1
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Bennett JM, Narwal SK, Kabeche S, Abegg D, Thathy V, Hackett F, Yeo T, Li VL, Muir R, Faucher F, Lovell S, Blackman MJ, Adibekian A, Yeh E, Fidock DA, Bogyo M. Mixed alkyl/aryl phosphonates identify metabolic serine hydrolases as antimalarial targets. Cell Chem Biol 2024; 31:1714-1728.e10. [PMID: 39137783 PMCID: PMC11457795 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2024.07.006] [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: 12/22/2023] [Revised: 06/20/2024] [Accepted: 07/15/2024] [Indexed: 08/15/2024]
Abstract
Malaria, caused by Plasmodium falciparum, remains a significant health burden. One major barrier for developing antimalarial drugs is the ability of the parasite to rapidly generate resistance. We previously demonstrated that salinipostin A (SalA), a natural product, potently kills parasites by inhibiting multiple lipid metabolizing serine hydrolases, a mechanism that results in a low propensity for resistance. Given the difficulty of employing natural products as therapeutic agents, we synthesized a small library of lipidic mixed alkyl/aryl phosphonates as bioisosteres of SalA. Two constitutional isomers exhibited divergent antiparasitic potencies that enabled the identification of therapeutically relevant targets. The active compound kills parasites through a mechanism that is distinct from both SalA and the pan-lipase inhibitor orlistat and shows synergistic killing with orlistat. Our compound induces only weak resistance, attributable to mutations in a single protein involved in multidrug resistance. These data suggest that mixed alkyl/aryl phosphonates are promising, synthetically tractable antimalarials.
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Affiliation(s)
- John M Bennett
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Sunil K Narwal
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Stephanie Kabeche
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Daniel Abegg
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Vandana Thathy
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Fiona Hackett
- Malaria Biochemistry Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Tomas Yeo
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Veronica L Li
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Ryan Muir
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Franco Faucher
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Scott Lovell
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Michael J Blackman
- Malaria Biochemistry Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | | | - Ellen Yeh
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - David A Fidock
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Matthew Bogyo
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
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2
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Chahine Z, Gupta M, Lenz T, Hollin T, Abel S, Banks CAS, Saraf A, Prudhomme J, Bhanvadia S, Florens L, Le Roch KG. PfMORC protein regulates chromatin accessibility and transcriptional repression in the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.09.11.557253. [PMID: 37745554 PMCID: PMC10515874 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.11.557253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
The environmental challenges the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, faces during its progression into its various lifecycle stages warrant the use of effective and highly regulated access to chromatin for transcriptional regulation. Microrchidia (MORC) proteins have been implicated in DNA compaction and gene silencing across plant and animal kingdoms. Accumulating evidence has shed light into the role MORC protein plays as a transcriptional switch in apicomplexan parasites. In this study, using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing tool along with complementary molecular and genomics approaches, we demonstrate that PfMORC not only modulates chromatin structure and heterochromatin formation throughout the parasite erythrocytic cycle, but is also essential to the parasite survival. Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by deep sequencing (ChIP-seq) experiments suggest that PfMORC binds to not only sub-telomeric regions and genes involved in antigenic variation but may also play a role in modulating stage transition. Protein knockdown experiments followed by chromatin conformation capture (Hi-C) studies indicate that downregulation of PfMORC impairs key histone marks and induces the collapse of the parasite heterochromatin structure leading to its death. All together these findings confirm that PfMORC plays a crucial role in chromatin structure and gene regulation, validating this factor as a strong candidate for novel antimalarial strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z Chahine
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California Riverside, CA, USA
| | - M Gupta
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California Riverside, CA, USA
| | - T Lenz
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California Riverside, CA, USA
| | - T Hollin
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California Riverside, CA, USA
| | - S Abel
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California Riverside, CA, USA
| | - CAS Banks
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, 1000 E. 50th Street, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA
| | - A Saraf
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, 1000 E. 50th Street, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA
| | - J Prudhomme
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California Riverside, CA, USA
| | - S Bhanvadia
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California Riverside, CA, USA
| | - L Florens
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, 1000 E. 50th Street, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA
| | - KG Le Roch
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California Riverside, CA, USA
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3
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Dziwornu GA, Seanego D, Fienberg S, Clements M, Ferreira J, Sypu VS, Samanta S, Bhana AD, Korkor CM, Garnie LF, Teixeira N, Wicht KJ, Taylor D, Olckers R, Njoroge M, Gibhard L, Salomane N, Wittlin S, Mahato R, Chakraborty A, Sevilleno N, Coyle R, Lee MCS, Godoy LC, Pasaje CF, Niles JC, Reader J, van der Watt M, Birkholtz LM, Bolscher JM, de Bruijni MHC, Coulson LB, Basarab GS, Ghorpade SR, Chibale K. 2,8-Disubstituted-1,5-naphthyridines as Dual Inhibitors of Plasmodium falciparum Phosphatidylinositol-4-kinase and Hemozoin Formation with In Vivo Efficacy. J Med Chem 2024; 67:11401-11420. [PMID: 38918002 PMCID: PMC11247499 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c01154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/27/2024]
Abstract
Structure-activity relationship studies of 2,8-disubstituted-1,5-naphthyridines, previously reported as potent inhibitors of Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) phosphatidylinositol-4-kinase β (PI4K), identified 1,5-naphthyridines with basic groups at 8-position, which retained Plasmodium PI4K inhibitory activity but switched primary mode of action to the host hemoglobin degradation pathway through inhibition of hemozoin formation. These compounds showed minimal off-target inhibitory activity against the human phosphoinositide kinases and MINK1 and MAP4K kinases, which were associated with the teratogenicity and testicular toxicity observed in rats for the PfPI4K inhibitor clinical candidate MMV390048. A representative compound from the series retained activity against field isolates and lab-raised drug-resistant strains of Pf. It was efficacious in the humanized NSG mouse malaria infection model at a single oral dose of 32 mg/kg. This compound was nonteratogenic in the zebrafish embryo model of teratogenicity and has a low predicted human dose, indicating that this series has the potential to deliver a preclinical candidate for malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Godwin Akpeko Dziwornu
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Donald Seanego
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Stephen Fienberg
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Monica Clements
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Jasmin Ferreira
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Venkata S Sypu
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Sauvik Samanta
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Ashlyn D Bhana
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Constance M Korkor
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Larnelle F Garnie
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Nicole Teixeira
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Kathryn J Wicht
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Department of Chemistry and Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Dale Taylor
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Observatory 7925, South Africa
| | - Ronald Olckers
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Observatory 7925, South Africa
| | - Mathew Njoroge
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Observatory 7925, South Africa
| | - Liezl Gibhard
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Observatory 7925, South Africa
| | - Nicolaas Salomane
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Observatory, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
| | - Sergio Wittlin
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Kreuzstrasse 2, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland
- University of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Nicole Sevilleno
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton CB10 1SA, U.K
| | - Rachael Coyle
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton CB10 1SA, U.K
| | - Marcus C S Lee
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton CB10 1SA, U.K
| | - Luiz C Godoy
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Charisse Flerida Pasaje
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Jacquin C Niles
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Janette Reader
- Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Institute for Sustainable Malaria Control, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria 0028, South Africa
| | - Mariette van der Watt
- Institute for Sustainable Malaria Control, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria 0028, South Africa
| | - Lyn-Marié Birkholtz
- Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Institute for Sustainable Malaria Control, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria 0028, South Africa
| | - Judith M Bolscher
- TropIQ Health Sciences, Transistorweg 5, 6534 AT Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Lauren B Coulson
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Observatory, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
| | - Gregory S Basarab
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Observatory 7925, South Africa
| | - Sandeep R Ghorpade
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Kelly Chibale
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
- South African Medical Research Council Drug Discovery and Development Research Unit, Department of Chemistry and Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
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4
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Blackwell AM, Jami-Alahmadi Y, Nasamu AS, Kudo S, Senoo A, Slam C, Tsumoto K, Wohlschlegel JA, Caaveiro JMM, Goldberg DE, Sigala PA. Malaria parasites require a divergent heme oxygenase for apicoplast gene expression and biogenesis. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.30.596652. [PMID: 38853871 PMCID: PMC11160694 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.30.596652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
