1
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Rodríguez-Hernández D, Fenwick MK, Zigweid R, Sankaran B, Myler PJ, Sunnerhagen P, Kaushansky A, Staker BL, Grøtli M. Exploring Subsite Selectivity within Plasmodium vivax N-Myristoyltransferase Using Pyrazole-Derived Inhibitors. J Med Chem 2024; 67:7312-7329. [PMID: 38680035 PMCID: PMC11089503 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c00168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) is a promising antimalarial drug target. Despite biochemical similarities between Plasmodium vivax and human NMTs, our recent research demonstrated that high selectivity is achievable. Herein, we report PvNMT-inhibiting compounds aimed at identifying novel mechanisms of selectivity. Various functional groups are appended to a pyrazole moiety in the inhibitor to target a pocket formed beneath the peptide binding cleft. The inhibitor core group polarity, lipophilicity, and size are also varied to probe the water structure near a channel. Selectivity index values range from 0.8 to 125.3. Cocrystal structures of two selective compounds, determined at 1.97 and 2.43 Å, show that extensions bind the targeted pocket but with different stabilities. A bulky naphthalene moiety introduced into the core binds next to instead of displacing protein-bound waters, causing a shift in the inhibitor position and expanding the binding site. Our structure-activity data provide a conceptual foundation for guiding future inhibitor optimizations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Rodríguez-Hernández
- Department
of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University
of Gothenburg, S-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
- Department
of Structural and Functional Biology, Synthetic Biology Laboratory,
Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP 13083-862, Brazil
| | - Michael K. Fenwick
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Rachael Zigweid
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Banumathi Sankaran
- Molecular
Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging, Berkeley Center for Structural
Biology, Advanced Light Source, Berkeley
National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Peter J. Myler
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Department
of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Per Sunnerhagen
- Department
of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University
of Gothenburg, S-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Alexis Kaushansky
- Center
for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Department
of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Bart L. Staker
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Morten Grøtli
- Department
of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University
of Gothenburg, S-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
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2
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González-Matos M, Aguado ME, Izquierdo M, Monzote L, González-Bacerio J. Compounds with potentialities as novel chemotherapeutic agents in leishmaniasis at preclinical level. Exp Parasitol 2024; 260:108747. [PMID: 38518969 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2024.108747] [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: 12/15/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/24/2024]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis are neglected infectious diseases caused by kinetoplastid protozoan parasites from the genus Leishmania. These sicknesses are present mainly in tropical regions and almost 1 million new cases are reported each year. The absence of vaccines, as well as the high cost, toxicity or resistance to the current drugs determines the necessity of new treatments against these pathologies. In this review, several compounds with potentialities as new antileishmanial drugs are presented. The discussion is restricted to the preclinical level and molecules are organized according to their chemical nature, source and molecular targets. In this manner, we present antimicrobial peptides, flavonoids, withanolides, 8-aminoquinolines, compounds from Leish-Box, pyrazolopyrimidines, and inhibitors of tubulin polymerization/depolymerization, topoisomerase IB, proteases, pteridine reductase, N-myristoyltransferase, as well as enzymes involved in polyamine metabolism, response against oxidative stress, signaling pathways, and sterol biosynthesis. This work is a contribution to the general knowledge of these compounds as antileishmanial agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maikel González-Matos
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Calle 25 #455 Entre I y J, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
| | - Mirtha Elisa Aguado
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Calle 25 #455 Entre I y J, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
| | - Maikel Izquierdo
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Calle 25 #455 Entre I y J, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
| | - Lianet Monzote
- Department of Parasitology, Center for Research, Diagnosis and Reference, Tropical Medicine Institute "Pedro Kourí", Autopista Novia Del Mediodía Km 6½, La Lisa, La Habana, Cuba.
| | - Jorge González-Bacerio
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Calle 25 #455 Entre I y J, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba; Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Calle 25 #455 Entre I y J, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba.
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3
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Kava E, Garbelotti CV, Lopes JLS, Costa-Filho AJ. Myristoylated GRASP55 dimerizes in the presence of model membranes. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2024:1-12. [PMID: 38361284 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2024.2317973] [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: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
The Golgi Reassembly and Stacking Proteins (GRASPs) are engaged in various functions within the cell, both in unconventional secretion mechanisms and structuring and organizing the Golgi apparatus. Understanding their specific role in each situation still requires more structural and functional data at the molecular level. GRASP55 is one of the GRASP members in mammals, anchored to the membrane via the myristoylation of a Gly residue at its N-terminus. Therefore, co-translational modifications, such as myristoylation, are fundamental when considering a strategy to obtain detailed information on the interactions between GRASP55 and membranes. Despite its functional relevance, the N-terminal myristoylation has been underappreciated in the studies reported to date, compromising the previously proposed models for GRASP-membrane interactions. Here, we investigated the synergy between the presence of the membrane and the formation of oligomeric structures of myristoylated GRASP55, using a series of biophysical techniques to perform the structural characterization of the lipidated GRASP55 and its interaction with biological lipid model membranes. Our data fulfill an unexplored gap: the adequate evaluation of the presence of lipidations and lipid membranes on the structure-function dyad of GRASPs.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emanuel Kava
- Laboratório de Biofísica Molecular, Departamento de Física, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Carolina V Garbelotti
- Laboratório de Fisiologia Ecológica de Plantas, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - José Luiz S Lopes
- Laboratório de Biofísica Molecular, Departamento de Física, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Antonio J Costa-Filho
- Laboratório de Biofísica Molecular, Departamento de Física, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
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4
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Sooram B, Mallikarjunachari U, Uddavesh S, Saudagar P. Pharmacophore-guided drug design using LdNMT as a model drug target for leishmaniasis. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2024; 42:863-875. [PMID: 37096664 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2196695] [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: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is caused by Leishmania genus parasites and has a high mortality rate. The available drugs to treat leishmaniasis fail due to acquired resistance in parasites. Several enzymes of the Leishmania parasite have been used to design new therapeutic molecules against leishmaniasis. This study uses a pharmacophore-guided approach to design the drug candidate by targeting Leishmania N-Myristoyl transferase (LdNMT). From the initial sequence analysis of LdNMT, we have identified a unique 20 amino acid stretch exploited for screening and designing the small molecules. The pharmacophore for the myristate binding site on LdNMT was elucidated, and a heatmap was constructed. The leishmanial NMT pharmacophore has similarities with other pathogenic microorganisms. Moreover, substituting alanine in pharmacophoric residues elevates the affinity of myristate with NMT. Furthermore, a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation study was conducted to ascertain the stability of the mutants and or wild type. The wild-type NMT has a comparatively low affinity to myristate compared to alanine mutants, indicating that hydrophobic residues favor the myristate binding. The molecules were initially designed by using pharmacophore as a sieving mechanism. In subsequent steps, the selected molecules screened against leishmanial unique amino acid stretch and subsequently with human, leishmanial full-size NMTs. The compounds BP5, TYI, DMU, 3PE and 4UL were the top hits and chemical features similar to the myristate. The molecule 4UL was found to be highly specific towards leishmanial NMT over human NMT, suggesting the molecule is a strong leishmanial NMT inhibitor. The molecule can be taken further to assess it in in-vitro conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Banesh Sooram
- Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology-Warangal, Warangal, Telangana, India
| | - Uppuladinne Mallikarjunachari
- Department of High Performance Computing-Medical and Bioinformatics Applications, Centre for Development for Advanced Computing (CDAC), Pune, Maharastra, India
| | - Sonavane Uddavesh
- Department of High Performance Computing-Medical and Bioinformatics Applications, Centre for Development for Advanced Computing (CDAC), Pune, Maharastra, India
| | - Prakash Saudagar
- Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology-Warangal, Warangal, Telangana, India
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5
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Tewari D, Rawat K, Bisht A, Almoyad MAA, Wahab S, Chandra S, Pande V. Screening of potential inhibitors of Leishmania major N-myristoyltransferase from Azadirachta indica phytochemicals for leishmaniasis drug discovery by molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation and density functional theory methods. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023:1-18. [PMID: 37922151 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2279281] [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: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/05/2023]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is one of the most neglected parasitic diseases worldwide. The toxicity of current drugs used for its treatment is a major obstacle to their effectiveness, necessitating the discovery and development of new therapeutic agents for better disease control. In Leishmania parasites, N-Myristoyltransferase (NMT) has been identified as a promising target for drug development. Thus, exploring well-known medicinal plants such as Azadirachta indica and their phytochemicals can offer a diverse range of treatment options, potentially leading to disease prevention and control. To assess the therapeutic potential of these compounds, their ADMET prediction and drug-likeness properties were analyzed. The top 4 compounds were selected which had better and significantly low binding energy than the reference molecule QMI. Based on the binding energy score of the top compounds, the results show that Isonimocinolide has the highest binding affinity (-9.8 kcal/mol). In addition, a 100 ns MD simulation of the four best compounds showed that Isonimocinolide and Nimbolide have good stability with LmNMT. These compounds were then subjected to MMPBSA (last 30 ns) calculation to analyze protein-ligand stability and dynamic behavior. Nimbolide and Meldenin showed lowest binding free energy i.e. -84.301 kJ/mol and -91.937 kJ/mol respectively. DFT was employed to calculate the HOMO-LUMO energy gap, global reactivity parameters, and molecular electrostatic potential of all hit molecules. The promising results obtained from MD simulations and MMPBSA analyses provide compelling evidence for the potential use of these compounds in future drug development efforts for the treatment of leishmaniasis.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Disha Tewari
- Department of Biotechnology, Kumaun University, Bhimtal, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Kalpana Rawat
- Computational Biology & Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Soban Singh Jeena University, Almora, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Amisha Bisht
- Department of Botany, P.G. College Bageshwar, Soban Singh Jeena University, Almora, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Mohammad Ali Abdullah Almoyad
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Abha, Khamis Mushyt, Saudi Arabia
| | - Shadma Wahab
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
| | - Subhash Chandra
- Computational Biology & Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Soban Singh Jeena University, Almora, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Veena Pande
- Department of Biotechnology, Kumaun University, Bhimtal, Uttarakhand, India
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6
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Fenwick M, Reers AR, Liu Y, Zigweid R, Sankaran B, Shin J, Hulverson MA, Hammerson B, Fernández Álvaro E, Myler PJ, Kaushansky A, Van Voorhis WC, Fan E, Staker BL. Identification of and Structural Insights into Hit Compounds Targeting N-Myristoyltransferase for Cryptosporidium Drug Development. ACS Infect Dis 2023; 9:1821-1833. [PMID: 37722671 PMCID: PMC10580320 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.3c00151] [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: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/20/2023]
Abstract
Each year, approximately 50,000 children under 5 die as a result of diarrhea caused by Cryptosporidium parvum, a protozoan parasite. There are currently no effective drugs or vaccines available to cure or prevent Cryptosporidium infection, and there are limited tools for identifying and validating targets for drug or vaccine development. We previously reported a high throughput screening (HTS) of a large compound library against Plasmodium N-myristoyltransferase (NMT), a validated drug target in multiple protozoan parasite species. To identify molecules that could be effective against Cryptosporidium, we counter-screened hits from the Plasmodium NMT HTS against Cryptosporidium NMT. We identified two potential hit compounds and validated them against CpNMT to determine if NMT might be an attractive drug target also for Cryptosporidium. We tested the compounds against Cryptosporidium using both cell-based and NMT enzymatic assays. We then determined the crystal structure of CpNMT bound to Myristoyl-Coenzyme A (MyrCoA) and structures of ternary complexes with MyrCoA and the hit compounds to identify the ligand binding modes. The binding site architectures display different conformational states in the presence of the two inhibitors and provide a basis for rational design of selective inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael
K. Fenwick
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID), Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Alexandra R. Reers
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID), Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Yi Liu
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Rachael Zigweid
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID), Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Banumathi Sankaran
- Berkeley
Center for Structural Biology, Advanced Light Source, Berkeley National
Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Janis Shin
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID), Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Matthew A. Hulverson
- Center
for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases, Division of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Bradley Hammerson
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID), Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | | | - Peter J. Myler
