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Bessa CDPB, Feu AE, de Menezes RPB, Scotti MT, Lima JMG, Lima ML, Tempone AG, de Andrade JP, Bastida J, Borges WDS. Multitarget anti-parasitic activities of isoquinoline alkaloids isolated from Hippeastrum aulicum (Amaryllidaceae). PHYTOMEDICINE : INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYTOTHERAPY AND PHYTOPHARMACOLOGY 2024; 128:155414. [PMID: 38503155 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2024.155414] [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: 10/26/2023] [Revised: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/03/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Chagas disease and leishmaniasis affect a significant portion of the Latin American population and still lack efficient treatments. In this context, natural products emerge as promising compounds for developing more effective therapies, aiming to mitigate side effects and drug resistance. Notably, species from the Amaryllidaceae family emerge as potential reservoirs of antiparasitic agents due to the presence of diverse biologically active alkaloids. PURPOSE To assess the anti-Trypanosoma cruzi and anti-Leishmania infantum activity of five isolated alkaloids from Hippeastrum aulicum Herb. (Amaryllidaceae) against different life stages of the parasites using in silico and in vitro assays. Furthermore, molecular docking was employed to evaluate the interaction of the most active alkaloids. METHODS Five natural isoquinoline alkaloids isolated in suitable quantities for in vitro testing underwent preliminary in silico analysis to predict their potential efficacy against Trypanosoma cruzi (amastigote and trypomastigote forms) and Leishmania infantum (amastigote and promastigote forms). The in vitro antiparasitic activity and mammalian cytotoxicity were investigated with a subsequent comparison of both analysis (in silico and in vitro) findings. Additionally, this study employed the molecular docking technique, utilizing cruzain (T. cruzi) and sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51, L. infantum) as crucial biological targets for parasite survival, specifically focusing on compounds that exhibited promising activities against both parasites. RESULTS Through computational techniques, it was identified that the alkaloids haemanthamine (1) and lycorine (8) were the most active against T. cruzi (amastigote and trypomastigote) and L. infantum (amastigote and promastigote), while also revealing unprecedented activity of alkaloid 7‑methoxy-O-methyllycorenine (6). The in vitro analysis confirmed the in silico tests, in which compound 1 presented the best activities against the promastigote and amastigote forms of L. infantum with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) 0.6 µM and 1.78 µM, respectively. Compound 8 exhibited significant activity against the amastigote form of T. cruzi (IC50 7.70 µM), and compound 6 demonstrated activity against the trypomastigote forms of T. cruzi and amastigote of L. infantum, with IC50 values of 89.55 and 86.12 µM, respectively. Molecular docking analyses indicated that alkaloids 1 and 8 exhibited superior interaction energies compared to the inhibitors. CONCLUSION The hitherto unreported potential of compound 6 against T. cruzi trypomastigotes and L. infantum amastigotes is now brought to the forefront. Furthermore, the acquired dataset signifies that the isolated alkaloids 1 and 8 from H. aulicum might serve as prototypes for subsequent structural refinements aimed at the exploration of novel leads against both T. cruzi and L. infantum parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carliani Dal Piero Betzel Bessa
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Química, Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória-ES 29075-910, Brazil
| | - Amanda Eiriz Feu
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Química, Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória-ES 29075-910, Brazil
| | - Renata Priscila Barros de Menezes
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Produtos Naturais e Sintéticos Bioativos (PgPNSB), Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus I, Cidade Universitária, João Pessoa 58051-900, Brazil
| | - Marcus Tullius Scotti
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Produtos Naturais e Sintéticos Bioativos (PgPNSB), Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus I, Cidade Universitária, João Pessoa 58051-900, Brazil
| | | | - Marta Lopes Lima
- School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Scotland DD1 4HN, United Kingdom
| | | | - Jean Paulo de Andrade
- Departamento de Medicina Traslacional, Facultad de Medicina, Escuela de Química y Farmacia, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca 3480112, Chile
| | - Jaume Bastida
- Departament de Biologia, Sanitat i Medi Ambient, Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l´Alimentació, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona 08028, Spain
| | - Warley de Souza Borges
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Química, Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória-ES 29075-910, Brazil.
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Li H, Lan Q, Li HX, Liang D, Zhang GJ. Hysterolides A-I, dimeric or monomeric sesquiterpene lactones from Parthenium hysterophorus L. PHYTOCHEMISTRY 2024; 219:113973. [PMID: 38211849 DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2024.113973] [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: 09/18/2023] [Revised: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 01/06/2024] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
Nine undescribed sesquiterpene lactones, including two pseudoguaianolide dimers (1 and 2), a pseudoguaiac dilactone (3), and six pseudoguaianolides (4-9), along with 13 known analogues (10-22) were isolated from Parthenium hysterophorus. Among them, hysterolide A (1) possesses an unusual carbon skeleton with a unique cyclobutane ring connecting two pseudoguaianolides. Hysterolide C (3) is a sesquiterpene dilactone incorporating a bicyclo[5.1.0]octane core. Spectroscopic analyses, 13C NMR and ECD calculations, and X-ray diffraction elucidated their structures and absolute configurations. Moreover, all the isolates were assayed for their anti-inflammatory activities by inhibiting LPS-induced nitric oxide production in BV-2 microglia cells, wherein, nine compounds displayed significant inhibitory activities with IC50 of 0.52-6.32 μM. Furthermore, the preliminary structure-activity relationship was also established.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hua Li
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Drug Discovery and Optimization, Guangxi Engineering Research Center for Pharmaceutical Molecular Screening and Druggability Evaluation, Key Laboratory of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, 541199, Guangxi, China
| | - Qian Lan
- State Key Laboratory for Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Medicinal Resources, Collaborative Innovation Center for Guangxi Ethnic Medicine, School of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, 541004, China
| | - Hong-Xia Li
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Drug Discovery and Optimization, Guangxi Engineering Research Center for Pharmaceutical Molecular Screening and Druggability Evaluation, Key Laboratory of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, 541199, Guangxi, China
| | - Dong Liang
- State Key Laboratory for Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Medicinal Resources, Collaborative Innovation Center for Guangxi Ethnic Medicine, School of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, 541004, China
| | - Gui-Jie Zhang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Drug Discovery and Optimization, Guangxi Engineering Research Center for Pharmaceutical Molecular Screening and Druggability Evaluation, Key Laboratory of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, 541199, Guangxi, China.
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Muñoz-Vega MC, López-Hernández S, Sierra-Chavarro A, Scotti MT, Scotti L, Coy-Barrera E, Herrera-Acevedo C. Machine-Learning- and Structure-Based Virtual Screening for Selecting Cinnamic Acid Derivatives as Leishmania major DHFR-TS Inhibitors. Molecules 2023; 29:179. [PMID: 38202763 PMCID: PMC10779987 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29010179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2023] [Revised: 12/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The critical enzyme dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase in Leishmania major (LmDHFR-TS) serves a dual-purpose role and is essential for DNA synthesis, a cornerstone of the parasite's reproductive processes. Consequently, the development of inhibitors against LmDHFR-TS is crucial for the creation of novel anti-Leishmania chemotherapies. In this study, we employed an in-house database containing 314 secondary metabolites derived from cinnamic acid that occurred in the Asteraceae family. We conducted a combined ligand/structure-based virtual screening to identify potential inhibitors against LmDHFR-TS. Through consensus analysis of both approaches, we identified three compounds, i.e., lithospermic acid (237), diarctigenin (306), and isolappaol A (308), that exhibited a high probability of being inhibitors according to both approaches and were consequently classified as promising hits. Subsequently, we expanded the binding mode examination of these compounds within the active site of the test enzyme through molecular dynamics simulations, revealing a high degree of structural stability and minimal fluctuations in its tertiary structure. The in silico predictions were then validated through in vitro assays to examine the inhibitory capacity of the top-ranked naturally occurring compounds against LmDHFR-TS recombinant protein. The test compounds effectively inhibited the enzyme with IC50 values ranging from 6.1 to 10.1 μM. In contrast, other common cinnamic acid derivatives (i.e., flavonoid glycosides) from the Asteraceae family, such as hesperidin, isovitexin 4'-O-glucoside, and rutin, exhibited low activity against this target. The selective index (SI) for all tested compounds was determined using HsDHFR with moderate inhibitory effect. Among these hits, lignans 306 and 308 demonstrated the highest selectivity, displaying superior SI values compared to methotrexate, the reference inhibitor of DHFR-TS. Therefore, continued research into the anti-leishmanial potential of these C6C3-hybrid butyrolactone lignans may offer a brighter outlook for combating this neglected tropical disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Camila Muñoz-Vega
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad ECCI, Bogotá, Distrito Capital 111311, Colombia; (M.C.M.-V.); (S.L.-H.); (A.S.-C.)