Malaria parasites have evolved unusual metabolic adaptations that specialize them for growth within heme-rich human erythrocytes. During blood-stage infection, Plasmodium falciparum parasites internalize and digest abundant host hemoglobin within the digestive vacuole. This massive catabolic process generates copious free heme, most of which is biomineralized into inert hemozoin. Parasites also express a divergent heme oxygenase (HO)-like protein (PfHO) that lacks key active-site residues and has lost canonical HO activity. The cellular role of this unusual protein that underpins its retention by parasites has been unknown. To unravel PfHO function, we first determined a 2.8 Å-resolution X-ray structure that revealed a highly α-helical fold indicative of distant HO homology. Localization studies unveiled PfHO targeting to the apicoplast organelle, where it is imported and undergoes N-terminal processing but retains most of the electropositive transit peptide. We observed that conditional knockdown of PfHO was lethal to parasites, which died from defective apicoplast biogenesis and impaired isoprenoid-precursor synthesis. Complementation and molecular-interaction studies revealed an essential role for the electropositive N-terminus of PfHO, which selectively associates with the apicoplast genome and enzymes involved in nucleic acid metabolism and gene expression. PfHO knockdown resulted in a specific deficiency in levels of apicoplast-encoded RNA but not DNA. These studies reveal an essential function for PfHO in apicoplast maintenance and suggest that Plasmodium repurposed the conserved HO scaffold from its canonical heme-degrading function in the ancestral chloroplast to fulfill a critical adaptive role in organelle gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Armiyaw S. Nasamu
- Departments of Medicine and Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
| | - Shota Kudo
- Department of Chemistry & Biotechnology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Akinobu Senoo
- Department of Protein Drug Discovery, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Celine Slam
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT
| | - Kouhei Tsumoto
- Department of Chemistry & Biotechnology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | - Jose M. M. Caaveiro
- Department of Chemistry & Biotechnology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Daniel E. Goldberg
- Departments of Medicine and Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
| | - Paul A. Sigala
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT
- Departments of Medicine and Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
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5
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Collins JE, Lee JW, Rocamora F, Saggu GS, Wendt KL, Pasaje CFA, Smick S, Santos NM, Paes R, Jiang T, Mittal N, Luth MR, Chin T, Chang H, McLellan JL, Morales-Hernandez B, Hanson KK, Niles JC, Desai SA, Winzeler EA, Cichewicz RH, Chakrabarti D. Antiplasmodial peptaibols act through membrane directed mechanisms. Cell Chem Biol 2024; 31:312-325.e9. [PMID: 37995692 PMCID: PMC10923054 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2023.10.025] [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: 10/28/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
Our previous study identified 52 antiplasmodial peptaibols isolated from fungi. To understand their antiplasmodial mechanism of action, we conducted phenotypic assays, assessed the in vitro evolution of resistance, and performed a transcriptome analysis of the most potent peptaibol, HZ NPDG-I. HZ NPDG-I and 2 additional peptaibols were compared for their killing action and stage dependency, each showing a loss of digestive vacuole (DV) content via ultrastructural analysis. HZ NPDG-I demonstrated a stepwise increase in DV pH, impaired DV membrane permeability, and the ability to form ion channels upon reconstitution in planar membranes. This compound showed no signs of cross resistance to targets of current clinical candidates, and 3 independent lines evolved to resist HZ NPDG-I acquired nonsynonymous changes in the P. falciparum multidrug resistance transporter, pfmdr1. Conditional knockdown of PfMDR1 showed varying effects to other peptaibol analogs, suggesting differing sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer E Collins
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32826, USA
| | - Jin Woo Lee
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Institute for Natural Products Applications & Research Technologies, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK 73019, USA
| | - Frances Rocamora
- Division of Host-Microbe Systems & Therapeutics, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Gagandeep S Saggu
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Rockville, MD 20852, USA
| | - Karen L Wendt
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Institute for Natural Products Applications & Research Technologies, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK 73019, USA
| | - Charisse Flerida A Pasaje
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Sebastian Smick
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Natalia Mojica Santos
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32826, USA
| | - Raphaella Paes
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32826, USA
| | - Tiantian Jiang
- Division of Host-Microbe Systems & Therapeutics, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Nimisha Mittal
- Division of Host-Microbe Systems & Therapeutics, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Madeline R Luth
- Division of Host-Microbe Systems & Therapeutics, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Taylor Chin
- Division of Host-Microbe Systems & Therapeutics, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Howard Chang
- Division of Host-Microbe Systems & Therapeutics, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - James L McLellan
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology and South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Texas San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
| | - Beatriz Morales-Hernandez
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology and South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Texas San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
| | - Kirsten K Hanson
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology and South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Texas San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
| | - Jacquin C Niles
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Sanjay A Desai
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Rockville, MD 20852, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Winzeler
- Division of Host-Microbe Systems & Therapeutics, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
| | - Robert H Cichewicz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Institute for Natural Products Applications & Research Technologies, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK 73019, USA.
| | - Debopam Chakrabarti
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32826, USA.
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6
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Xie SC, Wang Y, Morton CJ, Metcalfe RD, Dogovski C, Pasaje CFA, Dunn E, Luth MR, Kumpornsin K, Istvan ES, Park JS, Fairhurst KJ, Ketprasit N, Yeo T, Yildirim O, Bhebhe MN, Klug DM, Rutledge PJ, Godoy LC, Dey S, De Souza ML, Siqueira-Neto JL, Du Y, Puhalovich T, Amini M, Shami G, Loesbanluechai D, Nie S, Williamson N, Jana GP, Maity BC, Thomson P, Foley T, Tan DS, Niles JC, Han BW, Goldberg DE, Burrows J, Fidock DA, Lee MCS, Winzeler EA, Griffin MDW, Todd MH, Tilley L. Reaction hijacking inhibition of Plasmodium falciparum asparagine tRNA synthetase. Nat Commun 2024; 15:937. [PMID: 38297033 PMCID: PMC10831071 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45224-z] [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: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Malaria poses an enormous threat to human health. With ever increasing resistance to currently deployed drugs, breakthrough compounds with novel mechanisms of action are urgently needed. Here, we explore pyrimidine-based sulfonamides as a new low molecular weight inhibitor class with drug-like physical parameters and a synthetically accessible scaffold. We show that the exemplar, OSM-S-106, has potent activity against parasite cultures, low mammalian cell toxicity and low propensity for resistance development. In vitro evolution of resistance using a slow ramp-up approach pointed to the Plasmodium falciparum cytoplasmic asparaginyl-tRNA synthetase (PfAsnRS) as the target, consistent with our finding that OSM-S-106 inhibits protein translation and activates the amino acid starvation response. Targeted mass spectrometry confirms that OSM-S-106 is a pro-inhibitor and that inhibition of PfAsnRS occurs via enzyme-mediated production of an Asn-OSM-S-106 adduct. Human AsnRS is much less susceptible to this reaction hijacking mechanism. X-ray crystallographic studies of human AsnRS in complex with inhibitor adducts and docking of pro-inhibitors into a model of Asn-tRNA-bound PfAsnRS provide insights into the structure-activity relationship and the selectivity mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stanley C Xie
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Yinuo Wang
- School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, WC1N 1AX, UK
| | - Craig J Morton
- Biomedical Manufacturing Program, CSIRO, Clayton South, VIC, Australia
| | - Riley D Metcalfe
- Center for Structural Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD, 21702, USA
| | - Con Dogovski
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Charisse Flerida A Pasaje
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Elyse Dunn
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Madeline R Luth
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Krittikorn Kumpornsin
- Parasites and Microbes Programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, CB10 1SA, UK
- Calibr, Division of the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Eva S Istvan
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Joon Sung Park
- Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Natural Products Research Institute, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Kate J Fairhurst
- Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Nutpakal Ketprasit
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Tomas Yeo
- Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Okan Yildirim
- Chemical Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | | | - Dana M Klug
- School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, WC1N 1AX, UK
| | - Peter J Rutledge
- School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Luiz C Godoy
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Sumanta Dey
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Mariana Laureano De Souza
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Jair L Siqueira-Neto
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Yawei Du
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Tanya Puhalovich
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Mona Amini
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Gerry Shami
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | | | - Shuai Nie
- Melbourne Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Nicholas Williamson
- Melbourne Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Gouranga P Jana
- TCG Lifesciences Private Limited, Salt-Lake Electronics Complex, Kolkata, India
| | - Bikash C Maity
- TCG Lifesciences Private Limited, Salt-Lake Electronics Complex, Kolkata, India
| | - Patrick Thomson
- School of Chemistry, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JJ, UK
| | - Thomas Foley
- School of Chemistry, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JJ, UK
| | - Derek S Tan
- Chemical Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Jacquin C Niles
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Byung Woo Han
- Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Natural Products Research Institute, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Daniel E Goldberg
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Jeremy Burrows
- Medicines for Malaria Venture, 20, Route de Pré-Bois, 1215, Geneva 15, Switzerland
| | - David A Fidock
- Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Marcus C S Lee
- Parasites and Microbes Programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, CB10 1SA, UK
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 4HN, UK
| | - Elizabeth A Winzeler
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
| | - Michael D W Griffin
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia.
| | - Matthew H Todd
- School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, WC1N 1AX, UK.
- Structural Genomics Consortium, University College London, London, WC1N 1AX, UK.
| | - Leann Tilley
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia.
