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Hellingman A, Sifoniou K, Buser T, Thommen BT, Walz A, Passecker A, Collins J, Hupfeld M, Wittlin S, Witmer K, Brancucci NMB. Next Generation Chemiluminescent Probes for Antimalarial Drug Discovery. ACS Infect Dis 2024; 10:1286-1297. [PMID: 38556981 PMCID: PMC11019541 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.3c00707] [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: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Malaria is caused by parasites of the Plasmodium genus and remains one of the most pressing human health problems. The spread of parasites resistant to or partially resistant to single or multiple drugs, including frontline antimalarial artemisinin and its derivatives, poses a serious threat to current and future malaria control efforts. In vitro drug assays are important for identifying new antimalarial compounds and monitoring drug resistance. Due to its robustness and ease of use, the [3H]-hypoxanthine incorporation assay is still considered a gold standard and is widely applied, despite limited sensitivity and the dependence on radioactive material. Here, we present a first-of-its-kind chemiluminescence-based antimalarial drug screening assay. The effect of compounds on P. falciparum is monitored by using a dioxetane-based substrate (AquaSpark β-D-galactoside) that emits high-intensity luminescence upon removal of a protective group (β-D-galactoside) by a transgenic β-galactosidase reporter enzyme. This biosensor enables highly sensitive, robust, and cost-effective detection of asexual, intraerythrocytic P. falciparum parasites without the need for parasite enrichment, washing, or purification steps. We are convinced that the ultralow detection limit of less than 100 parasites of the presented biosensor system will become instrumental in malaria research, including but not limited to drug screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Hellingman
- Department
of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland
- University
of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Kleopatra Sifoniou
- Department
of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland
- University
of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Tamara Buser
- Department
of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland
- University
of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Basil T. Thommen
- Department
of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland
- University
of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Annabelle Walz
- Department
of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland
- University
of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Armin Passecker
- Department
of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland
- University
of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Sergio Wittlin
- Department
of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland
- University
of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Kathrin Witmer
- Department
of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland
- University
of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
- NEMIS
Technologies AG, 8804 Au, ZH, Switzerland
| | - Nicolas M. B. Brancucci
- Department
of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland
- University
of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
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Jajosky RP, Wu SC, Jajosky PG, Stowell SR. Plasmodium knowlesi ( Pk) Malaria: A Review & Proposal of Therapeutically Rational Exchange (T-REX) of Pk-Resistant Red Blood Cells. Trop Med Infect Dis 2023; 8:478. [PMID: 37888606 PMCID: PMC10610852 DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed8100478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium knowlesi (Pk) causes zoonotic malaria and is known as the "fifth human malaria parasite". Pk malaria is an emerging threat because infections are increasing and can be fatal. While most infections are in Southeast Asia (SEA), especially Malaysia, travelers frequently visit this region and can present with Pk malaria around the world. So, clinicians need to know (1) patients who present with fever after recent travel to SEA might be infected with Pk and (2) Pk is often misdiagnosed as P. malariae (which typically causes less severe malaria). Here we review the history, pathophysiology, clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment of Pk malaria. Severe disease is most common in adults. Signs and symptoms can include fever, abdominal pain, jaundice, acute kidney injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome, hyponatremia, hyperparasitemia, and thrombocytopenia. Dengue is one of the diseases to be considered in the differential. Regarding pathophysiologic mechanisms, when Pk parasites invade mature red blood cells (RBCs, i.e., normocytes) and reticulocytes, changes in the red blood