- Laboratorio de Investigación en Biocatálisis y Biotransformaciones (LIBB), Grupo de Investigación en Ingeniería de los Procesos Agroalimentarios y Biotecnológicos (GIPAB), Departamento de Química Universidad del Valle, Cali 760042, Colombia
| | - Sofía López-Hernández
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad ECCI, Bogotá, Distrito Capital 111311, Colombia; (M.C.M.-V.); (S.L.-H.); (A.S.-C.)
| | - Adrián Sierra-Chavarro
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad ECCI, Bogotá, Distrito Capital 111311, Colombia; (M.C.M.-V.); (S.L.-H.); (A.S.-C.)
| | - Marcus Tullius Scotti
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil; (M.T.S.); (L.S.)
| | - Luciana Scotti
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil; (M.T.S.); (L.S.)
| | - Ericsson Coy-Barrera
- Bioorganic Chemistry Laboratory, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Cajicá 250247, Colombia;
| | - Chonny Herrera-Acevedo
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad ECCI, Bogotá, Distrito Capital 111311, Colombia; (M.C.M.-V.); (S.L.-H.); (A.S.-C.)
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil; (M.T.S.); (L.S.)
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Yang H, Zhang Z, Liu Q, Yu J, Liu C, Lu W. Identification of Dual-Target Inhibitors for Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor and AKT: Virtual Screening Based on Structure and Molecular Dynamics Study. Molecules 2023; 28:7607. [PMID: 38005329 PMCID: PMC10673407 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28227607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Epidermal growth factor EGFR is an important target for non-small cell lung (NSCL) cancer, and inhibitors of the AKT protein have been used in many cancer treatments, including those for NSCL cancer. Therefore, searching small molecular inhibitors which can target both EGFR and AKT may help cancer treatment. In this study, we applied a ligand-based pharmacophore model, molecular docking, and MD simulation methods to search for potential inhibitors of EGFR and then studied dual-target inhibitors of EGFR and AKT by screening the immune-oncology Chinese medicine (TCMIO) database and the human endogenous database (HMDB). It was found that TCMIO89212, TCMIO90156, and TCMIO98874 had large binding free energies with EGFR and AKT, and HMDB0012243 also has the ability to bind to EGFR and AKT. These results may provide valuable information for further experimental study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanyu Yang
- College of Physics, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China; (H.Y.); (Z.Z.); (J.Y.); (C.L.)
| | - Zhiwei Zhang
- College of Physics, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China; (H.Y.); (Z.Z.); (J.Y.); (C.L.)
| | - Qian Liu
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China;
| | - Jie Yu
- College of Physics, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China; (H.Y.); (Z.Z.); (J.Y.); (C.L.)
| | - Chongjin Liu
- College of Physics, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China; (H.Y.); (Z.Z.); (J.Y.); (C.L.)
| | - Wencai Lu
- College of Physics, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China; (H.Y.); (Z.Z.); (J.Y.); (C.L.)
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Gómez-García A, Jiménez DAA, Zamora WJ, Barazorda-Ccahuana HL, Chávez-Fumagalli MÁ, Valli M, Andricopulo AD, Bolzani VDS, Olmedo DA, Solís PN, Núñez MJ, Rodríguez Pérez JR, Valencia Sánchez HA, Cortés Hernández HF, Medina-Franco JL. Navigating the Chemical Space and Chemical Multiverse of a Unified Latin American Natural Product Database: LANaPDB. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:1388. [PMID: 37895859 PMCID: PMC10609821 DOI: 10.3390/ph16101388] [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: 08/31/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The number of databases of natural products (NPs) has increased substantially. Latin America is extraordinarily rich in biodiversity, enabling the identification of novel NPs, which has encouraged both the development of databases and the implementation of those that are being created or are under development. In a collective effort from several Latin American countries, herein we introduce the first version of the Latin American Natural Products Database (LANaPDB), a public compound collection that gathers the chemical information of NPs contained in diverse databases from this geographical region. The current version of LANaPDB unifies the information from six countries and contains 12,959 chemical structures. The structural classification showed that the most abundant compounds are the terpenoids (63.2%), phenylpropanoids (18%) and alkaloids (11.8%). From the analysis of the distribution of properties of pharmaceutical interest, it was observed that many LANaPDB compounds satisfy some drug-like rules of thumb for physicochemical properties. The concept of the chemical multiverse was employed to generate multiple chemical spaces from two different fingerprints and two dimensionality reduction techniques. Comparing LANaPDB with FDA-approved drugs and the major open-access repository of NPs, COCONUT, it was concluded that the chemical space covered by LANaPDB completely overlaps with COCONUT and, in some regions, with FDA-approved drugs. LANaPDB will be updated, adding more compounds from each database, plus the addition of databases from other Latin American countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Gómez-García
- DIFACQUIM Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, School of Chemistry, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Avenida Universidad 3000, Mexico City 04510, Mexico;
| | - Daniel A. Acuña Jiménez
- CBio3 Laboratory, School of Chemistry, University of Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José 11501-2060, Costa Rica; (D.A.A.J.); (W.J.Z.)
| | - William J. Zamora
- CBio3 Laboratory, School of Chemistry, University of Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José 11501-2060, Costa Rica; (D.A.A.J.); (W.J.Z.)
- Laboratory of Computational Toxicology and Artificial Intelligence (LaToxCIA), Biological Testing Laboratory (LEBi), University of Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José 11501-2060, Costa Rica
- Advanced Computing Lab (CNCA), National High Technology Center (CeNAT), Pavas, San José 1174-1200, Costa Rica
| | - Haruna L. Barazorda-Ccahuana
- Computational Biology and Chemistry Research Group, Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Universidad Católica de Santa Maria, Arequipa 04000, Peru; (H.L.B.-C.); (M.Á.C.-F.)
| | - Miguel Á. Chávez-Fumagalli
- Computational Biology and Chemistry Research Group, Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Universidad Católica de Santa Maria, Arequipa 04000, Peru; (H.L.B.-C.); (M.Á.C.-F.)
| | - Marilia Valli
- Laboratory of Medicinal and Computational Chemistry (LQMC), Centre for Research and Innovation in Biodiversity and Drug Discovery (CIBFar), São Carlos Institute of Physics (IFSC), University of São Paulo (USP), Av. João Dagnone, 1100, São Carlos 13563-120, SP, Brazil; (M.V.); (A.D.A.)
| | - Adriano D. Andricopulo
- Laboratory of Medicinal and Computational Chemistry (LQMC), Centre for Research and Innovation in Biodiversity and Drug Discovery (CIBFar), São Carlos Institute of Physics (IFSC), University of São Paulo (USP), Av. João Dagnone, 1100, São Carlos 13563-120, SP, Brazil; (M.V.); (A.D.A.)
| | - Vanderlan da S. Bolzani
- Nuclei of Bioassays, Biosynthesis and Ecophysiology of Natural Products (NuBBE), Department of Organic Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Av. Prof. Francisco Degni, 55, Araraquara 14800-900, SP, Brazil;
| | - Dionisio A. Olmedo
- Center for Pharmacognostic Research on Panamanian Flora (CIFLORPAN), College of Pharmacy, University of Panama, Av. Manuel E. Batista and Jose De Fabrega, Panama City 3366, Panama; (D.A.O.); (P.N.S.)
| | - Pablo N. Solís
- Center for Pharmacognostic Research on Panamanian Flora (CIFLORPAN), College of Pharmacy, University of Panama, Av. Manuel E. Batista and Jose De Fabrega, Panama City 3366, Panama; (D.A.O.); (P.N.S.)
| | - Marvin J. Núñez
- Natural Product Research Laboratory, School of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of El Salvador, Final Ave. Mártires Estudiantes del 30 de Julio, San Salvador 01101, El Salvador;
| | - Johny R. Rodríguez Pérez
- GIFES Research Group, School of Chemistry Technology, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Pereira 660003, Colombia; (J.R.R.P.); (H.A.V.S.); (H.F.C.H.)
