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Prates JLB, Lopes JR, Chin CM, Ferreira EI, Dos Santos JL, Scarim CB. Discovery of Novel Inhibitors of Cruzain Cysteine Protease of Trypanosoma cruzi. Curr Med Chem 2024; 31:2285-2308. [PMID: 37888814 DOI: 10.2174/0109298673254864230921090519] [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: 04/06/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
Chagas disease (CD) is a parasitic disease endemic in several developing countries. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 6-8 million people worldwide are inflicted by CD. The scarcity of new drugs, mainly for the chronic phase, is the main reason for treatment limitation in CD. Therefore, there is an urgent need to discover new targets for which new therapeutical agents could be developed. Cruzain cysteine protease (CCP) is a promising alternative because this enzyme exhibits pleiotropic effects by acting as a virulence factor, modulating host immune cells, and interacting with host cells. This systematic review was conducted to discover new compounds that act as cruzain inhibitors, and their effects in vitro were studied through enzymatic assays and molecular docking. Additionally, the advances and perspectives of these inhibitors are discussed. These findings are expected to contribute to medicinal chemistry in view of the design of new, safe, and efficacious inhibitors against Trypanosoma cruzi CCP detected in the last decade (2013-2022) to provide scaffolds for further optimization, aiming toward the discovery of new drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Lucas Bruno Prates
- Department of Drugs and Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara, SP, Brazil
- Chemistry Institute Araraquara, São Paulo State University (UNESP), SP, Brazil
| | - Juliana Romano Lopes
- Department of Drugs and Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara, SP, Brazil
| | - Chung Man Chin
- Department of Drugs and Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara, SP, Brazil
- Union of the Colleges of the Great Lakes (UNILAGO), School of Medicine, Advanced Research Center in Medicine, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Elizabeth Igne Ferreira
- LAPEN-Laboratory of Design and Synthesis of Chemotherapeutic Agents Potentially Active on Neglected Diseases, Department of Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Jean Leandro Dos Santos
- Department of Drugs and Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara, SP, Brazil
- Chemistry Institute Araraquara, São Paulo State University (UNESP), SP, Brazil
| | - Cauê Benito Scarim
- Department of Drugs and Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara, SP, Brazil
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Fraccaroli L, Ruiz MD, Perdomo VG, Clausi AN, Balcazar DE, Larocca L, Carrillo C. Broadening the spectrum of ivermectin: Its effect on Trypanosoma cruzi and related trypanosomatids. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:885268. [PMID: 35967842 PMCID: PMC9366347 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.885268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Chagas disease is an endemic American parasitosis, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. The current therapies, benznidazole (BZN) and nifurtimox (NFX), show limited efficacy and multiple side effects. Thus, there is a need to develop new trypanocidal strategies. Ivermectin (IVM) is a broad-spectrum antiparasitic drug with low human and veterinary toxicity with effects against T. brucei and Leishmania spp. Considering this and its relatively low cost, we evaluate IVM as a potential repurposed trypanocidal drug on T. cruzi and other trypanosomatids. We found that IVM affected, in a dose-dependent manner, the proliferation of T. cruzi epimastigotes as well as the amastigotes and trypomastigotes survival. The Selectivity Index for the amastigote stage with respect to Vero cells was 12. The IVM effect was also observed in Phytomonas jma 066 and Leishmania mexicana proliferation but not in Crithidia fasciculata. On the epimastigote stage, the IVM effect was trypanostatic at 50 μM but trypanocidal at 100 μM. The assays of the drug combinations of IVM with BNZ or NFX showed mainly additive effects among combinations. In silico studies showed that classical structures belonging to glutamate-gated Cl channels, the most common IVM target, are absent in kinetoplastids. However, we found in the studied trypanosomatid genomes one copy for putative IMPα and IMPβ, potential targets for IVM. The putative IMPα genes (with 76% similarity) showed conserved Armadillo domains but lacked the canonical IMPβ binding sequence. These results allowed us to propose a novel molecular target in T. cruzi and suggest IVM as a good candidate for drug repurposing in the Chagas disease context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Fraccaroli
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular y Bioquímica en Trypanosoma cruzi y otros agentes infecciosos, CONICET for Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología (ICT) Milstein - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- *Correspondence: Laura Fraccaroli, ; Carolina Carrillo,
| | - María Daniela Ruiz
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular y Bioquímica en Trypanosoma cruzi y otros agentes infecciosos, CONICET for Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología (ICT) Milstein - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Virginia Gabriela Perdomo
- Área Parasitología, Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR), Rosario, Argentina
| | - Agustina Nicole Clausi
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular y Bioquímica en Trypanosoma cruzi y otros agentes infecciosos, CONICET for Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología (ICT) Milstein - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Darío Emmanuel Balcazar
- Área Parasitología, Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR), Rosario, Argentina
| | - Luciana Larocca
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular y Bioquímica en Trypanosoma cruzi y otros agentes infecciosos, CONICET for Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología (ICT) Milstein - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Carolina Carrillo
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular y Bioquímica en Trypanosoma cruzi y otros agentes infecciosos, CONICET for Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología (ICT) Milstein - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- *Correspondence: Laura Fraccaroli, ; Carolina Carrillo,
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3
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Naz F, Malik A, Riaz M, Mahmood Q, Mehmood MH, Rasool G, Mahmood Z, Abbas M. Bromocriptine Therapy: Review of mechanism of action, safety and tolerability. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol 2022; 49:903-922. [DOI: 10.1111/1440-1681.13678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Faiza Naz
- Punjab University College of Pharmacy University of the Punjab Lahore Pakistan
| | - Abdul Malik
- College of Pharmacy University of Sargodha Sargodha Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Riaz
- Department of Allied Health Sciences University of Sargodha Sargodha Pakistan
| | - Qaisar Mahmood
- College of Pharmacy University of Sargodha Sargodha Pakistan
| | - Malik Hassan Mehmood
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Government College University Faisalabad Pakistan
| | - Ghulam Rasool
- Department of Allied Health Sciences University of Sargodha Sargodha Pakistan
| | - Zahed Mahmood
- Department of Biochemistry Government College University Faisalabad Pakistan
| | - Mazhar Abbas
- Department of Biochemistry College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (Jhang Campus) Lahore Pakistan
