In Silico Driven Design and Synthesis of Rhodanine Derivatives as Novel Antibacterials Targeting the Enoyl Reductase InhA

New coumarin linked thiazole derivatives as antimycobacterial agents: Design, synthesis, enoyl acyl carrier protein reductase (InhA) inhibition and molecular modeling

Tuberculosis is a global serious problem that imposes major health, economic and social challenges worldwide. The search for new antitubercular drugs is extremely important which could be achieved via inhibition of different druggable targets. Mycobacterium tuberculosis enoyl acyl carrier protein reductase (InhA) enzyme is essential for the survival of M. tuberculosis. In this investigation, a series of coumarin based thiazole derivatives was synthesized relying on a molecular hybridization approach and was assessed against thewild typeMtb H37Rv and its mutant strain (ΔkatG) via inhibiting InhA enzyme. Among the synthesized derivatives, compounds 2b, 3i and 3j were the most potent against wild type M. tuberculosis with MIC values ranging from 6 to 8 μg/ mL and displayed low cytotoxicity towards mouse fibroblasts at concentrations 8-13 times higher than the MIC values. The three hybrids could also inhibit the growth of ΔkatGmutant strain which is resistant to isoniazid (INH). Compounds 2b and 3j were able to inhibit the growth of mycobacteria inside human macrophages, indicating their ability to penetrate human professional phagocytes. The two derivatives significantly suppress mycobacterial biofilm formation by 10-15 %. The promising target compounds were also assessed for their inhibitory effect against InhA and showed potent effectiveness with IC50 values of 0.737 and 1.494 µM, respectively. Molecular docking studies revealed that the tested compounds occupied the active site of InhA in contact with the NAD+ molecule. The 4-phenylcoumarin aromatic system showed binding interactions within the hydrophobic pocket of the active site. Furthermore, H-bond formation and π -π stacking interactions were also recorded for the promising derivatives.

Exploring rhodanine linked enamine-carbohydrazide derivatives as mycobacterial carbonic anhydrase inhibitors: Design, synthesis, biological evaluation, and molecular docking studies

With the rise of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, the imperative for an alternative and superior treatment regimen, incorporating novel mechanisms of action, has become crucial. In pursuit of this goal, we have developed and synthesized a new series of rhodanine-linked enamine-carbohydrazide derivatives, exploring their potential as inhibitors of mycobacterial carbonic anhydrase. The findings reveal their efficacy, displaying notable selectivity toward the mycobacterial carbonic anhydrase 2 (mtCA 2) enzyme. While exhibiting moderate activity against human carbonic anhydrase isoforms, this series demonstrates promising selectivity, positioning these compounds as potential antitubercular agents. Compound 6d was the best one from the series with a Ki value of 9.5 µM toward mtCA 2. Most of the compounds displayed moderate to good inhibition against the Mtb H37Rv strain; compound 11k showed a minimum inhibitory concentration of 1 µg/mL. Molecular docking studies revealed that compounds 6d and 11k show metal coordination with the zinc ion, like classical CA inhibitors.

In silico design, synthesis and antitubercular activity of novel 2-acylhydrazono-5-arylmethylene-4-thiazolidinones as enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductase inhibitors

Mycobacteria regulate the synthesis of mycolic acid through the fatty acid synthase system type 1 (FAS I) and the fatty acid synthase system type-2 (FAS-II). Because mammalian cells exclusively utilize the FAS-I enzyme system for fatty acid production, targeting the FAS-II enzyme system could serve as a specific approach for developing selective antimycobacterial drugs. Enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductase enzyme (MtInhA), part of the FAS-II enzyme system, contains the NADH cofactor in its active site and reduces the intermediate. Molecular docking studies were performed on an in-house database (∼2200 compounds). For this study, five different crystal structures of MtInhA (PDB Code: 4TZK, 4BQP, 4D0S, 4BGE, 4BII) were used due to rotamer difference, mutation and the presence of cofactors. Molecular dynamics simulations (250 ns) were performed for the novel 2-acylhydrazono-5-arylmethylene-4-thiazolidinones derivatives selected by molecular docking studies. Twenty-three compounds selected by in silico methods were synthesized. Antitubercular activity and MtInhA enzyme inhibition studies were performed for compounds whose structures were elucidated by IR,1H-NMR,13C-NMR, HSQC, HMBC, MS and elemental analysis.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of 3-substituted-2-thioxothiazolidin-4-one (rhodanine) derivatives as antitubercular agents against Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein tyrosine phosphatase B

Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections still pose a serious threat to human health. Combination therapies are effective medical solutions to the problem. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an intracellular pathogen that mainly depends on a virulence factor (Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein tyrosine phosphatase B, MptpB) for its survival in the host. Therefore, MptpB inhibitors are potential components of tuberculosis combination treatments. Herein, a new series of MptpB inhibitors bearing a rhodanine group were developed using a structure-based strategy based on the virtual screening hit. The new MptpB inhibitors displayed potent MptpB inhibitory activities and great improvements in cell membrane permeability. The optimal compounds reduced the bacterial burden in a dose-dependent manner in a macrophage infection model, especially, a combination of compound 20 and rifampicin led to a bacterial burden reduction of more than 95%, greater than the reductions achieved with compound 20 or rifampicin alone. This research provides new insights into the rational design of new MptpB inhibitors and verifies that the MptpB inhibitor has a promising potential as a component of tuberculosis treatment.

Synthesis, antimycobacterial, cytotoxicity, anti-inflammatory, in silico studies and molecular dynamics of pyrazole-embedded thiazolidin-4-one hybrids

In the present investigation, we devolved and synthesized a new series of pyrazole-embedded thiazolidin-4-one derivatives (9a-p) with the goal to produce promising antitubercular leads. The in vitro antimycobacterial activity of the synthesized compounds was tested against replicating and nonreplicating Mtb H37Rv strains. With MIC ranging from 3.03 to 22.55 µg/ml, five compounds (9a, 9c, 9d, 9e, and 9f) emerged as promising antitubercular agents. The active molecules were nontoxic to normal Vero cells. All the synthesized compounds were evaluated for in vitro anti-inflammatory studies. Compounds 9a, 9b, 9c, 9h, and 9i exhibited excellent anti-inflammatory efficacy. Docking study was performed to understand the binding pattern of the significantly active compound 9a with 1P44.

Rhodanine derivatives: An insight into the synthetic and medicinal perspectives as antimicrobial and antiviral agents

Rhodanine or 2-Thioxothiazolidin-4-one is a privileged heterocyclic compound offering a wide opportunity for structural modification, lead development, and modification. It is one of the highly decorated scaffolds in the drug discovery process. Rhodanine derivatives possess a plethora of biological activities due to their ability to interact with a diverse range of protein targets, which provide tremendous opportunities to discover new drugs with different modes of action. The most common strategy for developing novel rhodanine derivatives is the introduction of structurally diverse substituents at the C-5 or N-3, or both positions. Since the inception of Epralestat into the market in 1992, the exploration of rhodanine-3-acetic acids has led to the development of novel leads against different biological targets such as MRSA, HHV-6, Mycobacterial tuberculosis, dengue, etc. In the current pandemic era, some rhodanine compounds have been explored against SARS-CoV-2. In recent years, rhodanine and its derivatives have witnessed significant progress in developing new drug leads as potential antimicrobial and antiviral agents. Different synthetic methodologies and recent developments in the medicinal chemistry of rhodanine derivatives, including biological activities, their mechanistic aspects, structure-activity relationships, and in silico findings, have been compiled in the present review. This article will benefit the scientific community and offer perspectives on how these scaffolds as privileged structures might be exploited in the future for rational design and discovery of rhodanine-based bio-active molecules.

