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Di Chio C, Starvaggi J, Totaro N, Previti S, Natale B, Cosconati S, Bogacz M, Schirmeister T, Legac J, Rosenthal PJ, Zappalà M, Ettari R. Development of Novel Peptidyl Nitriles Targeting Rhodesain and Falcipain-2 for the Treatment of Sleeping Sickness and Malaria. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:4410. [PMID: 38673995 PMCID: PMC11050014 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25084410] [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: 03/22/2024] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
In recent decades, neglected tropical diseases and poverty-related diseases have become a serious health problem worldwide. Among these pathologies, human African trypanosomiasis, and malaria present therapeutic problems due to the onset of resistance, toxicity problems and the limited spectrum of action. In this drug discovery process, rhodesain and falcipain-2, of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and Plasmodium falciparum, are currently considered the most promising targets for the development of novel antitrypanosomal and antiplasmodial agents, respectively. Therefore, in our study we identified a novel lead-like compound, i.e., inhibitor 2b, which we proved to be active against both targets, with a Ki = 5.06 µM towards rhodesain and an IC50 = 40.43 µM against falcipain-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla Di Chio
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale Ferdinando Stagno d’Alcontres, 98166 Messina, Italy; (C.D.C.); (J.S.); (N.T.); (S.P.); (M.Z.)
| | - Josè Starvaggi
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale Ferdinando Stagno d’Alcontres, 98166 Messina, Italy; (C.D.C.); (J.S.); (N.T.); (S.P.); (M.Z.)
| | - Noemi Totaro
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale Ferdinando Stagno d’Alcontres, 98166 Messina, Italy; (C.D.C.); (J.S.); (N.T.); (S.P.); (M.Z.)
| | - Santo Previti
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale Ferdinando Stagno d’Alcontres, 98166 Messina, Italy; (C.D.C.); (J.S.); (N.T.); (S.P.); (M.Z.)
| | - Benito Natale
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy; (B.N.); (S.C.)
| | - Sandro Cosconati
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy; (B.N.); (S.C.)
| | - Marta Bogacz
- Institute of Organic Chemistry & Macromolecular Chemistry, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Humboldtstraße, 10, DE 07743 Jena, Germany;
| | - Tanja Schirmeister
- Institute of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Mainz, Staudingerweg 5, DE 55128 Mainz, Germany;
| | - Jenny Legac
- Department of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, 1001 Potrero Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA; (J.L.); (P.J.R.)
| | - Philip J. Rosenthal
- Department of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, 1001 Potrero Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA; (J.L.); (P.J.R.)
| | - Maria Zappalà
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale Ferdinando Stagno d’Alcontres, 98166 Messina, Italy; (C.D.C.); (J.S.); (N.T.); (S.P.); (M.Z.)
| | - Roberta Ettari
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale Ferdinando Stagno d’Alcontres, 98166 Messina, Italy; (C.D.C.); (J.S.); (N.T.); (S.P.); (M.Z.)
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2
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Uddin A, Gupta S, Shoaib R, Aneja B, Irfan I, Gupta K, Rawat N, Combrinck J, Kumar B, Aleem M, Hasan P, Joshi MC, Chhonker YS, Zahid M, Hussain A, Pandey K, Alajmi MF, Murry DJ, Egan TJ, Singh S, Abid M. Blood-stage antimalarial activity, favourable metabolic stability and in vivo toxicity of novel piperazine linked 7-chloroquinoline-triazole conjugates. Eur J Med Chem 2024; 264:115969. [PMID: 38039787 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023]
Abstract
The persistence of drug resistance poses a significant obstacle to the advancement of efficacious malaria treatments. The remarkable efficacy displayed by 1,2,3-triazole-based compounds against Plasmodium falciparum highlights the potential of triazole conjugates, with diverse pharmacologically active structures, as potential antimalarial agents. We aimed to synthesize 7-dichloroquinoline-triazole conjugates and their structure-activity relationship (SAR) derivatives to investigate their anti-plasmodial activity. Among them, QP11, featuring a m-NO2 substitution, demonstrated efficacy against both chloroquine-sensitive and -resistant parasite strains. QP11 selectively inhibited FP2, a cysteine protease involved in hemoglobin degradation, and showed synergistic effects when combined with chloroquine. Additionally, QP11 hindered hemoglobin degradation and hemozoin formation within the parasite. Metabolic stability studies indicated high stability of QP11, making it a promising antimalarial candidate. In vivo evaluation using a murine malaria model demonstrated QP11's efficacy in eradicating parasite growth without neurotoxicity, presenting it as a promising compound for novel antimalarial development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amad Uddin
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India; Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Sonal Gupta
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Rumaisha Shoaib
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India; Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Babita Aneja
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India
| | - Iram Irfan
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India
| | - Kanika Gupta
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Neha Rawat
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Jill Combrinck
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7701, South Africa
| | - Bhumika Kumar
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India; National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, 110077, India
| | - Mohd Aleem
- Division of Behavioral Neuroscience, Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, Delhi, 110054, India
| | - Phool Hasan
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India
| | - Mukesh C Joshi
- Department of Chemistry, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007, India
| | - Yashpal S Chhonker
- Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986145, Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198-6145, USA
| | - Muhammad Zahid
- Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986145, Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198-6145, USA
| | - Afzal Hussain
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Kailash Pandey
- National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, 110077, India
| | - Mohamed F Alajmi
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Daryl J Murry
- Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986145, Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198-6145, USA
| | - Timothy J Egan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7701, South Africa
| | - Shailja Singh
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India.
| | - Mohammad Abid
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India.
