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Comparative Proteomics and Genome-Wide Druggability Analyses Prioritized Promising Therapeutic Targets against Drug-Resistant Leishmania tropica. Microorganisms 2023; 11:microorganisms11010228. [PMID: 36677520 PMCID: PMC9860978 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11010228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Leishmania tropica is a tropical parasite causing cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in humans. Leishmaniasis is a serious public health threat, affecting an estimated 350 million people in 98 countries. The global rise in antileishmanial drug resistance has triggered the need to explore novel therapeutic strategies against this parasite. In the present study, we utilized the recently available multidrug resistant L. tropica strain proteome data repository to identify alternative therapeutic drug targets based on comparative subtractive proteomic and druggability analyses. Additionally, small drug-like compounds were scanned against novel targets based on virtual screening and ADME profiling. The analysis unveiled 496 essential cellular proteins of L. tropica that were nonhomologous to the human proteome set. The druggability analyses prioritized nine parasite-specific druggable proteins essential for the parasite's basic cellular survival, growth, and virulence. These prioritized proteins were identified to have appropriate binding pockets to anchor small drug-like compounds. Among these, UDPase and PCNA were prioritized as the top-ranked druggable proteins. The pharmacophore-based virtual screening and ADME profiling predicted MolPort-000-730-162 and MolPort-020-232-354 as the top hit drug-like compounds from the Pharmit resource to inhibit L. tropica UDPase and PCNA, respectively. The alternative drug targets and drug-like molecules predicted in the current study lay the groundwork for developing novel antileishmanial therapies.
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Yan K, Stanley M, Kowalski B, Raimi OG, Ferenbach AT, Wei P, Fang W, van Aalten DMF. Genetic validation of Aspergillus fumigatus phosphoglucomutase as a viable therapeutic target in invasive aspergillosis. J Biol Chem 2022; 298:102003. [PMID: 35504355 PMCID: PMC9168620 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Revised: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Aspergillus fumigatus is the causative agent of invasive aspergillosis, an infection with mortality rates of up to 50%. The glucan-rich cell wall of A. fumigatus is a protective structure that is absent from human cells and is a potential target for antifungal treatments. Glucan is synthesized from the donor uridine diphosphate glucose, with the conversion of glucose-6-phosphate to glucose-1-phosphate by the enzyme phosphoglucomutase (PGM) representing a key step in its biosynthesis. Here, we explore the possibility of selectively targeting A. fumigatus PGM (AfPGM) as an antifungal treatment strategy. Using a promoter replacement strategy, we constructed a conditional pgm mutant and revealed that pgm is required for A. fumigatus growth and cell wall integrity. In addition, using a fragment screen, we identified the thiol-reactive compound isothiazolone fragment of PGM as targeting a cysteine residue not conserved in the human ortholog. Furthermore, through scaffold exploration, we synthesized a para-aryl derivative (ISFP10) and demonstrated that it inhibits AfPGM with an IC50 of 2 μM and exhibits 50-fold selectivity over the human enzyme. Taken together, our data provide genetic validation of PGM as a therapeutic target and suggest new avenues for inhibiting AfPGM using covalent inhibitors that could serve as tools for chemical validation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaizhou Yan
- Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Mathew Stanley
- Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Bartosz Kowalski
- Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Olawale G Raimi
- Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew T Ferenbach
- Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Pingzhen Wei
- National Engineering Research Center for Non-Food Biorefinery, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning, China
| | - Wenxia Fang
- National Engineering Research Center for Non-Food Biorefinery, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning, China
| | - Daan M F van Aalten
- Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom.