Piperonyl-Tethered Rhodanine Derivatives Potently Inhibit Chitinolytic Enzymes of Ostrinia furnacalis

Insect pest chitinases are potential target for developing new insect growth regulators. Piperine was found first to inhibit the insect chitinase (OfChi-h) from Ostrinia furnacalis (Asian corn borer) in this work, except for previously reported OfChtI. Novel piperonyl-tethered rhodanine derivatives 7a-j were rationally designed with piperine as lead and synthesized by introducing a unique rhodanine moiety into the piperine scaffold based on the similar binding cavity of OfChtI and OfChi-h. Compared to piperine, compounds 7a-j showed approximately 100- to 400-fold or 110- to 210-fold higher inhibitory capacity against two chitinases, respectively. Molecular mechanism studies indicated that π interactions are crucial for improving inhibitory activity against two chitinases due to the introduction of the conjugated rhodanine ring. Moreover, compounds 7a-c could dramatically inhibit the growth and development of O. furnacalis larvae by in vivo activity evaluation. This study provides novel piperonyl-tethered rhodanine derivatives inhibiting dual chitinases as insect growth regulator candidates.

Synthesis and Antibacterial evaluation of Rhodanine and Its related heterocyclic compounds against S. aureus and A. baumannii

Antimicrobial resistance is a serious challenge to modern medicine. Besides imposing high financial burden, multidrug resistant infections are directly responsible for high morbidity and mortality. Even though a number of antibiotics are currently available to treat infections caused by ESKAPE organisms, more and more bacterial strains are becoming resistant to these drugs. In these circumstances, there is an urgent unmet need for development of newer antimicrobials to treat the infections caused due to MDR organisms. Rhodanine and structurally related 5-membered heterocycles possess wide range of pharmacological activities. A number of these derivatives have shown good to potent inhibition against the various microorganisms. They are reported to alter the functions of DNA gyrase B, metallo-β-lactamases, pencilline binding protein (PBP), Mur ligases, RNA polymerase, Enoyl ACP reductases, 1-deoxy-d-xylulose-5-phosphate reductoisomerase. etc which are vital molecular targets involved in bacterial growth, survival and replication. In this study, we have generated a library of Rhodanine and related 5 membered heterocyclic derivatives and screened them against a panel of pathogens. Among all the compounds, 2a-i, 3a-b, 3g, 4, 6b-c, 6e, 6g, 12a-b and 14b-c have demonstrated good to moderate inhibition against S. aureus (MIC 0.125-8 µ g/mL). Further, compound 17b demonstrated moderate activity against A. baumannii (MIC 8 µ g/mL). In addition, compounds 2a, 2e, 4, 6c, 6g and 14b have shown good to mild inhibition against MDR S. aureus including VRSA (MIC 0.5-16 µ g/mL) with good selectivity index 20-1600. In addition, compound 2e has inhibited growth gradually after 6 h in time kill kinetic studies and not antagonized with the tested FDA approved drugs.

2-{5-[(Z,2Z)-2-Chloro-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-2-propenylidene]-4-oxo-2-thioxothiazolidin-3-yl}-3-methylbutanoic Acid as a Potential Anti-Breast Cancer Molecule

It was established that the synthesis of hybrid molecules containing a thiazolidinone and a (2Z)-2-chloro-3-(4-nitrophenyl)prop-2-ene structural fragments is an effective approach for the design of potential anticancer agents. Given the results of the previous SAR-analysis, the aim of the study was to synthesize a novel 4-thiazolidinone derivative Les-3331 and investigate its molecular mechanism of action in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. The cytotoxic properties and antiproliferative potential of Les-3331 were determined. The effect of the tested compound on apoptosis induction and mitochondrial membrane potential was checked by flow cytometry. ELISA was used to determine caspase-8 and caspase-9, LC3A, LC3B, Beclin-1, and topoisomerase II concentration. Additionally, PAMPA, in silico or in vitro prediction of metabolism, CYP3A4/2D6 inhibition, and an Ames test were performed. Les-3331 possesses high cytotoxic and antiproliferative activity in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Its molecular mechanism of action is associated with apoptosis induction, decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, and increased caspase-9 and caspase-8 concentrations. Les-3331 decreased LC3A, LC3B, and Beclin-1 concentration in tested cell lines. Topoisomerase II concentration was also lowered. The most probable metabolic pathways and no DDIs risk of Les-3331 were confirmed in in vitro assays. Our studies confirmed that a novel 4-thiazolidinone derivative represents promising anti-breast cancer activity.

