1
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Nerlich C, Tiedjens F, Hertel R, Henke B, Häuer S, Panitzsch LS, Hansen K, Franck O, Mete A, Leroy D, Schade D, Peifer C, Hannus S, Becker F, Wittlin S, Spielmann T, Beitz E. Addressing the Intracellular Vestibule of the Plasmodial Lactate Transporter PfFNT by p-Substituted Inhibitors Amplifies In Vitro Activity. J Med Chem 2024; 67:18368-18383. [PMID: 39361938 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c01674] [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: 10/05/2024]
Abstract
Inhibition of the lactate transporter PfFNT is a valid novel mode of action against malaria parasites. Current pyridine-substituted pentafluoro-3-hydroxy-pent-2-en-1-ones act as substrate analogs with submicromolar EC50 in vitro, and >99.7% activity in mice. The recently solved structure of a PfFNT-inhibitor complex visualized the binding mode. Here, we extended the inhibitor layout by series of amine- and anilide-linked pyridine p-substituents to generate additional interactions in the cytoplasmic vestibule. Virtual docking indicated hydrogen bonding to Tyr31 and Ser102. Fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy yielded respectively enhanced target affinity. Strikingly, the in vitro activity increased by 1 order of magnitude to 14.8 nM at negligible cytotoxicity. While p-amine substitutions were rapidly metabolized, the more stable p-acetanilide cleared 99.7% of parasites at 4 × 50 mg kg-1 in a mouse malaria model. Future stabilization of the p-substitution against metabolism may translate the gain in in vitro potency to the in vivo situation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cornelius Nerlich
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Gutenbergstr. 76, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Finn Tiedjens
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Gutenbergstr. 76, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Robin Hertel
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Gutenbergstr. 76, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Björn Henke
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Gutenbergstr. 76, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Susan Häuer
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Gutenbergstr. 76, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Lea S Panitzsch
- Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine, Bernhard-Nocht-Str. 74, 20359 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Kerrin Hansen
- Intana Bioscience GmbH, Lochhamer Str. 29a, 82152 Planegg, Germany
| | - Ole Franck
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Gutenbergstr. 76, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Antonio Mete
- Medsyndesign Ltd, ATIC, 5 Oakwood Drive, LE11 3QF Loughborough, U.K
| | - Didier Leroy
- R&D Department/Drug Discovery, ICC, Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), 20 Route de Pré Bois, 1215 Geneva 15, Switzerland
| | - Dennis Schade
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Gutenbergstr. 76, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Christian Peifer
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Gutenbergstr. 76, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Stefan Hannus
- Intana Bioscience GmbH, Lochhamer Str. 29a, 82152 Planegg, Germany
| | - Frank Becker
- Intana Bioscience GmbH, Lochhamer Str. 29a, 82152 Planegg, Germany
| | - Sergio Wittlin
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Kreuzstr. 2, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland
- University of Basel, 4003 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Tobias Spielmann
- Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine, Bernhard-Nocht-Str. 74, 20359 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Eric Beitz
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Gutenbergstr. 76, 24118 Kiel, Germany
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2
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Klope M, Tapia Cardona JA, Chen J, Gonciarz RL, Cheng K, Jaishankar P, Kim J, Legac J, Rosenthal PJ, Renslo AR. Synthesis and In Vivo Profiling of Desymmetrized Antimalarial Trioxolanes with Diverse Carbamate Side Chains. ACS Med Chem Lett 2024; 15:1764-1770. [PMID: 39411530 PMCID: PMC11472393 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.4c00365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2024] [Revised: 08/29/2024] [Accepted: 08/29/2024] [Indexed: 10/19/2024] Open
Abstract
The recent withdrawal of artefenomel from clinical development leaves no endoperoxide-class agents in the antimalarial pipeline. Synthetic endoperoxides with a desymmetrized structure have demonstrated promising physiochemical and in vivo properties. Here we expand on our initial investigation of trans-3″ carbamate substitution with a diverse array of amine-, alcohol-, and sulfinyl-terminated analogues prepared in (S,S) and (R,R) configurations. In general, this chemotype combines low-nM antiplasmodial activity with excellent aqueous solubility but widely varying human liver microsome (HLM) stability. We evaluated 20 novel analogues in the P. berghei mouse malaria model, identifying new analogues such as RLA-4767 (9a) and RLA-5489 (9d), with HLM stability and pharmacokinetic profiles superior to analogues from our initial report (e.g., RLA-4776, 8a). These new leads approach or equal the efficacy of artefenomel after two daily oral doses of 10 mg/kg, thus revealing a promising chemotype with the potential to deliver development candidates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew
T. Klope
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University
of California, San Francisco, 600 16th Street, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - Juan A. Tapia Cardona
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University
of California, San Francisco, 600 16th Street, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
- Department
of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San
Francisco, California 94143, United States
| | - Jun Chen
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University
of California, San Francisco, 600 16th Street, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - Ryan L. Gonciarz
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University
of California, San Francisco, 600 16th Street, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - Ke Cheng
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University
of California, San Francisco, 600 16th Street, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - Priyadarshini Jaishankar
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University
of California, San Francisco, 600 16th Street, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - Julie Kim
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University
of California, San Francisco, 600 16th Street, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - Jenny Legac
- Department
of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San
Francisco, California 94143, United States
| | - Philip J. Rosenthal
- Department
of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San
Francisco, California 94143, United States
| | - Adam R. Renslo
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University
of California, San Francisco, 600 16th Street, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
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3
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Li J, Docile HJ, Fisher D, Pronyuk K, Zhao L. Current Status of Malaria Control and Elimination in Africa: Epidemiology, Diagnosis, Treatment, Progress and Challenges. J Epidemiol Glob Health 2024; 14:561-579. [PMID: 38656731 PMCID: PMC11442732 DOI: 10.1007/s44197-024-00228-2] [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: 02/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
The African continent carries the greatest malaria burden in the world. Falciparum malaria especially has long been the leading cause of death in Africa. Climate, economic factors, geographical location, human intervention and unstable security are factors influencing malaria transmission. Due to repeated infections and early interventions, the proportion of clinically atypical malaria or asymptomatic plasmodium carriers has increased significantly, which easily lead to misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis. African countries have made certain progress in malaria control and elimination, including rapid diagnosis of malaria, promotion of mosquito nets and insecticides, intermittent prophylactic treatment in high-risk groups, artemisinin based combination therapies, and the development of vaccines. Between 2000 and 2022, there has been a 40% decrease in malaria incidence and a 60% reduction in mortality rate in the WHO African Region. However, many challenges are emerging in the fight against malaria in Africa, such as climate change, poverty, substandard health services and coverage, increased outdoor transmission and the emergence of new vectors, and the growing threat of resistance to antimalarial drugs and insecticides. Joint prevention and treatment, identifying molecular determinants of resistance, new drug development, expanding seasonal malaria chemo-prevention intervention population, and promoting the vaccination of RTS, S/AS01 and R21/Matrix-M may help to solve the dilemma. China's experience in eliminating malaria is conducive to Africa's malaria prevention and control, and China-Africa cooperation needs to be constantly deepened and advanced. Our review aims to help the global public develop a comprehensive understanding of malaria in Africa, thereby contributing to malaria control and elimination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiahuan Li
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, People's Republic of China
| | - Haragakiza Jean Docile
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, People's Republic of China
| | - David Fisher
- Department of Medical Biosciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of The Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Khrystyna Pronyuk
- Department of Infectious Diseases, O. Bogomolets National Medical University, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Lei Zhao
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
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4
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Appetecchia F, Fabbrizi E, Fiorentino F, Consalvi S, Biava M, Poce G, Rotili D. Transmission-Blocking Strategies for Malaria Eradication: Recent Advances in Small-Molecule Drug Development. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2024; 17:962. [PMID: 39065810 PMCID: PMC11279868 DOI: 10.3390/ph17070962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2024] [Revised: 07/11/2024] [Accepted: 07/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Malaria drug research and development efforts have resurged in the last decade following the decelerating rate of mortality and malaria cases in endemic regions. The inefficiency of malaria interventions is largely driven by the spreading resistance of the Plasmodium falciparum parasite to current drug regimens and that of the malaria vector, the Anopheles mosquito, to insecticides. In response to the new eradication agenda, drugs that act by breaking the malaria transmission cycle (transmission-blocking drugs), which has been recognized as an important and additional target for intervention, are being developed. These drugs take advantage of the susceptibility of Plasmodium during population bottlenecks before transmission (gametocytes) and in the mosquito vector (gametes, zygotes, ookinetes, oocysts, sporozoites). To date, compounds targeting stage V gametocytes predominate in the chemical library of transmission-blocking drugs, and some of them have entered clinical trials. The targeting of Plasmodium mosquito stages has recently renewed interest in the development of innovative malaria control tools, which hold promise for the application of compounds effective at these stages. In this review, we highlight the major achievements and provide an update on the research of transmission-blocking drugs, with a particular focus on their chemical scaffolds, antiplasmodial activity, and transmission-blocking potential.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Giovanna Poce
- Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (F.A.); (E.F.); (F.F.); (S.C.); (M.B.)
| | - Dante Rotili
- Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (F.A.); (E.F.); (F.F.); (S.C.); (M.B.)
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5
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Mahanta PJ, Lhouvum K. Plasmodium falciparum proteases as new drug targets with special focus on metalloproteases. Mol Biochem Parasitol 2024; 258:111617. [PMID: 38554736 DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2024.111617] [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: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 03/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024]
Abstract
Malaria poses a significant global health threat particularly due to the prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum infection. With the emergence of parasite resistance to existing drugs including the recently discovered artemisinin, ongoing research seeks novel therapeutic avenues within the malaria parasite. Proteases are promising drug targets due to their essential roles in parasite biology, including hemoglobin digestion, merozoite invasion, and egress. While exploring the genomic landscape of Plasmodium falciparum, it has been revealed that there are 92 predicted proteases, with only approximately 14 of them having been characterized. These proteases are further distributed among 26 families grouped into five clans: aspartic proteases, cysteine proteases, metalloproteases, serine proteases, and threonine proteases. Focus on metalloprotease class shows further role in organelle processing for mitochondria and apicoplasts suggesting the potential of metalloproteases as viable drug targets. Holistic understanding of the parasite intricate life cycle and identification of potential drug targets are essential for developing effective therapeutic strategies against malaria and mitigating its devastating global impact.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kimjolly Lhouvum
- Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology, Arunachal Pradesh, India.