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Muraca G, Berti IR, Sbaraglini ML, Fávaro WJ, Durán N, Castro GR, Talevi A. Trypanosomatid-Caused Conditions: State of the Art of Therapeutics and Potential Applications of Lipid-Based Nanocarriers. Front Chem 2020; 8:601151. [PMID: 33324615 PMCID: PMC7726426 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2020.601151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Trypanosomatid-caused conditions (African trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis) are neglected tropical infectious diseases that mainly affect socioeconomically vulnerable populations. The available therapeutics display substantial limitations, among them limited efficacy, safety issues, drug resistance, and, in some cases, inconvenient routes of administration, which made the scenarios with insufficient health infrastructure settings inconvenient. Pharmaceutical nanocarriers may provide solutions to some of these obstacles, improving the efficacy-safety balance and tolerability to therapeutic interventions. Here, we overview the state of the art of therapeutics for trypanosomatid-caused diseases (including approved drugs and drugs undergoing clinical trials) and the literature on nanolipid pharmaceutical carriers encapsulating approved and non-approved drugs for these diseases. Numerous studies have focused on the obtention and preclinical assessment of lipid nanocarriers, particularly those addressing the two currently most challenging trypanosomatid-caused diseases, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis. In general, in vitro and in vivo studies suggest that delivering the drugs using such type of nanocarriers could improve the efficacy-safety balance, diminishing cytotoxicity and organ toxicity, especially in leishmaniasis. This constitutes a very relevant outcome, as it opens the possibility to extended treatment regimens and improved compliance. Despite these advances, last-generation nanosystems, such as targeted nanocarriers and hybrid systems, have still not been extensively explored in the field of trypanosomatid-caused conditions and represent promising opportunities for future developments. The potential use of nanotechnology in extended, well-tolerated drug regimens is particularly interesting in the light of recent descriptions of quiescent/dormant stages of Leishmania and Trypanosoma cruzi, which have been linked to therapeutic failure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuliana Muraca
- Laboratory of Bioactive Research and Development (LIDeB), Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Exact Sciences, University of La Plata (UNLP), La Plata, Argentina
- Administración Nacional de Medicamentos, Alimentos y Tecnología Médica (ANMAT), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ignacio Rivero Berti
- Laboratorio de Nanobiomateriales, Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales (CINDEFI), Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP) -CONICET (CCT La Plata), La Plata, Argentina
| | - María L. Sbaraglini
- Laboratory of Bioactive Research and Development (LIDeB), Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Exact Sciences, University of La Plata (UNLP), La Plata, Argentina
| | - Wagner J. Fávaro
- Laboratory of Urogenital Carcinogenesis and Immunotherapy, Department of Structural and Functional Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil
| | - Nelson Durán
- Laboratory of Urogenital Carcinogenesis and Immunotherapy, Department of Structural and Functional Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil
- Nanomedicine Research Unit (Nanomed), Federal University of ABC (UFABC), Santo André, Brazil
| | - Guillermo R. Castro
- Laboratorio de Nanobiomateriales, Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales (CINDEFI), Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP) -CONICET (CCT La Plata), La Plata, Argentina
| | - Alan Talevi
- Laboratory of Bioactive Research and Development (LIDeB), Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Exact Sciences, University of La Plata (UNLP), La Plata, Argentina
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Olarte-Avellaneda S, Cepeda Del Castillo J, Rojas-Rodriguez AF, Sánchez O, Rodríguez-López A, Suárez García DA, Pulido LMS, Alméciga-Díaz CJ. Bromocriptine as a Novel Pharmacological Chaperone for Mucopolysaccharidosis IV A. ACS Med Chem Lett 2020; 11:1377-1385. [PMID: 32676143 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.0c00042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2020] [Accepted: 06/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Mucopolysaccharidosis IVA (MPS IVA) is a lysosomal storage disease caused by mutations in the gene encoding for the enzyme N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate sulfatase (GALNS), leading to lysosomal accumulation of keratan sulfate (KS) and chondroitin-6-sulfate. In this study, we identified and characterized bromocriptine (BC) as a novel PC for MPS IVA. BC was identified through virtual screening and predicted to be docked within the active cavity of GALNS in a similar conformation to that observed for KS. BC interacted with similar residues to those predicted for natural GALNS substrates. In vitro inhibitory assay showed that BC at 50 μM reduced GALNS activity up to 30%. However, the activity of hrGALNS produced in HEK293 cells was increased up to 1.48-fold. BC increased GALNS activity and reduced lysosomal mass in MPS IVA fibroblasts in a mutation-dependent manner. Overall, these results show the potential of BC as a novel PC for MPS IVA and contribute to the consolidation of PCs as a potential therapy for this disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Olarte-Avellaneda
- Institute for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism, Faculty of Science, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá D.C. 110231, Colombia
- Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Science, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá D.C. 11001, Colombia
| | - Jacobo Cepeda Del Castillo
- Institute for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism, Faculty of Science, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá D.C. 110231, Colombia
| | - Andrés Felipe Rojas-Rodriguez
- Computational and Structural Biochemistry, Biochemistry and Nutrition Department, Faculty of Science, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá D.C. 110231, Colombia
| | - Oscar Sánchez
- Neurobiochemistry and Systems Physiology, Biochemistry and Nutrition Department, Faculty of Science, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá D.C. 110231, Colombia
| | - Alexander Rodríguez-López
- Institute for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism, Faculty of Science, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá D.C. 110231, Colombia
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá D.C. 110231, Colombia
| | - Diego A. Suárez García
- Institute for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism, Faculty of Science, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá D.C. 110231, Colombia
- Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá D.C 11001, Colombia
| | - Luz Mary Salazar Pulido
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá D.C. 11001, Colombia
| | - Carlos J. Alméciga-Díaz
- Institute for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism, Faculty of Science, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá D.C. 110231, Colombia
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Madigan R, Majoy S, Ritter K, Luis Concepción J, Márquez ME, Silva SC, Zao CL, Pérez Alvarez A, Rodriguez-Morales AJ, Mogollón-Mendoza AC, Estep JS, Benaím G, Paniz-Mondolfi AE. Investigation of a combination of amiodarone and itraconazole for treatment of American trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease) in dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2020; 255:317-329. [PMID: 31298647 DOI: 10.2460/javma.255.3.317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To evaluate clinical, serologic, parasitological, and histologic outcomes of dogs with naturally occurring Trypanosoma cruzi infection treated for 12 months with amiodarone and itraconazole. ANIMALS 121 dogs from southern Texas and southern Louisiana. PROCEDURES Treatment group dogs (n = 105) received a combination of amiodarone hydrochloride (approx 7.5 mg/kg [3.4 mg/lb], PO, q 24 h, with or without a loading dosage protocol) and itraconazole (approx 10 mg/kg [4.5 mg/lb], PO, q 24 h, adjusted to maintain a plasma concentration of 1 to 2 μg/mL) for 12 months. Control group dogs (n = 16) received no antitrypanosomal medications. Serologic assays for anti-T cruzi antibodies, PCR assays for T cruzi DNA in blood, and physical evaluations were performed 1, 6, 9, 12, and 24 months after study initiation. Adverse events were recorded. Outcomes of interest were recorded and compared between groups. RESULTS 86 of 105 treatment group dogs and 8 of 16 control group dogs survived and completed the study (5/19 and 6/7 deaths of treatment and control group dogs, respectively, were attributed to T cruzi infection). Mean survival time until death attributed to T cruzi was longer (23.19 vs 15.64 months) for the treatment group. Results of PCR assays were negative for all (n = 92) tested treatment group dogs (except for 1 dog at 1 time point) from 6 to 24 months after study initiation. Clinical improvement in ≥ 1 clinical sign was observed in 53 of 54 and 0 of 10 treatment and control group dogs, respectively; adverse drug events were minor and reversible. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results suggested efficacy of this trypanocidal drug combination for the treatment of T cruzi infection in dogs.
