, Spain
- Centro de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales de la Universidad de Salamanca (CIETUS), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Laura Gallego-Yerga
- Laboratorio de Química Orgánica y Farmacéutica, Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, Universidad de Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, Salamanca, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Salamanca, Spain
- Centro de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales de la Universidad de Salamanca (CIETUS), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Raquel Álvarez
- Laboratorio de Química Orgánica y Farmacéutica, Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, Universidad de Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, Salamanca, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Salamanca, Spain
- Centro de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales de la Universidad de Salamanca (CIETUS), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Rafael Peláez
- Laboratorio de Química Orgánica y Farmacéutica, Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, Universidad de Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, Salamanca, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Salamanca, Spain
- Centro de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales de la Universidad de Salamanca (CIETUS), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, Salamanca, Spain
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Farhadi S, Taghizadeh M, Mousavi-Niri N, Nemati F. Comparative Analysis of Leishmania major Nucleoside Hydrolases Toward Selecting Multi-target Strategy. Acta Parasitol 2024; 69:332-342. [PMID: 38085461 DOI: 10.1007/s11686-023-00748-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE Leishmania causes multiple types of leishmaniasis in different parts of the world. It has a lack of metabolic machine to produce purine bases. Therefore, the parasite produces purine bases through the breakdown of nutritional nucleotides and it makes the nucleoside hydrolases (NHs) good drug targets. They have different substrate-preferring (SP) types. Our objectives were modeling and comparative analysis of these protein structures for Leishmania major. METHOD In this work, available sequences for all SP types of L. major NH enzymes including inosine-uridine preferring NH (IUNH), inosine-guanosine preferring NH (IGNH), and inosine-adenosine-guanosine preferring NH (IAGNH) were used to make 24 structural models via SWISS-MODEL and LOMETS. After evaluating the structural models, three enzyme structures were finalized and used to analyze substrate-binding pockets. RESULTS The three SP types of L. major NH enzymes that can breakdown purine nucleosides were highly different in terms of sequence, structure, and profile of interacting residues within the substrate-binding pockets. In this study, new enzyme structures have been presented for three SP types and they have been compared in different aspects and it indicated that they were very different from each other. CONCLUSION Although, previously indicated that from these three SP types in genera other than Leishmania, the role of IGNH and IAGNH was greater than IUNH in supplying purine bases, till this work, just IUNH has been structurally studied and used in drug-design investigations for Leishmania. Therefore, we are offering to use all three SP types of NHs as multi-target strategy in anti-leishmaniosis drug-design studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samaneh Farhadi
- Biotechnology Department, Faculty of Advanced Sciences and Technology, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, 1916893813, Iran
| | - Mohammad Taghizadeh
- Biotechnology Department, Faculty of Advanced Sciences and Technology, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, 1916893813, Iran.
| | - Neda Mousavi-Niri
- Biotechnology Department, Faculty of Advanced Sciences and Technology, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, 1916893813, Iran
| | - Fahimeh Nemati
- Biotechnology Department, Faculty of Advanced Sciences and Technology, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, 1916893813, Iran
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Pérez-Pertejo Y, García-Estrada C, Martínez-Valladares M, Murugesan S, Reguera RM, Balaña-Fouce R. Polyamine Metabolism for Drug Intervention in Trypanosomatids. Pathogens 2024; 13:79. [PMID: 38251386 PMCID: PMC10820115 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens13010079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Revised: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Neglected tropical diseases transmitted by trypanosomatids include three major human scourges that globally affect the world's poorest people: African trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness, American trypanosomiasis or Chagas disease and different types of leishmaniasis. Different metabolic pathways have been targeted to find antitrypanosomatid drugs, including polyamine metabolism. Since their discovery, the naturally occurring polyamines, putrescine, spermidine and spermine, have been considered important metabolites involved in cell growth. With a complex metabolism involving biosynthesis, catabolism and interconversion, the synthesis of putrescine and spermidine was targeted by thousands of compounds in an effort to produce cell growth blockade in tumor and infectious processes with limited success. However, the discovery of eflornithine (DFMO) as a curative drug against sleeping sickness encouraged researchers to develop new molecules against these diseases. Polyamine synthesis inhibitors have also provided insight into the peculiarities of this pathway between the host and the parasite, and also among different trypanosomatid species, thus allowing the search for new specific chemical entities aimed to treat these diseases and leading to the investigation of target-based scaffolds. The main molecular targets include the enzymes involved in polyamine biosynthesis (ornithine decarboxylase, S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase and spermidine synthase), enzymes participating in their uptake from the environment, and the enzymes involved in the redox balance of the parasite. In this review, we summarize the research behind polyamine-based treatments, the current trends, and the main challenges in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yolanda Pérez-Pertejo
- Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, Campus de Vegazana s/n, Universidad de León, 24071 León, Spain; (Y.P.-P.); (C.G.-E.); (R.M.R.)
- Instituto de Biomedicina (IBIOMED), Campus de Vegazana s/n, Universidad de León, 24071 León, Spain
| | - Carlos García-Estrada
- Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, Campus de Vegazana s/n, Universidad de León, 24071 León, Spain; (Y.P.-P.); (C.G.-E.); (R.M.R.)
- Instituto de Biomedicina (IBIOMED), Campus de Vegazana s/n, Universidad de León, 24071 León, Spain
| | | | - Sankaranarayanan Murugesan
- Medicinal Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani, Pilani 333031, India;
| | - Rosa M. Reguera
- Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, Campus de Vegazana s/n, Universidad de León, 24071 León, Spain; (Y.P.-P.); (C.G.-E.); (R.M.R.)
- Instituto de Biomedicina (IBIOMED), Campus de Vegazana s/n, Universidad de León, 24071 León, Spain
| | - Rafael Balaña-Fouce
- Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, Campus de Vegazana s/n, Universidad de León, 24071 León, Spain; (Y.P.-P.); (C.G.-E.); (R.M.R.)
- Instituto de Biomedicina (IBIOMED), Campus de Vegazana s/n, Universidad de León, 24071 León, Spain
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Wang X, Yang S, Lu J, Xie G, Wu D. Screening and application of purine degrading Limosilactobacillus fermentum LF-1 from Huangjiu fermentation broth. JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE 2023; 103:7921-7931. [PMID: 37490358 DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.12881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND As the important building blocks of nucleic acids, purines are alkaloids and responsible for hyperuricemia and gout. The purine content in Huangjiu is higher, and mainly exists in the form of free bases, which is easier to be absorbed by human body. However, the currently available reports on purine in Huangjiu mainly focus on detection methods and content survey. No studies on the regulation of the purine content in Huangjiu have been reported. RESULTS Eighty-four strains, with the degradation capacity of purine, were screened from the fermentation broth of Huangjiu. In detail, the isolated lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strain 75 # showed the strongest degradation ability of guanosine, inosine and four purines, which reduce their levels by 83.4% (guanosine), 97.4% (inosine), 95.1% (adenine), 95.0% (guanine), 94.9% (hypoxanthine) and 65.9% (xanthine), respectively. Subsequently, the LAB strain 75# was identified to be Limosilactobacillus fermentum by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, which was named as Limosilactobacillus fermentum LF-1 and applied to the fermentation of Huangjiu in the laboratory. Compared with the fermentation broth of Huangjiu without adding L. fermentum LF-1, the content of purine compounds in the fermentation broth inoculated with L. fermentum LF-1 was reduced by 64.7%. In addition, the fermented Huangjiu had richer flavor compounds, and the physicochemical indices were in accordance with the national standard of Chinese Huangjiu. CONCLUSION The screened strain L. fermentum LF-1 may be a promising probiotic for the development of a novel that can efficiently degrade purine in Huangjiu. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianglin Wang
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
- National Engineering Research Center of Cereal Fermentation and Food Biomanufacturing, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
- School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
| | - Shaojie Yang
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
- National Engineering Research Center of Cereal Fermentation and Food Biomanufacturing, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
- School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
| | - Jian Lu
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
- National Engineering Research Center of Cereal Fermentation and Food Biomanufacturing, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
- School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
| | - Guangfa Xie
- Laboratory of Pollution Exposure and Health Intervention of Zhejiang Province, College of Biology and Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Dianhui Wu
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
- National Engineering Research Center of Cereal Fermentation and Food Biomanufacturing, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
- School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
- Laboratory of Pollution Exposure and Health Intervention of Zhejiang Province, College of Biology and Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, China
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de Oliveira PCO, Ceroullo MS, Dos Santos MB, Medeiros PRC, Marques BCB, Tinoco LW, de Souza MCBV, da Costa Santos Boechat F, de Moraes MC. Nucleoside hydrolase immobilized on magnetic particles as a tool for onflow screening and characterization of inhibitors. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2023; 235:115589. [PMID: 37531732 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2023.115589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Nucleoside Hydrolases (NH) are considered a target for the development of new antiprotozoal agents. The development of new and automated screening assays for the identification of NH inhibitors can accelerate the first stages of the drug discovery process. In this work, NH from Leishmania donovani (LdNH) was covalently immobilized onto magnetic particles (LdNH-MPs) and trapped by magnets into a TFE tube to yield an immobilized enzyme reactor (IMER). For an automated assay, the LdNH-MP-IMER was connected in-line to an analytical column in an HPLC-DAD system to monitor the enzyme activity through quantification of the product hypoxanthine. Kinetic studies provided a KM value of 2079 ± 87 µmol.L-1 for the inosine substrate. Validation of the LdNH-MP-IMER for onflow screening purposes was performed with a library containing 12 quinolone ribonucleosides. Among them, three were identified as new competitive LdNH inhibitors, with Ki values between 83.5 and 169.4 µmol.L-1. This novel in-line screening assay has proven to be reliable, fast, low cost, and applicable to large libraries of compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Millena Santana Ceroullo
- BioCrom, Organic Chemistry Department, Chemistry Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, RJ, Brazil
| | - Mayane Barbosa Dos Santos
- LNHC, Organic Chemistry Department, Chemistry Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, RJ, Brazil
| | | | - Bruno Clemente Brandão Marques
- Laboratory for Analysis and Development of Enzyme Inhibitors, Natural Products Research Institute, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Luzineide Wanderley Tinoco
- Laboratory for Analysis and Development of Enzyme Inhibitors, Natural Products Research Institute, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | | | | | - Marcela Cristina de Moraes
- BioCrom, Organic Chemistry Department, Chemistry Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, RJ, Brazil.