- GIEPRONAL Research Group, School of Basic Sciences, Technology and Engineering, Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia, Dosquebradas 661001, Colombia
| | - Hoover A. Valencia Sánchez
- GIFES Research Group, School of Chemistry Technology, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Pereira 660003, Colombia; (J.R.R.P.); (H.A.V.S.); (H.F.C.H.)
| | - Héctor F. Cortés Hernández
- GIFES Research Group, School of Chemistry Technology, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Pereira 660003, Colombia; (J.R.R.P.); (H.A.V.S.); (H.F.C.H.)
| | - José L. Medina-Franco
- DIFACQUIM Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, School of Chemistry, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Avenida Universidad 3000, Mexico City 04510, Mexico;
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Barazorda-Ccahuana HL, Ranilla LG, Candia-Puma MA, Cárcamo-Rodriguez EG, Centeno-Lopez AE, Davila-Del-Carpio G, Medina-Franco JL, Chávez-Fumagalli MA. PeruNPDB: the Peruvian Natural Products Database for in silico drug screening. Sci Rep 2023; 13:7577. [PMID: 37165197 PMCID: PMC10170056 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34729-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Since the number of drugs based on natural products (NPs) represents a large source of novel pharmacological entities, NPs have acquired significance in drug discovery. Peru is considered a megadiverse country with many endemic species of plants, terrestrial, and marine animals, and microorganisms. NPs databases have a major impact on drug discovery development. For this reason, several countries such as Mexico, Brazil, India, and China have initiatives to assemble and maintain NPs databases that are representative of their diversity and ethnopharmacological usage. We describe the assembly, curation, and chemoinformatic evaluation of the content and coverage in chemical space, as well as the physicochemical attributes and chemical diversity of the initial version of the Peruvian Natural Products Database (PeruNPDB), which contains 280 natural products. Access to PeruNPDB is available for free ( https://perunpdb.com.pe/ ). The PeruNPDB's collection is intended to be used in a variety of tasks, such as virtual screening campaigns against various disease targets or biological endpoints. This emphasizes the significance of biodiversity protection both directly and indirectly on human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haruna L Barazorda-Ccahuana
- Computational Biology and Chemistry Research Group, Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Universidad Católica de Santa María, 04000, Arequipa, Peru
| | - Lena Gálvez Ranilla
- Laboratory of Research in Food Science, Universidad Catolica de Santa Maria, 04000, Arequipa, Peru
- Escuela Profesional de Ingeniería de Industria Alimentaria, Facultad de Ciencias e Ingenierías Biológicas y Químicas, Universidad Catolica de Santa Maria, 04000, Arequipa, Peru
| | - Mayron Antonio Candia-Puma
- Computational Biology and Chemistry Research Group, Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Universidad Católica de Santa María, 04000, Arequipa, Peru
- Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, Bioquímicas y Biotecnológicas, Universidad Católica de Santa María, 04000, Arequipa, Peru
| | - Eymi Gladys Cárcamo-Rodriguez
- Computational Biology and Chemistry Research Group, Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Universidad Católica de Santa María, 04000, Arequipa, Peru
- Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, Bioquímicas y Biotecnológicas, Universidad Católica de Santa María, 04000, Arequipa, Peru
| | - Angela Emperatriz Centeno-Lopez
- Computational Biology and Chemistry Research Group, Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Universidad Católica de Santa María, 04000, Arequipa, Peru
- Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, Bioquímicas y Biotecnológicas, Universidad Católica de Santa María, 04000, Arequipa, Peru
| | - Gonzalo Davila-Del-Carpio
- Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, Bioquímicas y Biotecnológicas, Universidad Católica de Santa María, 04000, Arequipa, Peru
| | - José L Medina-Franco
- DIFACQUIM Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, School of Chemistry, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Miguel Angel Chávez-Fumagalli
- Computational Biology and Chemistry Research Group, Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Universidad Católica de Santa María, 04000, Arequipa, Peru.
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Herrera-Acevedo C, de Menezes RPB, de Sousa NF, Scotti L, Scotti MT, Coy-Barrera E. Kaurane-Type Diterpenoids as Potential Inhibitors of Dihydrofolate Reductase-Thymidylate Synthase in New World Leishmania Species. Antibiotics (Basel) 2023; 12:antibiotics12040663. [PMID: 37107025 PMCID: PMC10135059 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics12040663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The bifunctional enzyme Dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (DHFR-TS) plays a crucial role in the survival of the Leishmania parasite, as folates are essential cofactors for purine and pyrimidine nucleotide biosynthesis. However, DHFR inhibitors are largely ineffective in controlling trypanosomatid infections, largely due to the presence of Pteridine reductase 1 (PTR1). Therefore, the search for structures with dual inhibitory activity against PTR1/DHFR-TS is crucial in the development of new anti-Leishmania chemotherapies. In this research, using the Leishmania major DHFR-TS recombinant protein, enzymatic inhibitory assays were performed on four kauranes and two derivatives that had been previously tested against LmPTR1. The structure 302 (6.3 µM) and its derivative 302a (4.5 µM) showed the lowest IC50 values among the evaluated molecules. To evaluate the mechanism of action of these structures, molecular docking calculations and molecular dynamics simulations were performed using a DHFR-TS hybrid model. Results showed that hydrogen bond interactions are critical for the inhibitory activity against LmDHFR-TS, as well as the presence of the p-hydroxyl group of the phenylpropanoid moiety of 302a. Finally, additional computational studies were performed on DHFR-TS structures from Leishmania species that cause cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis in the New World (L. braziliensis, L. panamensis, and L. amazonensis) to explore the targeting potential of these kauranes in these species. It was demonstrated that structures 302 and 302a are multi-Leishmania species compounds with dual DHFR-TS/PTR1 inhibitory activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chonny Herrera-Acevedo
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil (M.T.S.)
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad ECCI, Bogotá, Distrito Capital 111311, Colombia
| | - Renata Priscila Barros de Menezes
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil (M.T.S.)
| | - Natália Ferreira de Sousa
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil (M.T.S.)
| | - Luciana Scotti
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil (M.T.S.)
| | - Marcus Tullius Scotti
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil (M.T.S.)
| | - Ericsson Coy-Barrera
- Bioorganic Chemistry Laboratory, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Cajicá 250247, Colombia
- Correspondence:
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Luna IS, Souza TAD, da Silva MS, Franca Rodrigues KAD, Scotti L, Scotti MT, Mendonça-Junior FJB. Computer-Aided drug design of new 2-amino-thiophene derivatives as anti-leishmanial agents. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 250:115223. [PMID: 36848847 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023]
Abstract
The leishmaniasis is a neglected disease caused by a group of protozoan parasites from the genus Leishmania whose treatment is limited, obsolete, toxic, and ineffective in certain cases. These characteristics motivate researchers worldwide to plan new therapeutic alternatives for the treatment of leishmaniasis, where the use of cheminformatics tools applied to computer-assisted drug design has allowed research to make great advances in the search for new drugs candidates. In this study, a series of 2-amino-thiophene (2-AT) derivatives was screened virtually using QSAR tools, ADMET filters and prediction models, allowing direct the synthesis of compounds, which were evaluated in vitro against promastigotes and axenic amastigotes of Leishmania amazonensis. The combination of different descriptors and machine learning methods led to obtaining robust and predictive QSAR models, which was obtained from a dataset composed of 1862 compounds extracted from the ChEMBL database, with correct classification rates ranging from 0.53 (for amastigotes) to 0.91 (for promastigotes), allowing to select eleven 2-AT derivatives, which do not violate Lipinski's rules, exhibit good druglikeness, and with probability ≤70% of potential activity against the two evolutionary forms of the parasite. All compounds were properly synthesized and 8 of them were shown to be active at least against one of the evolutionary forms of the parasite with IC50 values lower than 10 μM, being more active than the reference drug meglumine antimoniate, and showing low or no citotoxicity against macrophage J774.A1 for the most part. Compounds 8CN and DCN-83, respectively, are the most active against promastigote and amastigote forms, with IC50 values of 1.20 and 0.71 μM, and selectivity indexes (SI) of 36.58 and 119.33. Structure Activity Relationship (SAR) study was carried out and allowed to identify some favorable and/or essential substitution patterns for the leishmanial activity of 2-AT derivatives. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that the use of ligand-based virtual screening proved to be quite effective and saved time, effort, and money in the selection of potential anti-leishmanial agents, and confirm, once again that 2-AT derivatives are promising hit compounds for the development of new anti-leishmanial agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isadora Silva Luna
- Laboratory of Synthesis and Drug Delivery, State University of Paraiba, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil; Post-Graduation Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil
| | - Thalisson Amorim de Souza
- Multiuser Laboratory Center of Characterization and Analysis, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil
| | - Marcelo Sobral da Silva
- Multiuser Laboratory Center of Characterization and Analysis, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil
| | | | - Luciana Scotti
- Post-Graduation Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil
| | - Marcus Tullius Scotti
- Post-Graduation Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil
| | - Francisco Jaime Bezerra Mendonça-Junior
- Laboratory of Synthesis and Drug Delivery, State University of Paraiba, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil; Post-Graduation Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil.
