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Qulsum U, Azad MTA, Kato K. Efficacy of medicinal plants and their derived biomolecules against Plasmodium falciparum. Parasitol Int 2024; 103:102946. [PMID: 39128649 DOI: 10.1016/j.parint.2024.102946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2024] [Revised: 07/12/2024] [Accepted: 08/08/2024] [Indexed: 08/13/2024]
Abstract
Many apicomplexan pathogens pose significant threats to humans and domestic animals, with the lack of effective drugs and drug resistance representing major challenges in disease management. To address this, the search for new and potent antimalarial drugs is crucial. Plant-based formulations offer a promising alternative for such drug development. Here, we evaluated the in vitro antiplasmodial activity of nine plant extracts, traditionally used to treat fever-like symptoms in Bangladesh. We assessed the antimalarial activity of plant extracts by using the Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 growth inhibition assay, an invasion assay, and a cytotoxicity assay. Of the nine plants studied, ethanolic and methanolic leaf extracts of Ficus hispida, Streblus asper, and Boerhavia repens exhibited high antiplasmodial activity, with IC50 values of 9.31, 4.13, 9.63 μg/ml (ethanolic) and 15.12, 6.63, 7.58 μg/ml (methanolic), respectively, and minimal toxicity (cell viability >80%). Clerodendrum viscosum displayed antiplasmodial effects with IC50 values of 28.90 μg/ml (ethanolic) and 30.57 μg/ml (methanolic). Adhatoda vasica, Mussaenda corymbosa, and Amaranthus spinosus ethanolic extracts showed antimalarial effects with IC50 values of 61.78 μg/ml, 66.31 μg/ml, and 64.14 μg/ml, respectively. However, methanolic extracts of A. vasica and A. spinosus had IC50 values >100 μg/ml. The ethanolic and methanolic extracts of A. vasica, A. spinosus, F. hispida, S. asper, and B. repens significantly reduced parasitemia by inhibiting invasion into erythrocytes. This study highlights the robust antimalarial activity and low cytotoxicity of leaf extracts of F. hispida, S. asper, and B. repens, indicating the presence of antimalarial compounds that warrant further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Umme Qulsum
- Laboratory of Sustainable Animal Environment, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 232-3 Yomogida, Naruko-onsen, Osaki, Miyagi 989-6711, Japan; Department of Botany, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh
| | - Md Thoufic Anam Azad
- Laboratory of Sustainable Animal Environment, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 232-3 Yomogida, Naruko-onsen, Osaki, Miyagi 989-6711, Japan; Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh
| | - Kentaro Kato
- Laboratory of Sustainable Animal Environment, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 232-3 Yomogida, Naruko-onsen, Osaki, Miyagi 989-6711, Japan.
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2
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Springer E, Heimsch KC, Rahlfs S, Becker K, Przyborski JM. Real-time measurements of ATP dynamics via ATeams in Plasmodium falciparum reveal drug-class-specific response patterns. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2024; 68:e0169023. [PMID: 38501806 PMCID: PMC11064498 DOI: 10.1128/aac.01690-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Malaria tropica, caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum), remains one of the greatest public health burdens for humankind. Due to its pivotal role in parasite survival, the energy metabolism of P. falciparum is an interesting target for drug design. To this end, analysis of the central metabolite adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is of great interest. So far, only cell-disruptive or intensiometric ATP assays have been available in this system, with various drawbacks for mechanistic interpretation and partly inconsistent results. To address this, we have established fluorescent probes, based on Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) and known as ATeam, for use in blood-stage parasites. ATeams are capable of measuring MgATP2- levels in a ratiometric manner, thereby facilitating in cellulo measurements of ATP dynamics in real-time using fluorescence microscopy and plate reader detection and overcoming many of the obstacles of established ATP analysis methods. Additionally, we established a superfolder variant of the ratiometric pH sensor pHluorin (sfpHluorin) in P. falciparum to monitor pH homeostasis and control for pH fluctuations, which may affect ATeam measurements. We characterized recombinant ATeam and sfpHluorin protein in vitro and stably integrated the sensors into the genome of the P. falciparum NF54attB cell line. Using these new tools, we found distinct sensor response patterns caused by several different drug classes. Arylamino alcohols increased and redox cyclers decreased ATP; doxycycline caused first-cycle cytosol alkalization; and 4-aminoquinolines caused aberrant proteolysis. Our results open up a completely new perspective on drugs' mode of action, with possible implications for target identification and drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Springer
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Interdisciplinary Research Center, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Kim C. Heimsch
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Interdisciplinary Research Center, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Stefan Rahlfs
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Interdisciplinary Research Center, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Katja Becker
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Interdisciplinary Research Center, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Jude M. Przyborski
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Interdisciplinary Research Center, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
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3
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Najer A, Kim J, Saunders C, Che J, Baum J, Stevens MM. Enhanced Antimalarial and Antisequestration Activity of Methoxybenzenesulfonate-Modified Biopolymers and Nanoparticles for Tackling Severe Malaria. ACS Infect Dis 2024; 10:732-745. [PMID: 38271991 PMCID: PMC10862538 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.3c00564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Severe malaria is a life-threatening condition that is associated with a high mortality. Severe Plasmodium falciparum infections are mediated primarily by high parasitemia and binding of infected red blood cells (iRBCs) to the blood vessel endothelial layer, a process known as sequestration. Here, we show that including the 5-amino-2-methoxybenzenesulfonate (AMBS) chemical modification in soluble biopolymers (polyglutamic acid and heparin) and poly(acrylic acid)-exposing nanoparticles serves as a universal tool to introduce a potent parasite invasion inhibitory function in these materials. Importantly, the modification did not add or eliminated (for heparin) undesired anticoagulation activity. The materials protected RBCs from invasion by various parasite strains, employing both major entry pathways. Two further P. falciparum strains, which either expose ligands for chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) or intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) on iRBCs, were tested in antisequestration assays due to their relevance in placental and cerebral malaria, respectively. Antisequestration activity was found to be more efficacious with nanoparticles vs gold-standard soluble biopolymers (CSA and heparin) against both strains, when tested on receptor-coated dishes. The nanoparticles also efficiently inhibited and reversed the sequestration of iRBCs on endothelial cells. First, the materials described herein have the potential to reduce the parasite burden by acting at the key multiplication stage of reinvasion. Second, the antisequestration ability could help remove iRBCs from the blood vessel endothelium, which could otherwise cause vessel obstruction, which in turn can lead to multiple organ failure in severe malaria infections. This approach represents a further step toward creation of adjunctive therapies for this devastating condition to reduce morbidity and mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian Najer
- Department
of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, and Institute of Biomedical
Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
- Department
of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
| | - Junyoung Kim
- Department
of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, and Institute of Biomedical
Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
| | - Catherine Saunders
- Department
of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, and Institute of Biomedical
Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
| | - Junyi Che
- Department
of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, and Institute of Biomedical
Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
| | - Jake Baum
- Department
of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
| | - Molly M. Stevens
- Department
of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, and Institute of Biomedical
Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
- Department
of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, Department of Engineering Science,
and Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, U.K.
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Platon L, Ménard D. Plasmodium falciparum ring-stage plasticity and drug resistance. Trends Parasitol 2024; 40:118-130. [PMID: 38104024 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2023.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Malaria is a life-threatening tropical disease caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium, of which Plasmodium falciparum is the most lethal. Malaria parasites have a complex life cycle, with stages occurring in both the Anopheles mosquito vector and human host. Ring stages are the youngest form of the parasite in the intraerythrocytic developmental cycle and are associated with evasion of spleen clearance, temporary growth arrest (TGA), and drug resistance. This formidable ability to survive and develop into mature, sexual, or growth-arrested forms demonstrates the inherent population heterogeneity. Here we highlight the role of the ring stage as a crossroads in parasite development and as a reservoir of surviving cells in the human host via TGA survival mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucien Platon
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Malaria Genetics and Resistance Unit, INSERM U1201, F-75015 Paris, France; Sorbonne Université, Collège Doctoral ED 515 Complexité du Vivant, F-75015 Paris, France; Université de Strasbourg, Institute of Parasitology and Tropical Diseases, UR7292 Dynamics of Host-Pathogen Interactions, F-67000 Strasbourg, France.
| | - Didier Ménard
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Malaria Genetics and Resistance Unit, INSERM U1201, F-75015 Paris, France; Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Malaria Parasite Biology and Vaccines Unit, F-75015 Paris, France; Université de Strasbourg, Institute of Parasitology and Tropical Diseases, UR7292 Dynamics of Host-Pathogen Interactions, F-67000 Strasbourg, France; CHU Strasbourg, Laboratory of Parasitology and Medical Mycology, F-67000 Strasbourg, France.
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Jeje TO, Bando H, Azad MTA, Fukuda Y, Oluwafemi IE, Kato K. Antiplasmodial and interferon-gamma-modulating activities of the aqueous extract of stone breaker (Phyllanthus niruri Linn.) in malaria infection. Parasitol Int 2023; 97:102789. [PMID: 37473798 DOI: 10.1016/j.parint.2023.102789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
Plasmodium falciparum parasites are the primary cause of malaria across Africa. The problem of drug resistance to malaria is ever growing and novel therapeutic strategies need to be developed, particularly those targeting the parasite and also the host or host-pathogen interaction. Previous studies have shown that the development of cerebral malaria (CM) is related to dysregulation of the immune system in a murine malaria model of experimental cerebral malaria. It involves a complex interaction of events and interferon-gamma seems to be the unifying factor. Therefore, the antiplasmodial activity targeting the parasite and immunomodulatory strategies that reduce overall host inflammation, with IFN-γ in focus, could delay CM onset and prove beneficial in malaria infection therapy. Phyllanthus niruri is used to treat fever and other symptoms of malaria in Nigeria. Its modes of action as an anti-malarial remedy have not been exhaustively investigated. This study therefore examined the aqueous extract of P. niruri (PE) for its antiplasmodial activity in vitro using the Plasmodium falciparum HB3 strain. Furthermore, in vivo murine malaria model using the Plasmodium berghei ANKA strain was used to investigate its anti-malarial effects. We showed that PE has multiple anti-malarial effects, including anti-parasitic and host immunomodulatory activities. Co-culture of P. falciparum with PE and some of its phytoconstituents drastically reduced parasite number. PE also decreased parasitemia, and increased the survival of infected mice. We also observed that the integrity of the blood-brain barrier was maintained in the PE-treated mice. The results confirmed that PE showed moderate antiplasmodial activity. In vivo murine malaria model using P. berghei ANKA for experimental cerebral malaria revealed that PE suppressed parasite growth, and modulate the production of interferon-gamma. The findings demonstrate that PE affects malaria progression, targeting parasites and host cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Temitope Olawale Jeje
- Laboratory of Sustainable Animal Environment, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 232-3 Yomogida, Naruko-onsen, Osaki, Miyagi 989-6711, Japan; Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria; Department of Biochemistry, School of Science, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria
| | - Hironori Bando
- Laboratory of Sustainable Animal Environment, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 232-3 Yomogida, Naruko-onsen, Osaki, Miyagi 989-6711, Japan
| | - Md Thoufic Anam Azad
- Laboratory of Sustainable Animal Environment, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 232-3 Yomogida, Naruko-onsen, Osaki, Miyagi 989-6711, Japan; Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh
| | - Yasuhiro Fukuda
- Laboratory of Sustainable Animal Environment, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 232-3 Yomogida, Naruko-onsen, Osaki, Miyagi 989-6711, Japan
| | | | - Kentaro Kato
- Laboratory of Sustainable Animal Environment, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 232-3 Yomogida, Naruko-onsen, Osaki, Miyagi 989-6711, Japan.
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Plirat W, Chaniad P, Phuwajaroanpong A, Konyanee A, Viriyavejakul P, Septama AW, Punsawad C. Efficacy of artesunate combined with Atractylodes lancea or Prabchompoothaweep remedy extracts as adjunctive therapy for the treatment of cerebral malaria. BMC Complement Med Ther 2023; 23:332. [PMID: 37730604 PMCID: PMC10510250 DOI: 10.1186/s12906-023-04150-1] [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: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/22/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cerebral malaria is one of the most serious complications of Plasmodium infection and causes behavioral changes. However, current antimalarial drugs have shown poor outcomes. Therefore, new antimalarials with neuroprotective effects are urgently needed. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of selected extracts as monotherapy or adjunctive therapy with artesunate on antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and neuroprotective properties in experimental cerebral malaria (ECM). METHODS ECM was induced in male C57BL/6 mice by infection with Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA). Ethanolic extracts of Atractylodes lancea (a dose of 400 mg/kg) and Prabchompoothaweep remedy (a dose of 600 mg/kg) were evaluated as monotherapy and adjunctive therapy combined with artesunate at the onset of signs of cerebral malaria and continued for 7 consecutive days. Parasitemia, clinical scores, and body weight were recorded throughout the study. At day 13 post-infection, mouse brains were dissected and processed for the study of the inflammatory response, oxidative stress, blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity, histopathological changes, and neurocognitive impairments. RESULTS Ethanolic extracts of A. lancea and Prabchompoothaweep remedy alone improved cerebral malaria outcome in ECM, whereas artesunate combined with extracts of A. lancea or Prabchompoothaweep remedy significantly improved the outcome of artesunate and crude extracts alone. Using real-time PCR, PbA-infected mice that had received the combination treatment showed significantly reduced gene expression of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10), chemokines (CXCL4 and CXCL10), and adhesion molecules (ICAM-1, VCAM1, and CD36). The PbA-infected mice that received the combination treatment showed a significantly decreased malondialdehyde level compared to the untreated group. Similarly, the Evans blue dye assay revealed significantly less dye extravasation in the brains of infected mice administered the combination treatment, indicating improved BBB integrity. Combination treatment improved survival and reduced pathology in the PbA-infected group. Additionally, combination treatment resulted in a significantly reduced level of cognitive impairment, which was analyzed using a novel object recognition test. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated that artesunate combined with A. lancea or Prabchompoothaweep remedy extracts as adjunctive therapy reduced mortality, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, BBB integrity protection, and neurocognitive impairment in the ECM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Walaiporn Plirat
- Department of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand
- Research Center in Tropical Pathobiology, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand
| | - Prapaporn Chaniad
- Department of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand
- Research Center in Tropical Pathobiology, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand
| | - Arisara Phuwajaroanpong
- Department of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand
- Research Center in Tropical Pathobiology, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand
| | - Atthaphon Konyanee
- Department of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand
- Research Center in Tropical Pathobiology, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand
| | | | - Abdi Wira Septama
- Research Center for Pharmaceutical Ingredient and Traditional Medicine, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Cibinong Science Center, Cibinong, West Java, 16915, Indonesia
| | - Chuchard Punsawad
- Department of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand.