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6
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Chen C, Chen YX, Zhang CJ. A Radical-Generating Probe to Release Free Fluorophores and Identify Artemisinin-Sensitive Cancer Cells. ACS Sens 2024; 9:2310-2316. [PMID: 38651676 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.4c00010] [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: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
The smart light-up probes have been extensively developed to image various enzymes and other bioactive molecules. Upon activation, these probes result in light-up fluorophores that exist in a protein-bound or a free form. The difference between these two forms has not yet been reported. Here, we present a pair of smart light-up probes that generate a protein-bound fluorophore and a free fluorophore upon activation by heme. Probe 8 generated a radical-attached fluorophore that predominantly existed in the free form, while probe 10 generated an α,β-unsaturated ketone-attached fluorophore that showed extensive labeling of proteins. In live-cell imaging, probe 8 showed greater fluorescence intensity than probe 10 when low concentrations (0.1-5 μM) of the probes were used, but probe 8 was less fluorescent than probe 10 when the concentrations of the probes were high (10 μM). Finally, probe 8 was used to reflect the activation level of the endoperoxide bond in cancer cells and to effectively distinguish ART-sensitive cancer cells from ART-insensitive ones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Beijing Key Laboratory of Active Substance Discovery and Druggability Evaluation, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China
| | - Yi-Xin Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Beijing Key Laboratory of Active Substance Discovery and Druggability Evaluation, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China
| | - Chong-Jing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Beijing Key Laboratory of Active Substance Discovery and Druggability Evaluation, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China
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7
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Nandal R, Kumar D, Aggarwal N, Kumar V, Narasimhan B, Marwaha RK, Sharma PC, Kumar S, Bansal N, Chopra H, Deep A. Recent advances, challenges and updates on the development of therapeutics for malaria. EXCLI JOURNAL 2024; 23:672-713. [PMID: 38887396 PMCID: PMC11180964 DOI: 10.17179/excli2023-6856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024]
Abstract
Malaria has developed as a serious worldwide health issue as a result of the introduction of resistant Plasmodium species strains. Because of the common chemo resistance to most of the existing drugs on the market, it poses a severe health problem and significant obstacles in drug research. Malaria treatment has evolved during the last two decades in response to Plasmodium falciparum drug sensitivity and a return of the disease in tropical areas. Plasmodium falciparum is now highly resistant to the majority of antimalarial drugs. The parasite resistance drew focus to developing novel antimalarials to combat parasite resistance. The requirement for many novel antimalarial drugs in the future year necessitates adopting various drug development methodologies. Different innovative strategies for discovering antimalarial drugs are now being examined here. This review is primarily concerned with the description of newly synthesized antimalarial compounds, i.e. Tafenoquine, Cipargamin, Ferroquine, Artefenomel, DSM265, MMV390048 designed to improve the activity of pure antimalarial enantiomers. In this review, we selected the representative malarial drugs in clinical trials, classified them with detailed targets according to their action, discussed the relationship within the human trials, and generated a summative discussion with prospective expectations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rimmy Nandal
- Shri Baba MastNath Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, Baba Mast Nath University, Asthal Bohar, Rohtak-124001, Haryana, India
| | - Davinder Kumar
- College of Pharmacy, PGIMS University of Health Sciences, Rohtak-124001, Haryana, India
| | - Navidha Aggarwal
- MM College of Pharmacy, Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University), Mullana, Ambala 133207, India
| | - Virender Kumar
- College of Pharmacy, PGIMS University of Health Sciences, Rohtak-124001, Haryana, India
| | | | - Rakesh Kumar Marwaha
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak 124001 Haryana, India
| | - Prabodh Chander Sharma
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University, New Delhi 110017, India
| | - Surender Kumar
- Department of Chemistry, Chaudhary Bansi Lal University, Bhiwani-127021, India
| | - Nitin Bansal
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chaudhary Bansi Lal University, Bhiwani-127021, Haryana, India
| | - Hitesh Chopra
- Department of Biosciences, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai - 602105, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Aakash Deep
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chaudhary Bansi Lal University, Bhiwani-127021, Haryana, India
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8
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Greyling N, van der Watt M, Gwarinda H, van Heerden A, Greenhouse B, Leroy D, Niemand J, Birkholtz LM. Genetic complexity alters drug susceptibility of asexual and gametocyte stages of Plasmodium falciparum to antimalarial candidates. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2024; 68:e0129123. [PMID: 38259087 PMCID: PMC10916389 DOI: 10.1128/aac.01291-23] [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: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Malaria elimination requires interventions able to target both the asexual blood stage (ABS) parasites and transmissible gametocyte stages of Plasmodium falciparum. Lead antimalarial candidates are evaluated against clinical isolates to address key concerns regarding efficacy and to confirm that the current, circulating parasites from endemic regions lack resistance against these candidates. While this has largely been performed on ABS parasites, limited data are available on the transmission-blocking efficacy of compounds with multistage activity. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of lead antimalarial candidates against both ABS parasites and late-stage gametocytes side-by-side, against clinical P. falciparum isolates from southern Africa. We additionally correlated drug efficacy to the genetic diversity of the clinical isolates as determined with a panel of well-characterized, genome-spanning microsatellite markers. Our data indicate varying sensitivities of the isolates to key antimalarial candidates, both for ABS parasites and gametocyte stages. While ABS parasites were efficiently killed, irrespective of genetic complexity, antimalarial candidates lost some gametocytocidal efficacy when the gametocytes originated from genetically complex, multiple-clone infections. This suggests a fitness benefit to multiclone isolates to sustain transmission and reduce drug susceptibility. In conclusion, this is the first study to investigate the efficacy of antimalarial candidates on both ABS parasites and gametocytes from P. falciparum clinical isolates where the influence of parasite genetic complexity is highlighted, ultimately aiding the malaria elimination agenda.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Greyling
- Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
- Institute for Sustainable Malaria Control, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Mariëtte van der Watt
- Institute for Sustainable Malaria Control, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Hazel Gwarinda
- Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
- Institute for Sustainable Malaria Control, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Ashleigh van Heerden
- Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
- Institute for Sustainable Malaria Control, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Bryan Greenhouse
- Department of Medicine, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Didier Leroy
- Medicines for Malaria Venture, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Jandeli Niemand
- Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
- Institute for Sustainable Malaria Control, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Lyn-Marié Birkholtz
- Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
- Institute for Sustainable Malaria Control, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
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9
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Shukla M, Rathi K, Hassam M, Yadav DK, Karnatak M, Rawat V, Verma VP. An overview on the antimalarial activity of 1,2,4-trioxanes, 1,2,4-trioxolanes and 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes. Med Res Rev 2024; 44:66-137. [PMID: 37222435 DOI: 10.1002/med.21979] [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: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The demand for novel, fast-acting, and effective antimalarial medications is increasing exponentially. Multidrug resistant forms of malarial parasites, which are rapidly spreading, pose a serious threat to global health. Drug resistance has been addressed using a variety of strategies, such as targeted therapies, the hybrid drug idea, the development of advanced analogues of pre-existing drugs, and the hybrid model of resistant strains control mechanisms. Additionally, the demand for discovering new potent drugs grows due to the prolonged life cycle of conventional therapy brought on by the emergence of resistant strains and ongoing changes in existing therapies. The 1,2,4-trioxane ring system in artemisinin (ART) is the most significant endoperoxide structural scaffold and is thought to be the key pharmacophoric moiety required for the pharmacodynamic potential of endoperoxide-based antimalarials. Several derivatives of artemisinin have also been found as potential treatments for multidrug-resistant strain in this area. Many 1,2,4-trioxanes, 1,2,4-trioxolanes, and 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes derivatives have been synthesised as a result, and many of these have shown promise antimalarial activity both in vivo and in vitro against Plasmodium parasites. As a consequence, efforts to develop a functionally straight-forward, less expensive, and vastly more effective synthetic pathway to trioxanes continue. This study aims to give a thorough examination of the biological properties and mode of action of endoperoxide compounds derived from 1,2,4-trioxane-based functional scaffolds. The present system of 1,2,4-trioxane, 1,2,4-trioxolane, and 1,2,4,5-tetraoxane compounds and dimers with potentially antimalarial activity will be highlighted in this systematic review (January 1963-December 2022).
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Shukla
- Department of Chemistry, Banasthali University, Newai, Rajasthan, India
| | - Komal Rathi
- Department of Chemistry, Banasthali University, Newai, Rajasthan, India
| | - Mohammad Hassam
- Department of Chemistry, Chemveda Life Sciences Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
| | - Dinesh Kumar Yadav
- Department of Chemistry, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
| | - Manvika Karnatak
- Department of Chemistry, Banasthali University, Newai, Rajasthan, India
| | - Varun Rawat
- School of Chemistry, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Ved Prakash Verma
- Department of Chemistry, Banasthali University, Newai, Rajasthan, India
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10
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Krishnan A, Kamaraj S. Direct Access to Quinone-Fused 5-Substituted-1,4-Benzodiazepine Scaffolds from Azidoquinones with/without [1,2]-Azide-Nitrogen Migration: Mechanistic Insights. J Org Chem 2023; 88:16315-16329. [PMID: 37966974 DOI: 10.1021/acs.joc.3c01810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2023]
Abstract
Seven-membered nitrogen heterocycles have a strong influence in drug discovery due to their inherent 3D character, which allows the ability to explore a vast conformational space with a biological target. Notably, the privileged 1,4-benzodiazepine scaffold is dominant in treating the central nervous system due to its binding affinity with the GABAA receptor. Herein, we report a protocol for the transformation of azidoquinones to p-quinone fused 5-substituted-1,4-benzodiazepines (p-QBZDs) from InCl3-catalyzed intermolecular tandem cycloannulation of azidoquinones with amines and aldehydes. Detailed mechanistic studies reveal that the EDA complex between azidoquinones and InCl3 is crucial in determining the reaction pathway. In the absence of EDA complex formation, the reaction proceeds via the intermediacy of 2,3-bridged-2H-azirine followed by regiospecific addition of an amine to C═N/ring opening/cyclization to deliver p-QBZD with 1,2-azide-nitrogen migration. In the case of EDA complex formation, the reaction proceeds through regioselective aza-Michael addition/nitrene insertion with aldehyde and subsequent cyclization to deliver p-QBZD and p-quinone fused imidazole as a secondary product without 1,2-azide-nitrogen migration. This protocol provides straightforward access to redox-active quinone embedded 5-substituted-1,4-benzodiazepines from azidoquinones with diverse substrate scopes that would find potential applications in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashokkumar Krishnan
- Department of Chemistry, School of Advanced Sciences, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu 632014, India
| | - Sriraghavan Kamaraj
- Department of Chemistry, School of Advanced Sciences, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu 632014, India
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11
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Davies H, Bergmann B, Walloch P, Nerlich C, Hansen C, Wittlin S, Spielmann T, Treeck M, Beitz E. The Plasmodium Lactate/H + Transporter PfFNT Is Essential and Druggable In Vivo. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2023; 67:e0035623. [PMID: 37428074 PMCID: PMC10433847 DOI: 10.1128/aac.00356-23] [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: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Malaria parasites in the blood stage express a single transmembrane transport protein for the release of the glycolytic end product l-lactate/H+ from the cell. This transporter is a member of the strictly microbial formate-nitrite transporter (FNT) family and a novel putative drug target. Small, drug-like FNT inhibitors potently block lactate transport and kill Plasmodium falciparum parasites in culture. The protein structure of Plasmodium falciparum FNT (PfFNT) in complex with the inhibitor has been resolved and confirms its previously predicted binding site and its mode of action as a substrate analog. Here, we investigated the mutational plasticity and essentiality of the PfFNT target on a genetic level, and established its in vivo druggability using mouse malaria models. We found that, besides a previously identified PfFNT G107S resistance mutation, selection of parasites at 3 × IC50 (50% inhibitory concentration) gave rise to two new point mutations affecting inhibitor binding: G21E and V196L. Conditional knockout and mutation of the PfFNT gene showed essentiality in the blood stage, whereas no phenotypic defects in sexual development were observed. PfFNT inhibitors mainly targeted the trophozoite stage and exhibited high potency in P. berghei- and P. falciparum-infected mice. Their in vivo activity profiles were comparable to that of artesunate, demonstrating strong potential for the further development of PfFNT inhibitors as novel antimalarials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heledd Davies
- Signalling in Apicomplexan Parasites Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | - Bärbel Bergmann
- Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Philipp Walloch
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Cornelius Nerlich
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Christian Hansen
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Sergio Wittlin
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Allschwil, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Tobias Spielmann
- Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Moritz Treeck
- Signalling in Apicomplexan Parasites Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Eric Beitz
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany
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12
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Umumararungu T, Nkuranga JB, Habarurema G, Nyandwi JB, Mukazayire MJ, Mukiza J, Muganga R, Hahirwa I, Mpenda M, Katembezi AN, Olawode EO, Kayitare E, Kayumba PC. Recent developments in antimalarial drug discovery. Bioorg Med Chem 2023; 88-89:117339. [PMID: 37236020 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2023.117339] [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: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Although malaria remains a big burden to many countries that it threatens their socio-economic stability, particularly in the countries where malaria is endemic, there have been great efforts to eradicate this disease with both successes and failures. For example, there has been a great improvement in malaria prevention and treatment methods with a net reduction in infection and mortality rates. However, the disease remains a global threat in terms of the number of people affected because it is one of the infectious diseases that has the highest prevalence rate, especially in Africa where the deadly Plasmodium falciparum is still widely spread. Methods to fight malaria are being diversified, including the use of mosquito nets, the target candidate profiles (TCPs) and target product profiles (TPPs) of medicine for malarial venture (MMV) strategy, the search for newer and potent drugs that could reverse chloroquine resistance, and the use of adjuvants such as rosiglitazone and sevuparin. Although these adjuvants have no antiplasmodial activity, they can help to alleviate the effects which result from plasmodium invasion such as cytoadherence. The list of new antimalarial drugs under development is long, including the out of ordinary new drugs MMV048, CDRI-97/78 and INE963 from South Africa, India and Novartis, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Théoneste Umumararungu
- Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Rwanda.
