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González S, Wall RJ, Thomas J, Braillard S, Brunori G, Díaz IC, Cantizani J, Carvalho S, Castañeda Casado P, Chatelain E, Cotillo I, Fiandor JM, Francisco AF, Grimsditch D, Keenan M, Kelly JM, Kessler A, Luise C, Lyon JJ, MacLean L, Marco M, Martin JJ, Martinez MS, Paterson C, Read KD, Santos-Villarejo A, Zuccotto F, Wyllie S, Miles TJ, De Rycker M. Short-course combination treatment for experimental chronic Chagas disease. Sci Transl Med 2023; 15:eadg8105. [PMID: 38091410 PMCID: PMC7615676 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adg8105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023]
Abstract
Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, affects millions of people in the Americas and across the world, leading to considerable morbidity and mortality. Current treatment options, benznidazole (BNZ) and nifurtimox, offer limited efficacy and often lead to adverse side effects because of long treatment durations. Better treatment options are therefore urgently required. Here, we describe a pyrrolopyrimidine series, identified through phenotypic screening, that offers an opportunity to improve on current treatments. In vitro cell-based washout assays demonstrate that compounds in the series are incapable of killing all parasites; however, combining these pyrrolopyrimidines with a subefficacious dose of BNZ can clear all parasites in vitro after 5 days. These findings were replicated in a clinically predictive in vivo model of chronic Chagas disease, where 5 days of treatment with the combination was sufficient to prevent parasite relapse. Comprehensive mechanism of action studies, supported by ligand-structure modeling, show that compounds from this pyrrolopyrimidine series inhibit the Qi active site of T. cruzi cytochrome b, part of the cytochrome bc1 complex of the electron transport chain. Knowledge of the molecular target enabled a cascade of assays to be assembled to evaluate selectivity over the human cytochrome b homolog. As a result, a highly selective and efficacious lead compound was identified. The combination of our lead compound with BNZ rapidly clears T. cruzi parasites, both in vitro and in vivo, and shows great potential to overcome key issues associated with currently available treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia González
- Global Health Medicines R&D, GSK, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Richard J. Wall
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - John Thomas
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | | | | | | | - Juan Cantizani
- Global Health Medicines R&D, GSK, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sandra Carvalho
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | | | | | - Ignacio Cotillo
- Global Health Medicines R&D, GSK, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jose M. Fiandor
- Global Health Medicines R&D, GSK, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | | | - John M. Kelly
- London School for Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Albane Kessler
- Global Health Medicines R&D, GSK, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Chiara Luise
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | | | - Lorna MacLean
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - Maria Marco
- Global Health Medicines R&D, GSK, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
| | - J. Julio Martin
- Global Health Medicines R&D, GSK, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Christy Paterson
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - Kevin D. Read
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | | | - Fabio Zuccotto
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - Susan Wyllie
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - Tim J. Miles
- Global Health Medicines R&D, GSK, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Manu De Rycker
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
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2
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Bosch-Navarrete C, Pérez-Moreno G, Annang F, Diaz-Gonzalez R, García-Hernández R, Rocha H, Gamarro F, Cordón-Obras C, Navarro M, Rodriguez A, Genilloud O, Reyes F, Vicente F, Ruiz-Pérez LM, González-Pacanowska D. Strasseriolides display in vitro and in vivo activity against trypanosomal parasites and cause morphological and size defects in Trypanosoma cruzi. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2023; 17:e0011592. [PMID: 37713416 PMCID: PMC10529594 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Neglected diseases caused by kinetoplastid parasites are a health burden in tropical and subtropical countries. The need to create safe and effective medicines to improve treatment remains a priority. Microbial natural products are a source of chemical diversity that provides a valuable approach for identifying new drug candidates. We recently reported the discovery and bioassay-guided isolation of a novel family of macrolides with antiplasmodial activity. The novel family of four potent antimalarial macrolides, strasseriolides A-D, was isolated from cultures of Strasseria geniculata CF-247251, a fungal strain obtained from plant tissues. In the present study, we analyze these strasseriolides for activity against kinetoplastid protozoan parasites, namely, Trypanosoma brucei brucei, Leishmania donovani and Trypanosoma cruzi. Compounds exhibited mostly low activities against T. b. brucei, yet notable growth inhibition and selectivity were observed for strasseriolides C and D in the clinically relevant intracellular T. cruzi and L. donovani amastigotes with EC50 values in the low micromolar range. Compound C is fast-acting and active against both intracellular and trypomastigote forms of T. cruzi. While cell cycle defects were not identified, prominent morphological changes were visualized by differential interference contrast microscopy and smaller and rounded parasites were visualized upon exposure to strasseriolide C. Moreover, compound C lowers parasitaemia in vivo in acute models of infection of Chagas disease. Hence, strasseriolide C is a novel natural product active against different forms of T. cruzi in vitro and in vivo. The study provides an avenue for blocking infection of new cells, a strategy that could additionally contribute to avoid treatment failure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Bosch-Navarrete
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López-Neyra", Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Parque Tecnológico Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain
| | - Guiomar Pérez-Moreno
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López-Neyra", Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Parque Tecnológico Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain
| | - Frederick Annang
- Fundación MEDINA, Parque Tecnológico Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain
| | - Rosario Diaz-Gonzalez
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López-Neyra", Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Parque Tecnológico Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain
| | - Raquel García-Hernández
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López-Neyra", Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Parque Tecnológico Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain
| | - Hedy Rocha
- Department of Microbiology, Core Anti-infectives, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Francisco Gamarro