- Research Center in Tropical Pathobiology, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand.
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7
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Dans MG, Piirainen H, Nguyen W, Khurana S, Mehra S, Razook Z, Geoghegan ND, Dawson AT, Das S, Parkyn Schneider M, Jonsdottir TK, Gabriela M, Gancheva MR, Tonkin CJ, Mollard V, Goodman CD, McFadden GI, Wilson DW, Rogers KL, Barry AE, Crabb BS, de Koning-Ward TF, Sleebs BE, Kursula I, Gilson PR. Sulfonylpiperazine compounds prevent Plasmodium falciparum invasion of red blood cells through interference with actin-1/profilin dynamics. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3002066. [PMID: 37053271 PMCID: PMC10128974 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/15/2023] Open
Abstract
With emerging resistance to frontline treatments, it is vital that new antimalarial drugs are identified to target Plasmodium falciparum. We have recently described a compound, MMV020291, as a specific inhibitor of red blood cell (RBC) invasion, and have generated analogues with improved potency. Here, we generated resistance to MMV020291 and performed whole genome sequencing of 3 MMV020291-resistant populations. This revealed 3 nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms in 2 genes; 2 in profilin (N154Y, K124N) and a third one in actin-1 (M356L). Using CRISPR-Cas9, we engineered these mutations into wild-type parasites, which rendered them resistant to MMV020291. We demonstrate that MMV020291 reduces actin polymerisation that is required by the merozoite stage parasites to invade RBCs. Additionally, the series inhibits the actin-1-dependent process of apicoplast segregation, leading to a delayed death phenotype. In vitro cosedimentation experiments using recombinant P. falciparum proteins indicate that potent MMV020291 analogues disrupt the formation of filamentous actin in the presence of profilin. Altogether, this study identifies the first compound series interfering with the actin-1/profilin interaction in P. falciparum and paves the way for future antimalarial development against the highly dynamic process of actin polymerisation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeline G Dans
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- School of Medicine and Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria, Australia
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Henni Piirainen
- Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - William Nguyen
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Sachin Khurana
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Somya Mehra
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Zahra Razook
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- School of Medicine and Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria, Australia
| | | | | | - Sujaan Das
- Ludwig Maximilian University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Munich, Germany
| | | | - Thorey K Jonsdottir
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Mikha Gabriela
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- School of Medicine and Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria, Australia
| | - Maria R Gancheva
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
| | | | - Vanessa Mollard
- School of Biosciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | | | - Geoffrey I McFadden
- School of Biosciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Danny W Wilson
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
| | - Kelly L Rogers
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Alyssa E Barry
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- School of Medicine and Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria, Australia
| | - Brendan S Crabb
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Tania F de Koning-Ward
- School of Medicine and Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria, Australia
| | - Brad E Sleebs
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Inari Kursula
- Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Paul R Gilson
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
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Cripowellins Pause Plasmodium falciparum Intraerythrocytic Development at the Ring Stage. Molecules 2023; 28:molecules28062600. [PMID: 36985570 PMCID: PMC10056369 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28062600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2023] [Revised: 02/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Cripowellins from Crinum erubescens are known pesticidal and have potent antiplasmodial activity. To gain mechanistic insights to this class of natural products, studies to determine the timing of action of cripowellins within the asexual intraerythrocytic cycle of Plasmodium falciparum were performed and led to the observation that this class of natural products induced reversible cytostasis in the ring stage within the first 24 h of treatment. The transcriptional program necessary for P. falciparum to progress through the asexual intraerythrocytic life cycle is well characterized. Whole transcriptome abundance analysis showed that cripowellin B “pauses” the transcriptional program necessary to progress through the intraerythrocytic life cycle coinciding with the lack of morphological progression of drug treated parasites. In addition, cripowellin B-treated parasites re-enter transcriptional progression after treatment was removed. This study highlights the use of cripowellins as chemical probes to reveal new aspects of cell cycle progression of the asexual ring stage of P. falciparum which could be leveraged for the generation of future antimalarial therapeutics.
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9
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Promising Antiparasitic Natural and Synthetic Products from Marine Invertebrates and Microorganisms. Mar Drugs 2023; 21:md21020084. [PMID: 36827125 PMCID: PMC9965275 DOI: 10.3390/md21020084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Parasitic diseases still threaten human health. At present, a number of parasites have developed drug resistance, and it is urgent to find new and effective antiparasitic drugs. As a rich source of biological compounds, marine natural products have been increasingly screened as candidates for developing new antiparasitic drugs. The literature related to the study of the antigenic animal activity of marine natural compounds from invertebrates and microorganisms was selected to summarize the research progress of marine compounds and the structure-activity relationship of these compounds in the past five years and to explore the possible sources of potential antiparasitic drugs for parasite treatment.
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10
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He Z, Yu C, Pan Z, Li X, Zhang X, Huang Q, Liao X, Hu J, Zeng F, Ru L, Yu W, Xu Q, Song J, Liang J. Erythrocyte membrane with CLIPPKF as biomimetic nanodecoy traps merozoites and attaches to infected red blood cells to prevent Plasmodium infection. J Nanobiotechnology 2023; 21:15. [PMID: 36647056 PMCID: PMC9841648 DOI: 10.1186/s12951-022-01709-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Malaria remains a serious threat to global public health. With poor efficacies of vaccines and the emergence of drug resistance, novel strategies to control malaria are urgently needed. RESULTS We developed erythrocyte membrane-camouflaged nanoparticles loaded with artemether based on the growth characteristics of Plasmodium. The nanoparticles could capture the merozoites to inhibit them from repeatedly infecting normal erythrocytes, owing to the interactions between merozoites and heparin-like molecules on the erythrocyte membrane. Modification with a phosphatidylserine-targeting peptide (CLIPPKF) improved the drug accumulation in infected red blood cells (iRBCs) from the externalized phosphatidylserine induced by Plasmodium infection. In Plasmodium berghei ANKA strain (pbANKA)-infected C57BL/6 mice, the nanoparticles significantly attenuated Plasmodium-induced inflammation, apoptosis, and anemia. We observed reduced weight variation and prolonged survival time in pbANKA-challenged mice, and the nanoparticles showed good biocompatibility and negligible cytotoxicity. CONCLUSION Erythrocyte membrane-camouflaged nanoparticles loaded with artemether were shown to provide safe and effective protection against Plasmodium infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhouqing He
- grid.411866.c0000 0000 8848 7685Artemisinin Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405 China
| | - Chuyi Yu
- grid.411866.c0000 0000 8848 7685Artemisinin Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405 China
| | - Ziyi Pan
- grid.411866.c0000 0000 8848 7685Artemisinin Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405 China
| | - Xiaobo Li
- grid.411866.c0000 0000 8848 7685Artemisinin Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405 China
| | - Xiangxiang Zhang
- grid.411866.c0000 0000 8848 7685Artemisinin Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405 China
| | - Qijing Huang
- grid.411866.c0000 0000 8848 7685Artemisinin Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405 China
| | - Xingcheng Liao
- grid.411866.c0000 0000 8848 7685Artemisinin Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405 China
| | - Jiaoting Hu
- grid.411866.c0000 0000 8848 7685Artemisinin Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405 China
| | - Feng Zeng
- grid.411866.c0000 0000 8848 7685Artemisinin Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405 China
| | - Li Ru
- grid.411866.c0000 0000 8848 7685Artemisinin Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405 China
| | - Wanlin Yu
- grid.413402.00000 0004 6068 0570Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510120 China
| | - Qin Xu
- grid.411866.c0000 0000 8848 7685Artemisinin Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405 China
| | - Jianping Song
- grid.411866.c0000 0000 8848 7685Artemisinin Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405 China
| | - Jianming Liang
- grid.411866.c0000 0000 8848 7685Artemisinin Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405 China ,grid.8547.e0000 0001 0125 2443Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery, School of Pharmacy, Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203 China
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11
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Cruz Camacho A, Kiper E, Oren S, Zaharoni N, Nir N, Soffer N, Noy Y, Ben David B, Rivkin A, Rotkopf R, Michael D, Carvalho TG, Regev-Rudzki N. High-throughput analysis of the transcriptional patterns of sexual genes in malaria. Parasit Vectors 2023; 16:14. [PMID: 36639683 PMCID: PMC9838061 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-022-05624-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) is the leading protozoan causing malaria, the most devastating parasitic disease. To ensure transmission, a small subset of Pf parasites differentiate into the sexual forms (gametocytes). Since the abundance of these essential parasitic forms is extremely low within the human host, little is currently known about the molecular regulation of their sexual differentiation, highlighting the need to develop tools to investigate Pf gene expression during this fundamental mechanism. METHODS We developed a high-throughput quantitative Reverse-Transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) platform to robustly monitor Pf transcriptional patterns, in particular, systematically profiling the transcriptional pattern of a large panel of gametocyte-related genes (GRG). Initially, we evaluated the technical performance of the systematic RT-qPCR platform to ensure it complies with the accepted quality standards for: (i) RNA extraction, (ii) cDNA synthesis and (iii) evaluation of gene expression through RT-qPCR. We then used this approach to monitor alterations in gene expression of a panel of GRG upon treatment with gametocytogenesis regulators. RESULTS We thoroughly elucidated GRG expression profiles under treatment with the antimalarial drug dihydroartemisinin (DHA) or the metabolite choline over the course of a Pf blood cycle (48 h). We demonstrate that both significantly alter the expression pattern of PfAP2-G, the gametocytogenesis master regulator. However, they also markedly modify the developmental rate of the parasites and thus might bias the mRNA expression. Additionally, we screened the effect of the metabolites lactate and kynurenic acid, abundant in severe malaria, as potential regulators of gametocytogenesis. CONCLUSIONS Our data demonstrate that the high-throughput RT-qPCR method enables studying the immediate transcriptional response initiating gametocytogenesis of the parasites from a very low volume of malaria-infected RBC samples. The obtained data expand the current knowledge of the initial alterations in mRNA profiles of GRG upon treatment with reported regulators. In addition, using this method emphasizes that asexual parasite stage composition is a crucial element that must be considered when interpreting changes in GRG expression by RT-qPCR, specifically when screening for novel compounds that could regulate Pf sexual differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abel Cruz Camacho
- grid.13992.300000 0004 0604 7563Faculty of Biochemistry, Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Edo Kiper
- grid.13992.300000 0004 0604 7563Faculty of Biochemistry, Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Sonia Oren
- grid.13992.300000 0004 0604 7563Faculty of Biochemistry, Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Nir Zaharoni
- grid.13992.300000 0004 0604 7563Faculty of Biochemistry, Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Netta Nir
- grid.13992.300000 0004 0604 7563Faculty of Biochemistry, Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Noam Soffer
- grid.13992.300000 0004 0604 7563Faculty of Biochemistry, Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Yael Noy
- grid.13992.300000 0004 0604 7563Faculty of Biochemistry, Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Bar Ben David
- grid.13992.300000 0004 0604 7563Faculty of Biochemistry, Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Anna Rivkin
- grid.13992.300000 0004 0604 7563Faculty of Biochemistry, Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Ron Rotkopf
- grid.13992.300000 0004 0604 7563Department of Life Sciences Core Facilities, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Dan Michael
- grid.13992.300000 0004 0604 7563Feinberg Graduate School, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Teresa G. Carvalho
- grid.1018.80000 0001 2342 0938Department of Microbiology, Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086 Australia
| | - Neta Regev-Rudzki
- grid.13992.300000 0004 0604 7563Faculty of Biochemistry, Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
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12
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Trinh TTT, Kim YA, Hong H, Le LTT, Jang H, Kim SA, Park H, Kim HS, Yeo SJ. In Vitro Evaluation of Two Novel Antimalarial Derivatives of SKM13: SKM13-MeO and SKM13-F. THE KOREAN JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY 2022; 60:401-407. [PMID: 36588416 PMCID: PMC9806497 DOI: 10.3347/kjp.2022.60.6.401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Antimalarial drugs play an important role in the control and treatment of malaria, a deadly disease caused by the protozoan parasite Plasmodium spp. The development of novel antimalarial agents effective against drug-resistant malarial parasites is urgently needed. The novel derivatives, SKM13-MeO and SKM13-F, were designed based on an SKM13 template by replacing the phenyl group with electron-donating (-OMe) or electron-withdrawing groups (-F), respectively, to reverse the electron density. A colorimetric assay was used to quantify cytotoxicity, and in vitro inhibition assays were performed on 3 different blood stages (ring, trophozoite, and schizonts) of P. falciparum 3D7 and the ring/mixed stage of D6 strain after synchronization. The in vitro cytotoxicity analysis showed that 2 new SKM13 derivatives reduced the cytotoxicity of the SKM13 template. SKM13 maintained the IC50 at the ring and trophozoite stages but not at the schizont stage. The IC50 values for both the trophozoite stage of P. falciparum 3D7 and ring/mixed stages of D6 demonstrated that 2 SKM13 derivatives had decreased antimalarial efficacy, particularly for the SKM13-F derivative. SKM13 may be comparably effective in ring and trophozoite, and electron-donating groups (-OMe) may be better maintain the antimalarial activity than electron-withdrawing groups (-F) in SKM13 modification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thuy-Tien Thi Trinh
- Department of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Medical Research Center, Institute of Endemic Diseases, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080,
Korea
| | - Young-ah Kim
- College of Pharmacy, Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Wonkwang University, Iksan 54538,
Korea
| | - Hyelee Hong
- Department of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080,
Korea
| | - Linh Thi Thuy Le
- Department of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080,
Korea
| | - Hayoung Jang
- Department of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080,
Korea
| | - Soon-Ai Kim
- College of Pharmacy, Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Wonkwang University, Iksan 54538,
Korea
| | - Hyun Park
- Zoonosis Research Center, Department of Infection Biology, School of Medicine, Wonkwang University, Iksan 54538,
Korea
| | - Hak Sung Kim
- College of Pharmacy, Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Wonkwang University, Iksan 54538,
Korea,Corresponding authors (; )
| | - Seon-Ju Yeo
- Department of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Medical Research Center, Institute of Endemic Diseases, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080,