Design and synthesis of amino acid derivatives of substituted benzimidazoles and pyrazoles as Sirt1 inhibitors

Owing to its presence in several biological processes, Sirt1 acts as a potential therapeutic target for many diseases. Here, we report the structure-based designing and synthesis of two distinct series of novel Sirt1 inhibitors, benzimidazole mono-peptides and amino-acid derived 5-pyrazolyl methylidene rhodanine carboxylic acid. The compounds were evaluated for in vitro enzyme-based and cell-based Sirt1 inhibition assay, and cytotoxic-activity in both liver and breast cancer cells. The tryptophan conjugates i.e.13h (IC₅₀ = 0.66 μM, ΔG_bind = −1.1 kcal mol⁻¹) and 7d (IC₅₀ = 0.77 μM, ΔG_bind = −4.4 kcal mol⁻¹) demonstrated the maximum efficacy to inhibit Sirt1. The MD simulation unveiled that electrostatic complementarity at the substrate-binding-site through a novel motif “SLxVxP(V/F)A” could be a cause of increased Sirt1 inhibition by 13h and 13l over Sirt2 in cell-based assay, as compared to the control Ex527 and 7d. Finally, this study highlights novel molecules 7d and 13h, along with a new key hot-spot in Sirt1, which could be used as a starting lead to design more potent and selective sirtuin inhibitors as a potential anticancer molecule.

Owing to its presence in several biological processes, Sirt1 acts as a potential therapeutic target for many diseases.

Mycobacterium enoyl acyl carrier protein reductase (InhA): A key target for antitubercular drug discovery

Enoyl acyl carrier protein reductase (InhA) is a key enzyme involved in fatty acid synthesis mainly mycolic acid biosynthesis that is a part of NADH dependent acyl carrier protein reductase family. The aim of the present literature is to underline the different scaffolds or enzyme inhibitors that inhibit mycolic acid biosynthesis mainly cell wall synthesis by inhibiting enzyme InhA. Various scaffolds were identified based on the screening technologies like high throughput screening, encoded library technology, fragment-based screening. The compounds studied include indirect inhibitors (Isoniazid, Ethionamide, Prothionamide) and direct inhibitors (Triclosan/Diphenyl ethers, Pyrrolidine Carboxamides, Pyrroles, Acetamides, Thiadiazoles, Triazoles) with better efficacy against drug resistance. Out of the several scaffolds studied, pyrrolidine carboxamides were found to be the best molecules targeting InhA having good bioavailability properties and better MIC. This review provides with a detailed information, analysis, structure activity relationship and useful insight on various scaffolds as InhA inhibitors.

The Importance of Rhodanine Scaffold in Medicinal Chemistry: A Comprehensive Overview

After the clinical use of epalrestat that contains a rhodanine ring, in type II diabetes mellitus and diabetic complications, rhodanin-based compounds have become an important class of heterocyclic in the field of medicinal chemistry. Various modifications to the rhodanine ring have led to a broad spectrum of biological activity of these compounds. Synthesis of rhodanine derivatives, depended on advenced throughput scanning hits, frequently causes potent and selective modulators of targeted enzymes or receptors, which apply their pharmacological activities through different mechanisms of action. Rhodanine-based compounds will likely stay a privileged scaffold in drug discovery because of different probability of chemical modifications of the rhodanine ring. We have, therefore reviewed their biological activities and structure activity relationship.

