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Junior DBC, Lacerda PS, de Pilla Varotti F, Leite FHA. Towards development of new antimalarial compounds through in silico and in vitro assays. Comput Biol Chem 2024; 111:108093. [PMID: 38772047 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2024.108093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 02/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024]
Abstract
Malaria is one of most widespread infectious disease in world. The antimalarial therapy presents a series of limitations, such as toxicity and the emergence of resistance, which makes the search for new drugs urgent. Thus, it becomes necessary to explore essential and exclusive therapeutic targets of the parasite to achieve selective inhibition. Enoyl-ACP reductase is an enzyme of the type II fatty acid biosynthetic pathway and is responsible for the rate-limiting step in the fatty acid elongation cycle. In this work, we use hierarchical virtual screening and drug repositioning strategies to prioritize compounds for phenotypic assays and molecular dynamics studies. The molecules were tested against chloroquine-resistant W2 strain of Plasmodium falciparum (EC50 between 330.05 and 13.92 µM). Nitrofurantoin was the best antimalarial activity at low micromolar range (EC50 = 13.92 µM). However, a hit compound against malaria must have a biological activity value below 1 µM. A large number of molecules present problems with permeability in biological membranes and reaching an effective concentration in their target's microenvironment. Nitrofurantoin derivatives with inclusions of groups which confer increased lipid solubility (methyl groups, halogens and substituted and unsubstituted aromatic rings) have been proposed. These derivatives were pulled through the lipid bilayer in molecular dynamics simulations. Molecules 14, 18 and 21 presented lower free energy values than nitrofurantoin when crossing the lipid bilayer.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pedro Sousa Lacerda
- Laboratório de Bioinformática e Modelagem Molecular, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Brazil
| | | | - Franco Henrique Andrade Leite
- Programa de pós-graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Brazil; Programa de pós-graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Brazil; Laboratório de Modelagem Molecular, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Brazil.
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Amaral PST, Garcia KKS, Suárez-Mutis MC, Coelho RR, Galardo AK, Murta F, Moresco GG, Siqueira AM, Gurgel-Gonçalves R. Malaria in areas under mining activity in the Amazon: A review. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop 2024; 57:e002002024. [PMID: 38922216 PMCID: PMC11210384 DOI: 10.1590/0037-8682-0551-2023] [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: 11/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Deforestation and high human mobility due to mining activities have been key to the increase in malaria cases in the Americas. Here, we review the epidemiological and control aspects of malaria in the Amazon mining areas. Epidemiological evidence shows: 1) a positive correlation between illegal mining activity and malaria incidence, mostly in the Amazon region; 2) most Brazilian miners are males aged 15-29 years who move between states and even countries; 3) miners do not fear the disease and rely on medical care, diagnosis, and medication when they become ill; 4) illegal mining has emerged as the most reported anthropogenic activity within indigenous lands and is identified as a major cause of malaria outbreaks among indigenous people in the Amazon; and 5) because mining is largely illegal, most areas are not covered by any healthcare facilities or activities, leading to little assistance in the diagnosis and treatment of malaria. Our review identified five strategies for reducing the malaria incidence in areas with mining activities: 1) reviewing legislation to control deforestation and mining expansion, particularly in indigenous lands; 2) strengthening malaria surveillance by expanding the network of community health agents to support rapid diagnosis and treatment; 3) reinforcing vector control strategies, such as the use of insecticide-treated nets; 4) integrating deforestation alerts into the national malaria control program; and 5) implementing multi-sectoral activities and providing prompt assistance to indigenous populations. With this roadmap, we can expect a decrease in malaria incidence in the Amazonian mining areas in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Sebastian Tavares Amaral
- Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Medicina, Programa de Pós-graduação em Medicina Tropical, Brasília, DF, Brasil
- Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde e Ambiente, Ministério da Saúde, Brasília, DF, Brasil
