Novel coumarins active against Trypanosoma cruzi and toxicity assessment using the animal model Caenorhabditis elegans

BACKGROUND

Chagas disease (CD) is a tropical parasitic disease. Although the number of people infected is very high, the only drugs available to treat CD, nifurtimox (Nfx) and benznidazole, are highly toxic, particularly in the chronic stage of the disease. Coumarins are a large class of compounds that display a wide range of interesting biological properties, such as antiparasitic. Hence, the aim of this work is to find a good antitrypanosomal drug with less toxicity. The use of simple organism models has become increasingly attractive for planning and simplifying efficient drug discovery. Within these models, Caenorhabditis elegans has emerged as a convenient and versatile tool with significant advantages for the toxicological potential identification for new compounds.

METHODS

Trypanocidal activity: Forty-two 4-methylamino-coumarins were assayed against the epimastigote form of Trypanosoma cruzi (Tulahuen 2 strain) by inhibitory concentration 50% (IC50). Toxicity assays: Lethal dose 50% (LD50) and Body Area were determined by Caenorhabditis elegans N2 strain (wild type) after acute exposure. Structure-activity relationship: A classificatory model was built using 3D descriptors.

RESULTS

Two of these coumarins demonstrated near equipotency to Nifurtimox (IC50 = 5.0 ± 1 μM), with values of: 11 h (LaSOM 266), (IC50 = 6.4 ± 1 μM) and 11 g (LaSOM 231), (IC50 = 8.2 ± 2.3 μM). In C. elegans it was possible to observe that Nfx showed greater toxicity in both the LD50 assay and the evaluation of the development of worms. It is possible to observe that the efficacy between Nfx and the synthesized compounds (11 h and 11 g) are similar. On the other hand, the toxicity of Nfx is approximately three times higher than that of the compounds. Results from the QSAR-3D study indicate that the volume and hydrophobicity of the substituents have a significant impact on the trypanocidal activities for derivatives that cause more than 50% of inhibition. These results show that the C. elegans model is efficient for screening potentially toxic compounds.

CONCLUSION

Two coumarins (11 h and 11 g) showed activity against T. cruzi epimastigote similar to Nifurtimox, however with lower toxicity in both LD50 and development of C. elegans assays. These two compounds may be a feasible starting point for the development of new trypanocidal drugs.

Development of bis-thiazoles as inhibitors of triosephosphate isomerase from Trypanosoma cruzi. Identification of new non-mutagenic agents that are active in vivo

The neglected disease American trypanosomiasis is one of the major health problems in Latin America. Triosephosphate isomerase from Trypanosoma cruzi (TcTIM), the etiologic agent of this disease, has been proposed as a druggable target. Some bis-benzothiazoles have been described as irreversible inhibitors of this enzyme. On the other hand, new bioactive furane-containing thiazoles have been described as excellent in vivo anti-T. cruzi agents. This encouraged us to design and develop new bis-thiazoles with potential use as drugs for American trypanosomiasis. The bis-thiazol 5, 3,3'-allyl-2,2'-bis[3-(2-furyl)-2-propenylidenehydrazono]-2,2',3,3'-tetrahydro-4,4'-bisthiazole, showed the best in vitro anti-T. cruzi profile with a higher selectivity index than the reference drugs Nifurtimox and Benznidazole against amastigote form of the parasite. This derivative displayed marginal activity against TcTIM however the bis-thiazol 14, 3-allyl-2-[3-(2-furyl)-2-propenylidenehydrazono]-3'-phenyl-2'-(3-phenyl-2-propenylidenehydrazono]-2,2',3,3'-tetrahydro-4,4'-bisthiazole, was an excellent inhibitor of the enzyme of the parasite. The absence of both in vitro mutagenic and in vivo toxicity effects, together with the activity of bis-thiazol 5in vivo, suggests that this compound is a promising anti-T. cruzi agent surpassing the "hit-to-lead" stage in the drug development process.

Expanding the family of heteroleptic oxidovanadium(IV) compounds with salicylaldehyde semicarbazones and polypyridyl ligands showing anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activity

Searching for prospective vanadium-based drugs for the treatment of Chagas disease, a new series of heteroleptic [V(IV)O(L-2H)(NN)] compounds was developed by including the lipophilic 3,4,7,8-tetramethyl-1,10-phenanthroline (tmp) NN ligand and seven tridentate salicylaldehyde semicarbazone derivatives (L1-L7). The compounds were characterized in the solid state and in solution. EPR spectroscopy suggests that the NN ligand is bidentate bound through both nitrogen donor atoms in an axial-equatorial mode. The EPR and (51)V-NMR spectra of aerated solutions at room temperature indicate that the compounds are stable to hydrolysis and that no significant oxidation of V(IV) to V(V) takes place at least in 24h. The complexes are more active in vitro against Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite responsible for Chagas disease, than the reference drug Nifurtimox and most of them are more active than previously reported [V(IV)O(L-2H)(NN)] complexes of other NN co-ligands. Selectivity towards the parasite was analyzed using J-774 murine macrophages as mammalian cell model. Due to both, high activity and high selectivity, L2, L4, L5 and L7 complexes could be considered new hits for further drug development. Lipophilicity probably plays a relevant role in the bioactivity of the new compounds. The [V(IV)O(L-2H)(NN)] compounds were designed aiming DNA as potential molecular target. Therefore, the novel L1-L7 tmp complexes were screened by computational modeling, comparing their DNA-binding features with those of previously reported [V(IV)O(L-2H)(NN)] compounds with different NN co-ligands. Whereas all the complexes interact well with DNA, with binding modes and strength tuned in different extents by the NN and semicarbazone co-ligands, molecular docking suggests that the observed anti-T. cruzi activity cannot be explained upon DNA intercalation as the sole mechanism of action.