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Suckling CJ. The allure of targets for novel drugs. RSC Med Chem 2024; 15:472-484. [PMID: 38389887 PMCID: PMC10880906 DOI: 10.1039/d3md00621b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
The challenges of bringing new medicines to patients have been extensively discussed and debated, including consideration of the contribution that academic laboratories can make. At the University of Strathclyde, drug discovery has been a continuing focal activity since the 1960s, and in the past 30 years, the author has led or contributed to many projects of different character and for diverse diseases. A feature common to these projects is the extension of concepts of molecular and biological targets in drug discovery research. In mechanistic terms, these have included compounds that are activators and not inhibitors, and in particular multitargeted compounds. With respect to relevance to disease, schizophrenia, pulmonary disfunction, autoimmune, and infectious disease are most relevant. These projects are discussed in the context of classical medicinal chemistry and more recent concepts in and approaches to drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colin J Suckling
- Department of Pure & Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde 295 Cathedral Street Glasgow G1 1Xl Scotland UK
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2
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Brooke DP, McGee LMC, Giordani F, Cross JM, Khalaf AI, Irving C, Gillingwater K, Shaw CD, Carter KC, Barrett MP, Suckling CJ, Scott FJ. Truncated S-MGBs: towards a parasite-specific and low aggregation chemotype. RSC Med Chem 2021; 12:1391-1401. [PMID: 34447938 PMCID: PMC8372214 DOI: 10.1039/d1md00110h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper describes the design and synthesis of Strathclyde minor groove binders (S-MGBs) that have been truncated by the removal of a pyrrole ring in order to mimic the structure of the natural product, disgocidine. S-MGBs have been found to be active against many different organisms, however, selective antiparasitic activity is required. A panel of seven truncated S-MGBs was prepared and the activities examined against a number of clinically relevant organisms including several bacteria and parasites. The effect of the truncation strategy on S-MGB aggregation in aqueous environment was also investigated using 1H inspection and DOSY experiments. A lead compound, a truncated S-MGB, which possesses significant activity only against trypanosomes and Leishmania has been identified for further study and was also found to be less affected by aggregation compared to its full-length analogue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel P Brooke
- WestCHEM Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde Glasgow UK
| | - Leah M C McGee
- WestCHEM Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde Glasgow UK
| | - Federica Giordani
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation and Glasgow Polyomics, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow Glasgow UK
| | - Jasmine M Cross
- WestCHEM Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde Glasgow UK
| | - Abedawn I Khalaf
- WestCHEM Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde Glasgow UK
| | - Craig Irving
- WestCHEM Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde Glasgow UK
| | - Kirsten Gillingwater
- Parasite Chemotherapy Unit, Department of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute Basel Switzerland
- University of Basel Basel Switzerland
| | - Craig D Shaw
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science, University of Strathclyde Glasgow UK
| | - Katharine C Carter
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science, University of Strathclyde Glasgow UK
| | - Michael P Barrett
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation and Glasgow Polyomics, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow Glasgow UK
| | - Colin J Suckling
- WestCHEM Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde Glasgow UK
| | - Fraser J Scott
- WestCHEM Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde Glasgow UK
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3
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Fritzsch R, Greetham GM, Clark IP, Minnes L, Towrie M, Parker AW, Hunt NT. Monitoring Base-Specific Dynamics during Melting of DNA-Ligand Complexes Using Temperature-Jump Time-Resolved Infrared Spectroscopy. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:6188-6199. [PMID: 31268327 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b04354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Ultrafast time-resolved infrared spectroscopy employing nanosecond temperature-jump initiation has been used to study the melting of double-stranded (ds)DNA oligomers in the presence and absence of minor groove-binding ligand Hoechst 33258. Ligand binding to ds(5'-GCAAATTTCC-3'), which binds Hoechst 33258 in the central A-tract region with nanomolar affinity, causes a dramatic increase in the timescales for strand melting from 30 to ∼250 μs. Ligand binding also suppresses premelting disruption of the dsDNA structure, which takes place on 100 ns timescales and includes end-fraying. In contrast, ligand binding to the ds(5'-GCATATATCC-3') sequence, which exhibits an order of magnitude lower affinity for Hoechst 33258 than the A-tract motif, leads to an increase by only a factor of 5 in melting timescales and reduced suppression of premelting sequence perturbation and end-fraying. These results demonstrate a dynamic impact of the minor groove ligand on the dsDNA structure that correlates with binding strength and thermodynamic stabilization of the duplex. Moreover, the ability of the ligand to influence base pairs distant from the binding site has potential implications for allosteric communication mechanisms in dsDNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robby Fritzsch
- Department of Physics, SUPA , University of Strathclyde , Glasgow G4 0NG , U.K
| | - Gregory M Greetham
- STFC Central Laser Facility, Research Complex at Harwell , Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Harwell Campus, Didcot OX11 0QX , U.K
| | - Ian P Clark
- STFC Central Laser Facility, Research Complex at Harwell , Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Harwell Campus, Didcot OX11 0QX , U.K
| | - Lucy Minnes
- Department of Physics, SUPA , University of Strathclyde , Glasgow G4 0NG , U.K
| | - Michael Towrie
- STFC Central Laser Facility, Research Complex at Harwell , Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Harwell Campus, Didcot OX11 0QX , U.K
| | - Anthony W Parker
- STFC Central Laser Facility, Research Complex at Harwell , Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Harwell Campus, Didcot OX11 0QX , U.K
| | - Neil T Hunt
- Department of Chemistry and York Biomedical Research Institute , University of York , Heslington, York YO10 5DD , U.K
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Bhaduri S, Ranjan N, Arya DP. An overview of recent advances in duplex DNA recognition by small molecules. Beilstein J Org Chem 2018; 14:1051-1086. [PMID: 29977379 PMCID: PMC6009268 DOI: 10.3762/bjoc.14.93] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2017] [Accepted: 04/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
As the carrier of genetic information, the DNA double helix interacts with many natural ligands during the cell cycle, and is amenable to such intervention in diseases such as cancer biogenesis. Proteins bind DNA in a site-specific manner, not only distinguishing between the geometry of the major and minor grooves, but also by making close contacts with individual bases within the local helix architecture. Over the last four decades, much research has been reported on the development of small non-natural ligands as therapeutics to either block, or in some cases, mimic a DNA–protein interaction of interest. This review presents the latest findings in the pursuit of novel synthetic DNA binders. This article provides recent coverage of major strategies (such as groove recognition, intercalation and cross-linking) adopted in the duplex DNA recognition by small molecules, with an emphasis on major works of the past few years.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nihar Ranjan
- National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Raebareli 122003, India
| | - Dev P Arya
- NUBAD, LLC, 900B West Faris Rd., Greenville 29605, SC, USA.,Clemson University, Hunter Laboratory, Clemson 29634, SC, USA
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Scott FJ, Nichol RJO, Khalaf AI, Giordani F, Gillingwater K, Ramu S, Elliott A, Zuegg J, Duffy P, Rosslee MJ, Hlaka L, Kumar S, Ozturk M, Brombacher F, Barrett M, Guler R, Suckling CJ. An evaluation of Minor Groove Binders as anti-fungal and anti-mycobacterial therapeutics. Eur J Med Chem 2017; 136:561-572. [PMID: 28544982 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2017.05.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2017] [Revised: 05/07/2017] [Accepted: 05/16/2017] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
This study details the synthesis and biological evaluation of a collection of 19 structurally related Minor Groove Binders (MGBs), derived from the natural product distamycin, which were designed to probe antifungal and antimycobacterial activity. From this initial set, we report several MGBs that are worth more detailed investigation and optimisation. MGB-4, MGB-317 and MGB-325 have promising MIC80s of 2, 4 and 0.25 μg/mL, respectively, against the fungus C. neoformans.MGB-353 and MGB-354 have MIC99s of 3.1 μM against the mycobacterium M. tuberculosis. The selectivity and activity of these compounds is related to their physicochemical properties and the cell wall/membrane characteristics of the infective agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fraser J Scott
- School of Chemistry, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN6 7TS, United Kingdom.