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9
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Tullius Scotti M, Herrera-Acevedo C, Barros de Menezes RP, Martin HJ, Muratov EN, Ítalo de Souza Silva Á, Faustino Albuquerque E, Ferreira Calado L, Coy-Barrera E, Scotti L. MolPredictX: Online Biological Activity Predictions by Machine Learning Models. Mol Inform 2022; 41:e2200133. [PMID: 35961924 DOI: 10.1002/minf.202200133] [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: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Here we report the development of MolPredictX, an innovate and freely accessible web interface for biological activity predictions of query molecules. MolPredictX utilizes in-house QSAR models to provide 27 qualitative predictions (active or inactive), and quantitative probabilities for bioactivity against parasitic (Trypanosoma and Leishmania), viral (Dengue, Sars-CoV and Hepatitis C), pathogenic yeast (Candida albicans), bacterial (Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli), and Alzheimer disease enzymes. In this article, we introduce the methodology and usability of this webtool, highlighting its potential role in the development of new drugs against a variety of diseases. MolPredictX is undergoing continuous development and is freely available at https://www.molpredictx.ufpb.br/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus Tullius Scotti
- Programa de Pós-Graduação de Produtos Naturais e Sintéticos Bioativos, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, 58051-900, João Pessoa-PB, Brazil
| | - Chonny Herrera-Acevedo
- Programa de Pós-Graduação de Produtos Naturais e Sintéticos Bioativos, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, 58051-900, João Pessoa-PB, Brazil.,Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad ECCI, Carrera 19 # 49-20, 111311, Bogotá D.C., Colombia
| | - Renata Priscila Barros de Menezes
- Programa de Pós-Graduação de Produtos Naturais e Sintéticos Bioativos, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, 58051-900, João Pessoa-PB, Brazil
| | - Holli-Joi Martin
- Laboratory for Molecular Modeling, Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Eugene N Muratov
- Laboratory for Molecular Modeling, Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Ávilla Ítalo de Souza Silva
- Programa de Pós-Graduação de Produtos Naturais e Sintéticos Bioativos, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, 58051-900, João Pessoa-PB, Brazil
| | - Emmanuella Faustino Albuquerque
- Programa de Pós-Graduação de Produtos Naturais e Sintéticos Bioativos, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, 58051-900, João Pessoa-PB, Brazil
| | - Lucas Ferreira Calado
- Programa de Pós-Graduação de Produtos Naturais e Sintéticos Bioativos, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, 58051-900, João Pessoa-PB, Brazil
| | - Ericsson Coy-Barrera
- Bioorganic Chemistry Laboratory, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Cajicá, 250247, Colombia
| | - Luciana Scotti
- Programa de Pós-Graduação de Produtos Naturais e Sintéticos Bioativos, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, 58051-900, João Pessoa-PB, Brazil
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10
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Progress and Impact of Latin American Natural Product Databases. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12091202. [PMID: 36139041 PMCID: PMC9496143 DOI: 10.3390/biom12091202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Revised: 08/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural products (NPs) are a rich source of structurally novel molecules, and the chemical space they encompass is far from being fully explored. Over history, NPs have represented a significant source of bioactive molecules and have served as a source of inspiration for developing many drugs on the market. On the other hand, computer-aided drug design (CADD) has contributed to drug discovery research, mitigating costs and time. In this sense, compound databases represent a fundamental element of CADD. This work reviews the progress toward developing compound databases of natural origin, and it surveys computational methods, emphasizing chemoinformatic approaches to profile natural product databases. Furthermore, it reviews the present state of the art in developing Latin American NP databases and their practical applications to the drug discovery area.
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11
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Barros de Menezes RP, Fechine Tavares J, Kato MJ, da Rocha Coelho FA, Sousa Dos Santos AL, da Franca Rodrigues KA, Sessions ZL, Muratov EN, Scotti L, Tullius Scotti M. Natural Products from Annonaceae as Potential Antichagasic Agents. ChemMedChem 2022; 17:e202200196. [PMID: 35678042 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202200196] [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: 04/06/2022] [Revised: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Chagas disease, a neglected tropical disease, is endemic in 21 Latin American countries and particularly prevalent in Brazil. Chagas disease has drawn more attention in recent years due to its expansion into non-endemic areas. The aim of this work was to computationally identify and experimentally validate the natural products from an Annonaceae family as antichagasic agents. Through the ligand-based virtual screening, we identified 57 molecules with potential activity against the epimastigote form of T. cruzi. Then, 16 molecules were analyzed in the in vitro study, of which, six molecules displayed previously unknown antiepimastigote activity. We also evaluated these six molecules for trypanocidal activity. We observed that all six molecules have potential activity against the amastigote form, but no molecules were active against the trypomastigote form. 13-Epicupressic acid seems to be the most promising, as it was predicted as an active compound in the in silico study against the amastigote form of T. cruzi, in addition to having in vitro activity against the epimastigote form.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renata Priscila Barros de Menezes
- Programa de Pós-Graduação de Produtos Naturais e Sintéticos Bioativos, Universidade federal da Paraíba, 58051-900, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil
| | - Josean Fechine Tavares
- Programa de Pós-Graduação de Produtos Naturais e Sintéticos Bioativos, Universidade federal da Paraíba, 58051-900, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil
| | - Massuo Jorge Kato
- Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, 05508-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Zoe L Sessions
- Molecular Modeling Lab, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 27599, NC, USA
| | - Eugene N Muratov
- Molecular Modeling Lab, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 27599, NC, USA
| | - Luciana Scotti
- Programa de Pós-Graduação de Produtos Naturais e Sintéticos Bioativos, Universidade federal da Paraíba, 58051-900, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil
| | - Marcus Tullius Scotti
- Programa de Pós-Graduação de Produtos Naturais e Sintéticos Bioativos, Universidade federal da Paraíba, 58051-900, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil
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12
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Fateh ST, Fateh ST, Shekari F, Mahdavi M, Aref AR, Salehi-Najafabadi A. The Effects of Sesquiterpene Lactones on the Differentiation of Human or Animal Cells Cultured In-Vitro: A Critical Systematic Review. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:862446. [PMID: 35444549 PMCID: PMC9014292 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.862446] [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: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Cellular differentiation is pivotal in health and disease. Interfering with the process of differentiation, such as inhibiting the differentiation of adipocytes and inducing the differentiation of cancer cells, is considered a therapeutic approach. Sesquiterpene lactones, primarily found in plants, have been attracted attention as differentiating/dedifferentiating agents tested on various human or animal cells. However, a consensus on sesquiterpene lactones’ effects and their mechanism of action is required. In this sense, through a systematic review, we have investigated the differentiating/dedifferentiating effects of sesquiterpene lactones on human or animal cells. 13 different cell lines originated from humans, mice, and rats, in addition to the effects of a total of 21 sesquiterpene lactones, were evaluated in the included studies. These components had either inducing, inhibiting, or no effect on the cells, mediating their effects through JAK-STAT, PI3K-Akt, mitogen-activated protein kinases, NFκB, PPARγ pathways. Although nearly all inducing and inhibiting effects were attributed to cancerous and normal cells, respectively, this is likely a result of a biased study design. Few studies reported negative results along with others, and no study was found reporting only negative results. As a result, not only are the effects and mechanism of action of sesquiterpene lactones not vivid but our knowledge and decisions are also misconducted. Moreover, there is a significant knowledge gap regarding the type of evaluated cells, other sesquiterpene lactones, and the involved signaling pathways. In conclusion, sesquiterpene lactones possess significant effects on differentiation status, leading to potentially efficient therapy of obesity, osteoporosis, and cancer. However, reporting negative results and further investigations on other cells, sesquiterpene lactones, and signaling pathways are highly suggested to pave the path of sesquiterpene lactones to the clinic more consciously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sepand Tehrani Fateh