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Saha D, Nath Jha A. Computational multi-target approach to target essential enzymes of Leishmania donovani using comparative molecular dynamic simulations and MMPBSA analysis. PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS : PCA 2023; 34:842-854. [PMID: 36760044 DOI: 10.1002/pca.3213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is caused by Leishmania donovani. The purine and pyrimidine pathways are essential for L. donovani. Simultaneously inhibiting multiple targets could be an effective strategy to eliminate the pathogen and treat VL. OBJECTIVE We aimed to target the essential enzymes of L. donovani and inhibit them using a multi-target approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS A systematic analytical method was followed, in which first reported inhibitors of two essential enzymes (adenine phosphoribosyl-transferase [APRT] and dihydroorotate dehydrogenase [DHODH]) were collected and then ADMET and PASS analyses were conducted using the Lipinski rule and Veber's rule. Additionally, molecular docking between screened ligands and proteins were performed. The stability of complexes was analyzed using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and MMPBSA analysis. RESULTS Initially, 6,220 unique molecules were collected from the PubChem database, and then the Lipinski rule and Veber's rule were used for screening. In total, 203 compounds passed the ADMET test; their antileishmanial properties were tested by PASS analysis. As a result, 15 ligands were identified. Molecular docking simulations between APRT or DHODH and these 15 ligands were performed. Four molecules were found to be plant-derived compounds. Lig_2 and Lig_3 had good docking scores with both proteins. MD simulations were performed to determine the dynamic behavior and binding patterns of complexes. Both MD simulations and MMPBSA analysis showed Lig_3 is a promising antileishmanial inhibitor of both targets. CONCLUSION Promising plant-derived compounds that might be used to combat VL were obtained through a multi-target approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debanjan Saha
- Computational Biophysics Laboratory, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam, India
| | - Anupam Nath Jha
- Computational Biophysics Laboratory, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam, India
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Oljuskin T, Azodi N, Volpedo G, Bhattacharya P, Markle HL, Hamano S, Matlashewski G, Satoskar AR, Gannavaram S, Nakhasi HL. Leishmania major centrin knock-out parasites reprogram tryptophan metabolism to induce a pro-inflammatory response. iScience 2023; 26:107593. [PMID: 37744403 PMCID: PMC10517402 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107593] [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: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease that is prevalent in 90 countries, and yet no licensed human vaccine exists against it. Toward control of leishmaniasis, we have developed Leishmania major centrin gene deletion mutant strains (LmCen-/-) as a live attenuated vaccine, which induces a strong IFN-γ-mediated protection to the host. However, the immune mechanisms of such protection remain to be understood. Metabolomic reprogramming of the host cells following Leishmania infection has been shown to play a critical role in pathogenicity and shaping the immune response following infection. Here, we applied untargeted mass spectrometric analysis to study the metabolic changes induced by infection with LmCen-/- and compared those with virulent L. major parasite infection to identify the immune mechanism of protection. Our data show that immunization with LmCen-/- parasites, in contrast to virulent L. major infection promotes a pro-inflammatory response by utilizing tryptophan to produce melatonin and downregulate anti-inflammatory kynurenine-AhR and FICZ-AhR signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timur Oljuskin
- Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA
| | - Nazli Azodi
- Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, CBER, FDA, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA
| | - Greta Volpedo
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Parna Bhattacharya
- Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, CBER, FDA, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA
| | - Hannah L. Markle
- Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, CBER, FDA, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA
| | - Shinjiro Hamano
- Department of Parasitology, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), The Joint Usage/Research Center on Tropical Disease, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
- Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Doctoral Leadership Program, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Greg Matlashewski
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Abhay R. Satoskar
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- Department of Pathology, Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Sreenivas Gannavaram
- Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, CBER, FDA, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA
| | - Hira L. Nakhasi
- Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, CBER, FDA, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA
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Astre G, Atlan T, Goshtchevsky U, Oron-Gottesman A, Smirnov M, Shapira K, Velan A, Deelen J, Levy T, Levanon EY, Harel I. Genetic perturbation of AMP biosynthesis extends lifespan and restores metabolic health in a naturally short-lived vertebrate. Dev Cell 2023; 58:1350-1364.e10. [PMID: 37321215 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2023.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
During aging, the loss of metabolic homeostasis drives a myriad of pathologies. A central regulator of cellular energy, the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), orchestrates organismal metabolism. However, direct genetic manipulations of the AMPK complex in mice have, so far, produced detrimental phenotypes. Here, as an alternative approach, we alter energy homeostasis by manipulating the upstream nucleotide pool. Using the turquoise killifish, we mutate APRT, a key enzyme in AMP biosynthesis, and extend the lifespan of heterozygous males. Next, we apply an integrated omics approach to show that metabolic functions are rejuvenated in old mutants, which also display a fasting-like metabolic profile and resistance to high-fat diet. At the cellular level, heterozygous cells exhibit enhanced nutrient sensitivity, reduced ATP levels, and AMPK activation. Finally, lifelong intermittent fasting abolishes the longevity benefits. Our findings suggest that perturbing AMP biosynthesis may modulate vertebrate lifespan and propose APRT as a promising target for promoting metabolic health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gwendoline Astre
- Department of Genetics, the Silberman Institute, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - Tehila Atlan
- Department of Genetics, the Silberman Institute, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - Uri Goshtchevsky
- Department of Genetics, the Silberman Institute, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - Adi Oron-Gottesman
- Department of Genetics, the Silberman Institute, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - Margarita Smirnov
- Central Fish Health Laboratory, Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nir David 10803, Israel
| | - Kobi Shapira
- Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Ariel Velan
- Department of Genetics, the Silberman Institute, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - Joris Deelen
- Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Cologne 50931, Germany; Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Ageing-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne 50931, Germany
| | - Tomer Levy
- Department of Genetics, the Silberman Institute, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - Erez Y Levanon
- Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Itamar Harel
- Department of Genetics, the Silberman Institute, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
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Li P, Tian Y, Du M, Xie Q, Chen Y, Ma L, Huang Y, Yin Z, Xu H, Wu X. Mechanism of Rotenone Toxicity against Plutella xylostella: New Perspective from a Spatial Metabolomics and Lipidomics Study. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2023; 71:211-222. [PMID: 36538414 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.2c06292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The botanical pesticide rotenone can effectively control target pest Plutella xylostella, yet insights into in situ metabolic regulation of P. xylostella toward rotenone remain limited. Herein, we demonstrated metabolic expression levels and spatial distribution of rotenone-treated P. xylostella using spatial metabolomics and lipidomics. Specifically, rotenone significantly affected purine and amino acid metabolisms, indicating that adenosine monophosphate and inosine were distributed in the whole body of P. xylostella with elevated levels, while guanosine 5'-monophosphate and tryptophan were significantly downregulated. Spatial lipidomics results indicated that rotenone may significantly destroy glycerophospholipids in cell membranes of P. xylostella, inhibit fatty acid biosynthesis, and consume diacylglycerol to enhance fat oxidation. These findings revealed that high toxicity of rotenone toward P. xylostella may be ascribed to negative effects on energy production and amino acid synthesis and damage to cell membranes, providing guidelines for the toxicity mechanism of rotenone on target pests and rational development of botanical pesticide candidates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping Li
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources and Key Laboratory of Natural Pesticide and Chemical Biology of the Ministry of Education, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
- Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Creation and Application of Guangdong Province, College of Plant Protection, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Yongqing Tian
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources and Key Laboratory of Natural Pesticide and Chemical Biology of the Ministry of Education, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Mingyi Du
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources and Key Laboratory of Natural Pesticide and Chemical Biology of the Ministry of Education, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Qingrong Xie
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources and Key Laboratory of Natural Pesticide and Chemical Biology of the Ministry of Education, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Yingying Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources and Key Laboratory of Natural Pesticide and Chemical Biology of the Ministry of Education, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Lianlian Ma
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources and Key Laboratory of Natural Pesticide and Chemical Biology of the Ministry of Education, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Yudi Huang
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources and Key Laboratory of Natural Pesticide and Chemical Biology of the Ministry of Education, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Zhibin Yin
- Agro-biological Gene Research Center, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
| | - Hanhong Xu
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources and Key Laboratory of Natural Pesticide and Chemical Biology of the Ministry of Education, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Xinzhou Wu
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources and Key Laboratory of Natural Pesticide and Chemical Biology of the Ministry of Education, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
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11
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Andrade-Alviárez D, Bonive-Boscan AD, Cáceres AJ, Quiñones W, Gualdrón-López M, Ginger ML, Michels PAM. Delineating transitions during the evolution of specialised peroxisomes: Glycosome formation in kinetoplastid and diplonemid protists. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:979269. [PMID: 36172271 PMCID: PMC9512073 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.979269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
One peculiarity of protists belonging to classes Kinetoplastea and Diplonemea within the phylum Euglenozoa is compartmentalisation of most glycolytic enzymes within peroxisomes that are hence called glycosomes. This pathway is not sequestered in peroxisomes of the third Euglenozoan class, Euglenida. Previous analysis of well-studied kinetoplastids, the ‘TriTryps’ parasites Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania spp., identified within glycosomes other metabolic processes usually not present in peroxisomes. In addition, trypanosomatid peroxins, i.e. proteins involved in biogenesis of these organelles, are divergent from human and yeast orthologues. In recent years, genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes for a variety of euglenozoans have become available. Here, we track the possible evolution of glycosomes by querying these databases, as well as the genome of Naegleria gruberi, a non-euglenozoan, which belongs to the same protist supergroup Discoba. We searched for orthologues of TriTryps proteins involved in glycosomal metabolism and biogenesis. Predicted cellular location(s) of each metabolic enzyme identified was inferred from presence or absence of peroxisomal-targeting signals. Combined with a survey of relevant literature, we refine extensively our previously postulated hypothesis about glycosome evolution. The data agree glycolysis was compartmentalised in a common ancestor of the kinetoplastids and diplonemids, yet additionally indicates most other processes found in glycosomes of extant trypanosomatids, but not in peroxisomes of other eukaryotes were either sequestered in this ancestor or shortly after separation of the two lineages. In contrast, peroxin divergence is evident in all euglenozoans. Following their gain of pathway complexity, subsequent evolution of peroxisome/glycosome function is complex. We hypothesize compartmentalisation in glycosomes of glycolytic enzymes, their cofactors and subsequently other metabolic enzymes provided selective advantage to kinetoplastids and diplonemids during their evolution in changing marine environments. We contend two specific properties derived from the ancestral peroxisomes were key: existence of nonselective pores for small solutes and the possibility of high turnover by pexophagy. Critically, such pores and pexophagy are characterised in extant trypanosomatids. Increasing amenability of free-living kinetoplastids and recently isolated diplonemids to experimental study means our hypothesis and interpretation of bioinformatic data are suited to experimental interrogation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Andrade-Alviárez