| | - Ryan J O Nichol
- WestCHEM Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, 295 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G1 1XL, United Kingdom
| | - Abedawn I Khalaf
- WestCHEM Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, 295 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G1 1XL, United Kingdom
| | - Federica Giordani
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation and Glasgow Polyomics, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TA, United Kingdom
| | - Kirsten Gillingwater
- Parasite Chemotherapy Unit, Department of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, 4002 Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Petersplatz 1, 4003 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Soumya Ramu
- Community for Open Antimicrobial Drug Discovery (CO-ADD), Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Alysha Elliott
- Community for Open Antimicrobial Drug Discovery (CO-ADD), Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Johannes Zuegg
- Community for Open Antimicrobial Drug Discovery (CO-ADD), Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Paula Duffy
- WestCHEM Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, 295 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G1 1XL, United Kingdom
| | - Michael-Jon Rosslee
- University of Cape Town, Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine (IDM), Division of Immunology and South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Immunology of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Cape Town Component, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
| | - Lerato Hlaka
- University of Cape Town, Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine (IDM), Division of Immunology and South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Immunology of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Cape Town Component, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
| | - Santosh Kumar
- University of Cape Town, Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine (IDM), Division of Immunology and South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Immunology of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Cape Town Component, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
| | - Mumin Ozturk
- University of Cape Town, Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine (IDM), Division of Immunology and South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Immunology of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Cape Town Component, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
| | - Frank Brombacher
- University of Cape Town, Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine (IDM), Division of Immunology and South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Immunology of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Cape Town Component, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
| | - Michael Barrett
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation and Glasgow Polyomics, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TA, United Kingdom
| | - Reto Guler
- University of Cape Town, Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine (IDM), Division of Immunology and South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Immunology of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Cape Town Component, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
| | - Colin J Suckling
- WestCHEM Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, 295 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G1 1XL, United Kingdom
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9
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O'Sullivan P, Rozas I. Understanding the guanidine-like cationic moiety for optimal binding into the DNA minor groove. ChemMedChem 2014; 9:2065-73. [PMID: 25087855 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.201402264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2014] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Based on our previous positive results with bis-guanidine-like diaromatic compounds as DNA minor groove binders, we propose a new family: bis-2-amino-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidines. According to calculated parameters, these dicationic systems would have a more suitable size and lipophilicity for binding into the minor groove than previous series. Moreover, their DFT-optimised structures and docking into an AT oligomer model show that they would bind in the minor groove with good strength and without energy penalty. Hence, we prepared compounds 4 a-c and evaluated their binding to ssDNA and poly(dA-dT)2 by thermal denaturation experiments. The results showed that 4 a (CO) and 4 d (NH) were the best DNA binders. Compared to the previous series, 4 a-d are better binders than bis-guanidiniums but poorer than bis-2-aminoimidazolinium derivatives. Moreover, circular dichroism experiments using ssDNA and poly(dA-dT)2 confirmed binding into the minor groove. Based on our computational design as well as biophysical studies, we have been able to determine that the optimal interaction of guanidine-like dications in the minor grove occurs with bis-2-aminoimidazolinium systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick O'Sullivan
- School of Chemistry, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College, University of Dublin, 152-160 Pearse St., Dublin 2 (Ireland)
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Alniss HY, Salvia MV, Sadikov M, Golovchenko I, Anthony NG, Khalaf AI, MacKay SP, Suckling CJ, Parkinson JA. Recognition of the DNA minor groove by thiazotropsin analogues. Chembiochem 2014; 15:1978-90. [PMID: 25045155 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201402202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2014] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Solution-phase self-association characteristics and DNA molecular-recognition properties are reported for three close analogues of minor-groove-binding ligands from the thiazotropsin class of lexitropsin molecules; they incorporate isopropyl thiazole as a lipophilic building block. Thiazotropsin B (AcImPy(iPr) ThDp) shows similar self-assembly characteristics to thiazotropsin A (FoPyPy(iPr) ThDp), although it is engineered, by incorporation of imidazole in place of N-methyl pyrrole, to swap its DNA recognition target from 5'-ACTAGT-3' to 5'-ACGCGT-3'. Replacement of the formamide head group in thiazotropsin A by nicotinamide in AIK-18/51 results in a measureable difference in solution-phase self-assembly character and substantially enhanced DNA association characteristics. The structures and associated thermodynamic parameters of self-assembled ligand aggregates and their complexes with their respective DNA targets are considered in the context of cluster targeting of DNA by minor-groove complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hasan Y Alniss
- Department of Pharmacy, An-Najah National University, University Street, Nablus (Palestine); Present address: Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2J7 (Canada)
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