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Juárez-Saldivar A, Schroeder M, Salentin S, Haupt VJ, Saavedra E, Vázquez C, Reyes-Espinosa F, Herrera-Mayorga V, Villalobos-Rocha JC, García-Pérez CA, Campillo NE, Rivera G. Computational Drug Repositioning for Chagas Disease Using Protein-Ligand Interaction Profiling. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21124270. [PMID: 32560043 PMCID: PMC7348847 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21124270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2020] [Revised: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 06/13/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), affects nearly eight million people worldwide. There are currently only limited treatment options, which cause several side effects and have drug resistance. Thus, there is a great need for a novel, improved Chagas treatment. Bifunctional enzyme dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (DHFR-TS) has emerged as a promising pharmacological target. Moreover, some human dihydrofolate reductase (HsDHFR) inhibitors such as trimetrexate also inhibit T. cruzi DHFR-TS (TcDHFR-TS). These compounds serve as a starting point and a reference in a screening campaign to search for new TcDHFR-TS inhibitors. In this paper, a novel virtual screening approach was developed that combines classical docking with protein-ligand interaction profiling to identify drug repositioning opportunities against T. cruzi infection. In this approach, some food and drug administration (FDA)-approved drugs that were predicted to bind with high affinity to TcDHFR-TS and whose predicted molecular interactions are conserved among known inhibitors were selected. Overall, ten putative TcDHFR-TS inhibitors were identified. These exhibited a similar interaction profile and a higher computed binding affinity, compared to trimetrexate. Nilotinib, glipizide, glyburide and gliquidone were tested on T. cruzi epimastigotes and showed growth inhibitory activity in the micromolar range. Therefore, these compounds could lead to the development of new treatment options for Chagas disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfredo Juárez-Saldivar
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología Farmacéutica, Centro de Biotecnología Genómica, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Reynosa 88710, Mexico; (A.J.-S.); (F.R.-E.); (V.H.-M.); (J.C.V.-R.)
| | - Michael Schroeder
- Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC), Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany; (M.S.); (S.S.); (V.J.H.)
| | - Sebastian Salentin
- Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC), Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany; (M.S.); (S.S.); (V.J.H.)
| | - V. Joachim Haupt
- Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC), Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany; (M.S.); (S.S.); (V.J.H.)
| | - Emma Saavedra
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Ciudad de Mexico 14080, Mexico; (E.S.); (C.V.)
| | - Citlali Vázquez
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Ciudad de Mexico 14080, Mexico; (E.S.); (C.V.)
| | - Francisco Reyes-Espinosa
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología Farmacéutica, Centro de Biotecnología Genómica, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Reynosa 88710, Mexico; (A.J.-S.); (F.R.-E.); (V.H.-M.); (J.C.V.-R.)
| | - Verónica Herrera-Mayorga
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología Farmacéutica, Centro de Biotecnología Genómica, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Reynosa 88710, Mexico; (A.J.-S.); (F.R.-E.); (V.H.-M.); (J.C.V.-R.)
- Departamento de Ingeniería Bioquímica, Unidad Académica Multidisciplinaria Mante, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, Mante 89840, Mexico
| | - Juan Carlos Villalobos-Rocha
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología Farmacéutica, Centro de Biotecnología Genómica, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Reynosa 88710, Mexico; (A.J.-S.); (F.R.-E.); (V.H.-M.); (J.C.V.-R.)
| | - Carlos A. García-Pérez
- Scientific Computing Research Unit, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany;
| | - Nuria E. Campillo
- Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CIB-CSIC), Ramiro de Maeztu 9, 28040 Madrid, Spain;
| | - Gildardo Rivera
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología Farmacéutica, Centro de Biotecnología Genómica, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Reynosa 88710, Mexico; (A.J.-S.); (F.R.-E.); (V.H.-M.); (J.C.V.-R.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +52-1-8991-601-356
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Bellera CL, Alberca LN, Sbaraglini ML, Talevi A. In Silico Drug Repositioning for Chagas Disease. Curr Med Chem 2020; 27:662-675. [PMID: 31622200 DOI: 10.2174/0929867326666191016114839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2017] [Revised: 09/12/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Chagas disease is an infectious tropical disease included within the group of neglected tropical diseases. Though historically endemic to Latin America, it has lately spread to high-income countries due to human migration. At present, there are only two available drugs, nifurtimox and benznidazole, approved for this treatment, both with considerable side-effects (which often result in treatment interruption) and limited efficacy in the chronic stage of the disease in adults. Drug repositioning involves finding novel therapeutic indications for known drugs, including approved, withdrawn, abandoned and investigational drugs. It is today a broadly applied approach to develop innovative medications, since indication shifts are built on existing safety, ADME and manufacturing information, thus greatly shortening development timeframes. Drug repositioning has been signaled as a particularly interesting strategy to search for new therapeutic solutions for neglected and rare conditions, which traditionally present limited commercial interest and are mostly covered by the public sector and not-for-profit initiatives and organizations. Here, we review the applications of computer-aided technologies as systematic approaches to drug repositioning in the field of Chagas disease. In silico screening represents the most explored approach, whereas other rational methods such as network-based and signature-based approximations have still not been applied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina L Bellera
- Laboratory of Bioactive Research and Development (LIDeB), Faculty of Exact Sciences, University of La Plata (UNLP), La Plata, Argentina
| | - Lucas N Alberca
- Laboratory of Bioactive Research and Development (LIDeB), Faculty of Exact Sciences, University of La Plata (UNLP), La Plata, Argentina
| | - María L Sbaraglini
- Laboratory of Bioactive Research and Development (LIDeB), Faculty of Exact Sciences, University of La Plata (UNLP), La Plata, Argentina
| | - Alan Talevi
- Laboratory of Bioactive Research and Development (LIDeB), Faculty of Exact Sciences, University of La Plata (UNLP), La Plata, Argentina
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Abstract
AbstractDuring three decades, only about 20 new drugs have been developed for malaria, tuberculosis and all neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). This critical situation was reached because NTDs represent only 10% of health research investments; however, they comprise about 90% of the global disease burden. Computational simulations applied in virtual screening (VS) strategies are very efficient tools to identify pharmacologically active compounds or new indications for drugs already administered for other diseases. One of the advantages of this approach is the low time-consuming and low-budget first stage, which filters for testing experimentally a group of candidate compounds with high chances of binding to the target and present trypanocidal activity. In this work, we review the most common VS strategies that have been used for the identification of new drugs with special emphasis on those applied to trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis. Computational simulations based on the selected protein targets or their ligands are explained, including the method selection criteria, examples of successful VS campaigns applied to NTDs, a list of validated molecular targets for drug development and repositioned drugs for trypanosomatid-caused diseases. Thereby, here we present the state-of-the-art of VS and drug repurposing to conclude pointing out the future perspectives in the field.