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3
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Previti S, Ettari R, Di Chio C, Legac J, Bogacz M, Zimmer C, Schirmeister T, Rosenthal PJ, Zappalà M. Influence of amino acid size at the P3 position of N-Cbz-tripeptide Michael acceptors targeting falcipain-2 and rhodesain for the treatment of malaria and human african trypanosomiasis. Bioorg Chem 2023; 137:106587. [PMID: 37163812 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2023.106587] [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: 01/20/2023] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
In recent decades, several structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies provided potent inhibitors of the cysteine proteases falcipain-2 (FP-2) and rhodesain (RD) from Plasmodium falciparum and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, respectively. Whilst the roles of the warhead and residues targeting the P1 and P2 pockets of the proteases were extensively investigated, the roles of the amino acids occupying the S3 pocket were not widely assessed. Herein we report the synthesis and biological evaluation of a set of novel Michael acceptors bearing amino acids of increasing size at the P3 site (1a-g/2a-g, SPR20-SPR33) against FP-2, RD, P. falciparum, and T. brucei. Overall, the Michael acceptors bearing small amino acids at the P3 site exhibited the most potent inhibitory properties towards FP-2. In contrast, analogues with bulky residues at the P3 position were very potent rhodesain inhibitors. In cell based assays, single-digit micromolar EC50 values against the two protozoa were observed. These findings can be a starting point for the development of peptide-based FP-2 and RD inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Santo Previti
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical, and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy.
| | - Roberta Ettari
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical, and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy
| | - Carla Di Chio
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical, and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy
| | - Jenny Legac
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, United States
| | - Marta Bogacz
- Institute of Organic Chemistry & Macromolecular Chemistry, Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Collin Zimmer
- Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Mainz, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Tanja Schirmeister
- Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Mainz, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Philip J Rosenthal
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, United States
| | - Maria Zappalà
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical, and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy
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4
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Chauke E, Pelle R, Coetzer THT. A single exon-encoded Theileria parva strain Muguga cysteine protease (ThpCP): Molecular modelling and characterisation. Biochimie 2023; 206:24-35. [PMID: 36198333 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2022.09.018] [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: 06/24/2022] [Revised: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The tick-transmitted apicomplexan Theileria parva causes East Coast fever, a bovine disease of great economic and veterinary importance in Africa. Papain-like cysteine proteases play important roles in protozoan parasite host cell entry and egress, nutrition and host immune evasion. This study reports the identification and characterisation of a T. parva strain Muguga cathepsin L-like (C1A subfamily) cysteine protease (ThpCP). Molecular modelling confirmed the papain-like fold of ThpCP, hydrophobic character of the S2 substrate binding pocket and non-covalent interaction between the pro- and catalytic domains preceding low pH autoactivation. ThpCP was recombinantly expressed in a protease deficient E. coli (Rosetta (DE3)pLysS strain) expression host as a 46 kDa proenzyme. Following Ni-chelate affinity chromatography and acidification, the 27 kDa mature ThpCP was purified by cation-exchange chromatography. Purified ThpCP hydrolysed typical cathepsin L substrates N-α-benzyloxycarbonyl (Z)-Phe-Arg-7-amino-4-methyl-coumarin (AMC) (kcat/Km = 4.49 × 105 s-1M-1) and Z-Leu-Arg-AMC (kcat/Km = 4.20 × 105 s-1M-1), but showed no activity against the cathepsin B-selective substrate Z-Arg-Arg-AMC. Recombinant ThpCP was active over a broad pH range from pH 4.5 to 7.5, thereby showing potential activity in the acidic parasite food vacuole and close to neutral pH of the host lymphocyte cytoplasm. Recombinant ThpCP was inhibited by the cysteine protease inhibitors E64, iodoacetate, leupeptin, chymostatin, Z-Phe-Ala-diazomethylketone (DMK) and Z-Phe-Phe-DMK and hydrolysed bovine proteins: haemoglobin, immunoglobulin G, serum albumin and fibrinogen as well as goat IgG at pH 6 and 7. Functional expression and characterisation of Theileria cysteine proteases should enable high throughput screening of cysteine protease inhibitor libraries against these proteases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ephraim Chauke
- Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal (Pietermaritzburg Campus), Private Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, South Africa
| | - Roger Pelle
- Biosciences Eastern and Central Africa, International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub, P.O. Box, 30709-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Theresa H T Coetzer
- Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal (Pietermaritzburg Campus), Private Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, South Africa.
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5
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Uddin A, Gupta S, Mohammad T, Shahi D, Hussain A, Alajmi MF, El-Seedi HR, Hassan I, Singh S, Abid M. Target-Based Virtual Screening of Natural Compounds Identifies a Potent Antimalarial With Selective Falcipain-2 Inhibitory Activity. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:850176. [PMID: 35462917 PMCID: PMC9020225 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.850176] [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: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
We employed a comprehensive approach of target-based virtual high-throughput screening to find potential hits from the ZINC database of natural compounds against cysteine proteases falcipain-2 and falcipain-3 (FP2 and FP3). Molecular docking studies showed the initial hits showing high binding affinity and specificity toward FP2 were selected. Furthermore, the enzyme inhibition and surface plasmon resonance assays were performed which resulted in a compound ZINC12900664 (ST72) with potent inhibitory effects on purified FP2. ST72 exhibited strong growth inhibition of chloroquine-sensitive (3D7; EC50 = 2.8 µM) and chloroquine-resistant (RKL-9; EC50 = 6.7 µM) strains of Plasmodium falciparum. Stage-specific inhibition assays revealed a delayed and growth defect during parasite growth and development in parasites treated with ST72. Furthermore, ST72 significantly reduced parasite load and increased host survival in a murine model infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA. No Evans blue staining in ST72 treatment indicated that ST72 mediated protection of blood–brain barrier integrity in mice infected with P. berghei. ST72 did not show any significant hemolysis or cytotoxicity against human HepG2 cells suggesting a good safety profile. Importantly, ST72 with CQ resulted in improved growth inhibitory activity than individual drugs in both in vitro and in vivo studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amad Uddin
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Sonal Gupta
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Taj Mohammad
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India
| | - Diksha Shahi
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Afzal Hussain
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohamed F. Alajmi
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hesham R. El-Seedi