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Alamzeb M, Setzer WN, Ali S, Khan B, Rashid MU, Ihsanullah, Salman SM, Adnan, Omer M, Ali J, Ullah A. Spectral, Anti-Inflammatory, Anti-Pyretic, Leishmanicidal, and Molecular Docking Studies, Against Selected Protein Targets, of a New Bisbenzylisoquinoline Alkaloid. Front Chem 2022; 9:711190. [PMID: 34976944 PMCID: PMC8719521 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2021.711190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A new bisbenzylisoquinoline named as chondrofolinol (1) and four reported compounds (2–5) were isolated and characterized from the roots of Berberis glaucocarpa Stapf. Anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic, and leishmanicidal studies were performed against carrageenan-induced paw edema, yeast-induced pyrexia, and the promastigotes of Leishmania tropica, respectively. The new compound significantly reduced the paw volume in carrageenan-induced paw edema and rectal temperature in yeast-induced pyrexia at 10 and 20 mg/ kg of body weight. Chondrofolinol caused almost 100% inhibition of the promastigotes of Leishmania tropica. All the compounds displayed minimal cytotoxicity against THP-1 monocytic cells. In order to ascertain the potential macromolecular targets of chondrofolinol responsible for the observed anti-inflammatory and anti-leishmanial activities, a molecular docking study was carried out on relevant protein targets of inflammation and Leishmania. Protein targets of human endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 2 (ERAP2) and human matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) for inflammation and protein targets of N-myristoyltransferase (NMT), tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (TyrRS), and uridine diphosphate-glucose pyrophosphorylase (UGPase) for Leishmania major were selected after thorough literature search about protein targets responsible for inflammation and Leishmania major. Chondrofolinol showed excellent docking to ERAP2 and to MMP-1. The Leishmania major protein targets with the most favorable docking scores to chondrofolinol were NMT, TyrRS, and UGPase. The study indicated that bisbenzylisoquinoline and isoquinoline alkaloids possess anti-pyretic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-leishmanial properties with minimal cytotoxicity and therefore, need to be further explored for their therapeutic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - William N Setzer
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL , United States
| | - Saqib Ali
- Department of Chemistry, University of Kotli, Kotli, Pakistan
| | - Behramand Khan
- Department of Chemistry, Islamia College University, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Mamoon-Ur- Rashid
- Department of Chemistry, Baluchistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Takatu Campus, Quetta, Pakistan
| | - Ihsanullah
- Institute of Chemical Sciences, University of Swat, Swat, Pakistan
| | | | - Adnan
- Institute of Chemical Sciences, University of Swat, Swat, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Omer
- Institute of Chemical Sciences, University of Swat, Swat, Pakistan
| | - Javed Ali
- Department of Chemistry, Kohat University of Science and Technology (KUST), Kohat, Pakistan
| | - Asad Ullah
- Department of Chemistry, Islamia College University, Peshawar, Pakistan
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Liu S, Zhong H, Wang Q, Liu C, Li T, Peng Z, Li Y, Zhang H, Liao J, Huang Y, Wang Z. Global Analysis of UDP Glucose Pyrophosphorylase (UDPGP) Gene Family in Plants: Conserved Evolution Involved in Cell Death. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:681719. [PMID: 34177996 PMCID: PMC8222925 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.681719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
UDP glucose pyrophosphorylase (UDPGP) family genes have been reported to play essential roles in cell death or individual survival. However, a systematic analysis on UDPGP gene family has not been performed yet. In this study, a total of 454 UDPGP proteins from 76 different species were analyzed. The analyses of the phylogenetic tree and orthogroups divided UDPGPs into three clades, including UDP-N-acetylglucosamine pyrophosphorylase (UAP), UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (UGP, containing UGP-A and UGP-B), and UDP-sugar pyrophosphorylase (USP). The evolutionary history of the UDPGPs indicated that the members of UAP, USP, and UGP-B were relatively conserved while varied in UGP-A. Homologous sequences of UGP-B and USP were found only in plants. The expression profile of UDPGP genes in Oryza sativa was mainly motivated under jasmonic acid (JA), abscisic acid (ABA), cadmium, and cold treatments, indicating that UDPGPs may play an important role in plant development and environment endurance. The key amino acids regulating the activity of UDPGPs were analyzed, and almost all of them were located in the NB-loop, SB-loop, or conserved motifs. Analysis of the natural variants of UDPGPs in rice revealed that only a few missense mutants existed in coding sequences (CDSs), and most of the resulting variations were located in the non-motif sites, indicating the conserved structure and function of UDPGPs in the evolution. Furthermore, alternative splicing may play a key role in regulating the activity of UDPGPs. The spatial structure prediction, enzymatic analysis, and transgenic verification of UAP isoforms illustrated that the loss of N- and C-terminal sequences did not affect the overall 3D structures, but the N- and C-terminal sequences are important for UAP genes to maintain their enzymatic activity. These results revealed a conserved UDPGP gene family and provided valuable information for further deep functional investigation of the UDPGP gene family in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Liu
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, United States
| | - Hua Zhong
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, Key Laboratory for Research and Utilization of Heterosis in Indica Rice, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Qiang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology, Ecology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
- Key Laboratory of Agriculture Responding to Climate Change, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
| | - Caixiang Liu
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, National Centre for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy of Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Ting Li
- Youth League Committee, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