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10
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Sayé M, Gauna L, Valera-Vera E, Reigada C, Miranda MR, Pereira CA. Crystal violet structural analogues identified by in silico drug repositioning present anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activity through inhibition of proline transporter TcAAAP069. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020; 14:e0007481. [PMID: 31961864 PMCID: PMC6994103 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Revised: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 12/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Crystal violet (CV) was used for several years in blood banks to eliminate the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi in endemic areas in order to prevent transfusion-transmitted Chagas disease. One mechanism of action described for CV involves inhibition of proline uptake. In T. cruzi, proline is essential for host cell infection and intracellular differentiation among other processes, and can be obtained through the proline permease TcAAAP069. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS CV inhibited proline transporter TcAAAP069 and parasites overexpressing this permease were 47-fold more sensitive to this compound than control parasites. Using CV as reference molecule, loratadine, cyproheptadine, olanzapine and clofazimine were identified as structurally related compounds to CV (structural analogues) by in silico drug repurposing through a similarity-based virtual screening protocol. All these already-approved drugs for clinical use inhibited TcAAAP069 activity with different efficacies and also presented trypanocidal action in epimastigotes, trypomastigotes and amastigotes of the Y, CL Brener and Dm28c T. cruzi strains. Finally, a synergistic effect between benznidazole and the CV chemical analogues was evidenced by combination and dose-reduction indexes values in epimastigotes and trypomastigotes of the Y strain. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Loratadine, cyproheptadine and clofazimine inhibit TcAAAP069 proline transporter and also present trypanocidal effect against all T. cruzi life stages in strains from three different DTUs. These CV structural analogues could be a starting point to design therapeutic alternatives to treat Chagas disease by finding new indications for old drugs. This approach, called drug repurposing is a recommended strategy by the World Health Organization to treat neglected diseases, like Chagas disease, and combination therapy may improve the possibility of success of repositioned drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melisa Sayé
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Medicina, Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas A. Lanari, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas (IDIM), Laboratorio de Parasitología Molecular, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lucrecia Gauna
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Medicina, Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas A. Lanari, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas (IDIM), Laboratorio de Parasitología Molecular, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Edward Valera-Vera
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Medicina, Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas A. Lanari, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas (IDIM), Laboratorio de Parasitología Molecular, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Chantal Reigada
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Medicina, Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas A. Lanari, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas (IDIM), Laboratorio de Parasitología Molecular, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Mariana R. Miranda
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Medicina, Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas A. Lanari, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas (IDIM), Laboratorio de Parasitología Molecular, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Claudio A. Pereira
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Medicina, Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas A. Lanari, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas (IDIM), Laboratorio de Parasitología Molecular, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- * E-mail:
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11
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Talevi A, Carrillo C, Comini M. The Thiol-polyamine Metabolism of Trypanosoma cruzi: Molecular Targets and Drug Repurposing Strategies. Curr Med Chem 2019; 26:6614-6635. [PMID: 30259812 DOI: 10.2174/0929867325666180926151059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2018] [Revised: 07/23/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Chagas´ disease continues to be a challenging and neglected public health problem in many American countries. The etiologic agent, Trypanosoma cruzi, develops intracellularly in the mammalian host, which hinders treatment efficacy. Progress in the knowledge of parasite biology and host-pathogen interaction has not been paralleled by the development of novel, safe and effective therapeutic options. It is then urgent to seek for novel therapeutic candidates and to implement drug discovery strategies that may accelerate the discovery process. The most appealing targets for pharmacological intervention are those essential for the pathogen and, whenever possible, absent or significantly different from the host homolog. The thiol-polyamine metabolism of T. cruzi offers interesting candidates for a rational design of selective drugs. In this respect, here we critically review the state of the art of the thiolpolyamine metabolism of T. cruzi and the pharmacological potential of its components. On the other hand, drug repurposing emerged as a valid strategy to identify new biological activities for drugs in clinical use, while significantly shortening the long time and high cost associated with de novo drug discovery approaches. Thus, we also discuss the different drug repurposing strategies available with a special emphasis in their applications to the identification of drug candidates targeting essential components of the thiol-polyamine metabolism of T. cruzi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan Talevi
- Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Exact Sciences, University of La Plata, La Plata, Argentina
| | - Carolina Carrillo
- Instituto de Ciencias y Tecnología Dr. César Milstein (ICT Milstein) - CONICET. Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Marcelo Comini
- Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Mataojo 2020, Montevideo 11400, Uruguay
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Duschak VG. Major Kinds of Drug Targets in Chagas Disease or American Trypanosomiasis. Curr Drug Targets 2019; 20:1203-1216. [PMID: 31020939 DOI: 10.2174/1389450120666190423160804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2019] [Revised: 04/12/2019] [Accepted: 04/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
American Trypanosomiasis, a parasitic infection commonly named Chagas disease, affects millions of people all over Latin American countries. Presently, the World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that the number of international infected individuals extends to 7 to 8 million, assuming that more than 10,000 deaths occur annually. The transmission of the etiologic agent, Trypanosoma cruzi, through people migrating to non-endemic world nations makes it an emergent disease. The best promising targets for trypanocidal drugs may be classified into three main groups: Group I includes the main molecular targets that are considered among specific enzymes involved in the essential processes for parasite survival, principally Cruzipain, the major antigenic parasite cysteine proteinase. Group II involves biological pathways and their key specific enzymes, such as Sterol biosynthesis pathway, among others, specific antioxidant defense mechanisms, and bioenergetics ones. Group III includes the atypical organelles /structures present in the parasite relevant clinical forms, which are absent or considerably different from those present in mammals and biological processes related to them. These can be considered potential targets to develop drugs with extra effectiveness and fewer secondary effects than the currently used therapeutics. An improved distinction between the host and the parasite targets will help fight against this neglected disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vilma G Duschak