- School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Faezeh Shekari
- Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
| | - Majid Mahdavi
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Science, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Amir Reza Aref
- Belfer Center for Applied Cancer Science, Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.,Translational Sciences, Xsphera Biosciences Inc., Boston, MA, United States
| | - Amir Salehi-Najafabadi
- Department of Microbiology, School of Biology, University College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.,Research Center for New Technologies in Life Science Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
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13
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Marques SDG, Fernandes DA, Teles YCF, Menezes RPB, Maia MS, Scotti MT, Agra MF, Silva TMS, de Souza MDFV. Sidastrum paniculatum (L.) Fryxell (Malvaceae): A Promising Source of Bioactive Sulfated Flavonoids Against Aedes aegypti L. Front Pharmacol 2022; 12:760156. [PMID: 35069194 PMCID: PMC8782119 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.760156] [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: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Aedes aegypti L. is known as the most relevant vector mosquito for viruses such as yellow fever, chikungunya, dengue, and Zika, especially in places with unplanned urbanization, and erratic water supply. Plants used in folk medicine have become a useful source of active compounds with the potential to control the dissemination of Ae. aegypti. Compounds isolated from Malvaceae sensu lato have been previously reported as larvicides, repellents, and insecticides. Recent studies have demonstrated the anti Ae. aegypti activity of sulfated flavonoids, an uncommon type of flavonoid derivatives. This research reports the phytochemical investigation of Sidastrum paniculatum (L.) Fryxell, a Malvaceae species with the potential against Ae. aegypti. Chromatographic procedures resulted in the isolation of the compounds: stearic acid (1), N-trans-feruloyltyramine (2), acacetin (3), apigenin (4), tiliroside (5), along with the sulfated flavonoids: wissadulin (6), 7,4'-di-O-methyl-8-O-sulfate flavone (7), yannin (8), beltraonin (9a), 7-O-sulfate isoscutellarein (paniculatumin) (9b), and condadin (10). This is the first report of compound 7-O-sulfate isoscutellarein (9b). The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis (NMR, LC-HRMS and FT-IR). The sulfated flavonoids identified were submitted to a ligand-based and structure-based virtual screening against two targets: 1YIY (from adult Ae. aegypti) and 1PZ4 (from Ae. aegypti larvae). The results indicated that when the O-sulfate group is bearing the position 7, the structures are potentially active in 1PZ4 protein. On the other hand, flavonoids with the O-sulfate group bearing position 8 were showed to be more likely to bind to the 1YIY protein. Our findings indicated that S. paniculatum is a promising source of sulfated flavonoids with potential against Ae. aegypti.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sany D G Marques
- Post Graduation Program in Bioactive Natural and Synthetic Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil.,Laboratory of Phytochemistry Prof. Dr. Raimundo Braz Filho, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil
| | - Diégina A Fernandes
- Post Graduation Program in Bioactive Natural and Synthetic Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil.,Laboratory of Phytochemistry Prof. Dr. Raimundo Braz Filho, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil
| | - Yanna C F Teles
- Department of Chemistry and Physics, Agrarian Sciences Center, Federal University of Paraíba, Areia, Brazil
| | - Renata P B Menezes
- Post Graduation Program in Bioactive Natural and Synthetic Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil
| | - Mayara S Maia
- Post Graduation Program in Bioactive Natural and Synthetic Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil
| | - Marcus T Scotti
- Post Graduation Program in Bioactive Natural and Synthetic Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil.,Department of Chemistry, Exact and Nature Sciences Center, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil
| | - Maria F Agra
- Deparment of Biotechnology, Biotechnology Center, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil
| | - Tania M S Silva
- Department of Molecular Sciences, Rural Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Maria de Fátima Vanderlei de Souza
- Post Graduation Program in Bioactive Natural and Synthetic Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil.,Laboratory of Phytochemistry Prof. Dr. Raimundo Braz Filho, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil
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14
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de Menezes RPB, Viana JDO, Muratov E, Scotti L, Scotti MT. Computer-Assisted Discovery of Alkaloids with Schistosomicidal Activity. Curr Issues Mol Biol 2022; 44:383-408. [PMID: 35723407 PMCID: PMC8929062 DOI: 10.3390/cimb44010028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Revised: 01/08/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Schistosomiasis is a chronic parasitic disease caused by trematodes of the genus Schistosoma; it is commonly caused by Schistosoma mansoni, which is transmitted by Bioamphalaria snails. Studies show that more than 200 million people are infected and that more than 90% of them live in Africa. Treatment with praziquantel has the best cost–benefit result on the market. However, hypersensitivity, allergy, and drug resistance are frequently presented after administration. From this perspective, ligand-based and structure-based virtual screening (VS) techniques were combined to select potentially active alkaloids against S. mansoni from an internal dataset (SistematX). A set of molecules with known activity against S. mansoni was selected from the ChEMBL database to create two different models with accuracy greater than 84%, enabling ligand-based VS of the alkaloid bank. Subsequently, structure-based VS was performed through molecular docking using four targets of the parasite. Finally, five consensus hits (i.e., five alkaloids with schistosomicidal potential), were selected. In addition, in silico evaluations of the metabolism, toxicity, and drug-like profile of these five selected alkaloids were carried out. Two of them, namely, 11,12-methylethylenedioxypropoxy and methyl-3-oxo-12-methoxy-n(1)-decarbomethoxy-14,15-didehydrochanofruticosinate, had plausible toxicity, metabolomics, and toxicity profiles. These two alkaloids could serve as starting points for the development of new schistosomicidal compounds based on natural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renata Priscila Barros de Menezes
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil; (R.P.B.d.M.); (J.d.O.V.); (L.S.)
| | - Jéssika de Oliveira Viana
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil; (R.P.B.d.M.); (J.d.O.V.); (L.S.)
| | - Eugene Muratov
- Laboratory for Molecular Modeling, Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA;
| | - Luciana Scotti
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil; (R.P.B.d.M.); (J.d.O.V.); (L.S.)
| | - Marcus Tullius Scotti
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil; (R.P.B.d.M.); (J.d.O.V.); (L.S.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +55-83-998690415
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15
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Herrera-Acevedo C, Perdomo-Madrigal C, Herrera-Acevedo K, Coy-Barrera E, Scotti L, Scotti MT. Machine learning models to select potential inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase activity from SistematX: a natural products database. Mol Divers 2021; 25:1553-1568. [PMID: 34132933 DOI: 10.1007/s11030-021-10245-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, representing 60-70% of dementia cases. The enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) cleaves the ester bonds in acetylcholine and plays an important role in the termination of acetylcholine activity at cholinergic synapses in various regions of the nervous system. The inhibition of acetylcholinesterase is frequently used to treat Alzheimer's disease. In this study, a merged BindingDB and ChEMBL dataset containing molecules with reported half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values for AChE (7032 molecules) was used to build machine learning classification models for selecting potential AChE inhibitors from the SistematX dataset (8593 secondary metabolites). A total of seven fivefold models with accuracy above 80% after cross-validation were obtained using three types of molecular descriptors (VolSurf, DRAGON 5.0, and bit-based fingerprints). A total of 521 secondary metabolites (6.1%) were classified as active in this stage. Subsequently, virtual screening was performed, and 25 secondary metabolites were identified as potential inhibitors of AChE. Separately, the crystal structure of AChE in complex with (-)-galantamine was used to perform molecular docking calculations with the entire SistematX dataset. Consensus analysis of both methodologies was performed. Only eight structures achieved combined probability values above 0.5. Finally, two sesquiterpene lactones, structures 15 and 24, were predicted to be able to cross the blood-brain barrier, which was confirmed in the VolSurf+ quantitative model, revealing these two structures as the most promising secondary metabolites for AChE inhibition among the 8593 molecules tested. A consensus analysis of classification models and molecular docking calculations identified four potential inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase from the SistematX dataset (8593 structures).