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7
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Bennett JM, Narwal SK, Kabeche S, Abegg D, Hackett F, Yeo T, Li VL, Muir RK, Faucher FF, Lovell S, Blackman MJ, Adibekian A, Yeh E, Fidock DA, Bogyo M. Mixed Alkyl/Aryl Phosphonates Identify Metabolic Serine Hydrolases as Antimalarial Targets. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.11.575224. [PMID: 38260474 PMCID: PMC10802587 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.11.575224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Malaria, caused by Plasmodium falciparum, remains a significant health burden. A barrier for developing anti-malarial drugs is the ability of the parasite to rapidly generate resistance. We demonstrated that Salinipostin A (SalA), a natural product, kills parasites by inhibiting multiple lipid metabolizing serine hydrolases, a mechanism with a low propensity for resistance. Given the difficulty of employing natural products as therapeutic agents, we synthesized a library of lipidic mixed alkyl/aryl phosphonates as bioisosteres of SalA. Two constitutional isomers exhibited divergent anti-parasitic potencies which enabled identification of therapeutically relevant targets. We also confirm that this compound kills parasites through a mechanism that is distinct from both SalA and the pan-lipase inhibitor, Orlistat. Like SalA, our compound induces only weak resistance, attributable to mutations in a single protein involved in multidrug resistance. These data suggest that mixed alkyl/aryl phosphonates are a promising, synthetically tractable anti-malarials with a low-propensity to induce resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- John M Bennett
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Sunil K Narwal
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Stephanie Kabeche
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Daniel Abegg
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Fiona Hackett
- Malaria Biochemistry Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Tomas Yeo
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Veronica L Li
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Ryan K Muir
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | - Scott Lovell
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Michael J Blackman
- Malaria Biochemistry Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | | | - Ellen Yeh
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - David A Fidock
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032 USA
| | - Matthew Bogyo
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
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8
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Valleau D, Sidik SM, Godoy LC, Acevedo‐Sánchez Y, Pasaje CFA, Huynh M, Carruthers VB, Niles JC, Lourido S. A conserved complex of microneme proteins mediates rhoptry discharge in Toxoplasma. EMBO J 2023; 42:e113155. [PMID: 37886905 PMCID: PMC10690463 DOI: 10.15252/embj.2022113155] [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: 11/27/2022] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Apicomplexan parasites discharge specialized organelles called rhoptries upon host cell contact to mediate invasion. The events that drive rhoptry discharge are poorly understood, yet essential to sustain the apicomplexan parasitic life cycle. Rhoptry discharge appears to depend on proteins secreted from another set of organelles called micronemes, which vary in function from allowing host cell binding to facilitation of gliding motility. Here we examine the function of the microneme protein CLAMP, which we previously found to be necessary for Toxoplasma gondii host cell invasion, and demonstrate its essential role in rhoptry discharge. CLAMP forms a distinct complex with two other microneme proteins, the invasion-associated SPATR, and a previously uncharacterized protein we name CLAMP-linked invasion protein (CLIP). CLAMP deficiency does not impact parasite adhesion or microneme protein secretion; however, knockdown of any member of the CLAMP complex affects rhoptry discharge. Phylogenetic analysis suggests orthologs of the essential complex components, CLAMP and CLIP, are ubiquitous across apicomplexans. SPATR appears to act as an accessory factor in Toxoplasma, but despite incomplete conservation is also essential for invasion during Plasmodium falciparum blood stages. Together, our results reveal a new protein complex that mediates rhoptry discharge following host-cell contact.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Luiz C Godoy
- Department of Biological EngineeringMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeMAUSA
| | | | | | - My‐Hang Huynh
- Department of Microbiology and ImmunologyUniversity of Michigan Medical SchoolAnn ArborMIUSA
| | - Vern B Carruthers
- Department of Microbiology and ImmunologyUniversity of Michigan Medical SchoolAnn ArborMIUSA
| | - Jacquin C Niles
- Department of Biological EngineeringMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeMAUSA
| | - Sebastian Lourido
- Whitehead InstituteCambridgeMAUSA
- Biology DepartmentMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeMAUSA
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9
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Xie SC, Griffin MDW, Winzeler EA, Ribas de Pouplana L, Tilley L. Targeting Aminoacyl tRNA Synthetases for Antimalarial Drug Development. Annu Rev Microbiol 2023; 77:111-129. [PMID: 37018842 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-micro-032421-121210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/07/2023]
Abstract
Infections caused by malaria parasites place an enormous burden on the world's poorest communities. Breakthrough drugs with novel mechanisms of action are urgently needed. As an organism that undergoes rapid growth and division, the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is highly reliant on protein synthesis, which in turn requires aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) to charge tRNAs with their corresponding amino acid. Protein translation is required at all stages of the parasite life cycle; thus, aaRS inhibitors have the potential for whole-of-life-cycle antimalarial activity. This review focuses on efforts to identify potent plasmodium-specific aaRS inhibitors using phenotypic screening, target validation, and structure-guided drug design. Recent work reveals that aaRSs are susceptible targets for a class of AMP-mimicking nucleoside sulfamates that target the enzymes via a novel reaction hijacking mechanism. This finding opens up the possibility of generating bespoke inhibitors of different aaRSs, providing new drug leads.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stanley C Xie
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology and Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; , ,
| | - Michael D W Griffin
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology and Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; , ,
| | - Elizabeth A Winzeler
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA;
| | - Lluis Ribas de Pouplana
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain;
- Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Leann Tilley
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology and Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; , ,
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10
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Deni I, Stokes BH, Ward KE, Fairhurst KJ, Pasaje CFA, Yeo T, Akbar S, Park H, Muir R, Bick DS, Zhan W, Zhang H, Liu YJ, Ng CL, Kirkman LA, Almaliti J, Gould AE, Duffey M, O'Donoghue AJ, Uhlemann AC, Niles JC, da Fonseca PCA, Gerwick WH, Lin G, Bogyo M, Fidock DA. Mitigating the risk of antimalarial resistance via covalent dual-subunit inhibition of the Plasmodium proteasome. Cell Chem Biol 2023; 30:470-485.e6. [PMID: 36963402 PMCID: PMC10198959 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2023.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/26/2023]
Abstract
The Plasmodium falciparum proteasome constitutes a promising antimalarial target, with multiple chemotypes potently and selectively inhibiting parasite proliferation and synergizing with the first-line artemisinin drugs, including against artemisinin-resistant parasites. We compared resistance profiles of vinyl sulfone, epoxyketone, macrocyclic peptide, and asparagine ethylenediamine inhibitors and report that the vinyl sulfones were potent even against mutant parasites resistant to other proteasome inhibitors and did not readily select for resistance, particularly WLL that displays covalent and irreversible binding to the catalytic β2 and β5 proteasome subunits. We also observed instances of collateral hypersensitivity, whereby resistance to one inhibitor could sensitize parasites to distinct chemotypes. Proteasome selectivity was confirmed using CRISPR/Cas9-edited mutant and conditional knockdown parasites. Molecular modeling of proteasome mutations suggested spatial contraction of the β5 P1 binding pocket, compromising compound binding. Dual targeting of P. falciparum proteasome subunits using covalent inhibitors provides a potential strategy for restoring artemisinin activity and combating the spread of drug-resistant malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioanna Deni
- Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Barbara H Stokes
- Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kurt E Ward
- Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kate J Fairhurst
- Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Tomas Yeo
- Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Shirin Akbar
- School of Molecular Biosciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
| | - Heekuk Park
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ryan Muir
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Daniella S Bick
- Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Wenhu Zhan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Hao Zhang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yi Jing Liu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Caroline L Ng
- Global Center for Health Security, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA; Department of Biology, University of Nebraska Omaha, Omaha, NE, USA; Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Laura A Kirkman
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY
| | - Jehad Almaliti
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
| | | | | | - Anthony J O'Donoghue
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Anne-Catrin Uhlemann
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jacquin C Niles
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - William H Gerwick
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Gang Lin
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Matthew Bogyo
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - David A Fidock
- Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
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11
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Nourani L, Mehrizi AA, Pirahmadi S, Pourhashem Z, Asadollahi E, Jahangiri B. CRISPR/Cas advancements for genome editing, diagnosis, therapeutics, and vaccine development for Plasmodium parasites, and genetic engineering of Anopheles mosquito vector. INFECTION, GENETICS AND EVOLUTION : JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY GENETICS IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES 2023; 109:105419. [PMID: 36842543 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2023.105419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/28/2023]
Abstract