- National Council of Scientific and Technical Reasearch (CONICET) Researcher, Area of Protein Biochemistry and Parasite Glycobiology, Research Department, National Institute of Parasitology (INP), "Dr. Mario Fatala Chaben", ANLIS-Malbran, National Health Secretary, Av. Paseo Colon 568, Lab 506, Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires (1063), Buenos Aires, Argentina
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13
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Seo EJ, Sugimoto Y, Greten HJ, Efferth T. Repurposing of Bromocriptine for Cancer Therapy. Front Pharmacol 2018; 9:1030. [PMID: 30349477 PMCID: PMC6187981 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2018.01030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2018] [Accepted: 08/24/2018] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Bromocriptine is an ergot alkaloid and dopamine D2 receptor agonist used to treat Parkinson's disease, acromegaly, hyperprolactinemia, and galactorrhea, and more recently diabetes mellitus. The drug is also active against pituitary hormone-dependent tumors (prolactinomas and growth-hormone producing adenomas). We investigated, whether bromocriptine also inhibits hormone-independent and multidrug-resistant (MDR) tumors. We found that bromocriptine was cytotoxic towards drug-sensitive CCRF-CEM, multidrug-resistant CEM/ADR5000 leukemic cells as well as wild-type or multidrug-resistant ABCB5-transfected HEK293 cell lines, but not sensitive or BCRP-transfected multidrug-resistant MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Bromocriptine strongly bound to NF-κB pathway proteins as shown by molecular docking and interacted more strongly with DNA-bound NF-κB than free NF-κB, indicating that bromocriptine may inhibit NF-κB binding to DNA. Furthermore, bromocriptine decreased NF-κB activity by a SEAP-driven NF-κB reporter cell assay. The expression of MDR-conferring ABC-transporters (ABCB1, ABCB5, ABCC1, and ABCG2) and other resistance-mediating factors (EGFR, mutated TP53, and IκB) did not correlate with cellular response to bromocriptine in a panel of 60 NCI cell lines. There was no correlation between cellular response to bromocriptine and anticancer drugs usually involved in MDR (e.g., anthracyclines, Vinca alkaloids, taxanes, epipodophyllotoxins, and others). COMPARE analysis of microarray-based mRNA expression in these cell lines revealed that genes from various functional groups such as ribosomal proteins, transcription, translation, DNA repair, DNA damage, protein folding, mitochondrial respiratory chain, and chemokines correlated with cellular response to bromocriptine. Our results indicate that bromocriptine inhibited drug-resistant tumor cells with different resistance mechanisms in a hormone-independent manner. As refractory and otherwise drug-resistant tumors represent a major challenge to successful cancer chemotherapy, bromocriptine may be considered for repurposing in cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ean-Jeong Seo
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Yoshikazu Sugimoto
- Division of Chemotherapy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | - Thomas Efferth
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
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14
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Alberca LN, Sbaraglini ML, Morales JF, Dietrich R, Ruiz MD, Pino Martínez AM, Miranda CG, Fraccaroli L, Alba Soto CD, Carrillo C, Palestro PH, Talevi A. Cascade Ligand- and Structure-Based Virtual Screening to Identify New Trypanocidal Compounds Inhibiting Putrescine Uptake. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2018; 8:173. [PMID: 29888213 PMCID: PMC5981162 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2018.00173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2017] [Accepted: 05/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Chagas disease is a neglected tropical disease endemic to Latin America, though migratory movements have recently spread it to other regions. Here, we have applied a cascade virtual screening campaign combining ligand- and structure-based methods. In order to find novel inhibitors of putrescine uptake in Trypanosoma cruzi, an ensemble of linear ligand-based classifiers obtained by has been applied as initial screening filter, followed by docking into a homology model of the putrescine permease TcPAT12. 1,000 individual linear classifiers were inferred from a balanced dataset. Subsequently, different schemes were tested to combine the individual classifiers: MIN operator, average ranking, average score, average voting, with MIN operator leading to the best performance. The homology model was based on the arginine/agmatine antiporter (AdiC) from Escherichia coli as template. It showed 64% coverage of the entire query sequence and it was selected based on the normalized Discrete Optimized Protein Energy parameter and the GA341 score. The modeled structure had 96% in the allowed area of Ramachandran's plot, and none of the residues located in non-allowed regions were involved in the active site of the transporter. Positivity Predictive Value surfaces were applied to optimize the score thresholds to be used in the ligand-based virtual screening step: for that purpose Positivity Predictive Value was charted as a function of putative yields of active in the range 0.001-0.010 and the Se/Sp ratio. With a focus on drug repositioning opportunities, DrugBank and Sweetlead databases were subjected to screening. Among 8 hits, cinnarizine, a drug frequently prescribed for motion sickness and balance disorder, was tested against T. cruzi epimastigotes and amastigotes, confirming its trypanocidal effects and its inhibitory effects on putrescine uptake. Furthermore, clofazimine, an antibiotic with already proven trypanocidal effects, also displayed inhibitory effects on putrescine uptake. Two other hits, meclizine and butoconazole, also displayed trypanocidal effects (in the case of meclizine, against both epimastigotes and amastigotes), without inhibiting putrescine uptake.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas N. Alberca
- Laboratory of Bioactive Compounds Research and Development (LIDeB), Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Biological Science, Exact Sciences College, National University of La PlataBuenos Aires, Argentina
| | - María L. Sbaraglini
- Laboratory of Bioactive Compounds Research and Development (LIDeB), Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Biological Science, Exact Sciences College, National University of La PlataBuenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Juan F. Morales
- Laboratory of Bioactive Compounds Research and Development (LIDeB), Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Biological Science, Exact Sciences College, National University of La PlataBuenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Roque Dietrich
- Laboratory of Bioactive Compounds Research and Development (LIDeB), Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Biological Science, Exact Sciences College, National University of La PlataBuenos Aires, Argentina
| | - María D. Ruiz
- Institute of Sciences and Technology Dr César Milstein (ICT Milstein), Argentinean National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET)Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustina M. Pino Martínez
- Department of Microbiology, Parasitology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Medical Parasitology (CONICET), University of Buenos AiresBuenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Cristian G. Miranda