Korea,Department of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080,
Korea,Corresponding authors (; )
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13
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Barnes CBG, Dans MG, Jonsdottir TK, Crabb BS, Gilson PR. PfATP4 inhibitors in the Medicines for Malaria Venture Malaria Box and Pathogen Box block the schizont-to-ring transition by inhibiting egress rather than invasion. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:1060202. [PMID: 36530423 PMCID: PMC9747762 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.1060202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The cation efflux pump Plasmodium falciparum ATPase 4 (PfATP4) maintains Na+ homeostasis in malaria parasites and has been implicated in the mechanism of action of many structurally diverse antimalarial agents, including >7% of the antimalarial compounds in the Medicines for Malaria Venture's 'Malaria Box' and 'Pathogen Box'. Recent screens of the 'Malaria Box' and 'Pathogen Box' revealed that many PfATP4 inhibitors prevent parasites from exiting their host red blood cell (egress) or entering new host cells (invasion), suggesting that these compounds may have additional molecular targets involved in egress or invasion. Here, we demonstrate that five PfATP4 inhibitors reduce egress but not invasion. These compounds appear to inhibit egress by blocking the activation of protein kinase G, an enzyme that, once stimulated, rapidly activates parasite egress. We establish a direct link between egress and PfATP4 function by showing that the inhibition of egress is attenuated in a Na+-depleted environment and in parasites with a mutation in pfatp4. Finally, we show that PfATP4 inhibitors induce host cell lysis when administered prior to the completion of parasite replication. Since host cell lysis mimics egress but is not followed by invasion, this phenomenon likely explains why several PfATP4 inhibitors were previously classified as invasion inhibitors. Collectively, our results confirm that PfATP4-mediated Na+ efflux is critical to the regulation of parasite egress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia B. G. Barnes
- Life Sciences, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia,Department of Medicine, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Madeline G. Dans
- Life Sciences, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia,School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
| | - Thorey K. Jonsdottir
- Life Sciences, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia,Department of Immunology and Pathology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Brendan S. Crabb
- Life Sciences, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia,Department of Immunology and Pathology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Paul R. Gilson
- Life Sciences, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia,*Correspondence: Paul R. Gilson,
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14
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Burns AL, Sleebs BE, Gancheva M, McLean KT, Siddiqui G, Venter H, Beeson JG, O’Handley R, Creek DJ, Ma S, Frölich S, Goodman CD, McFadden GI, Wilson DW. Targeting malaria parasites with novel derivatives of azithromycin. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:1063407. [PMID: 36530422 PMCID: PMC9748569 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.1063407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction The spread of artemisinin resistant Plasmodium falciparum parasites is of global concern and highlights the need to identify new antimalarials for future treatments. Azithromycin, a macrolide antibiotic used clinically against malaria, kills parasites via two mechanisms: 'delayed death' by inhibiting the bacterium-like ribosomes of the apicoplast, and 'quick-killing' that kills rapidly across the entire blood stage development. Methods Here, 22 azithromycin analogues were explored for delayed death and quick-killing activities against P. falciparum (the most virulent human malaria) and P. knowlesi (a monkey parasite that frequently infects humans). Results Seventeen analogues showed improved quick-killing against both Plasmodium species, with up to 38 to 20-fold higher potency over azithromycin after less than 48 or 28 hours of treatment for P. falciparum and P. knowlesi, respectively. Quick-killing analogues maintained activity throughout the blood stage lifecycle, including ring stages of P. falciparum parasites (<12 hrs treatment) and were >5-fold more selective against P. falciparum than human cells. Isopentenyl pyrophosphate supplemented parasites that lacked an apicoplast were equally sensitive to quick-killing analogues, confirming that the quick killing activity of these drugs was not directed at the apicoplast. Further, activity against the related apicoplast containing parasite Toxoplasma gondii and the gram-positive bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae did not show improvement over azithromycin, highlighting the specific improvement in antimalarial quick-killing activity. Metabolomic profiling of parasites subjected to the most potent compound showed a build-up of non-haemoglobin derived peptides that was similar to chloroquine, while also exhibiting accumulation of haemoglobin-derived peptides that was absent for chloroquine treatment. Discussion The azithromycin analogues characterised in this study expand the structural diversity over previously reported quick-killing compounds and provide new starting points to develop azithromycin analogues with quick-killing antimalarial activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy L. Burns
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, the University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia,School of Science and Technology, the University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
| | - Brad E. Sleebs
- ACRF Chemical Biology Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, VIC, Australia,Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Maria Gancheva
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, the University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Kimberley T. McLean
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, the University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Ghizal Siddiqui
- Drug Delivery Disposition and Dynamics, Monash University, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Henrietta Venter
- Health and Biomedical Innovation, Clinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - James G. Beeson
- Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Program, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia,Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia,Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic, Australia,Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic, Australia
| | - Ryan O’Handley
- School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia,Australian Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Ecology, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Darren J. Creek
- Drug Delivery Disposition and Dynamics, Monash University, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Shutao Ma
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Sonja Frölich
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, the University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | | | | | - Danny W. Wilson
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, the University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia,Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Program, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia,Australian Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Ecology, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia,*Correspondence: Danny W. Wilson,
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15
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Parasite Viability as a Measure of In Vivo Drug Activity in Preclinical and Early Clinical Antimalarial Drug Assessment. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2022; 66:e0011422. [PMID: 35727057 PMCID: PMC9295577 DOI: 10.1128/aac.00114-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The rate at which parasitemia declines in a host after treatment with an antimalarial drug is a major metric for assessment of antimalarial drug activity in preclinical models and in early clinical trials. However, this metric does not distinguish between viable and nonviable parasites. Thus, enumeration of parasites may result in underestimation of drug activity for some compounds, potentially confounding its use as a metric for assessing antimalarial activity in vivo. Here, we report a study of the effect of artesunate on Plasmodium falciparum viability in humans and in mice. We first measured the drug effect in mice by estimating the decrease in parasite viability after treatment using two independent approaches to estimate viability. We demonstrate that, as previously reported in humans, parasite viability declines much faster after artesunate treatment than does the decline in parasitemia (termed parasite clearance). We also observed that artesunate kills parasites faster at higher concentrations, which is not discernible from the traditional parasite clearance curve and that each subsequent dose of artesunate maintains its killing effect. Furthermore, based on measures of parasite viability, we could accurately predict the in vivo recrudescence of infection. Finally, using pharmacometrics modeling, we show that the apparent differences in the antimalarial activity of artesunate in mice and humans are partly explained by differences in host removal of dead parasites in the two hosts. However, these differences, along with different pharmacokinetic profiles, do not fully account for the differences in activity. (This study has been registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry under identifier ACTRN12617001394336.)
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16
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Bernard MM, Mohanty A, Rajendran V. Title: A Comprehensive Review on Classifying Fast-acting and Slow-acting Antimalarial Agents Based on Time of Action and Target Organelle of Plasmodium sp. Pathog Dis 2022; 80:6589403. [PMID: 35588061 DOI: 10.1093/femspd/ftac015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2021] [Revised: 03/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The clinical resistance towards malarial parasites has rendered many antimalarials ineffective, likely due to a lack of understanding of time of action and stage specificity of all life stages. Therefore, to tackle this problem a more incisive comprehensive analysis of the fast and slow-acting profile of antimalarial agents relating to parasite time-kill kinetics and the target organelle on the progression of blood-stage parasites was carried out. It is evident from numerous findings that drugs targeting food vacuole, nuclear components, and endoplasmic reticulum mainly exhibit a fast-killing phenotype within 24h affecting first-cycle activity. Whereas drugs targeting mitochondria, apicoplast, microtubules, parasite invasion and egress exhibit a largely slow-killing phenotype within 96-120h, affecting second-cycle activity with few exemptions as moderately fast-killing. It is essential to understand the susceptibility of drugs on rings, trophozoites, schizonts, merozoites, and the appearance of organelle at each stage of 48h intraerythrocytic parasite cycle. Therefore, these parameters may facilitate the paradigm for understanding the timing of antimalarials action in deciphering its precise mechanism linked with time. Thus, classifying drugs based on the time of killing may promote designing new combination regimens against varied strains of P. falciparum and evaluating potential clinical resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Marie Bernard
- Department of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry 605014, India
| | - Abhinab Mohanty
- Department of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry 605014, India
| | - Vinoth Rajendran
- Department of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry 605014, India
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17
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Brenneman KV, Li X, Kumar S, Delgado E, Checkley LA, Shoue DA, Reyes A, Abatiyow BA, Haile MT, Tripura R, Peto T, Lek D, Button-Simons KA, Kappe SH, Dhorda M, Nosten F, Nkhoma SC, Cheeseman IH, Vaughan AM, Ferdig MT, Anderson TJ. Optimizing bulk segregant analysis of drug resistance using Plasmodium falciparum genetic crosses conducted in humanized mice. iScience 2022; 25:104095. [PMID: 35372813 PMCID: PMC8971943 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Revised: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Classical malaria parasite genetic crosses involve isolation, genotyping, and phenotyping of progeny parasites, which is time consuming and laborious. We tested a rapid alternative approach-bulk segregant analysis (BSA)-that utilizes sequencing of bulk progeny populations with and without drug selection for rapid identification of drug resistance loci. We used dihydroartemisinin (DHA) selection in two genetic crosses and investigated how synchronization, cryopreservation, and the drug selection regimen impacted BSA success. We detected a robust quantitative trait locus (QTL) at kelch13 in both crosses but did not detect QTLs at four other candidate loci. QTLs were detected using synchronized, but not unsynchronized progeny pools, consistent with the stage-specific action of DHA. We also successfully applied BSA to cryopreserved progeny pools, expanding the utility of this approach. We conclude that BSA provides a powerful approach for investigating the genetic architecture of drug resistance in Plasmodium falciparum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katelyn Vendrely Brenneman
- Eck Institute for Global Health, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Xue Li
- Program in Disease Intervention and Prevention, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Sudhir Kumar
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Elizabeth Delgado
- Program in Disease Intervention and Prevention, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Lisa A. Checkley
- Eck Institute for Global Health, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Douglas A. Shoue
- Eck Institute for Global Health, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Ann Reyes
- Program in Disease Intervention and Prevention, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Biley A. Abatiyow
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Meseret T. Haile
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Rupam Tripura
- Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine Research Building, University of Oxford Old Road Campus, Oxford, UK
| | - Tom Peto
- Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine Research Building, University of Oxford Old Road Campus, Oxford, UK
| | - Dysoley Lek
- National Center for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- School of Public Health, National Institute of Public Health, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
| | - Katrina A. Button-Simons
- Eck Institute for Global Health, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Stefan H.I. Kappe
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Mehul Dhorda
- Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine Research Building, University of Oxford Old Road Campus, Oxford, UK
| | - François Nosten
- Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine Research Building, University of Oxford Old Road Campus, Oxford, UK
- Shoklo Malaria Research Unit, Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Mae Sot, Thailand
| | | | - Ian H. Cheeseman
- Program in Host Pathogen Interactions, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Ashley M. Vaughan
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Corresponding author
| | - Michael T. Ferdig
- Eck Institute for Global Health, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
- Corresponding author
| | - Tim J.C. Anderson
- Program in Disease Intervention and Prevention, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
- Corresponding author
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18
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Cell biological analysis reveals an essential role for Pfcerli2 in erythrocyte invasion by malaria parasites. Commun Biol 2022; 5:121. [PMID: 35140336 PMCID: PMC8828742 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03020-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Merozoite invasion of host red blood cells (RBCs) is essential for survival of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Proteins involved with RBC binding and invasion are secreted from dual-club shaped organelles at the apical tip of the merozoite called the rhoptries. Here we characterise P. falciparum Cytosolically Exposed Rhoptry Leaflet Interacting protein 2 (PfCERLI2), as a rhoptry bulb protein that is essential for merozoite invasion. Phylogenetic analyses show that cerli2 arose through an ancestral gene duplication of cerli1. We show that PfCERLI2 is essential for blood-stage growth and localises to the cytosolic face of the rhoptry bulb. Inducible knockdown of PfCERLI2 led to a proportion of merozoites failing to invade and was associated with elongation of the rhoptry organelle during merozoite development and inhibition of rhoptry antigen processing. These findings identify PfCERLI2 as a protein that has key roles in rhoptry biology during merozoite invasion. Benjamin Liffner and Miguel Balbin et al. report that the Plasmodium falciparum protein, PfCERLI2, localises to the cytosolic face of the parasite’s rhoptry bulb and is essential for invasion and growth within human red blood cells.