Malaria as vector-borne disease remains important health concern with over 200 million cases globally. Novel antimalarial medicines and more effective vaccines must be developed to eliminate and eradicate malaria. Appraisal of preceding genome editing approaches confirmed the CRISPR/Cas nuclease system as a novel proficient genome editing system and a tool for species-specific diagnosis, and drug resistance researches for Plasmodium species, and gene drive to control Anopheles population. CRISPR/Cas technology, as a handy tool for genome editing can be justified for the production of transgenic malaria parasites like Plasmodium transgenic lines expressing Cas9, chimeric Plasmodium transgenic lines, knockdown and knockout transgenic parasites, and transgenic parasites expressing alternative alleles, and also mutant strains of Anopheles such as only male mosquito populations, generation of wingless mosquitoes, and creation of knock-out/ knock-in mutants. Though, the incorporation of traditional methods and novel molecular techniques could noticeably enhance the quality of results. The striking development of a CRISPR/Cas-based diagnostic kit that can specifically diagnose the Plasmodium species or drug resistance markers is highly required in malaria settings with affordable cost and high-speed detection. Furthermore, the advancement of genome modifications by CRISPR/Cas technologies resolves contemporary restrictions to culturing, maintaining, and analyzing these parasites, and the aptitude to investigate parasite genome functions opens up new vistas in the better understanding of pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leila Nourani
- Malaria and Vector Research Group (MVRG), Biotechnology Research Center (BRC), Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Akram Abouie Mehrizi
- Malaria and Vector Research Group (MVRG), Biotechnology Research Center (BRC), Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Sakineh Pirahmadi
- Malaria and Vector Research Group (MVRG), Biotechnology Research Center (BRC), Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Zeinab Pourhashem
- Malaria and Vector Research Group (MVRG), Biotechnology Research Center (BRC), Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Elahe Asadollahi
- Malaria and Vector Research Group (MVRG), Biotechnology Research Center (BRC), Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Babak Jahangiri
- Malaria and Vector Research Group (MVRG), Biotechnology Research Center (BRC), Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
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12
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Bopp S, Pasaje CFA, Summers RL, Magistrado-Coxen P, Schindler KA, Corpas-Lopez V, Yeo T, Mok S, Dey S, Smick S, Nasamu AS, Demas AR, Milne R, Wiedemar N, Corey V, Gomez-Lorenzo MDG, Franco V, Early AM, Lukens AK, Milner D, Furtado J, Gamo FJ, Winzeler EA, Volkman SK, Duffey M, Laleu B, Fidock DA, Wyllie S, Niles JC, Wirth DF. Potent acyl-CoA synthetase 10 inhibitors kill Plasmodium falciparum by disrupting triglyceride formation. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1455. [PMID: 36927839 PMCID: PMC10020447 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36921-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Identifying how small molecules act to kill malaria parasites can lead to new "chemically validated" targets. By pressuring Plasmodium falciparum asexual blood stage parasites with three novel structurally-unrelated antimalarial compounds (MMV665924, MMV019719 and MMV897615), and performing whole-genome sequence analysis on resistant parasite lines, we identify multiple mutations in the P. falciparum acyl-CoA synthetase (ACS) genes PfACS10 (PF3D7_0525100, M300I, A268D/V, F427L) and PfACS11 (PF3D7_1238800, F387V, D648Y, and E668K). Allelic replacement and thermal proteome profiling validates PfACS10 as a target of these compounds. We demonstrate that this protein is essential for parasite growth by conditional knockdown and observe increased compound susceptibility upon reduced expression. Inhibition of PfACS10 leads to a reduction in triacylglycerols and a buildup of its lipid precursors, providing key insights into its function. Analysis of the PfACS11 gene and its mutations point to a role in mediating resistance via decreased protein stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selina Bopp
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, The Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Robert L Summers
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, The Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Pamela Magistrado-Coxen
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, The Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Kyra A Schindler
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Victoriano Corpas-Lopez
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Tomas Yeo
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sachel Mok
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sumanta Dey
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Sebastian Smick
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Armiyaw S Nasamu
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Allison R Demas
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, The Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Rachel Milne
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Natalie Wiedemar
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Victoria Corey
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Maria De Gracia Gomez-Lorenzo
- Tres Cantos Medicines Research and Development Campus, Diseases of the Developing World, GlaxoSmithKline, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Virginia Franco
- Tres Cantos Medicines Research and Development Campus, Diseases of the Developing World, GlaxoSmithKline, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Angela M Early
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, The Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Amanda K Lukens
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, The Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Danny Milner
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, The Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jeremy Furtado
- Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Francisco-Javier Gamo
- Tres Cantos Medicines Research and Development Campus, Diseases of the Developing World, GlaxoSmithKline, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Elizabeth A Winzeler
- Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sarah K Volkman
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, The Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
- College of Natural, Behavioral, and Health Sciences, Simmons University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Benoît Laleu
- Medicines for Malaria Venture, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - David A Fidock
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Susan Wyllie
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Jacquin C Niles
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Dyann F Wirth
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, The Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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13
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Polino AJ, Hasan MM, Floyd K, Avila-Cruz Y, Yang Y, Goldberg DE. An essential endoplasmic reticulum-resident N-acetyltransferase ortholog in Plasmodium falciparum. J Cell Sci 2023; 136:286919. [PMID: 36744402 PMCID: PMC10038149 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.260551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
N-terminal acetylation is a common eukaryotic protein modification that involves the addition of an acetyl group to the N-terminus of a polypeptide. This modification is largely performed by cytosolic N-terminal acetyltransferases (NATs). Most associate with the ribosome, acetylating nascent polypeptides co-translationally. In the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, exported effectors are thought to be translated into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), processed by the aspartic protease plasmepsin V and then N-acetylated, despite having no clear access to cytosolic NATs. Here, we used inducible gene deletion and post-transcriptional knockdown to investigate the primary ER-resident NAT candidate, Pf3D7_1437000. We found that it localizes to the ER and is required for parasite growth. However, depletion of Pf3D7_1437000 had no effect on protein export or acetylation of the exported proteins HRP2 and HRP3. Despite this, Pf3D7_1437000 depletion impedes parasite development within the host red blood cell and prevents parasites from completing genome replication. Thus, this work provides further proof of N-terminal acetylation of secretory system proteins, a process unique to apicomplexan parasites, but strongly discounts a promising candidate for this post-translational modification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander J Polino
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, and Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Muhammad M Hasan
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, and Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Katherine Floyd
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, and Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Yolotzin Avila-Cruz
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, and Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Yujuan Yang
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, and Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Daniel E Goldberg
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, and Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
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14
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Istvan ES, Guerra F, Abraham M, Huang KS, Rocamora F, Zhao H, Xu L, Pasaje C, Kumpornsin K, Luth MR, Cui H, Yang T, Diaz SP, Gomez-Lorenzo MG, Qahash T, Mittal N, Ottilie S, Niles J, Lee MCS, Llinas M, Kato N, Okombo J, Fidock DA, Schimmel P, Gamo FJ, Goldberg DE, Winzeler EA. Cytoplasmic isoleucyl tRNA synthetase as an attractive multistage antimalarial drug target. Sci Transl Med 2023; 15:eadc9249. [PMID: 36888694 PMCID: PMC10286833 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adc9249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023]
Abstract
Development of antimalarial compounds into clinical candidates remains costly and arduous without detailed knowledge of the target. As resistance increases and treatment options at various stages of disease are limited, it is critical to identify multistage drug targets that are readily interrogated in biochemical assays. Whole-genome sequencing of 18 parasite clones evolved using thienopyrimidine compounds with submicromolar, rapid-killing, pan-life cycle antiparasitic activity showed that all had acquired mutations in the P. falciparum cytoplasmic isoleucyl tRNA synthetase (cIRS). Engineering two of the mutations into drug-naïve parasites recapitulated the resistance phenotype, and parasites with conditional knockdowns of cIRS became hypersensitive to two thienopyrimidines. Purified recombinant P. vivax cIRS inhibition, cross-resistance, and biochemical assays indicated a noncompetitive, allosteric binding site that is distinct from that of known cIRS inhibitors mupirocin and reveromycin A. Our data show that Plasmodium cIRS is an important chemically and genetically validated target for next-generation medicines for malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva S. Istvan
- Departments of Medicine and Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Francisco Guerra
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Matthew Abraham
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | | | - Frances Rocamora
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | | | - Lan Xu
- The Global Health Drug Discovery Institute, Tsinghua University 30 Shuangqing Rd, Haidian District, Beijing, China
| | - Charisse Pasaje
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | | | - Madeline R. Luth
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Haissi Cui
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Tuo Yang
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Sara Palomo Diaz
- Global Health Medicines, GlaxoSmithKline, Severo Ochoa 2, 28760 Tres Cantos, Spain
| | | | - Tarrick Qahash
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Huck Center for Malaria Research, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Nimisha Mittal
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Sabine Ottilie
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Jacquin Niles
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Marcus C. S. Lee
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Manuel Llinas
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Huck Center for Malaria Research, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Nobutaka Kato
- The Global Health Drug Discovery Institute, Tsinghua University 30 Shuangqing Rd, Haidian District, Beijing, China
| | - John Okombo
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York 10032, USA