- Department of Microbiology, Parasitology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Medical Parasitology (CONICET), University of Buenos AiresBuenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Laura Fraccaroli
- Institute of Sciences and Technology Dr César Milstein (ICT Milstein), Argentinean National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET)Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Catalina D. Alba Soto
- Department of Microbiology, Parasitology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Medical Parasitology (CONICET), University of Buenos AiresBuenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Carolina Carrillo
- Institute of Sciences and Technology Dr César Milstein (ICT Milstein), Argentinean National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET)Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Pablo H. Palestro
- Laboratory of Bioactive Compounds Research and Development (LIDeB), Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Biological Science, Exact Sciences College, National University of La PlataBuenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Alan Talevi
- Laboratory of Bioactive Compounds Research and Development (LIDeB), Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Biological Science, Exact Sciences College, National University of La PlataBuenos Aires, Argentina
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15
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de Souza AS, de Oliveira MT, Andricopulo AD. Development of a pharmacophore for cruzain using oxadiazoles as virtual molecular probes: quantitative structure–activity relationship studies. J Comput Aided Mol Des 2017; 31:801-816. [DOI: 10.1007/s10822-017-0039-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2017] [Accepted: 06/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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16
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Repositioning FDA Drugs as Potential Cruzain Inhibitors from Trypanosoma cruzi: Virtual Screening, In Vitro and In Vivo Studies. Molecules 2017. [PMID: 28629155 PMCID: PMC6152615 DOI: 10.3390/molecules22061015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Chagas disease (CD) is a neglected disease caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which affects underdeveloped countries. The current drugs of choice are nifurtimox and benznidazole, but both have severe adverse effects and less effectivity in chronic infections; therefore, the need to discover new drugs is essential. A computer-guided drug repositioning method was applied to identify potential FDA drugs (approved and withdrawn) as cruzain (Cz) inhibitors and trypanocidal effects were confirmed by in vitro and in vivo studies. 3180 FDA drugs were virtually screened using a structure-based approach. From a first molecular docking analysis, a set of 33 compounds with the best binding energies were selected. Subsequent consensus affinity binding, ligand amino acid contact clustering analysis, and ranked position were used to choose four known pharmacological compounds to be tested in vitro. Mouse blood samples infected with trypomastigotes from INC-5 and NINOA strains were used to test the trypanocidal effect of four selected compounds. Among these drugs, one fibrate antilipemic (etofyllin clofibrate) and three β-lactam antibiotics (piperacillin, cefoperazone, and flucloxacillin) showed better trypanocidal effects (LC50 range 15.8-26.1 μg/mL) in comparison with benznidazole and nifurtimox (LC50 range 33.1-46.7 μg/mL). A short-term in vivo evaluation of these compounds showed a reduction of parasitemia in infected mice (range 90-60%) at 6 h, but this was low compared to benznidazole (50%). This work suggests that four known FDA drugs could be used to design and obtain new trypanocidal agents.
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17
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Lara-Ramirez EE, López-Cedillo JC, Nogueda-Torres B, Kashif M, Garcia-Perez C, Bocanegra-Garcia V, Agusti R, Uhrig ML, Rivera G. An in vitro and in vivo evaluation of new potential trans -sialidase inhibitors of Trypanosoma cruzi predicted by a computational drug repositioning method. Eur J Med Chem 2017; 132:249-261. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2017.03.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2017] [Revised: 03/24/2017] [Accepted: 03/25/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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Repositioning of bromocriptine for treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. J Transl Med 2016; 14:261. [PMID: 27604463 PMCID: PMC5015257 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-016-1007-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2016] [Accepted: 08/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has not significantly changed in the last decades and new therapeutic approaches are needed to achieve prolonged survival rates. Leukemia stem cells (LSC) are responsible for the initiation and maintenance of AML due to their stem-cell properties. Differentiation therapies aim to abrogate the self-renewal capacity and diminish blast lifespan. Methods An in silico screening was designed to search for FDA-approved small molecules that potentially induce differentiation of AML cells. Bromocriptine was identified and validated in an in vitro screening. Bromocriptine is an approved drug originally indicated for Parkinson’s disease, acromegaly, hyperprolactinemia and galactorrhoea, and recently repositioned for diabetes mellitus. Results Treatment with bromocriptine reduced cell viability of AML cells by activation of the apoptosis program and induction of myeloid differentiation. Moreover, the LSC-enriched primitive AML cell fraction was more sensitive to the presence of bromocriptine. In fact, bromocriptine decreased the clonogenic capacity of AML cells. Interestingly, a negligible effect is observed in healthy blood cells and hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Conclusions Our results support the use of bromocriptine as an anti-AML drug in a repositioning setting and the further clinical validation of this preclinical study. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12967-016-1007-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Alberca LN, Sbaraglini ML, Balcazar D, Fraccaroli L, Carrillo C, Medeiros A, Benitez D, Comini M, Talevi A. Discovery of novel polyamine analogs with anti-protozoal activity by computer guided drug repositioning. J Comput Aided Mol Des 2016; 30:305-21. [PMID: 26891837 DOI: 10.1007/s10822-016-9903-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2015] [Accepted: 02/12/2016] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Chagas disease is a parasitic infection caused by the protozoa Trypanosoma cruzi that affects about 6 million people in Latin America. Despite its sanitary importance, there are currently only two drugs available for treatment: benznidazole and nifurtimox, both exhibiting serious adverse effects and limited efficacy in the chronic stage of the disease. Polyamines are ubiquitous to all living organisms where they participate in multiple basic functions such as biosynthesis of nucleic acids and proteins, proliferation and cell differentiation. T. cruzi is auxotroph for polyamines, which are taken up from the extracellular medium by efficient transporters and, to a large extent, incorporated into trypanothione (bis-glutathionylspermidine), the major redox cosubstrate of trypanosomatids. From a 268-compound database containing polyamine analogs with and without inhibitory effect on T. cruzi we have inferred classificatory models that were later applied in a virtual screening campaign to identify anti-trypanosomal compounds among drugs already used for other therapeutic indications (i.e. computer-guided drug repositioning) compiled in the DrugBank and Sweetlead databases. Five of the candidates identified with this strategy were evaluated in cellular models from different pathogenic trypanosomatids (T. cruzi wt, T. cruzi PAT12, T. brucei and Leishmania infantum), and in vitro models of aminoacid/polyamine transport assays and trypanothione synthetase inhibition assay. Triclabendazole, sertaconazole and paroxetine displayed inhibitory effects on the proliferation of T. cruzi (epimastigotes) and the uptake of putrescine by the parasite. They also interfered with the uptake of others aminoacids and the proliferation of infective T. brucei and L. infantum (promastigotes). Trypanothione synthetase was ruled out as molecular target for the anti-parasitic activity of these compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas N Alberca