| | - Jean Bosco Nkuranga
- Department of Chemistry, School of Science, College of Science and Technology, University of Rwanda, Rwanda
| | - Gratien Habarurema
- Department of Chemistry, School of Science, College of Science and Technology, University of Rwanda, Rwanda
| | - Jean Baptiste Nyandwi
- Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Rwanda
| | - Marie Jeanne Mukazayire
- Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Rwanda
| | - Janvier Mukiza
- Department of Mathematical Science and Physical Education, School of Education, College of Education, University of Rwanda, Rwanda; Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority, Nyarutarama Plaza, KG 9 Avenue, Kigali, Rwanda
| | - Raymond Muganga
- Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Rwanda; Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority, Nyarutarama Plaza, KG 9 Avenue, Kigali, Rwanda
| | - Innocent Hahirwa
- Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Rwanda
| | - Matabishi Mpenda
- Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Rwanda
| | - Alain Nyirimigabo Katembezi
- Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Rwanda; Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority, Nyarutarama Plaza, KG 9 Avenue, Kigali, Rwanda
| | - Emmanuel Oladayo Olawode
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Larkin University, 18301 N Miami Ave #1, Miami, FL 33169, USA
| | - Egide Kayitare
- Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Rwanda
| | - Pierre Claver Kayumba
- Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Rwanda
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13
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Lopes EA, Santos MMM, Mori M. Antimalarial drugs: what's new in the patents? Expert Opin Ther Pat 2023; 33:151-168. [PMID: 37060305 DOI: 10.1080/13543776.2023.2203814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/16/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The efficacy of current therapeutic warheads in preventing malaria transmission or treating the disease is often hampered by the emergence of drug-resistance. No effective vaccines are available to date, and novel drugs able to counteract drug-resistant forms of malaria and/or to target multiple stages of the parasite's lifecycle are urgently needed. AREAS COVERED This review covers patents that protect antimalarial small molecules bearing the artemisinin or other chemical scaffolds, as well as vaccines, that have been published in the period 2015-2022. Literature was searched in public databases of articles and patents. Patents protecting small molecules that prevent malaria transmission are not discussed herein. EXPERT OPINION Significant progress has been made in the design of antimalarial agents. Most of these candidates have been tested in standardized strains, with the use of Plasmodium clinical isolates for testing still underdeveloped. Several compounds have been profiled in in vivo mouse models of malaria, including humanised mice. Despite having different efficacy, these new molecules might further progress the field and hopefully will advance to clinical development soon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Lopes
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Maria M M Santos
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Mattia Mori
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
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14
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Blank B, Gut J, Rosenthal PJ, Renslo AR. Artefenomel Regioisomer RLA-3107 Is a Promising Lead for the Discovery of Next-Generation Endoperoxide Antimalarials. ACS Med Chem Lett 2023; 14:493-498. [PMID: 37077383 PMCID: PMC10108391 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.3c00039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Clinical development of the antimalarial artefenomel was recently halted due to formulation challenges stemming from the drug's lipophilicity and low aqueous solubility. The symmetry of organic molecules is known to influence crystal packing energies and by extension solubility and dissolution rates. Here we evaluate RLA-3107, a desymmetrized, regioisomeric form of artefenomel in vitro and in vivo, finding that the regioisomer retains potent antiplasmodial activity while offering improved human microsome stability and aqueous solubility as compared to artefenomel. We also report in vivo efficacy data for artefenomel and its regioisomer across 12 different dosing regimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian
R. Blank
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University
of California, San Francisco, 600 16th Street, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - Jiri Gut
- Department
of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital,
University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143, United States
| | - Philip J. Rosenthal
- Department
of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital,
University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143, United States
| | - Adam R. Renslo
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University
of California, San Francisco, 600 16th Street, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
- E-mail: . Phone: 415-514-9698.
Fax: 415-514-4507
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15
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Vallières C, Golinelli-Cohen MP, Guittet O, Lepoivre M, Huang ME, Vernis L. Redox-Based Strategies against Infections by Eukaryotic Pathogens. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:genes14040778. [PMID: 37107536 PMCID: PMC10138290 DOI: 10.3390/genes14040778] [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: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Redox homeostasis is an equilibrium between reducing and oxidizing reactions within cells. It is an essential, dynamic process, which allows proper cellular reactions and regulates biological responses. Unbalanced redox homeostasis is the hallmark of many diseases, including cancer or inflammatory responses, and can eventually lead to cell death. Specifically, disrupting redox balance, essentially by increasing pro-oxidative molecules and favouring hyperoxidation, is a smart strategy to eliminate cells and has been used for cancer treatment, for example. Selectivity between cancer and normal cells thus appears crucial to avoid toxicity as much as possible. Redox-based approaches are also employed in the case of infectious diseases to tackle the pathogens specifically, with limited impacts on host cells. In this review, we focus on recent advances in redox-based strategies to fight eukaryotic pathogens, especially fungi and eukaryotic parasites. We report molecules recently described for causing or being associated with compromising redox homeostasis in pathogens and discuss therapeutic possibilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cindy Vallières
- Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles, CNRS UPR 2301, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Marie-Pierre Golinelli-Cohen
- Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles, CNRS UPR 2301, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Olivier Guittet
- Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles, CNRS UPR 2301, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Michel Lepoivre
- Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles, CNRS UPR 2301, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Meng-Er Huang
- Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles, CNRS UPR 2301, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Laurence Vernis
- Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles, CNRS UPR 2301, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
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16
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Gansane A, Lingani M, Yeka A, Nahum A, Bouyou-Akotet M, Mombo-Ngoma G, Kaguthi G, Barceló C, Laurijssens B, Cantalloube C, Macintyre F, Djeriou E, Jessel A, Bejuit R, Demarest H, Marrast AC, Debe S, Tinto H, Kibuuka A, Nahum D, Mawili-Mboumba DP, Zoleko-Manego R, Mugenya I, Olewe F, Duparc S, Ogutu B. Randomized, open-label, phase 2a study to evaluate the contribution of artefenomel to the clinical and parasiticidal activity of artefenomel plus ferroquine in African patients with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Malar J 2023; 22:2. [PMID: 36597076 PMCID: PMC9809015 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-022-04420-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The contribution of artefenomel to the clinical and parasiticidal activity of ferroquine and artefenomel in combination in uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria was investigated. METHODS This Phase 2a, randomized, open-label, parallel-group study was conducted from 11th September 2018 to 6th November 2019 across seven centres in Benin, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Kenya, and Uganda. Patients aged ≥ 14-69 years with microscopically confirmed infection (≥ 3000 to ≤ 50,000 parasites/µL blood) were randomized 1:1:1:1 to 400 mg ferroquine, or 400 mg ferroquine plus artefenomel 300, 600, or 1000 mg, administered as a single oral dose. The primary efficacy analysis was a logistic regression evaluating the contribution of artefenomel exposure to Day 28 PCR-adjusted adequate clinical and parasitological response (ACPR). Safety was also evaluated. RESULTS The randomized population included 140 patients. For the primary analysis in the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic efficacy population (N = 121), the contribution of artefenomel AUC0-∞ to Day 28 PCR-adjusted ACPR was not demonstrated when accounting for ferroquine AUC0-d28, baseline parasitaemia, and other model covariates: odds ratio 1.1 (95% CI 0.98, 1.2; P = 0.245). In the per-protocol population, Day 28 PCR-adjusted ACPR was 80.8% (21/26; 95% CI 60.6, 93.4) with ferroquine alone and 90.3% (28/31; 95% CI 74.2, 98.0), 90.9% (30/33; 95% CI 75.7, 98.1) and 87.1% (27/31; 95% CI 70.2, 96.4) with 300, 600, and 1000 mg artefenomel, respectively. Median time to parasite clearance (Kaplan-Meier) was 56.1 h with ferroquine, more rapid with artefenomel, but similar for all doses (30.0 h). There were no deaths. Adverse events (AEs) of any cause occurred in 51.4% (18/35) of patients with ferroquine 400 mg alone, and 58.3% (21/36), 66.7% (24/36), and 72.7% (24/33) with 300, 600, and 1000 mg artefenomel, respectively. All AEs were of mild-to-moderate severity, and consistent with the known profiles of the compounds. Vomiting was the most reported AE. There were no cases of QTcF prolongation ≥ 500 ms or > 60 ms from baseline. CONCLUSION The contribution of artefenomel exposure to the clinical and parasitological activity of ferroquine/artefenomel could not be demonstrated in this study. Parasite clearance was faster with ferroquine/artefenomel versus ferroquine alone. All treatments were well tolerated. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03660839 (7 September, 2018).