cell (RBC) surface can result in life-threatening cytoadherence, sequestration, and reduced RBC deformability. Since molecular mechanisms involving the erythrocytic stage are responsible for onset of severe disease and lethal outcomes, it is biologically plausible that manual exchange transfusion (ET) or automated RBC exchange (RBCX) could be highly beneficial by replacing "sticky" parasitized RBCs with uninfected, deformable, healthy donor RBCs. Here we suggest use of special Pk-resistant donor RBCs to optimize adjunctive manual ET/RBCX for malaria. "Therapeutically-rational exchange transfusion" (T-REX) is proposed in which Pk-resistant RBCs are transfused (instead of disease-promoting RBCs). Because expression of the Duffy antigen on the surface of human RBCs is essential for parasite invasion, T-REX of Duffy-negative RBCs-also known as Fy(a-b-) RBCs-could replace the majority of the patient's circulating normocytes with Pk invasion-resistant RBCs (in a single procedure lasting about 2 h). When sequestered or non-sequestered iRBCs rupture-in a 24 h Pk asexual life cycle-the released merozoites cannot invade Fy(a-b-) RBCs. When Fy(a-b-) RBC units are scarce (e.g., in Malaysia), clinicians can consider the risks and benefits of transfusing plausibly Pk-resistant RBCs, such as glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficient (G6PDd) RBCs and Southeast Asian ovalocytes (SAO). Patients typically require a very short recovery time (<1 h) after the procedure. Fy(a-b-) RBCs should have a normal lifespan, while SAO and G6PDd RBCs may have mildly reduced half-lives. Because SAO and G6PDd RBCs come from screened blood donors who are healthy and not anemic, these RBCs have a low-risk for hemolysis and do not need to be removed after the patient recovers from malaria. T-REX could be especially useful if (1) antimalarial medications are not readily available, (2) patients are likely to progress to severe disease, or (3) drug-resistant strains emerge. In conclusion, T-REX is a proposed optimization of manual ET/RBCX that has not yet been utilized but can be considered by physicians to treat Pk malaria patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan Philip Jajosky
- Joint Program in Transfusion Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 630E New Research Building, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (S.-C.W.)
- Biconcavity Inc., Lilburn, GA 30047, USA
| | - Shang-Chuen Wu
- Joint Program in Transfusion Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 630E New Research Building, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (S.-C.W.)
| | | | - Sean R. Stowell
- Joint Program in Transfusion Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 630E New Research Building, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (S.-C.W.)
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3
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Venturelli A, Tagliazucchi L, Lima C, Venuti F, Malpezzi G, Magoulas GE, Santarem N, Calogeropoulou T, Cordeiro-da-Silva A, Costi MP. Current Treatments to Control African Trypanosomiasis and One Health Perspective. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10071298. [PMID: 35889018 PMCID: PMC9321528 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10071298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT, sleeping sickness) and Animal African Trypanosomiasis (AAT) are neglected tropical diseases generally caused by the same etiological agent, Trypanosoma brucei. Despite important advances in the reduction or disappearance of HAT cases, AAT represents a risky reservoir of the infections. There is a strong need to control AAT, as is claimed by the European Commission in a recent document on the reservation of antimicrobials for human use. Control of AAT is considered part of the One Health approach established by the FAO program against African Trypanosomiasis. Under the umbrella of the One Health concepts, in this work, by analyzing the pharmacological properties of the therapeutic options against Trypanosoma brucei spp., we underline the need for clearer and more defined guidelines in the employment of drugs designed for HAT and AAT. Essential requirements are addressed to meet the challenge of drug use and drug resistance development. This approach shall avoid inter-species cross-resistance phenomena and retain drugs therapeutic activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Venturelli
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy; (A.V.); (L.T.); (F.V.); (G.M.)
| | - Lorenzo Tagliazucchi
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy; (A.V.); (L.T.); (F.V.); (G.M.)
- Doctorate School in Clinical and Experimental Medicine (CEM), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Clara Lima
- Host-Parasite Interactions Group, Institute of Research and Innovation in Health, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal; (C.L.); (N.S.); (A.C.-d.-S.)