- Laboratory of Bioactive Compounds Research and Development (LIDeB), Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Biological Science, Exact Sciences College, National University of La Plata (UNLP), Argentina, 47 & 115, B1900AJI, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - María L Sbaraglini
- Laboratory of Bioactive Compounds Research and Development (LIDeB), Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Biological Science, Exact Sciences College, National University of La Plata (UNLP), Argentina, 47 & 115, B1900AJI, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Darío Balcazar
- Instituto de Ciencias y Tecnología Dr. César Milstein (ICT Milstein), Argentinean National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Laura Fraccaroli
- Instituto de Ciencias y Tecnología Dr. César Milstein (ICT Milstein), Argentinean National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Carolina Carrillo
- Instituto de Ciencias y Tecnología Dr. César Milstein (ICT Milstein), Argentinean National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Andrea Medeiros
- Laboratory Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Diego Benitez
- Laboratory Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Marcelo Comini
- Laboratory Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Alan Talevi
- Laboratory of Bioactive Compounds Research and Development (LIDeB), Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Biological Science, Exact Sciences College, National University of La Plata (UNLP), Argentina, 47 & 115, B1900AJI, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Leal W, Llanos EJ, Restrepo G, Suárez CF, Patarroyo ME. How frequently do clusters occur in hierarchical clustering analysis? A graph theoretical approach to studying ties in proximity. J Cheminform 2016; 8:4. [PMID: 26816532 PMCID: PMC4727313 DOI: 10.1186/s13321-016-0114-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2015] [Accepted: 01/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) is a widely used classificatory technique in many areas of scientific knowledge. Applications usually yield a dendrogram from an HCA run over a given data set, using a grouping algorithm and a similarity measure. However, even when such parameters are fixed, ties in proximity (i.e. two equidistant clusters from a third one) may produce several different dendrograms, having different possible clustering patterns (different classifications). This situation is usually disregarded and conclusions are based on a single result, leading to questions concerning the permanence of clusters in all the resulting dendrograms; this happens, for example, when using HCA for grouping molecular descriptors to select that less similar ones in QSAR studies. Results Representing dendrograms in graph theoretical terms allowed us to introduce four measures of cluster frequency in a canonical way, and use them to calculate cluster frequencies over the set of all possible dendrograms, taking all ties in proximity into account. A toy example of well separated clusters was used, as well as a set of 1666 molecular descriptors calculated for a group of molecules having hepatotoxic activity to show how our functions may be used for studying the effect of ties in HCA analysis. Such functions were not restricted to the tie case; the possibility of using them to derive cluster stability measurements on arbitrary sets of dendrograms having the same leaves is discussed, e.g. dendrograms from variations of HCA parameters. It was found that ties occurred frequently, some yielding tens of thousands of dendrograms, even for small data sets. Conclusions Our approach was able to detect trends in clustering patterns by offering a simple way of measuring their frequency, which is often very low. This would imply, that inferences and models based on descriptor classifications (e.g. QSAR) are likely to be biased, thereby requiring an assessment of their reliability. Moreover, any classification of molecular descriptors is likely to be far from unique. Our results highlight the need for evaluating the effect of ties on clustering patterns before classification results can be used accurately.Four cluster contrast functions identifying statistically sound clusters within dendrograms considering ties in proximity ![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Wilmer Leal
- Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogotá, Colombia ; Laboratorio de Química Teórica, Universidad de Pamplona, Pamplona, Colombia
| | - Eugenio J Llanos
- Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogotá, Colombia ; Laboratorio de Química Teórica, Universidad de Pamplona, Pamplona, Colombia ; Corporación SCIO, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Guillermo Restrepo
- Laboratorio de Química Teórica, Universidad de Pamplona, Pamplona, Colombia ; Bioinformatics Group, Department of Computer Science, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Carlos F Suárez
- Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogotá, Colombia ; Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Manuel Elkin Patarroyo
- Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogotá, Colombia ; Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
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Sethi G, Chopra G, Samudrala R. Multiscale modelling of relationships between protein classes and drug behavior across all diseases using the CANDO platform. Mini Rev Med Chem 2016; 15:705-17. [PMID: 25694071 DOI: 10.2174/1389557515666150219145148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2014] [Revised: 10/30/2014] [Accepted: 11/25/2014] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
We have examined the effect of eight different protein classes (channels, GPCRs, kinases, ligases, nuclear receptors, proteases, phosphatases, transporters) on the benchmarking performance of the CANDO drug discovery and repurposing platform (http://protinfo.org/cando). The first version of the CANDO platform utilizes a matrix of predicted interactions between 48278 proteins and 3733 human ingestible compounds (including FDA approved drugs and supplements) that map to 2030 indications/diseases using a hierarchical chem and bio-informatic fragment based docking with dynamics protocol (> one billion predicted interactions considered). The platform uses similarity of compound-proteome interaction signatures as indicative of similar functional behavior and benchmarking accuracy is calculated across 1439 indications/diseases with more than one approved drug. The CANDO platform yields a significant correlation (0.99, p-value < 0.0001) between the number of proteins considered and benchmarking accuracy obtained indicating the importance of multitargeting for drug discovery. Average benchmarking accuracies range from 6.2 % to 7.6 % for the eight classes when the top 10 ranked compounds are considered, in contrast to a range of 5.5 % to 11.7 % obtained for the comparison/control sets consisting of 10, 100, 1000, and 10000 single best performing proteins. These results are generally two orders of magnitude better than the average accuracy of 0.2% obtained when randomly generated (fully scrambled) matrices are used. Different indications perform well when different classes are used but the best accuracies (up to 11.7% for the top 10 ranked compounds) are achieved when a combination of classes are used containing the broadest distribution of protein folds. Our results illustrate the utility of the CANDO approach and the consideration of different protein classes for devising indication specific protocols for drug repurposing as well as drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ram Samudrala
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York (SUNY), 923 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA.