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19
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Property activity refinement of 2-anilino 4-amino substituted quinazolines as antimalarials with fast acting asexual parasite activity. Bioorg Chem 2021; 117:105359. [PMID: 34689083 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2021.105359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 09/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Malaria is a devastating disease caused by Plasmodium parasites. Emerging resistance against current antimalarial therapeutics has engendered the need to develop antimalarials with novel structural classes. We recently described the identification and initial optimization of the 2-anilino quinazoline antimalarial class. Here, we refine the physicochemical properties of this antimalarial class with the aim to improve aqueous solubility and metabolism and to reduce adverse promiscuity. We show the physicochemical properties of this class are intricately balanced with asexual parasite activity and human cell cytotoxicity. Structural modifications we have implemented improved LipE, aqueous solubility and in vitro metabolism while preserving fast acting P. falciparum asexual stage activity. The lead compounds demonstrated equipotent activity against P. knowlesi parasites and were not predisposed to resistance mechanisms of clinically used antimalarials. The optimized compounds exhibited modest activity against early-stage gametocytes, but no activity against pre-erythrocytic liver parasites. Confoundingly, the refined physicochemical properties installed in the compounds did not engender improved oral efficacy in a P. berghei mouse model of malaria compared to earlier studies on the 2-anilino quinazoline class. This study provides the framework for further development of this antimalarial class.
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Neves Borgheti-Cardoso L, San Anselmo M, Lantero E, Lancelot A, Serrano JL, Hernández-Ainsa S, Fernàndez-Busquets X, Sierra T. Promising nanomaterials in the fight against malaria. J Mater Chem B 2021; 8:9428-9448. [PMID: 32955067 DOI: 10.1039/d0tb01398f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
For more than one hundred years, several treatments against malaria have been proposed but they have systematically failed, mainly due to the occurrence of drug resistance in part resulting from the exposure of the parasite to low drug doses. Several factors are behind this problem, including (i) the formidable barrier imposed by the Plasmodium life cycle with intracellular localization of parasites in hepatocytes and red blood cells, (ii) the adverse fluidic conditions encountered in the blood circulation that affect the interaction of molecular components with target cells, and (iii) the unfavorable physicochemical characteristics of most antimalarial drugs, which have an amphiphilic character and can be widely distributed into body tissues after administration and rapidly metabolized in the liver. To surpass these drawbacks, rather than focusing all efforts on discovering new drugs whose efficacy is quickly decreased by the parasite's evolution of resistance, the development of effective drug delivery carriers is a promising strategy. Nanomaterials have been investigated for their capacity to effectively deliver antimalarial drugs at local doses sufficiently high to kill the parasites and avoid drug resistance evolution, while maintaining a low overall dose to prevent undesirable toxic side effects. In recent years, several nanostructured systems such as liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles or dendrimers have been shown to be capable of improving the efficacy of antimalarial therapies. In this respect, nanomaterials are a promising drug delivery vehicle and can be used in therapeutic strategies designed to fight the parasite both in humans and in the mosquito vector of the disease. The chemical analyses of these nanomaterials are essential for the proposal and development of effective anti-malaria therapies. This review is intended to analyze the application of nanomaterials to improve the drug efficacy on different stages of the malaria parasites in both the human and mosquito hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Livia Neves Borgheti-Cardoso
- Nanomalaria Group, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10-12, ES-08028 Barcelona, Spain and Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona), Rosselló 149-153, ES-08036 Barcelona, Spain and Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Institute (IN2UB), University of Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1, ES-08028 Barcelona, Spain.
| | - María San Anselmo
- Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón (INMA), Dep. Química Orgánica-Facultad de Ciencias, CSIC-Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain.
| | - Elena Lantero
- Nanomalaria Group, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10-12, ES-08028 Barcelona, Spain and Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona), Rosselló 149-153, ES-08036 Barcelona, Spain and Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Institute (IN2UB), University of Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1, ES-08028 Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Alexandre Lancelot
- Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón (INMA), Dep. Química Orgánica-Facultad de Ciencias, CSIC-Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain.
| | - José Luis Serrano
- Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón (INMA), Dep. Química Orgánica-Facultad de Ciencias, CSIC-Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain.
| | - Silvia Hernández-Ainsa
- Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón (INMA), Dep. Química Orgánica-Facultad de Ciencias, CSIC-Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain. and ARAID Foundation, Government of Aragón, Zaragoza 50018, Spain
| | - Xavier Fernàndez-Busquets
- Nanomalaria Group, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10-12, ES-08028 Barcelona, Spain and Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona), Rosselló 149-153, ES-08036 Barcelona, Spain and Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Institute (IN2UB), University of Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1, ES-08028 Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Teresa Sierra
- Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón (INMA), Dep. Química Orgánica-Facultad de Ciencias, CSIC-Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain.
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Wright AE, Collins JE, Roberts B, Roberts JC, Winder PL, Reed JK, Diaz MC, Pomponi SA, Chakrabarti D. Antiplasmodial Compounds from Deep-Water Marine Invertebrates. Mar Drugs 2021; 19:md19040179. [PMID: 33805935 PMCID: PMC8064351 DOI: 10.3390/md19040179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Novel drug leads for malaria therapy are urgently needed because of the widespread emergence of resistance to all available drugs. Screening of the Harbor Branch enriched fraction library against the Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine-resistant strain (Dd2) followed by bioassay-guided fractionation led to the identification of two potent antiplasmodials; a novel diterpene designated as bebrycin A (1) and the known C21 degraded terpene nitenin (2). A SYBR Green I assay was used to establish a Dd2 EC50 of 1.08 ± 0.21 and 0.29 ± 0.02 µM for bebrycin A and nitenin, respectively. Further analysis was then performed to assess the stage specificity of the inhibitors antiplasmodial effects on the Dd2 intraerythrocytic life cycle. Exposure to bebrycin A was found to block parasite maturation at the schizont stage if added any time prior to late schizogony at 42 hours post invasion, (HPI). In contrast, early life cycle exposure to nitenin (prior to 18 HPI) was identified as crucial to parasite inhibition, suggesting nitenin may target the maturation of the parasite during the transition from ring to early trophozoite (6–18 HPI), a novel property among known antimalarials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy E. Wright
- Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, 5600 US Highway 1 North, Fort Pierce, FL 34946, USA; (J.C.R.); (P.L.W.); (J.K.R.); (M.C.D.); (S.A.P.)
- Correspondence: (A.E.W.); (D.C.); Tel.: +1-772-242-2459 (A.E.W.); +1-407-882-2256 (D.C.)
| | - Jennifer E. Collins
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32826, USA; (J.E.C.); (B.R.)
| | - Bracken Roberts
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32826, USA; (J.E.C.); (B.R.)
| | - Jill C. Roberts
- Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, 5600 US Highway 1 North, Fort Pierce, FL 34946, USA; (J.C.R.); (P.L.W.); (J.K.R.); (M.C.D.); (S.A.P.)
| | - Priscilla L. Winder
- Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, 5600 US Highway 1 North, Fort Pierce, FL 34946, USA; (J.C.R.); (P.L.W.); (J.K.R.); (M.C.D.); (S.A.P.)
| | - John K. Reed
- Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, 5600 US Highway 1 North, Fort Pierce, FL 34946, USA; (J.C.R.); (P.L.W.); (J.K.R.); (M.C.D.); (S.A.P.)
| | - Maria Cristina Diaz
- Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, 5600 US Highway 1 North, Fort Pierce, FL 34946, USA; (J.C.R.); (P.L.W.); (J.K.R.); (M.C.D.); (S.A.P.)
| | - Shirley A. Pomponi
- Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, 5600 US Highway 1 North, Fort Pierce, FL 34946, USA; (J.C.R.); (P.L.W.); (J.K.R.); (M.C.D.); (S.A.P.)
| | - Debopam Chakrabarti
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32826, USA; (J.E.C.); (B.R.)
- Correspondence: (A.E.W.); (D.C.); Tel.: +1-772-242-2459 (A.E.W.); +1-407-882-2256 (D.C.)
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Semimechanistic Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Modeling of Piperaquine in a Volunteer Infection Study with Plasmodium falciparum Blood-Stage Malaria. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2021; 65:AAC.01583-20. [PMID: 33468477 PMCID: PMC8097471 DOI: 10.1128/aac.01583-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine is a recommended first-line artemisinin combination therapy for Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Piperaquine is also under consideration for other antimalarial combination therapies. The aim of this study was to develop a pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic model that might be useful when optimizing the use of piperaquine in new antimalarial combination therapies. The pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic model was developed using data from a previously reported dose-ranging study where 24 healthy volunteers were inoculated with 1,800 blood-stage Plasmodium falciparum parasites. All volunteers received a single oral dose of piperaquine (960 mg, 640 mg, or 480 mg) on day 7 or day 8 after parasite inoculation in separate cohorts. Parasite densities were measured by quantitative PCR (qPCR), and piperaquine levels were measured in plasma samples. We used nonlinear mixed-effect modeling to characterize the pharmacokinetic properties of piperaquine and the parasite dynamics associated with piperaquine exposure. The pharmacokinetics of piperaquine was described by a three-compartment disposition model. A semimechanistic parasite dynamics model was developed to explain the maturation of parasites, sequestration of mature parasites, synchronicity of infections, and multiplication of parasites, as seen in natural clinical infections with P. falciparum malaria. Piperaquine-associated parasite killing was estimated using a maximum effect (E max) function. Treatment simulations (i.e., 3-day oral dosing of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine) indicated that to be able to combat multidrug-resistant infections, an ideal additional drug in a new antimalarial triple-combination therapy should have a parasite reduction ratio of ≥102 per life cycle (38.8 h) with a duration of action of ≥2 weeks. The semimechanistic pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic model described here offers the potential to be a valuable tool for assessing and optimizing current and new antimalarial drug combination therapies containing piperaquine and the impact of these therapies on killing multidrug-resistant infections. (This study has been registered in the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry under no. ANZCTRN12613000565741.).
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Nguyen W, Dans MG, Ngo A, Gancheva MR, Romeo O, Duffy S, de Koning-Ward TF, Lowes KN, Sabroux HJ, Avery VM, Wilson DW, Gilson PR, Sleebs BE. Structure activity refinement of phenylsulfonyl piperazines as antimalarials that block erythrocytic invasion. Eur J Med Chem 2021; 214:113253. [PMID: 33610028 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2021.113253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Revised: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The emerging resistance to combination therapies comprised of artemisinin derivatives has driven a need to identify new antimalarials with novel mechanisms of action. Central to the survival and proliferation of the malaria parasite is the invasion of red blood cells by Plasmodium merozoites, providing an attractive target for novel therapeutics. A screen of the Medicines for Malaria Venture Pathogen Box employing transgenic P. falciparum parasites expressing the nanoluciferase bioluminescent reporter identified the phenylsulfonyl piperazine class as a specific inhibitor of erythrocyte invasion. Here, we describe the optimization and further characterization of the phenylsulfonyl piperazine class. During the optimization process we defined the functionality required for P. falciparum asexual stage activity and determined the alpha-carbonyl S-methyl isomer was important for antimalarial potency. The optimized compounds also possessed comparable activity against multidrug resistant strains of P. falciparum and displayed weak activity against sexual stage gametocytes. We determined that the optimized compounds blocked erythrocyte invasion consistent with the asexual activity observed and therefore the phenylsulfonyl piperazine analogues described could serve as useful tools for studying Plasmodium erythrocyte invasion.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Nguyen
- The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, 3052, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010, Australia
| | - Madeline G Dans
- Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health, Melbourne, 3004, Australia; School of Medicine, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, 3216, Australia
| | - Anna Ngo
- The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, 3052, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010, Australia
| | - Maria R Gancheva
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
| | - Ornella Romeo
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
| | - Sandra Duffy
- Discovery Biology, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, 4111, Australia
| | | | - Kym N Lowes
- The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, 3052, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010, Australia
| | - Helene Jousset Sabroux
- The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, 3052, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010, Australia
| | - Vicky M Avery
- Discovery Biology, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, 4111, Australia
| | - Danny W Wilson
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia; Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health, Melbourne, 3004, Australia
| | - Paul R Gilson
- Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health, Melbourne, 3004, Australia
| | - Brad E Sleebs
- The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, 3052, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010, Australia.