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal
| | - Federica Venuti
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy; (A.V.); (L.T.); (F.V.); (G.M.)
| | - Giulia Malpezzi
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy; (A.V.); (L.T.); (F.V.); (G.M.)
| | - George E. Magoulas
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 11635 Athens, Greece; (G.E.M.); (T.C.)
| | - Nuno Santarem
- Host-Parasite Interactions Group, Institute of Research and Innovation in Health, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal; (C.L.); (N.S.); (A.C.-d.-S.)
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal
| | - Theodora Calogeropoulou
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 11635 Athens, Greece; (G.E.M.); (T.C.)
| | - Anabela Cordeiro-da-Silva
- Host-Parasite Interactions Group, Institute of Research and Innovation in Health, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal; (C.L.); (N.S.); (A.C.-d.-S.)
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal
| | - Maria Paola Costi
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy; (A.V.); (L.T.); (F.V.); (G.M.)
- Correspondence:
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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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5
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van Schalkwyk DA, Moon RW, Duffey M, Leroy D, Sutherland CJ. Ex vivo susceptibility to new antimalarial agents differs among human-infecting Plasmodium species. Int J Parasitol Drugs Drug Resist 2021; 17:5-11. [PMID: 34315108 PMCID: PMC8327131 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2021.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Revised: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Several promising antimalarial drugs are currently being tested in human trials, such as artefenomel, cipargamin, ferroquine and ganaplacide. Many of these compounds were identified using high throughput screens against a single species of human malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, under the assumption that effectiveness against all malaria species will be similar, as has been observed for other antimalarial drugs. However, using our in vitro adapted line, we demonstrated recently that P. knowlesi is significantly less susceptible than P. falciparum to some new antimalarial drugs (e.g., cipargamin and DSM265), and more susceptible to others (e.g., ganaplacide). There is, therefore, an urgent need to determine the susceptibility profile of all human malaria species to the current generation of antimalarial compounds. We obtained ex vivo malaria samples from travellers returning to the United Kingdom and, using the [3H]hypoxanthine incorporation method, compared susceptibility to select established and experimental antimalarial agents among all major human infective Plasmodium species. We demonstrate that P. malariae and P. ovale spp. are significantly less susceptible than P. falciparum to cipargamin, DSM265 and AN13762, but are more susceptible to ganaplacide. Preliminary ex vivo data from single isolates of P. knowlesi and P. vivax demonstrate a similar profile. Our findings highlight the need to ensure cross species susceptibility profiles are determined early in the drug development pipeline. Our data can also be used to inform further drug development, and illustrate the utility of the P. knowlesi in vitro model as a scalable approach for predicting the drug susceptibility of non-falciparum malaria species in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donelly A van Schalkwyk
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious & Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.
| | - Robert W Moon
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious & Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Maëlle Duffey
- Medicines for Malaria Venture, 20 rte de Pré Bois, Geneva, CH 1215, Switzerland
| | - Didier Leroy
- Medicines for Malaria Venture, 20 rte de Pré Bois, Geneva, CH 1215, Switzerland
| | - Colin J Sutherland
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious & Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK; Department of Clinical Parasitology, Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Mortimer Market Centre, Capper Street, London, WC1E 6JB, UK
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6
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Barber BE, Grigg MJ, Cooper DJ, van Schalkwyk DA, William T, Rajahram GS, Anstey NM. Clinical management of Plasmodium knowlesi malaria. ADVANCES IN PARASITOLOGY 2021; 113:45-76. [PMID: 34620385 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apar.2021.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The zoonotic parasite Plasmodium knowlesi has emerged as an important cause of human malaria in parts of Southeast Asia. The parasite is indistinguishable by microscopy from the more benign P. malariae, but can result in high parasitaemias with multiorgan failure, and deaths have been reported. Recognition of severe knowlesi malaria, and prompt initiation of effective therapy is therefore essential to prevent adverse outcomes. Here we review all studies reporting treatment of uncomplicated and severe knowlesi malaria. We report that although chloroquine is effective for the treatment of uncomplicated knowlesi malaria, artemisinin combination treatment is associated with faster parasite clearance times and lower rates of anaemia during follow-up, and should be considered the treatment of choice, particularly given the risk of administering chloroquine to drug-resistant P. vivax or P. falciparum misdiagnosed as P. knowlesi malaria in co-endemic areas. For severe knowlesi malaria, intravenous artesunate has been shown to be highly effective and associated with reduced case-fatality rates, and should be commenced without delay. Regular paracetamol may also be considered for patients with severe knowlesi malaria or for those with acute kidney injury, to attenuate the renal damage resulting from haemolysis-induced lipid peroxidation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bridget E Barber
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, Australia.