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
| | - Alejandro D. Bonive-Boscan
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
| | - Ana J. Cáceres
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
| | - Wilfredo Quiñones
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
| | | | - Michael L. Ginger
- School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, United Kingdom
| | - Paul A. M. Michels
- Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution and Centre for Translational and Chemical Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: Paul A. M. Michels,
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12
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Soni M, Pratap JV. Development of Novel Anti-Leishmanials: The Case for Structure-Based Approaches. Pathogens 2022; 11:pathogens11080950. [PMID: 36015070 PMCID: PMC9414883 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11080950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The neglected tropical disease (NTD) leishmaniasis is the collective name given to a diverse group of illnesses caused by ~20 species belonging to the genus Leishmania, a majority of which are vector borne and associated with complex life cycles that cause immense health, social, and economic burdens locally, but individually are not a major global health priority. Therapeutic approaches against leishmaniasis have various inadequacies including drug resistance and a lack of effective control and eradication of the disease spread. Therefore, the development of a rationale-driven, target based approaches towards novel therapeutics against leishmaniasis is an emergent need. The utilization of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning methods, which have made significant advances in drug discovery applications, would benefit the discovery process. In this review, following a summary of the disease epidemiology and available therapies, we consider three important leishmanial metabolic pathways that can be attractive targets for a structure-based drug discovery approach towards the development of novel anti-leishmanials. The folate biosynthesis pathway is critical, as Leishmania is auxotrophic for folates that are essential in many metabolic pathways. Leishmania can not synthesize purines de novo, and salvage them from the host, making the purine salvage pathway an attractive target for novel therapeutics. Leishmania also possesses an organelle glycosome, evolutionarily related to peroxisomes of higher eukaryotes, which is essential for the survival of the parasite. Research towards therapeutics is underway against enzymes from the first two pathways, while the third is as yet unexplored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohini Soni
- Biochemistry and Structural Biology Division, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Sector-10, Jankipuram Extension, Sitapur Road, Lucknow 226031, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
| | - J. Venkatesh Pratap
- Biochemistry and Structural Biology Division, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Sector-10, Jankipuram Extension, Sitapur Road, Lucknow 226031, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
- Correspondence:
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Venturelli A, Tagliazucchi L, Lima C, Venuti F, Malpezzi G, Magoulas GE, Santarem N, Calogeropoulou T, Cordeiro-da-Silva A, Costi MP. Current Treatments to Control African Trypanosomiasis and One Health Perspective. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10071298. [PMID: 35889018 PMCID: PMC9321528 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10071298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT, sleeping sickness) and Animal African Trypanosomiasis (AAT) are neglected tropical diseases generally caused by the same etiological agent, Trypanosoma brucei. Despite important advances in the reduction or disappearance of HAT cases, AAT represents a risky reservoir of the infections. There is a strong need to control AAT, as is claimed by the European Commission in a recent document on the reservation of antimicrobials for human use. Control of AAT is considered part of the One Health approach established by the FAO program against African Trypanosomiasis. Under the umbrella of the One Health concepts, in this work, by analyzing the pharmacological properties of the therapeutic options against Trypanosoma brucei spp., we underline the need for clearer and more defined guidelines in the employment of drugs designed for HAT and AAT. Essential requirements are addressed to meet the challenge of drug use and drug resistance development. This approach shall avoid inter-species cross-resistance phenomena and retain drugs therapeutic activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Venturelli
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy; (A.V.); (L.T.); (F.V.); (G.M.)
| | - Lorenzo Tagliazucchi
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy; (A.V.); (L.T.); (F.V.); (G.M.)
- Doctorate School in Clinical and Experimental Medicine (CEM), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Clara Lima
- Host-Parasite Interactions Group, Institute of Research and Innovation in Health, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal; (C.L.); (N.S.); (A.C.-d.-S.)
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal
| | - Federica Venuti
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy; (A.V.); (L.T.); (F.V.); (G.M.)
| | - Giulia Malpezzi
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy; (A.V.); (L.T.); (F.V.); (G.M.)
| | - George E. Magoulas
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 11635 Athens, Greece; (G.E.M.); (T.C.)
| | - Nuno Santarem
- Host-Parasite Interactions Group, Institute of Research and Innovation in Health, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal; (C.L.); (N.S.); (A.C.-d.-S.)
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal
| | - Theodora Calogeropoulou
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 11635 Athens, Greece; (G.E.M.); (T.C.)
| | - Anabela Cordeiro-da-Silva
- Host-Parasite Interactions Group, Institute of Research and Innovation in Health, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal; (C.L.); (N.S.); (A.C.-d.-S.)
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal
| | - Maria Paola Costi
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy; (A.V.); (L.T.); (F.V.); (G.M.)
- Correspondence:
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14
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Bustamante C, Muskus C, Ochoa R. Rational computational approaches to predict novel drug candidates against leishmaniasis. ANNUAL REPORTS IN MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.armc.2022.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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15
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Decreased glutamate transport in acivicin resistant Leishmania tarentolae. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021; 15:e0010046. [PMID: 34914690 PMCID: PMC8718007 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Revised: 12/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of drug resistance in the protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania have been helpful in revealing biochemical pathways as potential drug targets. The chlorinated glutamine analogue acivicin has shown good activity against Leishmania cells and was shown to target several enzymes containing amidotransferase domains. We selected a Leishmania tarentolae clone for acivicin resistance. The genome of this resistant strain was sequenced and the gene coding for the amidotransferase domain-containing GMP synthase was found to be amplified. Episomal expression of this gene in wild-type L. tarentolae revealed a modest role in acivicin resistance. The most prominent defect observed in the resistant mutant was reduced uptake of glutamate, and through competition experiments we determined that glutamate and acivicin, but not glutamine, share the same transporter. Several amino acid transporters (AATs) were either deleted or mutated in the resistant cells. Some contributed to the acivicin resistance phenotype although none corresponded to the main glutamate transporter. Through sequence analysis one AAT on chromosome 22 corresponded to the main glutamate transporter. Episomal expression of the gene coding for this transporter in the resistant mutant restored glutamate transport and acivicin susceptibility. Its genetic knockout led to reduced glutamate transport and acivicin resistance. We propose that acivicin binds covalently to this transporter and as such leads to decreased transport of glutamate and acivicin thus leading to acivicin resistance. Studies of drug resistance in the protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania have been helpful in revealing biochemical pathways as potential drug targets. Here we report on the characterization at the genomics and metabolomics levels of a L. tarentolae strain made resistant to acivicin, an analogue of glutamine with activity against this parasite. We found that resistance to acivicin is accompanied by a reduced uptake and intracellular levels of glutamate and that both are expected to share the same transporter. Through gene overexpression and disruption studies we identified the main amino acid transporter responsible for glutamate uptake.
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Patel B, Patel D, Pappachan A. Ile209 of Leishmania donovani xanthine phosphoribosyltransferase plays a key role in determining its purine base specificity. FEBS Lett 2021; 595:2169-2182. [PMID: 34268726 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.14162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Xanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (XPRT) and hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGPRT) are purine salvaging enzymes of Leishmania donovani with distinct 6-oxopurine specificities. LdXPRT phosphoribosylates xanthine, hypoxanthine, and guanine, with preference toward xanthine, whereas LdHGPRT phosphoribosylates only hypoxanthine and guanine. In our study, LdXPRT was used as a model to understand these purine base specificities. Mutating I209 to V, the conserved residue found in HGPRTs, reduced the affinity of LdXPRT for xanthine, converting it to an HGXPRT-like enzyme. The Y208F mutation in the active site indicated that aromatic residue interactions with the purine ring are limited to pi-pi binding forces and do not impart purine base specificity. Deleting the unique motif (L55-Y82) of LdXPRT affected enzyme activity. Our studies established I209 as a key residue determining the 6-oxopurine specificity of LdXPRT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bhumi Patel
- Indian Institute of Advanced Research (Puri Foundation for Education in India), Koba Institutional Area, Gandhinagar, India
| | - Dhaval Patel
- Indian Institute of Advanced Research (Puri Foundation for Education in India), Koba Institutional Area, Gandhinagar, India
| | - Anju Pappachan
- Indian Institute of Advanced Research (Puri Foundation for Education in India), Koba Institutional Area, Gandhinagar, India
- School of Life Sciences, Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, India
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Acyclic nucleoside phosphonates with adenine nucleobase inhibit Trypanosoma brucei adenine phosphoribosyltransferase in vitro. Sci Rep 2021; 11:13317. [PMID: 34172767 PMCID: PMC8233378 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91747-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
All medically important unicellular protozoans cannot synthesize purines de novo and they entirely rely on the purine salvage pathway (PSP) for their nucleotide generation. Therefore, purine derivatives have been considered as a promising source of anti-parasitic compounds since they can act as inhibitors of the PSP enzymes or as toxic products upon their activation inside of the cell. Here, we characterized a Trypanosoma brucei enzyme involved in the salvage of adenine, the adenine phosphoribosyl transferase (APRT). We showed that its two isoforms (APRT1 and APRT2) localize partly in the cytosol and partly in the glycosomes of the bloodstream form (BSF) of the parasite. RNAi silencing of both APRT enzymes showed no major effect on the growth of BSF parasites unless grown in artificial medium with adenine as sole purine source. To add into the portfolio of inhibitors for various PSP enzymes, we designed three types of acyclic nucleotide analogs as potential APRT inhibitors. Out of fifteen inhibitors, four compounds inhibited the activity of the recombinant APRT1 with Ki in single µM values. The ANP phosphoramidate membrane-permeable prodrugs showed pronounced anti-trypanosomal activity in a cell-based assay, despite the fact that APRT enzymes are dispensable for T. brucei growth in vitro. While this suggests that the tested ANP prodrugs exert their toxicity by other means in T. brucei, the newly designed inhibitors can be further improved and explored to identify their actual target(s).