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López-Neyra", Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Parque Tecnológico Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain
| | - Carlos Cordón-Obras
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López-Neyra", Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Parque Tecnológico Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain
| | - Miguel Navarro
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López-Neyra", Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Parque Tecnológico Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain
| | - Ana Rodriguez
- Department of Microbiology, Core Anti-infectives, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Olga Genilloud
- Fundación MEDINA, Parque Tecnológico Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain
| | - Fernando Reyes
- Fundación MEDINA, Parque Tecnológico Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain
| | - Francisca Vicente
- Fundación MEDINA, Parque Tecnológico Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain
| | - Luis M. Ruiz-Pérez
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López-Neyra", Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Parque Tecnológico Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain
| | - Dolores González-Pacanowska
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López-Neyra", Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Parque Tecnológico Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain
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Gabaldón-Figueira JC, Martinez-Peinado N, Escabia E, Ros-Lucas A, Chatelain E, Scandale I, Gascon J, Pinazo MJ, Alonso-Padilla J. State-of-the-Art in the Drug Discovery Pathway for Chagas Disease: A Framework for Drug Development and Target Validation. Res Rep Trop Med 2023; 14:1-19. [PMID: 37337597 PMCID: PMC10277022 DOI: 10.2147/rrtm.s415273] [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] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Chagas disease is the most important protozoan infection in the Americas, and constitutes a significant public health concern throughout the world. Development of new medications against its etiologic agent, Trypanosoma cruzi, has been traditionally slow and difficult, lagging in comparison with diseases caused by other kinetoplastid parasites. Among the factors that explain this are the incompletely understood mechanisms of pathogenesis of T. cruzi infection and its complex set of interactions with the host in the chronic stage of the disease. These demand the performance of a variety of in vitro and in vivo assays as part of any drug development effort. In this review, we discuss recent breakthroughs in the understanding of the parasite's life cycle and their implications in the search for new chemotherapeutics. For this, we present a framework to guide drug discovery efforts against Chagas disease, considering state-of-the-art preclinical models and recently developed tools for the identification and validation of molecular targets.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nieves Martinez-Peinado
- Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Hospital Clínic—University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Elisa Escabia
- Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Hospital Clínic—University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Albert Ros-Lucas
- Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Hospital Clínic—University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERINFEC, ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - Eric Chatelain
- Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Ivan Scandale
- Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Joaquim Gascon
- Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Hospital Clínic—University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERINFEC, ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - María-Jesús Pinazo
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERINFEC, ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
- Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Julio Alonso-Padilla
- Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Hospital Clínic—University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERINFEC, ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
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Beveridge J, Tran E, Deora GS, Huang F, Wang Y, Stockton K, Cotillo I, Martinez Martinez MS, Gonzalez S, Castañeda P, Sherman J, Rodriguez A, Kessler A, Baell JB. Novel Diarylthioether Compounds as Agents for the Treatment of Chagas Disease. J Med Chem 2023; 66:1522-1542. [PMID: 36626662 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c01725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Herein, we describe the hit optimization of a novel diarylthioether chemical class found to be active against Trypanosoma cruzi; the parasite responsible for Chagas disease. The hit compound was discovered through a whole-cell phenotypic screen and as such, the mechanism of action for this chemical class is unknown. Our investigations led to clear structure-activity relationships and the discovery of several analogues with high in vitro potency. Furthermore, we observed excellent activity during acute in vivo efficacy studies in mice infected with transgenic T. cruzi. These diarylthioether compounds represent a promising new chemotype for Chagas disease drug discovery and merit further development to increase oral exposure without increasing toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Beveridge
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia.,Australian Translational Medicinal Chemistry Facility (ATMCF), Monash University, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Eric Tran
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia.,Australian Translational Medicinal Chemistry Facility (ATMCF), Monash University, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Girdhar Singh Deora
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia.,Australian Translational Medicinal Chemistry Facility (ATMCF), Monash University, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Fei Huang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nanjing Tech University, No. 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Yuzhi Wang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nanjing Tech University, No. 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Kieran Stockton
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia.,Australian Translational Medicinal Chemistry Facility (ATMCF), Monash University, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | | | | | | | | | - Julian Sherman
- Department of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, United States
| | - Ana Rodriguez
- Department of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, United States
| | | | - Jonathan B Baell
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nanjing Tech University, No. 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China.,Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia.,Australian Translational Medicinal Chemistry Facility (ATMCF), Monash University, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia.,Institute of Drug Discovery Technology (IDDT), Ningbo University, 818 Fenghua Road, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315211, China
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