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Affiliation(s)
- Chonny Herrera-Acevedo
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, 58051-900, Brazil.,Bioorganic Chemistry Laboratory, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, 250247, Cajicá, Colombia
| | - Camilo Perdomo-Madrigal
- School of Science, Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales, Calle 222 # 55-37, Bogotá D.C., Colombia
| | - Kenyi Herrera-Acevedo
- Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Carrera 45 # 26- 85, Bogotá D.C., Colombia
| | - Ericsson Coy-Barrera
- Bioorganic Chemistry Laboratory, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, 250247, Cajicá, Colombia
| | - Luciana Scotti
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, 58051-900, Brazil
| | - Marcus Tullius Scotti
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, 58051-900, Brazil.
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16
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Herrera-Acevedo C, Flores-Gaspar A, Scotti L, Mendonça-Junior FJB, Scotti MT, Coy-Barrera E. Identification of Kaurane-Type Diterpenes as Inhibitors of Leishmania Pteridine Reductase I. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26113076. [PMID: 34063939 PMCID: PMC8196580 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26113076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Revised: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The current treatments against Leishmania parasites present high toxicity and multiple side effects, which makes the control and elimination of leishmaniasis challenging. Natural products constitute an interesting and diverse chemical space for the identification of new antileishmanial drugs. To identify new drug options, an in-house database of 360 kauranes (tetracyclic diterpenes) was generated, and a combined ligand- and structure-based virtual screening (VS) approach was performed to select potential inhibitors of Leishmania major (Lm) pteridine reductase I (PTR1). The best-ranked kauranes were employed to verify the validity of the VS approach through LmPTR1 enzyme inhibition assay. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of selected bioactive compounds were examined using the random forest (RF) model (i.e., 2β-hydroxy-menth-6-en-5β-yl ent-kaurenoate (135) and 3α-cinnamoyloxy-ent-kaur-16-en-19-oic acid (302)) were below 10 μM. A compound similar to 302, 3α-p-coumaroyloxy-ent-kaur-16-en-19-oic acid (302a), was also synthesized and showed the highest activity against LmPTR1. Finally, molecular docking calculations and molecular dynamics simulations were performed for the VS-selected, most-active kauranes within the active sites of PTR1 hybrid models, generated from three Leishmania species that are known to cause cutaneous leishmaniasis in the new world (i.e., L. braziliensis, L. panamensis, and L. amazonensis) to explore the targeting potential of these kauranes to other species-dependent variants of this enzyme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chonny Herrera-Acevedo
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil; (C.H.-A.); (L.S.)
- Bioorganic Chemistry Laboratory, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Cajicá 250247, Colombia;
| | - Areli Flores-Gaspar
- Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Cajicá 250247, Colombia
- Correspondence: (A.F.-G.); (M.T.S.); Tel.: +57-1-650-00-00 (ext. 1526) (A.F.-G.); +55-83-99869-0415 (M.T.S.)
| | - Luciana Scotti
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil; (C.H.-A.); (L.S.)
| | | | - Marcus Tullius Scotti
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil; (C.H.-A.); (L.S.)
- Correspondence: (A.F.-G.); (M.T.S.); Tel.: +57-1-650-00-00 (ext. 1526) (A.F.-G.); +55-83-99869-0415 (M.T.S.)
| | - Ericsson Coy-Barrera
- Bioorganic Chemistry Laboratory, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Cajicá 250247, Colombia;
- Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Cajicá 250247, Colombia
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Costa RPO, Lucena LF, Silva LMA, Zocolo GJ, Herrera-Acevedo C, Scotti L, Da-Costa FB, Ionov N, Poroikov V, Muratov EN, Scotti MT. The SistematX Web Portal of Natural Products: An Update. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:2516-2522. [PMID: 34014674 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Natural products and their secondary metabolites are promising starting points for the development of drug prototypes and new drugs, as many current treatments for numerous diseases are directly or indirectly related to such compounds. State-of-the-art, curated, integrated, and frequently updated databases of secondary metabolites are thus highly relevant to drug discovery. The SistematX Web Portal, introduced in 2018, is undergoing development to address this need and documents crucial information about plant secondary metabolites, including the exact location of the species from which the compounds were isolated. SistematX also allows registered users to log in to the data management area and gain access to administrative pages. This study reports recent updates and modifications to the SistematX Web Portal, including a batch download option, the generation and visualization of 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, and the calculation of physicochemical (drug-like and lead-like) properties and biological activity profiles. The SistematX Web Portal is freely available at http://sistematx.ufpb.br.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renan P O Costa
- Laboratory of Cheminformatics, Instituto de Pesquisa em Fármacos e Medicamentos (IPeFarM), Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus I, Cidade Universitária, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil
| | - Lucas F Lucena
- Laboratory of Cheminformatics, Instituto de Pesquisa em Fármacos e Medicamentos (IPeFarM), Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus I, Cidade Universitária, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil
| | - Lorena Mara A Silva
- Laboratório Multiusuário de Química de Produtos Naturais, Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical, Rua Doutora Sara Mesquita 2270, Planalto do Pici, Fortaleza 60511110, CE, Brazil
| | - Guilherme Julião Zocolo
- Laboratório Multiusuário de Química de Produtos Naturais, Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical, Rua Doutora Sara Mesquita 2270, Planalto do Pici, Fortaleza 60511110, CE, Brazil
| | - Chonny Herrera-Acevedo
- Laboratory of Cheminformatics, Instituto de Pesquisa em Fármacos e Medicamentos (IPeFarM), Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus I, Cidade Universitária, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil
| | - Luciana Scotti
- Laboratory of Cheminformatics, Instituto de Pesquisa em Fármacos e Medicamentos (IPeFarM), Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus I, Cidade Universitária, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil
| | - Fernando Batista Da-Costa
- AsterBioChem Research Team, Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Av do café s/n, Ribeirão Preto 14040-903, SP, Brazil
| | - Nikita Ionov
- Laboratory of Structure-Function Based Drug Design, Department of Bioinformatics, Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Pogodinskaya Str. 10, bldg. 8, Moscow 119121, Russia
| | - Vladimir Poroikov
- Laboratory of Structure-Function Based Drug Design, Department of Bioinformatics, Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Pogodinskaya Str. 10, bldg. 8, Moscow 119121, Russia
| | - Eugene N Muratov
- Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
| | - Marcus T Scotti
- Laboratory of Cheminformatics, Instituto de Pesquisa em Fármacos e Medicamentos (IPeFarM), Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus I, Cidade Universitária, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil
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Zuma AA, de Souza W. Chagas Disease Chemotherapy: What Do We Know So Far? Curr Pharm Des 2021; 27:3963-3995. [PMID: 33593251 DOI: 10.2174/1381612827666210216152654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Chagas disease is a Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD), and although endemic in Latin America, affects around 6-7 million people infected worldwide. The treatment of Chagas disease is based on benznidazole and nifurtimox, which are the only available drugs. However, they are not effective during the chronic phase and cause several side effects. Furthermore, BZ promotes cure in 80% of the patients in the acute phase, but the cure rate drops to 20% in adults in the chronic phase of the disease. In this review, we present several studies published in the last six years, which describes the antiparasitic potential of distinct drugs, from the synthesis of new compounds aiming to target the parasite, as well as the repositioning and the combination of drugs. We highlight several compounds for having shown results that are equivalent or superior to BZ, which means that they should be further studied, either in vitro or in vivo. Furthermore, we stand out the differences in the effects of BZ on the same strain of T. cruzi, which might be related to methodological differences such as parasite and cell ratios, host cell type and the time of adding the drug. In addition, we discuss the wide variety of strains and also the cell types used as a host cell, which makes it difficult to compare the trypanocidal effect of the compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aline Araujo Zuma
- Laboratorio de Ultraestrutura Celular Hertha Meyer, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Av. Carlos Chagas Filho, 373, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, 21491-590, Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brazil
| | - Wanderley de Souza
- Laboratorio de Ultraestrutura Celular Hertha Meyer, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Av. Carlos Chagas Filho, 373, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, 21491-590, Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brazil
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Herrera-Acevedo C, Perdomo-Madrigal C, Muratov EN, Scotti L, Scotti MT. Discovery of Alternative Chemotherapy Options for Leishmaniasis through Computational Studies of Asteraceae. ChemMedChem 2021; 16:1234-1245. [PMID: 33336460 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202000862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2020] [Revised: 12/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a complex disease caused by over 20 Leishmania species that primarily affects populations with poor socioeconomic conditions. Currently available drugs for treating leishmaniasis include amphotericin B, paromomycin, and pentavalent antimonials, which have been associated with several limitations, such as low efficacy, the development of drug resistance, and high toxicity. Natural products are an interesting source of new drug candidates. The Asteraceae family includes more than 23 000 species worldwide. Secondary metabolites that can be found in species from this family have been widely explored as potential new treatments for leishmaniasis. Recently, computational tools have become more popular in medicinal chemistry to establish experimental designs, identify new drugs, and compare the molecular structures and activities of novel compounds. Herein, we review various studies that have used computational tools to examine various compounds identified in the Asteraceae family in the search for potential drug candidates against Leishmania.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chonny Herrera-Acevedo