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Bouton J, Ferreira de Almeida Fiuza L, Cardoso Santos C, Mazzarella MA, Soeiro MDNC, Maes L, Karalic I, Caljon G, Van Calenbergh S. Revisiting Pyrazolo[3,4- d]pyrimidine Nucleosides as Anti- Trypanosoma cruzi and Antileishmanial Agents. J Med Chem 2021; 64:4206-4238. [PMID: 33784107 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c00135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Chagas disease and visceral leishmaniasis are two neglected tropical diseases responsible for numerous deaths around the world. For both, current treatments are largely inadequate, resulting in a continued need for new drug discovery. As both kinetoplastid parasites are incapable of de novo purine synthesis, they depend on purine salvage pathways that allow them to acquire and process purines from the host to meet their demands. Purine nucleoside analogues therefore constitute a logical source of potential antiparasitic agents. Earlier optimization efforts of the natural product tubercidin (7-deazaadenosine) involving modifications to the nucleobase 7-position and the ribofuranose 3'-position led to analogues with potent anti-Trypanosoma brucei and anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activities. In this work, we report the design and synthesis of pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine nucleosides with 3'- and 7-modifications and assess their potential as anti-Trypanosoma cruzi and antileishmanial agents. One compound was selected for in vivo evaluation in an acute Chagas disease mouse model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob Bouton
- Laboratory for Medicinal Chemistry (Campus Heymans), Ghent University, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, B-9000 Gent, Belgium
| | - Ludmila Ferreira de Almeida Fiuza
- Laboratório de Biologia Celular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Brasil 4365, Manguinhos, 21040-360 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Camila Cardoso Santos
- Laboratório de Biologia Celular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Brasil 4365, Manguinhos, 21040-360 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Maria Angela Mazzarella
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Perugia, Via del Liceo 1, Perugia 06100, Italy
| | - Maria de Nazaré Correia Soeiro
- Laboratório de Biologia Celular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Brasil 4365, Manguinhos, 21040-360 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Louis Maes
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH), University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Izet Karalic
- Laboratory for Medicinal Chemistry (Campus Heymans), Ghent University, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, B-9000 Gent, Belgium
| | - Guy Caljon
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH), University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Serge Van Calenbergh
- Laboratory for Medicinal Chemistry (Campus Heymans), Ghent University, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, B-9000 Gent, Belgium
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Bouton J, Furquim d'Almeida A, Maes L, Caljon G, Van Calenbergh S, Hulpia F. Synthesis and evaluation of 3'-fluorinated 7-deazapurine nucleosides as antikinetoplastid agents. Eur J Med Chem 2021; 216:113290. [PMID: 33667845 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2021.113290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Revised: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Kinetoplastid parasites are the causative agents of neglected tropical diseases with an unmet medical need. These parasites are unable to synthesize the purine ring de novo, and therefore rely on purine salvage to meet their purine demand. Evaluating purine nucleoside analogs is therefore an attractive strategy to identify antikinetoplastid agents. Several anti-Trypanosoma cruzi and anti-Trypanosoma brucei 7-deazapurine nucleosides were previously discovered, with the removal of the 3'-hydroxyl group resulting in a significant boost in activity. In this work we therefore decided to assess the effect of the introduction of a 3'-fluoro substituent in 7-deazapurine nucleosides on the anti-kinetoplastid activities. Hence, we synthesized two series of 3'-deoxy-3'-fluororibofuranosyl and 3'-deoxy-3'-fluoroxylofuranosyl nucleosides comprising 7-deazaadenine and -hypoxanthine bases and assayed these for antiparasitic activity. Several analogs with potent activity against T. cruzi and T. brucei were discovered, indicating that a fluorine atom in the 3'-position is a promising modification for the discovery of antiparasitic nucleosides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob Bouton
- Laboratory for Medicinal Chemistry (Campus Heymans), Ghent University, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, B-9000, Gent, Belgium
| | - Arno Furquim d'Almeida
- Laboratory for Medicinal Chemistry (Campus Heymans), Ghent University, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, B-9000, Gent, Belgium
| | - Louis Maes
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1 (S7), B-2610, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Guy Caljon
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1 (S7), B-2610, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Serge Van Calenbergh
- Laboratory for Medicinal Chemistry (Campus Heymans), Ghent University, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, B-9000, Gent, Belgium.
| | - Fabian Hulpia
- Laboratory for Medicinal Chemistry (Campus Heymans), Ghent University, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, B-9000, Gent, Belgium
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20
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Synthesis and evaluation of a collection of purine-like C-nucleosides as antikinetoplastid agents. Eur J Med Chem 2020; 212:113101. [PMID: 33385837 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2020.113101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2020] [Revised: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 12/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The kinetoplastid parasites Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania spp. are the causative agents of neglected tropical diseases with a serious burden in several parts of the world. These parasites are incapable of synthesizing purines de novo, and therefore rely on ingenious purine salvage pathways to acquire and process purines from their host. Purine nucleoside analogs that may interfere with these pathways therefore constitute a privileged source of new antikinetoplastid agents. In this study, we synthetized a collection of C-nucleosides employing five different heterocyclic nucleobase surrogates. C-nucleosides are chemically and enzymatically stable and allow for extensive structural modification. Inspired by earlier 7-deazaadenosine nucleosides and known antileishmanial C-nucleosides, we introduced different modifications tailored towards antikinetoplastid activity. Both adenosine and inosine analogs were synthesized with the aim of discovering new antikinetoplastid hits and expanding knowledge of structure-activity relationships. Several promising hits with potent activity against Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania infantum were discovered, and the nature of the nucleobase surrogate was found to have a profound influence on the selectivity profile of the compounds.
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Kelly FD, Yates PA, Landfear SM. Nutrient sensing in Leishmania: Flagellum and cytosol. Mol Microbiol 2020; 115:849-859. [PMID: 33112443 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Revised: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Parasites are by definition organisms that utilize resources from a host to support their existence, thus, promoting their ability to establish long-term infections and disease. Hence, sensing and acquiring nutrients for which the parasite and host compete is central to the parasitic mode of existence. Leishmania are flagellated kinetoplastid parasites that parasitize phagocytic cells, principally macrophages, of vertebrate hosts and the alimentary tract of sand fly vectors. Because nutritional supplies vary over time within both these hosts and are often restricted in availability, these parasites must sense a plethora of nutrients and respond accordingly. The flagellum has been recognized as an "antenna" that plays a core role in sensing environmental conditions, and various flagellar proteins have been implicated in sensing roles. In addition, these parasites exhibit non-flagellar intracellular mechanisms of nutrient sensing, several of which have been explored. Nonetheless, mechanistic details of these sensory pathways are still sparse and represent a challenging frontier for further experimental exploration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felice D Kelly
- Department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Phillip A Yates
- Department of Chemical Physiology & Biochemistry, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Scott M Landfear
- Department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
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22
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Parihar PS, Pratap JV. The L.donovani Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HGPRT) oligomer is distinct from the human homolog. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2020; 532:499-504. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.08.052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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23
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Sanchiz Á, Morato E, Rastrojo A, Camacho E, González-de la Fuente S, Marina A, Aguado B, Requena JM. The Experimental Proteome of Leishmania infantum Promastigote and Its Usefulness for Improving Gene Annotations. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:E1036. [PMID: 32887454 PMCID: PMC7563732 DOI: 10.3390/genes11091036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Revised: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmania infantum causes visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar), the most severe form of leishmaniasis, which is lethal if untreated. A few years ago, the re-sequencing and de novo assembling of the L. infantum (JPCM5 strain) genome was accomplished, and now we aimed to describe and characterize the experimental proteome of this species. In this work, we performed a proteomic analysis from axenic cultured promastigotes and carried out a detailed comparison with other Leishmania experimental proteomes published to date. We identified 2352 proteins based on a search of mass spectrometry data against a database built from the six-frame translated genome sequence of L. infantum. We detected many proteins belonging to organelles such as glycosomes, mitochondria, or flagellum, as well as many metabolic enzymes and many putative RNA binding proteins and molecular chaperones. Moreover, we listed some proteins presenting post-translational modifications, such as phosphorylations, acetylations, and methylations. On the other hand, the identification of peptides mapping to genomic regions previously annotated as non-coding allowed for the correction of annotations, leading to the N-terminal extension of protein sequences and the uncovering of eight novel protein-coding genes. The alliance of proteomics, genomics, and transcriptomics has resulted in a powerful combination for improving the annotation of the L. infantum reference genome.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Jose M. Requena
- Centro de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa” (CBMSO, CSIC-UAM) Campus de Excelencia Internacional (CEI) UAM+CSIC, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain; (Á.S.); (E.M.); (A.R.); (E.C.); (S.G.-d.l.F.); (A.M.); (B.A.)
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Silva CFM, Pinto DCGA, Fernandes PA, Silva AMS. Evolution of chromone-like compounds as potential antileishmanial agents, through the 21 st century. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2020; 15:1425-1439. [PMID: 32783762 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2020.1801630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Leishmaniasis is one of the most neglected diseases of modern times that mainly affects people from developing countries, with approximately 350 million people considered at risk of developing leishmaniasis. Therefore, the development of novel antileishmanial treatments is becoming the focus of numerous research groups, with the support of the World Health Organization, which hopes to eradicate this disease in the near future. AREAS COVERED This review focuses on the interest of chromones for the development of future treatments against leishmaniasis. In addition to plant-based chromone derivatives, structure-activity relationship studies that aim to identify the optimal structural features of the chromones' antileishmanial activity are also described and discussed. EXPERT OPINION The numerous examples of chromones depicted in this paper, allied with the SAR studies presented herein, suggest that the chromone scaffold is a privileged core for the design and development of novel antileishmanial agents. However, some concerns have been raised concerning the considerable variability observed in the results throughout the scientific bibliography. These inconsistencies may explain the absence of pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic studies as well as clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Pedro A Fernandes
- UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Departamento De Química E Bioquímica, Faculdade De Ciências, Universidade Do Porto , Porto, Portugal
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25
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Xu T, Miao J, Chen Y, Yin D, Hu S, Sheng GD. The long-term environmental risks from the aging of organochlorine pesticide lindane. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2020; 141:105778. [PMID: 32416373 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.105778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Revised: 04/28/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Although increased contact time (aging) of pesticides in the soil decreases their bioavailability, this does not mean that the bound residues formed during the aging process pose fewer risk to the soil environment. Here the earthworm Eisenia fetida was exposed to organochlorine pesticide lindane in soil under different durations of lindane aging and exposure. The results of de novo RNA sequencing followed by molecular and biochemical validations demonstrated the aged lindane showed a different tendency to disrupt acetylcholine (ACh) transmission with the effects of fresh lindane to gamma-aminobutyric acid. Using own-developed earthworm activity test, we confirmed aged lindane prompted earthworms to exclusively exhibit a significant hypoactivity in locomotion, which could be explained by the inhibition of Ach system. This study suggested that the toxicity of pesticides would not depend solely on their free state components, and the awareness of long-term environmental risks from the bound states needs to be raised.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Xu
- Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Juanjuan Miao
- Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Yawen Chen
- Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Daqiang Yin
- Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China.