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Ariefta NR, Koseki T, Nishikawa Y, Shiono Y. Spirocollequins A and B, new alkaloids featuring a spirocyclic isoindolinone core, from Colletotrichum boninense AM-12-2. Tetrahedron Lett 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tetlet.2020.152736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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25
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Montenegro LM, de Las Salas B, Neal AT, Tobon-Castaño A, Fairhurst RM, Lopera-Mesa TM. State of Artemisinin and Partner Drug Susceptibility in Plasmodium falciparum Clinical Isolates from Colombia. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2021; 104:263-270. [PMID: 33289466 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-0148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Delayed parasite clearance time observed in Southeast Asia provided the first evidence of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to artemisinins. The ex vivo ring-stage survival assay (RSA) mimics parasite exposure to pharmacologically relevant artemisinin concentrations. Mutations in the C-terminal propeller domain of the putative kelch protein Pf3D7_1343700 (K13) are associated with artemisinin resistance. Variations in the pfmdr1 gene are associated with reduced susceptibility to the artemisinin partner drugs mefloquine (MQ) and lumefantrine (LF). To clarify the unknown landscape of artemisinin resistance in Colombia, 71 patients with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria were enrolled in a non-randomized observational study in three endemic localities in 2014-2015. Each patient's parasite isolate was assessed for ex vivo RSA, K13-propeller mutations, pfmdr1 copy number, and pfmdr1 mutations at codons 86, 184, 1034, 1042, and 1246, associated with reduced susceptibility, and 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) for other antimalarial drugs. Ex vivo RSAs were successful in 56% (40/71) of samples, and nine isolates showed survival rates > 1%. All isolates had wild-type K13-propeller sequences. All isolates harbored either of two pfmdr1 haplotypes, NFSDD (79.3%) and NFSDY (20.7%), and 7.1% of isolates had > 1 pfmdr1 gene. In vitro IC50 assays showed that variable proportions of isolates had decreased susceptibility to chloroquine (52.4%, > 100 nM), amodiaquine (31.2%, > 30 nM), MQ (34.3%, > 30 nM), and LF (3.2%, > 10 nM). In this study, we report ex vivo RSA and K13 data on P. falciparum isolates from Colombia. The identification of isolates with increased ex vivo RSA rates in the absence of K13-propeller mutations and no positivity at day three requires further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Briegel de Las Salas
- 1Grupo Malaria, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Aaron T Neal
- 2Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland
| | | | - Rick M Fairhurst
- 2Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland
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de Souza Pereira C, Costa Quadros H, Magalhaes Moreira DR, Castro W, Santos De Deus Da Silva RI, Botelho Pereira Soares M, Fontinha D, Prudêncio M, Schmitz V, Dos Santos HF, Gendrot M, Fonta I, Mosnier J, Pradines B, Navarro M. A Novel Hybrid of Chloroquine and Primaquine Linked by Gold(I): Multitarget and Multiphase Antiplasmodial Agent. ChemMedChem 2020; 16:662-678. [PMID: 33231370 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202000653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2020] [Revised: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Plasmodium parasites kill 435 000 people around the world every year due to unavailable vaccines, a limited arsenal of antimalarial drugs, delayed treatment, and the reduced clinical effectiveness of current practices caused by drug resistance. Therefore, there is an urgent need to discover and develop new antiplasmodial candidates. In this work, we present a novel strategy to develop a multitarget metallic hybrid antimalarial agent with possible dual efficacy in both sexual and asexual erythrocytic stages. A hybrid of antimalarial drugs (chloroquine and primaquine) linked by gold(I) was synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic and analytical techniques. The CQPQ-gold(I) hybrid molecule affects essential parasite targets, it inhibits β-hematin formation and interacts moderately with the DNA minor groove. Its interaction with PfTrxR was also examined in computational modeling studies. The CQPQ-gold(I) hybrid displayed an excellent in vitro antimalarial activity against the blood-stage of Plasmodium falciparum and liver-stage of Plasmodium berghei and efficacy in vivo against P. berghei, thereby demonstrating its multiple-stage antiplasmodial activity. This metallic hybrid is a promising chemotherapeutic agent that could act in the treatment, prevention, and transmission of malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline de Souza Pereira
- Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Rua José Lourenço Kelmer, s/n - Campus Universitário, Bairro Martelos, CEP 36036-900, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brasil
| | - Helenita Costa Quadros
- Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Av. Waldemar Falcão, 121, Candeal, Salvador, Bahia, Brasil
| | | | - William Castro
- Centro de Química, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), Centro de Química, Carretera Panamericana, Km 11, Altos de Pipe, San Antonio de los Altos Miranda, 1020-A, Caracas, Venezuela
| | | | | | - Diana Fontinha
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa <, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Miguel Prudêncio
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa <, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Vinicius Schmitz
- Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Rua José Lourenço Kelmer, s/n - Campus Universitário, Bairro Martelos, CEP 36036-900, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brasil
| | - Hélio F Dos Santos
- Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Rua José Lourenço Kelmer, s/n - Campus Universitário, Bairro Martelos, CEP 36036-900, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brasil
| | - Mathieu Gendrot
- Unité Parasitologie et entomologie, Institut de recherche biomédicale des armées, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.,Aix-Marseille Univ, IRD, SSA, AP-HM, VITROME, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.,IHU Méditerranée Infection, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Isabelle Fonta
- Unité Parasitologie et entomologie, Institut de recherche biomédicale des armées, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.,Aix-Marseille Univ, IRD, SSA, AP-HM, VITROME, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.,IHU Méditerranée Infection, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.,Centre National de Référence du Paludisme, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Joel Mosnier
- Unité Parasitologie et entomologie, Institut de recherche biomédicale des armées, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.,Aix-Marseille Univ, IRD, SSA, AP-HM, VITROME, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.,IHU Méditerranée Infection, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.,Centre National de Référence du Paludisme, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Bruno Pradines
- Unité Parasitologie et entomologie, Institut de recherche biomédicale des armées, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.,Aix-Marseille Univ, IRD, SSA, AP-HM, VITROME, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.,IHU Méditerranée Infection, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.,Centre National de Référence du Paludisme, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Maribel Navarro
- Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Rua José Lourenço Kelmer, s/n - Campus Universitário, Bairro Martelos, CEP 36036-900, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brasil
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Khoury DS, Cao P, Zaloumis SG, Davenport MP. Artemisinin Resistance and the Unique Selection Pressure of a Short-acting Antimalarial. Trends Parasitol 2020; 36:884-887. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2020.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Revised: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 07/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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Sleebs BE, Jarman KE, Frolich S, Wong W, Healer J, Dai W, Lucet IS, Wilson DW, Cowman AF. Development and application of a high-throughput screening assay for identification of small molecule inhibitors of the P. falciparum reticulocyte binding-like homologue 5 protein. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-DRUGS AND DRUG RESISTANCE 2020; 14:188-200. [PMID: 33152623 PMCID: PMC7645381 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2020.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2019] [Revised: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The P. falciparum parasite, responsible for the disease in humans known as malaria, must invade erythrocytes to provide an environment for self-replication and survival. For invasion to occur, the parasite must engage several ligands on the host erythrocyte surface to enable adhesion, tight junction formation and entry. Critical interactions include binding of erythrocyte binding-like ligands and reticulocyte binding-like homologues (Rhs) to the surface of the host erythrocyte. The reticulocyte binding-like homologue 5 (Rh5) is the only member of this family that is essential for invasion and it binds to the basigin host receptor. The essential nature of Rh5 makes it an important vaccine target, however to date, Rh5 has not been targeted by small molecule intervention. Here, we describe the development of a high-throughput screening assay to identify small molecules which interfere with the Rh5-basigin interaction. To validate the utility of this assay we screened a known drug library and the Medicines for Malaria Box and demonstrated the reproducibility and robustness of the assay for high-throughput screening purposes. The screen of the known drug library identified the known leukotriene antagonist, pranlukast. We used pranlukast as a model inhibitor in a post screening evaluation cascade. We procured and synthesised analogues of pranlukast to assist in the hit confirmation process and show which structural moieties of pranlukast attenuate the Rh5 – basigin interaction. Evaluation of pranlukast analogues against P. falciparum in a viability assay and a schizont rupture assay show the parasite activity was not consistent with the biochemical inhibition of Rh5, questioning the developability of pranlukast as an antimalarial. The high-throughput assay developed from this work has the capacity to screen large collections of small molecules to discover inhibitors of P. falciparum Rh5 for future development of invasion inhibitory antimalarials. A high-throughput screening assay was developed to identify inhibitors of Rh5. The assay was applied in a screen of the MMV Malaria Box and a known drug library. Pranlukast was identified as a hit, but could not be conclusively validated. Assay enables future screens of large compound libraries to discover Rh5 inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brad E Sleebs
- The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia.
| | - Kate E Jarman
- The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia
| | - Sonja Frolich
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia
| | - Wilson Wong
- The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia
| | - Julie Healer
- The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia
| | - Weiwen Dai
- The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia
| | - Isabelle S Lucet
- The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia
| | - Danny W Wilson
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia
| | - Alan F Cowman
- The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia
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29
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Efange NM, Lobe MMM, Keumoe R, Ayong L, Efange SMN. Spirofused tetrahydroisoquinoline-oxindole hybrids as a novel class of fast acting antimalarial agents with multiple modes of action. Sci Rep 2020; 10:17932. [PMID: 33087791 PMCID: PMC7578093 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74824-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Molecular hybridization of privileged scaffolds may generate novel antiplasmodial chemotypes that display superior biological activity and delay drug resistance. In the present study, we describe the in vitro activities and mode of action of 3′,4′-dihydro-2′H-spiro[indoline-3,1′-isoquinolin]-2-ones, a novel class of spirofused tetrahydroisoquinoline–oxindole hybrids, as novel antimalarial agents. Whole cell phenotypic screening of these compounds identified (14b), subsequently named (±)-moxiquindole, as the most potent compound in the current series with equipotent antiplasmodial activity against both chloroquine sensitive and multidrug resistant parasite strains with good selectivity. The compound was active against all asexual stages of the parasite including inhibition of merozoite egress. Additionally, (±)-moxiquindole exhibited significant inhibitory effects on hemoglobin degradation, and disrupted vacuolar lipid dynamics. Taken together, our data confirm the antiplasmodial activity of (±)-moxiquindole, and identify 3′4′-dihydro-2′H-spiro[indoline-3,1′-isoquinolin]-2-ones as a novel class of antimalarial agents with multiple modes of action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noella M Efange
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Buea, P.O. Box 63, Buea, Cameroon.,Centre Pasteur du Cameroon, Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Maloba M M Lobe
- Department of Chemistry, University of Buea, P.O. Box 63, Buea, Cameroon
| | | | | | - Simon M N Efange
- Department of Chemistry, University of Buea, P.O. Box 63, Buea, Cameroon.
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Therapeutic Efficacy of Artemether-Lumefantrine (Coartem®) for the Treatment of Uncomplicated Falciparum Malaria in Africa: A Systematic Review. J Parasitol Res 2020; 2020:7371681. [PMID: 33145101 PMCID: PMC7599419 DOI: 10.1155/2020/7371681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2020] [Revised: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Africa still bears the largest burden of malaria as the majority of infections in the continent are caused by P. falciparum. Artemether-lumefantrine (AL, Coartem®) is the most widely used artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), for treating uncomplicated falciparum malaria globally. However, the development of resistance to antimalarial drugs is a major challenge for malaria control. In this review, the efficacy of AL for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Africa was evaluated. Methods Articles published between January 2015 and July 2019 were systematically searched using comprehensive search strings from PubMed/Medline, SCOPUS, and grey literature from Google Scholar. Interventional studies that followed patients for at least 28 days were included. Two reviewers independently assessed study eligibility, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias. All the included articles were measured to be good quality. While computing the efficacy of AL, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)–corrected cure rate (adequate clinical and parasitological response, ACPR) at day 28 was considered as the main endpoint. Meta-analysis was computed using STATA v 15 to calculate the pooled ACPR. Results In this review, 39 articles that reported the treatment outcome of 8,320 patients were included. After 28 days of follow-up, the pooled PCR uncorrected and corrected APCR was at 87% (95% CI: 85-90%) and 97.0% (95% CI: 96-98%), respectively. Moreover, the proportion of early treatment failure (ETF) was almost 0%, while most of the included articles reported <8% late treatment failures. The reinfection and recrudescence rate was less than 10% and 2.6%, respectively, within 28 days. We noted rapid fever and parasite clearance in which greater than 93% and 94% patients were parasite and fever free at day three following AL treatment. Conclusions This review discovered that despite more than a decade since its introduction, Coartem® remains effective and thus could continue to be the drug of choice for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria for all age groups in Africa. However, the risk of new emerging resistance for this combination warrants regular monitoring of its efficacy across the continent.