Antitubercular properties of thiazolidin-4-ones - A review

Thiazolidin-4-one scaffold has great potential for medicinal chemistry and is of interest to scientists in view of wide spectrum of biological activity. This scaffold is often used for designing of small molecules with various biological activity including antituberculosis activity. The presented review is an attempt to gather, analyze and systemize data about antitubercular properties of thiazolidine-4-ones from two last decades. Some of them have promising antitubercular activity which is significantly higher than that of the reference drugs. Among them compounds 82c, 82d and 84 that were active against M. tuberculosis H37Rv strain with MICs in the range of 0.05-0.2 μg/mL and compound 108 exhibited activity with MIC = 0.36 μM. Compounds 115a-115c and 116a-116c were very effective against M. tuberculosis H37Ra with MIC values in the range of 0.031-0.125 μg/mL. Acidomycin was showed activity against seven MDR M. tuberculosis strains with MICs in the range of 0.6-0.62 μM and against two XDR M. tuberculosis strains with MICs 0.096 and 1.2 μM. The structure-activity relationship (SAR) of some groups of compounds, as well as some potential molecular targets were also discussed.

5-Aryl-furan derivatives bearing a phenylalanine- or isoleucine-derived rhodanine moiety as potential PTP1B inhibitors

Two series of 5-aryl-furan derivatives bearing a phenylalanine- or isoleucine-derived rhodanine moiety were identified as competitive protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) inhibitors. Among the compounds studied, 5g was found to have the best PTP1B inhibitory potency (IC₅₀ = 2.66 ± 0.16 µM) and the best cell division cycle 25 homolog B (CDC25B) inhibitory potency (IC₅₀ = 0.25 ± 0.02 µM). Enzymatic data together with molecular modeling results demonstrated that the introduction of a sec-butyl group at the 2-position of the carboxyl group remarkably improved the PTP1B inhibitory activity.

Inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis InhA: Design, synthesis and evaluation of new di-triclosan derivatives

Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) represents a growing problem for global healthcare systems. In addition to 1.3 million deaths in 2018, the World Health Organisation reported 484,000 new cases of MDR-TB. Isoniazid is a key anti-TB drug that inhibits InhA, a crucial enzyme in the cell wall biosynthesis pathway and identical in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. bovis. Isoniazid is a pro-drug which requires activation by the enzyme KatG, mutations in KatG prevent activation and confer INH-resistance. 'Direct inhibitors' of InhA are attractive as they would circumvent the main clinically observed resistance mechanisms. A library of new 1,5-triazoles, designed to mimic the structures of both triclosan molecules uniquely bound to InhA have been synthesised. The inhibitory activity of these compounds was evaluated using isolated enzyme assays with 2 (5-chloro-2-(4-(5-(((4-(4-chloro-2-hydroxyphenoxy)benzyl)oxy)methyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)phenoxy)phenol) exhibiting an IC₅₀ of 5.6 µM. Whole-cell evaluation was also performed, with 11 (5-chloro-2-(4-(5-(((4-(cyclopropylmethoxy)benzyl)oxy)methyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)phenoxy)phenol) showing the greatest potency, with an MIC₉₉ of 12.9 µM against M. bovis.

Identification of Anti-Mycobacterium and Anti-Legionella Compounds With Potential Distinctive Structural Scaffolds From an HD-PBL Using Phenotypic Screens in Amoebae Host Models