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID), Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Department
of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
- Department
of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Alexis Kaushansky
- Center
for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases, Division of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Department
of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Wesley C. Van Voorhis
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID), Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases, Division of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Erkang Fan
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Bart L. Staker
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID), Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
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7
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Nicolau MSP, Resende MA, Serafim P, Lima GYP, Ueira-Vieira C, Nicolau-Junior N, Yoneyama KAG. Identification of potential inhibitors for N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) protein of Plasmodium vivax. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023; 41:7019-7031. [PMID: 36002266 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2022.2114942] [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: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 08/13/2022] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
Malaria is a neglected parasitic infection of global importance. It is mainly present in tropical countries and caused by a protozoa that belongs to the genus Plasmodium. The disease vectors are female Anopheles mosquitoes infected with the Plasmodium spp. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were 241 million malaria cases worldwide in 2020 and approximately 627 thousand malaria deaths in the same year. The increasing resistance to treatment has been a major problem since the beginning of the 21st century. New studies have been conducted to find possible drugs that can be used for the eradication of the disease. In this scenario, a protein named N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) has been studied as a potential drug target. NMT has an important role on the myristoylation of proteins and binds to the plasma membrane, contributing to the stabilization of protein-protein interactions. Thus, inhibition of NMT can lead to death of the parasite cell. Therefore, in order to predict and detect potential inhibitors against Plasmodium NMT, Computer-Aided Drug Design techniques were used in this research that involve virtual screening, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics. Three potential compounds similar to a benzofuran inhibitor were identified as stable PvNMT ligands. These compounds (EXP90, ZBC205 and ZDD968) originate from three different sources, respectively: a commercial library, a natural product library, and the FDA approved drugs dataset. These compounds may be further tested in in vitro and in vivo inhibition tests against Plasmodium vivax NMT.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Milllena Almeida Resende
- Laboratory of Molecular Modeling, Institute of Biotechnology, Federal University of Uberlandia, Uberlandia, MG, Brazil
| | - Pedro Serafim
- Laboratory of Molecular Modeling, Institute of Biotechnology, Federal University of Uberlandia, Uberlandia, MG, Brazil
| | - Germano Yoneda Pereira Lima
- Laboratory of Molecular Modeling, Institute of Biotechnology, Federal University of Uberlandia, Uberlandia, MG, Brazil
| | - Carlos Ueira-Vieira
- Laboratory of Genetics, Institute of Biotechnology, Federal University of Uberlandia, Uberlandia, MG, Brazil
| | - Nilson Nicolau-Junior
- Laboratory of Molecular Modeling, Institute of Biotechnology, Federal University of Uberlandia, Uberlandia, MG, Brazil
| | - Kelly Aparecida Geraldo Yoneyama
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Animal Toxins, Institute of Biotechnology, Federal University of Uberlandia, Uberlandia, MG, Brazil
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8
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Jamabo M, Mahlalela M, Edkins AL, Boshoff A. Tackling Sleeping Sickness: Current and Promising Therapeutics and Treatment Strategies. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:12529. [PMID: 37569903 PMCID: PMC10420020 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241512529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Human African trypanosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by the extracellular protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei, and targeted for eradication by 2030. The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the lengthening of the proposed time frame for eliminating human African trypanosomiasis as control programs were interrupted. Armed with extensive antigenic variation and the depletion of the B cell population during an infectious cycle, attempts to develop a vaccine have remained unachievable. With the absence of a vaccine, control of the disease has relied heavily on intensive screening measures and the use of drugs. The chemotherapeutics previously available for disease management were plagued by issues such as toxicity, resistance, and difficulty in administration. The approval of the latest and first oral drug, fexinidazole, is a major chemotherapeutic achievement for the treatment of human African trypanosomiasis in the past few decades. Timely and accurate diagnosis is essential for effective treatment, while poor compliance and resistance remain outstanding challenges. Drug discovery is on-going, and herein we review the recent advances in anti-trypanosomal drug discovery, including novel potential drug targets. The numerous challenges associated with disease eradication will also be addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miebaka Jamabo
- Biotechnology Innovation Centre, Rhodes University, Makhanda 6139, South Africa; (M.J.); (M.M.)
| | - Maduma Mahlalela
- Biotechnology Innovation Centre, Rhodes University, Makhanda 6139, South Africa; (M.J.); (M.M.)
| | - Adrienne L. Edkins
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Biomedical Biotechnology Research Centre (BioBRU), Rhodes University, Makhanda 6139, South Africa;
| | - Aileen Boshoff
- Biotechnology Innovation Centre, Rhodes University, Makhanda 6139, South Africa; (M.J.); (M.M.)
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9
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Mohammadi-Ghalehbin B, Shiran JA, Gholizadeh N, Razzaghi-Asl N. Synthesis, antileishmanial activity and molecular modeling of new 1-aryl/alkyl-3-benzoyl/cyclopropanoyl thiourea derivatives. Mol Divers 2023; 27:1531-1545. [PMID: 36001225 DOI: 10.1007/s11030-022-10508-3] [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: 06/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Due to the lack of effective vaccine(s) against leishmania and also pharmacokinetics issues of current drugs, it is necessary to discover new antileishmanial agents. Within this particular study, a series of novel 1-aryl/alkyl-3-benzoyl/cyclopropanoyl thiourea derivatives were synthesized (yields 69-84%) and evaluated as antileishmanial compounds (1-11). Synthetic derivatives were subjected to in vitro antileishmanial assessment against Leishmania major promastigotes by colorimetric MTT assay. Compounds 3 (IC50 38.54 µg/mL), 5 (IC50 84.75 µg/mL) and 10 (IC50 70.31 µg/mL) exhibited higher activities after 48 h but were less potent than amphotericin B (IC50 0.19 µg/mL). Antileishmanial activities indicated priority of 5-methyl-4-phenyl thiazole over furyl methyl substituents and 4-phenyl thiazole on thiourea nitrogen. N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) was selected as a validated L. major target for molecular docking studies. In silico results indicated the contribution of hydrophobic, π-stacking and H-bond interactions in binding to target. Most of the synthesized derivatives had lower binding affinities to human NMT (hNMT) than leishmanial enzyme. Docking conformations of top-ranked selective binders (compounds 3 and 5) were subjected to 50 ns MD simulations inside L. major HMT (LmNMT) active site. MD trajectories were used to extract RMSD, RMSF, Rg and durability of intramolecular/intermolecular H-bonds of the complex. It was observed that compound 3 escaped from LmNMT binding site during simulation period and no stable complex could be envisaged. Unlike 3, compound 5 attained stable binding conformation with converged stability parameters. Although mechanistic details for antileishmanial effects of synthesized derivatives are to be explored, current results may be implicated in further structure-guided approach toward potent antileishmanial agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Behnam Mohammadi-Ghalehbin
- Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
- Research Center for Zoonoses, Parasitic and Microbial Diseases, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
| | - Jafar Abbasi Shiran
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, 5618953141, Ardabil, Iran
| | - Nastaran Gholizadeh
- Students Research Committee, School of Pharmacy, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
| | - Nima Razzaghi-Asl
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, 5618953141, Ardabil, Iran.
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10
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Ji Z, Nagar R, Duncan SM, Sampaio Guther ML, Ferguson MAJ. Identification of the glycosylphosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase A2 (GPI-PLA2) that mediates GPI fatty acid remodeling in Trypanosoma brucei. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:105016. [PMID: 37414151 PMCID: PMC10457582 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.105016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The biosynthesis of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins (GPI-APs) in the parasitic protozoan Trypanosoma brucei involves fatty acid remodeling of the GPI precursor molecules before they are transferred to protein in the endoplasmic reticulum. The genes encoding the requisite phospholipase A2 and A1 activities for this remodeling have thus far been elusive. Here, we identify a gene, Tb927.7.6110, that encodes a protein that is both necessary and sufficient for GPI-phospholipase A2 (GPI-PLA2) activity in the procyclic form of the parasite. The predicted protein product belongs to the alkaline ceramidase, PAQR receptor, Per1, SID-1, and TMEM8 (CREST) superfamily of transmembrane hydrolase proteins and shows sequence similarity to Post-GPI-Attachment to Protein 6 (PGAP6), a GPI-PLA2 that acts after transfer of GPI precursors to protein in mammalian cells. We show the trypanosome Tb927.7.6110 GPI-PLA2 gene resides in a locus with two closely related genes Tb927.7.6150 and Tb927.7.6170, one of which (Tb927.7.6150) most likely encodes a catalytically inactive protein. The absence of GPI-PLA2 in the null mutant procyclic cells not only affected fatty acid remodeling but also reduced GPI anchor sidechain size on mature GPI-anchored procyclin glycoproteins. This reduction in GPI anchor sidechain size was reversed upon the re-addition of Tb927.7.6110 and of Tb927.7.6170, despite the latter not encoding GPI precursor GPI-PLA2 activity. Taken together, we conclude that Tb927.7.6110 encodes the GPI-PLA2 of GPI precursor fatty acid remodeling and that more work is required to assess the roles and essentiality of Tb927.7.6170 and the presumably enzymatically inactive Tb927.7.6150.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhe Ji
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Rupa Nagar
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Samuel M Duncan
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Maria Lucia Sampaio Guther
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Michael A J Ferguson
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom.
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11
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Nascimento IJDS, Cavalcanti MDAT, de Moura RO. Exploring N-myristoyltransferase as a promising drug target against parasitic neglected tropical diseases. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 258:115550. [PMID: 37336067 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115550] [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: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 06/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023]
Abstract
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) constitute a group of approximately 20 infectious diseases that mainly affect the impoverished population without basic sanitation in tropical countries. These diseases are responsible for many deaths worldwide, costing billions of dollars in public health investment to treat and control these infections. Among them are the diseases caused by protozoa of the Trypanosomatid family, which constitute Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas disease), Trypanosoma brucei (sleeping sickness), and Leishmaniasis. In addition, there is a classification of other diseases, called the big three, AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, which are endemic in countries with tropical conditions. Despite the high mortality rates, there is still a gap in the treatment. The drugs have a high incidence of side effects and protozoan resistance, justifying the investment in developing new alternatives. In fact, the Target-Based Drug Design (TBDD) approach is responsible for identifying several promising compounds, and among the targets explored through this approach, N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) stands out. It is an enzyme related to the co-translational myristoylation of N-terminal glycine in various peptides. The myristoylation process is a co-translation that occurs after removing the initiator methionine. This process regulates the assembly of protein complexes and stability, which justifies its potential as a drug target. In order to propose NMT as a potential target for parasitic diseases, this review will address the entire structure and function of this enzyme and the primary studies demonstrating its promising potential against Leishmaniasis, T. cruzi, T. brucei, and malaria. We hope our information can help researchers worldwide search for potential drugs against these diseases that have been threatening the health of the world's population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor José Dos Santos Nascimento
- Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, State University of Paraíba, Campina Grande, 58429-500, Brazil; Cesmac University Center, Pharmacy Departament, Maceió, Brazil; Drug Development and Synthesis Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy, State University of Paraíba, Campina Grande, 58429-500, Brazil.
| | - Misael de Azevedo Teotônio Cavalcanti
- Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, State University of Paraíba, Campina Grande, 58429-500, Brazil; Drug Development and Synthesis Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy, State University of Paraíba, Campina Grande, 58429-500, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Olimpio de Moura
- Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, State University of Paraíba, Campina Grande, 58429-500, Brazil; Drug Development and Synthesis Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy, State University of Paraíba, Campina Grande, 58429-500, Brazil
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12
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Xu Y, Lin H. Use of alkyne-tagged myristic acid to detect N-terminal myristoylation. Methods Enzymol 2023; 684:191-208. [PMID: 37230589 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2023.02.019] [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: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Protein N-terminal myristoylation is a lipidic modification typically occurring to the α-amino group of N-terminal glycine residues of proteins. It is catalyzed by the N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) enzyme family. Many studies in the past three decades have highlighted the importance of N-terminal glycine myristoylation as it affects protein localization, protein-protein interaction, and protein stability, thereby regulating multiple biological processes, including immune cell signaling, cancer progression, and infections. This book chapter will present protocols for using alkyne-tagged myristic acid to detect the N-myristoylation of targeted proteins in cell lines and compare global N-myristoylation levels. We then described a protocol of SILAC proteomics that compare the levels of N-myristoylation on a proteomic scale. These assays allow for the identification of potential NMT substrates and the development of novel NMT inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yilai Xu
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Hening Lin
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States.