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31
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Reyser T, Paloque L, Ouji M, Nguyen M, Ménard S, Witkowski B, Augereau JM, Benoit-Vical F. Identification of compounds active against quiescent artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum parasites via the quiescent-stage survival assay (QSA). J Antimicrob Chemother 2020; 75:2826-2834. [PMID: 32653910 DOI: 10.1093/jac/dkaa250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2020] [Revised: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 05/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Quiescence is an unconventional mechanism of Plasmodium survival, mediating artemisinin resistance. This phenomenon increases the risk of clinical failures following artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) by slowing parasite clearance and allowing the selection of parasites resistant to partner drugs. OBJECTIVES To thwart this multiresistance, the quiescent state of artemisinin-resistant parasites must be taken into consideration from the very early stages of the drug discovery process. METHODS We designed a novel phenotypic assay we have named the quiescent-stage survival assay (QSA) to assess the antiplasmodial activity of drugs on quiescent parasites. This assay was first validated on quiescent forms from different artemisinin-resistant parasite lines (laboratory strain and field isolates), using two reference drugs with different mechanisms of action: chloroquine and atovaquone. Furthermore, the efficacies of different partner drugs of artemisinins used in ACTs were investigated against both laboratory strains and field isolates from Cambodia. RESULTS Our results highlight that because of the mechanism of quiescence and the respective pharmacological targets of drugs, drug efficacies on artemisinin-resistant parasites may be different between quiescent parasites and their proliferating forms. CONCLUSIONS These data confirm the high relevance of adding the chemosensitivity evaluation of quiescent parasites by the specific in vitro QSA to the antiplasmodial drug development process in the current worrisome context of artemisinin resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thibaud Reyser
- LCC-CNRS, Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse, France.,Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale, IPBS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, France
| | - Lucie Paloque
- LCC-CNRS, Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse, France.,Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale, IPBS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, France
| | - Manel Ouji
- LCC-CNRS, Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse, France.,Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale, IPBS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, France
| | - Michel Nguyen
- LCC-CNRS, Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse, France.,Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale, IPBS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, France
| | - Sandie Ménard
- UMR152 UPS-IRD, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Benoit Witkowski
- Malaria Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Pasteur Institute in Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
| | - Jean-Michel Augereau
- LCC-CNRS, Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse, France.,Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale, IPBS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, France
| | - Françoise Benoit-Vical
- LCC-CNRS, Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse, France.,Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale, IPBS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, France.,INSERM, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Scientifique, France
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32
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Burns AL, Sleebs BE, Siddiqui G, De Paoli AE, Anderson D, Liffner B, Harvey R, Beeson JG, Creek DJ, Goodman CD, McFadden GI, Wilson DW. Retargeting azithromycin analogues to have dual-modality antimalarial activity. BMC Biol 2020; 18:133. [PMID: 32993629 PMCID: PMC7526119 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-020-00859-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2020] [Accepted: 08/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Resistance to front-line antimalarials (artemisinin combination therapies) is spreading, and development of new drug treatment strategies to rapidly kill Plasmodium spp. malaria parasites is urgently needed. Azithromycin is a clinically used macrolide antibiotic proposed as a partner drug for combination therapy in malaria, which has also been tested as monotherapy. However, its slow-killing 'delayed-death' activity against the parasite's apicoplast organelle and suboptimal activity as monotherapy limit its application as a potential malaria treatment. Here, we explore a panel of azithromycin analogues and demonstrate that chemical modifications can be used to greatly improve the speed and potency of antimalarial action. RESULTS Investigation of 84 azithromycin analogues revealed nanomolar quick-killing potency directed against the very earliest stage of parasite development within red blood cells. Indeed, the best analogue exhibited 1600-fold higher potency than azithromycin with less than 48 hrs treatment in vitro. Analogues were effective against zoonotic Plasmodium knowlesi malaria parasites and against both multi-drug and artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum lines. Metabolomic profiles of azithromycin analogue-treated parasites suggested activity in the parasite food vacuole and mitochondria were disrupted. Moreover, unlike the food vacuole-targeting drug chloroquine, azithromycin and analogues were active across blood-stage development, including merozoite invasion, suggesting that these macrolides have a multi-factorial mechanism of quick-killing activity. The positioning of functional groups added to azithromycin and its quick-killing analogues altered their activity against bacterial-like ribosomes but had minimal change on 'quick-killing' activity. Apicoplast minus parasites remained susceptible to both azithromycin and its analogues, further demonstrating that quick-killing is independent of apicoplast-targeting, delayed-death activity. CONCLUSION We show that azithromycin and analogues can rapidly kill malaria parasite asexual blood stages via a fast action mechanism. Development of azithromycin and analogues as antimalarials offers the possibility of targeting parasites through both a quick-killing and delayed-death mechanism of action in a single, multifactorial chemotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy L Burns
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 5005, Australia
| | - Brad E Sleebs
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, Victoria, 3050, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3050, Australia
| | - Ghizal Siddiqui
- Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3052, Australia
| | - Amanda E De Paoli
- Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3052, Australia
| | - Dovile Anderson
- Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3052, Australia
| | - Benjamin Liffner
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 5005, Australia
| | - Richard Harvey
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 5005, Australia
| | - James G Beeson
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, 3004, Australia
- Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Central Clinical School and Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Darren J Creek
- Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3052, Australia
| | - Christopher D Goodman
- School of Biosciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Geoffrey I McFadden
- School of Biosciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Danny W Wilson
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 5005, Australia.
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, 3004, Australia.
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de Carvalho LP, Kreidenweiss A, Held J. The preclinical discovery and development of rectal artesunate for the treatment of malaria in young children: a review of the evidence. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2020; 16:13-22. [PMID: 32921162 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2020.1804357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest malaria parasite, kills hundreds of thousands of people per year, mainly young children in Sub-Saharan Africa. Artesunate suppositories are recommended as pre-referral malaria treatment in remote endemic areas for severely ill children to prevent progression of the disease and to provide extra time for patients until the definitive severe malaria treatment can be administered. AREAS COVERED The authors provide an overview of the discovery of artesunate and its different formulations focusing on rectal administration, summarizing key studies concerning the pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, safety, tolerability and efficacy of rectal artesunate leading to WHO recommendation and market authorization in Africa. In addition, studies on acceptance and adherence to rectal artesunate administration and the post-launch status are also covered. EXPERT OPINION Efforts by ministries of health in malaria endemic countries together with international health organizations should establish and enforce guidelines to ensure the correct use of artesunate suppositories only as pre-referral medication in presumed severe malaria cases to minimize the risk of abuse as a monotherapy for treatment of uncomplicated malaria. The priority is to not jeopardize the efficacy of artesunate and to prevent resistance development against this valuable drug class in Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrea Kreidenweiss
- Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen , Tübingen, Germany.,Centre De Recherches Médicales De Lambaréné , Lambaréné, Gabon
| | - Jana Held
- Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen , Tübingen, Germany.,Centre De Recherches Médicales De Lambaréné , Lambaréné, Gabon
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Gandhi S, Baker RP, Cho S, Stanchev S, Strisovsky K, Urban S. Designed Parasite-Selective Rhomboid Inhibitors Block Invasion and Clear Blood-Stage Malaria. Cell Chem Biol 2020; 27:1410-1424.e6. [PMID: 32888502 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2020.08.011] [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: 03/24/2020] [Revised: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Rhomboid intramembrane proteases regulate pathophysiological processes, but their targeting in a disease context has never been achieved. We decoded the atypical substrate specificity of malaria rhomboid PfROM4, but found, unexpectedly, that it results from "steric exclusion": PfROM4 and canonical rhomboid proteases cannot cleave each other's substrates due to reciprocal juxtamembrane steric clashes. Instead, we engineered an optimal sequence that enhanced proteolysis >10-fold, and solved high-resolution structures to discover that boronates enhance inhibition >100-fold. A peptide boronate modeled on our "super-substrate" carrying one "steric-excluding" residue inhibited PfROM4 but not human rhomboid proteolysis. We further screened a library to discover an orthogonal alpha-ketoamide that potently inhibited PfROM4 but not human rhomboid proteolysis. Despite the membrane-immersed target and rapid invasion, ultrastructural analysis revealed that single-dosing blood-stage malaria cultures blocked host-cell invasion and cleared parasitemia. These observations establish a strategy for designing parasite-selective rhomboid inhibitors and expose a druggable dependence on rhomboid proteolysis in non-motile parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiv Gandhi
- Department of Molecular Biology & Genetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Room 507 PCTB, 725 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Rosanna P Baker
- Department of Molecular Biology & Genetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Room 507 PCTB, 725 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Sangwoo Cho
- Department of Molecular Biology & Genetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Room 507 PCTB, 725 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Stancho Stanchev
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 160 00, Czechia
| | - Kvido Strisovsky
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 160 00, Czechia
| | - Siniša Urban
- Department of Molecular Biology & Genetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Room 507 PCTB, 725 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
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35
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Adderley JD, John von Freyend S, Jackson SA, Bird MJ, Burns AL, Anar B, Metcalf T, Semblat JP, Billker O, Wilson DW, Doerig C. Analysis of erythrocyte signalling pathways during Plasmodium falciparum infection identifies targets for host-directed antimalarial intervention. Nat Commun 2020; 11:4015. [PMID: 32782246 PMCID: PMC7419518 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17829-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2020] [Accepted: 07/16/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Intracellular pathogens mobilize host signaling pathways of their host cell to promote their own survival. Evidence is emerging that signal transduction elements are activated in a-nucleated erythrocytes in response to infection with malaria parasites, but the extent of this phenomenon remains unknown. Here, we fill this knowledge gap through a comprehensive and dynamic assessment of host erythrocyte signaling during infection with Plasmodium falciparum. We used arrays of 878 antibodies directed against human signaling proteins to interrogate the activation status of host erythrocyte phospho-signaling pathways at three blood stages of parasite asexual development. This analysis reveals a dynamic modulation of many host signalling proteins across parasite development. Here we focus on the hepatocyte growth factor receptor (c-MET) and the MAP kinase pathway component B-Raf, providing a proof of concept that human signaling kinases identified as activated by malaria infection represent attractive targets for antimalarial intervention. Plasmodium infection activates signaling pathways in a-nucleated erythrocytes. Here, Adderley et al. use a comprehensive antibody microarray to show that infection extensively modulates host cell signalling and that the host receptor tyrosine kinase c-MET supports Plasmodium falciparum proliferation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack D Adderley
- Centre for Chronic Inflammatory and Infectious and Diseases, Biomedical Sciences Cluster, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC, 3083, Australia
| | - Simona John von Freyend
- Infection and Immunity Program, Department of Microbiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Sarah A Jackson
- Infection and Immunity Program, Department of Microbiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Megan J Bird
- Infection and Immunity Program, Department of Microbiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Amy L Burns
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia
| | - Burcu Anar
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Tom Metcalf
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Jean-Philippe Semblat
- Institut National de la Transfusion Sanguine, Inserm UMR S1134, 75015, Paris, France
| | - Oliver Billker
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, CB10 1SA, UK.,Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, SE-901 87, Sweden
| | - Danny W Wilson
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia.,Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia
| | - Christian Doerig
- Centre for Chronic Inflammatory and Infectious and Diseases, Biomedical Sciences Cluster, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC, 3083, Australia.
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Nutmakul T, Pattanapanyasat K, Soonthornchareonnon N, Shiomi K, Mori M, Prathanturarug S. Speed of action and stage specificity of Bencha-loga-wichian, a Thai traditional antipyretic formulation, against Plasmodium falciparum and the chloroquine-potentiating activity of its active compounds, tiliacorinine and yanangcorinine. JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY 2020; 258:112909. [PMID: 32360802 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2020.112909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Revised: 04/02/2020] [Accepted: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Bencha-loga-wichian (BLW), a Thai traditional antipyretic formulation, has been reported to have promising antiplasmodial activity, and it was previously revealed that tiliacorinine and yanangcorinine, isolated from Tiliacora triandra, were the active compounds. However, the mechanisms of action of BLW have not been investigated. In addition, these active compounds are bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids, many compounds of which have been reported to potentiate the efficacy of chloroquine. AIMS OF THE STUDY To investigate the antiplasmodial mechanisms of action of BLW and evaluate the effects of chloroquine combined with tiliacorinine or yanangcorinine. MATERIALS AND METHODS Chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum (PfW2) strains at the ring, trophozoite, and schizont stages were exposed to the extracts or compounds for 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 24 or 48 h. The percentages of parasitemia were determined by flow cytometry, and their morphologies were examined by Giemsa-stained smear to evaluate the speed of action and stage specificity. For the drug combination assay, a modified fixed-ratio isobologram method was used. RESULTS The antiplasmodial activity of BLW possessed a slow onset of action and was the most effective against ring-stage parasites. After 48 h of extracts or compounds exposure, most of the treated parasites, at all stages, turned to the pyknotic form and could not recover even after extracts or compounds removal. The results suggested that these extracts and compounds could kill the parasites or possess parasiticidal effects. In addition, the combination of chloroquine with tiliacorinine or yanangcorinine demonstrated a synergistic effect, indicating that these compounds could potentiate chloroquine efficacy against chloroquine-resistant parasites. CONCLUSION The antiplasmodial mechanisms of action of BLW appeared to differ from that of chloroquine and other current antimalarial drugs. In addition, tiliacorinine and yanangcorinine, the active compounds of BLW, could potentiate the efficacy of chloroquine. Accordingly, BLW was shown to be a good candidate for development as a new antimalarial and useful for drug combination therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thanutchaporn Nutmakul
- Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University, 447 Sri-Ayuthaya Road, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand.
| | - Kovit Pattanapanyasat
- Office for Research and Development, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkoknoi, Bangkok, 10700, Thailand.
| | - Noppamas Soonthornchareonnon
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University, 447 Sri-Ayuthaya Road, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand.
| | - Kazuro Shiomi
- Laboratory of Biological Functions, Kitasato Institute for Life Sciences, Kitasato University, 5-9-1, Shirokane, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8641, Japan.
| | - Mihoko Mori
- Laboratory of Biological Functions, Kitasato Institute for Life Sciences, Kitasato University, 5-9-1, Shirokane, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8641, Japan.
| | - Sompop Prathanturarug
- Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University, 447 Sri-Ayuthaya Road, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand.