| | - Shuangqing Hu
- Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences, Shanghai 200233, China
| | - G Daniel Sheng
- Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
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Licon MH, Yates PA. Purine-responsive expression of the Leishmania donovani NT3 purine nucleobase transporter is mediated by a conserved RNA stem-loop. J Biol Chem 2020; 295:8449-8459. [PMID: 32354744 PMCID: PMC7307198 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra120.012696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2020] [Revised: 04/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability to modulate gene expression in response to changes in the host environment is essential for survival of the kinetoplastid parasite Leishmania Unlike most eukaryotes, gene expression in kinetoplastids is predominately regulated posttranscriptionally. Consequently, RNA-binding proteins and mRNA-encoded sequence elements serve as primary determinants of gene regulation in these organisms; however, few have defined roles in specific stress response pathways. Leishmania species cannot synthesize purines de novo and must scavenge these essential nutrients from the host. Leishmania have evolved a robust stress response to withstand sustained periods of purine scarcity during their life cycle. The purine nucleobase transporter LdNT3 is among the most substantially up-regulated proteins in purine-starved Leishmania donovani parasites. Here we report that the posttranslational stability of the LdNT3 protein is unchanged in response to purine starvation. Instead, LdNT3 up-regulation is primarily mediated by a 33-nucleotide-long sequence in the LdNT3 mRNA 3' UTR that is predicted to adopt a stem-loop structure. Although this sequence is highly conserved within the mRNAs of orthologous transporters in multiple kinetoplastid species, putative stem-loops from L. donovani and Trypanosoma brucei nucleobase transporter mRNAs were not functionally interchangeable for purine-responsive regulation. Through mutational analysis of the element, we demonstrate that species specificity is attributable to just three variant bases within the predicted loop. Finally, we provide evidence that the abundance of the trans-acting factor that binds the LdNT3 stem-loop in vivo is substantially higher than required for regulation of LdNT3 alone, implying a potential role in regulating other purine-responsive genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Haley Licon
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
| | - Phillip A Yates
- Department of Chemical Physiology and Biochemistry, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
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Raj S, Sasidharan S, Balaji SN, Saudagar P. An overview of biochemically characterized drug targets in metabolic pathways of Leishmania parasite. Parasitol Res 2020; 119:2025-2037. [DOI: 10.1007/s00436-020-06736-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 05/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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28
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Bora N, Jha AN. In silico Metabolic Pathway Analysis Identifying Target Against Leishmaniasis - A Kinetic Modeling Approach. Front Genet 2020; 11:179. [PMID: 32211028 PMCID: PMC7068213 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2020.00179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2019] [Accepted: 02/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The protozoan Leishmania donovani, from trypanosomatids family is a deadly human pathogen responsible for causing Visceral Leishmaniasis. Unavailability of proper treatment in the developing countries has served as a major threat to the people. The absence of vaccines has made treatment possibilities to rely solely over chemotherapy. Also, reduced drug efficacy due to emerging resistant strains magnifies the threat. Despite years of formulations for an effective drug therapy, complexity of the disease is also unfortunately increasing. Absence of potential drug targets has worsened the scenario. Therefore exploring new therapeutic approach is a priority for the scientific community to combat the disease. One of the most reliable ways to alter the adversities of the infection is finding new biological targets for designing potential drugs. An era of computational biology allows identifying targets, assisting experimental studies. It includes sorting the parasite’s metabolic pathways that pins out proteins essential for its survival. We have directed our study towards a computational methodology for determining targets against L. donovani from the “purine salvage” pathway. This is a mainstay pathway towards the maintenance of purine amounts in the parasitic pool of nutrients proving to be mandatory for its survival. This study represents an integration of metabolic pathway and Protein-Protein Interactions analysis. It consists of incorporating the available experimental data to the theoretical methods with a prospective to develop a kinetic model of Purine salvage pathway. Simulation data revealed the time course mechanism of the enzymes involved in the synthesis of the metabolites. Modeling of the metabolic pathway helped in marking of crucial enzymes. Additionally, the PPI analysis of the pathway assisted in building a static interaction network for the proteins. Topological analysis of the PPI network through centrality measures (MCC and Closeness) detected targets found common with Dynamic Modeling. Therefore our analysis reveals the enzymes ADSL (Adenylosuccinate lyase) and IMPDH (Inosine-5′-monophosphate dehydrogenase) to be important having a central role in the modeled network based on PPI and kinetic modeling techniques. Further the available three dimensional structure of the enzyme “ADSL” aided towards the search for potential inhibitors against the protein. Hence, the study presented the significance of integrating methods to identify key proteins which might be putative targets against the treatment of Visceral Leishmaniasis and their potential inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikita Bora
- Computational Biophysics Laboratory, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tezpur University, Tezpur, India
| | - Anupam Nath Jha
- Computational Biophysics Laboratory, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tezpur University, Tezpur, India
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29
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Acyclic nucleoside phosphonates as possible chemotherapeutics against Trypanosoma brucei. Drug Discov Today 2020; 25:1043-1053. [PMID: 32135205 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2020.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2019] [Revised: 01/24/2020] [Accepted: 02/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Human African trypanosomiasis is a life-threatening illness caused by Trypanosoma brucei. Owing to the toxic side effects of the available therapeutics, new medications for this disease are needed. One potential drug target is the 6-oxopurine phosphoribosyltransferases (PRTs), the activity of which is crucial to produce purine nucleotide monophosphates required for DNA and RNA synthesis. Inhibitors of the 6-oxopurine PRTs that show promising results as drug leads are the acyclic nucleoside phosphonates (ANPs). ANPs are very flexible in their structure, enabling important conformational changes to facilitate the binding of this class of compounds in the active site of the 6-oxopurine PRTs.
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30
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Li Y, Liu M, Rizk MA, Moumouni PFA, Lee SH, Galon EM, Guo H, Gao Y, Li J, Beshbishy AM, Nugraha AB, Ji S, Tumwebaze MA, Benedicto B, Yokoyama N, Igarashi I, Xuan X. Drug screening of food and drug administration-approved compounds against Babesia bovis in vitro. Exp Parasitol 2020; 210:107831. [PMID: 31926147 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2020.107831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2019] [Revised: 12/03/2019] [Accepted: 01/04/2020] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Babesia (B.) bovis is one of the main etiological agents of bovine babesiosis, causes serious economic losses to the cattle industry. Control of bovine babesiosis has been hindered by the limited treatment selection for B. bovis, thus, new options are urgently needed. We explored the drug library and unbiasedly screened 640 food and drug administration (FDA) approved drug compounds for their inhibitory activities against B. bovis in vitro. The initial screening identified 13 potentially effective compounds. Four potent compounds, namely mycophenolic acid (MPA), pentamidine (PTD), doxorubicin hydrochloride (DBH) and vorinostat (SAHA) exhibited the lowest IC50 and then selected for further evaluation of their in vitro efficacies using viability, combination inhibitory and cytotoxicity assays. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of MPA, PTD, DBH, SAHA were 11.38 ± 1.66, 13.12 ± 4.29, 1.79 ± 0.15 and 45.18 ± 7.37 μM, respectively. Of note, DBH exhibited IC50 lower than that calculated for the commonly used antibabesial drug, diminazene aceturate (DA). The viability result revealed the ability of MPA, PTD, DBH, SAHA to prevent the regrowth of treated parasite at 4 × and 2 × of IC50. Antagonistic interactions against B. bovis were observed after treatment with either MPA, PTD, DBH or SAHA in combination with DA. Our findings indicate the richness of FDA approved compounds by novel potent antibabesial candidates and the identified potent compounds especially DBH might be used for the treatment of animal babesiosis caused by B. bovis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongchang Li
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, 080-8555, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Mingming Liu
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, 080-8555, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Mohamed Abdo Rizk
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, 080-8555, Hokkaido, Japan; Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mansoura University, 35516, Egypt
| | - Paul Franck Adjou Moumouni
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, 080-8555, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Seung-Hun Lee
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, 080-8555, Hokkaido, Japan; College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, 28644, South Korea
| | - Eloiza May Galon
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, 080-8555, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Huanping Guo
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, 080-8555, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Yang Gao
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, 080-8555, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Jixu Li
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, 080-8555, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Amani Magdy Beshbishy
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, 080-8555, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Arifin Budiman Nugraha
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, 080-8555, Hokkaido, Japan; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bogor Agricultural University, Jl. Agatis Kampus IPB Dramaga, Bogor, 16680, Indonesia
| | - Shengwei Ji
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, 080-8555, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Maria Agnes Tumwebaze
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, 080-8555, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Byamukama Benedicto
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, 080-8555, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Naoaki Yokoyama
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, 080-8555, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Ikuo Igarashi
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, 080-8555, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Xuenan Xuan
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, 080-8555, Hokkaido, Japan.