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Cui Z, Sheng Z, Yan X, Cao Z, Tang K. In Silico Insight into Potential Anti-Alzheimer's Disease Mechanisms of Icariin. Int J Mol Sci 2016; 17:ijms17010113. [PMID: 26784184 PMCID: PMC4730354 DOI: 10.3390/ijms17010113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2015] [Revised: 01/04/2016] [Accepted: 01/11/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Herbal compounds that have notable therapeutic effect upon Alzheimer's disease (AD) have frequently been found, despite the recent failure of late-stage clinical drugs. Icariin, which is isolated from Epimedium brevicornum, is widely reported to exhibit significant anti-AD effects in in vitro and in vivo studies. However, the molecular mechanism remains thus far unclear. In this work, the anti-AD mechanisms of icariin were investigated at a target network level assisted by an in silico target identification program (INVDOCK). The results suggested that the anti-AD effects of icariin may be contributed by: attenuation of hyperphosphorylation of tau protein, anti-inflammation and regulation of Ca2+ homeostasis. Our results may provide assistance in understanding the molecular mechanism and further developing icariin into promising anti-AD agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhijie Cui
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China.
| | - Zhen Sheng
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China.
| | - Xinmiao Yan
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China.
| | - Zhiwei Cao
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China.
| | - Kailin Tang
- Advanced Institute of Translational Medicine, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China.
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23
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Cerny N, Sánchez Alberti A, Bivona AE, De Marzi MC, Frank FM, Cazorla SI, Malchiodi EL. Coadministration of cruzipain and GM-CSF DNAs, a new immunotherapeutic vaccine against Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2016; 12:438-50. [PMID: 26312947 PMCID: PMC5049742 DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2015.1078044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2015] [Revised: 07/03/2015] [Accepted: 07/24/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Therapeutic vaccine research and development are especially important in Chagas disease considering the characteristics of the chronic infection and the number of people in the Americas living with a parasite infection for decades. We have previously reported the efficacy of attenuated Salmonella enterica (S) carrying plasmid encoding cruzipain (SCz) to protect against Trypanosoma cruzi infection. In the present work we investigated whether Cz DNA vaccine immunotherapy could be effective in controlling an ongoing T. cruzi infection in mice. We here report the intramuscular administration of naked Cz DNA or the oral administration of Salmonella as Cz DNA delivery system as therapeutic vaccines in mice during acute or chronic infection. The coadministration of a plasmid encoding GM-CSF improved vaccine performance, indicating that the stimulation of innate immune cells is needed in the event of an ongoing infection. These therapeutic vaccines were able to address the response to a protective and sustained Th1 biased profile not only against Cz but also against a variety of parasite antigens. The combined therapeutic vaccine during the chronic phase of infection prevents tissue pathology as shown by a reduced level of enzyme activity characteristic of tissue damage and a tissue status compatible with normal tissue. The obtained results suggest that immunotherapy with Cz and GM-CSF DNAs, either alone or in combination with other drug treatments, may represent a promising alternative for Chagas disease therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natacha Cerny
- Cátedra de Inmunología e Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral (IDEHU); CONICET-UBA; Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Microbiología y Parasitología Médica; IMPaM (UBA-CONICET) y Departamento de Microbiología; Parasitología e Inmunología; Facultad de Medicina; UBA; Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Laboratorio de Inmunología; Departamento Ciencias Básicas- INEDES; Universidad Nacional de Luján; Luján, Argentina
| | - Andrés Sánchez Alberti
- Cátedra de Inmunología e Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral (IDEHU); CONICET-UBA; Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Microbiología y Parasitología Médica; IMPaM (UBA-CONICET) y Departamento de Microbiología; Parasitología e Inmunología; Facultad de Medicina; UBA; Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Augusto E Bivona
- Cátedra de Inmunología e Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral (IDEHU); CONICET-UBA; Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Microbiología y Parasitología Médica; IMPaM (UBA-CONICET) y Departamento de Microbiología; Parasitología e Inmunología; Facultad de Medicina; UBA; Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Mauricio C De Marzi
- Cátedra de Inmunología e Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral (IDEHU); CONICET-UBA; Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Laboratorio de Inmunología; Departamento Ciencias Básicas- INEDES; Universidad Nacional de Luján; Luján, Argentina
| | - Fernanda M Frank
- Cátedra de Inmunología e Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral (IDEHU); CONICET-UBA; Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Microbiología y Parasitología Médica; IMPaM (UBA-CONICET) y Departamento de Microbiología; Parasitología e Inmunología; Facultad de Medicina; UBA; Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Silvia I Cazorla
- Cátedra de Inmunología e Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral (IDEHU); CONICET-UBA; Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Microbiología y Parasitología Médica; IMPaM (UBA-CONICET) y Departamento de Microbiología; Parasitología e Inmunología; Facultad de Medicina; UBA; Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Emilio L Malchiodi
- Cátedra de Inmunología e Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral (IDEHU); CONICET-UBA; Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Microbiología y Parasitología Médica; IMPaM (UBA-CONICET) y Departamento de Microbiología; Parasitología e Inmunología; Facultad de Medicina; UBA; Buenos Aires, Argentina
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24
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Martinez-Mayorga K, Byler KG, Ramirez-Hernandez AI, Terrazas-Alvares DE. Cruzain inhibitors: efforts made, current leads and a structural outlook of new hits. Drug Discov Today 2015; 20:890-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2015.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2014] [Revised: 02/03/2015] [Accepted: 02/06/2015] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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25
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Bellera CL, Balcazar DE, Vanrell MC, Casassa AF, Palestro PH, Gavernet L, Labriola CA, Gálvez J, Bruno-Blanch LE, Romano PS, Carrillo C, Talevi A. Computer-guided drug repurposing: Identification of trypanocidal activity of clofazimine, benidipine and saquinavir. Eur J Med Chem 2015; 93:338-48. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2015.01.065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2014] [Revised: 12/29/2014] [Accepted: 01/28/2015] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
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