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Teklemichael AA, Mizukami S, Toume K, Mosaddeque F, Kamel MG, Kaneko O, Komatsu K, Karbwang J, Huy NT, Hirayama K. Anti-malarial activity of traditional Kampo medicine Coptis rhizome extract and its major active compounds. Malar J 2020; 19:204. [PMID: 32513250 PMCID: PMC7282140 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-020-03273-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2019] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Herbal medicine has been a rich source of new drugs exemplified by quinine and artemisinin. In this study, a variety of Japanese traditional herbal medicine (‘Kampo’) were examined for their potential anti-malarial activities. Methods A comprehensive screening methods were designed to identify novel anti-malarial drugs from a library of Kampo herbal extracts (n = 120) and related compounds (n = 96). The anti-malarial activity was initially evaluated in vitro against chloroquine/mefloquine-sensitive (3D7) and-resistant (Dd2) strains of Plasmodium falciparum. The cytotoxicity was also evaluated using primary adult mouse brain cells. After being selected through the first in vitro assay, positive extracts and compounds were examined for possible in vivo anti-malarial activity. Results Out of 120 herbal extracts, Coptis rhizome showed the highest anti-malarial activity (IC50 1.9 µg/mL of 3D7 and 4.85 µg/mL of Dd2) with a high selectivity index (SI) > 263 (3D7) and > 103 (Dd2). Three major chlorinated compounds (coptisine, berberine, and palmatine) related to Coptis rhizome also showed anti-malarial activities with IC50 1.1, 2.6, and 6.0 µM (against 3D7) and 3.1, 6.3, and 11.8 µM (against Dd2), respectively. Among them, coptisine chloride exhibited the highest anti-malarial activity (IC50 1.1 µM against 3D7 and 3.1 µM against Dd2) with SI of 37.8 and 13.2, respectively. Finally, the herbal extract of Coptis rhizome and its major active compound coptisine chloride exhibited significant anti-malarial activity in mice infected with Plasmodium yoelii 17X strain with respect to its activity on parasite suppression consistently from day 3 to day 7 post-challenge. The effect ranged from 50.38 to 72.13% (P < 0.05) for Coptis rhizome and from 81 to 89% (P < 0.01) for coptisine chloride. Conclusion Coptis rhizome and its major active compound coptisine chloride showed promising anti-malarial activity against chloroquine-sensitive (3D7) and -resistant (Dd2) strains in vitro as well as in vivo mouse malaria model. Thus, Kampo herbal medicine is a potential natural resource for novel anti-malarial agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Awet Alem Teklemichael
- Department of Immunogenetics, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan.,Program for Nurturing Global Leaders in Tropical and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan.,School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
| | - Shusaku Mizukami
- School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan.,Department of Clinical Product Development, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
| | - Kazufumi Toume
- Section of Pharmacognosy, Institute of Natural Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Farhana Mosaddeque
- Department of Immunogenetics, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan.,Program for Nurturing Global Leaders in Tropical and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
| | | | - Osamu Kaneko
- Program for Nurturing Global Leaders in Tropical and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan.,School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan.,Department of Protozoology, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
| | - Katsuko Komatsu
- Section of Pharmacognosy, Institute of Natural Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Juntra Karbwang
- Program for Nurturing Global Leaders in Tropical and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan.,Department of Clinical Product Development, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
| | - Nguyen Tien Huy
- School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan.,Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, 550000, Vietnam
| | - Kenji Hirayama
- Department of Immunogenetics, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan. .,Program for Nurturing Global Leaders in Tropical and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan. .,School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan.
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Dziekan JM, Wirjanata G, Dai L, Go KD, Yu H, Lim YT, Chen L, Wang LC, Puspita B, Prabhu N, Sobota RM, Nordlund P, Bozdech Z. Cellular thermal shift assay for the identification of drug-target interactions in the Plasmodium falciparum proteome. Nat Protoc 2020; 15:1881-1921. [PMID: 32341577 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-020-0310-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Despite decades of research, little is known about the cellular targets and the mode of action of the vast majority of antimalarial drugs. We recently demonstrated that the cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA) protocol in its two variants: the melt curve and the isothermal dose-response, represents a comprehensive strategy for the identification of antimalarial drug targets. CETSA enables proteome-wide target screening for unmodified antimalarial compounds with undetermined mechanisms of action, providing quantitative evidence about direct drug-protein interactions. The experimental workflow involves treatment of P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes with a compound of interest, heat exposure to denature proteins, soluble protein isolation, enzymatic digestion, peptide labeling with tandem mass tags, offline fractionation, and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Methodological optimizations necessary for the analysis of this intracellular parasite are discussed, including enrichment of parasitized cells and hemoglobin depletion strategies to overcome high hemoglobin abundance in the host red blood cells. We outline an effective data processing workflow using the mineCETSA R package, which enables prioritization of drug-target candidates for follow-up studies. The entire protocol can be completed within 2 weeks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerzy Michal Dziekan
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Grennady Wirjanata
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Lingyun Dai
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,The Second Clinical Medical College of Jinan University, First Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Ka Diam Go
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Han Yu
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Yan Ting Lim
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.,Functional Proteomics Laboratory, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Liyan Chen
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.,Functional Proteomics Laboratory, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Loo Chien Wang
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.,Functional Proteomics Laboratory, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Brenda Puspita
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Nayana Prabhu
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Radoslaw M Sobota
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore. .,Functional Proteomics Laboratory, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.
| | - Pär Nordlund
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore. .,Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore. .,Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Zbynek Bozdech
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
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Whole-Cell Phenotypic Screening of Medicines for Malaria Venture Pathogen Box Identifies Specific Inhibitors of Plasmodium falciparum Late-Stage Development and Egress. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2020; 64:AAC.01802-19. [PMID: 32071059 DOI: 10.1128/aac.01802-19] [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: 09/03/2019] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We report a systematic, cellular phenotype-based antimalarial screening of the Medicines for Malaria Venture Pathogen Box collection, which facilitated the identification of specific blockers of late-stage intraerythrocytic development of Plasmodium falciparum First, from standard growth inhibition assays, we identified 173 molecules with antimalarial activity (50% effective concentration [EC50] ≤ 10 μM), which included 62 additional molecules over previously known antimalarial candidates from the Pathogen Box. We identified 90 molecules with EC50 of ≤1 μM, which had significant effect on the ring-trophozoite transition, while 9 molecules inhibited the trophozoite-schizont transition and 21 molecules inhibited the schizont-ring transition (with ≥50% parasites failing to proceed to the next stage) at 1 μM. We therefore rescreened all 173 molecules and validated hits in microscopy to prioritize 12 hits as selective blockers of the schizont-ring transition. Seven of these molecules inhibited the calcium ionophore-induced egress of Toxoplasma gondii, a related apicomplexan parasite, suggesting that the inhibitors may be acting via a conserved mechanism which could be further exploited for target identification studies. We demonstrate that two molecules, MMV020670 and MMV026356, identified as schizont inhibitors in our screens, induce the fragmentation of DNA in merozoites, thereby impairing their ability to egress and invade. Further mechanistic studies would facilitate the therapeutic exploitation of these molecules as broadly active inhibitors targeting late-stage development and egress of apicomplexan parasites relevant to human health.
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40
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PfCERLI1 is a conserved rhoptry associated protein essential for Plasmodium falciparum merozoite invasion of erythrocytes. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1411. [PMID: 32179747 PMCID: PMC7075938 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15127-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2019] [Accepted: 02/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
The disease-causing blood-stage of the Plasmodium falciparum lifecycle begins with invasion of human erythrocytes by merozoites. Many vaccine candidates with key roles in binding to the erythrocyte surface and entry are secreted from the large bulb-like rhoptry organelles at the apical tip of the merozoite. Here we identify an essential role for the conserved protein P. falciparum Cytosolically Exposed Rhoptry Leaflet Interacting protein 1 (PfCERLI1) in rhoptry function. We show that PfCERLI1 localises to the cytosolic face of the rhoptry bulb membrane and knockdown of PfCERLI1 inhibits merozoite invasion. While schizogony and merozoite organelle biogenesis appear normal, biochemical techniques and semi-quantitative super-resolution microscopy show that PfCERLI1 knockdown prevents secretion of key rhoptry antigens that coordinate merozoite invasion. PfCERLI1 is a rhoptry associated protein identified to have a direct role in function of this essential merozoite invasion organelle, which has broader implications for understanding apicomplexan invasion biology. Rhoptries are essential organelles for invasion of erythrocytes by Plasmodium. Here, the authors characterize the rhoptry-associated protein CERLI1 using quantitative super-resolution microscopy, showing that it is important for parasite invasion and secretion of rhoptry proteins including vaccine antigens.
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41
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Dans MG, Weiss GE, Wilson DW, Sleebs BE, Crabb BS, de Koning-Ward TF, Gilson PR. Screening the Medicines for Malaria Venture Pathogen Box for invasion and egress inhibitors of the blood stage of Plasmodium falciparum reveals several inhibitory compounds. Int J Parasitol 2020; 50:235-252. [PMID: 32135179 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2020.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2019] [Revised: 12/30/2019] [Accepted: 01/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
With emerging resistance to frontline treatments, it is vital that new drugs are identified to target Plasmodium falciparum. One of the most critical processes during parasites asexual lifecycle is the invasion and subsequent egress of red blood cells (RBCs). Many unique parasite ligands, receptors and enzymes are employed during egress and invasion that are essential for parasite proliferation and survival, therefore making these processes druggable targets. To identify potential inhibitors of egress and invasion, we screened the Medicines for Malaria Venture Pathogen Box, a 400 compound library against neglected tropical diseases, including 125 with antimalarial activity. For this screen, we utilised transgenic parasites expressing a bioluminescent reporter, nanoluciferase (Nluc), to measure inhibition of parasite egress and invasion in the presence of the Pathogen Box compounds. At a concentration of 2 µM, we found 15 compounds that inhibited parasite egress by >40% and 24 invasion-specific compounds that inhibited invasion by >90%. We further characterised 11 of these inhibitors through cell-based assays and live cell microscopy, and found two compounds that inhibited merozoite maturation in schizonts, one compound that inhibited merozoite egress, one compound that directly inhibited parasite invasion and one compound that slowed down invasion and arrested ring formation. The remaining compounds were general growth inhibitors that acted during the egress and invasion phase of the cell cycle. We found the sulfonylpiperazine, MMV020291, to be the most invasion-specific inhibitor, blocking successful merozoite internalisation within human RBCs and having no substantial effect on other stages of the cell cycle. This has significant implications for the possible development of an invasion-specific inhibitor as an antimalarial in a combination based therapy, in addition to being a useful tool for studying the biology of the invading parasite.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeline G Dans
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia; School of Medicine, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia.
| | - Greta E Weiss
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia
| | - Danny W Wilson
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia; Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia
| | - Brad E Sleebs
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia; The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Brendan S Crabb
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia; The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | | | - Paul R Gilson
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia.