| | - Matthew J Grigg
- Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, Australia
| | - Daniel J Cooper
- Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, Australia; Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge School of Medicine, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | - Timothy William
- Gleneagles Medical Centre, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia; Clinical Research Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital 1, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - Giri S Rajahram
- Clinical Research Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital 1, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia; Queen Elizabeth Hospital 2, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - Nicholas M Anstey
- Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, Australia
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Arnold MSJ, Macdonald JR, Quinn RJ, Skinner-Adams TS, Andrews KT, Fisher GM. Antiplasmodial activity of the natural product compounds alstonine and himbeline. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-DRUGS AND DRUG RESISTANCE 2021; 16:17-22. [PMID: 33915339 PMCID: PMC8100350 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2021.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2021] [Revised: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Malaria, caused by Plasmodium parasites, continues to be a devastating global health issue. Despite a decline in malaria related deaths over the last decade, overall progress has plateaued. Key challenges to malaria prevention and control include the lack of a broadly effective vaccine and parasite drug resistance, including to the current gold standard artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs). New drugs with unique modes of action are therefore a priority for both the treatment and prevention of malaria. Unlike treatment drugs which need to kill parasites quickly to reduce or prevent clinical symptoms, compounds that kill parasites more slowly may be an option for malaria prevention. Natural products and natural product derived compounds have historically been an excellent source of antimalarial drugs, including the artemisinin component of ACTs. In this study, 424 natural product derived compounds were screened for in vitro activity against P. falciparum in assays designed to detect slow action activity, with 46 hit compounds identified as having >50% inhibition at 10 μM. Dose response assays revealed nine compounds with submicromolar activity, with slow action activity confirmed for two compounds, alstonine and himbeline (50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) 0.17 and 0.58 μM, respectively). Both compounds displayed >140-fold better activity against P. falciparum versus two human cell lines (Selectivity Index (SI) >1,111 and > 144, respectively). Importantly, P. falciparum multi-drug resistant lines showed no cross-resistance to alstonine or himbeline, with some resistant lines being more sensitive to these two compounds compared to the drug sensitive line. In addition, alstonine displayed cross-species activity against the zoonotic species, P. knowelsi (IC50 ~1 μM). Outcomes of this study provide a starting point for further investigations into these compounds as antiplasmodial drug candidates and the investigation of their molecular targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- M S J Arnold
- Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Nathan, Queensland, Australia
| | - J R Macdonald
- Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Nathan, Queensland, Australia
| | - R J Quinn
- Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Nathan, Queensland, Australia
| | - T S Skinner-Adams
- Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Nathan, Queensland, Australia
| | - K T Andrews
- Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Nathan, Queensland, Australia
| | - G M Fisher
- Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Nathan, Queensland, Australia.