| | - David A. Fidock
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York 10032, USA
- Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York 10032, USA
| | - Paul Schimmel
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | | | - Daniel E. Goldberg
- Departments of Medicine and Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Elizabeth A. Winzeler
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
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15
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Wang Y, Tian J, Chen J, Ni S, Yao Y, Wang L, Wu X, Song R, Chen J. Nontargeted metabolomics integrated with 1 H NMR and LC-Q-TOF-MS/MS methods to depict a more comprehensive metabolic profile in response to chrysosplenetin and artemisinin co-treatment against artemisinin-sensitive and -resistant Plasmodium berghei K173. Biomed Chromatogr 2023; 37:e5561. [PMID: 36471489 DOI: 10.1002/bmc.5561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Our previous work revealed mutual and specific metabolites/pathways in artemisinin-sensitive and -resistant Plasmodium berghei K173-infected mice. In this study, we further investigated whether chrysosplenetin, a candidate chemical to prevent artemisinin resistance, can regulate these metabolites/pathways by integrating nontargeted metabolomics with 1 H NMR and LC-Q-TOF-MS/MS spectrum. The nuclear magnetic resonance method generated specifically altered metabolites in response to co-treatment with chrysosplenetin, including: the products of glycolysis such as glucose, pyruvate, lactate and alanine; taurine, closely associated with liver injury; arginine and proline as essential amino acids for parasites; TMAO, a biomarker for dysbacteriosis and renal function; and tyrosine, which is used to generate levodopa and dopamine and may improve the torpor state of mice. Importantly, we noticed that chrysosplenetin might depress the activated glycolysis induced by sensitive parasites, but oppositely promoted the inhibited glycolysis to generate more lactate, which suppresses the proliferation of resistant parasites. Moreover, chrysosplentin possibly disturbs the heme biosynthetic pathway in mitochondria. The MS method yielded changed coenzyme A, phosphatidylcholine and ceramides, closely related to mitochondria β-oxidation, cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. These two means shared no overlapped metabolites and formed a more broader metabolic map to study the potential mechanisms of chrysosplenetin as a promising artemisinin resistance inhibitor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yisen Wang
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.,Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine for Prevention and Treatment of Senile Diseases, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
| | - Jingxuan Tian
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.,Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine for Prevention and Treatment of Senile Diseases, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
| | - Jie Chen
- School of Pharmacy, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Shanhong Ni
- Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Kangda College of Nanjing Medical University, Lianyungang, China
| | - Ying Yao
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.,Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine for Prevention and Treatment of Senile Diseases, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
| | - Lirong Wang
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.,Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine for Prevention and Treatment of Senile Diseases, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
| | - Xiuli Wu
- School of Pharmacy, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Ruilong Song
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
| | - Jing Chen
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.,Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine for Prevention and Treatment of Senile Diseases, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.,School of Pharmacy, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
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16
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Russell TJ, De Silva EK, Crowley VM, Shaw-Saliba K, Dube N, Josling G, Pasaje CFA, Kouskoumvekaki I, Panagiotou G, Niles JC, Jacobs-Lorena M, Denise Okafor C, Gamo FJ, Llinás M. Inhibitors of ApiAP2 protein DNA binding exhibit multistage activity against Plasmodium parasites. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010887. [PMID: 36223427 PMCID: PMC9591056 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium parasites are reliant on the Apicomplexan AP2 (ApiAP2) transcription factor family to regulate gene expression programs. AP2 DNA binding domains have no homologs in the human or mosquito host genomes, making them potential antimalarial drug targets. Using an in-silico screen to dock thousands of small molecules into the crystal structure of the AP2-EXP (Pf3D7_1466400) AP2 domain (PDB:3IGM), we identified putative AP2-EXP interacting compounds. Four compounds were found to block DNA binding by AP2-EXP and at least one additional ApiAP2 protein. Our top ApiAP2 competitor compound perturbs the transcriptome of P. falciparum trophozoites and results in a decrease in abundance of log2 fold change > 2 for 50% (46/93) of AP2-EXP target genes. Additionally, two ApiAP2 competitor compounds have multi-stage anti-Plasmodium activity against blood and mosquito stage parasites. In summary, we describe a novel set of antimalarial compounds that interact with AP2 DNA binding domains. These compounds may be used for future chemical genetic interrogation of ApiAP2 proteins or serve as starting points for a new class of antimalarial therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy James Russell
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Huck Institutes Center for Eukaryotic Gene Regulation (CEGR), Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Huck Institutes Center for Malaria Research (CMaR), Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Huck Institutes Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Erandi K. De Silva
- Lewis-Singler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Valerie M. Crowley
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Kathryn Shaw-Saliba
- Department of Molecular Biology and Immunology, Malaria Research Institute, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Namita Dube
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Gabrielle Josling
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Huck Institutes Center for Malaria Research (CMaR), Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Huck Institutes Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Charisse Flerida A. Pasaje
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Irene Kouskoumvekaki
- Department of Systems Biology, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Gianni Panagiotou
- Systems Biology and Bioinformatics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Products Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
- Department of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Jacquin C. Niles
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena
- Department of Molecular Biology and Immunology, Malaria Research Institute, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - C. Denise Okafor
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | | | - Manuel Llinás
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Huck Institutes Center for Eukaryotic Gene Regulation (CEGR), Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Huck Institutes Center for Malaria Research (CMaR), Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Huck Institutes Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States of America
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17
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Kanai M, Hagenah LM, Ashley EA, Chibale K, Fidock DA. Keystone Malaria Symposium 2022: a vibrant discussion of progress made and challenges ahead from drug discovery to treatment. Trends Parasitol 2022; 38:711-718. [PMID: 35864072 PMCID: PMC9631389 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2022.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
In recent years, the field of malaria research has made substantial progress in the areas of antimalarial drug resistance and discovery. These efforts are essential to combatting the devastating impact of malaria, which, in 2020, resulted in an estimated 241 million cases and 627 000 deaths. Recent advances in this area were presented at a Keystone Symposium entitled ‘Malaria: Confronting Challenges from Drug Discovery to Treatment’, held in person in Breckenridge, Colorado, in April 2022. Herein, we present a summary of the proceedings of this vibrant scientific exchange, which brought together a superb group of faculty, postdocs, and students from around the globe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariko Kanai
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Laura M Hagenah
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Elizabeth A Ashley
- Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Lao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit, Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Laos.
| | - Kelly Chibale
- Drug Discovery and Development (H3D) Centre, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa; Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Observatory, South Africa; South African Medical Research Council Drug Discovery and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa; Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa.
| | - David A Fidock
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
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18
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Chew M, Ye W, Omelianczyk RI, Pasaje CF, Hoo R, Chen Q, Niles JC, Chen J, Preiser P. Selective expression of variant surface antigens enables Plasmodium falciparum to evade immune clearance in vivo. Nat Commun 2022; 13:4067. [PMID: 35831417 PMCID: PMC9279368 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31741-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium falciparum has developed extensive mechanisms to evade host immune clearance. Currently, most of our understanding is based on in vitro studies of individual parasite variant surface antigens and how this relates to the processes in vivo is not well-understood. Here, we have used a humanized mouse model to identify parasite factors important for in vivo growth. We show that upregulation of the specific PfEMP1, VAR2CSA, provides the parasite with protection from macrophage phagocytosis and clearance in the humanized mice. Furthermore, parasites adapted to thrive in the humanized mice show reduced NK cell-mediated killing through interaction with the immune inhibitory receptor, LILRB1. Taken together, these findings reveal new insights into the molecular and cellular mechanisms that the parasite utilizes to coordinate immune escape in vivo. Identification and targeting of these specific parasite variant surface antigens crucial for immune evasion provides a unique approach for therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marvin Chew
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Antimicrobial Resistance Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Weijian Ye
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Antimicrobial Resistance Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore, Singapore
| | | | - Charisse Flerida Pasaje
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Regina Hoo
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, CB101SA, UK
| | - Qingfeng Chen
- Humanized Mouse Unit, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency of Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jacquin C Niles
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jianzhu Chen
- Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Antimicrobial Resistance Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore, Singapore. .,Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Peter Preiser
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore. .,Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Antimicrobial Resistance Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore, Singapore.