Tubercular Mycobacteria and Legionella pneumophila are the causative agents of potentially fatal respiratory diseases due to their intrinsic pathogenesis but also due to the emergence of antibiotic resistance that limits treatment options. The aim of our study was to explore the antimicrobial activity of a small ligand-based chemical library of 1255 structurally diverse compounds. These compounds were screened in a combination of three assays, two monitoring the intracellular growth of the pathogenic bacteria, Mycobacterium marinum and L. pneumophila, and one assessing virulence of M. marinum. We set up these assays using two amoeba strains, the genetically tractable social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum and the free-living amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii. In summary, 64 (5.1%) compounds showed anti-infective/anti-virulence activity in at least one of the three assays. The intracellular assays hit rate varied between 1.7% (n = 22) for M. marinum and 2.8% (n = 35) for L. pneumophila with seven compounds in common for both pathogens. In parallel, 1.2% (n = 15) of the tested compounds were able to restore D. discoideum growth in the presence of M. marinum spiked in a lawn of food bacteria. We also validated the generality of the hits identified in the A. castellanii–M. marinum anti-infective screen using the D. discoideum–M. marinum host–pathogen model. The characterization of anti-infective and antibacterial hits in the latter infection model revealed compounds able to reduce intracellular growth more than 50% at 30 μM. Moreover, the chemical space and physico-chemical properties of the anti-M. marinum hits were compared to standard and candidate Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) drugs using ChemGPS-NP. A principle component analysis identified separate clusters for anti-M. marinum and anti-L. pneumophila hits unveiling the potentially new physico-chemical properties of these hits compared to standard and candidate M. tuberculosis drugs. Our studies underscore the relevance of using a combination of low-cost and low-complexity assays with full 3R compliance in concert with a rationalized focused library of compounds to identify new chemical scaffolds and to dissect some of their properties prior to taking further steps toward compound development.

Synthesis, Antitubercular Activity, Molecular Modeling and Docking Studies of Novel Thiazolidin-4-One Linked Dinitrobenzamide Derivatives

Background:

Tuberculosis is a catastrophe sprawled across the world. The World Health Organization Global Tuberculosis Report 2017 inferred that there were an estimated 10.4 million people suffered from tuberculosis including 490000 Multidrug-Resistant TB (MDR-TB) cases. Several new lead molecules like dinitrobenzamide derivatives were found to be highly active against multidrugresistant strains of M. tuberculosis. To further explore the pharmacophoric space around the dinitobenzamide moiety, a series of compounds have been synthesized by linking it with the thiazolidin- 4-one. The presented work is an effort to study the biological effect of thiazolidin-4-one scaffold on dinitrobenzamide derivatives as antitubercular agents. A molecular modeling study was also performed on the synthesized molecules to reveal the requirements for further lead optimization.

Methods:

The thiazolidin-4-one linked 3,5-dinitrobenzamide derivatives have been synthesized by onepot three-component condensation reaction of an amine, substituted aldehydes and thioglycolic acid in presence of N, N'-Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC). These compounds were evaluated against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra. A pharmacophore modeling approach has been used in order to explore the collection of possible pharmacophore queries of thiazolidin-4-one linked 3, 5-dinitrobenzamide derivatives against M. tuberculosis. The synthesized compounds were docked on to the M. tuberculosis DprE1 enzyme to identify the structural features requirement of these analogs against this potential target of M. tuberculosis.

Results:

The synthesized compounds showed the antitubercular activity in the range of 6.25-50 μg/ml. The pharmacophore modeling suggests that the presence of aromatic moiety, thiazolidin-4-one ring and one of the nitro groups are significant for inhibiting the enzymatic activity. While docking studies showed that hydrophobic and hydrogen bond interactions of the aromatic moiety and nitro group crucial to inactivate the DprE1 enzyme.

Conclusion:

The study showed that the linking of thiazolidin-4-one with dinitrobenzamide leads to compounds active against M. tuberculosis. These findings also suggested that further lead optimization would be carried out by focusing on the aromatic system along with electron-rich substituents placed on the thiazolidin-4-one for making better hydrophobic and hydrogen bond interactions with the DprE1 target.