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Affiliation(s)
- Adama Gansane
- grid.507461.10000 0004 0413 3193Centre National de Recherche et de Formation sur le Paludisme (CNRFP), 01 BP 220801 BP 2208 Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
| | - Moussa Lingani
- grid.457337.10000 0004 0564 0509Institut de Recherche en Science de la Santé - Unité de Recherche Clinique de Nanoro (IRSS-URCN), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
| | - Adoke Yeka
- grid.463352.50000 0004 8340 3103Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration (IDRC), Kampala, Uganda
| | - Alain Nahum
- Centre de Recherches Entomologique de Cotonou (CREC), Cotonou, Benin
| | - Marielle Bouyou-Akotet
- grid.502965.dDépartement de Parasitologie-Mycologie-Médecine Tropicale, Faculté de Médecine – Université des Sciences de la Santé, Libreville, Gabon
| | - Ghyslain Mombo-Ngoma
- grid.452268.fCentre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL), Lambaréné, Gabon ,Department of Tropical Medicine, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, and University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany ,grid.10392.390000 0001 2190 1447Institute for Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Grace Kaguthi
- grid.33058.3d0000 0001 0155 5938Kenya Medical Research Institute-Centre for Respiratory Diseases Research (KEMRI-CRDR), Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Catalina Barceló
- grid.452605.00000 0004 0432 5267Medicines for Malaria Venture, Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Fiona Macintyre
- grid.452605.00000 0004 0432 5267Medicines for Malaria Venture, Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | | | | | - Helen Demarest
- grid.452605.00000 0004 0432 5267Medicines for Malaria Venture, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Anne Claire Marrast
- grid.452605.00000 0004 0432 5267Medicines for Malaria Venture, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Siaka Debe
- grid.507461.10000 0004 0413 3193Centre National de Recherche et de Formation sur le Paludisme (CNRFP), 01 BP 220801 BP 2208 Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
| | - Halidou Tinto
- grid.457337.10000 0004 0564 0509Institut de Recherche en Science de la Santé - Unité de Recherche Clinique de Nanoro (IRSS-URCN), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
| | - Afizi Kibuuka
- grid.463352.50000 0004 8340 3103Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration (IDRC), Kampala, Uganda
| | - Diolinda Nahum
- Centre de Recherches Entomologique de Cotonou (CREC), Cotonou, Benin
| | - Denise Patricia Mawili-Mboumba
- grid.502965.dDépartement de Parasitologie-Mycologie-Médecine Tropicale, Faculté de Médecine – Université des Sciences de la Santé, Libreville, Gabon
| | - Rella Zoleko-Manego
- grid.452268.fCentre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL), Lambaréné, Gabon ,Department of Tropical Medicine, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, and University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany ,grid.10392.390000 0001 2190 1447Institute for Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Irene Mugenya
- grid.33058.3d0000 0001 0155 5938Kenya Medical Research Institute-Centre for Respiratory Diseases Research (KEMRI-CRDR), Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Frederick Olewe
- grid.33058.3d0000 0001 0155 5938Centre for Clinical Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kisumu, Kenya ,grid.442494.b0000 0000 9430 1509Centre for Research in Therapeutic Sciences (CREATES), Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Stephan Duparc
- grid.452605.00000 0004 0432 5267Medicines for Malaria Venture, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Bernhards Ogutu
- grid.33058.3d0000 0001 0155 5938Centre for Clinical Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kisumu, Kenya ,grid.442494.b0000 0000 9430 1509Centre for Research in Therapeutic Sciences (CREATES), Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya
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17
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Janin YL. On drug discovery against infectious diseases and academic medicinal chemistry contributions. Beilstein J Org Chem 2022; 18:1355-1378. [PMID: 36247982 PMCID: PMC9531561 DOI: 10.3762/bjoc.18.141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
This perspective is an attempt to document the problems that medicinal chemists are facing in drug discovery. It is also trying to identify relevant/possible, research areas in which academics can have an impact and should thus be the subject of grant calls. Accordingly, it describes how hit discovery happens, how compounds to be screened are selected from available chemicals and the possible reasons for the recurrent paucity of useful/exploitable results reported. This is followed by the successful hit to lead stories leading to recent and original antibacterials which are, or about to be, used in human medicine. Then, illustrated considerations and suggestions are made on the possible inputs of academic medicinal chemists. This starts with the observation that discovering a "good" hit in the course of a screening campaign still rely on a lot of luck - which is within the reach of academics -, that the hit to lead process requires a lot of chemistry and that if public-private partnerships can be important throughout these stages, they are absolute requirements for clinical trials. Concerning suggestions to improve the current hit success rate, one academic input in organic chemistry would be to identify new and pertinent chemical space, design synthetic accesses to reach these and prepare the corresponding chemical libraries. Concerning hit to lead programs on a given target, if no new hits are available, previously reported leads along with new structural data can be pertinent starting points to design, prepare and assay original analogues. In conclusion, this text is an actual plea illustrating that, in many countries, academic research in medicinal chemistry should be more funded, especially in the therapeutic area neglected by the industry. At the least, such funds would provide the intensive to secure series of hopefully relevant chemical entities which appears to often lack when considering the results of academic as well as industrial screening campaigns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yves L Janin
- Structure et Instabilité des Génomes (StrInG), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, INSERM, CNRS, Alliance Sorbonne Université, 75005 Paris, France
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18
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Singh P, Sharma C, Sharma B, Mishra A, Agarwal D, Kannan D, Held J, Singh S, Awasthi SK. N-sulfonylpiperidinedispiro-1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes exhibit potent in vitro antiplasmodial activity and in vivo efficacy in mice infected with P. berghei ANKA. Eur J Med Chem 2022; 244:114774. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Revised: 09/03/2022] [Accepted: 09/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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19
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Amado PSM, Jesus AJL, Paixão JA, Fausto R, Cristiano MLS. Unravelling the structure of peroxides with antiparasitic activity: relative impact of a trioxolane or a tetraoxane pharmacophore on the overall molecular structure. Chempluschem 2022; 87:e202200207. [DOI: 10.1002/cplu.202200207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Patrícia S. M. Amado
- University of Algarve Faculty of Science and Technology: Universidade do Algarve Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia Chemistry and Pharmacy PORTUGAL
| | - A. J. Lopes Jesus
- University of Coimbra Faculty of Pharmacy: Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmacia Chemistry PORTUGAL
| | - José A. Paixão
- University of Coimbra Faculty of Sciences and Technology: Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia Department of Physics PORTUGAL
| | - Rui Fausto
- University of Coimbra Faculty of Sciences and Technology: Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia Department of Chemistry PORTUGAL
| | - M. Lurdes S. Cristiano
- Universidade do Algarve Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia Quimica e Farmácia Campus de Gambelas 8005-139 Faro PORTUGAL
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20
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Cho N, Kikuzato K, Futamura Y, Shimizu T, Hayase H, Kamisaka K, Takaya D, Yuki H, Honma T, Niikura M, Kobayashi F, Watanabe N, Osada H, Koyama H. New antimalarials identified by a cell-based phenotypic approach: Structure-activity relationships of 2,3,4,9-tetrahydro-1H-β-carboline derivatives possessing a 2-((coumarin-5-yl)oxy)alkanoyl moiety. Bioorg Med Chem 2022; 66:116830. [PMID: 35594648 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2022.116830] [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: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The identification, structure-activity relationships (SARs), and biological effects of new antimalarials consisting of a 2,3,4,9-tetrahydro-1H-β-carboline core, a coumarin ring, and an oxyalkanoyl linker are described. A cell-based phenotypic approach was employed in this search for novel antimalarial drugs with unique modes of action. Our screening campaign of the RIKEN compound library succeeded in the identification of the known tetrahydro-β-carboline derivative (4e) as a hit compound showing significant in vitro activity. SAR studies on this chemical series led to the discovery of compound 4h having a (R)-methyl group on the oxyacetyl linker with potent inhibition of parasite growth (IC50 = 2.0 nM). Compound 4h was also found to exhibit significant in vivo antimalarial effects in mouse models. Furthermore, molecular modeling studies on 4e, 4h, and its diastereomer (4j) suggested that the (R)-methyl group of 4h forces the preferential adoption of a specific conformer which is considered to be an active conformer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nobuo Cho
- RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Ko Kikuzato
- RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Yushi Futamura
- RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Takeshi Shimizu
- RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Hiroki Hayase
- RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Kikuko Kamisaka
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamic Research, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Daisuke Takaya
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamic Research, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Hitomi Yuki
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamic Research, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Teruki Honma
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamic Research, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Mamoru Niikura
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Kyorin University School of Medicine, 6-20-2 Shinkawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8611, Japan
| | - Fumie Kobayashi
- Department of Environmental Science, School of Life and Environmental Science, Azabu University, 1-17-71 Fuchinobe, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5201, Japan
| | - Nobumoto Watanabe
- RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
| | - Hiroyuki Osada
- RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Hiroo Koyama
- RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
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21
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Ignatz-Hoover JJ, Murphy EV, Driscoll JJ. Targeting Proteasomes in Cancer and Infectious Disease: A Parallel Strategy to Treat Malignancies and Microbes. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:925804. [PMID: 35873166 PMCID: PMC9302482 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.925804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Essential core pathways of cellular biology are preserved throughout evolution, highlighting the importance of these pathways for both bacteria and human cancer cells alike. Cell viability requires a proper balance between protein synthesis and degradation in order to maintain integrity of the proteome. Proteasomes are highly intricate, tightly regulated multisubunit complexes that are critical to achieve protein homeostasis (proteostasis) through the selective degradation of misfolded, redundant and damaged proteins. Proteasomes function as the catalytic core of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway (UPP) which regulates a myriad of essential processes including growth, survival, differentiation, drug resistance and apoptosis. Proteasomes recognize and degrade proteins that have been marked by covalently attached poly-ubiquitin chains. Deregulation of the UPP has emerged as an essential etiology of many prominent diseases, including cancer. Proteasome inhibitors selectively target cancer cells, including those resistant to chemotherapy, while sparing healthy cells. Proteasome inhibition has emerged as a transformative anti-myeloma strategy that has extended survival for certain patient populations from 3 to 8 years. The structural architecture and functional activity of proteasomes is conserved from Archaea to humans to support the concept that proteasomes are actionable targets that can be inhibited in pathogenic organisms to improve the treatment of infectious diseases. Proteasomes have an essential role during all stages of the parasite life cycle and features that distinguish proteasomes in pathogens from human forms have been revealed. Advancement of inhibitors that target Plasmodium and Mycobacterial proteasomes is a means to improve treatment of malaria and tuberculosis. In addition, PIs may also synergize with current frontline agents support as resistance to conventional drugs continues to increase. The proteasome represents a highly promising, actionable target to combat infectious diseases that devastate lives and livelihoods around the globe.
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Affiliation(s)
- James J. Ignatz-Hoover
- Division of Hematology & Oncology, Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
- Adult Hematologic Malignancies & Stem Cell Transplant Section, Seidman Cancer Center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, United States
- Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Elena V. Murphy
- Case Western Reserve University, Department of Biochemistry, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - James J. Driscoll
- Division of Hematology & Oncology, Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
- Adult Hematologic Malignancies & Stem Cell Transplant Section, Seidman Cancer Center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, United States
- Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
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22
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Bernard MM, Mohanty A, Rajendran V. Title: A Comprehensive Review on Classifying Fast-acting and Slow-acting Antimalarial Agents Based on Time of Action and Target Organelle of Plasmodium sp. Pathog Dis 2022; 80:6589403. [PMID: 35588061 DOI: 10.1093/femspd/ftac015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2021] [Revised: 03/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The clinical resistance towards malarial parasites has rendered many antimalarials ineffective, likely due to a lack of understanding of time of action and stage specificity of all life stages. Therefore, to tackle this problem a more incisive comprehensive analysis of the fast and slow-acting profile of antimalarial agents relating to parasite time-kill kinetics and the target organelle on the progression of blood-stage parasites was carried out. It is evident from numerous findings that drugs targeting food vacuole, nuclear components, and endoplasmic reticulum mainly exhibit a fast-killing phenotype within 24h affecting first-cycle activity. Whereas drugs targeting mitochondria, apicoplast, microtubules, parasite invasion and egress exhibit a largely slow-killing phenotype within 96-120h, affecting second-cycle activity with few exemptions as moderately fast-killing. It is essential to understand the susceptibility of drugs on rings, trophozoites, schizonts, merozoites, and the appearance of organelle at each stage of 48h intraerythrocytic parasite cycle. Therefore, these parameters may facilitate the paradigm for understanding the timing of antimalarials action in deciphering its precise mechanism linked with time. Thus, classifying drugs based on the time of killing may promote designing new combination regimens against varied strains of P. falciparum and evaluating potential clinical resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Marie Bernard
- Department of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry 605014, India
| | - Abhinab Mohanty
- Department of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry 605014, India
| | - Vinoth Rajendran
- Department of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry 605014, India
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23
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Yang J, Wang Y, Guan W, Su W, Li G, Zhang S, Yao H. Spiral molecules with antimalarial activities: A review. Eur J Med Chem 2022; 237:114361. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2022] [Revised: 04/03/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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24
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Belardinelli JM, Verma D, Li W, Avanzi C, Wiersma CJ, Williams JT, Johnson BK, Zimmerman M, Whittel N, Angala B, Wang H, Jones V, Dartois V, de Moura VCN, Gonzalez-Juarrero M, Pearce C, Schenkel AR, Malcolm KC, Nick JA, Charman SA, Wells TNC, Podell BK, Vennerstrom JL, Ordway DJ, Abramovitch RB, Jackson M. Therapeutic efficacy of antimalarial drugs targeting DosRS signaling in Mycobacterium abscessus. Sci Transl Med 2022; 14:eabj3860. [PMID: 35196022 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abj3860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
