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Rivas F, Del Mármol C, Scalese G, Pérez Díaz L, Machado I, Blacque O, Salazar F, Coitiño EL, Benítez D, Medeiros A, Comini M, Gambino D. Multifunctional Organometallic Compounds Active against Infective Trypanosomes: Ru(II) Ferrocenyl Derivatives with Two Different Bioactive Ligands. Inorg Chem 2024; 63:11667-11687. [PMID: 38860314 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c01125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2024]
Abstract
Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT, sleeping sickness) and American trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease) are endemic zoonotic diseases caused by genomically related trypanosomatid protozoan parasites (Trypanosoma brucei and Trypanosoma cruzi, respectively). Just a few old drugs are available for their treatment, with most of them sharing poor safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetic profiles. Only fexinidazole has been recently incorporated into the arsenal for the treatment of HAT. In this work, new multifunctional Ru(II) ferrocenyl compounds were rationally designed as potential agents against these pathogens by including in a single molecule 1,1'-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene (dppf) and two bioactive bidentate ligands: pyridine-2-thiolato-1-oxide ligand (mpo) and polypyridyl ligands (NN). Three [Ru(mpo)(dppf)(NN)](PF6) compounds and their derivatives with chloride as a counterion were synthesized and fully characterized in solid state and solution. They showed in vitro activity on bloodstream T. brucei (EC50 = 31-160 nM) and on T. cruzi trypomastigotes (EC50 = 190-410 nM). Compounds showed the lowest EC50 values on T. brucei when compared to the whole set of metal-based compounds previously developed by us. In addition, several of the Ru compounds showed good selectivity toward the parasites, particularly against the highly proliferative bloodstream form of T. brucei. Interaction with DNA and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were ruled out as potential targets and modes of action of the Ru compounds. Biochemical assays and in silico analysis led to the insight that they are able to inhibit the NADH-dependent fumarate reductase from T. cruzi. One representative hit induced a mild oxidation of low molecular weight thiols in T. brucei. The compounds were stable for at least 72 h in two different media and more lipophilic than both bioactive ligands, mpo and NN. An initial assessment of the therapeutic efficacy of one of the most potent and selective candidates, [Ru(mpo)(dppf)(bipy)]Cl, was performed using a murine infection model of acute African trypanosomiasis. This hit compound lacks acute toxicity when applied to animals in the dose/regimen described, but was unable to control parasite proliferation in vivo, probably because of its rapid clearance or low biodistribution in the extracellular fluids. Future studies should investigate the pharmacokinetics of this compound in vivo and involve further research to gain deeper insight into the mechanism of action of the compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feriannys Rivas
- Área Química Inorgánica, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, 11800 Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Carolina Del Mármol
- Área Química Inorgánica, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, 11800 Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Gonzalo Scalese
- Área Química Inorgánica, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, 11800 Montevideo, Uruguay
- Group Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, 11400 Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Leticia Pérez Díaz
- Sección Genómica Funcional, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, 11400 Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Ignacio Machado
- Área Química Analítica, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, 11800 Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Olivier Blacque
- Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, CH 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Fabiana Salazar
- Laboratorio de Química Teórica y Computacional (LQTC), Instituto de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias, and Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas (CeInBio), Universidad de la República, 11400 Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - E Laura Coitiño
- Laboratorio de Química Teórica y Computacional (LQTC), Instituto de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias, and Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas (CeInBio), Universidad de la República, 11400 Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Diego Benítez
- Group Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, 11400 Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Andrea Medeiros
- Group Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, 11400 Montevideo, Uruguay
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, 11800 Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Marcelo Comini
- Group Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, 11400 Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Dinorah Gambino
- Área Química Inorgánica, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, 11800 Montevideo, Uruguay