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Imtaiyaz Hassan
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India
| | - Shailja Singh
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
- *Correspondence: Shailja Singh, ; Mohammad Abid,
| | - Mohammad Abid
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India
- *Correspondence: Shailja Singh, ; Mohammad Abid,
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Brinkmann S, Semmler S, Kersten C, Patras MA, Kurz M, Fuchs N, Hammerschmidt SJ, Legac J, Hammann PE, Vilcinskas A, Rosenthal PJ, Schirmeister T, Bauer A, Schäberle TF. Identification, Characterization, and Synthesis of Natural Parasitic Cysteine Protease Inhibitors: Pentacitidins Are More Potent Falcitidin Analogues. ACS Chem Biol 2022; 17:576-589. [PMID: 35262340 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.1c00861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Protease inhibitors represent a promising therapeutic option for the treatment of parasitic diseases such as malaria and human African trypanosomiasis. Falcitidin was the first member of a new class of inhibitors of falcipain-2, a cysteine protease of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Using a metabolomics dataset of 25 Chitinophaga strains for molecular networking enabled identification of over 30 natural analogues of falcitidin. Based on MS/MS spectra, they vary in their amino acid chain length, sequence, acyl residue, and C-terminal functionalization; therefore, they were grouped into the four falcitidin peptide families A-D. The isolation, characterization, and absolute structure elucidation of two falcitidin-related pentapeptide aldehyde analogues by extensive MS/MS spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy in combination with advanced Marfey's analysis was in agreement with the in silico analysis of the corresponding biosynthetic gene cluster. Total synthesis of chosen pentapeptide analogues followed by in vitro testing against a panel of proteases revealed selective parasitic cysteine protease inhibition and, additionally, low-micromolar inhibition of α-chymotrypsin. The pentapeptides investigated here showed superior inhibitory activity compared to falcitidin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan Brinkmann
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME), Branch for Bioresources, Giessen 35392, Germany
| | - Sandra Semmler
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME), Branch for Bioresources, Giessen 35392, Germany
| | - Christian Kersten
- Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz 55128, Germany
| | - Maria A. Patras
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME), Branch for Bioresources, Giessen 35392, Germany
| | - Michael Kurz
- Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH, R&D, Frankfurt am Main 65926, Germany
| | - Natalie Fuchs
- Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz 55128, Germany
| | - Stefan J. Hammerschmidt
- Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz 55128, Germany
| | - Jenny Legac
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143, United States
| | | | - Andreas Vilcinskas
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME), Branch for Bioresources, Giessen 35392, Germany
- Institute for Insect Biotechnology, Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, Giessen 35392, Germany
| | - Philip J. Rosenthal
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143, United States
| | - Tanja Schirmeister
- Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz 55128, Germany
| | - Armin Bauer
- Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH, R&D, Frankfurt am Main 65926, Germany
| | - Till F. Schäberle
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME), Branch for Bioresources, Giessen 35392, Germany
- Institute for Insect Biotechnology, Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, Giessen 35392, Germany
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7
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Lê HG, Kang JM, Võ TC, Yoo WG, Lee KH, Na BK. Biochemical Properties of Two Plasmodium malariae Cysteine Proteases, Malapain-2 and Malapain-4. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10010193. [PMID: 35056641 PMCID: PMC8780100 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10010193] [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: 12/26/2021] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Cysteine proteases belonging to the falcipain (FP) family play a pivotal role in the biology of malaria parasites and have been extensively investigated as potential antimalarial drug targets. Three paralogous FP-family cysteine proteases of Plasmodium malariae, termed malapains 2–4 (MP2–4), were identified in PlasmoDB. The three MPs share similar structural properties with the FP-2/FP-3 subfamily enzymes and exhibit a close phylogenetic lineage with vivapains (VXs) and knowpains (KPs), FP orthologues of P. vivax and P. knowlesi. Recombinant MP-2 and MP-4 were produced in a bacterial expression system, and their biochemical properties were characterized. Both recombinant MP-2 and MP-4 showed enzyme activity across a broad range of pH values with an optimum activity at pH 5.0 and relative stability at neutral pHs. Similar to the FP-2/FP-3 subfamily enzymes in other Plasmodium species, recombinant MP-2 and MP-4 effectively hydrolyzed hemoglobin at acidic pHs. They also degraded erythrocyte cytoskeletal proteins, such as spectrin and band 3, at a neutral pH. These results imply that MP-2 and MP-4 are redundant hemoglobinases of P. malariae and may also participate in merozoite egression by degrading erythrocyte cytoskeletal proteins. However, compared with other FP-2/FP-3 enzymes, MP-2 showed a strong preference for arginine at the P2 position. Meanwhile, MP-4 showed a primary preference for leucine at the P2 position but a partial preference for phenylalanine. These different substrate preferences of MPs underscore careful consideration in the design of optimized inhibitors targeting the FP-family cysteine proteases of human malaria parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hương Giang Lê
- Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Institute of Health Sciences, Gyeongsang National University College of Medicine, Jinju 52727, Korea
- Department of Convergence Medical Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52727, Korea
| | - Jung-Mi Kang
- Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Institute of Health Sciences, Gyeongsang National University College of Medicine, Jinju 52727, Korea
- Department of Convergence Medical Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52727, Korea
| | - Tuấn Cường Võ
- Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Institute of Health Sciences, Gyeongsang National University College of Medicine, Jinju 52727, Korea
- Department of Convergence Medical Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52727, Korea
| | - Won Gi Yoo
- Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Institute of Health Sciences, Gyeongsang National University College of Medicine, Jinju 52727, Korea
- Department of Convergence Medical Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52727, Korea
| | - Kon Ho Lee
- Department of Convergence Medical Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52727, Korea
- Department of Microbiology, Gyeongsang National University College of Medicine, Jinju 52727, Korea
| | - Byoung-Kuk Na
- Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Institute of Health Sciences, Gyeongsang National University College of Medicine, Jinju 52727, Korea
- Department of Convergence Medical Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52727, Korea
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8
