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Huo L, Wei Y, Xue J, Jiang B, Yin M, Tao Y, Zhang H, Shen Y. The effect of novel aromatic heterocycle substituted aminamidine derivatives on Necator americanus. J Antimicrob Chemother 2024:dkae149. [PMID: 38804142 DOI: 10.1093/jac/dkae149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The efficacy of current drugs against hookworms at a single dose is highly variable across regions, age groups and infection intensity. Extensive and repeated use of these drugs also leads to potential drug resistance. Therefore, novel drugs are required for sustained disease control. OBJECTIVES Novel aromatic heterocycle substituted aminamidine derivatives (AADs) were synthesized based on tribendimine (TBD), and their in vivo potency against Necator americanus was tested. METHODS The efficacy of the AADs was tested in male hamsters. Oral and IV pharmacokinetic parameters were determined in male Sprague-Dawley rats. The proteomic profiles of N. americanus samples treated with AADs were compared using tandem mass tag-based quantitative proteomic analyses. RESULTS Most AADs exhibited better anthelmintic activity than TBD at a single oral dose. Compound 3c exhibited improved solubility (>50×), and the curative dose was as low as 25 mg/kg. Similar to TBD, 3c was rapidly metabolized after oral administration and transformed into p-(1-dimethylamino ethylimino)aniline (dADT), an active metabolite against intestinal nematodes. dADT from 3c had better pharmacokinetic profiles than that from TBD and achieved an oral bioavailability of 99.5%. Compound 3c possessed rapid anthelmintic activity, clearing all worms within 24 h after an oral dose of 50 mg/kg. Quantitative proteomic analysis indicated that it might be related to ATP metabolism and cuticle protein synthesis. CONCLUSIONS Compound 3c is a novel and promising compound against N. americanus in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lele Huo
- National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Yufen Wei
- National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Jian Xue
- National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Bin Jiang
- National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Meng Yin
- National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Yi Tao
- National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Haobing Zhang
- National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Yujuan Shen
- National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, Shanghai 200025, China
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Gold-Oligonucleotide Nanoconstructs Engineered to Detect Conserved Enteroviral Nucleic Acid Sequences. BIOSENSORS-BASEL 2021; 11:bios11070238. [PMID: 34356709 PMCID: PMC8301919 DOI: 10.3390/bios11070238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Revised: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Enteroviruses are ubiquitous mammalian pathogens that can produce mild to life-threatening disease. We developed a multimodal, rapid, accurate and economical point-of-care biosensor that can detect nucleic acid sequences conserved amongst 96% of all known enteroviruses. The biosensor harnesses the physicochemical properties of gold nanoparticles and oligonucleotides to provide colourimetric, spectroscopic and lateral flow-based identification of an exclusive enteroviral nucleic acid sequence (23 bases), which was identified through in silico screening. Oligonucleotides were designed to demonstrate specific complementarity towards the target enteroviral nucleic acid to produce aggregated gold–oligonucleotide nanoconstructs. The conserved target enteroviral nucleic acid sequence (≥1 × 10−7 M, ≥1.4 × 10−14 g/mL) initiates gold–oligonucleotide nanoconstruct disaggregation and a signal transduction mechanism, producing a colourimetric and spectroscopic blueshift (544 nm (purple) > 524 nm (red)). Furthermore, lateral-flow assays that utilise gold–oligonucleotide nanoconstructs were unaffected by contaminating human genomic DNA, demonstrated rapid detection of conserved target enteroviral nucleic acid sequence (<60 s), and could be interpreted with a bespoke software and hardware electronic interface. We anticipate that our methodology will translate in silico screening of nucleic acid databases to a tangible enteroviral desktop detector, which could be readily translated to related organisms. This will pave the way forward in the clinical evaluation of disease and complement existing strategies to overcome antimicrobial resistance.
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Combination of synthetic anthelmintics and monoterpenes: Assessment of efficacy, and ultrastructural and biophysical properties of Haemonchus contortus using atomic force microscopy. Vet Parasitol 2021; 290:109345. [PMID: 33482425 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2021.109345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2020] [Revised: 12/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The resistance of Haemonchus contortus to synthetic anthelmintics is of increasing concern; and different strategies are being evaluated to improve parasite control. The present study investigated the in vitro effects of combinations of synthetic compounds and monoterpenes. Additionally, the chemical association of the best combinations and their impact on the ultrastructural and biophysical properties of H. contortus eggs was evaluated. We assessed the efficacy of the monoterpenes, carvacrol, thymol, r-carvone, s-carvone, citral, and p-cymene and the anthelmintics, albendazole and levamisole using the egg hatch test (EHT) and the larval migration inhibition test (LMIT), respectively. The minimum effective concentrations of the monoterpenes, according to the EHT (efficacy ranging from 4.4%-11.8%) and LMIT (efficacy ranging from 5.6%-7.4%), were used in combination with different concentrations of synthetic compounds, and the IC50 and synergism rate (SR) were calculated. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to analyze the chemical association between the best combinations as revealed by the in vitro tests (albendazole and levamisole with r-carvone or s-carvone). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to assess the ultrastructural and biophysical properties of H. contortus eggs treated with the albendazole and r-carvone combination. Among the monoterpenes, the highest efficacies were exhibited by carvacrol (IC50 = 185.9 μg/mL) and thymol (IC50 = 187.0 μg/mL), according to the EHT, and s-carvone and carvacrol (IC50 = 1526.0 and 1785.3 μg/mL, respectively), according to the LMIT. According to the EHT, albendazole showed a slight statistically significant synergism in combination with r-carvone (SR = 3.8) and s-carvone (SR = 3.0). According to the LMIT, among the monoterpenes, r-carvone (SR = 1.7) and s-carvone (SR = 1.7) showed an increase in efficacy with levamisole; however, this was not statistically significant. The FTIR spectra of albendazole and levamisole, in association with r-carvone and s-carvone, indicated the presence of chemical interactions between the synthetic and natural molecules, contributing to the possible synergistic effects of these associations. Eggs treated with albendazole and r-carvone showed an increase in roughness and a decrease in height, suggesting that the treatment induced damage to the egg surface and an overflow of its internal contents. Overall, the combination of albendazole with r-carvone and s-carvone was efficacious against H. contortus, demonstrating a chemical association between the compounds; the significant changes in the egg ultrastructure justify this efficacy.