| | - Klauss Kleydmann Sabino Garcia
- Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Medicina, Programa de Pós-graduação em Medicina Tropical, Brasília, DF, Brasil
- Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde e Ambiente, Ministério da Saúde, Brasília, DF, Brasil
- Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde, Brasília, DF, Brasil
| | | | - Ronan Rocha Coelho
- Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde e Ambiente, Ministério da Saúde, Brasília, DF, Brasil
| | - Allan Kardec Galardo
- Laboratório de Entomologia Médica, Instituto de Pesquisas Científicas e Tecnológicas do Estado do Amapá, Macapá, AP, Brasil
| | - Felipe Murta
- Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado, Departamento de Ensino e Pesquisa, Manaus, AM, Brasil
| | - Gilberto Gilmar Moresco
- Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde e Ambiente, Ministério da Saúde, Brasília, DF, Brasil
- Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde, Programa de Pós-graduação em Saúde Coletiva, Brasília, DF, Brasil
| | - André Machado Siqueira
- Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
| | - Rodrigo Gurgel-Gonçalves
- Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Medicina, Laboratório de Parasitologia Médica e Biologia Vetores, Brasília, DF, Brasil
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Viana Dos Santos MB, Braga de Oliveira A, Veras Mourão RH. Brazilian plants with antimalarial activity: A review of the period from 2011 to 2022. JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY 2024; 322:117595. [PMID: 38122914 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2023.117595] [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: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Malaria continues to be a serious global public health problem in subtropical and tropical countries of the world. The main drugs used in the treatment of human malaria, quinine and artemisinin, are isolates of medicinal plants, making the use of plants a widespread practice in countries where malaria is endemic. Over the years, due to the increased resistance of the parasite to chloroquine and artemisinin in certain regions, new strategies for combating malaria have been employed, including research with medicinal plants. AIM This review focuses on the scientific production regarding medicinal plants from Brazil whose antimalarial activity was evaluated during the period from 2011 to 2022. 2. METHODOLOGY For this review, four electronic databases were selected for research: Pubmed, ScienceDirect, Scielo and Periódicos CAPES. Searches were made for full texts published in the form of scientific articles written in Portuguese or English and in a digital format. In addition, prospects for new treatments as well as future research that encourages the search for natural products and antimalarial derivatives are also presented. RESULTS A total of 61 publications were encountered, which cited 36 botanical families and 92 species using different Plasmodium strains in in vitro and in vivo assays. The botanical families with the most expressive number of species found were Rubiaceae, Apocynaceae, Fabaceae and Asteraceae (14, 14, 9 and 6 species, respectively), and the most frequently cited species were of the genera Psychotria L. (8) and Aspidosperma Mart. (12), which belong to the families Rubiaceae and Apocynaceae. Altogether, 75 compounds were identified or isolated from 28 different species, 31 of which are alkaloids. In addition, the extracts of the analyzed species, including the isolated compounds, showed a significant reduction of parasitemia in P. falciparum and P. berghei, especially in the clones W2 CQ-R (in vitro) and ANKA (in vivo), respectively. The Brazilian regions with the highest number of species analyzed were those of the north, especially the states of Pará and Amazonas, and the southeast, especially the state of Minas Gerais. CONCLUSION Although many plant species with antimalarial potential have been identified in Brazil, studies of new antimalarial molecules are slow and have not evolved to the production of a phytotherapeutic medicine. Given this, investigations of plants of traditional use and biotechnological approaches are necessary for the discovery of natural antimalarial products that contribute to the treatment of the disease in the country and in other endemic regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Beatriz Viana Dos Santos
- Laboratório de Bioprospecção e Biologia Experimental - LabBBEx, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará, Rua Vera Paz, s/n, Salé, 68035-110, Santarém, PA, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação Doutorado em Rede de Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia - BIONORTE/Polo Pará. Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa, 01, Guamá, 66075-110, Belém, PA, Brazil.