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31
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Terán D, Doleželová E, Keough DT, Hocková D, Zíková A, Guddat LW. Crystal structures of Trypanosoma brucei hypoxanthine - guanine - xanthine phosphoribosyltransferase in complex with IMP, GMP and XMP. FEBS J 2019; 286:4721-4736. [PMID: 31287615 DOI: 10.1111/febs.14987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2018] [Revised: 04/16/2019] [Accepted: 07/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The 6-oxopurine phosphoribosyltransferases (PRTs) are drug targets for the treatment of parasitic diseases. This is due to the fact that parasites are auxotrophic for the 6-oxopurine bases relying on salvage enzymes for the synthesis of their 6-oxopurine nucleoside monophosphates. In Trypanosoma brucei, the parasite that is the aetiological agent for sleeping sickness, there are three 6-oxopurine PRT isoforms. Two are specific for hypoxanthine and guanine, whilst the third, characterized here, uses all three naturally occurring bases with similar efficiency. Here, we have determined crystal structures for TbrHGXPRT in complex with GMP, XMP and IMP to investigate the structural basis for substrate specificity. The results show that Y201 and E208, not commonly observed within the purine binding pocket of 6-oxopurine PRTs, contribute to the versatility of this enzyme. The structures further show that a nearby water can act as an adaptor to facilitate the binding of XMP and GMP. When GMP binds, a water can accept a proton from the 2-amino group but when XMP binds, the equivalent water can donate its proton to the 2-oxo group. However, when IMP is bound, no water molecule is observed at that location. DATABASE: Coordinates and structure factors were submitted to the Protein Data Bank and have accession codes of 6MXB, 6MXC, 6MXD and 6MXG for the TbrHGXPRT.XMP complex, TbrHGXPRT.GMP complex, TbrHGXPRT.IMP complex, and TbrHGPRT.XMP complex, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Terán
- The School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Eva Doleželová
- Biology Centre CAS, Institute of Parasitology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Dianne T Keough
- The School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Dana Hocková
- The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Alena Zíková
- Biology Centre CAS, Institute of Parasitology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Luke W Guddat
- The School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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32
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Mining for natural product antileishmanials in a fungal extract library. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-DRUGS AND DRUG RESISTANCE 2019; 11:118-128. [PMID: 31208892 PMCID: PMC6904819 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2019.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2019] [Revised: 05/01/2019] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a Neglected Tropical Disease caused by the insect-vector borne protozoan parasite, Leishmania species. Infection affects millions of the World's poorest, however vaccines are absent and drug therapy limited. Recently, public-private partnerships have developed to identify new modes of controlling leishmaniasis. Most of these collaborative efforts have relied upon the small molecule synthetic compound libraries held by industry, but the number of New Chemical Entities (NCE) identified and entering development as antileishmanials has been very low. In light of this, here we describe a public-private effort to identify natural products with activity against Leishmania mexicana, a causative agent of cutaneous leishmanaisis (CL). Utilising Hypha Discovery's fungal extract library which is rich in small molecule (<500 molecular weight) secondary metabolites, we undertook an iterative phenotypic screening and fractionation approach to identify potent and selective antileishmanial hits. This led to the identification of a novel oxidised bisabolane sesquiterpene which demonstrated activity in an infected cell model and was shown to disrupt multiple processes using a metabolomic approach. In addition, and importantly, this study also sets a precedent for new approaches for CL drug discovery.
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33
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Bora N, Nath Jha A. An integrative approach using systems biology, mutational analysis with molecular dynamics simulation to challenge the functionality of a target protein. Chem Biol Drug Des 2019; 93:1050-1060. [PMID: 30891955 DOI: 10.1111/cbdd.13502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2018] [Revised: 01/08/2019] [Accepted: 01/31/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis affects millions of people worldwide in areas where Leishmania donovani is endemic. The protozoan species serves a greater threat as it has gradually evolved drug resistance whereby requiring newer approaches to treat the infection. State-of-art techniques are mostly directed toward finding better targets extracted from the available proteome data. In light of recent computational advancements, we ascertain and validate one such target, adenylosuccinate lyase (ADSL) by implementation of in-silico methods which led to the identification of critical amino acid residues that affects its functional attributes. Our target selection was based on comprehensive topological analysis of a knowledge-based protein-protein interaction network. Subsequently, mutations were incorporated and the dynamic behavior of mutated and native proteins was traced using MD simulations for a total time span of 600 ns. Comparative analysis of the native and mutated structures exhibited perceptible changes in the ligand-bound catalytic region with respect to time. The unfavorable changes in the orientations of specific catalytic residues, His118 and His196, induced by generated mutations reduce the enzyme specificity. In summary, this integrative approach is able to select a target against pathogen, identify crucial residues, and challenge its functionality through the selected mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikita Bora
- Computational Biophysics Laboratory, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam, India
| | - Anupam Nath Jha
- Computational Biophysics Laboratory, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam, India
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34
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Arora K, Rai AK. Dependence of Leishmania parasite on host derived ATP: an overview of extracellular nucleotide metabolism in parasite. J Parasit Dis 2019; 43:1-13. [PMID: 30956439 PMCID: PMC6423245 DOI: 10.1007/s12639-018-1061-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2018] [Accepted: 11/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Kashika Arora
- Department of Biotechnology, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (MNNIT) Allahabad, Allahabad, 211004 U.P. India
- Present Address: Biomedical Research Center, Ghent University Global Campus, Incheon, 21985 South Korea
| | - Ambak Kumar Rai
- Department of Biotechnology, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (MNNIT) Allahabad, Allahabad, 211004 U.P. India
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35
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Lenz SAP, Wetmore SD. Structural explanation for the tunable substrate specificity of an E. coli nucleoside hydrolase: insights from molecular dynamics simulations. J Comput Aided Mol Des 2018; 32:1375-1388. [PMID: 30478756 DOI: 10.1007/s10822-018-0178-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2018] [Accepted: 11/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Parasitic protozoa rely on nucleoside hydrolases that play key roles in the purine salvage pathway by catalyzing the hydrolytic cleavage of the N-glycosidic bond that connects nucleobases to ribose sugars. Cytidine-uridine nucleoside hydrolase (CU-NH) is generally specific toward pyrimidine nucleosides; however, previous work has shown that replacing two active site residues with Tyr, specifically the Thr223Tyr and Gln227Tyr mutations, allows CU-NH to process inosine. The current study uses molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to gain atomic-level insight into the activity of wild-type and mutant E. coli CU-NH toward inosine. By examining systems that differ in the identity and protonation states of active site catalytic residues, key enzyme-substrate interactions that dictate the substrate specificity of CU-NH are identified. Regardless of the wild-type or mutant CU-NH considered, our calculations suggest that inosine binding is facilitated by interactions of the ribose moiety with active site residues and Ca2+, and π-interactions between two His residues (His82 and His239) and the nucleobase. However, the lack of observed activity toward inosine for wild-type CU-NH is explained by no residue being correctly aligned to stabilize the departing nucleobase. In contrast, a hydrogen-bonding network between hypoxanthine and a newly identified general acid (Asp15) is present when the two Tyr mutations are engineered into the active site. Investigation of the single CU-NH mutants reveals that this hydrogen-bonding network is only maintained when both Tyr mutations are present due to a π-interaction between the residues. These results rationalize previous experiments that show the single Tyr mutants are unable to efficiently hydrolyze inosine and explain how the Tyr residues work synergistically in the double mutant to stabilize the nucleobase leaving group during hydrolysis. Overall, our simulations provide a structural explanation for the substrate specificity of nucleoside hydrolases, which may be used to rationally develop new treatments for kinetoplastid diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan A P Lenz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive West, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada
| | - Stacey D Wetmore
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive West, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada.
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Cuypers B, Berg M, Imamura H, Dumetz F, De Muylder G, Domagalska MA, Rijal S, Bhattarai NR, Maes I, Sanders M, Cotton JA, Meysman P, Laukens K, Dujardin JC. Integrated genomic and metabolomic profiling of ISC1, an emerging Leishmania donovani population in the Indian subcontinent. INFECTION, GENETICS AND EVOLUTION : JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY GENETICS IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES 2018; 62:170-178. [PMID: 29679745 PMCID: PMC6261844 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2018.04.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2017] [Revised: 04/14/2018] [Accepted: 04/17/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Leishmania donovani is the responsible agent for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the Indian subcontinent (ISC). The disease is lethal without treatment and causes 0.2 to 0.4 million cases each year. Recently, reports of VL in Nepalese hilly districts have increased as well as VL cases caused by L. donovani from the ISC1 genetic group, a new and emerging genotype. In this study, we perform for the first time an integrated, untargeted genomics and metabolomics approach to characterize ISC1, in comparison with the Core Group (CG), main population that drove the most recent outbreak of VL in the ISC. We show that the ISC1 population is very different from the CG, both at genome and metabolome levels. The genomic differences include SNPs, CNV and small indels in genes coding for known virulence factors, immunogens and surface proteins. Both genomic and metabolic approaches highlighted dissimilarities related to membrane lipids, the nucleotide salvage pathway and the urea cycle in ISC1 versus CG. Many of these pathways and molecules are important for the interaction with the host/extracellular environment. Altogether, our data predict major functional differences in ISC1 versus CG parasites, including virulence. Therefore, particular attention is required to monitor the fate of this emerging ISC1 population in the ISC, especially in a post-VL elimination context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bart Cuypers
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium; Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Maya Berg
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Hideo Imamura
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Franck Dumetz
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Géraldine De Muylder
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | | | - Suman Rijal
- BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal
| | | | - Ilse Maes
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Mandy Sanders
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | - James A Cotton
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | - Pieter Meysman
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Kris Laukens
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Jean-Claude Dujardin
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium; Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
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Kumar A, Dikhit MR, Amit A, Zaidi A, Pandey RK, Singh AK, Suman SS, Ali V, Das VNR, Pandey K, kumar V, Singh SK, Narayan S, Chourasia HK, Das P, Bimal S. Immunomodulation induced through ornithine decarboxylase DNA immunization in Balb/c mice infected with Leishmania donovani. Mol Immunol 2018; 97:33-44. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2018.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2017] [Revised: 03/05/2018] [Accepted: 03/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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Campagnaro GD, Alzahrani KJ, Munday JC, De Koning HP. Trypanosoma brucei bloodstream forms express highly specific and separate transporters for adenine and hypoxanthine; evidence for a new protozoan purine transporter family? Mol Biochem Parasitol 2018; 220:46-56. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2018.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2017] [Revised: 01/10/2018] [Accepted: 01/19/2018] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Doleželová E, Terán D, Gahura O, Kotrbová Z, Procházková M, Keough D, Špaček P, Hocková D, Guddat L, Zíková A. Evaluation of the Trypanosoma brucei 6-oxopurine salvage pathway as a potential target for drug discovery. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2018; 12:e0006301. [PMID: 29481567 PMCID: PMC5843355 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2017] [Revised: 03/08/2018] [Accepted: 02/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Due to toxicity and compliance issues and the emergence of resistance to current medications new drugs for the treatment of Human African Trypanosomiasis are needed. A potential approach to developing novel anti-trypanosomal drugs is by inhibition of the 6-oxopurine salvage pathways which synthesise the nucleoside monophosphates required for DNA/RNA production. This is in view of the fact that trypanosomes lack the machinery for de novo synthesis of the purine ring. To provide validation for this approach as a drug target, we have RNAi silenced the three 6-oxopurine phosphoribosyltransferase (PRTase) isoforms in the infectious stage of Trypanosoma brucei demonstrating that the combined activity of these enzymes is critical for the parasites’ viability. Furthermore, we have determined crystal structures of two of these isoforms in complex with several acyclic nucleoside phosphonates (ANPs), a class of compound previously shown to inhibit 6-oxopurine PRTases from several species including Plasmodium falciparum. The most potent of these compounds have Ki values as low as 60 nM, and IC50 values in cell based assays as low as 4 μM. This data provides a solid platform for further investigations into the use of this pathway as a target for anti-trypanosomal drug discovery. Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a life-threatening infectious disease caused by the protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma brucei. Current treatments suffer from low efficacy, toxicity issues and complex medication regimens. Moreover, an alarming number of these parasites are demonstrating resistance to current drugs. For these reasons, there is a renewed effort to develop new classes of modern therapeutics based upon the unique T. brucei cellular processes. One potential new drug target is 6-oxopurine phosphoribosyltransferase (PRTase), an enzyme central to the purine salvage pathway and whose activity is critical for the production of the nucleotides (GMP and IMP) required for DNA/RNA synthesis within this protozoan parasite. We demonstrated that T. brucei encodes two isoforms of hypoxanthine-guanine PRTases (HGPRT) and one hypoxanthine-guanine-xanthine PRTase (HGXPRT). The concurrent activity of these enzymes is required for the normal cell growth in vitro. Moreover, acyclic nucleoside phosphonates represent a promising class of potent and selective compounds as they inhibit the enzymes with Ki values in nanomolar range and exert cytotoxic effects on T. brucei cells grown in vitro with EC50 values in the single digit micromolar range. Our results provide a new foundation for further investigations of these compounds in vivo and suggest that 6-oxopurine salvage pathway represents a possible target for future drug discovery efforts directed at eliminating HAT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Doleželová