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42
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Nardella F, Halby L, Hammam E, Erdmann D, Cadet-Daniel V, Peronet R, Ménard D, Witkowski B, Mecheri S, Scherf A, Arimondo PB. DNA Methylation Bisubstrate Inhibitors Are Fast-Acting Drugs Active against Artemisinin-Resistant Plasmodium falciparum Parasites. ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE 2020; 6:16-21. [PMID: 31989022 PMCID: PMC6978834 DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.9b00874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2019] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Malaria is the deadliest parasitic disease affecting over 200 million people worldwide. The increasing number of treatment failures due to multi-drug-resistant parasites in South-East Asia hinders the efforts for elimination. It is thus urgent to develop new antimalarials to contain these resistant parasites. Based on a previous report showing the presence of DNA methylation in Plasmodium, we generated new types of DNA methylation inhibitors against malaria parasites. The quinoline-quinazoline-based inhibitors kill parasites, including artemisinin-resistant field isolates adapted to culture, in the low nanomolar range. The compounds target all stages of the asexual cycle, including early rings, during a 6 h treatment period; they reduce DNA methylation in the parasite and show in vivo activity at 10 mg/kg. These potent inhibitors are a new starting point to develop fast-acting antimalarials that could be used in combination with artemisinins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flore Nardella
- Unité
Biologie des Interactions Hôte-Parasite, Département
de Parasites et Insectes Vecteurs, Institut
Pasteur, CNRS ERL 9195, INSERM Unit U1201, 25-28 Rue du Dr Roux, Paris 75015, France
| | - Ludovic Halby
- Epigenetic
Chemical Biology, Department of Structural Biology and Chemistry, Institut Pasteur, UMR n°3523, CNRS, 28 Rue du Dr Roux, Paris 75015, France
| | - Elie Hammam
- Unité
Biologie des Interactions Hôte-Parasite, Département
de Parasites et Insectes Vecteurs, Institut
Pasteur, CNRS ERL 9195, INSERM Unit U1201, 25-28 Rue du Dr Roux, Paris 75015, France
- Ecole
Doctorale Complexité du Vivant ED515, Sorbonne Universités, Paris 6, Paris 75005, France
| | - Diane Erdmann
- Epigenetic
Chemical Biology, Department of Structural Biology and Chemistry, Institut Pasteur, UMR n°3523, CNRS, 28 Rue du Dr Roux, Paris 75015, France
- Ecole
Doctorale MTCI ED563, Université
de Paris, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris 75006, France
| | - Véronique Cadet-Daniel
- Epigenetic
Chemical Biology, Department of Structural Biology and Chemistry, Institut Pasteur, UMR n°3523, CNRS, 28 Rue du Dr Roux, Paris 75015, France
| | - Roger Peronet
- Unité
Biologie des Interactions Hôte-Parasite, Département
de Parasites et Insectes Vecteurs, Institut
Pasteur, CNRS ERL 9195, INSERM Unit U1201, 25-28 Rue du Dr Roux, Paris 75015, France
| | - Didier Ménard
- Unité
Biologie des Interactions Hôte-Parasite, Département
de Parasites et Insectes Vecteurs, Institut
Pasteur, CNRS ERL 9195, INSERM Unit U1201, 25-28 Rue du Dr Roux, Paris 75015, France
- Malaria
Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Pasteur Institute
in Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
| | - Benoit Witkowski
- Malaria
Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Pasteur Institute
in Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
| | - Salah Mecheri
- Unité
Biologie des Interactions Hôte-Parasite, Département
de Parasites et Insectes Vecteurs, Institut
Pasteur, CNRS ERL 9195, INSERM Unit U1201, 25-28 Rue du Dr Roux, Paris 75015, France
| | - Artur Scherf
- Unité
Biologie des Interactions Hôte-Parasite, Département
de Parasites et Insectes Vecteurs, Institut
Pasteur, CNRS ERL 9195, INSERM Unit U1201, 25-28 Rue du Dr Roux, Paris 75015, France
- E-mail:
| | - Paola B. Arimondo
- Epigenetic
Chemical Biology, Department of Structural Biology and Chemistry, Institut Pasteur, UMR n°3523, CNRS, 28 Rue du Dr Roux, Paris 75015, France
- E-mail:
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Keshavarzi Arshadi A, Salem M, Collins J, Yuan JS, Chakrabarti D. DeepMalaria: Artificial Intelligence Driven Discovery of Potent Antiplasmodials. Front Pharmacol 2020; 10:1526. [PMID: 32009951 PMCID: PMC6974622 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2019.01526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2019] [Accepted: 11/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Antimalarial drugs are becoming less effective due to the emergence of drug resistance. Resistance has been reported for all available malaria drugs, including artemisinin, thus creating a perpetual need for alternative drug candidates. The traditional drug discovery approach of high throughput screening (HTS) of large compound libraries for identification of new drug leads is time-consuming and resource intensive. While virtual in silico screening is a solution to this problem, however, the generalization of the models is not ideal. Artificial intelligence (AI), utilizing either structure-based or ligand-based approaches, has demonstrated highly accurate performances in the field of chemical property prediction. Leveraging the existing data, AI would be a suitable alternative to blind-search HTS or fingerprint-based virtual screening. The AI model would learn patterns within the data and help to search for hit compounds efficiently. In this work, we introduce DeepMalaria, a deep-learning based process capable of predicting the anti-Plasmodium falciparum inhibitory properties of compounds using their SMILES. A graph-based model is trained on 13,446 publicly available antiplasmodial hit compounds from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) dataset that are currently being used to find novel drug candidates for malaria. We validated this model by predicting hit compounds from a macrocyclic compound library and already approved drugs that are used for repurposing. We have chosen macrocyclic compounds as these ligand-binding structures are underexplored in malaria drug discovery. The in silico pipeline for this process also consists of additional validation of an in-house independent dataset consisting mostly of natural product compounds. Transfer learning from a large dataset was leveraged to improve the performance of the deep learning model. To validate the DeepMalaria generated hits, we used a commonly used SYBR Green I fluorescence assay based phenotypic screening. DeepMalaria was able to detect all the compounds with nanomolar activity and 87.5% of the compounds with greater than 50% inhibition. Further experiments to reveal the compounds’ mechanism of action have shown that not only does one of the hit compounds, DC-9237, inhibits all asexual stages of Plasmodium falciparum, but is a fast-acting compound which makes it a strong candidate for further optimization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arash Keshavarzi Arshadi
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States
| | - Milad Salem
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States
| | - Jennifer Collins
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States
| | - Jiann Shiun Yuan
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States
| | - Debopam Chakrabarti
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States
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Murithi JM, Owen ES, Istvan ES, Lee MCS, Ottilie S, Chibale K, Goldberg DE, Winzeler EA, Llinás M, Fidock DA, Vanaerschot M. Combining Stage Specificity and Metabolomic Profiling to Advance Antimalarial Drug Discovery. Cell Chem Biol 2019; 27:158-171.e3. [PMID: 31813848 PMCID: PMC7031696 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2019.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2019] [Revised: 10/18/2019] [Accepted: 11/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
We report detailed susceptibility profiling of asexual blood stages of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum to clinical and experimental antimalarials, combined with metabolomic fingerprinting. Results revealed a variety of stage-specific and metabolic profiles that differentiated the modes of action of clinical antimalarials including chloroquine, piperaquine, lumefantrine, and mefloquine, and identified late trophozoite-specific peak activity and stage-specific biphasic dose-responses for the mitochondrial inhibitors DSM265 and atovaquone. We also identified experimental antimalarials hitting previously unexplored druggable pathways as reflected by their unique stage specificity and/or metabolic profiles. These included several ring-active compounds, ones affecting hemoglobin catabolism through distinct pathways, and mitochondrial inhibitors with lower propensities for resistance than either DSM265 or atovaquone. This approach, also applicable to other microbes that undergo multiple differentiation steps, provides an effective tool to prioritize compounds for further development within the context of combination therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- James M Murithi
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Edward S Owen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Eva S Istvan
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, and Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis MO 63130, USA
| | - Marcus C S Lee
- Parasites and Microbes Programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Sabine Ottilie
- School of Medicine, University of California San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Kelly Chibale
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa; South African Medical Research Council Drug Discovery and Development Research Unit, Department of Chemistry & Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Daniel E Goldberg
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, and Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis MO 63130, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Winzeler
- School of Medicine, University of California San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Manuel Llinás
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Huck Center for Malaria Research, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - David A Fidock
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.
| | - Manu Vanaerschot
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.
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The effects of dyslipidaemia and cholesterol modulation on erythrocyte susceptibility to malaria parasite infection. Malar J 2019; 18:381. [PMID: 31783858 PMCID: PMC6884832 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-019-3016-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2019] [Accepted: 11/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Malaria disease commences when blood-stage parasites, called merozoites, invade human erythrocytes. Whilst the process of invasion is traditionally seen as being entirely merozoite-driven, emerging data suggests erythrocyte biophysical properties markedly influence invasion. Cholesterol is a major determinant of cell membrane biophysical properties demanding its interrogation as a potential mediator of resistance to merozoite invasion of the erythrocyte. Methods Biophysical measurements of erythrocyte deformability by flicker spectroscopy were used to assess changes in erythrocyte bending modulus on forced integration of cholesterol and how these artificial changes affect invasion by human Plasmodium falciparum merozoites. To validate these observations in a natural context, either murine Plasmodium berghei or human Plasmodium falciparum merozoites were tested for their ability to invade erythrocytes from a hypercholesterolaemic mouse model or human clinical erythrocyte samples deriving from patients with a range of serum cholesterol concentrations, respectively. Results Erythrocyte bending modulus (a measure of deformability) was shown to be markedly affected by artificial modulation of cholesterol content and negatively correlated with merozoite invasion efficiency. In an in vitro infection context, however, erythrocytes taken from hypercholesterolaemic mice or from human clinical samples with varying serum cholesterol levels showed little difference in their susceptibility to merozoite invasion. Explaining this, membrane cholesterol levels in both mouse and human hypercholesterolaemia erythrocytes were subsequently found to be no different from matched normal serum controls. Conclusions Based on these observations, serum cholesterol does not appear to impact on erythrocyte susceptibility to merozoite entry. Indeed, no relationship between serum cholesterol and cholesterol content of the erythrocyte is apparent. This work, nonetheless, suggests that native polymorphisms which do affect membrane lipid composition would be expected to affect parasite entry. This supports investigation of erythrocyte biophysical properties in endemic settings, which may yet identify naturally protective lipid-related polymorphisms.
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46
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Capela R, Moreira R, Lopes F. An Overview of Drug Resistance in Protozoal Diseases. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:E5748. [PMID: 31731801 PMCID: PMC6888673 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20225748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2019] [Revised: 11/11/2019] [Accepted: 11/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Protozoan diseases continue to be a worldwide social and economic health problem. Increased drug resistance, emerging cross resistance, and lack of new drugs with novel mechanisms of action significantly reduce the effectiveness of current antiprotozoal therapies. While drug resistance associated to anti-infective agents is a reality, society seems to remain unaware of its proportions and consequences. Parasites usually develops ingenious and innovative mechanisms to achieve drug resistance, which requires more research and investment to fight it. In this review, drug resistance developed by protozoan parasites Plasmodium, Leishmania, and Trypanosoma will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rita Capela
- Instituto de Investigação do Medicamento (iMed.ULisboa), Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal; (R.M.); (F.L.)
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47
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Burns AL, Dans MG, Balbin JM, de Koning-Ward TF, Gilson PR, Beeson JG, Boyle MJ, Wilson DW. Targeting malaria parasite invasion of red blood cells as an antimalarial strategy. FEMS Microbiol Rev 2019; 43:223-238. [PMID: 30753425 PMCID: PMC6524681 DOI: 10.1093/femsre/fuz005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2018] [Accepted: 02/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium spp. parasites that cause malaria disease remain a significant global-health burden. With the spread of parasites resistant to artemisinin combination therapies in Southeast Asia, there is a growing need to develop new antimalarials with novel targets. Invasion of the red blood cell by Plasmodium merozoites is essential for parasite survival and proliferation, thus representing an attractive target for therapeutic development. Red blood cell invasion requires a co-ordinated series of protein/protein interactions, protease cleavage events, intracellular signals, organelle release and engagement of an actin-myosin motor, which provide many potential targets for drug development. As these steps occur in the bloodstream, they are directly susceptible and exposed to drugs. A number of invasion inhibitors against a diverse range of parasite proteins involved in these different processes of invasion have been identified, with several showing potential to be optimised for improved drug-like properties. In this review, we discuss red blood cell invasion as a drug target and highlight a number of approaches for developing antimalarials with invasion inhibitory activity to use in future combination therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy L Burns
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia 5005
| | - Madeline G Dans
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3004.,Deakin University, School of Medicine, Waurn Ponds, Victoria, Australia 3216
| | - Juan M Balbin
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia 5005
| | | | - Paul R Gilson
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3004
| | - James G Beeson
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3004.,Central Clinical School and Department of Microbiology, Monash University 3004.,Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Australia 3052
| | - Michelle J Boyle
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3004.,QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia 4006
| | - Danny W Wilson
- Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia 5005.,Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3004
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48
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Ivermectin Impairs the Development of Sexual and Asexual Stages of Plasmodium falciparum In Vitro. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2019; 63:AAC.00085-19. [PMID: 31109978 DOI: 10.1128/aac.00085-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2019] [Accepted: 05/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Ivermectin is the drug of choice for many parasitic infections, with more than one billion doses being distributed in onchocerciasis programs. The drug has been put into focus recently by the malaria community because of its potential to kill blood-sucking mosquitoes, thereby reducing malaria transmission. However, the activity of ivermectin against the malaria parasite itself has been only partly investigated. This study aimed to investigate the in vitro activity of ivermectin against asexual and sexual stages of Plasmodium falciparum Both asexual and late-stage gametocytes were incubated with ivermectin and control drugs in vitro The growth-inhibiting effects were assessed for asexual stages of different Plasmodium falciparum laboratory strains and culture-adapted clinical isolates using the histidine-rich protein 2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique. The effect against stage IV/V gametocytes was evaluated based on ATP quantification. Ivermectin showed activities at nanomolar concentrations against asexual stages (50% inhibitory concentration of ∼100 nM) and stage IV/V gametocytes (500 nM) of P. falciparum Stage-specific assays suggested that ivermectin arrests the parasite cycle at the trophozoite stage. Ivermectin might add a feature to its "wonder drug" properties with activity against asexual stages of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum The observed activities might be difficult to reach with current regimens but will be more relevant with future high-dose regimens under investigation. Further studies should be performed to confirm these results in vitro and in vivo.
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49
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Khoury DS, Aogo R, Randriafanomezantsoa-Radohery G, McCaw JM, Simpson JA, McCarthy JS, Haque A, Cromer D, Davenport MP. Within-host modeling of blood-stage malaria. Immunol Rev 2019; 285:168-193. [PMID: 30129195 DOI: 10.1111/imr.12697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Malaria infection continues to be a major health problem worldwide and drug resistance in the major human parasite species, Plasmodium falciparum, is increasing in South East Asia. Control measures including novel drugs and vaccines are in development, and contributions to the rational design and optimal usage of these interventions are urgently needed. Infection involves the complex interaction of parasite dynamics, host immunity, and drug effects. The long life cycle (48 hours in the common human species) and synchronized replication cycle of the parasite population present significant challenges to modeling the dynamics of Plasmodium infection. Coupled with these, variation in immune recognition and drug action at different life cycle stages leads to further complexity. We review the development and progress of "within-host" models of Plasmodium infection, and how these have been applied to understanding and interpreting human infection and animal models of infection.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rosemary Aogo
- Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | | | - James M McCaw
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The Royal Melbourne Hospital and University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Julie A Simpson
- Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - James S McCarthy
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD, Australia
| | - Ashraful Haque
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD, Australia
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50
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Identification of Bis-Cyclic Guanidines as Antiplasmodial Compounds from Positional Scanning Mixture-Based Libraries. Molecules 2019; 24:molecules24061100. [PMID: 30897744 PMCID: PMC6471430 DOI: 10.3390/molecules24061100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2019] [Revised: 03/05/2019] [Accepted: 03/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The screening of more than 30 million compounds derived from 81 small molecule libraries built on 81 distinct scaffolds identified pyrrolidine bis-cyclic guanidine library (TPI-1955) to be one of the most active and selective antiplasmodial libraries. The screening of the positional scanning library TPI-1955 arranged on four sets of sublibraries (26 + 26 + 26 + 40), totaling 120 samples for testing provided information about the most important groups of each variable position in the TPI-1955 library containing 738,192 unique compounds. The parallel synthesis of the individual compounds derived from the deconvolution of the positional scanning library led to the identification of active selective antiplasmodial pyrrolidine bis-cyclic guanidines.
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