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Mannosylated liposomes formulated with whole parasite P. falciparum blood-stage antigens are highly immunogenic in mice. Vaccine 2020; 38:1494-1504. [DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.11.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2019] [Revised: 11/03/2019] [Accepted: 11/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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Plasmodium knowlesi exhibits distinct in vitro drug susceptibility profiles from those of Plasmodium falciparum. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-DRUGS AND DRUG RESISTANCE 2019; 9:93-99. [PMID: 30831468 PMCID: PMC6403410 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2019.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2019] [Revised: 02/14/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
New antimalarial agents are identified and developed after extensive testing on Plasmodium falciparum parasites that can be grown in vitro. These susceptibility studies are important to inform lead optimisation and support further drug development. Until recently, little was known about the susceptibility of non-falciparum species as these had not been adapted to in vitro culture. The recent culture adaptation of P. knowlesi has therefore offered an opportunity to routinely define the drug susceptibility of this species, which is phylogenetically closer to all other human malarias than is P. falciparum. We compared the in vitro susceptibility of P. knowlesi and P. falciparum to a range of established and novel antimalarial agents under identical assay conditions. We demonstrated that P. knowlesi is significantly less susceptible than P. falciparum to six of the compounds tested; and notably these include three ATP4 inhibitors currently under development as novel antimalarial agents, and one investigational antimalarial, AN13762, which is 67 fold less effective against P. knowlesi. For the other compounds there was a less than two-fold difference in susceptibility between species. We then compared the susceptibility of a recent P. knowlesi isolate, UM01, to that of the well-established, older A1-H.1 clone. This recent isolate showed similar in vitro drug susceptibility to the A1-H.1 clone, supporting the ongoing use of the better characterised clone to further study drug susceptibility. Lastly, we used isobologram analysis to explore the interaction of a selection of drug combinations and showed similar drug interactions across species. The species differences in drug susceptibility reported by us here and previously, support adding in vitro drug screens against P. knowlesi to those using P. falciparum strains to inform new drug discovery and lead optimisation. P. knowlesi >6-fold less susceptible to several ATP4 inhibitors than P. falciparum. P. knowlesi equally susceptible to artemisinins and synthetic endoperoxides. Isobolograms show similar drug interactions for P. knowlesi and P. falciparum. New P. knowlesi isolate (UM01) similarly susceptible to antimalarials as A1-H.1
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10
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van Schalkwyk DA, Moon RW, Blasco B, Sutherland CJ. Comparison of the susceptibility of Plasmodium knowlesi and Plasmodium falciparum to antimalarial agents. J Antimicrob Chemother 2018; 72:3051-3058. [PMID: 28961865 PMCID: PMC5890772 DOI: 10.1093/jac/dkx279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2017] [Accepted: 07/11/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The simian malaria parasite Plasmodium knowlesi is now a well-recognized pathogen of humans in South-East Asia. Clinical infections appear adequately treated with existing drug regimens, but the evidence base for this practice remains weak. The availability of P. knowlesi cultures adapted to continuous propagation in human erythrocytes enables specific studies of in vitro susceptibility of the species to antimalarial agents, and could provide a surrogate system for testing investigational compounds against Plasmodium vivax and other non-Plasmodium falciparum infections that cannot currently be propagated in vitro. Objectives We sought to optimize protocols for in vitro susceptibility testing of P. knowlesi and to contrast outputs with those obtained for P. falciparum under comparable test conditions. Methods Growth monitoring of P. knowlesi in vitro was by DNA quantification using a SYBR Green fluorescent assay or by colorimetric detection of the lactate dehydrogenase enzyme. For comparison, P. falciparum was tested under conditions identical to those used for P. knowlesi. Results The SYBR Green I assay proved the most robust format over one (27 h) or two (54 h) P. knowlesi life cycles. Unexpectedly, P. knowlesi displays significantly greater susceptibility to the dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors pyrimethamine, cycloguanil and trimethoprim than does P. falciparum, but is less susceptible to the selective agents blasticidin and DSM1 used in parasite transfections. Inhibitors of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase also demonstrate lower activity against P. knowlesi. Conclusions The fluorescent assay system validated here identified species-specific P. knowlesi drug susceptibility profiles and can be used for testing investigational compounds for activity against non-P. falciparum malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donelly A van Schalkwyk