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - David Terán
- The School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Ondřej Gahura
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Zuzana Kotrbová
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Michaela Procházková
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Dianne Keough
- The School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Petr Špaček
- The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nám. Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Dana Hocková
- The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nám. Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Luke Guddat
- The School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- * E-mail: (AZ); (LWG)
| | - Alena Zíková
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- * E-mail: (AZ); (LWG)
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Sharma M, Shaikh N, Yadav S, Singh S, Garg P. A systematic reconstruction and constraint-based analysis of Leishmania donovani metabolic network: identification of potential antileishmanial drug targets. MOLECULAR BIOSYSTEMS 2018; 13:955-969. [PMID: 28367572 DOI: 10.1039/c6mb00823b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis, a lethal parasitic disease, is caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania donovani. The absence of an effective vaccine, drug toxicity and parasite resistance necessitates the identification of novel drug targets. Reconstruction of genome-scale metabolic models and their simulation has been established as an important tool for systems-level understanding of a microorganism's metabolism. In this work, amalgamating the tools and techniques of computational systems biology with rigorous manual curation, a constraint-based metabolic model for Leishmania donovani BPK282A1 has been developed. New functional annotations for 18 formerly hypothetical or erroneously annotated genes (encountered during iterative refinement of the model) have been proposed. Further, to formulate an accurate biomass objective function, experimental determination of previously uncharacterized biomass constituents was performed. The developed model is a highly compartmentalized metabolic model, comprising 1159 reactions, 1135 metabolites and 604 genes. The model exhibited around 76% accuracy for the prediction of experimental phenotypes of gene knockout studies and drug inhibition assays. Employing in silico gene knockout studies, we identified 28 essential genes with negligible sequence identity to the human proteins. Moreover, by dissecting the functional interdependencies of metabolic pathways, 70 synthetic lethal pairs were identified. Finally, in order to delineate stage-specific metabolism, gene-expression data of the amastigote stage residing in human macrophages were integrated into the model. By comparing the flux distribution, we illustrated the stage-specific differences in metabolism and environmental conditions that are in good agreement with the experimental findings. The developed model can serve as a highly enriched knowledgebase of legacy data and an important tool for generating experimentally verifiable hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahesh Sharma
- Department of Pharmacoinformatics, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Sector-67, S.A.S. Nagar, Punjab-160062, India.
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Jardim A, Hardie DB, Boitz J, Borchers CH. Proteomic Profiling of Leishmania donovani Promastigote Subcellular Organelles. J Proteome Res 2018; 17:1194-1215. [PMID: 29332401 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.7b00817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
To facilitate a greater understanding of the biological processes in the medically important Leishmania donovani parasite, a combination of differential and density-gradient ultracentrifugation techniques were used to achieve a comprehensive subcellular fractionation of the promastigote stage. An in-depth label-free proteomic LC-MS/MS analysis of the density gradients resulted in the identification of ∼50% of the Leishmania proteome (3883 proteins detected), which included ∼645 integral membrane proteins and 1737 uncharacterized proteins. Clustering and subcellular localization of proteins was based on a subset of training Leishmania proteins with known subcellular localizations that had been determined using biochemical, confocal microscopy, or immunoelectron microscopy approaches. This subcellular map will be a valuable resource that will help dissect the cell biology and metabolic processes associated with specific organelles of Leishmania and related kinetoplastids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Armando Jardim
- Institute of Parasitology, Macdonald Campus, McGill University , 21111 Lakeshore Road, Saine-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec H9X 3V9, Canada
| | - Darryl B Hardie
- University of Victoria -Genome British Columbia Proteomics Centre , #3101-4464 Markham Street, Vancouver Island Technology Park, Victoria, British Columbia V8Z7X8, Canada
| | - Jan Boitz
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Oregon Health & Science University , Portland, Oregon 97239, United States
| | - Christoph H Borchers
- University of Victoria -Genome British Columbia Proteomics Centre , #3101-4464 Markham Street, Vancouver Island Technology Park, Victoria, British Columbia V8Z7X8, Canada.,Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina , 120 Mason Farm Road, Campus Box 7260 Third Floor, Genetic Medicine Building, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States.,Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria , Petch Building, Room 270d, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, British Columbia V8P 5C2, Canada.,Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology, Jewish General Hospital, McGill University , 3755 Côte Ste-Catherine Road, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1E2, Canada.,Proteomics Centre, Segal Cancer Centre, Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital, McGill University , 3755 Côte Ste-Catherine Road, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1E2, Canada
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Gazanion E, Vergnes B. Protozoan Parasite Auxotrophies and Metabolic Dependencies. EXPERIENTIA SUPPLEMENTUM (2012) 2018; 109:351-375. [PMID: 30535605 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-74932-7_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Diseases caused by protozoan parasites have a major impact on world health. These early branching eukaryotes cause significant morbidity and mortality in humans and livestock. During evolution, protozoan parasites have evolved toward complex life cycles in multiple host organisms with different nutritional resources. The conservation of functional metabolic pathways required for these successive environments is therefore a prerequisite for parasitic lifestyle. Nevertheless, parasitism drives genome evolution toward gene loss and metabolic dependencies (including strict auxotrophy), especially for obligatory intracellular parasites. In this chapter, we will compare and contrast how protozoan parasites have perfected this metabolic adaptation by focusing on specific auxotrophic pathways and scavenging strategies used by clinically relevant apicomplexan and trypanosomatid parasites to access host's nutritional resources. We will further see how these metabolic dependencies have in turn been exploited for therapeutic purposes against these human pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elodie Gazanion
- MIVEGEC, IRD, CNRS, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Baptiste Vergnes
- MIVEGEC, IRD, CNRS, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
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43
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Alzahrani KJH, Ali JAM, Eze AA, Looi WL, Tagoe DNA, Creek DJ, Barrett MP, de Koning HP. Functional and genetic evidence that nucleoside transport is highly conserved in Leishmania species: Implications for pyrimidine-based chemotherapy. Int J Parasitol Drugs Drug Resist 2017; 7:206-226. [PMID: 28453984 PMCID: PMC5407577 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2017.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2016] [Revised: 04/14/2017] [Accepted: 04/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Leishmania pyrimidine salvage is replete with opportunities for therapeutic intervention with enzyme inhibitors or antimetabolites. Their uptake into cells depends upon specific transporters; therefore it is essential to establish whether various Leishmania species possess similar pyrimidine transporters capable of drug uptake. Here, we report a comprehensive characterization of pyrimidine transport in L. major and L. mexicana. In both species, two transporters for uridine/adenosine were detected, one of which also transported uracil and the antimetabolites 5-fluoruracil (5-FU) and 5F,2'deoxyuridine (5F,2'dUrd), and was designated uridine-uracil transporter 1 (UUT1); the other transporter mediated uptake of adenosine, uridine, 5F,2'dUrd and thymidine and was designated Nucleoside Transporter 1 (NT1). To verify the reported L. donovani model of two NT1-like genes encoding uridine/adenosine transporters, and an NT2 gene encoding an inosine transporter, we cloned the corresponding L. major and L. mexicana genes, expressing each in T. brucei. Consistent with the L. donovani reports, the NT1-like genes of either species mediated the adenosine-sensitive uptake of [3H]-uridine but not of [3H]-inosine. Conversely, the NT2-like genes mediated uptake of [3H]-inosine but not [3H]-uridine. Among pyrimidine antimetabolites tested, 5-FU and 5F,2'dUrd were the most effective antileishmanials; resistance to both analogs was induced in L. major and L. mexicana. In each case it was found that the resistant cells had lost the transport capacity for the inducing drug. Metabolomics analysis found that the mechanism of action of 5-FU and 5F-2'dUrd was similar in both Leishmania species, with major changes in deoxynucleotide metabolism. We conclude that the pyrimidine salvage system is highly conserved in Leishmania species - essential information for the development of pyrimidine-based chemotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khalid J H Alzahrani
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom; Department of Clinical Laboratory, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia
| | - Juma A M Ali
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom; Al Jabal Al Gharbi University, Gharyan, Libya
| | - Anthonius A Eze
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom; Department of Medical Biochemistry, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Enugu, Nigeria
| | - Wan Limm Looi
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel N A Tagoe
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom; Wellcome Trust Centre for Molecular Parasitology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Darren J Creek
- Department of Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Michael P Barrett
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom; Wellcome Trust Centre for Molecular Parasitology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Harry P de Koning
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
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Sarwono AEY, Suganuma K, Mitsuhashi S, Okada T, Musinguzi SP, Shigetomi K, Inoue N, Ubukata M. Identification and characterization of guanosine 5'-monophosphate reductase of Trypanosoma congolense as a drug target. Parasitol Int 2017; 66:537-544. [PMID: 28366788 DOI: 10.1016/j.parint.2017.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2016] [Revised: 02/17/2017] [Accepted: 03/27/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Trypanosoma congolense is one of the most prevalent pathogens which causes trypanosomosis in African animals, resulting in a significant economic loss. In its life cycle, T. congolense is incapable of synthesizing purine nucleotides via a de novo pathway, and thus relies on a salvage pathway to survive. In this study, we identified a gene from T. congolense, TcIL3000_5_1940, as a guanosine 5'-monophosphate reductase (GMPR), an enzyme that modulates the concentration of intracellular guanosine in the pathogen. The recombinant protein was expressed in Escherichia coli, and the gene product was enzymatically confirmed as a unique GMPR, designated as rTcGMPR. This enzyme was constitutively expressed in glycosomes at all of the parasite's developmental stages similar to other purine nucleotide metabolic enzymes. Mycophenolic acid (MPA) was found to inhibit rTcGMPR activity. Hence, it is a potential lead compound for the design of trypanocidal agents, specifically GMPR inhibitor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albertus Eka Yudistira Sarwono
- Division of Applied Bioscience, Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8589, Japan
| | - Keisuke Suganuma
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan; Research Center for Global Agromedicine, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan
| | - Shinya Mitsuhashi
- Division of Applied Bioscience, Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8589, Japan
| | - Tadashi Okada
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan; Division of Neurology, Respirology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki, 5200 Kihara, Kiyotake, Miyazaki 889-1692, Japan
| | - Simon Peter Musinguzi
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan
| | - Kengo Shigetomi
- Division of Applied Bioscience, Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8589, Japan
| | - Noboru Inoue
- Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan
| | - Makoto Ubukata
- Division of Applied Bioscience, Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8589, Japan.