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Hernández González JE, Alberca LN, Masforrol González Y, Reyes Acosta O, Talevi A, Salas-Sarduy E. Tetracycline Derivatives Inhibit Plasmodial Cysteine Protease Falcipain-2 through Binding to a Distal Allosteric Site. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 62:159-175. [PMID: 34962803 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c01189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Allosteric inhibitors regulate enzyme activity from remote and usually specific pockets. As they promise an avenue for less toxic and safer drugs, the identification and characterization of allosteric inhibitors has gained great academic and biomedical interest in recent years. Research on falcipain-2 (FP-2), the major papain-like cysteine hemoglobinase of Plasmodium falciparum, might benefit from this strategy to overcome the low selectivity against human cathepsins shown by active site-directed inhibitors. Encouraged by our previous finding that methacycline inhibits FP-2 noncompetitively, here we assessed other five tetracycline derivatives against this target and characterized their inhibition mechanism. As previously shown for methacycline, tetracycline derivatives inhibited FP-2 in a noncompetitive fashion, with Ki values ranging from 121 to 190 μM. A possible binding to the S' side of the FP-2 active site, similar to that described by X-ray crystallography (PDB: 6SSZ) for the noncompetitive inhibitor E-chalcone 48 (EC48), was experimentally discarded by kinetic analysis using a large peptidyl substrate spanning the whole active site. By combining lengthy molecular dynamics (MD) simulations that allowed methacycline to diffuse from solution to different FP-2 surface regions and free energy calculations, we predicted the most likely binding mode of the ligand. Of note, the proposed binding pose explains the low differences in Ki values observed for the tested tetracycline derivatives and the calculated binding free energies match the experimental values. Overall, this study has implications for the design of novel allosteric inhibitors against FP-2 and sets the basis for further optimization of the tetracycline scaffold to produce more potent and selective inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Enrique Hernández González
- Departamento de Física, Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Rua Cristóvão Colombo, 2265, Jardim Nazareth, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo CEP 15054-000, Brazil
| | - Lucas N Alberca
- Laboratory of Bioactive Compounds Research and Development (LIDeB), Department of Biological Sciences, Exact Sciences College, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata B1900ADU, Argentina
| | | | - Osvaldo Reyes Acosta
- Chemistry and Physics Department, Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Havana 10600, Cuba
| | - Alan Talevi
- Laboratory of Bioactive Compounds Research and Development (LIDeB), Department of Biological Sciences, Exact Sciences College, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata B1900ADU, Argentina
| | - Emir Salas-Sarduy
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Rodolfo Ugalde"─Universidad Nacional de San Martín─CONICET, San Martín B1650HMP, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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9
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Javadian FS, Basafa M, Behravan A, Hashemi A. Solubility assessment of single-chain antibody fragment against epithelial cell adhesion molecule extracellular domain in four Escherichia coli strains. J Genet Eng Biotechnol 2021; 19:26. [PMID: 33543415 PMCID: PMC7862456 DOI: 10.1186/s43141-021-00126-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Overexpression of the EpCAM (epithelial cell adhesion molecule) in malignancies makes it an attractive target for passive immunotherapy in a wide range of carcinomas. In comparison with full-length antibodies, due to the small size, the scFvs (single-chain variable fragments) are more suitable for recombinant expression in E. coli (Escherichia coli). However, the proteins expressed in large amounts in E. coli tend to form inclusion bodies that need to be refolded which may result in poor recovery of bioactive proteins. Various engineered strains were shown to be able to alleviate the insolubility problem. Here, we studied the impact of four E. coli strains on the soluble level of anti-EpEX-scFv (anti-EpCAM extracellular domain-scFv) protein. RESULTS Although results showed that the amount of soluble anti-EpEX-scFv obtained in BL21TM (DE3) (114.22 ± 3.47 mg/L) was significantly higher to those produced in the same condition in E. coli RosettaTM (DE3) (71.39 ± 0.31 mg/L), and OrigamiTM T7 (58.99 ± 0.44 mg/L) strains, it was not significantly different from that produced by E. coli SHuffleTM T7 (108.87 ± 2.71 mg/L). Furthermore, the highest volumetric productivity of protein reached 318.29 ± 26.38 mg/L in BL21TM (DE3). CONCLUSIONS Although BL21TM (DE3) can be a suitable strain for high-level production of anti-EpEX-scFv protein, due to higher solubility yield (about 55%), E. coli SHuffleTM T7 seems to be better candidate for soluble production of scfv compared to BL21TM (DE3) (solubility yield of about 30%).
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Sadat Javadian
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, ValiAsr Avenue, Niayesh Junction, PO Box 14155-6153, Tehran, Iran
| | - Majid Basafa
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, ValiAsr Avenue, Niayesh Junction, PO Box 14155-6153, Tehran, Iran
| | - Aidin Behravan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, ValiAsr Avenue, Niayesh Junction, PO Box 14155-6153, Tehran, Iran
| | - Atieh Hashemi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, ValiAsr Avenue, Niayesh Junction, PO Box 14155-6153, Tehran, Iran.
- Protein Technology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, ValiAsr Avenue, Niayesh Junction, PO Box 14155-6153, Tehran, Iran.
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10
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Mishra M, Singh V, Tellis MB, Joshi RS, Pandey KC, Singh S. Cyclic peptide engineered from phytocystatin inhibitory hairpin loop as an effective modulator of falcipains and potent antimalarial. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2020; 40:3642-3654. [PMID: 33292080 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2020.1848629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Cystatins are classical competitive inhibitors of C1 family cysteine proteases (papain family). Phytocystatin superfamily shares high sequence homology and typical tertiary structure with conserved glutamine-valine-glycine (Q-X-V-X-G) loop blocking the active site of C1 proteases. Here, we develop a cysteine-bounded cyclic peptide (CYS-cIHL) and linear peptide (CYS-IHL), using the conserved inhibitory hairpin loop amino acid sequence. Using an in silico approach based on modeling, protein-peptide docking, molecular dynamics simulations and calculation of free energy of binding, we designed and validated inhibitory peptides against falcipain-2 (FP-2) and -3 (FP-3), cysteine proteases from the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Falcipains are critical hemoglobinases of P. falciparum that are validated targets for the development of antimalarial therapies. CYS-cIHL was able to bind with micromolar affinity to FP-2 and modulate its binding with its substrate, hemoglobin in in vitro and in vivo assays. CYS-cIHL could effectively block parasite growth and displayed antimalarial activity in culture assays with no cytotoxicity towards human cells. These results indicated that cyclization can substantially increase the peptide affinity to the target. Furthermore, this can be applied as an effective strategy for engineering peptide inhibitory potency against proteases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manasi Mishra
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Vigyasa Singh
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Meenakshi B Tellis
- Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India
| | - Rakesh S Joshi
- Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India.,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
| | - Kailash C Pandey
- Parasite-Host Biology Group, ICMR National Institute of Malaria Research, Dwarka, India
| | - Shailja Singh
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Uttar Pradesh, India.,Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
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11