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13
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Melfi F, Carradori S, Campestre C, Haloci E, Ammazzalorso A, Grande R, D'Agostino I. Emerging compounds and therapeutic strategies to treat infections from Trypanosoma brucei: an overhaul of the last 5-years patents. Expert Opin Ther Pat 2023; 33:247-263. [PMID: 36933190 DOI: 10.1080/13543776.2023.2193328] [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: 03/19/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Human African Trypanosomiasis is a neglected disease caused by infection from parasites belonging to the Trypanosoma brucei species. Only six drugs are currently available and employed depending on the stage of the infection: pentamidine, suramin, melarsoprol, eflornithine, nifurtimox, and fexinidazole. Joint research projects were launched in an attempt to find new therapeutic options for this severe and often lethal disease. AREAS COVERED After a brief description of the recent literature on the parasite and the disease, we searched for patents dealing with the proposal of new anti-trypanosomiasis agents and, following the PRISMA guidelines, we filtered the results to those published from 2018onwards returning suitable entries, which represent the contemporary landscape of compounds/strategies against Trypanosoma brucei. In addition, some relevant publications from the overall scientific literature were also discussed. EXPERT OPINION This review comprehensively covers and analyzes the most recent advances not only in the discovery of new inhibitors and their structure-activity relationships but also in the assessment of innovative biological targets opening new scenarios in the MedChem field. Lastly, also new vaccines and formulations recently patented were described. However, natural and synthetic compounds were analyzed in terms of inhibitory activity and selective toxicity against human cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Melfi
- Department of Pharmacy, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Simone Carradori
- Department of Pharmacy, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Cristina Campestre
- Department of Pharmacy, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Entela Haloci
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Medicine, Tirana, Albania
| | | | - Rossella Grande
- Department of Pharmacy, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Ilaria D'Agostino
- Department of Pharmacy, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
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14
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Johri S, Kumar BK, Dey S, Balana-Fouce R, Gowri Chandra Sekhar KV, Kunjiappan S, Murugesan S. Inspection of in-house designed novel thiochromone amino-acid conjugate derivatives as Lm-NMT inhibitor - An in-silico analysis. J Mol Graph Model 2023; 119:108397. [PMID: 36542915 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmgm.2022.108397] [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: 05/11/2022] [Revised: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a complex neglected tropical disease caused by various leishmanial parasites that primarily affect the world's poorest people. A limited number of standard medications are available for this disease that has been used for several decades, which have drawbacks such as resistance, higher cost, and patient compliance, making it difficult to reach the poor. The search for novel chemical entities to treat leishmaniasis has led to target-based scaffold research. Thiochromone moieties in conjugation with aromatic amino acids have been considered for the study, along with possible substitutions of the electron-withdrawing and electron-donating groups. N-myristoyl transferase (NMT) has been selected as the molecular target for the study responsible for protein-protein interaction and ribosylation of proteins necessary for the growth inside the human body of the parasite. The designed novel thiochromone analogs were docked against the selected leishmanial NMT using thein-silico methods, physicochemical and toxicity properties were predicted, and Structure-Activity Relationship was also established in-silico. Finally, a molecular dynamics simulation study for 100 ns gave an idea about the stability of the protein-ligand complex. A time frame analysis of each 10 ns confirmation was also studied to understand better the putative binding pattern designed analogs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samridhi Johri
- Medicinal Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Pilani Campus, Pilani, 333031, Rajasthan, India
| | - Banoth Karan Kumar
- Medicinal Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Pilani Campus, Pilani, 333031, Rajasthan, India
| | - Sanchita Dey
- Medicinal Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Pilani Campus, Pilani, 333031, Rajasthan, India
| | | | | | - Selvaraj Kunjiappan
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Bio and Chemical Engineering, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Krishnankoil, 626126, Tamilnadu, India
| | - Sankaranarayanan Murugesan
- Medicinal Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Pilani Campus, Pilani, 333031, Rajasthan, India.
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15
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Leroux M, Luquain-Costaz C, Lawton P, Azzouz-Maache S, Delton I. Fatty Acid Composition and Metabolism in Leishmania Parasite Species: Potential Biomarkers or Drug Targets for Leishmaniasis? Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24054702. [PMID: 36902138 PMCID: PMC10003364 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24054702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2022] [Revised: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Fatty acids have received growing interest in Leishmania biology with the characterization of the enzymes allowing the complete fatty acid synthesis of this trypanosomatid parasite. This review presents a comparative analysis of the fatty acid profiles of the major classes of lipids and phospholipids in different species of Leishmania with cutaneous or visceral tropism. Specificities relating to the parasite forms, resistance to antileishmanial drugs, and host/parasite interactions are described as well as comparisons with other trypanosomatids. Emphasis is placed on polyunsaturated fatty acids and their metabolic and functional specificities, in particular, their conversion into oxygenated metabolites that are inflammatory mediators able to modulate metacyclogenesis and parasite infectivity. The impact of lipid status on the development of leishmaniasis and the potential of fatty acids as therapeutic targets or candidates for nutritional interventions are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Leroux
- CNRS 5007, LAGEPP, Université of Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Céline Luquain-Costaz
- CNRS 5007, LAGEPP, Université of Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
- Department of Biosciences, INSA Lyon, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Philippe Lawton
- CNRS 5007, LAGEPP, Université of Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Samira Azzouz-Maache
- CNRS 5007, LAGEPP, Université of Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Isabelle Delton
- CNRS 5007, LAGEPP, Université of Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
- Department of Biosciences, INSA Lyon, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
- Correspondence:
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16
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Orabi MAA, Alshahrani MM, Sayed AM, Abouelela ME, Shaaban KA, Abdel-Sattar ES. Identification of Potential Leishmania N-Myristoyltransferase Inhibitors from Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal: A Molecular Docking and Molecular Dynamics Investigation. Metabolites 2023; 13:metabo13010093. [PMID: 36677018 PMCID: PMC9861338 DOI: 10.3390/metabo13010093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2022] [Revised: 01/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a group of infectious diseases caused by Leishmania protozoa. The ineffectiveness, high toxicity, and/or parasite resistance of the currently available antileishmanial drugs has created an urgent need for safe and effective leishmaniasis treatment. Currently, the molecular-docking technique is used to predict the proper conformations of small-molecule ligands and the strength of the contact between a protein and a ligand, and the majority of research for the development of new drugs is centered on this type of prediction. Leishmania N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) has been shown to be a reliable therapeutic target for investigating new anti-leishmanial molecules through this kind of virtual screening. Natural products provide an incredible source of affordable chemical scaffolds that serve in the development of effective drugs. Withania somnifera leaves, roots, and fruits have been shown to contain withanolide and other phytomolecules that are efficient anti-protozoal agents against Malaria, Trypanosoma, and Leishmania spp. Through a review of previously reported compounds from W. somnifera-afforded 35 alkaloid, phenolic, and steroid compounds and 132 withanolides/derivatives, typical of the Withania genus. These compounds were subjected to molecular docking screening and molecular dynamics against L. major NMT. Calycopteretin-3-rutinoside and withanoside IX showed the highest affinity and binding stability to L. major NMT, implying that these compounds could be used as antileishmanial drugs and/or as a scaffold for the design of related parasite NMT inhibitors with markedly enhanced binding affinity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed A. A. Orabi
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Najran University, Najran 61441, Saudi Arabia
- Correspondence: or ; Tel.: +966-557398835
| | - Mohammed Merae Alshahrani
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Najran University, Najran 61441, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed M. Sayed
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Nahda University, Beni-Suef 62513, Egypt
| | - Mohamed E. Abouelela
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Assiut-Branch, Assiut 71524, Egypt
- Center for Pharmaceutical Research and Innovation, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
| | - Khaled A. Shaaban
- Center for Pharmaceutical Research and Innovation, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
| | - El-Shaymaa Abdel-Sattar
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, South Valley University, Qena 83523, Egypt
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17
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Rivière F, Monassa P, Giglione C, Meinnel T. Kinetic and catalytic features of N-myristoyltransferases. Methods Enzymol 2023; 684:167-190. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2023.02.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
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18
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Structural and large-scale analysis unveil the intertwined paths promoting NMT-catalyzed lysine and glycine myristoylation. J Mol Biol 2022; 434:167843. [PMID: 36181773 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2022.167843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Revised: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
N-myristoyltransferases (NMTs) catalyze protein myristoylation, a lipid modification crucial for cell survival and a range of pathophysiological processes. Originally thought to modify only N-terminal glycine α-amino groups (G-myristoylation), NMTs were recently shown to also modify lysine ε-amino groups (K-myristoylation). However, the clues ruling NMT-dependent K-myristoylation and the full range of targets are currently unknown. Here we combine mass spectrometry, kinetic studies, in silico analysis, and crystallography to identify the specific features driving each modification. We show that direct interactions between the substrate's reactive amino group and the NMT catalytic base promote K-myristoylation but with poor efficiency compared to G-myristoylation, which instead uses a water-mediated interaction. We provide evidence of depletion of proteins with NMT-dependent K-myristoylation motifs in humans, suggesting evolutionary pressure to prevent this modification in favor of G-myristoylation. In turn, we reveal that K-myristoylation may only result from post-translational events. Our studies finally unravel the respective paths towards K-myristoylation or G-myristoylation, which rely on a very subtle tradeoff embracing the chemical landscape around the reactive group.