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Dalberto PF, Martinelli LKB, Bachega JFR, Timmers LFSM, Pinto AFM, Dadda ADS, Petersen GO, Subtil FT, Galina L, Villela AD, Pissinate K, Machado P, Bizarro CV, de Souza ON, de Carvalho Filho EM, Basso LA, Santos DS. Thermodynamics, functional and structural characterization of inosine–uridine nucleoside hydrolase from Leishmania braziliensis. RSC Adv 2017. [DOI: 10.1039/c7ra07268f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Inosine–uridine nucleoside hydrolase fromLeishmania braziliensisis a nonspecific enzyme that contains a disulfide bond not needed for tetramer stabilization.
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46
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Galina L, Dalberto PF, Borges Martinelli LK, Roth CD, Michel Pinto AF, Villela AD, Bizarro CV, Machado P, Saraiva Macedo Timmers LF, Norberto de Souza O, Marcelino de Carvalho Filho E, Basso LA, Santos DS. Biochemical, thermodynamic and structural studies of recombinant homotetrameric adenylosuccinate lyase fromLeishmania braziliensis. RSC Adv 2017. [DOI: 10.1039/c7ra10526f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Functional and structural data suggested that His197and Ser322residues play a role inLbASL catalysis.
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47
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Lenz SAP, Kohout JD, Wetmore SD. Hydrolytic Glycosidic Bond Cleavage in RNA Nucleosides: Effects of the 2'-Hydroxy Group and Acid-Base Catalysis. J Phys Chem B 2016; 120:12795-12806. [PMID: 27933981 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b09620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Despite the inherent stability of glycosidic linkages in nucleic acids that connect the nucleobases to sugar-phosphate backbones, cleavage of these bonds is often essential for organism survival. The current study uses DFT (B3LYP) to provide a fundamental understanding of the hydrolytic deglycosylation of the natural RNA nucleosides (A, C, G, and U), offers a comparison to DNA hydrolysis, and examines the effects of acid, base, or simultaneous acid-base catalysis on RNA deglycosylation. By initially examining HCOO-···H2O mediated deglycosylation, the barriers for RNA hydrolysis were determined to be 30-38 kJ mol-1 higher than the corresponding DNA barriers, indicating that the 2'-OH group stabilizes the glycosidic bond. Although the presence of HCOO- as the base (i.e., to activate the water nucleophile) reduces the barrier for uncatalyzed RNA hydrolysis (i.e., unactivated H2O nucleophile) by ∼15-20 kJ mol-1, the extreme of base catalysis as modeled using a fully deprotonated water molecule (i.e., OH- nucleophile) decreases the uncatalyzed barriers by up to 65 kJ mol-1. Acid catalysis was subsequently examined by selectively protonating the hydrogen-bond acceptor sites of the RNA nucleobases, which results in an up to ∼80 kJ mol-1 barrier reduction relative to the corresponding uncatalyzed pathway. Interestingly, the nucleobase proton acceptor sites that result in the greatest barrier reductions match sites typically targeted in enzyme-catalyzed reactions. Nevertheless, simultaneous acid and base catalysis is the most beneficial way to enhance the reactivity of the glycosidic bonds in RNA, with the individual effects of each catalytic approach being weakened, additive, or synergistic depending on the strength of the base (i.e., degree of water nucleophile activation), the nucleobase, and the hydrogen-bonding acceptor site on the nucleobase. Together, the current contribution provides a greater understanding of the reactivity of the glycosidic bond in natural RNA nucleosides, and has fundamental implications for the function of RNA-targeting enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan A P Lenz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge , 4401 University Drive West, Lethbridge, Alberta T1K 3M4, Canada
| | - Johnathan D Kohout
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge , 4401 University Drive West, Lethbridge, Alberta T1K 3M4, Canada
| | - Stacey D Wetmore
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge , 4401 University Drive West, Lethbridge, Alberta T1K 3M4, Canada
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Crystal structures and inhibition of Trypanosoma brucei hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase. Sci Rep 2016; 6:35894. [PMID: 27786284 PMCID: PMC5081515 DOI: 10.1038/srep35894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2016] [Accepted: 10/06/2016] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a life-threatening infectious disease caused by the protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma brucei (Tbr). Due to the debilitating side effects of the current therapeutics and the emergence of resistance to these drugs, new medications for this disease need to be developed. One potential new drug target is 6-oxopurine phosphoribosyltransferase (PRT), an enzyme central to the purine salvage pathway and whose activity is critical for the production of the nucleotides (GMP and IMP) required for DNA/RNA synthesis within this protozoan parasite. Here, the first crystal structures of this enzyme have been determined, these in complex with GMP and IMP and with three acyclic nucleoside phosphonate (ANP) inhibitors. The Ki values for GMP and IMP are 30.5 μM and 77 μM, respectively. Two of the ANPs have Ki values considerably lower than for the nucleotides, 2.3 μM (with guanine as base) and 15.8 μM (with hypoxanthine as base). The crystal structures show that when two of the ANPs bind, they induce an unusual conformation change to the loop where the reaction product, pyrophosphate, is expected to bind. This and other structural differences between the Tbr and human enzymes suggest selective inhibitors for the Tbr enzyme can be designed.
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Hudspeth EM, Wang Q, Seid CA, Hammond M, Wei J, Liu Z, Zhan B, Pollet J, Heffernan MJ, McAtee CP, Engler DA, Matsunami RK, Strych U, Asojo OA, Hotez PJ, Bottazzi ME. Expression and purification of an engineered, yeast-expressed Leishmania donovani nucleoside hydrolase with immunogenic properties. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2016; 12:1707-20. [PMID: 26839079 PMCID: PMC4964838 DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2016.1139254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2015] [Revised: 12/18/2015] [Accepted: 01/02/2016] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmania donovani is the major cause of visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar), now recognized as the parasitic disease with the highest level of mortality second only to malaria. No human vaccine is currently available. A 36 kDa L. donovani nucleoside hydrolase (LdNH36) surface protein has been previously identified as a potential vaccine candidate antigen. Here we present data on the expression of LdNH36 in Pichia pastoris and its purification at the 20 L scale to establish suitability for future pilot scale manufacturing. To improve efficiency of process development and ensure reproducibility, 4 N-linked glycosylation sites shown to contribute to heterogeneous high-mannose glycosylation were mutated to glutamine residues. The mutant LdNH36 (LdNH36-dg2) was expressed and purified to homogeneity. Size exclusion chromatography and light scattering demonstrated that LdNH36-dg2 existed as a tetramer in solution, similar to the wild-type recombinant L. major nucleoside hydrolase. The amino acid mutations do not affect the tetrameric interface as confirmed by theoretical modeling, and the mutated amino acids are located outside the major immunogenic domain. Immunogenic properties of the LdNH36-dg2 recombinant protein were evaluated in BALB/c mice using formulations that included a synthetic CpG oligodeoxynucleotide, together with a microparticle delivery platform (poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)). Mice exhibited high levels of IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG2b antibodies that were reactive to both LdNH36-dg2 and LdNH36 wild-type. While the point mutations did affect the hydrolase activity of the enzyme, the IgG antibodies elicited by LdNH36-dg2 were shown to inhibit the hydrolase activity of the wild-type LdNH36. The results indicate that LdNH36-dg2 as expressed in and purified from P. pastoris is suitable for further scale-up, manufacturing, and testing in support of future first-in-humans phase 1 clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elissa M. Hudspeth
- Department of Pediatrics (Section of Tropical Medicine), National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Qian Wang
- Department of Pediatrics (Section of Tropical Medicine), National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Christopher A. Seid
- Department of Pediatrics (Section of Tropical Medicine), National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Molly Hammond
- Department of Pediatrics (Section of Tropical Medicine), National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Junfei Wei
- Department of Pediatrics (Section of Tropical Medicine), National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Zhuyun Liu
- Department of Pediatrics (Section of Tropical Medicine), National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Bin Zhan
- Department of Pediatrics (Section of Tropical Medicine), National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Jeroen Pollet
- Department of Pediatrics (Section of Tropical Medicine), National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Michael J. Heffernan
- Department of Pediatrics (Section of Tropical Medicine), National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA
| | - C. Patrick McAtee
- Department of Pediatrics (Section of Tropical Medicine), National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA
| | - David A. Engler
- Proteomics Programmatic Core Laboratory, Houston Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Risë K. Matsunami
- Proteomics Programmatic Core Laboratory, Houston Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Ulrich Strych
- Department of Pediatrics (Section of Tropical Medicine), National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Oluwatoyin A. Asojo
- Department of Pediatrics (Section of Tropical Medicine), National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Peter J. Hotez
- Department of Pediatrics (Section of Tropical Medicine), National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Biology, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
- James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Maria Elena Bottazzi
- Department of Pediatrics (Section of Tropical Medicine), National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Biology, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
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Mycophenolic Acid and Its Derivatives as Potential Chemotherapeutic Agents Targeting Inosine Monophosphate Dehydrogenase in Trypanosoma congolense. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2016; 60:4391-3. [PMID: 27139487 DOI: 10.1128/aac.02816-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2015] [Accepted: 04/27/2016] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the trypanocidal activity of mycophenolic acid (MPA) and its derivatives for Trypanosoma congolense The proliferation of T. congolense was completely inhibited by adding <1 μM MPA and its derivatives. In addition, the IMP dehydrogenase in T. congolense was molecularly characterized as the target of these compounds. The results suggest that MPA and its derivatives have the potential to be new candidates as novel trypanocidal drugs.
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