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19
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Xie SC, Metcalfe RD, Dunn E, Morton CJ, Huang SC, Puhalovich T, Du Y, Wittlin S, Nie S, Luth MR, Ma L, Kim MS, Pasaje CFA, Kumpornsin K, Giannangelo C, Houghton FJ, Churchyard A, Famodimu MT, Barry DC, Gillett DL, Dey S, Kosasih CC, Newman W, Niles JC, Lee MC, Baum J, Ottilie S, Winzeler EA, Creek DJ, Williamson N, Parker MW, Brand SL, Langston SP, Dick LR, Griffin MD, Gould AE, Tilley L. Reaction hijacking of tyrosine tRNA synthetase as a new whole-of-life-cycle antimalarial strategy. Science 2022; 376:1074-1079. [PMID: 35653481 PMCID: PMC7613620 DOI: 10.1126/science.abn0611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Aminoacyl transfer RNA (tRNA) synthetases (aaRSs) are attractive drug targets, and we present class I and II aaRSs as previously unrecognized targets for adenosine 5'-monophosphate-mimicking nucleoside sulfamates. The target enzyme catalyzes the formation of an inhibitory amino acid-sulfamate conjugate through a reaction-hijacking mechanism. We identified adenosine 5'-sulfamate as a broad-specificity compound that hijacks a range of aaRSs and ML901 as a specific reagent a specific reagent that hijacks a single aaRS in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, namely tyrosine RS (PfYRS). ML901 exerts whole-life-cycle-killing activity with low nanomolar potency and single-dose efficacy in a mouse model of malaria. X-ray crystallographic studies of plasmodium and human YRSs reveal differential flexibility of a loop over the catalytic site that underpins differential susceptibility to reaction hijacking by ML901.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stanley C. Xie
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Riley D. Metcalfe
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Elyse Dunn
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Craig J. Morton
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Shih-Chung Huang
- Takeda Development Center Americas, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Tanya Puhalovich
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Yawei Du
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Sergio Wittlin
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4051 Basel, Switzerland,University of Basel, 4003 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Shuai Nie
- Melbourne Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Madeline R. Luth
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Liting Ma
- Takeda Development Center Americas, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Mi-Sook Kim
- Takeda Development Center Americas, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | | | - Krittikorn Kumpornsin
- Parasites and Microbes Programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, CB10 1SA, United Kingdom
| | - Carlo Giannangelo
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Fiona J. Houghton
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Alisje Churchyard
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | | | - Daniel C. Barry
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - David L. Gillett
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Sumanta Dey
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United States
| | - Clara C. Kosasih
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - William Newman
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Jacquin C. Niles
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United States
| | - Marcus C.S. Lee
- Parasites and Microbes Programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, CB10 1SA, United Kingdom
| | - Jake Baum
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Sabine Ottilie
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Elizabeth A. Winzeler
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Darren J. Creek
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Nicholas Williamson
- Melbourne Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Michael W. Parker
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia,St. Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research, Fitzroy, VIC 3065, Australia
| | - Stephen L. Brand
- Medicines for Malaria Venture, PO Box 1826, 20, Route de Pré-Bois, 1215, Geneva 15, Switzerland
| | - Steven P. Langston
- Takeda Development Center Americas, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Lawrence R. Dick
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia,Seofon Consulting, 30 Tucker Street, Natick, Massachusetts 01760, USA
| | - Michael D.W. Griffin
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Alexandra E. Gould
- Takeda Development Center Americas, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA,For correspondence. Alexandra E. Gould, Takeda Development Center Americas, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA, (Chemistry) and Leann Tilley, Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia. (Biology)
| | - Leann Tilley
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia,For correspondence. Alexandra E. Gould, Takeda Development Center Americas, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA, (Chemistry) and Leann Tilley, Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia. (Biology)
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20
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Murithi JM, Deni I, Pasaje CFA, Okombo J, Bridgford JL, Gnädig NF, Edwards RL, Yeo T, Mok S, Burkhard AY, Coburn-Flynn O, Istvan ES, Sakata-Kato T, Gomez-Lorenzo MG, Cowell AN, Wicht KJ, Le Manach C, Kalantarov GF, Dey S, Duffey M, Laleu B, Lukens AK, Ottilie S, Vanaerschot M, Trakht IN, Gamo FJ, Wirth DF, Goldberg DE, Odom John AR, Chibale K, Winzeler EA, Niles JC, Fidock DA. The Plasmodium falciparum ABC transporter ABCI3 confers parasite strain-dependent pleiotropic antimalarial drug resistance. Cell Chem Biol 2022; 29:824-839.e6. [PMID: 34233174 PMCID: PMC8727639 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2021.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Widespread Plasmodium falciparum resistance to first-line antimalarials underscores the vital need to develop compounds with novel modes of action and identify new druggable targets. Here, we profile five compounds that potently inhibit P. falciparum asexual blood stages. Resistance selection studies with three carboxamide-containing compounds, confirmed by gene editing and conditional knockdowns, identify point mutations in the parasite transporter ABCI3 as the primary mediator of resistance. Selection studies with imidazopyridine or quinoline-carboxamide compounds also yield changes in ABCI3, this time through gene amplification. Imidazopyridine mode of action is attributed to inhibition of heme detoxification, as evidenced by cellular accumulation and heme fractionation assays. For the copy-number variation-selecting imidazopyridine and quinoline-carboxamide compounds, we find that resistance, manifesting as a biphasic concentration-response curve, can independently be mediated by mutations in the chloroquine resistance transporter PfCRT. These studies reveal the interconnectedness of P. falciparum transporters in overcoming drug pressure in different parasite strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- James M. Murithi
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Ioanna Deni
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | | | - John Okombo
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Jessica L. Bridgford
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Nina F. Gnädig
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Rachel L. Edwards
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Allergy and Immunology, Center for Vaccine Development, St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63104, USA
| | - Tomas Yeo
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Sachel Mok
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Anna Y. Burkhard
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Olivia Coburn-Flynn
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Eva S. Istvan
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, and Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Tomoyo Sakata-Kato
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA,Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | - Annie N. Cowell
- School of Medicine, University of California San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Kathryn J. Wicht
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA,Drug Discovery and Development Center (H3D) and South African Medical Research Council Drug Discovery and Development Research Unit, Department of Chemistry and Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Claire Le Manach
- Drug Discovery and Development Center (H3D) and South African Medical Research Council Drug Discovery and Development Research Unit, Department of Chemistry and Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Gavreel F. Kalantarov
- Division of Experimental Therapeutics, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Sumanta Dey
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Maëlle Duffey
- Medicines for Malaria Venture, 1215 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Benoît Laleu
- Medicines for Malaria Venture, 1215 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Amanda K. Lukens
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA,Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Sabine Ottilie
- School of Medicine, University of California San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Manu Vanaerschot
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Ilya N. Trakht
- Division of Experimental Therapeutics, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Francisco-Javier Gamo
- Global Health Pharma Research Unit, GlaxoSmithKline, 28760 Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Dyann F. Wirth
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA,Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Daniel E. Goldberg
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, and Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | | | - Kelly Chibale
- Drug Discovery and Development Center (H3D) and South African Medical Research Council Drug Discovery and Development Research Unit, Department of Chemistry and Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Elizabeth A. Winzeler
- School of Medicine, University of California San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Jacquin C. Niles
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - David A. Fidock
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA,Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA,Corresponding author
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21
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de Vries LE, Jansen PAM, Barcelo C, Munro J, Verhoef JMJ, Pasaje CFA, Rubiano K, Striepen J, Abla N, Berning L, Bolscher JM, Demarta-Gatsi C, Henderson RWM, Huijs T, Koolen KMJ, Tumwebaze PK, Yeo T, Aguiar ACC, Angulo-Barturen I, Churchyard A, Baum J, Fernández BC, Fuchs A, Gamo FJ, Guido RVC, Jiménez-Diaz MB, Pereira DB, Rochford R, Roesch C, Sanz LM, Trevitt G, Witkowski B, Wittlin S, Cooper RA, Rosenthal PJ, Sauerwein RW, Schalkwijk J, Hermkens PHH, Bonnert RV, Campo B, Fidock DA, Llinás M, Niles JC, Kooij TWA, Dechering KJ. Preclinical characterization and target validation of the antimalarial pantothenamide MMV693183. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2158. [PMID: 35444200 PMCID: PMC9021288 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29688-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Drug resistance and a dire lack of transmission-blocking antimalarials hamper malaria elimination. Here, we present the pantothenamide MMV693183 as a first-in-class acetyl-CoA synthetase (AcAS) inhibitor to enter preclinical development. Our studies demonstrate attractive drug-like properties and in vivo efficacy in a humanized mouse model of Plasmodium falciparum infection. The compound shows single digit nanomolar in vitro activity against P. falciparum and P. vivax clinical isolates, and potently blocks P. falciparum transmission to Anopheles mosquitoes. Genetic and biochemical studies identify AcAS as the target of the MMV693183-derived antimetabolite, CoA-MMV693183. Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modelling predict that a single 30 mg oral dose is sufficient to cure a malaria infection in humans. Toxicology studies in rats indicate a > 30-fold safety margin in relation to the predicted human efficacious exposure. In conclusion, MMV693183 represents a promising candidate for further (pre)clinical development with a novel mode of action for treatment of malaria and blocking transmission. Here, de Vries et al. perform a pre-clinical characterization of the antimalarial compound MMV693183: the compound targets acetyl-CoA synthetase, has efficacy in humanized mice against Plasmodium falciparum infection, blocks transmission to mosquito vectors, is safe in rats, and pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling informs about a potential oral human dosing regimen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura E de Vries
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboudumc Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Patrick A M Jansen
- Department of Dermatology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Justin Munro
- Department of Chemistry and Huck Center for Malaria Research, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Julie M J Verhoef