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19
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Sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate-catalyzed reaction for green synthesis of biologically active benzylpyrazolyl-coumarin derivatives, mechanism studies, theoretical calculations. J Mol Struct 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2022.132908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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20
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Fall F, Mamede L, Schioppa L, Ledoux A, De Tullio P, Michels P, Frédérich M, Quetin-Leclercq J. Trypanosoma brucei: Metabolomics for analysis of cellular metabolism and drug discovery. Metabolomics 2022; 18:20. [PMID: 35305174 DOI: 10.1007/s11306-022-01880-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Trypanosoma brucei is the causative agent of Human African Trypanosomiasis (also known as sleeping sickness), a disease causing serious neurological disorders and fatal if left untreated. Due to its lethal pathogenicity, a variety of treatments have been developed over the years, but which have some important limitations such as acute toxicity and parasite resistance. Metabolomics is an innovative tool used to better understand the parasite's cellular metabolism, and identify new potential targets, modes of action and resistance mechanisms. The metabolomic approach is mainly associated with robust analytical techniques, such as NMR and Mass Spectrometry. Applying these tools to the trypanosome parasite is, thus, useful for providing new insights into the sleeping sickness pathology and guidance towards innovative treatments. AIM OF REVIEW The present review aims to comprehensively describe the T. brucei biology and identify targets for new or commercialized antitrypanosomal drugs. Recent metabolomic applications to provide a deeper knowledge about the mechanisms of action of drugs or potential drugs against T. brucei are highlighted. Additionally, the advantages of metabolomics, alone or combined with other methods, are discussed. KEY SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS OF REVIEW Compared to other parasites, only few studies employing metabolomics have to date been reported on Trypanosoma brucei. Published metabolic studies, treatments and modes of action are discussed. The main interest is to evaluate the metabolomics contribution to the understanding of T. brucei's metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanta Fall
- Pharmacognosy Research Group, Louvain Drug Research Institute (LDRI), UCLouvain, Avenue E. Mounier B1 72.03, B-1200, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Lucia Mamede
- Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, Center of Interdisciplinary Research On Medicines (CIRM), University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Laura Schioppa
- Pharmacognosy Research Group, Louvain Drug Research Institute (LDRI), UCLouvain, Avenue E. Mounier B1 72.03, B-1200, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Allison Ledoux
- Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, Center of Interdisciplinary Research On Medicines (CIRM), University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Pascal De Tullio
- Metabolomics Group, Center of Interdisciplinary Research On Medicines (CIRM), University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Paul Michels
- Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution (CIIE) and Centre for Translational and Chemical Biology (CTCB), School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland
| | - Michel Frédérich
- Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, Center of Interdisciplinary Research On Medicines (CIRM), University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Joëlle Quetin-Leclercq
- Pharmacognosy Research Group, Louvain Drug Research Institute (LDRI), UCLouvain, Avenue E. Mounier B1 72.03, B-1200, Brussels, Belgium
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21
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Roberts AJ, Ong HB, Clare S, Brandt C, Harcourt K, Franssen SU, Cotton JA, Müller-Sienerth N, Wright GJ. Systematic identification of genes encoding cell surface and secreted proteins that are essential for in vitro growth and infection in Leishmania donovani. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010364. [PMID: 35202447 PMCID: PMC8903277 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is an infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Leishmania for which there are no approved human vaccines. Infections localise to different tissues in a species-specific manner with the visceral form of the disease caused by Leishmania donovani and L. infantum being the most deadly in humans. Although Leishmania spp. parasites are predominantly intracellular, the visceral disease can be prevented in dogs by vaccinating with a complex mixture of secreted products from cultures of L. infantum promastigotes. With the logic that extracellular parasite proteins make good subunit vaccine candidates because they are directly accessible to vaccine-elicited host antibodies, here we attempt to discover proteins that are essential for in vitro growth and host infection with the goal of identifying subunit vaccine candidates. Using an in silico analysis of the Leishmania donovani genome, we identified 92 genes encoding proteins that are predicted to be secreted or externally anchored to the parasite membrane by a single transmembrane region or a GPI anchor. By selecting a transgenic L. donovani parasite that expresses both luciferase and the Cas9 nuclease, we systematically attempted to target all 92 genes by CRISPR genome editing and identified four that were required for in vitro growth. For fifty-five genes, we infected cohorts of mice with each mutant parasite and by longitudinally quantifying parasitaemia with bioluminescent imaging, showed that nine genes had evidence of an attenuated infection although all ultimately established an infection. Finally, we expressed two genes as full-length soluble recombinant proteins and tested them as subunit vaccine candidates in a murine preclinical infection model. Both proteins elicited significant levels of protection against the uncontrolled development of a splenic infection warranting further investigation as subunit vaccine candidates against this deadly infectious tropical disease. Leishmaniasis is a parasitic infectious disease that is responsible for many tens of thousands of human deaths per year, primarily in impoverished parts of the world. Although there are drugs to treat this parasite infection, resistance is emerging and there are no approved human vaccines. Extracellular parasite proteins can make good vaccine targets because they are directly accessible to host antibodies; however, not all parasite surface proteins can elicit protective immune responses. With the goal of identifying new vaccine targets, we selected over 90 genes that encode parasite cell surface and secreted proteins and used the latest CRISPR gene editing technology to individually target them. Using these mutant parasites, we identified four genes required for parasite growth in the laboratory. We expressed two of the proteins as subunit vaccines and a preclinical infection model was used to determine if they could elicit protective immune responses. We found that two of our candidates were able to confer significant levels of protection in a murine model of visceral leishmaniasis. Our study will contribute to the search for a highly effective vaccine against visceral leishmaniasis to improve the lives of people living in some of the poorest regions on the planet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam J. Roberts
- Cell Surface Signalling Laboratory, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Han B. Ong
- Cell Surface Signalling Laboratory, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Simon Clare
- Pathogen Support Team, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Cordelia Brandt
- Pathogen Support Team, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Katherine Harcourt
- Pathogen Support Team, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Susanne U. Franssen
- Parasite Genomics, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - James A. Cotton
- Parasite Genomics, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Nicole Müller-Sienerth
- Cell Surface Signalling Laboratory, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Gavin J. Wright
- Cell Surface Signalling Laboratory, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Department of Biology, Hull York Medical School, York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, York, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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22
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Pandey M, Huang Y, Lim TK, Lin Q, He CY. Flagellar targeting of an arginine kinase requires a conserved lipidated protein intraflagellar transport (LIFT) pathway in Trypanosoma brucei. J Biol Chem 2020; 295:11326-11336. [PMID: 32587088 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra120.014287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2020] [Revised: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Both intraflagellar transport (IFT) and lipidated protein intraflagellar transport (LIFT) pathways are essential for cilia/flagella biogenesis, motility, and sensory functions. In the LIFT pathway, lipidated cargoes are transported into the cilia through the coordinated actions of cargo carrier proteins such as Unc119 or PDE6δ, as well as small GTPases Arl13b and Arl3 in the cilium. Our previous studies have revealed a single Arl13b ortholog in the evolutionarily divergent Trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent of African sleeping sickness. TbArl13 catalyzes two TbArl3 homologs, TbArl3A and TbArl3C, suggesting the presence of a conserved LIFT pathway in these protozoan parasites. Only a single homolog to the cargo carrier protein Unc119 has been identified in T. brucei genome, but its function in lipidated protein transport has not been characterized. In this study, we exploited the proximity-based biotinylation approach to identify binding partners of TbUnc119. We showed that TbUnc119 binds to a flagellar arginine kinase TbAK3 in a myristoylation-dependent manner and is responsible for its targeting to and enrichment in the flagellum. Interestingly, only TbArl3A, but not TbArl3C interacted with TbUnc119 in a GTP-dependent manner, suggesting functional specialization of Arl3-GTPases in T. brucei These results establish the function of TbUnc119 as a myristoylated cargo carrier and support the presence of a conserved LIFT pathway in T. brucei.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maneesha Pandey
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Yameng Huang
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Teck Kwang Lim
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Qingsong Lin
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Cynthia Y He
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore
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23
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Fedoryshchak RO, Ocasio CA, Strutton B, Mattocks J, Corran AJ, Tate EW. Wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici N-myristoyltransferase inhibitors: on-target antifungal activity and an unusual metabolic defense mechanism. RSC Chem Biol 2020; 1:68-78. [PMID: 34458749 PMCID: PMC8341946 DOI: 10.1039/d0cb00020e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Zymoseptoria tritici is the causative agent of Septoria tritici blotch (STB), which costs billions of dollars annually to major wheat-producing countries in terms of both fungicide use and crop loss. Agricultural pathogenic fungi have acquired resistance to most commercially available fungicide classes, and the rate of discovery and development of new fungicides has stalled, demanding new approaches and insights. Here we investigate a potential mechanism of targeting an important wheat pathogen Z. tritici via inhibition of N-myristoyltransferase (NMT). We characterize Z. tritici NMT biochemically for the first time, profile the in vivo Z. tritici myristoylated proteome and identify and validate the first Z. tritici NMT inhibitors. Proteomic investigation of the downstream effects of NMT inhibition identified an unusual and novel mechanism of defense against chemical toxicity in Z. tritici through the application of comparative bioinformatics to deconvolute function from the previously largely unannotated Z. tritici proteome. Research into novel fungicidal modes-of-action is essential to satisfy an urgent unmet need for novel fungicide targets, and we anticipate that this study will serve as a useful proteomics and bioinformatics resource for researchers studying Z. tritici.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roman O Fedoryshchak
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub Wood Lane London W12 0BZ UK
- The Francis Crick Institute 1 Midland Rd London NW1 1AT UK
| | - Cory A Ocasio
- The Francis Crick Institute 1 Midland Rd London NW1 1AT UK
| | | | - Jo Mattocks
- Syngenta AG, Jealott's Hill Research Centre Bracknell UK
| | | | - Edward W Tate
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub Wood Lane London W12 0BZ UK
- The Francis Crick Institute 1 Midland Rd London NW1 1AT UK
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24
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Álvarez-Bardón M, Pérez-Pertejo Y, Ordóñez C, Sepúlveda-Crespo D, Carballeira NM, Tekwani BL, Murugesan S, Martinez-Valladares M, García-Estrada C, Reguera RM, Balaña-Fouce R. Screening Marine Natural Products for New Drug Leads against Trypanosomatids and Malaria. Mar Drugs 2020; 18:E187. [PMID: 32244488 PMCID: PMC7230869 DOI: 10.3390/md18040187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2020] [Revised: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/25/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) represent a serious threat to humans, especially for those living in poor or developing countries. Almost one-sixth of the world population is at risk of suffering from these diseases and many thousands die because of NTDs, to which we should add the sanitary, labor and social issues that hinder the economic development of these countries. Protozoan-borne diseases are responsible for more than one million deaths every year. Visceral leishmaniasis, Chagas disease or sleeping sickness are among the most lethal NTDs. Despite not being considered an NTD by the World Health Organization (WHO), malaria must be added to this sinister group. Malaria, caused by the apicomplexan parasite Plasmodium falciparum, is responsible for thousands of deaths each year. The treatment of this disease has been losing effectiveness year after year. Many of the medicines currently in use are obsolete due to their gradual loss of efficacy, their intrinsic toxicity and the emergence of drug resistance or a lack of adherence to treatment. Therefore, there is an urgent and global need for new drugs. Despite this, the scant interest shown by most of the stakeholders involved in the pharmaceutical industry makes our present therapeutic arsenal scarce, and until recently, the search for new drugs has not been seriously addressed. The sources of new drugs for these and other pathologies include natural products, synthetic molecules or repurposing drugs. The most frequent sources of natural products are microorganisms, e.g., bacteria, fungi, yeasts, algae and plants, which are able to synthesize many drugs that are currently in use (e.g. antimicrobials, antitumor, immunosuppressants, etc.). The marine environment is another well-established source of bioactive natural products, with recent applications against parasites, bacteria and other pathogens which affect humans and animals. Drug discovery techniques have rapidly advanced since the beginning of the millennium. The combination of novel techniques that include the genetic modification of pathogens, bioimaging and robotics has given rise to the standardization of High-Performance Screening platforms in the discovery of drugs. These advancements have accelerated the discovery of new chemical entities with antiparasitic effects. This review presents critical updates regarding the use of High-Throughput Screening (HTS) in the discovery of drugs for NTDs transmitted by protozoa, including malaria, and its application in the discovery of new drugs of marine origin.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Álvarez-Bardón
- Department of Biomedical Sciences; University of León, 24071 León, Spain; (M.Á.-B.); (Y.P.-P.); (C.O.); (D.S.-C.); (R.M.R.)