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Soba M, Scalese G, Casuriaga F, Pérez N, Veiga N, Echeverría GA, Piro OE, Faccio R, Pérez-Díaz L, Gasser G, Machado I, Gambino D. Multifunctional organometallic compounds for the treatment of Chagas disease: Re(I) tricarbonyl compounds with two different bioactive ligands. Dalton Trans 2023; 52:1623-1641. [PMID: 36648116 DOI: 10.1039/d2dt03869b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Chagas' disease (American Trypanosomiasis) is an ancient and endemic illness in Latin America caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Although there is an urgent need for more efficient and less toxic chemotherapeutics, no new drugs to treat this disease have entered the clinic in the last decades. Searching for metal-based prospective antichagasic drugs, in this work, multifunctional Re(I) tricarbonyl compounds bearing two different bioactive ligands were designed: a polypyridyl NN derivative of 1,10-phenanthroline and a monodentate azole (Clotrimazole CTZ or Ketoconazol KTZ). Five fac-[Re(CO)3(NN)(CTZ)](PF6) compounds and a fac-[Re(CO)3(NN)(KTZ)](PF6) were synthesized and fully characterized. They showed activity against epimastigotes (IC50 3.48-9.42 μM) and trypomastigotes of T. cruzi (IC50 0.61-2.79 μM) and moderate to good selectivity towards the parasite compared to the VERO mammalian cell model. In order to unravel the mechanism of action of our compounds, two potential targets were experimentally and theoretically studied, namely DNA and one of the enzymes involved in the parasite ergosterol biosynthetic pathway, CYP51 (lanosterol 14-α-demethylase). As hypothesized, the multifunctional compounds shared in vitro a similar mode of action as that disclosed for the single bioactive moieties included in the new chemical entities. Additionally, two relevant physicochemical properties of biological interest in prospective drug development, namely lipophilicity and stability in solution in different media, were determined. The whole set of results demonstrates the potentiality of these Re(I) tricarbonyls as promising candidates for further antitrypanosomal drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariano Soba
- Área Química Inorgánica, DEC, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Uruguay. .,Programa de Posgrado en Química, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Gonzalo Scalese
- Área Química Inorgánica, DEC, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Uruguay.
| | - Federico Casuriaga
- Área Química Inorgánica, DEC, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Uruguay.
| | - Nicolás Pérez
- Área Química Inorgánica, DEC, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Uruguay.
| | - Nicolás Veiga
- Área Química Inorgánica, DEC, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Uruguay.
| | - Gustavo A Echeverría
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata and Institute IFLP (CONICET, CCT-La Plata), La Plata, Argentina
| | - Oscar E Piro
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata and Institute IFLP (CONICET, CCT-La Plata), La Plata, Argentina
| | - Ricardo Faccio
- Área Física, DETEMA, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Uruguay
| | - Leticia Pérez-Díaz
- Laboratorio de Interacciones Moleculares, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Uruguay
| | - Gilles Gasser
- Chimie ParisTech, PSL University, CNRS, Institute of Chemistry for Life and Health Sciences, Laboratory for Inorganic Chemical Biology, France
| | - Ignacio Machado
- Área Química Analítica, DEC, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Uruguay.
| | - Dinorah Gambino
- Área Química Inorgánica, DEC, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Uruguay.
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Ballesteros-Casallas A, Quiroga C, Ortiz C, Benítez D, Denis PA, Figueroa D, Salas CO, Bertrand J, Tapia RA, Sánchez P, Miscione GP, Comini MA, Paulino M. Mode of action of p-quinone derivatives with trypanocidal activity studied by experimental and in silico models. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 246:114926. [PMID: 36508970 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Revised: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Quinones are attractive pharmacological scaffolds for developing new agents for the treatment of different transmissible and non-transmissible human diseases due to their capacity to alter the cell redox homeostasis. The bioactivity and potential mode of action of 19 p-quinone derivatives fused to different aromatic rings (carbo or heterocycles) and harboring distinct substituents were investigated in infective Trypanosoma brucei brucei. All the compounds, except for a furanequinone (EC50=38 μM), proved to be similarly or even more potent (EC50 = 0.5-5.5 μM) than the clinical drug nifurtimox (EC50 = 5.3 μM). Three furanequinones and one thiazolequinone displayed a higher selectivity than nifurtimox. Two of these selective hits resulted potent inhibitors of T. cruzi proliferation (EC50=0.8-1.1 μM) but proved inactive against Leishmania infantum amastigotes. Most of the p-quinones induced a rapid and marked intracellular oxidation in T. b. brucei. DFT calculations on the oxidized quinone (Q), semiquinone (Q•-) and hydroquinone (QH2) suggest that all quinones have negative ΔG for the formation of Q•-. Qualitative and quantitative structure-activity relationship analyses in two or three dimensions of different electronic and biophysical descriptors of quinones and their corresponding bioactivities (killing potency and oxidative capacity) were performed. Charge distribution over the quinone ring carbons of Q and Q.- and the frontier orbitals energies of SUMO (Q.-) and LUMO (Q) correlate with their oxidative and trypanocidal activity. QSAR analysis also highlighted that both bromine substitution in the p-quinone ring and a bulky phenyl group attached to the furane and thiazole rings (which generates a negative charge due to the π electron system polarized by the nearby heteroatoms) are favorable for activity. By combining experimental and in silico procedures, this study disclosed important information about p-quinones that may help to rationally tune their electronic properties and biological activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andres Ballesteros-Casallas