A search for alternative Mycobacterium abscessus treatments led to our interest in the two-component regulator DosRS, which, in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is required for the bacterium to establish a state of nonreplicating, drug-tolerant persistence in response to a variety of host stresses. We show here that the genetic disruption of dosRS impairs the adaptation of M. abscessus to hypoxia, resulting in decreased bacterial survival after oxygen depletion, reduced tolerance to a number of antibiotics in vitro and in vivo, and the inhibition of biofilm formation. We determined that three antimalarial drugs or drug candidates, artemisinin, OZ277, and OZ439, can target DosS-mediated hypoxic signaling in M. abscessus and recapitulate the phenotypic effects of genetically disrupting dosS. OZ439 displayed bactericidal activity comparable to standard-of-care antibiotics in chronically infected mice, in addition to potentiating the activity of antibiotics used in combination. The identification of antimalarial drugs as potent inhibitors and adjunct inhibitors of M. abscessus in vivo offers repurposing opportunities that could have an immediate impact in the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Manuel Belardinelli
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Deepshikha Verma
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Wei Li
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Charlotte Avanzi
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Crystal J Wiersma
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - John T Williams
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | | | - Matthew Zimmerman
- Center for Discovery and Innovation, Hackensack Meridian Health, Nutley, NJ, USA
| | - Nicholas Whittel
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Bhanupriya Angala
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Han Wang
- Center for Discovery and Innovation, Hackensack Meridian Health, Nutley, NJ, USA
| | - Victoria Jones
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Véronique Dartois
- Center for Discovery and Innovation, Hackensack Meridian Health, Nutley, NJ, USA
| | - Vinicius C N de Moura
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Mercedes Gonzalez-Juarrero
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Camron Pearce
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Alan R Schenkel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Kenneth C Malcolm
- Department of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO, USA.,Department of Medicine, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Jerry A Nick
- Department of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO, USA.,Department of Medicine, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Susan A Charman
- Centre for Drug Candidate Optimisation, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | | | - Brendan K Podell
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | | | - Diane J Ordway
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Robert B Abramovitch
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Mary Jackson
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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25
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Simwela NV, Waters AP. Current status of experimental models for the study of malaria. Parasitology 2022; 149:1-22. [PMID: 35357277 PMCID: PMC9378029 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182021002134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Revised: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Infection by malaria parasites (Plasmodium spp.) remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality, especially in tropical regions of the world. Despite the availability of malaria control tools such as integrated vector management and effective therapeutics, these measures have been continuously undermined by the emergence of vector resistance to insecticides or parasite resistance to frontline antimalarial drugs. Whilst the recent pilot implementation of the RTS,S malaria vaccine is indeed a remarkable feat, highly effective vaccines against malaria remain elusive. The barriers to effective vaccines result from the complexity of both the malaria parasite lifecycle and the parasite as an organism itself with consequent major gaps in our understanding of their biology. Historically and due to the practical and ethical difficulties of working with human malaria infections, research into malaria parasite biology has been extensively facilitated by animal models. Animals have been used to study disease pathogenesis, host immune responses and their (dys)regulation and further disease processes such as transmission. Moreover, animal models remain at the forefront of pre-clinical evaluations of antimalarial drugs (drug efficacy, mode of action, mode of resistance) and vaccines. In this review, we discuss commonly used animal models of malaria, the parasite species used and their advantages and limitations which hinder their extrapolation to actual human disease. We also place into this context the most recent developments such as organoid technologies and humanized mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nelson V. Simwela
- Institute of Infection, Immunity & Inflammation, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Andrew P. Waters
- Institute of Infection, Immunity & Inflammation, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
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26
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Siddiqui G, Giannangelo C, De Paoli A, Schuh AK, Heimsch KC, Anderson D, Brown TG, MacRaild CA, Wu J, Wang X, Dong Y, Vennerstrom JL, Becker K, Creek DJ. Peroxide Antimalarial Drugs Target Redox Homeostasis in Plasmodium falciparum Infected Red Blood Cells. ACS Infect Dis 2022; 8:210-226. [PMID: 34985858 PMCID: PMC8762662 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.1c00550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
![]()
Plasmodium
falciparum causes the
most lethal form of malaria. Peroxide antimalarials based on artemisinin
underpin the frontline treatments for malaria, but artemisinin resistance
is rapidly spreading. Synthetic peroxide antimalarials, known as ozonides,
are in clinical development and offer a potential alternative. Here,
we used chemoproteomics to investigate the protein alkylation targets
of artemisinin and ozonide probes, including an analogue of the ozonide
clinical candidate, artefenomel. We greatly expanded the list of proteins
alkylated by peroxide antimalarials and identified significant enrichment
of redox-related proteins for both artemisinins and ozonides. Disrupted
redox homeostasis was confirmed by dynamic live imaging of the glutathione
redox potential using a genetically encoded redox-sensitive fluorescence-based
biosensor. Targeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based
thiol metabolomics also confirmed changes in cellular thiol levels.
This work shows that peroxide antimalarials disproportionately alkylate
proteins involved in redox homeostasis and that disrupted redox processes
are involved in the mechanism of action of these important antimalarials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ghizal Siddiqui
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Carlo Giannangelo
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Amanda De Paoli
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Anna Katharina Schuh
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Interdisciplinary Research Center, Justus Liebig University Giessen, 35392 Giessen, Germany
| | - Kim C. Heimsch
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Interdisciplinary Research Center, Justus Liebig University Giessen, 35392 Giessen, Germany
| | - Dovile Anderson
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Timothy G. Brown
- Drug Discovery Biology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Christopher A. MacRaild
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Jianbo Wu
- College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986125 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198-6125, United States
| | - Xiaofang Wang
- College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986125 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198-6125, United States
| | - Yuxiang Dong
- College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986125 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198-6125, United States
| | - Jonathan L. Vennerstrom
- College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986125 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198-6125, United States
| | - Katja Becker
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Interdisciplinary Research Center, Justus Liebig University Giessen, 35392 Giessen, Germany
| | - Darren J. Creek
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
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27
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Abid M, Singh S, Egan TJ, Joshi MC. Structural activity relationship of metallo-aminoquines as a next generation antimalarials. Curr Top Med Chem 2022; 22:436-472. [PMID: 34986771 DOI: 10.2174/1568026622666220105103751] [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: 06/27/2021] [Revised: 12/02/2021] [Accepted: 12/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Apicomplexian parasite of the genus Plasmodium is the causative agent of malaria, one of the most devastating, furious and common infectious disease throughout the world. According to the latest World malaria report, there were 229 million cases of malaria in 2019 majorly consisting of children under 5 years of age. Some of known analogues viz. quinine, quinoline-containing compounds have been used for last century in the clinical treatment of malaria. Past few decades have witnessed the emergence of multi-drug resistance (MDR) strains of Plasmodium species to existing antimalarials pressing the need for new drug candidates. For the past few decades bioorganometallic approach to malaria therapy has been introduced which led to the discovery of noval metalcontaining aminoquinolines analogues viz. ferroquine (FQ or 1), Ruthenoquine (RQ or 2) and other related potent metal-analogues. It observed that some metal containing analogues (Fe-, Rh-, Ru-, Re-, Au-, Zn-, Cr-, Pd-, Sn-, Cd-, Ir-, Co-, Cu-, and Mn-aminoquines) were more potent; however, some were equally potent as Chloroquine (CQ) and 1. This is probably due to the intertion of metals in the CQ via various approaches, which might be a very attractive strategy to develop a SAR of novel metal containing antimalarials. Thus, this review aims to summarize the SAR of metal containing aminoquines towards the discovery of potent antimalarial hybrids to provide an insight for rational designs of more effective and less toxic metal containing amoniquines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Abid
- Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia University, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi-110025, India
| | - Shailja Singh
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Mehroli Road, New Delhi-110067, India
| | - Timothy J Egan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town-7700, South Africa
| | - Mukesh C Joshi
- Dept. of Chemistry, Motilal Nehru College, University of Delhi, Benito Juarez marg, South Campus, New Delhi-110021. India
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28
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Kingston DGI, Cassera MB. Antimalarial Natural Products. PROGRESS IN THE CHEMISTRY OF ORGANIC NATURAL PRODUCTS 2022; 117:1-106. [PMID: 34977998 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-89873-1_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Natural products have made a crucial and unique contribution to human health, and this is especially true in the case of malaria, where the natural products quinine and artemisinin and their derivatives and analogues, have saved millions of lives. The need for new drugs to treat malaria is still urgent, since the most dangerous malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, has become resistant to quinine and most of its derivatives and is becoming resistant to artemisinin and its derivatives. This volume begins with a short history of malaria and follows this with a summary of its biology. It then traces the fascinating history of the discovery of quinine for malaria treatment and then describes quinine's biosynthesis, its mechanism of action, and its clinical use, concluding with a discussion of synthetic antimalarial agents based on quinine's structure. The volume then covers the discovery of artemisinin and its development as the source of the most effective current antimalarial drug, including summaries of its synthesis and biosynthesis, its mechanism of action, and its clinical use and resistance. A short discussion of other clinically used antimalarial natural products leads to a detailed treatment of other natural products with significant antiplasmodial activity, classified by compound type. Although the search for new antimalarial natural products from Nature's combinatorial library is challenging, it is very likely to yield new antimalarial drugs. The chapter thus ends by identifying over ten natural products with development potential as clinical antimalarial agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- David G I Kingston
- Department of Chemistry and the Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA.
| | - Maria Belen Cassera
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases (CTEGD), University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
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29
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Amewu RK, Ade CF, Darko Otchere I, Morgan P, Yeboah-Manu D. Synthesis and Initial Testing of Novel Antimalarial and Antitubercular Isonicotinohydrazides. RESULTS IN CHEMISTRY 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.rechem.2022.100287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
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30
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Pernaute-Lau L, Camara M, Nóbrega de Sousa T, Morris U, Ferreira MU, Gil JP. An update on pharmacogenetic factors influencing the metabolism and toxicity of artemisinin-based combination therapy in the treatment of malaria. Expert Opin Drug Metab Toxicol 2022; 18:39-59. [PMID: 35285373 DOI: 10.1080/17425255.2022.2049235] [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] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) are recommended first-line antimalarials for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic variation associated with ACT drugs and their effect is documented. It is accepted to an extent that inter-individual variation is genetically driven, and should be explored for optimized antimalarial use. AREAS COVERED We provide an update on the pharmacogenetics of ACT antimalarial disposition. Beyond presently used antimalarials, we also refer to information available for the most notable next-generation drugs under development. The bibliographic approach was based on multiple Boolean searches on PubMed covering all recent publications since our previous review. EXPERT OPINION The last 10 years have witnessed an increase in our knowledge of ACT pharmacogenetics, including the first clear examples of its contribution as an exacerbating factor for drug-drug interactions. This knowledge gap is still large and is likely to widen as a new wave of antimalarial drug is looming, with few studies addressing their pharmacogenetics. Clinically useful pharmacogenetic markers are still not available, in particular, from an individual precision medicine perspective. A better understanding of the genetic makeup of target populations can be valuable for aiding decisions on mass drug administration implementation concerning region-specific antimalarial drug and dosage options.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leyre Pernaute-Lau
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell biology, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden.,Faculty of Sciences, BioISI - Biosystems & Integrative Sciences Institute, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, 1749-016, Portugal
| | - Mahamadou Camara
- Department of Epidemiology of Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Pharmacy, Malaria Research and Training Center, University of Science, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako, Bamako, Mali
| | - Taís Nóbrega de Sousa
- Molecular Biology and Malaria Immunology Research Group, Instituto René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Belo Horizonte, Brasil
| | - Ulrika Morris
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell biology, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| | - Marcelo Urbano Ferreira
- Faculty of Sciences, BioISI - Biosystems & Integrative Sciences Institute, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, 1749-016, Portugal.,Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - José Pedro Gil
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell biology, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden.,Faculty of Sciences, BioISI - Biosystems & Integrative Sciences Institute, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, 1749-016, Portugal.,Global Health and Tropical Medicine, Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Nova University of Lisbon, Portugal
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31
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Review of the Current Landscape of the Potential of Nanotechnology for Future Malaria Diagnosis, Treatment, and Vaccination Strategies. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:pharmaceutics13122189. [PMID: 34959470 PMCID: PMC8706932 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13122189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Malaria eradication has for decades been on the global health agenda, but the causative agents of the disease, several species of the protist parasite Plasmodium, have evolved mechanisms to evade vaccine-induced immunity and to rapidly acquire resistance against all drugs entering clinical use. Because classical antimalarial approaches have consistently failed, new strategies must be explored. One of these is nanomedicine, the application of manipulation and fabrication technology in the range of molecular dimensions between 1 and 100 nm, to the development of new medical solutions. Here we review the current state of the art in malaria diagnosis, prevention, and therapy and how nanotechnology is already having an incipient impact in improving them. In the second half of this review, the next generation of antimalarial drugs currently in the clinical pipeline is presented, with a definition of these drugs' target product profiles and an assessment of the potential role of nanotechnology in their development. Opinions extracted from interviews with experts in the fields of nanomedicine, clinical malaria, and the economic landscape of the disease are included to offer a wider scope of the current requirements to win the fight against malaria and of how nanoscience can contribute to achieve them.