- Department of Immunology & Infection, Faculty of Infectious & Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Robert W Moon
- Department of Immunology & Infection, Faculty of Infectious & Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Benjamin Blasco
- Medicines for Malaria Venture, 20 rte de Pré Bois, Geneva CH 1215, Switzerland
| | - Colin J Sutherland
- Department of Immunology & Infection, Faculty of Infectious & Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK.,Department of Clinical Parasitology, Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Mortimer Market Centre, Capper Street, London WC1E 6JB, UK
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11
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Ssemaganda A, Low LM, Verhoeft KR, Wambuzi M, Kawoozo B, Nabasumba SB, Mpendo J, Bagaya BS, Kiwanuka N, Stanisic DI, Berners-Price SJ, Good MF. Gold(i) phosphine compounds as parasite attenuating agents for malaria vaccine and drug development. Metallomics 2018; 10:444-454. [DOI: 10.1039/c7mt00311k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
The asexual blood-stagePlasmodiumparasite attenuating properties of gold(i) phosphine compounds are exploited in a novel strategy for malaria vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Mathias Wambuzi
- UVRI-IAVI HIV Vaccine Program
- Uganda Virus Research Institute
- Entebbe
- Uganda
| | - Barbarah Kawoozo
- UVRI-IAVI HIV Vaccine Program
- Uganda Virus Research Institute
- Entebbe
- Uganda
| | | | - Juliet Mpendo
- UVRI-IAVI HIV Vaccine Program
- Uganda Virus Research Institute
- Entebbe
- Uganda
| | - Bernard S. Bagaya
- UVRI-IAVI HIV Vaccine Program
- Uganda Virus Research Institute
- Entebbe
- Uganda
- Department of Immunology and Molecular Biology
| | - Noah Kiwanuka
- UVRI-IAVI HIV Vaccine Program
- Uganda Virus Research Institute
- Entebbe
- Uganda
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12
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Fisher GM, Bua S, Del Prete S, Arnold MSJ, Capasso C, Supuran CT, Andrews KT, Poulsen SA. Investigating the antiplasmodial activity of primary sulfonamide compounds identified in open source malaria data. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-DRUGS AND DRUG RESISTANCE 2017; 7:61-70. [PMID: 28129569 PMCID: PMC5271676 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2017.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2016] [Revised: 01/11/2017] [Accepted: 01/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In the past decade there has been a significant reduction in deaths due to malaria, in part due to the success of the gold standard antimalarial treatment - artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs). However the potential threat of ACT failure and the lack of a broadly effective malaria vaccine are driving efforts to discover new chemical entities (NCEs) to target this disease. The primary sulfonamide (PS) moiety is a component of several clinical drugs, including those for treatment of kidney disease, glaucoma and epilepsy, however this chemotype has not yet been exploited for malaria. In this study 31 PS compounds sourced from the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Tres Cantos antimalarial set (TCAMS) were investigated for their ability to selectively inhibit the in vitro growth of Plasmodium falciparum asexual stage malaria parasites. Of these, 14 compounds were found to have submicromolar activity (IC50 0.16–0.89 μM) and a modest selectivity index (SI) for the parasite versus human cells (SI > 12 to >43). As the PS moiety is known to inhibit carbonic anhydrase (CA) enzymes from many organisms, the PS compounds were assessed for recombinant P. falciparum CA (PfCA) mediated inhibition of CO2 hydration. The PfCA inhibition activity did not correlate with antiplasmodial potency. Furthermore, no significant difference in IC50 was observed for P. falciparum versus P. knowlesi (P > 0.05), a Plasmodium species that is not known to contain an annotated PfCA gene. Together these data suggest that the asexual intraerythrocytic stage antiplasmodial activity of the PS compounds examined in this study is likely unrelated to PfCA inhibition. Mining of GSK open source antimalarial data against the primary sulfonamide chemotype was performed. The antiplasmodial activity of 31 primary sulfonamide compounds was determined. Three novel compounds displayed promising activity in two Plasmodium species. P. falciparum carbonic anhydrase was investigated as a potential target in mode of action studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gillian M Fisher
- Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
| | - Silvia Bua
- Neurofarba Department, Sezione di Scienze Farmaceutiche Nutraceutiche, and Laboratorio di Chimica Bioinorganica, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
| | - Sonia Del Prete
- Neurofarba Department, Sezione di Scienze Farmaceutiche Nutraceutiche, and Laboratorio di Chimica Bioinorganica, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy; Istituto di Bioscienze e Biorisorse, CNR, Via Pietro Castellino 111, Napoli, Italy
| | - Megan S J Arnold
- Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
| | - Clemente Capasso
- Istituto di Bioscienze e Biorisorse, CNR, Via Pietro Castellino 111, Napoli, Italy
| | - Claudiu T Supuran
- Neurofarba Department, Sezione di Scienze Farmaceutiche Nutraceutiche, and Laboratorio di Chimica Bioinorganica, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
| | - Katherine T Andrews
- Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia.