- COBO, Computational Bio-Organic Chemistry, Chemistry Department, Universidad de Los Andes, Carrera 1 18A-12, Bogotá, 111711, Colombia; Bioinformatics Center, DETEMA Department, Faculty of Chemistry, Universidad de la República, General Flores 2124, Montevideo, 11600, Uruguay
| | - Cristina Quiroga
- Laboratory Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Mataojo 2020, Montevideo, 11400, Uruguay
| | - Cecilia Ortiz
- Laboratory Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Mataojo 2020, Montevideo, 11400, Uruguay
| | - Diego Benítez
- Laboratory Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Mataojo 2020, Montevideo, 11400, Uruguay
| | - Pablo A Denis
- Computational Nanotechnology, DETEMA Department, Faculty of Chemistry, Universidad de la República, General Flores 2124, Montevideo, 11600, Uruguay
| | - David Figueroa
- COBO, Computational Bio-Organic Chemistry, Chemistry Department, Universidad de Los Andes, Carrera 1 18A-12, Bogotá, 111711, Colombia
| | - Cristian O Salas
- Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Química y de Farmacia, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago, 6094411, Chile
| | - Jeanluc Bertrand
- Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Química y de Farmacia, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago, 6094411, Chile
| | - Ricardo A Tapia
- Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Química y de Farmacia, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago, 6094411, Chile
| | - Patricio Sánchez
- Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Química y de Farmacia, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago, 6094411, Chile
| | - Gian Pietro Miscione
- COBO, Computational Bio-Organic Chemistry, Chemistry Department, Universidad de Los Andes, Carrera 1 18A-12, Bogotá, 111711, Colombia.
| | - Marcelo A Comini
- Laboratory Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Mataojo 2020, Montevideo, 11400, Uruguay.
| | - Margot Paulino
- Bioinformatics Center, DETEMA Department, Faculty of Chemistry, Universidad de la República, General Flores 2124, Montevideo, 11600, Uruguay.
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Rivas F, Del Mármol C, Scalese G, Pérez-Díaz L, Machado I, Blacque O, Medeiros A, Comini M, Gambino D. New multifunctional Ru(II) organometallic compounds show activity against Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania infantum. J Inorg Biochem 2022; 237:112016. [PMID: 36244312 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2022.112016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2022] [Revised: 09/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) and leishmaniasis are prevalent zoonotic diseases caused by genomically related trypanosomatid protozoan parasites (Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania spp). Additionally, both are co-endemic in certain regions of the world. Only a small number of old drugs exist for their treatment, with most of them sharing poor safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetic profiles. In this work, new multifunctional Ru(II) ferrocenyl compounds were rationally designed as potential agents against these trypanosomatid parasites by including in a single molecule 1,1'-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene (dppf) and two bioactive bidentate ligands: 8-hydroxyquinoline derivatives (8HQs) and polypyridyl ligands (NN). Three [Ru(8HQs)(dppf)(NN)](PF6) compounds were synthesized and fully characterized. They showed in vitro activity on bloodstream Trypanosoma brucei (IC50 140-310 nM) and on Leishmania infantum promastigotes (IC50 3.0-4.8 μM). The compounds showed good selectivity towards T. brucei in respect to J774 murine macrophages as mammalian cell model (SI 15-38). Changing hexafluorophosphate counterion by chloride led to a three-fold increase in activity on both parasites and to a two to three-fold increase in selectivity towards the pathogens. The compounds affect in vitro at least the targets of the individual bioactive moieties included in the new chemical entities: DNA and generation of ROS. The compounds are stable in solution and are more lipophilic than the free bioactive ligands. No clear correlation between lipophilicity, interaction with DNA or generation of ROS and activity was detected, which agrees with their overall similar anti-trypanosoma potency and selectivity. These compounds are promising candidates for further drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feriannys Rivas
- Área Química Inorgánica, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay; Programa de Posgrado en Química, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Carolina Del Mármol
- Área Química Inorgánica, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Gonzalo Scalese
- Área Química Inorgánica, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Leticia Pérez-Díaz
- Laboratorio de Interacciones Moleculares, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Ignacio Machado
- Área Química Analítica, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Olivier Blacque
- Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Medeiros
- Group Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay; Departamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Marcelo Comini
- Group Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Dinorah Gambino
- Área Química Inorgánica, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay.