| | - Yolanda Pérez-Pertejo
- Department of Biomedical Sciences; University of León, 24071 León, Spain; (M.Á.-B.); (Y.P.-P.); (C.O.); (D.S.-C.); (R.M.R.)
| | - César Ordóñez
- Department of Biomedical Sciences; University of León, 24071 León, Spain; (M.Á.-B.); (Y.P.-P.); (C.O.); (D.S.-C.); (R.M.R.)
| | - Daniel Sepúlveda-Crespo
- Department of Biomedical Sciences; University of León, 24071 León, Spain; (M.Á.-B.); (Y.P.-P.); (C.O.); (D.S.-C.); (R.M.R.)
| | - Nestor M. Carballeira
- Department of Chemistry, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras 00925-2537, San Juan, Puerto Rico;
| | - Babu L. Tekwani
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Division of Drug Discovery, Southern Research, Birmingham, AL 35205, USA;
| | - Sankaranarayanan Murugesan
- Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani Campus, Vidya Vihar, Pilani 333031, India;
| | - Maria Martinez-Valladares
- Department of Animal Health, Instituto de Ganadería de Montaña (CSIC-Universidad de León), Grulleros, 24346 León, Spain;
| | - Carlos García-Estrada
- INBIOTEC (Instituto de Biotecnología de León), Avda. Real 1-Parque Científico de León, 24006 León, Spain;
| | - Rosa M. Reguera
- Department of Biomedical Sciences; University of León, 24071 León, Spain; (M.Á.-B.); (Y.P.-P.); (C.O.); (D.S.-C.); (R.M.R.)
| | - Rafael Balaña-Fouce
- Department of Biomedical Sciences; University of León, 24071 León, Spain; (M.Á.-B.); (Y.P.-P.); (C.O.); (D.S.-C.); (R.M.R.)
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25
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Paape D, Prendergast CT, Price HP, Doehl JSP, Smith DF. Genetic validation of Leishmania genes essential for amastigote survival in vivo using N-myristoyltransferase as a model. Parasit Vectors 2020; 13:132. [PMID: 32171322 PMCID: PMC7071782 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-020-3999-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Accepted: 02/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Proving that specific genes are essential for the intracellular viability of Leishmania parasites within macrophages remains a challenge for the identification of suitable targets for drug development. This is especially evident in the absence of a robust inducible expression system or functioning RNAi machinery that works in all Leishmania species. Currently, if a target gene of interest in extracellular parasites can only be deleted from its genomic locus in the presence of ectopic expression from a wild type copy, it is assumed that this gene will also be essential for viability in disease-promoting intracellular parasites. However, functional essentiality must be proven independently in both life-cycle stages for robust validation of the gene of interest as a putative target for chemical intervention. METHODS Here, we have used plasmid shuffle methods in vivo to provide supportive genetic evidence that N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) is essential for Leishmania viability throughout the parasite life-cycle. Following confirmation of NMT essentiality in vector-transmitted promastigotes, a range of mutant parasites were used to infect mice prior to negative selection pressure to test the hypothesis that NMT is also essential for parasite viability in an established infection. RESULTS Ectopically-expressed NMT was only dispensable under negative selection in the presence of another copy. Total parasite burdens in animals subjected to negative selection were comparable to control groups only if an additional NMT copy, not affected by the negative selection, was expressed. CONCLUSIONS NMT is an essential gene in all parasite life-cycle stages, confirming its role as a genetically-validated target for drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Paape
- Centre for Immunology and Infection, Department of Biology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD UK
- Present Address: Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8TA UK
| | - Catriona T. Prendergast
- Centre for Immunology and Infection, Department of Biology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD UK
- Present Address: Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8TA UK
| | - Helen P. Price
- Centre for Immunology and Infection, Department of Biology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD UK
- Present Address: Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology, School of Life Sciences, Keele University, Newcastle-under-Lyme, ST5 5BG UK
| | - Johannes S. P. Doehl
- Centre for Immunology and Infection, Department of Biology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD UK
| | - Deborah F. Smith
- Centre for Immunology and Infection, Department of Biology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD UK
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26
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Khalil R, Ashraf S, Khalid A, Ul-Haq Z. Exploring Novel N-Myristoyltransferase Inhibitors: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Approach. ACS OMEGA 2019; 4:13658-13670. [PMID: 31497683 PMCID: PMC6714517 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.9b00843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2019] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
N-Myristoyltransferase (NMT) is a cytosolic monomeric enzyme involved in the allocation of the myristoyl group to the aminoterminal of glycine in several viral and eukaryotic cellular proteins. NMT has been validated as a potential drug target against kinetoplastid for parasitic protozoa. A multistep virtual screening protocol based on the pharmacophore modeling, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulation was carried out. Initially, Maybridge database was virtually screened via a validated pharmacophore model. The effective pharmacophore models were accompanied with exclusion volumes to improve their receiver operating characteristic curve to identify potential NMT inhibitors. The hits identified as actives based on the 3D-pharmacophore model were evaluated by molecular docking studies. In stepwise screening, six compounds were shortlisted for the dynamic simulation to get insights into their binding mode. In conclusion, this study provides fundamental information about the architecture of the binding site and some crucial residues that may provide insights into the development of new antiparasitic agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruqaiya Khalil
- Dr.
Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International
Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, and HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry,
International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan
| | - Sajda Ashraf
- Dr.
Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International
Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, and HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry,
International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan
| | - Asaad Khalid
- Substance Abuse and Toxicology Research Centre, Jazan University, P.O. Box 114, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia
- Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research Institute, National Center for Research, P.O. Box
2424, Khartoum 11111, Sudan
| | - Zaheer Ul-Haq
- Dr.
Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International
Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, and HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry,
International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan
- E-mail:
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27
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Kersten C, Fleischer E, Kehrein J, Borek C, Jaenicke E, Sotriffer C, Brenk R. How To Design Selective Ligands for Highly Conserved Binding Sites: A Case Study Using N-Myristoyltransferases as a Model System. J Med Chem 2019; 63:2095-2113. [PMID: 31423787 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b00586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
A model system of two related enzymes with conserved binding sites, namely N-myristoyltransferase from two different organisms, was studied to decipher the driving forces that lead to selective inhibition in such cases. Using a combination of computational and experimental tools, two different selectivity-determining features were identified. For some ligands, a change in side-chain flexibility appears to be responsible for selective inhibition. Remarkably, this was observed for residues orienting their side chains away from the ligands. For other ligands, selectivity is caused by interfering with a water molecule that binds more strongly to the off-target than to the target. On the basis of this finding, a virtual screen for selective compounds was conducted, resulting in three hit compounds with the desired selectivity profile. This study delivers a guideline on how to assess selectivity-determining features in proteins with conserved binding sites and to translate this knowledge into the design of selective inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Kersten
- Institute of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Staudingerweg 5, 55128 Mainz, Germany.,Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Jonas Lies vei 91, 5020 Bergen, Norway
| | - Edmond Fleischer
- Institute of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Staudingerweg 5, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Josef Kehrein
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Jonas Lies vei 91, 5020 Bergen, Norway.,Institute of Pharmacy and Food Chemistry, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Christoph Borek
- Institute of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Staudingerweg 5, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Elmar Jaenicke
- Institute of Molecular Biophysics, Johannes Gutenberg University, Jakob-Welder-Weg 26, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Christoph Sotriffer
- Institute of Pharmacy and Food Chemistry, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Ruth Brenk
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Jonas Lies vei 91, 5020 Bergen, Norway
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28
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Kallemeijn WW, Lueg GA, Faronato M, Hadavizadeh K, Goya Grocin A, Song OR, Howell M, Calado DP, Tate EW. Validation and Invalidation of Chemical Probes for the Human N-myristoyltransferases. Cell Chem Biol 2019; 26:892-900.e4. [PMID: 31006618 PMCID: PMC6593224 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2019.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2019] [Revised: 02/20/2019] [Accepted: 03/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
On-target, cell-active chemical probes are of fundamental importance in chemical and cell biology, whereas poorly characterized probes often lead to invalid conclusions. Human N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) has attracted increasing interest as target in cancer and infectious diseases. Here we report an in-depth comparison of five compounds widely applied as human NMT inhibitors, using a combination of quantitative whole-proteome N-myristoylation profiling, biochemical enzyme assays, cytotoxicity, in-cell protein synthesis, and cell-cycle assays. We find that N-myristoylation is unaffected by 2-hydroxymyristic acid (100 μM), D-NMAPPD (30 μM), or Tris-DBA palladium (10 μM), with the latter compounds causing cytotoxicity through mechanisms unrelated to NMT. In contrast, drug-like inhibitors IMP-366 (DDD85646) and IMP-1088 delivered complete and specific inhibition of N-myristoylation in a range of cell lines at 1 μM and 100 nM, respectively. This study enables the selection of appropriate on-target probes for future studies and suggests the need for reassessment of previous studies that used off-target compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wouter W Kallemeijn
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Research Science Hub, 80 Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Gregor A Lueg
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Research Science Hub, 80 Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, UK; The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Monica Faronato
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Research Science Hub, 80 Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, UK; The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Kate Hadavizadeh
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Research Science Hub, 80 Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Andrea Goya Grocin
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Research Science Hub, 80 Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Ok-Ryul Song
- The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Michael Howell
- The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Dinis P Calado
- The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK; Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology, School of Immunology & Microbial Sciences, King's College London, London SE1 9RT, UK
| | - Edward W Tate
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Research Science Hub, 80 Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, UK; The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK.