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32
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Wittlin S, Mäser P. From Magic Bullet to Magic Bomb: Reductive Bioactivation of Antiparasitic Agents. ACS Infect Dis 2021; 7:2777-2786. [PMID: 34472830 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.1c00118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Paul Ehrlich coined the term "magic bullet" to describe how a drug kills the parasite inside its human host without harming the host itself. Ehrlich concluded that the drug must have a greater affinity to the parasite than to human cells. Today, the specificity of drug action is understood in terms of the drug target. An ideal target is a protein that is essential for the proliferation of the pathogen but absent in human cells. Examples are the enzymes of folate synthesis or of the nonmevalonate pathway in the malaria parasites. However, there are other ways how a drug can kill selectively. Of particular relevance is the specific activation of a prodrug inside the pathogen but not in the host, as this is how the current frontrunners of parasite chemotherapy work. Artemisinins for malaria, fexinidazole for human African trypanosomiasis, benznidazole for Chagas' disease, metronidazole for intestinal protozoa: these molecules are "magic bombs" that are triggered selectively. They are prodrugs that need to be activated by chemical reduction, i.e., the acquisition of an electron, which occurs in the parasite. Such a mode of action is shared by the novel antimalarial peroxides arterolane and artefenomel, which are activated by reduction of the endoperoxide bond with ferrous heme as the likely electron donor, a metabolic end-product of Plasmodium falciparum. Here we provide an overview on the molecular basis of selectivity of antiparasitic drug action with particular reference to the ozonides, the new generation of antimalarial peroxides designed by Jonathan Vennerstrom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Wittlin
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4051 Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Pascal Mäser
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4051 Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
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Erhunse N, Sahal D. Protecting future antimalarials from the trap of resistance: Lessons from artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) failures. J Pharm Anal 2021; 11:541-554. [PMID: 34765267 PMCID: PMC8572664 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpha.2020.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2020] [Revised: 07/19/2020] [Accepted: 07/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Having faced increased clinical treatment failures with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHA-PPQ), Cambodia swapped the first line artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) from DHA-PPQ to artesunate-mefloquine given that parasites resistant to piperaquine are susceptible to mefloquine. However, triple mutants have now emerged, suggesting that drug rotations may not be adequate to keep resistance at bay. There is, therefore, an urgent need for alternative treatment strategies to tackle resistance and prevent its spread. A proper understanding of all contributors to artemisinin resistance may help us identify novel strategies to keep artemisinins effective until new drugs become available for their replacement. This review highlights the role of the key players in artemisinin resistance, the current strategies to deal with it and suggests ways of protecting future antimalarial drugs from bowing to resistance as their predecessors did.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nekpen Erhunse
- Malaria Drug Discovery Research Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, 110067, India
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Benin, Benin City, Edo-State, Nigeria
| | - Dinkar Sahal
- Malaria Drug Discovery Research Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, 110067, India
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34
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Efforts Made to Eliminate Drug-Resistant Malaria and Its Challenges. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2021; 2021:5539544. [PMID: 34497848 PMCID: PMC8421183 DOI: 10.1155/2021/5539544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Since 2000, a good deal of progress has been made in malaria control. However, there is still an unacceptably high burden of the disease and numerous challenges limiting advancement towards its elimination and ultimate eradication. Among the challenges is the antimalarial drug resistance, which has been documented for almost all antimalarial drugs in current use. As a result, the malaria research community is working on the modification of existing treatments as well as the discovery and development of new drugs to counter the resistance challenges. To this effect, many products are in the pipeline and expected to be marketed soon. In addition to drug and vaccine development, mass drug administration (MDA) is under scientific scrutiny as an important strategy for effective utilization of the developed products. This review discusses the challenges related to malaria elimination, ongoing approaches to tackle the impact of drug-resistant malaria, and upcoming antimalarial drugs.
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35
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Amado PSM, Frija LMT, Coelho JAS, O'Neill PM, Cristiano MLS. Synthesis of Non-symmetrical Dispiro-1,2,4,5-Tetraoxanes and Dispiro-1,2,4-Trioxanes Catalyzed by Silica Sulfuric Acid. J Org Chem 2021; 86:10608-10620. [PMID: 34279102 DOI: 10.1021/acs.joc.1c01258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
A novel protocol for the preparation of non-symmetrical 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes and 1,2,4-trioxanes, promoted by the heterogeneous silica sulfuric acid (SSA) catalyst, is reported. Different ketones react under mild conditions with gem-dihydroperoxides or peroxysilyl alcohols/β-hydroperoxy alcohols to generate the corresponding endoperoxides in good yields. Our mechanistic proposal, assisted by molecular orbital calculations, at the ωB97XD/def2-TZVPP/PCM(DCM)//B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory, enhances the role of SSA in the cyclocondensation step. This novel procedure differs from previously reported methods by using readily available and inexpensive reagents, with recyclable properties, thereby establishing a valid alternative approach for the synthesis of new biologically active endoperoxides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrícia S M Amado
- Center of Marine Sciences (CCMAR), University of Algarve, P-8005-039 Faro, Portugal.,Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, FCT, University of Algarve, P-8005-039 Faro, Portugal.,Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, L69 7ZD Liverpool, U.K
| | - Luís M T Frija
- Centro de Química Estrutural (CQE), Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Jaime A S Coelho
- Centro de Química Estrutural (CQE), Faculdade de Ciências, University of Lisbon, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Paul M O'Neill
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, L69 7ZD Liverpool, U.K
| | - Maria L S Cristiano
- Center of Marine Sciences (CCMAR), University of Algarve, P-8005-039 Faro, Portugal.,Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, FCT, University of Algarve, P-8005-039 Faro, Portugal
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36
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Woodley CM, Amado PSM, Cristiano MLS, O'Neill PM. Artemisinin inspired synthetic endoperoxide drug candidates: Design, synthesis, and mechanism of action studies. Med Res Rev 2021; 41:3062-3095. [PMID: 34355414 DOI: 10.1002/med.21849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2020] [Revised: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) have been used as the first-line treatments against Plasmodium falciparum malaria for decades. Recent advances in chemical proteomics have shed light on the complex mechanism of action of semi-synthetic artemisinin (ARTs), particularly their promiscuous alkylation of parasite proteins via previous heme-mediated bioactivation of the endoperoxide bond. Alarmingly, the rise of resistance to ART in South East Asia and the synthetic limitations of the ART scaffold have pushed the course for the necessity of fully synthetic endoperoxide-based antimalarials. Several classes of synthetic endoperoxide antimalarials have been described in literature utilizing various endoperoxide warheads including 1,2-dioxanes, 1,2,4-trioxanes, 1,2,4-trioxolanes, and 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes. Two of these classes, the 1,2,4-trioxolanes (arterolane and artefenomel) and the 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes (N205 and E209) based antimalarials, have been explored extensively and are still in active development. In contrast, the most recent publication pertaining to the development of the 1,2-dioxane, Arteflene, and 1,2,4-trioxanes fenozan-50F, DU1301, and PA1103/SAR116242 was published in 2008. This review summarizes the synthesis, biological and clinical evaluation, and mechanistic studies of the most developed synthetic endoperoxide antimalarials, providing an update on those classes still in active development.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Patrícia S M Amado
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.,Center of Marine Sciences (CCMAR), University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal.,Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Maria L S Cristiano
- Center of Marine Sciences (CCMAR), University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal.,Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Paul M O'Neill
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
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37
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Tisnerat C, Dassonville-Klimpt A, Gosselet F, Sonnet P. Antimalarial drug discovery: from quinine to the most recent promising clinical drug candidates. Curr Med Chem 2021; 29:3326-3365. [PMID: 34344287 DOI: 10.2174/0929867328666210803152419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Revised: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Malaria is a tropical threatening disease caused by Plasmodium parasites, resulting in 409,000 deaths in 2019. The delay of mortality and morbidity has been compounded by the widespread of drug resistant parasites from Southeast Asia since two decades. The emergence of artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium in Africa, where most cases are accounted, highlights the urgent need for new medicines. In this effort, the World Health Organization and Medicines for Malaria Venture joined to define clear goals for novel therapies and characterized the target candidate profile. This ongoing search for new treatments is based on imperative labor in medicinal chemistry which is summarized here with particular attention to hit-to-lead optimizations, key properties, and modes of action of these novel antimalarial drugs. This review, after presenting the current antimalarial chemotherapy, from quinine to the latest marketed drugs, focuses in particular on recent advances of the most promising antimalarial candidates in clinical and preclinical phases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Tisnerat
- AGIR UR4294, UFR de Pharmacie, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens. France
| | | | | | - Pascal Sonnet
- AGIR UR4294, UFR de Pharmacie, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens. France
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38
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Koehne E, Adegnika AA, Held J, Kreidenweiss A. Pharmacotherapy for artemisinin-resistant malaria. Expert Opin Pharmacother 2021; 22:2483-2493. [PMID: 34311639 DOI: 10.1080/14656566.2021.1959913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Malaria, the most devastating parasitic disease, is currently treated with artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). Unfortunately, some ACTs are unable to rapidly clear Plasmodium falciparum parasites from the blood stream and are failing to cure malaria patients; a problem, so far, largely confined to Southeast Asia. There is a fear of resistant Plasmodium falciparum emerging in other parts of the world including Sub-Saharan Africa. Strategies for alternative treatments, ideally non-artemisinin based, are needed. AREAS COVERED This narrative review gives an overview of approved antimalarials and of some compounds in advanced drug development that could be used when an ACT is failing. The selection was based on a literature search in PubMed and WHO notes for malaria treatment. EXPERT OPINION The ACT drug class can still cure malaria in malaria endemic regions. However, the appropriate ACT drug should be chosen considering the background resistance of the partner drug of the local parasite population. Artesunate-pyronaridine, the 'newest' recommended ACT, and atovaquone-proguanil are, so far, effective, and safe treatments for uncomplicated falciparum malaria. Therefore, all available ACTs should be safeguarded from parasite resistance and the development of new antimalarial drug classes needs to be accelerated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik Koehne
- Institute of Tropical Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné, Lambaréné, Gabon
| | - Ayola Akim Adegnika
- Institute of Tropical Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné, Lambaréné, Gabon
| | - Jana Held
- Institute of Tropical Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné, Lambaréné, Gabon
| | - Andrea Kreidenweiss
- Institute of Tropical Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné, Lambaréné, Gabon
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39
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Behrens HM, Schmidt S, Spielmann T. The newly discovered role of endocytosis in artemisinin resistance. Med Res Rev 2021; 41:2998-3022. [PMID: 34309894 DOI: 10.1002/med.21848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Artemisinin and its derivatives (ART) are the cornerstone of malaria treatment as part of artemisinin combination therapy (ACT). However, reduced susceptibility to artemisinin as well as its partner drugs threatens the usefulness of ACTs. Single point mutations in the parasite protein Kelch13 (K13) are necessary and sufficient for the reduced sensitivity of malaria parasites to ART but several alternative mechanisms for this resistance have been proposed. Recent work found that K13 is involved in the endocytosis of host cell cytosol and indicated that this is the process responsible for resistance in parasites with mutated K13. These studies also identified a series of further proteins that act together with K13 in the same pathway, including previously suspected resistance proteins such as UBP1 and AP-2μ. Here, we give a brief overview of artemisinin resistance, present the recent evidence of the role of endocytosis in ART resistance and discuss previous hypotheses in light of this new evidence. We also give an outlook on how the new insights might affect future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Michaela Behrens
- Molecular Biology and Immunology Section, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sabine Schmidt
- Molecular Biology and Immunology Section, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Tobias Spielmann
- Molecular Biology and Immunology Section, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany
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40
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Lichorowic CL, Zhao Y, Maher SP, Padín-Irizarry V, Mendiola VC, de Castro ST, Worden JA, Casandra D, Kyle DE, Manetsch R. Synthesis of Mono- and Bisperoxide-Bridged Artemisinin Dimers to Elucidate the Contribution of Dimerization to Antimalarial Activity. ACS Infect Dis 2021; 7:2013-2024. [PMID: 33792305 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.1c00066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
During the past decade, artemisinin as an antimalarial has been in the spotlight, in part due to the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to Tu Youyou. While many studies have been completed detailing the significant increase in activity resulting from the dimerization of natural product artemisinin, activity increases unaccounted for by the peroxide bridge have yet to be researched. Here we outline the synthesis and testing for antimalarial activity of artemisinin dimers in which the peroxide bridge in one-half of the dimer is reduced, resulting in a dimer with one active and one deactivated artemisinin moiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia L. Lichorowic
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University, 102 Hurtig Hall, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Yingzhao Zhao
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University, 102 Hurtig Hall, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Steven P. Maher
- Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, 500 D.W. Brooks Drive Ste 370, Athens, Georgia 30602, United States
| | - Vivian Padín-Irizarry
- Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, 500 D.W. Brooks Drive Ste 370, Athens, Georgia 30602, United States