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Bumraiwha HF, Sterenberg BT. Synthesis of 1,1′‐bisphosphinoferrocenes using electrophilic addition reactions of tungsten coordinated phosphenium ions and phosphine triflates. J Organomet Chem 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jorganchem.2022.122511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
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Benítez D, Franco J, Sardi F, Leyva A, Durán R, Choi G, Yang G, Kim T, Kim N, Heo J, Kim K, Lee H, Choi I, Radu C, Shum D, No JH, Comini MA. Drug-like molecules with anti-trypanothione synthetase activity identified by high throughput screening. J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem 2022; 37:912-929. [PMID: 35306933 PMCID: PMC8942522 DOI: 10.1080/14756366.2022.2045590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Trypanothione synthetase (TryS) catalyses the synthesis of N1,N8-bis(glutathionyl)spermidine (trypanothione), which is the main low molecular mass thiol supporting several redox functions in trypanosomatids. TryS attracts attention as molecular target for drug development against pathogens causing severe and fatal diseases in mammals. A drug discovery campaign aimed to identify and characterise new inhibitors of TryS with promising biological activity was conducted. A large compound library (n = 51,624), most of them bearing drug-like properties, was primarily screened against TryS from Trypanosoma brucei (TbTryS). With a true-hit rate of 0.056%, several of the TbTryS hits (IC50 from 1.2 to 36 µM) also targeted the homologue enzyme from Leishmania infantum and Trypanosoma cruzi (IC50 values from 2.6 to 40 µM). Calmidazolium chloride and Ebselen stand out for their multi-species anti-TryS activity at low µM concentrations (IC50 from 2.6 to 13.8 µM). The moieties carboxy piperidine amide and amide methyl thiazole phenyl were identified as novel TbTryS inhibitor scaffolds. Several of the TryS hits presented one-digit µM EC50 against T. cruzi and L. donovani amastigotes but proved cytotoxic against the human osteosarcoma and macrophage host cells (selectivity index ≤ 3). In contrast, seven hits showed a significantly higher selectivity against T. b. brucei (selectivity index from 11 to 182). Non-invasive redox assays confirmed that Ebselen, a multi-TryS inhibitor, induces an intracellular oxidative milieu in bloodstream T. b. brucei. Kinetic and mass spectrometry analysis revealed that Ebselen is a slow-binding inhibitor that modifies irreversible a highly conserved cysteine residue from the TryS’s synthetase domain. The most potent TbTryS inhibitor (a singleton containing an adamantine moiety) exerted a non-covalent, non-competitive (with any of the substrates) inhibition of the enzyme. These data feed the drug discovery pipeline for trypanosomatids with novel and valuable information on chemical entities with drug potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Benítez
- Laboratory Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Jaime Franco
- Laboratory Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Florencia Sardi
- Laboratory Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Alejandro Leyva
- Analytical Biochemistry and Proteomics Unit, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Rosario Durán
- Analytical Biochemistry and Proteomics Unit, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Gahee Choi
- Host-Parasite Research Laboratory, Institut Pasteur Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Gyongseon Yang
- Host-Parasite Research Laboratory, Institut Pasteur Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Taehee Kim
- Assay Development and Screening, Institut Pasteur Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Namyoul Kim
- Assay Development and Screening, Institut Pasteur Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Jinyeong Heo
- Assay Development and Screening, Institut Pasteur Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Kideok Kim
- Automation and Logistics Management, Institut Pasteur Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Honggun Lee
- Automation and Logistics Management, Institut Pasteur Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Inhee Choi
- Medicinal Chemistry, Institut Pasteur Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Constantin Radu
- Automation and Logistics Management, Institut Pasteur Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - David Shum
- Assay Development and Screening, Institut Pasteur Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Joo Hwan No
- Host-Parasite Research Laboratory, Institut Pasteur Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Marcelo A Comini
- Laboratory Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