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, Cidade Universitária-Castelo Branco III, Joao Pessoa, PB, Brazil
| | - Camilo Perdomo-Madrigal
- School of Science, Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales, Calle 222 n° 55-37, Bogotá D.C., Colombia
| | - Eugene N Muratov
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, Cidade Universitária-Castelo Branco III, Joao Pessoa, PB, Brazil
| | - Luciana Scotti
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, Cidade Universitária-Castelo Branco III, Joao Pessoa, PB, Brazil
| | - Marcus Tullius Scotti
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, Cidade Universitária-Castelo Branco III, Joao Pessoa, PB, Brazil
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Rodrigues GCS, Dos Santos Maia M, de Menezes RPB, Cavalcanti ABS, de Sousa NF, de Moura ÉP, Monteiro AFM, Scotti L, Scotti MT. Ligand and Structure-based Virtual Screening of Lamiaceae Diterpenes with Potential Activity against a Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Curr Top Med Chem 2020; 20:2126-2145. [PMID: 32674732 DOI: 10.2174/1568026620666200716114546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2020] [Revised: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The emergence of a new coronavirus (CoV), named 2019-nCoV, as an outbreak originated in the city of Wuhan, China, has resulted in the death of more than 3,400 people this year alone and has caused worldwide an alarming situation, particularly following previous CoV epidemics, including the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2012. Currently, no exists for infections caused by CoVs; however, some natural products may represent potential treatment resources, such as those that contain diterpenes. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to use computational methods to perform a virtual screening (VS) of candidate diterpenes with the potential to act as CoV inhibitors. METHODS 1,955 diterpenes, derived from the Nepetoideae subfamily (Lamiaceae), were selected using the SistematX tool (https://sistematx.ufpb.br), which were used to make predictions. From the ChEMBL database, 3 sets of chemical structures were selected for the construction of predictive models. RESULTS The chemical structures of molecules with known activity against SARS CoV, two of which were tested for activity against specific viral proteins and one of which was tested for activity against the virus itself, were classified according to their pIC50 values [-log IC50 (mol/l)]. CONCLUSION In the consensus analysis approach, combining both ligand- and structure-based VSs, 19 compounds were selected as potential CoV inhibitors, including isotanshinone IIA (01), tanshinlactone (02), isocryptotanshinone (03), and tanshinketolactone (04), which did not present toxicity within the evaluated parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Cristina Soares Rodrigues
- Laboratory of Cheminformatics, Program of Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products (PgPNSB), Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Paraiba, Joao Pessoa-PB, Brazil
| | - Mayara Dos Santos Maia
- Laboratory of Cheminformatics, Program of Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products (PgPNSB), Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Paraiba, Joao Pessoa-PB, Brazil
| | - Renata Priscila Barros de Menezes
- Laboratory of Cheminformatics, Program of Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products (PgPNSB), Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Paraiba, Joao Pessoa-PB, Brazil
| | - Andreza Barbosa Silva Cavalcanti
- Laboratory of Cheminformatics, Program of Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products (PgPNSB), Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Paraiba, Joao Pessoa-PB, Brazil
| | - Natália Ferreira de Sousa
- Laboratory of Cheminformatics, Program of Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products (PgPNSB), Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Paraiba, Joao Pessoa-PB, Brazil
| | - Érika Paiva de Moura
- Laboratory of Cheminformatics, Program of Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products (PgPNSB), Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Paraiba, Joao Pessoa-PB, Brazil
| | - Alex France Messias Monteiro
- Laboratory of Cheminformatics, Program of Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products (PgPNSB), Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Paraiba, Joao Pessoa-PB, Brazil
| | - Luciana Scotti
- Laboratory of Cheminformatics, Program of Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products (PgPNSB), Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Paraiba, Joao Pessoa-PB, Brazil
| | - Marcus Tullius Scotti
- Laboratory of Cheminformatics, Program of Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products (PgPNSB), Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Paraiba, Joao Pessoa-PB, Brazil
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Herrera-Acevedo C, Dos Santos Maia M, Cavalcanti ÉBVS, Coy-Barrera E, Scotti L, Scotti MT. Selection of antileishmanial sesquiterpene lactones from SistematX database using a combined ligand-/structure-based virtual screening approach. Mol Divers 2020; 25:2411-2427. [PMID: 32909084 DOI: 10.1007/s11030-020-10139-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis refers to a complex of diseases, caused by the intracellular parasitic protozoans belonging to the genus Leishmania. Among the three types of disease manifestations, the most severe type is visceral leishmaniasis, which is caused by Leishmania donovani, and is diagnosed in more than 20,000 cases annually, worldwide. Because the current therapeutic options for disease treatment are associated with several limitations, the identification of new potential leads/drugs remains necessary. In this study, a combined approach was used, based on two different virtual screening (VS) methods, which were designed to select promising antileishmanial agents from among the entire sesquiterpene lactone (SL) dataset registered in SistematX, a web interface for managing a secondary metabolite database that is accessible by multiple platforms on the Internet. Thus, a ChEMBL dataset, including 3159 and 1569 structures that were previously tested against L. donovani amastigotes and promastigotes in vitro, respectively, was used to develop two random forest models, which performed with greater than 74% accuracy in both the cross-validation and test sets. Subsequently, a ligand-based VS assay was performed against the 1306 SistematX-registered SLs. In parallel, the crystal structures of three L. donovani target proteins, N-myristoyltransferase, ornithine decarboxylase, and mitogen-activated protein kinase 3, and a homology model of pteridine reductase 1 were used to perform a structure-based VS, using molecular docking, of the entire SistematX SL dataset. The consensus analysis of these two VS approaches resulted in the normalization of probability scores and identified 13 promising, enzyme-targeting, antileishmanial SLs from SistematX that may act against L. donovani. A combined approach based on two different virtual screening methods (structure-based and ligand-based) was performed using an in-house dataset composed of 1306 sesquiterpene lactones to identify potential antileishmanial (Leishmania donovani) structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chonny Herrera-Acevedo
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, 58051-900, Brazil.,Bioorganic Chemistry Laboratory, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Cajicá, 250247, Colombia
| | - Mayara Dos Santos Maia
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, 58051-900, Brazil
| | | | - Ericsson Coy-Barrera
- Bioorganic Chemistry Laboratory, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Cajicá, 250247, Colombia
| | - Luciana Scotti
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, 58051-900, Brazil
| | - Marcus Tullius Scotti
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, 58051-900, Brazil.
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Domínguez-Martín EM, Tavares J, Ríjo P, Díaz-Lanza AM. Zoopharmacology: A Way to Discover New Cancer Treatments. Biomolecules 2020; 10:biom10060817. [PMID: 32466543 PMCID: PMC7356688 DOI: 10.3390/biom10060817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Revised: 05/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Zoopharmacognosy is the multidisciplinary approach of the self-medication behavior of many kinds of animals. Recent studies showed the presence of antitumoral secondary metabolites in some of the plants employed by animals and their use for the same therapeutic purposes in humans. Other related and sometimes confused term is Zootherapy, which consists on the employment of animal parts and/or their by-products such as toxins, venoms, etc., to treat different human ailments. Therefore, the aim of this work is to provide a brief insight for the use of Zoopharmacology (comprising Zoopharmacognosy and Zootherapy) as new paths to discover drugs studying animal behavior and/or using compounds derived from animals. This work is focused on the approaches related to cancer, in order to propose a new promising line of research to overcome multidrug resistance (MDR). This novel subject will encourage the use of new alternative prospective ways to find new medicines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva María Domínguez-Martín
- CBIOS-Center for Research in Biosciences & Health Technologies, Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologías, Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisbon, Portugal; (E.M.D.-M.); (J.T.); (P.R.)
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Alcalá, Carretera Madrid-Barcelona, Km 33.100, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Joana Tavares
- CBIOS-Center for Research in Biosciences & Health Technologies, Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologías, Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisbon, Portugal; (E.M.D.-M.); (J.T.); (P.R.)
| | - Patrícia Ríjo
- CBIOS-Center for Research in Biosciences & Health Technologies, Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologías, Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisbon, Portugal; (E.M.D.-M.); (J.T.); (P.R.)