- Department of Biology, Clayton State University, 2000 Clayton State Boulevard, Morrow, Georgia 30260, United States
| | - Victoria C. Mendiola
- Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, 500 D.W. Brooks Drive Ste 370, Athens, Georgia 30602, United States
| | - Sagan T. de Castro
- Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, 500 D.W. Brooks Drive Ste 370, Athens, Georgia 30602, United States
| | - Jacob A. Worden
- Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, 500 D.W. Brooks Drive Ste 370, Athens, Georgia 30602, United States
| | - Debora Casandra
- Center for Global Health and Infectious Disease Research, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 3720 Spectrum Boulevard, Suite 404, Tampa, Florida 33612, United States
| | - Dennis E. Kyle
- Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, 500 D.W. Brooks Drive Ste 370, Athens, Georgia 30602, United States
- Center for Global Health and Infectious Disease Research, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 3720 Spectrum Boulevard, Suite 404, Tampa, Florida 33612, United States
| | - Roman Manetsch
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University, 102 Hurtig Hall, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, 102 Hurtig Hall, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
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41
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Shackleford DM, Chiu FCK, Katneni K, Blundell S, McLaren J, Wang X, Zhou L, Sriraghavan K, Alker AM, Hunziker D, Scheurer C, Zhao Q, Dong Y, Möhrle JJ, Abla N, Matile H, Wittlin S, Vennerstrom JL, Charman SA. Cytochrome P450-Mediated Metabolism and CYP Inhibition for the Synthetic Peroxide Antimalarial OZ439. ACS Infect Dis 2021; 7:1885-1893. [PMID: 34101429 PMCID: PMC8802618 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.1c00225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OZ439 is a potent synthetic ozonide evaluated for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria. The metabolite profile of OZ439 was characterized in vitro using human liver microsomes combined with LC/MS-MS, chemical derivatization, and metabolite synthesis. The primary biotransformations were monohydroxylation at the three distal carbon atoms of the spiroadamantane substructure, with minor contributions from N-oxidation of the morpholine nitrogen and deethylation cleavage of the morpholine ring. Secondary transformations resulted in the formation of dihydroxylation metabolites and metabolites containing both monohydroxylation and morpholine N-oxidation. With the exception of two minor metabolites, none of the other metabolites had appreciable antimalarial activity. Reaction phenotyping indicated that CYP3A4 is the enzyme responsible for the metabolism of OZ439, and it was found to inhibit CYP3A via both direct and mechanism-based inhibition. Elucidation of the metabolic pathways and kinetics will assist with efforts to predict potential metabolic drug-drug interactions and support physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M Shackleford
- Centre for Drug Candidate Optimisation, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University (Parkville Campus), 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Francis C K Chiu
- Centre for Drug Candidate Optimisation, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University (Parkville Campus), 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Kasiram Katneni
- Centre for Drug Candidate Optimisation, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University (Parkville Campus), 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Scott Blundell
- Centre for Drug Candidate Optimisation, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University (Parkville Campus), 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Jenna McLaren
- Centre for Drug Candidate Optimisation, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University (Parkville Campus), 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Xiaofang Wang
- College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986125 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198, United States
| | - Lin Zhou
- College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986125 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198, United States
| | - Kamaraj Sriraghavan
- College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986125 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198, United States
| | - André M Alker
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Grenzacherstrasse 124, CH-4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Hunziker
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Grenzacherstrasse 124, CH-4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Christian Scheurer
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Qingjie Zhao
- College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986125 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198, United States
| | - Yuxiang Dong
- College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986125 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198, United States
| | - Jörg J Möhrle
- Medicines for Malaria Venture, 20 Route de Pré-Bois, CH-1215 Geneva 15, Switzerland
| | - Nada Abla
- Medicines for Malaria Venture, 20 Route de Pré-Bois, CH-1215 Geneva 15, Switzerland
| | - Hugues Matile
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Grenzacherstrasse 124, CH-4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sergio Wittlin
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Jonathan L Vennerstrom
- College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986125 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198, United States
| | - Susan A Charman
- Centre for Drug Candidate Optimisation, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University (Parkville Campus), 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
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42
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Aldrich CC. Tribute to Jonathan Vennerstrom. ACS Infect Dis 2021; 7:1872-1873. [PMID: 34180229 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.1c00336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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43
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Ghosh AK, Miller H, Knox K, Kundu M, Henrickson KJ, Arav-Boger R. Inhibition of Human Coronaviruses by Antimalarial Peroxides. ACS Infect Dis 2021; 7:1985-1995. [PMID: 33783182 PMCID: PMC8043207 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.1c00053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
As the toll of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic continues, efforts are ongoing to identify new agents and repurpose safe drugs for its treatment. Antimalarial peroxides have reported antiviral and anticancer activities. Here, we evaluated the in vitro activities of artesunate (AS) and two ozonides (OZ418 and OZ277) against human α-coronavirus NL63 and β-coronaviruses OC43 and SARS-CoV-2 in several cell lines. OZ418 had the best selectivity index (SI) in NL63-infected Vero cells and MK2 cells. The overall SI of the tested compounds was cell-type dependent. In OC43-infected human foreskin fibroblasts, AS had the best cell-associated SI, ≥17 μM, while the SI of OZ418 and OZ277 was ≥12 μM and ≥7 μM, respectively. AS did not inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in either Vero or Calu-3 cells. A comparison of OZ418 and OZ277 activity in SARS-CoV2-infected Calu-3 cells revealed similar EC50 (5.3 μM and 11.6 μM, respectively), higher than the EC50 of remdesivir (1.0 ± 0.1 μM), but the SI of OZ418 was higher than OZ277. A third ozonide, OZ439, inhibited SARS-CoV-2 efficiently in Vero cells, but compared to OZ418 in Calu-3 cells, it showed higher toxicity. Improved inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 was observed when OZ418 was used together with remdesivir. Although the EC50 of ozonides might be clinically achieved in plasma after intravenous administration, sustained virus suppression in tissues will require further considerations, including drug combination. Our work supports the potential repurposing of ozonides and calls for future in vivo models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayan Kumar Ghosh
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious
Disease, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
53226, United States
| | - Halli Miller
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious
Disease, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
53226, United States
| | - Konstance Knox
- Coppe Healthcare Solutions,
Waukesha, Wisconsin 53186, United States
| | | | - Kelly J. Henrickson
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious
Disease, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
53226, United States
| | - Ravit Arav-Boger
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious
Disease, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
53226, United States
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44
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Woodley CM, Nixon GL, Basilico N, Parapini S, Hong WD, Ward SA, Biagini GA, Leung SC, Taramelli D, Onuma K, Hasebe T, O'Neill PM. Enantioselective Synthesis and Profiling of Potent, Nonlinear Analogues of Antimalarial Tetraoxanes E209 and N205. ACS Med Chem Lett 2021; 12:1077-1085. [PMID: 34267877 PMCID: PMC8274084 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.1c00031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Synthetic endoperoxide antimalarials, such as 1,2,4-trioxolanes and 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes, are promising successors for current front-line antimalarials, semisynthetic artemisinin derivatives. However, limited solubility of second-generation analogues in biological-relevant media represents a barrier in clinical development. We present methodology for the synthesis of nonlinear analogues of second-generation tetraoxane antimalarials E209 and N205 to investigate reduced molecular symmetry on in vitro antimalarial activity and physicochemical properties. While maintaining good antimalarial activity and metabolic stability, head-to-head comparison of linear and nonlinear counterparts showed up to 10-fold improvement in FaSSIF solubility for three of the four analogues studied. Pharmacokinetic studies in rats comparing a selected nonlinear analogue 14a and its parent N205 showed improvement on oral absorption and exposure in vivo with more than double the AUC and a significant increase in oral bioavailability (76% versus 41%). These findings provide support for further in vivo efficacy studies in preclinical animal species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gemma L Nixon
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZD, United Kingdom
| | - Nicoletta Basilico
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Chirurgiche e Odontoiatriche, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Pascal 36, 20133 Milano, Italy.,Affiliated to Centro Interuniversitario di Ricerche sulla Malaria/Italian Malaria Network (CIRM-IMN), Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Silvia Parapini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Pascal 36, 20133 Milano, Italy.,Affiliated to Centro Interuniversitario di Ricerche sulla Malaria/Italian Malaria Network (CIRM-IMN), Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Weiqian David Hong
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZD, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen A Ward
- Centre for Drugs and Diagnostics. Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool L3 5QA, United Kingdom
| | - Giancarlo A Biagini
- Centre for Drugs and Diagnostics. Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool L3 5QA, United Kingdom
| | - Suet C Leung
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZD, United Kingdom
| | - Donatella Taramelli
- Dipartimento di Scienze Farmacologiche e Biomolecolari, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Pascal 36, 20133 Milano, Italy.,Affiliated to Centro Interuniversitario di Ricerche sulla Malaria/Italian Malaria Network (CIRM-IMN), Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Keiko Onuma
- Eisai Co.,Ltd. Tsukuba Research Laboratories, 5-1-3 Tokodai, Tsukubashi, Ibaraki 300-2635, Japan
| | - Takashi Hasebe
- Eisai Co.,Ltd. Tsukuba Research Laboratories, 5-1-3 Tokodai, Tsukubashi, Ibaraki 300-2635, Japan
| | - Paul M O'Neill
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZD, United Kingdom
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45
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Dini S, Zaloumis SG, Price DJ, Gobeau N, Kümmel A, Cherkaoui M, Moehrle JJ, McCarthy JS, Simpson JA. Seeking an optimal dosing regimen for OZ439/DSM265 combination therapy for treating uncomplicated falciparum malaria. J Antimicrob Chemother 2021; 76:2325-2334. [PMID: 34179977 DOI: 10.1093/jac/dkab181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 05/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The efficacy of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), the first-line treatments for uncomplicated falciparum malaria, has been declining in malaria-endemic countries due to the emergence of malaria parasites resistant to these compounds. Novel alternative therapies are needed urgently to prevent the likely surge in morbidity and mortality due to failing ACTs. OBJECTIVES This study investigates the efficacy of the combination of two novel drugs, OZ439 and DSM265, using a biologically informed within-host mathematical model. METHODS A within-host model was developed, which accounts for the differential killing of these compounds against different stages of the parasite's life cycle and accommodates the pharmacodynamic interaction between the drugs. Data of healthy volunteers infected with falciparum malaria collected from four trials (three that administered OZ439 and DSM265 alone, and the fourth a combination of OZ439 and DSM265) were analysed. Model parameters were estimated in a hierarchical Bayesian framework. RESULTS The posterior predictive simulations of our model predicted that 800 mg of OZ439 combined with 450 mg of DSM265, which are within the safe and tolerable dose range, can provide above 90% cure rates 42 days after drug administration. CONCLUSIONS Our results show that the combination of OZ439 and DSM265 can be a promising alternative to replace ACTs. Our model can be used to inform future Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of OZ439/DSM265, fast-tracking the deployment of this combination therapy in the regions where ACTs are failing. The dosing regimens that are shown to be efficacious and within safe and tolerable limits are suggested for future investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saber Dini
- Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Sophie G Zaloumis
- Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - David J Price
- Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.,Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
| | | | | | | | | | - James S McCarthy
- Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.,QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Julie A Simpson
- Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
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Melis DR, Barnett CB, Wiesner L, Nordlander E, Smith GS. Quinoline-triazole half-sandwich iridium(III) complexes: synthesis, antiplasmodial activity and preliminary transfer hydrogenation studies. Dalton Trans 2021; 49:11543-11555. [PMID: 32697227 DOI: 10.1039/d0dt01935f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Iridium(iii) half-sandwich complexes containing 7-chloroquinoline-1,2,3-triazole hybrid ligands were synthesised and their inhibitory activities evaluated against the Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite. Supporting computational analysis revealed that metal coordination to the quinoline nitrogen occurs first, forming a kinetic product that, upon heating over time, forms a more stable cyclometallated thermodynamic product. Single crystal X-ray diffraction confirmed the proposed molecular structures of both isolated kinetic and thermodynamic products. Complexation with iridium significantly enhances the in vitro activity of selected ligands against the chloroquine-sensitive (NF54) Plasmodium falciparum strain, with selected complexes being over one hundred times more active than their respective ligands. No cross-resistance was observed in the chloroquine-resistant (K1) strain. No cytotoxicity was observed for selected complexes tested against the mammalian Chinese Hamster Ovarian (CHO) cell line. In addition, speed-of-action assays and β-haematin inhibition studies were performed. Through preliminary qualitative and quantitative cell-free experiments, it was found that the two most active neutral, cyclometallated complexes can act as transfer hydrogenation catalysts, by reducing β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) to NADH in the presence of a hydrogen source, sodium formate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana R Melis
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - Christopher B Barnett
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - Lubbe Wiesner
- Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Observatory 7925, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Ebbe Nordlander
- Chemical Physics, Department of Chemistry, Lund University, Box 124, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Gregory S Smith
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa.