| | - Zhaohua Peng
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, United States
| | - Yangsheng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, Key Laboratory for Research and Utilization of Heterosis in Indica Rice, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Hongyu Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology, Ecology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
- Key Laboratory of Agriculture Responding to Climate Change, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
| | - Jianglin Liao
- Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology, Ecology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
- Key Laboratory of Agriculture Responding to Climate Change, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
| | - Yingjin Huang
- Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology, Ecology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
- Key Laboratory of Agriculture Responding to Climate Change, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
| | - Zhaohai Wang
- Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology, Ecology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
- Key Laboratory of Agriculture Responding to Climate Change, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
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Muhseen ZT, Ahmad S, Li G. Structural basis of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine pyrophosphorylase and identification of promising terpenes to control Aedes aegypti. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2021; 204:111820. [PMID: 33964525 DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2021.111820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Revised: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
According to the world health organization (WHO) 2020 report, vector borne diseases account for 17 % of all infections with reported 700 thousand death each year. They are of considerable importance to health professionals as they are posing a serious health threat and include dengue fever, Zika fever, chikungunya, yellow fever, and other disease agents. Aedes aegypti serve as a vector for transmitting several of these tropical fevers. In the present study, UDP-N-acetylglucosamine pyrophosphorylase enzyme (Aa-UAP) of A. aegypti which plays a significant contribution in chitin metabolism is targeted with natural terpenes to propose an eco-friendly and novel candidates for the development of new insecticides. The three dimensional Aa-UAP structure was constructed via a comparative homology approach and validated, followed by structure-based virtual screening against 1000 terpenes collected from natural MDP3 and NPACT databases. Top hits were subjected to molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and binding free energies analysis to elucidate complex intermolecular stability and affinity over simulated time. The results demonstrated that Aa-UAP possesses a homodimer state and its active site residues are well conserved. Three compounds (NPACT00138, NPACT00452, and NPACT00839) were prioritized as they are establishing conserved and stable interactions with the active binding-site residues of Aa-UAP. Conclusively, the reported Aa-UAP specific terpenes could serve as promising leads in order to develop potential insecticides. Importantly, the FDA approved drug NPACT00839 (Paclitaxel) could be used further in the fast-track experimental testing pipeline for biological optimization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziyad Tariq Muhseen
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Medicinal Plant Resource and Natural Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China; School of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
| | - Sajjad Ahmad
- Department of Health and Biological Sciences, Abasyn University, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Guanglin Li
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Medicinal Plant Resource and Natural Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China; School of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.
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Lockhart DEA, Stanley M, Raimi OG, Robinson DA, Boldovjakova D, Squair DR, Ferenbach AT, Fang W, van Aalten DMF. Targeting a critical step in fungal hexosamine biosynthesis. J Biol Chem 2020; 295:8678-8691. [PMID: 32341126 PMCID: PMC7324522 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra120.012985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2020] [Revised: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Aspergillus fumigatus is a human opportunistic fungal pathogen whose cell wall protects it from the extracellular environment including host defenses. Chitin, an essential component of the fungal cell wall, is synthesized from UDP-GlcNAc produced in the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway. As this pathway is critical for fungal cell wall integrity, the hexosamine biosynthesis enzymes represent potential targets of antifungal drugs. Here, we provide genetic and chemical evidence that glucosamine 6-phosphate N-acetyltransferase (Gna1), a key enzyme in this pathway, is an exploitable antifungal drug target. GNA1 deletion resulted in loss of fungal viability and disruption of the cell wall, phenotypes that could be rescued by exogenous GlcNAc, the product of the Gna1 enzyme. In a murine model of aspergillosis, the Δgna1 mutant strain exhibited attenuated virulence. Using a fragment-based approach, we discovered a small heterocyclic scaffold that binds proximal to the Gna1 active site and can be optimized to a selective submicromolar binder. Taken together, we have provided genetic, structural, and chemical evidence that Gna1 is an antifungal target in A. fumigatus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah E A Lockhart
- School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom; Institute of Medical Sciences, Foresterhill, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom.
| | - Mathew Stanley
- School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Olawale G Raimi
- School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - David A Robinson
- Drug Discovery Unit, Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Dominika Boldovjakova
- Institute of Medical Sciences, Foresterhill, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel R Squair
- School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | | | - Wenxia Fang
- School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
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