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Singh V, Hada RS, Uddin A, Aneja B, Abid M, Pandey KC, Singh S. Inhibition of Hemoglobin Degrading Protease Falcipain-2 as a Mechanism for Anti-Malarial Activity of Triazole-Amino Acid Hybrids. Curr Top Med Chem 2020; 20:377-389. [PMID: 32000644 DOI: 10.2174/1568026620666200130162347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Revised: 08/20/2019] [Accepted: 10/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Novel drug development against malaria parasite over old conventional antimalarial drugs is essential due to rapid and indiscriminate use of drugs, which led to the emergence of resistant strains. METHODS In this study, previously reported triazole-amino acid hybrids (13-18) are explored against Plasmodium falciparum as antimalarial agents. Among six compounds, 15 and 18 exhibited antimalarial activity against P. falciparum with insignificant hemolytic activity and cytotoxicity towards HepG2 mammalian cells. In molecular docking studies, both compounds bind into the active site of PfFP-2 and block its accessibility to the substrate that leads to the inhibition of target protein further supported by in vitro analysis. RESULTS Antimalarial half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 15 and 18 compounds were found to be 9.26 μM and 20.62 μM, respectively. Blood stage specific studies showed that compounds, 15 and 18 are effective at late trophozoite stage and block egress pathway of parasites. Decreased level of free monomeric heme was found in a dose dependent manner after the treatment with compounds 15 and 18, which was further evidenced by the reduction in percent of hemoglobin hydrolysis. Compounds 15 and 18 hindered hemoglobin degradation via intra- and extracellular cysteine protease falcipain-2 (PfFP-2) inhibitory activity both in in vitro and in vivo in P. falciparum. CONCLUSION We report antimalarial potential of triazole-amino acid hybrids and their role in the inhibition of cysteine protease PfFP-2 as its mechanistic aspect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vigyasa Singh
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Rahul Singh Hada
- Department of Life Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Gautam Buddha Nagar UP, 201314, India
| | - Amad Uddin
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India
| | - Babita Aneja
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India.,Department of Organic Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Mohammad Abid
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India
| | - Kailash C Pandey
- Host-Parasite Interaction Biology Group, National Institute of Malaria Research, Indian Council of Medical Research, Sector-8, Dwarka, New Delhi 110077, India
| | - Shailja Singh
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India
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12
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Aguiar AC, de Sousa LR, Garcia CR, Oliva G, Guido RV. New Molecular Targets and Strategies for Antimalarial Discovery. Curr Med Chem 2019; 26:4380-4402. [DOI: 10.2174/0929867324666170830103003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2017] [Revised: 07/24/2017] [Accepted: 07/24/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Malaria remains a major health problem, especially because of the emergence
of resistant P. falciparum strains to artemisinin derivatives. In this context, safe and affordable
antimalarial drugs are desperately needed. New proteins have been investigated
as molecular targets for research and development of innovative compounds with welldefined
mechanism of action. In this review, we highlight genetically and clinically validated
plasmodial proteins as drug targets for the next generation of therapeutics. The enzymes
described herein are involved in hemoglobin hydrolysis, the invasion process,
elongation factors for protein synthesis, pyrimidine biosynthesis, post-translational modifications
such as prenylation, phosphorylation and histone acetylation, generation of ATP
in mitochondrial metabolism and aminoacylation of RNAs. Significant advances on proteomics,
genetics, structural biology, computational and biophysical methods provided
invaluable molecular and structural information about these drug targets. Based on this,
several strategies and models have been applied to identify and improve lead compounds.
This review presents the recent progresses in the discovery of antimalarial drug candidates,
highlighting the approaches, challenges, and perspectives to deliver affordable, safe
and low single-dose medicines to treat malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Caroline Aguiar
- Sao Carlos Institute of Physics, University of Sao Paulo, PO Box 369, 13560-970, Sao Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Lorena R.F. de Sousa
- Sao Carlos Institute of Physics, University of Sao Paulo, PO Box 369, 13560-970, Sao Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Celia R.S. Garcia
- Physiology Department, Bioscience Institute, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Glaucius Oliva
- Sao Carlos Institute of Physics, University of Sao Paulo, PO Box 369, 13560-970, Sao Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Rafael V.C. Guido
- Sao Carlos Institute of Physics, University of Sao Paulo, PO Box 369, 13560-970, Sao Carlos, SP, Brazil
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13
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Kumar B, Verma S, Kashif M, Sharma R, Atul, Dixit R, Singh AP, Pande V, Saxena AK, Abid M, Pandey KC. Metacaspase-3 of Plasmodium falciparum: An atypical trypsin-like serine protease. Int J Biol Macromol 2019; 138:309-320. [PMID: 31301397 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.07.067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2019] [Revised: 07/03/2019] [Accepted: 07/09/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Metacaspases are clan CD cysteine peptidases found in plants, fungi and protozoa that possess a conserved Peptidase_C14 domain, homologous to the human caspases and a catalytic His/Cys dyad. Earlier reports have indicated the role of metacaspases in cell death; however, metacaspases of human malaria parasite remains poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to functionally characterize a novel malarial protease, P. falciparum metacaspase-3 (PfMCA3). Unlike other clan CD peptidases, PfMCA3 has an atypical active site serine (Ser1865) residue in place of canonical cysteine and it phylogenetically forms a distinct branch across the species. To investigate whether this domain retains catalytic activity, we expressed, purified and refolded the Peptidase_C14 domain of PfMCA3 which was found to express in all asexual stages. PfMCA3 exhibited trypsin-like serine protease activity with ser1865 acting as catalytic residue to cleave trypsin oligopeptide substrate. PfMCA3 is inhibited by trypsin-like serine protease inhibitors. Our study found that PfMCA3 enzymatic activity was abrogated when catalytic serine1865 (S1865A) was mutated. Moreover, PfMCA3 was found to be inactive against caspase substrate. Overall, our study characterizes a novel metacaspase of P. falciparum, different from human caspases and not responsible for the caspase-like activity, therefore, could be considered as a potential chemotherapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bhumika Kumar
- National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, 110077, India; Department of Bioscience, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India
| | - Sonia Verma
- National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, 110077, India
| | | | - Ruby Sharma
- Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
| | - Atul
- Kumaun University, Nainital, Uttarakhand, 263001, India
| | - Rajnikant Dixit
- National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, 110077, India
| | - Agam P Singh
- National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Veena Pande
- Kumaun University, Nainital, Uttarakhand, 263001, India
| | - Ajay K Saxena
- Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
| | - Mohammad Abid
- Department of Bioscience, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India
| | - Kailash C Pandey
- National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, 110077, India; National Institute for Research in Environmental Health, Bhopal, 462001, India.