Drug screening of rhodanine derivatives for antibacterial activity

Introduction: Bacteriological infections are a major risk to human health. These include all hospital and public-acquired infections. In drug discovery, rhodanines are privileged heterocyclic frameworks. Their derivatives possess strong anti-bacterial activity and some of them have shown potent activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens, both under in vitro and in vivo conditions. To treat multi-drug resistant pathogens, the development of novel potent drugs, with superior anti-bacterial efficacy, is paramount. One avenue which shows promise is the design and development of novel rhodanines.Areas covered: This review summarizes the status on rhodanine-based derivatives and their anti-bacterial activity, based on published research over the past six years. Furthermore, to facilitate the design of novel derivatives with improved functions, their structure-activity relationships are assessed with reference to their efficacy as anti-bacterial agents and their toxicity.Expert opinion: The pharmacological activity of molecules bearing a rhodanine scaffold needs to be very critically assessed in spite of considerable information available from various biological evaluations. Although, some data on structure-activity relationship frameworks is available, information is not adequate to optimize the efficacy of rhodanine derivatives for different applications.

Structure-based drug design and in vitro testing reveal new inhibitors of enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductases

The need for new antibacterial agents is increasingly becoming of great importance as bacterial resistance to current drugs is quickly spreading. Enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductases (FabI) are important enzymes for fatty acid biosynthesis in bacteria and other micro-organisms. In this project, we conducted structure-based virtual screening against the FabI enzyme, and accordingly, 37 compounds were selected for experimental testing. Interestingly, five compounds were able to demonstrate antimicrobial effect with variable inhibition activity against various strains of bacteria and fungi. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of the active compounds were determined and showed to be in low to medium micromolar range. Subsequently, enzyme inhibition assay was carried out for our five antimicrobial hits to confirm their biological target and determine their IC₅₀ values. Three of these tested compounds exhibited inhibition activity for the FabI enzyme where our best hit MN02 had an IC₅₀ value of 7.8 μM. Furthermore, MN02 is a small bisphenolic compound that is predicted to have all required features to firmly bind with the target enzyme. To sum up, hits discovered in this work can act as a good starting point for the future development of new and potent antimicrobial agents.

Introducing Broadened Antibacterial Activity to Rhodanine Derivatives Targeting Enoyl-Acyl Carrier Protein Reductase

Broadened antibacterial activity was introduced to rhodanine derivatives targeting Mycobacterial tuberculosis enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductase (Mtb InhA) by recruiting feature of xacins to bring DNA Gyrase B inhibitory capability. This is significant for preventing further bacterial injections in the tuberculosis treatment. The most potent compound Cy14 suggested comparable bioactivity (IC₅₀ = 3.18 µM for Mtb InhA; IC₅₀ = 10 nM for DNA Gyrase B) with positive controls. Structure-activity relationship discussion and molecular docking model revealed the significance of rhodanine moiety and derived methoxyl on meta-position, pointing out orientations for future modification.

Survey on medicinal plants traditionally used in Senegal for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) and assessment of their antimycobacterial activity

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

In West Africa, populations are used to taking traditional medicine as a first aid against common health problems. In this aspect, many plants are claimed to be effective in the treatment of Tuberculosis (TB), which according to the World Health Organization (WHO) remains one of the world's deadliest communicable diseases.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The main aim of this study was to identify plants used to treat TB-symptoms by the population of Senegal and to evaluate their possible concomitant use with clinically approved TB-drugs. This approach allowed the selection of plants effectively used in traditional medicine. In order to verify if the usage of some of these plants can be rationalized, the activity of their traditional preparations was assessed with both an intracellular and extracellular antimycobacterial host-pathogen assays.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

An ethnopharmacological survey conducted on 117 TB-patients and 30 healers in Senegal from March to May 2014. The questionnaires were focused on the use of medicinal plants to treat common TB -symptoms (cough longer than 2 weeks, fever, night sweats, weight loss and bloody sputum). Local plant names, utilized organs (herbal drugs) and traditional formulations of the plants were recorded. Extracts were prepared by mimicking the traditional decoction in boiling water and screened for their antimycobacterial activity using Mycobacterium marinum, as a validated TB surrogate, and an Acanthamoeba castellanii - M. marinum whole-cell based host-pathogen assay, to detect anti-infective activities.