| | - Alaíde Braga de Oliveira
- Laboratório de Bioprospecção e Biologia Experimental - LabBBEx, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará, Rua Vera Paz, s/n, Salé, 68035-110, Santarém, PA, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação Doutorado em Rede de Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia - BIONORTE/Polo Pará. Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa, 01, Guamá, 66075-110, Belém, PA, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas - PPGCF, Faculdade de Farmácia, Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Pampulha, 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
| | - Rosa Helena Veras Mourão
- Laboratório de Bioprospecção e Biologia Experimental - LabBBEx, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará, Rua Vera Paz, s/n, Salé, 68035-110, Santarém, PA, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação Doutorado em Rede de Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia - BIONORTE/Polo Pará. Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa, 01, Guamá, 66075-110, Belém, PA, Brazil
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Garcia KKS, Xavier DB, Soremekun S, Abrahão AA, Drakeley C, Ramalho WM, Siqueira AM. Record Linkage for Malaria Deaths Data Recovery and Surveillance in Brazil. Trop Med Infect Dis 2023; 8:519. [PMID: 38133451 PMCID: PMC10748166 DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed8120519] [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: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The objective is to describe the results and the methodological processes of record linkage for matching deaths and malaria cases. METHODS A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with probabilistic record linkage of death and malaria cases data in Brazil from 2011 to 2020 using death records from the Mortality Information System (SIM) and epidemiological data from the Notifiable Diseases Information System (Sinan) and Epidemiological Surveillance Information Systems for malaria (Sivep-Malaria). Three matching keys were used: patient's name, date of birth, and mother's name, with an analysis of cosine and Levenshtein dissimilarity measures. RESULTS A total of 490 malaria deaths were recorded in Brazil between 2011 and 2020. The record linkage resulted in the pairing of 216 deaths (44.0%). Pairings where all three matching keys were identical accounted for 30.1% of the total matched deaths, 39.4% of the matched deaths had two identical variables, and 30.5% had only one of the three key variables identical. The distribution of the variables of the matched deaths (216) was similar to the distribution of all recorded deaths (490). Out of the 216 matched deaths, 80 (37.0%) had poorly specified causes of death in the SIM. CONCLUSIONS The record linkage allowed for the detailing of the data with additional information from other epidemiological systems. Record linkage enables data linkage between information systems that lack interoperability and is an extremely useful tool for refining health situation analyses and improving malaria death surveillance in Brazil.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Danielly Batista Xavier
- Escola Superior de Agricultura Luís de Queiroz, Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba 13418-900, Brazil
| | - Seyi Soremekun
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, University of London, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | | | - Chris Drakeley
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, University of London, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | | | - André M. Siqueira
- Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectology, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
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Ramírez ADR, de Jesus MCS, Menezes RAO, Santos-Filho MC, Gomes MSM, Pimenta TS, Barbosa VS, Rossit J, Reis NF, Brito SCP, Sampaio MP, Cassiano GC, Storti-Melo LM, Baptista ARS, Machado RLD. Polymorphisms in Toll-Like receptors genes and their associations with immunological parameters in Plasmodium vivax malaria in the Brazil-French Guiana Border. Cytokine 2023; 169:156278. [PMID: 37356261 DOI: 10.1016/j.cyto.2023.156278] [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: 02/14/2023] [Revised: 06/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/27/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The innate immune response plays an important role during malaria. Toll-like receptors (TLR) are capable of recognizing pathogen molecules. We aimed to evaluate five polymorphisms in TLR-4, TLR-6, and TLR-9 genes and their association with cytokine levels and clinical parameters in malaria from the Brazil-French Guiana border. METHODS A case-control study was conducted in Amapá, Brazil. P. vivax patients and individuals not infected were evaluated. Genotyping of five SNPs was carried out by qPCR. Circulating cytokines were measured by CBA. The MSP-119 IgG antibodies were performed by ELISA. RESULTS An association between TLR4 A299G with parasitemia was observed. There was an increase for IFN-ɤ, TNF-ɑ, IL-6, and IL-10 in the TLR-4 A299G and T3911, TLR-6 S249P, and TLR-9 1486C/T, SNPs for the studied malarial groups. There were significant findings for the TLR-4 variants A299G and T3911, TLR-9 1237C/T, and 1486C/T. For the reactivity of MSP-119 antibodies levels, no significant results were found in malaria, and control groups. CONCLUSIONS The profile of the immune response observed by polymorphisms in TLRs genes does not seem to be standard for all types of malaria infection around the world. This can depend on the human population and the species of Plasmodium.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aina D R Ramírez
- Center for Microorganisms' Investigation, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, 24020-141 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Applied Microbiology and Parasitology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, 24210-130 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Myrela C S de Jesus