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29
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Alonso AM, Turowski VR, Ruiz DM, Orelo BD, Moresco JJ, Yates JR, Corvi MM. Exploring protein myristoylation in Toxoplasma gondii. Exp Parasitol 2019; 203:8-18. [PMID: 31150653 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2019.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2019] [Revised: 05/15/2019] [Accepted: 05/27/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii is an important human and veterinary pathogen and the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, a potentially severe disease especially in immunocompromised or congenitally infected humans. Current therapeutic compounds are not well-tolerated, present increasing resistance, limited efficacy and require long periods of treatment. On this context, searching for new therapeutic targets is crucial to drug discovery. In this sense, recent works suggest that N-myristoyltransferase (NMT), the enzyme responsible for protein myristoylation that is essential in some parasites, could be the target of new anti-parasitic compounds. However, up to date there is no information on NMT and the extent of this modification in T. gondii. In this work, we decided to explore T. gondii genome in search of elements related with the N-myristoylation process. By a bioinformatics approach it was possible to identify a putative T. gondii NMT (TgNMT). This enzyme that is homologous to other parasitic NMTs, presents activity in vitro, is expressed in both intra- and extracellular parasites and interacts with predicted TgNMT substrates. Additionally, NMT activity seems to be important for the lytic cycle of Toxoplasma gondii. In parallel, an in silico myristoylome predicts 157 proteins to be affected by this modification. Myristoylated proteins would be affecting several metabolic functions with some of them being critical for the life cycle of this parasite. Together, these data indicate that TgNMT could be an interesting target of intervention for the treatment of toxoplasmosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrés M Alonso
- Laboratorio de Bioquímica y Biología Celular de Parásitos, Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (INTECH), CONICET, Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Intendente Marino Km 8.2, B7130, Chascomús, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Valeria R Turowski
- Laboratorio de Bioquímica y Biología Celular de Parásitos, Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (INTECH), CONICET, Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Intendente Marino Km 8.2, B7130, Chascomús, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Diego M Ruiz
- Laboratorio de Bioquímica y Biología Celular de Parásitos, Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (INTECH), CONICET, Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Intendente Marino Km 8.2, B7130, Chascomús, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Barbara D Orelo
- Department of Chemical Physiology, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, SR11, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - James J Moresco
- Department of Chemical Physiology, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, SR11, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - John R Yates
- Department of Chemical Physiology, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, SR11, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - María M Corvi
- Laboratorio de Bioquímica y Biología Celular de Parásitos, Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (INTECH), CONICET, Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Intendente Marino Km 8.2, B7130, Chascomús, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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30
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Veale CGL. Unpacking the Pathogen Box-An Open Source Tool for Fighting Neglected Tropical Disease. ChemMedChem 2019; 14:386-453. [PMID: 30614200 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.201800755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The Pathogen Box is a 400-strong collection of drug-like compounds, selected for their potential against several of the world's most important neglected tropical diseases, including trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, cryptosporidiosis, toxoplasmosis, filariasis, schistosomiasis, dengue virus and trichuriasis, in addition to malaria and tuberculosis. This library represents an ensemble of numerous successful drug discovery programmes from around the globe, aimed at providing a powerful resource to stimulate open source drug discovery for diseases threatening the most vulnerable communities in the world. This review seeks to provide an in-depth analysis of the literature pertaining to the compounds in the Pathogen Box, including structure-activity relationship highlights, mechanisms of action, related compounds with reported activity against different diseases, and, where appropriate, discussion on the known and putative targets of compounds, thereby providing context and increasing the accessibility of the Pathogen Box to the drug discovery community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clinton G L Veale
- School of Chemistry and Physics, Pietermaritzburg Campus, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, South Africa
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31
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Corpas-Lopez V, Moniz S, Thomas M, Wall RJ, Torrie LS, Zander-Dinse D, Tinti M, Brand S, Stojanovski L, Manthri S, Hallyburton I, Zuccotto F, Wyatt PG, De Rycker M, Horn D, Ferguson MAJ, Clos J, Read KD, Fairlamb AH, Gilbert IH, Wyllie S. Pharmacological Validation of N-Myristoyltransferase as a Drug Target in Leishmania donovani. ACS Infect Dis 2019; 5:111-122. [PMID: 30380837 PMCID: PMC6332449 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.8b00226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), caused by the protozoan parasites Leishmania donovani and L. infantum, is responsible for ∼30 000 deaths annually. Available treatments are inadequate, and there is a pressing need for new therapeutics. N-Myristoyltransferase (NMT) remains one of the few genetically validated drug targets in these parasites. Here, we sought to pharmacologically validate this enzyme in Leishmania. A focused set of 1600 pyrazolyl sulfonamide compounds was screened against L. major NMT in a robust high-throughput biochemical assay. Several potent inhibitors were identified with marginal selectivity over the human enzyme. There was little correlation between the enzyme potency of these inhibitors and their cellular activity against L. donovani axenic amastigotes, and this discrepancy could be due to poor cellular uptake due to the basicity of these compounds. Thus, a series of analogues were synthesized with less basic centers. Although most of these compounds continued to suffer from relatively poor antileishmanial activity, our most potent inhibitor of LmNMT (DDD100097, K i of 0.34 nM) showed modest activity against L. donovani intracellular amastigotes (EC50 of 2.4 μM) and maintained a modest therapeutic window over the human enzyme. Two unbiased approaches, namely, screening against our cosmid-based overexpression library and thermal proteome profiling (TPP), confirm that DDD100097 (compound 2) acts on-target within parasites. Oral dosing with compound 2 resulted in a 52% reduction in parasite burden in our mouse model of VL. Thus, NMT is now a pharmacologically validated target in Leishmania. The challenge in finding drug candidates remains to identify alternative strategies to address the drop-off in activity between enzyme inhibition and in vitro activity while maintaining sufficient selectivity over the human enzyme, both issues that continue to plague studies in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoriano Corpas-Lopez
- The Wellcome Trust
Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Sonia Moniz
- The Wellcome Trust
Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Michael Thomas
- The Wellcome Trust
Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Richard J. Wall
- The Wellcome Trust
Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Leah S. Torrie
- The Wellcome Trust
Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Dorothea Zander-Dinse
- Leishmaniasis Group, Bernhard Nocht Institute
for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg D-20359, Germany
| | - Michele Tinti
- The Wellcome Trust
Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen Brand
- The Wellcome Trust
Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Laste Stojanovski
- The Wellcome Trust
Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Sujatha Manthri
- The Wellcome Trust
Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Irene Hallyburton
- The Wellcome Trust
Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Fabio Zuccotto
- The Wellcome Trust
Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Paul G. Wyatt
- The Wellcome Trust
Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Manu De Rycker
- The Wellcome Trust
Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - David Horn
- The Wellcome Trust
Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Michael A. J. Ferguson
- The Wellcome Trust
Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Joachim Clos
- Leishmaniasis Group, Bernhard Nocht Institute
for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg D-20359, Germany
| | - Kevin D. Read
- The Wellcome Trust
Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Alan H. Fairlamb
- The Wellcome Trust
Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Ian H. Gilbert
- The Wellcome Trust
Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Susan Wyllie
- The Wellcome Trust
Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
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Junqueira LO, Costa MOLD, Rando DGG. N-Myristoyltransferases as antileishmanial targets: a piggyback approach with benzoheterocyclic analogues. BRAZ J PHARM SCI 2019. [DOI: 10.1590/s2175-97902019000218087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
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Sharma R, Terrão MC, Castro FF, Breitling R, Faça V, Oliveira EB, Cruz AK. Insights on a putative aminoacyl-tRNA-protein transferase of Leishmania major. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0203369. [PMID: 30208112 PMCID: PMC6135404 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0203369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2018] [Accepted: 08/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The N-end rule pathway leads to regulated proteolysis as an adaptive response to external stress and is ubiquitous from bacteria to mammals. In this study, we investigated a gene coding for a putative core enzyme of this post-translational regulatory pathway in Leishmania major, which may be crucial during cytodifferentiation and the environment adaptive responses of the parasite. Leucyl, phenylalanyl-tRNA protein transferase and arginyl-tRNA protein transferase are key components of this pathway in E. coli and eukaryotes, respectively. They catalyze the specific conjugation of leucine, phenylalanine or arginine to proteins containing exposed N-terminal amino acid residues, which are recognized by the machinery for the targeted proteolysis. Here, we characterized a conserved hypothetical protein coded by the LmjF.21.0725 gene in L. major. In silico analysis suggests that the LmjF.21.0725 protein is highly conserved among species of Leishmania and might belong to the Acyl CoA-N-acyltransferases (NAT) superfamily of proteins. Immunofluorescence cell imaging indicates that the cytosolic localization of the studied protein and the endogenous levels of the protein in promastigotes are barely detectable by western blotting assay. The knockout of the two alleles of LmjF.21.0725 by homologous recombination was only possible in the heterozygous transfectant expressing LmjF.21.0725 as a transgene from a plasmid. Moreover, the kinetics of loss of the plasmid in the absence of drug pressure suggests that maintenance of the gene is essential for promastigote survival. Here, evidence is provided that this putative aminoacyl tRNA-protein transferase is essential for parasite survival. The enzyme activity and corresponding post-translational regulatory pathway are yet to be investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rohit Sharma
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Monica Cristina Terrão
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Felipe Freitas Castro
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Vitor Faça
- Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Eduardo Brandt Oliveira
- Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Angela Kaysel Cruz
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
- * E-mail:
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Denny PW. Microbial protein targets: towards understanding and intervention. Parasitology 2018; 145:111-115. [PMID: 29143719 PMCID: PMC5817423 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182017002037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2017] [Revised: 10/06/2017] [Accepted: 10/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The rise of antimicrobial resistance, coupled with a lack of industrial focus on antimicrobial discovery over preceding decades, has brought the world to a crisis point. With both human and animal health set to decline due to increased disease burdens caused by near untreatable microbial pathogens, there is an urgent need to identify new antimicrobials. Central to this is the elucidation of new, robustly validated, drug targets. Informed by industrial practice and concerns, the use of both biological and chemical tools in validation is key. In parallel, repurposing approved drugs for use as antimicrobials may provide both new treatments and identify new targets, whilst improved understanding of pharmacology will help develop and progress good 'hits' with the required rapidity. In recognition of the need to increase research efforts in these areas, in 14-16 September 2017, the British Society for Parasitology (BSP) Autumn Symposium was hosted at Durham University with the title: Microbial Protein Targets: towards understanding and intervention. Staged in collaboration with the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Chemistry Biology Interface Division (CBID), the core aim was to bring together leading researchers working across disciplines to imagine novel approaches towards combating infection and antimicrobial resistance. Sessions were held on: 'Anti-infective discovery, an overview'; 'Omic approaches to target validation'; 'Genetic approaches to target validation'; 'Drug target structure and drug discovery'; 'Fragment-based approaches to drug discovery'; and 'Chemical approaches to target validation'. Here, we introduce a series of review and primary research articles from selected contributors to the Symposium, giving an overview of progress in understanding antimicrobial targets and developing new drugs. The Symposium was organized by Paul Denny (Durham) for the BSP and Patrick Steel (Durham) for RSC CBID.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul W Denny
- Department of Biosciences,Durham University,Lower Mountjoy, Stockton Road, Durham DH1 3LE,UK
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Jiang H, Zhang X, Chen X, Aramsangtienchai P, Tong Z, Lin H. Protein Lipidation: Occurrence, Mechanisms, Biological Functions, and Enabling Technologies. Chem Rev 2018; 118:919-988. [PMID: 29292991 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b00750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 283] [Impact Index Per Article: 47.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Protein lipidation, including cysteine prenylation, N-terminal glycine myristoylation, cysteine palmitoylation, and serine and lysine fatty acylation, occurs in many proteins in eukaryotic cells and regulates numerous biological pathways, such as membrane trafficking, protein secretion, signal transduction, and apoptosis. We provide a comprehensive review of protein lipidation, including descriptions of proteins known to be modified and the functions of the modifications, the enzymes that control them, and the tools and technologies developed to study them. We also highlight key questions about protein lipidation that remain to be answered, the challenges associated with answering such questions, and possible solutions to overcome these challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong Jiang
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University , Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Xiaoyu Zhang
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University , Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Xiao Chen
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University , Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Pornpun Aramsangtienchai
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University , Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Zhen Tong
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University , Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Hening Lin
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University , Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
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36
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Magnesium uptake by connecting fluid-phase endocytosis to an intracellular inorganic cation filter. Nat Commun 2017; 8:1879. [PMID: 29192218 PMCID: PMC5709425 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01930-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2016] [Accepted: 10/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Cells acquire free metals through plasma membrane transporters. But, in natural settings, sequestering agents often render metals inaccessible to transporters, limiting metal bioavailability. Here we identify a pathway for metal acquisition, allowing cells to cope with this situation. Under limited bioavailability of Mg2+, yeast cells upregulate fluid-phase endocytosis and transfer solutes from the environment into their vacuole, an acidocalcisome-like compartment loaded with highly concentrated polyphosphate. We propose that this anionic inorganic polymer, which is an avid chelator of Mg2+, serves as an immobilized cation filter that accumulates Mg2+ inside these organelles. It thus allows the vacuolar exporter Mnr2 to efficiently transfer Mg2+ into the cytosol. Leishmania parasites also employ acidocalcisomal polyphosphate to multiply in their Mg2+-limited habitat, the phagolysosomes of inflammatory macrophages. This suggests that the pathway for metal uptake via endocytosis, acidocalcisomal polyphosphates and export into the cytosol, which we term EAPEC, is conserved. Metal bioavailability is frequently limited by sequestering agents which makes them inaccessible to cells. Here the authors show that cells can increase Mg2+ uptake via fluid phase endocytosis and accumulate this metal in their vacuole loaded with polyphosphate, and later can be exported to the cytosol.