RESULTS

By the end of the survey, nearly 30 plants were cited and the 12 most cited herbal drugs were collected and their usage documented by extensive literature search. Extracts of the chosen herbs were screened with the described assays; with a main focus on traditional formulas (mainly herbal decoctions). Two of the water extracts from Combretum aculeatum and Guiera senegalensis showed significant antimycobacterial activities when compared to the positive control drug (rifampin). These extracts showed no observable toxicity against amoeba host cells (Acanthamoeba castellanii).

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that most of the patients do not concomitantly use plants and TB drugs (~90% of informants) but, instead, most are treated with medicinal plants before they are admitted to a hospital (41%). Interestingly, among the aqueous extracts assayed, two extracts (Combretum aculeatum (Combretaceae) and Guiera senegalensis (Combretaceae)) collected within this survey demonstrate antimycobacterial activities on the validated whole-cell based host-pathogen assay. Both extracts showed significant activities against intracellular and extracellular - M. marinum growth presenting IC₅₀ lower than 0.5mg/ml compared to the reference drug Rifampin (IC₅₀ of 0.4 and 7µg/ml). No toxicity was observed for amoebae cells at concentration until 0.8mg/ml.

5-Ene-4-thiazolidinones - An efficient tool in medicinal chemistry

The presented review is an attempt to summarize a huge volume of data on 5-ene-4-thiazolidinones being a widely studied class of small molecules used in modern organic and medicinal chemistry. The manuscript covers approaches to the synthesis of 5-ene-4-thiazolidinone derivatives: modification of the C5 position of the basic core; synthesis of the target compounds in the one-pot or multistage reactions or transformation of other related heterocycles. The most prominent pharmacological profiles of 5-ene derivatives of different 4-thiazolidinone subtypes belonging to hit-, lead-compounds, drug-candidates and drugs as well as the most studied targets have been discussed. Currently target compounds (especially 5-en-rhodanines) are assigned as frequent hitters or pan-assay interference compounds (PAINS) within high-throughput screening campaigns. Nevertheless, the crucial impact of the presence/nature of C5 substituent (namely 5-ene) on the pharmacological effects of 5-ene-4-thiazolidinones was confirmed by the numerous listed findings from the original articles. The main directions for active 5-ene-4-thiazolidinones optimization have been shown: i) complication of the fragment in the C5 position; ii) introduction of the substituents in the N3 position (especially fragments with carboxylic group or its derivatives); iii) annealing in complex heterocyclic systems; iv) combination with other pharmacologically attractive fragments within hybrid pharmacophore approach. Moreover, the utilization of 5-ene-4-thiazolidinones in the synthesis of complex compounds with potent pharmacological application is described. The chemical transformations cover mainly the reactions which involve the exocyclic double bond in C5 position of the main core and correspond to the abovementioned direction of the 5-ene-4-thiazolidinone modification.

Discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis InhA Inhibitors by Binding Sites Comparison and Ligands Prediction

Drug discovery is usually focused on a single protein target; in this process, existing compounds that bind to related proteins are often ignored. We describe ProBiS plugin, extension of our earlier ProBiS-ligands approach, which for a given protein structure allows prediction of its binding sites and, for each binding site, the ligands from similar binding sites in the Protein Data Bank. We developed a new database of precalculated binding site comparisons of about 290000 proteins to allow fast prediction of binding sites in existing proteins. The plugin enables advanced viewing of predicted binding sites, ligands' poses, and their interactions in three-dimensional graphics. Using the InhA query protein, an enoyl reductase enzyme in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis fatty acid biosynthesis pathway, we predicted its possible ligands and assessed their inhibitory activity experimentally. This resulted in three previously unrecognized inhibitors with novel scaffolds, demonstrating the plugin's utility in the early drug discovery process.