- Center for Microorganisms' Investigation, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, 24020-141 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Applied Microbiology and Parasitology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, 24210-130 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Rubens A O Menezes
- Postgraduate Program in Applied Microbiology and Parasitology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, 24210-130 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, Federal University of Amapá (UNIFAP), Macapá 68903-419, Amapá, Brazil
| | - Marcelo C Santos-Filho
- Center for Microorganisms' Investigation, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, 24020-141 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Applied Microbiology and Parasitology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, 24210-130 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Margarete S M Gomes
- Superintendence of Health Surveillance of the State of Amapá, Macapá 68902-865, Amapá, Brazil
| | - Tamirys S Pimenta
- Instituto Evandro Chagas / Secretaria de Vigilância em Saude / Ministério da Saude, Ananindeua 67030-000, Pará, Brazil
| | - Vanessa S Barbosa
- Center for Microorganisms' Investigation, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, 24020-141 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Julia Rossit
- Center for Microorganisms' Investigation, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, 24020-141 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Nathalia F Reis
- Center for Microorganisms' Investigation, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, 24020-141 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Applied Microbiology and Parasitology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, 24210-130 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Simone Cristina Pereira Brito
- Center for Microorganisms' Investigation, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, 24020-141 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Applied Microbiology and Parasitology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, 24210-130 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Marrara Pereira Sampaio
- Center for Microorganisms' Investigation, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, 24020-141 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Applied Microbiology and Parasitology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, 24210-130 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Luciane M Storti-Melo
- Laboratory of Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology, Department of Biology, Center for Biological and Health Sciences, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão 49100-000, Sergipe, Brazil
| | - Andrea R S Baptista
- Center for Microorganisms' Investigation, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, 24020-141 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Applied Microbiology and Parasitology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, 24210-130 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Ricardo L D Machado
- Center for Microorganisms' Investigation, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, 24020-141 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Applied Microbiology and Parasitology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, 24210-130 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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Fikry M, Inoue S. Optimizing Forecasted Activity Notifications with Reinforcement Learning. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 23:6510. [PMID: 37514804 PMCID: PMC10385422 DOI: 10.3390/s23146510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, we propose the notification optimization method by providing multiple alternative times as a reminder for a forecasted activity with and without probabilistic considerations for the activity that needs to be completed and needs notification. It is important to consider various factors when sending notifications to people after obtaining the results of the forecasted activity. We should not send notifications only when we have forecasted results because future daily activities are unpredictable. Therefore, it is important to strike a balance between providing useful reminders and avoiding excessive interruptions, especially for low probabilities of forecasted activity. Our study investigates the impact of the low probability of forecasted activity and optimizes the notification time with reinforcement learning. We also show the gaps between forecasted activities that are useful for self-improvement by people for the balance of important tasks, such as tasks completed as planned and additional tasks to be completed. For evaluation, we utilize two datasets: the existing dataset and data we collected in the field with the technology we have developed. In the data collection, we have 23 activities from six participants. To evaluate the effectiveness of these approaches, we assess the percentage of positive responses, user response rate, and response duration as performance criteria. Our proposed method provides a more effective way to optimize notifications. By incorporating the probability level of activity that needs to be done and needs notification into the state, we achieve a better response rate than the baseline, with the advantage of reaching 27.15%, as well as than the other criteria, which are also improved by using probability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Fikry
- Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu 808-0196, Japan
- Department of Informatics, Universitas Malikussaleh, Aceh Utara 24355, Indonesia
| | - Sozo Inoue
- Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu 808-0196, Japan
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