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14
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Alam B, Biswas S. Inhibition of Plasmodium falciparum cysteine protease falcipain-2 by a human cross-class inhibitor serpinB3: A mechanistic insight. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS 2019; 1867:854-865. [PMID: 31247344 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2019.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2019] [Revised: 05/21/2019] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Falcipain-2(FP2), a cysteine protease from Plasmodium falciparum, cleaves host erythrocyte hemoglobin and specific membrane skeleton components during the parasite life cycle. Therefore its inhibition has been considered as an attractive approach to combat the disease. SerpinB3 (SPB3) belongs to the ovalbumin-serpin family and is a potent cross-class inhibitor of cysteine cathepsins L, K, S and papain. This study explored the possibility of inhibition of FP2 by SPB3. It turned out that general proteolytic activities as well as specific hemoglobinolytic activity of FP2 have been inhibited by SPB3. Furthermore, studies have been designed to investigate and characterize the mechanism of inhibition in comparison with proteases Cathepsin L (CTSL) and papain. The Ki value of inhibition for FP2, measured against its specific substrate (VLK-pNA), is 338.11 nM and stoichiometry (I/E ratio) of inhibition is 1. These values are comparable to CTSL and papain. Analytical gel filtration profile and CD spectroscopy data confirm FP2-SPB3 complex formation. Our studies revealed that interaction of SPB3 with FP2 is non-covalent type like that of CTSL and papain but unlike other serine protease-inhibiting serpins. An in-silico docking and simulation study have been performed with FP2 as well as CTSL and results suggest different binding mode for FP2 and CTSL, though both the complexes are stable with significant contribution from electrostatic energy of interaction. We further showed a disease state mutant SPB3-Gly351Ala performed better anti-protease activity against FP2. This study, for the first time, has shown a serpin family inhibitor from human could efficiently inhibit activity of FP2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benazir Alam
- Crystallography and Molecular Biology Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF Bidhannagar, Kolkata 700 064, India
| | - Sampa Biswas
- Crystallography and Molecular Biology Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF Bidhannagar, Kolkata 700 064, India; Homi Bhaba National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai 400 094, India.
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15
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Stoye A, Juillard A, Tang AH, Legac J, Gut J, White KL, Charman SA, Rosenthal PJ, Grau GER, Hunt NH, Payne RJ. Falcipain Inhibitors Based on the Natural Product Gallinamide A Are Potent in Vitro and in Vivo Antimalarials. J Med Chem 2019; 62:5562-5578. [PMID: 31062592 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b00504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
A library of analogues of the cyanobacterium-derived depsipeptide natural product gallinamide A were designed and prepared using a highly efficient and convergent synthetic route. Analogues were shown to exhibit potent inhibitory activity against the Plasmodium falciparum cysteine proteases falcipain 2 and falcipain 3 and against cultured chloroquine-sensitive (3D7) and chloroquine-resistant (W2) strains of P. falciparum. Three lead compounds were selected for evaluation of in vivo efficacy against Plasmodium berghei infection in mice on the basis of their improved blood, plasma, and microsomal stability profiles compared with the parent natural product. One of the lead analogues cured P. berghei-infected mice in the Peters 4 day-suppressive test when administered 25 mg kg-1 intraperitoneally daily for 4 days. The compound was also capable of clearing parasites in established infections at 50 mg kg-1 intraperitoneally daily for 4 days and exhibited moderate activity when administered as four oral doses of 100 mg kg-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Stoye
- School of Chemistry , Building F11, The University of Sydney , Sydney , New South Wales 2006 , Australia
| | - Annette Juillard
- School of Medical Sciences, Sydney Medical School , Building K25, The University of Sydney , Medical Foundation, Sydney , New South Wales 2006 , Australia
| | - Arthur H Tang
- School of Chemistry , Building F11, The University of Sydney , Sydney , New South Wales 2006 , Australia
| | - Jennifer Legac
- Department of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital , University of California , San Francisco , California 94143 , United States
| | - Jiri Gut
- Department of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital , University of California , San Francisco , California 94143 , United States
| | - Karen L White
- Centre for Drug Candidate Optimisation , Monash University , Victoria 3052 , Australia
| | - Susan A Charman
- Centre for Drug Candidate Optimisation , Monash University , Victoria 3052 , Australia
| | - Philip J Rosenthal
- Department of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital , University of California , San Francisco , California 94143 , United States
| | - Georges E R Grau
- School of Medical Sciences, Sydney Medical School , Building K25, The University of Sydney , Medical Foundation, Sydney , New South Wales 2006 , Australia
| | - Nicholas H Hunt
- School of Medical Sciences, Sydney Medical School , Building K25, The University of Sydney , Medical Foundation, Sydney , New South Wales 2006 , Australia
| | - Richard J Payne
- School of Chemistry , Building F11, The University of Sydney , Sydney , New South Wales 2006 , Australia
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16
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Crucial residues in falcipains that mediate hemoglobin hydrolysis. Exp Parasitol 2019; 197:43-50. [PMID: 30648557 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2019.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2018] [Revised: 11/03/2018] [Accepted: 01/11/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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17
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Pratap S, Naaz F, Reddy S, Jha KK, Sharma K, Sahal D, Akhter M, Nayakanti D, Kumar HMS, Kumari V, Pandey K, Shafi S. Anti-proliferative and anti-malarial activities of spiroisoxazoline analogues of artemisinin. Arch Pharm (Weinheim) 2018:e1800192. [PMID: 30537298 DOI: 10.1002/ardp.201800192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Revised: 10/22/2018] [Accepted: 11/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
A series of spiroisoxazoline analogues of artemisinin was synthesized by employing 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between various in situ generated nitrile oxides and artemisitene. All the synthesized compounds were tested for their anti-proliferative and anti-malarial activities. Among the compounds tested, compound 11a was found to be potent against the HCT-15 cancer cell line with IC50 = 4.04 μM when compared to 5-fluorouracil (IC50 = 35.53 μM). DNA cell cycle analysis shows that 11a was inhibiting cell proliferation at the G2/M phase. Compound 11b was found to be most active against Plasmodium falciparum with IC50 = 0.1 μM and also blocked host hemoglobin hydrolysis by the falcipain-3 receptor. It was demonstrated to have better dynamics of parasite killing efficiency than artemisinin. Molecular docking studies revealed that these compounds interacted with falcipain-3 receptor sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Surya Pratap
- Research Scholar, Department of Biosciences, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Anantapur, India
| | - Fatima Naaz
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, India
| | - Srinivas Reddy
- Vaccine Immunology Laboratory, Natural Products Chemistry Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, India
- CNRS, Immunopathology and Therapeutic Chemistry/Laboratory of Excellence Medalis, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Strasbourg, France
| | - Kunal K Jha
- Chemical and Biological Crystallography Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Science, Shiv Nadar University, Tehsil Dadri, India
| | - Kalicharan Sharma
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, India