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Ayoade KO, Carranza FR, Cho WH, Wang Z, Kliewer SA, Mangelsdorf DJ, Stoltzfus JDC. Dafachronic acid and temperature regulate canonical dauer pathways during Nippostrongylus brasiliensis infectious larvae activation. Parasit Vectors 2020; 13:162. [PMID: 32238181 PMCID: PMC7110753 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-020-04035-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2019] [Accepted: 03/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND While immune responses to the murine hookworm Nippostrongylus brasiliensis have been investigated, signaling pathways regulating development of infectious larvae (iL3) are not well understood. We hypothesized that N. brasiliensis would use pathways similar to those controlling dauer development in the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, which is formally known as the "dauer hypothesis." METHODS To investigate whether dafachronic acid activates the N. brasiliensis DAF-12 homolog, we utilized an in vitro reporter assay. We then utilized RNA-Seq and subsequent bioinformatic analyses to identify N. brasiliensis dauer pathway homologs and examine regulation of these genes during iL3 activation. RESULTS In this study, we demonstrated that dafachronic acid activates the N. brasiliensis DAF-12 homolog. We then identified N. brasiliensis homologs for members in each of the four canonical dauer pathways and examined their regulation during iL3 activation by either temperature or dafachronic acid. Similar to C. elegans, we found that transcripts encoding antagonistic insulin-like peptides were significantly downregulated during iL3 activation, and that a transcript encoding a phylogenetic homolog of DAF-9 increased during iL3 activation, suggesting that both increased insulin-like and DAF-12 nuclear hormone receptor signaling accompanies iL3 activation. In contrast to C. elegans, we observed a significant decrease in transcripts encoding the dauer transforming growth factor beta ligand DAF-7 during iL3 activation, suggesting a different role for this pathway in parasitic nematode development. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that canonical dauer pathways indeed regulate iL3 activation in the hookworm N. brasiliensis and that DAF-12 may be a therapeutic target in hookworm infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Omueti Ayoade
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390 USA
- Department of Dermatology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390 USA
| | - Faith R. Carranza
- Department of Biology, Millersville University of Pennsylvania, Millersville, PA 17551 USA
| | - Woong Hee Cho
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390 USA
| | - Zhu Wang
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390 USA
| | - Steven A. Kliewer
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390 USA
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390 USA
| | - David J. Mangelsdorf
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390 USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390 USA
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Costa-Junior LM, Silva CR, Soares AM, Menezes AS, Silva MR, Amarante AF, Costa EF, Alencar LM. Assessment of biophysical properties of Haemonchus contortus from different life cycle stages with atomic force microscopy. Ultramicroscopy 2020; 209:112862. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ultramic.2019.112862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2018] [Revised: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 10/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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Haematophagic Caenorhabditis elegans. Parasitology 2018; 146:314-320. [PMID: 30355366 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182018001518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Caenorhabditis elegans is a free-living nematode that resides in soil and typically feeds on bacteria. We postulate that haematophagic C. elegans could provide a model to evaluate vaccine responses to intestinal proteins from hematophagous nematode parasites, such as Necator americanus. Human erythrocytes, fluorescently labelled with tetramethylrhodamine succinimidyl ester, demonstrated a stable bright emission and facilitated visualization of feeding events with fluorescent microscopy. C. elegans were observed feeding on erythrocytes and were shown to rupture red blood cells upon capture to release and ingest their contents. In addition, C. elegans survived equally on a diet of erythrocytes. There was no statistically significant difference in survival when compared with a diet of Escherichia coli OP50. The enzymes responsible for the digestion and detoxification of haem and haemoglobin, which are key components of the hookworm vaccine, were found in the C. elegans intestine. These findings support our postulate that free-living nematodes could provide a model for the assessment of neutralizing antibodies to current and future hematophagous parasite vaccine candidates.
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