- Instituto de Investigação do Medicamento (iMed.ULisboa), Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Ana María Díaz-Lanza
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Alcalá, Carretera Madrid-Barcelona, Km 33.100, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +34-918-854-642
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23
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Barros RPC, Scotti L, Scotti MT. Exploring Secondary Metabolites Database of Apocynaceae, Menispermaceae, and Annonaceae to Select Potential Anti-HCV Compounds. Curr Top Med Chem 2019; 19:900-913. [PMID: 31074368 DOI: 10.2174/1568026619666190510094228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2018] [Revised: 03/27/2019] [Accepted: 03/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatitis C is a disease that constitutes a serious global health problem, is often asymptomatic and difficult to diagnose and about 60-80% of infected patients develop chronic diseases over time. As there is no vaccine against hepatitis C virus (HCV), developing new cheap treatments is a big challenge. OBJECTIVE The search for new drugs from natural products has been outstanding in recent years. The aim of this study was to combine structure-based and ligand-based virtual screening (VS) techniques to select potentially active molecules against four HCV target proteins from in-house secondary metabolite dataset (SistematX). MATERIALS AND METHODS From the ChEMBL database, we selected four sets of 1199, 355, 290 and 237chemical structures with inhibitory activity against different targets of HCV to create random forest models with an accuracy value higher than 82% for cross-validation and test sets. Afterward, a ligandbased virtual screen of the entire 1848 secondary metabolites database stored in SistematX was performed. In addition, a structure-based virtual screening was also performed for the same set of secondary metabolites using molecular docking. RESULTS Finally, using consensus analyses approach combining ligand-based and structure-based VS, three alkaloids were selected as potential anti-HCV compounds. CONCLUSION The selected structures are a starting point for further studies in order to develop new anti- HCV compounds based on natural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renata P C Barros
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, Joao Pessoa, Brazil
| | - Luciana Scotti
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, Joao Pessoa, Brazil
| | - Marcus T Scotti
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, Joao Pessoa, Brazil
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Larvicidal Compounds Extracted from Helicteres velutina K. Schum (Sterculiaceae) Evaluated against Aedes aegypti L. Molecules 2019; 24:molecules24122315. [PMID: 31234501 PMCID: PMC6631904 DOI: 10.3390/molecules24122315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2019] [Revised: 06/07/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Helicteres velutina K. Schum (Sterculiaceae), a member of Malvaceae sensu lato, is a Brazilian endemic plant that has been used by the indigenous tribe Pankarare as an insect repellent. A previous study has reported the isolation of terpenoids, flavonoids and pheophytins, in addition to the larvicidal activity of crude H. velutina extracts derived from the aerial components (leaves, branches/twigs, and flowers). The present study reports the biomonitoring of the effects of fractions and isolated compounds derived from H. velutina against A. aegypti fourth instar larvae. A crude ethanol extract was submitted to liquid–liquid extraction with hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and n-butanol to obtain their respective fractions. Larvicidal evaluations of the fractions were performed, and the hexane and dichloromethane fractions exhibited greater activities than the other fractions, with LC50 (50% lethal concentration) values of 3.88 and 5.80 mg/mL, respectively. The phytochemical study of these fractions resulted in the isolation and identification of 17 compounds. The molecules were subjected to a virtual screening protocol, and five molecules presented potential larvicidal activity after analyses of their applicability domains. When molecular docking was analysed, only three of these compounds showed an ability to bind with sterol carrier protein-2 (1PZ4), a protein found in the larval intestine. The compounds tiliroside and 7,4′-di-O-methyl-8-O-sulphate flavone showed in vitro larvicidal activity, with LC50 values of 0.275 mg/mL after 72 h and 0.182 mg/mL after 24 h of exposure, respectively. This is the first study to demonstrate the larvicidal activity of sulphated flavonoids against A. aegypti. Our results showed that the presence of the OSO3H group attached to C-8 of the flavonoid was crucial to the larvicidal activity. This research supports the traditional use of H. velutina as an alternative insecticide for the control of A. aegypti, which is a vector for severe arboviruses, such as dengue and chikungunya.
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Bombaça ACS, Dossow DV, Barbosa JMC, Paz C, Burgos V, Menna-Barreto RFS. TrypanocidalActivity of Natural Sesquiterpenoids Involves Mitochondrial Dysfunction, ROS Production and Autophagic Phenotype in Trypanosomacruzi. Molecules 2018; 23:molecules23112800. [PMID: 30373326 PMCID: PMC6278339 DOI: 10.3390/molecules23112800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2018] [Revised: 10/10/2018] [Accepted: 10/19/2018] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Chagas disease is a neglected tropical disease that is caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi and represents a serious health problem, especially in Latin America. The clinical treatment of Chagas disease is based on two nitroderivatives that present severe side effects and important limitations. In folk medicine, natural products, including sesquiterpenoids, have been employed for the treatment of different parasitic diseases. In this study, the trypanocidal activity of compounds isolated from the Chilean plants Drimys winteri, Podanthus mitiqui and Maytenus boaria on three T. cruzi evolutive forms (epimastigote, trypomastigote and amastigote) was evaluated. Total extracts and seven isolated sesquiterpenoids were assayed on trypomastigotes and epimastigotes. Polygodial (Pgd) from D. winteri, total extract from P. mitiqui (PmTE) and the germacrane erioflorin (Efr) from P. mitiqui were the most bioactive substances. Pgd, Efr and PmTE also presented strong effects on intracellular amastigotes and low host toxicity. Many ultrastructural effects of these substances, including reservosome disruption, cytosolic vacuolization, autophagic phenotype and mitochondrial swelling (in the case of Pgd), were observed. Flow cytometric analysis demonstrated a reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential in treated epimastigotes and an increase in ROS production and high plasma membrane permeability after treatment with Pgd. The promising trypanocidal activity of these natural sesquiterpenoids may be a good starting point for the development of alternative treatmentsforChagas disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Cristina Souza Bombaça
- Laboratório de Biologia Celular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, 21040-360, Brazil.
| | - Daniela Von Dossow
- Departamento de Ciencias Químicas y Recursos Naturales, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco,4811230, Chile.
| | | | - Cristian Paz
- Departamento de Ciencias Químicas y Recursos Naturales, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco,4811230, Chile.
| | - Viviana Burgos
- Departamento de Ciencias Químicas y Recursos Naturales, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco,4811230, Chile.
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Carpenter KA, Huang X. Machine Learning-based Virtual Screening and Its Applications to Alzheimer's Drug Discovery: A Review. Curr Pharm Des 2018; 24:3347-3358. [PMID: 29879881 PMCID: PMC6327115 DOI: 10.2174/1381612824666180607124038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2018] [Revised: 05/31/2018] [Accepted: 06/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Virtual Screening (VS) has emerged as an important tool in the drug development process, as it conducts efficient in silico searches over millions of compounds, ultimately increasing yields of potential drug leads. As a subset of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) is a powerful way of conducting VS for drug leads. ML for VS generally involves assembling a filtered training set of compounds, comprised of known actives and inactives. After training the model, it is validated and, if sufficiently accurate, used on previously unseen databases to screen for novel compounds with desired drug target binding activity. OBJECTIVE The study aims to review ML-based methods used for VS and applications to Alzheimer's Disease (AD) drug discovery. METHODS To update the current knowledge on ML for VS, we review thorough backgrounds, explanations, and VS applications of the following ML techniques: Naïve Bayes (NB), k-Nearest Neighbors (kNN), Support Vector Machines (SVM), Random Forests (RF), and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). RESULTS All techniques have found success in VS, but the future of VS is likely to lean more largely toward the use of neural networks - and more specifically, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), which are a subset of ANN that utilize convolution. We additionally conceptualize a work flow for conducting ML-based VS for potential therapeutics for AD, a complex neurodegenerative disease with no known cure and prevention. This both serves as an example of how to apply the concepts introduced earlier in the review and as a potential workflow for future implementation. CONCLUSION Different ML techniques are powerful tools for VS, and they have advantages and disadvantages albeit. ML-based VS can be applied to AD drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristy A. Carpenter
- Neurochemistry Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Xudong Huang
- Neurochemistry Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
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