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37
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Bayliss T, Robinson DA, Smith VC, Brand S, McElroy SP, Torrie LS, Mpamhanga C, Norval S, Stojanovski L, Brenk R, Frearson JA, Read KD, Gilbert IH, Wyatt PG. Design and Synthesis of Brain Penetrant Trypanocidal N-Myristoyltransferase Inhibitors. J Med Chem 2017; 60:9790-9806. [PMID: 29125744 PMCID: PMC5734605 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.7b01255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
N-Myristoyltransferase (NMT) represents a promising drug target within the parasitic protozoa Trypanosoma brucei (T. brucei), the causative agent for human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) or sleeping sickness. We have previously validated T. brucei NMT as a promising druggable target for the treatment of HAT in both stages 1 and 2 of the disease. We report on the use of the previously reported DDD85646 (1) as a starting point for the design of a class of potent, brain penetrant inhibitors of T. brucei NMT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tracy Bayliss
- Drug Discovery Unit, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee , Sir James Black Centre, Dundee DD1 5EH, U.K
| | - David A Robinson
- Drug Discovery Unit, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee , Sir James Black Centre, Dundee DD1 5EH, U.K
| | - Victoria C Smith
- Drug Discovery Unit, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee , Sir James Black Centre, Dundee DD1 5EH, U.K
| | - Stephen Brand
- Drug Discovery Unit, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee , Sir James Black Centre, Dundee DD1 5EH, U.K
| | - Stuart P McElroy
- Drug Discovery Unit, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee , Sir James Black Centre, Dundee DD1 5EH, U.K
| | - Leah S Torrie
- Drug Discovery Unit, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee , Sir James Black Centre, Dundee DD1 5EH, U.K
| | - Chido Mpamhanga
- Drug Discovery Unit, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee , Sir James Black Centre, Dundee DD1 5EH, U.K
| | - Suzanne Norval
- Drug Discovery Unit, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee , Sir James Black Centre, Dundee DD1 5EH, U.K
| | - Laste Stojanovski
- Drug Discovery Unit, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee , Sir James Black Centre, Dundee DD1 5EH, U.K
| | - Ruth Brenk
- Drug Discovery Unit, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee , Sir James Black Centre, Dundee DD1 5EH, U.K
| | - Julie A Frearson
- Drug Discovery Unit, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee , Sir James Black Centre, Dundee DD1 5EH, U.K
| | - Kevin D Read
- Drug Discovery Unit, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee , Sir James Black Centre, Dundee DD1 5EH, U.K
| | - Ian H Gilbert
- Drug Discovery Unit, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee , Sir James Black Centre, Dundee DD1 5EH, U.K
| | - Paul G Wyatt
- Drug Discovery Unit, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee , Sir James Black Centre, Dundee DD1 5EH, U.K
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Roca C, Sebastián-Pérez V, Campillo NE. In silico Tools for Target Identification and Drug Molecular Docking in Leishmania. DRUG DISCOVERY FOR LEISHMANIASIS 2017. [DOI: 10.1039/9781788010177-00130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Neglected tropical diseases represent a significant health burden in large parts of the world. Drug discovery is currently a key bottleneck in the pipeline of these diseases. In this chapter, the in silico approaches used for the processes involved in drug discovery, identification and validation of druggable Leishmania targets, and design and optimisation of new anti-leishmanial drugs are discussed. We also provide a general view of the different computational tools that can be employed in pursuit of this aim, along with the most interesting cases found in the literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Roca
- Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CSIC) Ramiro de Maeztu 9 28040 Madrid Spain
| | | | - Nuria E. Campillo
- Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CSIC) Ramiro de Maeztu 9 28040 Madrid Spain
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Berninger M, Schmidt I, Ponte-Sucre A, Holzgrabe U. Novel lead compounds in pre-clinical development against African sleeping sickness. MEDCHEMCOMM 2017; 8:1872-1890. [PMID: 30108710 PMCID: PMC6072528 DOI: 10.1039/c7md00280g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2017] [Accepted: 07/29/2017] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as African sleeping sickness, is caused by parasitic protozoa of the genus Trypanosoma. As the disease progresses, the parasites cross the blood brain barrier and are lethal for the patients if the disease is left untreated. Current therapies suffer from several drawbacks due to e.g. toxicity of the respective compounds or resistance to approved antitrypanosomal drugs. In this review, the different strategies of drug development against HAT are considered, namely the target-based approach, the phenotypic high throughput screening and the drug repurposing strategy. The most promising compounds emerging from these approaches entering an in vivo evaluation are mentioned herein. Of note, it may turn out to be difficult to confirm in vitro activity in an animal model of infection; however, possible reasons for the missing efficacy in unsuccessful in vivo studies are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Berninger
- Institute of Pharmacy and Food Chemistry , University of Würzburg , Am Hubland , 97074 Würzburg , Germany .
| | - Ines Schmidt
- Institute of Pharmacy and Food Chemistry , University of Würzburg , Am Hubland , 97074 Würzburg , Germany .
| | - Alicia Ponte-Sucre
- Laboratory of Molecular Physiology , Institute of Experimental Medicine , Luis Razetti School of Medicine , Faculty of Medicine , Universidad Central de Venezuela Caracas , Venezuela . Tel: +0931 31 85461
| | - Ulrike Holzgrabe
- Institute of Pharmacy and Food Chemistry , University of Würzburg , Am Hubland , 97074 Würzburg , Germany .
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40
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Kumar M, Ranjan K, Singh V, Pathak C, Pappachan A, Singh DD. Hydrophilic Acylated Surface Protein A (HASPA) of Leishmania donovani: Expression, Purification and Biophysico-Chemical Characterization. Protein J 2017. [PMID: 28634775 DOI: 10.1007/s10930-017-9726-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Hydrophilic acylated surface proteins (HASPs) are acidic surface proteins which get localized on the surface of Leishmania parasite during infective stages through a "non-classical" pathway. In this study, we report the heterologous expression and purification of Leishmania donovani HASPA (r-LdHASPA) in E. coli system and its partial characterization. The structural aspects of the purified protein were analyzed using CD spectroscopy and modeling studies which indicate that r-LdHASPA consists of random coils. Studies in mouse macrophage RAW264.7 cell lines indicate that r-LdHASPA enhances reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Co-immunoprecipitation (IP) studies indicate that r-LdHASPA interacts with certain macrophage proteins which however could not be identified unambiguously. The present study provides key insights into the structural and functional aspects of an important Leishmania protein, HASPA, which we believe could be useful for further research on vaccine/drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manoj Kumar
- Department of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, Indian Institute of Advanced Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382007, India
| | - Kishu Ranjan
- Department of Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Advanced Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382007, India
| | - Vijay Singh
- Department of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, Indian Institute of Advanced Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382007, India
| | - Chandramani Pathak
- Department of Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Advanced Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382007, India
| | - Anju Pappachan
- Department of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, Indian Institute of Advanced Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382007, India
| | - Desh Deepak Singh
- Department of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, Indian Institute of Advanced Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382007, India.
- Department of Biotechnology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, India.
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41
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Brown RWB, Sharma AI, Engman DM. Dynamic protein S-palmitoylation mediates parasite life cycle progression and diverse mechanisms of virulence. Crit Rev Biochem Mol Biol 2017; 52:145-162. [PMID: 28228066 PMCID: PMC5560270 DOI: 10.1080/10409238.2017.1287161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Eukaryotic parasites possess complex life cycles and utilize an assortment of molecular mechanisms to overcome physical barriers, suppress and/or bypass the host immune response, including invading host cells where they can replicate in a protected intracellular niche. Protein S-palmitoylation is a dynamic post-translational modification in which the fatty acid palmitate is covalently linked to cysteine residues on proteins by the enzyme palmitoyl acyltransferase (PAT) and can be removed by lysosomal palmitoyl-protein thioesterase (PPT) or cytosolic acyl-protein thioesterase (APT). In addition to anchoring proteins to intracellular membranes, functions of dynamic palmitoylation include - targeting proteins to specific intracellular compartments via trafficking pathways, regulating the cycling of proteins between membranes, modulating protein function and regulating protein stability. Recent studies in the eukaryotic parasites - Plasmodium falciparum, Toxoplasma gondii, Trypanosoma brucei, Cryptococcus neoformans and Giardia lamblia - have identified large families of PATs and palmitoylated proteins. Many palmitoylated proteins are important for diverse aspects of pathogenesis, including differentiation into infective life cycle stages, biogenesis and tethering of secretory organelles, assembling the machinery powering motility and targeting virulence factors to the plasma membrane. This review aims to summarize our current knowledge of palmitoylation in eukaryotic parasites, highlighting five exemplary mechanisms of parasite virulence dependent on palmitoylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert W B Brown
- a Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine , Cedars-Sinai Medical Center , Los Angeles , CA , USA
| | - Aabha I Sharma
- b Departments of Pathology and Microbiology-Immunology , Northwestern University , Chicago , IL , USA
| | - David M Engman
- a Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine , Cedars-Sinai Medical Center , Los Angeles , CA , USA
- b Departments of Pathology and Microbiology-Immunology , Northwestern University , Chicago , IL , USA
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42
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New developments in probing and targeting protein acylation in malaria, leishmaniasis and African sleeping sickness. Parasitology 2017; 145:157-174. [PMID: 28270257 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182017000282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Infections by protozoan parasites, such as Plasmodium falciparum or Leishmania donovani, have a significant health, social and economic impact and threaten billions of people living in tropical and sub-tropical regions of developing countries worldwide. The increasing range of parasite strains resistant to frontline therapeutics makes the identification of novel drug targets and the development of corresponding inhibitors vital. Post-translational modifications (PTMs) are important modulators of biology and inhibition of protein lipidation has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy for treatment of parasitic diseases. In this review we summarize the latest insights into protein lipidation in protozoan parasites. We discuss how recent chemical proteomic approaches have delivered the first global overviews of protein lipidation in these organisms, contributing to our understanding of the role of this PTM in critical metabolic and cellular functions. Additionally, we highlight the development of new small molecule inhibitors to target parasite acyl transferases.