| | - Sally-Ann Poulsen
- Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia.
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13
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Chua MJ, Arnold MSJ, Xu W, Lancelot J, Lamotte S, Späth GF, Prina E, Pierce RJ, Fairlie DP, Skinner-Adams TS, Andrews KT. Effect of clinically approved HDAC inhibitors on Plasmodium, Leishmania and Schistosoma parasite growth. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-DRUGS AND DRUG RESISTANCE 2016; 7:42-50. [PMID: 28107750 PMCID: PMC5241585 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2016.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2016] [Revised: 12/21/2016] [Accepted: 12/22/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Malaria, schistosomiasis and leishmaniases are among the most prevalent tropical parasitic diseases and each requires new innovative treatments. Targeting essential parasite pathways, such as those that regulate gene expression and cell cycle progression, is a key strategy for discovering new drug leads. In this study, four clinically approved anti-cancer drugs (Vorinostat, Belinostat, Panobinostat and Romidepsin) that target histone/lysine deacetylase enzymes were examined for in vitro activity against Plasmodium knowlesi, Schistosoma mansoni, Leishmania amazonensis and L. donovani parasites and two for in vivo activity in a mouse malaria model. All four compounds were potent inhibitors of P. knowlesi malaria parasites (IC50 9-370 nM), with belinostat, panobinostat and vorinostat having 8-45 fold selectivity for the parasite over human neonatal foreskin fibroblast (NFF) or human embryonic kidney (HEK 293) cells, while romidepsin was not selective. Each of the HDAC inhibitor drugs caused hyperacetylation of P. knowlesi histone H4. None of the drugs was active against Leishmania amastigote or promastigote parasites (IC50 > 20 μM) or S. mansoni schistosomula (IC50 > 10 μM), however romidepsin inhibited S. mansoni adult worm parings and egg production (IC50 ∼10 μM). Modest in vivo activity was observed in P. berghei infected mice dosed orally with vorinostat or panobinostat (25 mg/kg twice daily for four days), with a significant reduction in parasitemia observed on days 4-7 and 4-10 after infection (P < 0.05), respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Jang Chua
- Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
| | - Megan S J Arnold
- Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
| | - Weijun Xu
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072, Australia
| | - Julien Lancelot
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019 - UMR 8204- CIIL -Centre D'Infection et D'Immunité de Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Suzanne Lamotte
- Institut Pasteur and INSERM U1201, Unité de Parasitologie Moléculaire et Signalisation, Paris, France
| | - Gerald F Späth
- Institut Pasteur and INSERM U1201, Unité de Parasitologie Moléculaire et Signalisation, Paris, France
| | - Eric Prina
- Institut Pasteur and INSERM U1201, Unité de Parasitologie Moléculaire et Signalisation, Paris, France
| | - Raymond J Pierce
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019 - UMR 8204- CIIL -Centre D'Infection et D'Immunité de Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - David P Fairlie
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072, Australia
| | - Tina S Skinner-Adams
- Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
| | - Katherine T Andrews
- Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia.
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