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboudumc Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Kelly Rubiano
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Josefine Striepen
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nada Abla
- Medicines for Malaria Venture, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Luuk Berning
- TropIQ Health Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | | | | | - Tonnie Huijs
- TropIQ Health Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | | | - Tomas Yeo
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Anna C C Aguiar
- Sao Carlos Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Alisje Churchyard
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jake Baum
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Aline Fuchs
- Medicines for Malaria Venture, Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | - Rafael V C Guido
- Sao Carlos Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Dhelio B Pereira
- Research Center for Tropical Medicine of Rondonia, Porto Velho, Brazil
| | - Rosemary Rochford
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Camille Roesch
- Malaria Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Institut Pasteur du Cambodge, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.,Malaria Translational Research Unit, Institut Pasteur, Paris & Institut Pasteur du Cambodge, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
| | - Laura M Sanz
- Global Health, GlaxoSmithKline, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Benoit Witkowski
- Malaria Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Institut Pasteur du Cambodge, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.,Malaria Translational Research Unit, Institut Pasteur, Paris & Institut Pasteur du Cambodge, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
| | - Sergio Wittlin
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland.,University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Roland A Cooper
- Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Dominican University of California, San Rafael, CA, USA
| | - Philip J Rosenthal
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Robert W Sauerwein
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboudumc Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,TropIQ Health Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Joost Schalkwijk
- Department of Dermatology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | | | - Brice Campo
- Medicines for Malaria Venture, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - David A Fidock
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.,Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Manuel Llinás
- Department of Chemistry and Huck Center for Malaria Research, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.,Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Jacquin C Niles
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Taco W A Kooij
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboudumc Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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22
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Hollin T, Abel S, Falla A, Pasaje CFA, Bhatia A, Hur M, Kirkwood JS, Saraf A, Prudhomme J, De Souza A, Florens L, Niles JC, Le Roch KG. Functional genomics of RAP proteins and their role in mitoribosome regulation in Plasmodium falciparum. Nat Commun 2022; 13:1275. [PMID: 35277503 PMCID: PMC8917122 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28981-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The RAP (RNA-binding domain abundant in Apicomplexans) protein family has been identified in various organisms. Despite expansion of this protein family in apicomplexan parasites, their main biological functions remain unknown. In this study, we use inducible knockdown studies in the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, to show that two RAP proteins, PF3D7_0105200 (PfRAP01) and PF3D7_1470600 (PfRAP21), are essential for parasite survival and localize to the mitochondrion. Using transcriptomics, metabolomics, and proteomics profiling experiments, we further demonstrate that these RAP proteins are involved in mitochondrial RNA metabolism. Using high-throughput sequencing of RNA isolated by crosslinking immunoprecipitation (eCLIP-seq), we validate that PfRAP01 and PfRAP21 are true RNA-binding proteins and interact specifically with mitochondrial rRNAs. Finally, mitochondrial enrichment experiments followed by deep sequencing of small RNAs demonstrate that PfRAP21 controls mitochondrial rRNA expression. Collectively, our results establish the role of these RAP proteins in mitoribosome activity and contribute to further understanding this protein family in malaria parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Hollin
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Steven Abel
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Alejandra Falla
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Anil Bhatia
- Metabolomics Core Facility, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - Manhoi Hur
- Metabolomics Core Facility, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - Jay S Kirkwood
- Metabolomics Core Facility, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - Anita Saraf
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, 1000 E. 50th Street, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA
| | - Jacques Prudhomme
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Amancio De Souza
- Metabolomics Core Facility, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - Laurence Florens
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, 1000 E. 50th Street, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA
| | - Jacquin C Niles
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Karine G Le Roch
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
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23
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Chemogenomics identifies acetyl-coenzyme A synthetase as a target for malaria treatment and prevention. Cell Chem Biol 2022; 29:191-201.e8. [PMID: 34348113 PMCID: PMC8878317 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2021.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Revised: 05/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
We identify the Plasmodium falciparum acetyl-coenzyme A synthetase (PfAcAS) as a druggable target, using genetic and chemical validation. In vitro evolution of resistance with two antiplasmodial drug-like compounds (MMV019721 and MMV084978) selects for mutations in PfAcAS. Metabolic profiling of compound-treated parasites reveals changes in acetyl-CoA levels for both compounds. Genome editing confirms that mutations in PfAcAS are sufficient to confer resistance. Knockdown studies demonstrate that PfAcAS is essential for asexual growth, and partial knockdown induces hypersensitivity to both compounds. In vitro biochemical assays using recombinantly expressed PfAcAS validates that MMV019721 and MMV084978 directly inhibit the enzyme by preventing CoA and acetate binding, respectively. Immunolocalization studies reveal that PfAcAS is primarily localized to the nucleus. Functional studies demonstrate inhibition of histone acetylation in compound-treated wild-type, but not in resistant parasites. Our findings identify and validate PfAcAS as an essential, druggable target involved in the epigenetic regulation of gene expression.
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24
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Cárdenas P, Esherick LY, Chambonnier G, Dey S, Turlo CV, Nasamu AS, Niles JC. GeneTargeter: Automated In Silico Design for Genome Editing in the Malaria Parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. CRISPR J 2022; 5:155-164. [PMID: 35191751 PMCID: PMC8892962 DOI: 10.1089/crispr.2021.0069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Functional characterization of the multitude of poorly described proteins in the human malarial pathogen, Plasmodium falciparum, requires tools to enable genome-scale perturbation studies. Here, we present GeneTargeter (genetargeter.mit.edu), a software tool for automating the design of homology-directed repair donor vectors to achieve gene knockouts, conditional knockdowns, and epitope tagging of P. falciparum genes. We demonstrate GeneTargeter-facilitated genome-scale design of six different types of knockout and conditional knockdown constructs for the P. falciparum genome and validate the computational design process experimentally with successful donor vector assembly and transfection. The software's modular nature accommodates arbitrary destination vectors and allows customizable designs that extend the genome manipulation outcomes attainable in Plasmodium and other organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Cárdenas
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Lisl Y. Esherick
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Gaël Chambonnier
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Sumanta Dey
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Christopher V. Turlo
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Armiyaw Sebastian Nasamu
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jacquin C. Niles
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,Address correspondence to: Jacquin C. Niles, MD, PhD, Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Room 56-341, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307, USA,
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25
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Wang S, Zeng W, Zhao W, Xiang Z, Zhao H, Yang Q, Li X, Duan M, Li X, Wang X, Si Y, Rosenthal BM, Yang Z. Comparison of in vitro transformation efficiency methods for Plasmodium falciparum. Mol Biochem Parasitol 2021; 247:111432. [PMID: 34826523 DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2021.111432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Revised: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Poor efficiency plagues conventional methods to transfect Plasmodium falciparum with genetic modifications, impeding research aimed at limiting the damage wrought by this agent of severe malaria. Here, we sought and documented improvements, using fluoresce imaging, cell sorting, and drug selection as means to measure efficiency. Through the transfection of EGFP plasmid, the transfection efficiency of the three methods used in this study was as high as 10-3. A method that pre-loaded uninfected erythrocytes with plasmids using the Bio-Rad Gene Pulser Xcell achieved the highest efficiency (0.48%±0.06%), twice the efficiency of a method using nuclear transfection of ring stages employing the 4D-NucleofectorTM X Kit L. We also evaluated an approach using the Nucleofactor system to transform schizont stages. We considered efficiency and the time required to complete drug screening experiments when evaluating transfection methods. Fluorescence measurements confirmed greater efficiencies for the Pre-load method (52.4% vs. 25%; P < 0.0001), but the Nuc-Ring method required less time to complete drug selection experiments following CRISPR/Cas9 editing. These data should benefit future studies seeking to remove or modify genes of P. falciparum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siqi Wang
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650500, China; National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology (National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention), Shanghai, 200025, China
| | - Weilin Zeng
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650500, China
| | - Wei Zhao
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650500, China
| | - Zheng Xiang
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650500, China
| | - Hui Zhao
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650500, China
| | - Qi Yang
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650500, China
| | - Xinxin Li
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650500, China
| | - Mengxi Duan
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650500, China
| | - Xiaosong Li
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650500, China
| | - Xun Wang
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650500, China
| | - Yu Si
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650500, China
| | - Benjamin M Rosenthal
- Animal Parasitic Disease Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA
| | - Zhaoqing Yang
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650500, China.
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26
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Forte B, Ottilie S, Plater A, Campo B, Dechering KJ, Gamo FJ, Goldberg DE, Istvan ES, Lee M, Lukens AK, McNamara CW, Niles JC, Okombo J, Pasaje CFA, Siegel MG, Wirth D, Wyllie S, Fidock DA, Baragaña B, Winzeler EA, Gilbert IH. Prioritization of Molecular Targets for Antimalarial Drug Discovery. ACS Infect Dis 2021; 7:2764-2776. [PMID: 34523908 PMCID: PMC8608365 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.1c00322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
![]()
There is a shift
in antimalarial drug discovery from phenotypic
screening toward target-based approaches, as more potential drug targets
are being validated in Plasmodium species. Given
the high attrition rate and high cost of drug discovery, it is important
to select the targets most likely to deliver progressible drug candidates.