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Gambino D, Otero L. Facing Diseases Caused by Trypanosomatid Parasites: Rational Design of Pd and Pt Complexes With Bioactive Ligands. Front Chem 2022; 9:816266. [PMID: 35071192 PMCID: PMC8777014 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2021.816266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), Chagas disease or American Trypanosomiasis (CD), and leishmaniases are protozoan infections produced by trypanosomatid parasites belonging to the kinetoplastid order and they constitute an urgent global health problem. In fact, there is an urgent need of more efficient and less toxic chemotherapy for these diseases. Medicinal inorganic chemistry currently offers an attractive option for the rational design of new drugs and, in particular, antiparasitic ones. In this sense, one of the main strategies for the design of metal-based antiparasitic compounds has been the coordination of an organic ligand with known or potential biological activity, to a metal centre or an organometallic core. Classical metal coordination complexes or organometallic compounds could be designed as multifunctional agents joining, in a single molecule, different chemical species that could affect different parasitic targets. This review is focused on the rational design of palladium(II) and platinum(II) compounds with bioactive ligands as prospective drugs against trypanosomatid parasites that has been conducted by our group during the last 20 years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dinorah Gambino
- Área Química Inorgánica, DEC, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Lucía Otero
- Área Química Inorgánica, DEC, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
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Dibello E, Comini MA, Benítez D. A Simple, Robust, and Affordable Bioluminescent Assay for Drug Screening Against Infective African Trypanosomes. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2524:149-162. [PMID: 35821469 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2453-1_11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
This chapter introduces a simple and robust in vitro viability assay to screen bioactive small molecules (e.g., natural, synthetic) against the monomorphic and infective (bloodstream) form of Trypanosoma brucei brucei. The assay relies on a bioluminescent transgenic parasite harboring a genetically encoded copy of a thermostable redshifted firefly luciferase from Photinus pyralis.The major advantages of the assay are simplicity and cost efficiency, along with excellent quality parameters. The bioassay allows estimating parasite numbers and viability (and metabolic state) as a function of bioluminescence (BL) signal. Parasites are grown in the presence of the molecules of interest in a 96-well microplate, and 24 h later, BL is determined with a simple protocol lacking washing steps, using cost-efficient reagents with a reasonable readout time for high-throughput applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estefania Dibello
- Group Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Laboratorio de Síntesis Orgánica, Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Marcelo A Comini
- Group Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay.
| | - Diego Benítez
- Group Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay.
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Benítez D, Medeiros A, Quiroga C, Comini MA. A Simple Bioluminescent Assay for the Screening of Cytotoxic Molecules Against the Intracellular Form of Leishmania infantum. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2524:127-147. [PMID: 35821468 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2453-1_10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
This chapter describes a viability assay for the intracellular (amastigote) and clinically relevant form of Leishmania infantum that is based on the detection of bioluminescence (BL) signal. The assay uses a reporter cell line of L. infantum that expresses constitutively a redshifted luciferase from Photinus pyralis and murine macrophages (cell line J774.A1) as host cells for infection. The host cell line was selected because it is a differentiated cell line, easy to manipulate in vitro, and advantageous for ethical reasons. This chapter introduces an assay designed for the screening of bioactive compounds/molecules employing a 96-well microplate and a 24 h treatment. The assay setup shows excellent balance between simplicity (cell culture manipulation/infection and timing) and quality parameters, as well as potential to detect drug-like molecules acting in a fast and cytotoxic manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Benítez
- Group Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay.
| | - Andrea Medeiros
- Group Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Cristina Quiroga
- Group Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Marcelo A Comini
- Group Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay.
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