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47
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Yang T, Ottilie S, Istvan ES, Godinez-Macias KP, Lukens AK, Baragaña B, Campo B, Walpole C, Niles JC, Chibale K, Dechering KJ, Llinás M, Lee MCS, Kato N, Wyllie S, McNamara CW, Gamo FJ, Burrows J, Fidock DA, Goldberg DE, Gilbert IH, Wirth DF, Winzeler EA. MalDA, Accelerating Malaria Drug Discovery. Trends Parasitol 2021; 37:493-507. [PMID: 33648890 PMCID: PMC8261838 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2021.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Revised: 01/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The Malaria Drug Accelerator (MalDA) is a consortium of 15 leading scientific laboratories. The aim of MalDA is to improve and accelerate the early antimalarial drug discovery process by identifying new, essential, druggable targets. In addition, it seeks to produce early lead inhibitors that may be advanced into drug candidates suitable for preclinical development and subsequent clinical testing in humans. By sharing resources, including expertise, knowledge, materials, and reagents, the consortium strives to eliminate the structural barriers often encountered in the drug discovery process. Here we discuss the mission of the consortium and its scientific achievements, including the identification of new chemically and biologically validated targets, as well as future scientific directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tuo Yang
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Sabine Ottilie
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Eva S Istvan
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63130, USA; Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Karla P Godinez-Macias
- Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - 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
| | - Beatriz Baragaña
- Wellcome Center for Anti-Infectives Research, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Brice Campo
- Medicines for Malaria Venture, 1215 Geneva 15, Switzerland
| | - Chris Walpole
- Structural Genomics Consortium, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC H4A 3J1, Canada
| | - Jacquin C Niles
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Building 56-341, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA 02139-4307, USA
| | - Kelly Chibale
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), 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
| | | | - Manuel Llinás
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Department of Chemistry, Huck Center for Malaria Research, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16082, USA
| | - Marcus C S Lee
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, UK
| | - Nobutaka Kato
- Global Health Drug Discovery Institute, Zhongguancun Dongsheng International Science Park, 1 North Yongtaizhuang Road, Beijing 100192, China
| | - Susan Wyllie
- Wellcome Center for Anti-Infectives Research, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Case W McNamara
- Calibr, a division of The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Francisco Javier Gamo
- Tres Cantos Medicines Development Campus, Diseases of the Developing World, GlaxoSmithKline, Tres Cantos, 28760, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jeremy Burrows
- Medicines for Malaria Venture, 1215 Geneva 15, Switzerland
| | - David A Fidock
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Daniel E Goldberg
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63130, USA; Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Ian H Gilbert
- Wellcome Center for Anti-Infectives Research, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK
| | - 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
| | - Elizabeth A Winzeler
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
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A randomized, double-blind, phase 2b study to investigate the efficacy, safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of a single-dose regimen of ferroquine with artefenomel in adults and children with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Malar J 2021; 20:222. [PMID: 34011358 PMCID: PMC8135182 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-021-03749-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background For uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria, highly efficacious single-dose treatments are expected to increase compliance and improve treatment outcomes, and thereby may slow the development of resistance. The efficacy and safety of a single-dose combination of artefenomel (800 mg) plus ferroquine (400/600/900/1200 mg doses) for the treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria were evaluated in Africa (focusing on children ≤ 5 years) and Asia. Methods The study was a randomized, double-blind, single-dose, multi-arm clinical trial in patients aged > 6 months to < 70 years, from six African countries and Vietnam. Patients were followed up for 63 days to assess treatment efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics. The primary efficacy endpoint was the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-adjusted adequate clinical and parasitological response (ACPR) at Day 28 in the Per-Protocol [PP] Set comprising only African patients ≤ 5 years. The exposure–response relationship for PCR-adjusted ACPR at Day 28 and prevalence of kelch-13 mutations were explored. Results A total of 373 patients were treated: 289 African patients ≤ 5 years (77.5%), 64 African patients > 5 years and 20 Asian patients. None of the treatment arms met the target efficacy criterion for PCR-adjusted ACPR at Day 28 (lower limit of 95% confidence interval [CI] > 90%). PCR-adjusted ACPR at Day 28 [95% CI] in the PP Set ranged from 78.4% [64.7; 88.7%] to 91.7% [81.6; 97.2%] for the 400 mg to 1200 mg ferroquine dose. Efficacy rates were low in Vietnamese patients, ranging from 20 to 40%. A clear relationship was found between drug exposure (artefenomel and ferroquine concentrations at Day 7) and efficacy (primary endpoint), with higher concentrations of both drugs resulting in higher efficacy. Six distinct kelch-13 mutations were detected in parasite isolates from 10/272 African patients (with 2 mutations known to be associated with artemisinin resistance) and 18/20 Asian patients (all C580Y mutation). Vomiting within 6 h of initial artefenomel administration was common (24.6%) and associated with lower drug exposures. Conclusion The efficacy of artefenomel/ferroquine combination was suboptimal in African children aged ≤ 5 years, the population of interest, and vomiting most likely had a negative impact on efficacy. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02497612. Registered 14 Jul 2015, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02497612?term=NCT02497612&draw=2&rank=1 Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12936-021-03749-4.
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49
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Discovery and development of 2-aminobenzimidazoles as potent antimalarials. Eur J Med Chem 2021; 221:113518. [PMID: 34058708 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2021.113518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Revised: 04/11/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The emergence of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to frontline antimalarials, including artemisinin combination therapies, highlights the need for new molecules that act via novel mechanisms of action. Herein, we report the design, synthesis and antimalarial activity of a series of 2-aminobenzimidazoles, featuring a phenol moiety that is crucial to the pharmacophore. Two potent molecules exhibited IC50 values against P. falciparum 3D7 strain of 42 ± 4 (3c) and 43 ± 2 nM (3g), and high potency against strains resistant to chloroquine (Dd2), artemisinin (Cam3.IIC580Y) and PfATP4 inhibitors (SJ557733), while demonstrating no cytotoxicity against human cells (HEK293, IC50 > 50 μM). The most potent molecule, possessing a 4,5-dimethyl substituted phenol (3r) displayed an IC50 value of 6.4 ± 0.5 nM against P. falciparum 3D7, representing a 12-fold increase in activity from the parent molecule. The 2-aminobenzimidazoles containing a N1-substituted phenol represent a new class of molecules that have high potency in vitro against P. falciparum malaria and low cytotoxicity. They possessed attractive pharmaceutical properties, including low molecular weight, high ligand efficiency, high solubility, synthetic tractability and low in vitro clearance in human liver microsomes.
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50
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Monastyrskyi A, Brockmeyer F, LaCrue AN, Zhao Y, Maher SP, Maignan JR, Padin-Irizarry V, Sakhno YI, Parvatkar PT, Asakawa AH, Huang L, Casandra D, Mashkouri S, Kyle DE, Manetsch R. Aminoalkoxycarbonyloxymethyl Ether Prodrugs with a pH-Triggered Release Mechanism: A Case Study Improving the Solubility, Bioavailability, and Efficacy of Antimalarial 4(1 H)-Quinolones with Single Dose Cures. J Med Chem 2021; 64:6581-6595. [PMID: 33979164 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c01104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Preclinical and clinical development of numerous small molecules is prevented by their poor aqueous solubility, limited absorption, and oral bioavailability. Herein, we disclose a general prodrug approach that converts promising lead compounds into aminoalkoxycarbonyloxymethyl (amino AOCOM) ether-substituted analogues that display significantly improved aqueous solubility and enhanced oral bioavailability, restoring key requirements typical for drug candidate profiles. The prodrug is completely independent of biotransformations and animal-independent because it becomes an active compound via a pH-triggered intramolecular cyclization-elimination reaction. As a proof-of-concept, the utility of this novel amino AOCOM ether prodrug approach was demonstrated on an antimalarial compound series representing a variety of antimalarial 4(1H)-quinolones, which entered and failed preclinical development over the last decade. With the amino AOCOM ether prodrug moiety, the 3-aryl-4(1H)-quinolone preclinical candidate was shown to provide single-dose cures in a rodent malaria model at an oral dose of 3 mg/kg, without the use of an advanced formulation technique.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrii Monastyrskyi
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, CHE 205, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, Tampa, Florida 33620, United States
| | - Fabian Brockmeyer
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, 102 Hurtig Hall, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Alexis N LaCrue
- Department of Global Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 3720 Spectrum Blvd, Suite 304, Tampa, Florida 33612, United States
| | - Yingzhao Zhao
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, 102 Hurtig Hall, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Steven P Maher
- Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, Coverdell Center, Rm 370B, 500 DW Brooks Drive, Athens, Georgia 30602, United States
| | - Jordany R Maignan
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, CHE 205, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, Tampa, Florida 33620, United States
| | - Vivian Padin-Irizarry
- Department of Biology, Clayton State University, 2000 Clayton State Boulevard, Morrow, Georgia 30260, United States.,Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, Coverdell Center, Rm 370B, 500 DW Brooks Drive, Athens, Georgia 30602, United States
| | - Yana I Sakhno
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, CHE 205, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, Tampa, Florida 33620, United States
| | - Prakash T Parvatkar
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, 102 Hurtig Hall, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Ami H Asakawa
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, 102 Hurtig Hall, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Lili Huang
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, 102 Hurtig Hall, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Debora Casandra
- Department of Global Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 3720 Spectrum Blvd, Suite 304, Tampa, Florida 33612, United States
| | - Sherwin Mashkouri
- Department of Global Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 3720 Spectrum Blvd, Suite 304, Tampa, Florida 33612, United States
| | - Dennis E Kyle
- Department of Global Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 3720 Spectrum Blvd, Suite 304, Tampa, Florida 33612, United States.,Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, Coverdell Center, Rm 370B, 500 DW Brooks Drive, Athens, Georgia 30602, United States
| | - Roman Manetsch
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, CHE 205, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, Tampa, Florida 33620, United States.,Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, 102 Hurtig Hall, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States.,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, 102 Hurtig Hall, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
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