In this paper, we describe the criteria that we consider important
for selecting targets for antimalarial drug discovery. We describe
the analysis of a number of drug targets in the Malaria Drug Accelerator
(MalDA) pipeline, which has allowed us to prioritize targets that
are ready to enter the drug discovery process. This selection process
has also highlighted where additional data are required to inform
target progression or deprioritization of other targets. Finally,
we comment on how additional drug targets may be identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Forte
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Sabine Ottilie
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Andrew Plater
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Brice Campo
- Medicines for Malaria Venture, 1215 Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Daniel E. Goldberg
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine and Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, United States
| | - Eva S. Istvan
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine and Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, United States
| | - Marcus Lee
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, CB10 1SA, United Kingdom
| | - Amanda K. Lukens
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Case W. McNamara
- Calibr, a Division of The Scripps Research Institute, 11119 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Jacquin C. Niles
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge Massachusetts 02139-4307, United States
| | - John Okombo
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York 10032, United States
| | - Charisse Flerida A. Pasaje
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge Massachusetts 02139-4307, United States
| | | | - Dyann Wirth
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Susan Wyllie
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - David A. Fidock
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York 10032, United States
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York 10032, United States
| | - Beatriz Baragaña
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Elizabeth A. Winzeler
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Ian H. Gilbert
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
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27
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Michelow IC, Park S, Tsai SW, Rayta B, Pasaje CFA, Nelson S, Early AM, Frosch AP, Ayodo G, Raj DK, Nixon CE, Nixon CP, Pond-Tor S, Friedman JF, Fried M, Duffy PE, Le Roch KG, Niles JC, Kurtis JD. A newly characterized malaria antigen on erythrocyte and merozoite surfaces induces parasite inhibitory antibodies. J Exp Med 2021; 218:e20200170. [PMID: 34342640 PMCID: PMC8340565 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20200170] [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: 01/31/2020] [Revised: 05/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We previously identified a Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) protein of unknown function encoded by a single-copy gene, PF3D7_1134300, as a target of antibodies in plasma of Tanzanian children in a whole-proteome differential screen. Here we characterize this protein as a blood-stage antigen that localizes to the surface membranes of both parasitized erythrocytes and merozoites, hence its designation as Pf erythrocyte membrane and merozoite antigen 1 (PfEMMA1). Mouse anti-PfEMMA1 antisera and affinity-purified human anti-PfEMMA1 antibodies inhibited growth of P. falciparum strains by up to 68% in growth inhibition assays. Following challenge with uniformly fatal Plasmodium berghei (Pb) ANKA, up to 40% of mice immunized with recombinant PbEMMA1 self-cured, and median survival of lethally infected mice was up to 2.6-fold longer than controls (21 vs. 8 d, P = 0.005). Furthermore, high levels of naturally acquired human anti-PfEMMA1 antibodies were associated with a 46% decrease in parasitemia over 2.5 yr of follow-up of Tanzanian children. Together, these findings suggest that antibodies to PfEMMA1 mediate protection against malaria.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Antibodies, Protozoan/immunology
- Antigens, Protozoan/genetics
- Antigens, Protozoan/immunology
- Antigens, Protozoan/metabolism
- Child, Preschool
- Erythrocyte Membrane/parasitology
- Female
- Host-Parasite Interactions/physiology
- Humans
- Infant
- Malaria Vaccines/genetics
- Malaria Vaccines/immunology
- Malaria, Falciparum/immunology
- Malaria, Falciparum/mortality
- Malaria, Falciparum/parasitology
- Merozoites/immunology
- Merozoites/metabolism
- Mice, Inbred BALB C
- Plasmodium falciparum/immunology
- Plasmodium falciparum/pathogenicity
- Plasmodium falciparum/physiology
- Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
- Protozoan Proteins/chemistry
- Protozoan Proteins/genetics
- Protozoan Proteins/immunology
- Protozoan Proteins/metabolism
- Recombinant Proteins/genetics
- Recombinant Proteins/immunology
- Recombinant Proteins/metabolism
- Tanzania
- Mice
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian C. Michelow
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI
- Center for International Health Research, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI
| | - Sangshin Park
- Center for International Health Research, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI
- Graduate School of Urban Public Health & Department of Urban Big Data Convergence, University of Seoul, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Shu-Whei Tsai
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI
- Center for International Health Research, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI
| | - Bonnie Rayta
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI
- Center for International Health Research, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI
| | | | - Sara Nelson
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI
- Center for International Health Research, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI
| | - Angela M. Early
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA
| | - Anne P. Frosch
- Department of Medicine, Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | - George Ayodo
- Kenya Medical Research Institute, Centre of Global Health Research, Kisumu, Kenya
- Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, Bondo, Kenya
| | - Dipak K. Raj
- Center for International Health Research, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI
| | - Christina E. Nixon
- Center for International Health Research, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI
| | - Christian P. Nixon
- Center for International Health Research, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI
| | - Sunthorn Pond-Tor
- Center for International Health Research, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI
| | - Jennifer F. Friedman
- Center for International Health Research, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI
- Department of Pediatrics, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI
| | - Michal Fried
- Laboratory of Malaria Immunology and Vaccinology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD
| | - Patrick E. Duffy
- Laboratory of Malaria Immunology and Vaccinology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD
| | - Karine G. Le Roch
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, Center for Infectious Disease and Vector Research, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA
| | - Jacquin C. Niles
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
| | - Jonathan D. Kurtis
- Center for International Health Research, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI
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28
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Murithi JM, Pascal C, Bath J, Boulenc X, Gnädig NF, Pasaje CFA, Rubiano K, Yeo T, Mok S, Klieber S, Desert P, Jiménez-Díaz MB, Marfurt J, Rouillier M, Cherkaoui-Rbati MH, Gobeau N, Wittlin S, Uhlemann AC, Price RN, Wirjanata G, Noviyanti R, Tumwebaze P, Cooper RA, Rosenthal PJ, Sanz LM, Gamo FJ, Joseph J, Singh S, Bashyam S, Augereau JM, Giraud E, Bozec T, Vermat T, Tuffal G, Guillon JM, Menegotto J, Sallé L, Louit G, Cabanis MJ, Nicolas MF, Doubovetzky M, Merino R, Bessila N, Angulo-Barturen I, Baud D, Bebrevska L, Escudié F, Niles JC, Blasco B, Campbell S, Courtemanche G, Fraisse L, Pellet A, Fidock DA, Leroy D. The antimalarial MMV688533 provides potential for single-dose cures with a high barrier to Plasmodium falciparum parasite resistance. Sci Transl Med 2021; 13:13/603/eabg6013. [PMID: 34290058 PMCID: PMC8530196 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abg6013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The emergence and spread of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to first-line antimalarials creates an imperative to identify and develop potent preclinical candidates with distinct modes of action. Here, we report the identification of MMV688533, an acylguanidine that was developed following a whole-cell screen with compounds known to hit high-value targets in human cells. MMV688533 displays fast parasite clearance in vitro and is not cross-resistant with known antimalarials. In a P. falciparum NSG mouse model, MMV688533 displays a long-lasting pharmacokinetic profile and excellent safety. Selection studies reveal a low propensity for resistance, with modest loss of potency mediated by point mutations in PfACG1 and PfEHD. These proteins are implicated in intracellular trafficking, lipid utilization, and endocytosis, suggesting interference with these pathways as a potential mode of action. This preclinical candidate may offer the potential for a single low-dose cure for malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- James M. Murithi
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Cécile Pascal
- Sanofi, Infectious Diseases Therapeutic Area, Marcy l'Etoile, France
| | - Jade Bath
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Nina F. Gnädig
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Kelly Rubiano
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Tomas Yeo
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sachel Mok
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sylvie Klieber
- Sanofi R&D, Translational Medicine & Early Development, Montpellier, France
| | | | | | - Jutta Marfurt
- Global and Tropical Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research and Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia
| | | | | | | | - Sergio Wittlin
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland.,Universität Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Anne-Catrin Uhlemann
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ric N. Price
- Global and Tropical Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research and Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia.,Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Grennady Wirjanata
- Global and Tropical Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research and Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia
| | | | | | - Roland A. Cooper
- Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Dominican University of California, San Rafael, CA, USA
| | | | - Laura M. Sanz
- Global Health Pharma Research Unit, GSK, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Elie Giraud
- Sanofi, Infectious Diseases Therapeutic Area, Marcy l'Etoile, France
| | - Tanguy Bozec
- Sanofi, Infectious Diseases Therapeutic Area, Marcy l'Etoile, France
| | - Thierry Vermat
- Sanofi, Infectious Diseases Therapeutic Area, Marcy l'Etoile, France
| | - Gilles Tuffal
- Sanofi R&D, Translational Medicine & Early Development, Montpellier, France
| | | | - Jérôme Menegotto
- Sanofi, Infectious Diseases Therapeutic Area, Marcy l'Etoile, France
| | - Laurent Sallé
- Sanofi R&D, Translational Medicine & Early Development, Montpellier, France
| | | | - Marie-José Cabanis
- Sanofi R&D, Translational Medicine & Early Development, Montpellier, France
| | | | | | - Rita Merino
- Sanofi, Infectious Diseases Therapeutic Area, Marcy l'Etoile, France
| | - Nadir Bessila
- Sanofi, Infectious Diseases Therapeutic Area, Marcy l'Etoile, France
| | | | | | | | | | - Jacquin C. Niles
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Laurent Fraisse
- Sanofi, Infectious Diseases Therapeutic Area, Marcy l'Etoile, France
| | - Alain Pellet
- Sanofi, Infectious Diseases Therapeutic Area, Marcy l'Etoile, France
| | - David A. Fidock
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.,Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.,Corresponding author. (D.A.F.); (D.L.)
| | - Didier Leroy
- Medicines for Malaria Venture, Geneva, Switzerland.,Corresponding author. (D.A.F.); (D.L.)
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29
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Abstract
Malaria, caused by infection with Plasmodium parasites, remains a significant global health concern. For decades, genetic intractability and limited tools hindered our ability to study essential proteins and pathways in Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite associated with the most severe malaria cases. However, recent years have seen major leaps forward in the ability to genetically manipulate P. falciparum parasites and conditionally control protein expression/function. The conditional knockdown systems used in P. falciparum target all 3 components of the central dogma, allowing researchers to conditionally control gene expression, translation, and protein function. Here, we review some of the common knockdown systems that have been adapted or developed for use in P. falciparum. Much of the work done using conditional knockdown approaches has been performed in asexual, blood-stage parasites, but we also highlight their uses in other parts of the life cycle and discuss new ways of applying these systems outside of the intraerythrocytic stages. With the use of these tools, the field’s understanding of parasite biology is ever increasing, and promising new pathways for antimalarial drug development are being discovered.
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