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Doehl JSP, Sádlová J, Aslan H, Pružinová K, Metangmo S, Votýpka J, Kamhawi S, Volf P, Smith DF. Leishmania HASP and SHERP Genes Are Required for In Vivo Differentiation, Parasite Transmission and Virulence Attenuation in the Host. PLoS Pathog 2017; 13:e1006130. [PMID: 28095465 PMCID: PMC5271408 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2015] [Revised: 01/27/2017] [Accepted: 12/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Differentiation of extracellular Leishmania promastigotes within their sand fly vector, termed metacyclogenesis, is considered to be essential for parasites to regain mammalian host infectivity. Metacyclogenesis is accompanied by changes in the local parasite environment, including secretion of complex glycoconjugates within the promastigote secretory gel and colonization and degradation of the sand fly stomodeal valve. Deletion of the stage-regulated HASP and SHERP genes on chromosome 23 of Leishmania major is known to stall metacyclogenesis in the sand fly but not in in vitro culture. Here, parasite mutants deficient in specific genes within the HASP/SHERP chromosomal region have been used to investigate their role in metacyclogenesis, parasite transmission and establishment of infection. Metacyclogenesis was stalled in HASP/SHERP mutants in vivo and, although still capable of osmotaxis, these mutants failed to secrete promastigote secretory gel, correlating with a lack of parasite accumulation in the thoracic midgut and failure to colonise the stomodeal valve. These defects prevented parasite transmission to a new mammalian host. Sand fly midgut homogenates modulated parasite behaviour in vitro, suggesting a role for molecular interactions between parasite and vector in Leishmania development within the sand fly. For the first time, stage-regulated expression of the small HASPA proteins in Leishmania (Leishmania) has been demonstrated: HASPA2 is expressed only in extracellular promastigotes and HASPA1 only in intracellular amastigotes. Despite its lack of expression in amastigotes, replacement of HASPA2 into the null locus background delays onset of pathology in BALB/c mice. This HASPA2-dependent effect is reversed by HASPA1 gene addition, suggesting that the HASPAs may have a role in host immunomodulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes S. P. Doehl
- Centre for Immunology and Infection, Department of Biology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Jovana Sádlová
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Hamide Aslan
- Vector Molecular Biology Section, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Kateřina Pružinová
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Sonia Metangmo
- Vector Molecular Biology Section, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Jan Votýpka
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Shaden Kamhawi
- Vector Molecular Biology Section, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Petr Volf
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Deborah F. Smith
- Centre for Immunology and Infection, Department of Biology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
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Goncalves V, Brannigan JA, Laporte A, Bell AS, Roberts SM, Wilkinson AJ, Leatherbarrow RJ, Tate EW. Structure-guided optimization of quinoline inhibitors of Plasmodium N-myristoyltransferase. MEDCHEMCOMM 2016. [PMID: 28626547 PMCID: PMC5463734 DOI: 10.1039/c6md00531d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Quinolines with balanced activities against both Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum N-myristoyltransferase were identified.
The parasite Plasmodium vivax is the most widely distributed cause of recurring malaria. N-Myristoyltransferase (NMT), an enzyme that catalyses the covalent attachment of myristate to the N-terminal glycine of substrate proteins, has been described as a potential target for the treatment of this disease. Herein, we report the synthesis and the structure-guided optimization of a series of quinolines with balanced activity against both Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum N-myristoyltransferase (NMT).
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Goncalves
- Department of Chemistry , Imperial College London , London SW7 2AZ , UK . ;
| | - James A Brannigan
- Structural Biology Laboratory , Department of Chemistry , University of York , York YO10 5DD , UK
| | - Alice Laporte
- Department of Chemistry , Imperial College London , London SW7 2AZ , UK . ;
| | - Andrew S Bell
- Department of Chemistry , Imperial College London , London SW7 2AZ , UK . ;
| | - Shirley M Roberts
- Structural Biology Laboratory , Department of Chemistry , University of York , York YO10 5DD , UK
| | - Anthony J Wilkinson
- Structural Biology Laboratory , Department of Chemistry , University of York , York YO10 5DD , UK
| | | | - Edward W Tate
- Department of Chemistry , Imperial College London , London SW7 2AZ , UK . ;
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Roberts AJ, Fairlamb AH. The N-myristoylome of Trypanosoma cruzi. Sci Rep 2016; 6:31078. [PMID: 27492267 PMCID: PMC4974623 DOI: 10.1038/srep31078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2016] [Accepted: 07/12/2016] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Protein N-myristoylation is catalysed by N-myristoyltransferase (NMT), an essential and druggable target in Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas' disease. Here we have employed whole cell labelling with azidomyristic acid and click chemistry to identify N-myristoylated proteins in different life cycle stages of the parasite. Only minor differences in fluorescent-labelling were observed between the dividing forms (the insect epimastigote and mammalian amastigote stages) and the non-dividing trypomastigote stage. Using a combination of label-free and stable isotope labelling of cells in culture (SILAC) based proteomic strategies in the presence and absence of the NMT inhibitor DDD85646, we identified 56 proteins enriched in at least two out of the three experimental approaches. Of these, 6 were likely to be false positives, with the remaining 50 commencing with amino acids MG at the N-terminus in one or more of the T. cruzi genomes. Most of these are proteins of unknown function (32), with the remainder (18) implicated in a diverse range of critical cellular and metabolic functions such as intracellular transport, cell signalling and protein turnover. In summary, we have established that 0.43-0.46% of the proteome is N-myristoylated in T. cruzi approaching that of other eukaryotic organisms (0.5-1.7%).
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam J. Roberts
- Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Alan H. Fairlamb
- Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK
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46
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Wright MH, Paape D, Price HP, Smith DF, Tate EW. Global Profiling and Inhibition of Protein Lipidation in Vector and Host Stages of the Sleeping Sickness Parasite Trypanosoma brucei. ACS Infect Dis 2016; 2:427-441. [PMID: 27331140 PMCID: PMC4906374 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.6b00034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2016] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
The enzyme N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) catalyzes the essential fatty acylation of substrate proteins with myristic acid in eukaryotes and is a validated drug target in the parasite Trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent of African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness). N-Myristoylation typically mediates membrane localization of proteins and is essential to the function of many. However, only a handful of proteins are experimentally validated as N-myristoylated in T. brucei. Here, we perform metabolic labeling with an alkyne-tagged myristic acid analogue, enabling the capture of lipidated proteins in insect and host life stages of T. brucei. We further compare this with a longer chain palmitate analogue to explore the chain length-specific incorporation of fatty acids into proteins. Finally, we combine the alkynyl-myristate analogue with NMT inhibitors and quantitative chemical proteomics to globally define N-myristoylated proteins in the clinically relevant bloodstream form parasites. This analysis reveals five ARF family small GTPases, calpain-like proteins, phosphatases, and many uncharacterized proteins as substrates of NMT in the parasite, providing a global view of the scope of this important protein modification and further evidence for the crucial and pleiotropic role of NMT in the cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan H. Wright
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel Paape
- Centre for Immunology and Infection, Department
of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - Helen P. Price
- Centre for Immunology and Infection, Department
of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - Deborah F. Smith
- Centre for Immunology and Infection, Department
of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - Edward W. Tate
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
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47
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Herrera LJ, Brand S, Santos A, Nohara LL, Harrison J, Norcross NR, Thompson S, Smith V, Lema C, Varela-Ramirez A, Gilbert IH, Almeida IC, Maldonado RA. Validation of N-myristoyltransferase as Potential Chemotherapeutic Target in Mammal-Dwelling Stages of Trypanosoma cruzi. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2016; 10:e0004540. [PMID: 27128971 PMCID: PMC4851402 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2015] [Accepted: 02/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Trypanosoma cruzi causes Chagas disease, an endemic and debilitating illness in Latin America. Lately, owing to extensive population movements, this neglected tropical disease has become a global health concern. The two clinically available drugs for the chemotherapy of Chagas disease have rather high toxicity and limited efficacy in the chronic phase of the disease, and may induce parasite resistance. The development of new anti-T. cruzi agents is therefore imperative. The enzyme N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) has recently been biochemically characterized, shown to be essential in Leishmania major, Trypanosoma brucei, and T. cruzi¸ and proposed as promising chemotherapeutic target in these trypanosomatids. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Here, using high-content imaging we assayed eight known trypanosomatid NMT inhibitors, against mammal-dwelling intracellular amastigote and trypomastigote stages and demonstrated that three of them (compounds 1, 5, and 8) have potent anti-proliferative effect at submicromolar concentrations against T. cruzi, with very low toxicity against human epithelial cells. Moreover, metabolic labeling using myristic acid, azide showed a considerable decrease in the myristoylation of proteins in parasites treated with NMT inhibitors, providing evidence of the on-target activity of the inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Taken together, our data point out to the potential use of NMT inhibitors as anti-T. cruzi chemotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda J. Herrera
- The Border Biomedical Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States of America
| | - Stephen Brand
- Drug Discovery Unit, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Sir James Black Centre, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Andres Santos
- The Border Biomedical Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States of America
| | - Lilian L. Nohara
- The Border Biomedical Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States of America
| | - Justin Harrison
- Drug Discovery Unit, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Sir James Black Centre, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Neil R. Norcross
- Drug Discovery Unit, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Sir James Black Centre, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen Thompson
- Drug Discovery Unit, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Sir James Black Centre, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Victoria Smith
- Drug Discovery Unit, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Sir James Black Centre, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Carolina Lema
- The Border Biomedical Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States of America
| | - Armando Varela-Ramirez
- The Border Biomedical Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States of America
| | - Ian H. Gilbert
- Drug Discovery Unit, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Sir James Black Centre, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Igor C. Almeida
- The Border Biomedical Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States of America
| | - Rosa A. Maldonado
- The Border Biomedical Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States of America
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48
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Repurposing strategies for tropical disease drug discovery. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2016; 26:2569-76. [PMID: 27080183 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2016.03.103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2015] [Revised: 03/21/2016] [Accepted: 03/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and other diseases of the developing world, such as malaria, attract research investments that are disproportionately low compared to their impact on human health worldwide. Therefore, pragmatic methods for launching new drug discovery programs have emerged that repurpose existing chemical matter as new drugs or new starting points for optimization. In this Digest we describe applications of different repurposing approaches for NTDs, and provide a means by which these approaches may be differentiated from each other. These include drug repurposing, target repurposing, target class repurposing, and lead repurposing.
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49
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Rackham MD, Yu Z, Brannigan JA, Heal WP, Paape D, Barker KV, Wilkinson AJ, Smith DF, Leatherbarrow RJ, Tate EW. Discovery of high affinity inhibitors of Leishmania donovani N-myristoyltransferase. MEDCHEMCOMM 2015; 6:1761-1766. [PMID: 26962429 PMCID: PMC4757855 DOI: 10.1039/c5md00241a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2015] [Accepted: 08/04/2015] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
N-Myristoyltransferase (NMT) is a potential drug target in Leishmania parasites. Scaffold-hopping from published inhibitors yielded the serendipitous discovery of a chemotype selective for Leishmania donovani NMT; development led to high affinity inhibitors with excellent ligand efficiency. The binding mode was characterised by crystallography and provides a structural rationale for selectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark D Rackham
- Department of Chemistry , Imperial College London , South Kensington Campus , London , SW7 2AZ , UK . ; Tel: +44 (0) 2075 943752
| | - Zhiyong Yu
- Department of Chemistry , Imperial College London , South Kensington Campus , London , SW7 2AZ , UK . ; Tel: +44 (0) 2075 943752
| | - James A Brannigan
- Structural Biology Laboratory , Department of Chemistry , University of York , York , YO10 5DD , UK
| | - William P Heal
- Department of Chemistry , Imperial College London , South Kensington Campus , London , SW7 2AZ , UK . ; Tel: +44 (0) 2075 943752
| | - Daniel Paape
- Department of Biology , University of York , York , YO10 5DD , UK
| | - K Victoria Barker
- Department of Chemistry , Imperial College London , South Kensington Campus , London , SW7 2AZ , UK . ; Tel: +44 (0) 2075 943752
| | - Anthony J Wilkinson
- Structural Biology Laboratory , Department of Chemistry , University of York , York , YO10 5DD , UK
| | - Deborah F Smith
- Department of Biology , University of York , York , YO10 5DD , UK
| | - Robin J Leatherbarrow
- Department of Chemistry , Imperial College London , South Kensington Campus , London , SW7 2AZ , UK . ; Tel: +44 (0) 2075 943752
| | - Edward W Tate
- Department of Chemistry , Imperial College London , South Kensington Campus , London , SW7 2AZ , UK . ; Tel: +44 (0) 2075 943752
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50
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Rampoldi F, Bonrouhi M, Boehm ME, Lehmann WD, Popovic ZV, Kaden S, Federico G, Brunk F, Gröne HJ, Porubsky S. Immunosuppression and Aberrant T Cell Development in the Absence of N-Myristoylation. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2015; 195:4228-43. [DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1500622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2015] [Accepted: 09/01/2015] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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