| | - Dinakar Sahal
- Malaria Research Laboratory, ICGEB, New Delhi, India
| | - Mymoona Akhter
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, India
| | - Devanna Nayakanti
- Research Scholar, Department of Biosciences, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Anantapur, India
| | - Halmuthur M S Kumar
- Vaccine Immunology Laboratory, Natural Products Chemistry Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, India
| | - Vandana Kumari
- National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, India
| | - Kailash Pandey
- National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, India
- National Institute for Research in Environmental Health, Bhopal, India
| | - Syed Shafi
- Department of Chemistry, School of Chemical and Life Science, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, India
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18
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Salehinia J, Sadeghi HMM, Abedi D, Akbari V. Improvement of solubility and refolding of an anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 single-chain antibody fragment inclusion bodies. Res Pharm Sci 2018; 13:566-574. [PMID: 30607154 PMCID: PMC6288993 DOI: 10.4103/1735-5362.245968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Single chain variable fragment antibodies (scFvs) have attracted many attentions due to their small size, faster bio-distribution and better penetration in to the target tissues, and ease of expression in Escherichia coli. Although, scFv expression in E. coli usually leads to formation of inclusion bodies (IBs). The aim of this research was to improve solubilizing and refolding conditions for IBs of scFv version of pertuzumab (anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) antibody). After protein overexpression in E. coli BL21 (DE3), bacterial cells were lysed and IBs were extracted via repeated washing and centrifugation. The effect of different types, concentrations, pHs, and additive of denaturing agents on IBs solubility were evaluated. More than 40 refolding additives were screened and combinations of 10 of the best additives were check out using Plackett-Burman design to choose three refolding additives with the most positive effect on refolding of the scFv. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the concentration of adopted additives. The most efficient buffer to solubilize IBs was a buffer containing 6 M urea with 6 mM beta mercaptoethanol, pH 11. The optimum concentration of three buffer additives for refolding of the scFv was 23 mM tricine, 0.55 mM arginine, and 14.3 mM imidazole. The bioactivity of the refolded scFv was confirmed by immunohistochemical staining of breast cancer tissue, a specific binding based method. The systematic optimization of refolding buffer developed in the present work will contribute to improve the refolding of other scFv fragments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javad Salehinia
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and Isfahan Pharmaceutical Research Center, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, I.R. Iran
| | - Hamid Mir Mohammad Sadeghi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and Isfahan Pharmaceutical Research Center, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, I.R. Iran
| | - Daryoush Abedi
- Department of Drug & Food Control, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, I.R. Iran
| | - Vajihe Akbari
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and Isfahan Pharmaceutical Research Center, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, I.R. Iran
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19
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Identification of Tight-Binding Plasmepsin II and Falcipain 2 Inhibitors in Aqueous Extracts of Marine Invertebrates by the Combination of Enzymatic and Interaction-Based Assays. Mar Drugs 2017; 15:md15040123. [PMID: 28430158 PMCID: PMC5408269 DOI: 10.3390/md15040123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2017] [Revised: 04/16/2017] [Accepted: 04/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural products from marine origin constitute a very promising and underexplored source of interesting compounds for modern biotechnological and pharmaceutical industries. However, their evaluation is quite challenging and requires specifically designed assays to reliably identify the compounds of interest in a highly heterogeneous and interfering context. In the present study, we describe a general strategy for the confident identification of tight-binding protease inhibitors in the aqueous extracts of 62 Cuban marine invertebrates, using Plasmodium falciparum hemoglobinases Plasmepsin II and Falcipain 2 as model enzymes. To this end, we first developed a screening strategy that combined enzymatic with interaction-based assays and then validated screening conditions using five reference extracts. Interferences were evaluated and minimized. The results from the massive screening of such extracts, the validation of several hits by a variety of interaction-based assays and the purification and functional characterization of PhPI, a multifunctional and reversible tight-binding inhibitor for Plasmepsin II and Falcipain 2 from the gorgonian Plexaura homomalla, are presented.
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20
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Pavan ME, Pavan EE, Cairó FM, Pettinari MJ. Expression and refolding of the protective antigen of Bacillus anthracis: A model for high-throughput screening of antigenic recombinant protein refolding. Rev Argent Microbiol 2016; 48:5-14. [PMID: 26777581 DOI: 10.1016/j.ram.2015.10.004] [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: 01/04/2015] [Revised: 09/17/2015] [Accepted: 10/21/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacillus anthracis protective antigen (PA) is a well known and relevant immunogenic protein that is the basis for both anthrax vaccines and diagnostic methods. Properly folded antigenic PA is necessary for these applications. In this study a high level of PA was obtained in recombinant Escherichia coli. The protein was initially accumulated in inclusion bodies, which facilitated its efficient purification by simple washing steps; however, it could not be recognized by specific antibodies. Refolding conditions were subsequently analyzed in a high-throughput manner that enabled nearly a hundred different conditions to be tested simultaneously. The recovery of the ability of PA to be recognized by antibodies was screened by dot blot using a coefficient that provided a measure of properly refolded protein levels with a high degree of discrimination. The best refolding conditions resulted in a tenfold increase in the intensity of the dot blot compared to the control. The only refolding additive that consistently yielded good results was L-arginine. The statistical analysis identified both cooperative and negative interactions between the different refolding additives. The high-throughput approach described in this study that enabled overproduction, purification and refolding of PA in a simple and straightforward manner, can be potentially useful for the rapid screening of adequate refolding conditions for other overexpressed antigenic proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Elisa Pavan
- Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Biochemiq S.A., Laboratorio de Biología Molecular, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Esteban Enrique Pavan
- Laboratorio di Tecnologie Biomediche, Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
| | - Fabián Martín Cairó
- Biochemiq S.A., Laboratorio de Biología Molecular, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, UBA, Argentina
| | - María Julia Pettinari
- Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina; IQUIBICEN, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Rothan HA, Ambikabothy J, Abdulrahman AY, Bahrani H, Golpich M, Amini E, A. Rahman N, Teoh TC, Mohamed Z, Yusof R. Scalable Production of Recombinant Membrane Active Peptides and Its Potential as a Complementary Adjunct to Conventional Chemotherapeutics. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0139248. [PMID: 26418816 PMCID: PMC4587966 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0139248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2015] [Accepted: 09/09/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The production of short anticancer peptides in recombinant form is an alternative method for costly chemical manufacturing. However, the limitations of host toxicity, bioactivity and column purification have impaired production in mass quantities. In this study, short cationic peptides were produced in aggregated inclusion bodies by double fusion with a central protein that has anti-cancer activity. The anticancer peptides Tachiplicin I (TACH) and Latarcin 1 (LATA) were fused with the N- and C-terminus of the MAP30 protein, respectively. We successfully produced the recombinant TACH-MAP30-LATA protein and MAP30 alone in E. coli that represented 59% and 68% of the inclusion bodies. The purified form of the inclusion bodies was prepared by eliminating host cell proteins through multiple washing steps and semi-solubilization in alkaline buffer. The purified active protein was recovered by inclusive solubilization at pH 12.5 in the presence of 2 M urea and refolded in alkaline buffer containing oxides and reduced glutathione. The peptide-fusion protein showed lower CC50 values against cancer cells (HepG2, 0.35±0.1 μM and MCF-7, 0.58±0.1 μM) compared with normal cells (WRL68, 1.83±0.2 μM and ARPE19, 2.5±0.1 μM) with outstanding activity compared with its individual components. The presence of the short peptides facilitated the entry of the peptide fusion protein into cancer cells (1.8 to 2.2-fold) compared with MAP30 alone through direct interaction with the cell membrane. The cancer chemotherapy agent doxorubicin showed higher efficiency and selectivity against cancer cells in combination with the peptide- fusion protein. This study provides new data on the mass production of short anticancer peptides as inclusion bodies in E. coli by fusion with a central protein that has similar activity. The product was biologically active against cancer cells compared with normal cells and enhanced the activity and selective delivery of an anticancer chemotherapy agent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hussin A. Rothan
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- * E-mail:
| | - Jamunaa Ambikabothy
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Ammar Y. Abdulrahman
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Hirbod Bahrani
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Mojtaba Golpich
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Centre of University Kebangsaan Malaysia, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Elham Amini
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Centre of University Kebangsaan Malaysia, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Noorsaadah A. Rahman
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Teow Chong Teoh
- Institute of biological sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Zulqarnain Mohamed
- Institute of biological sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Rohana Yusof
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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22
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Independent amino acid residues in the S2 pocket of falcipain-3 determine its specificity for P2 residues in substrates. Mol Biochem Parasitol 2015; 202:11-22. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2015.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2015] [Revised: 09/24/2015] [Accepted: 09/28/2015] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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23
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Ling C, Zhang J, Lin D, Tao A. Approaches for the generation of active papain-like cysteine proteases from inclusion bodies of Escherichia coli. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 2015; 31:681-90. [PMID: 25792298 DOI: 10.1007/s11274-015-1804-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2014] [Accepted: 01/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Papain-like cysteine proteases are widely expressed, fulfill specific functions in extracellular matrix turnover, antigen presentation and processing events, and may represent viable drug targets for major diseases. In depth and rigorous studies of the potential for these proteins to be targets for drug development require sufficient amounts of protease protein that can be used for both experimental and therapeutic purposes. Escherichia coli was widely used to express papain-like cysteine proteases, but most of those proteases are produced in insoluble inclusion bodies that need solubilizing, refolding, purifying and activating. Refolding is the most critical step in the process of generating active cysteine proteases and the current approaches to refolding include dialysis, dilution and chromatography. Purification is mainly achieved by various column chromatography. Finally, the attained refolded proteases are examined regarding their protease structures and activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunfang Ling
- School of Life Science, South China Normal University, 55# Zhongshan Road West, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
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24
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Allosteric regulation of the Plasmodium falciparum cysteine protease falcipain-2 by heme. Arch Biochem Biophys 2015; 573:92-9. [PMID: 25791019 DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2015.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2014] [Revised: 02/22/2015] [Accepted: 03/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
During the erythrocytic cycle of Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites break down host hemoglobin, resulting in the release of free heme (ferriprotoporphyrin IX). Heme is a generator of free radicals that cause oxidative stress, but it is detoxified by crystallization into hemozoin inside the food vacuole. We evaluated the interaction of heme and heme analogues with falcipain-2, a P. falciparum food vacuole cysteine protease that plays a key role in hemoglobin digestion. Heme bound to falcipain-2 with a 1:1 stoichiometry, and heme inhibited falcipain-2 activity against both human hemoglobin and chromogenic peptide substrates through a noncompetitive-like mechanism. A series of porphyrin analogues was screened for inhibition of falcipain-2, demonstrating a minor contribution of iron to heme-falcipain-2 interaction, and revealing dependence on both propionic and vinyl groups for inhibition of falcipain-2 by heme. Docking and molecular dynamics simulation unveiled a novel, inducible heme-binding moiety in falcipain-2 adjacent to the catalytic site. Kinetic data suggested that the noncompetitive-like inhibition was substrate inhibition induced by heme. Collectively these data suggest that binding of heme to falcipain-2 may limit the accumulation of free heme in the parasite food vacuole, providing a means of heme detoxification in addition to crystallization into hemozoin.
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Sharma RK, Younis Y, Mugumbate G, Njoroge M, Gut J, Rosenthal PJ, Chibale K. Synthesis and structure-activity-relationship studies of thiazolidinediones as antiplasmodial inhibitors of the Plasmodium falciparum cysteine protease falcipain-2. Eur J Med Chem 2014; 90:507-18. [PMID: 25486422 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2014.11.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2014] [Revised: 11/25/2014] [Accepted: 11/29/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Following a structure-based virtual screening, a series of 2,4 thiazolidinediones was synthesized in order to explore structure activity relationships for inhibition of the Plasmodium falciparum cysteine protease falcipain-2 (FP-2) and of whole cell antiparasitic activity. Most compounds exhibited low micromolar antiplasmodial activities against the P. falciparum drug resistant W2 strain. The most active compounds of the series were tested for in vitro microsomal metabolic stability and found to be susceptible to hepatic metabolism. Subsequent metabolite identification studies highlighted the metabolic hot spots. Molecular docking studies of a frontrunner inhibitor were carried out to determine the probable binding mode of this class of inhibitors in the active site of FP-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajni Kant Sharma
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Yassir Younis
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Grace Mugumbate
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Mathew Njoroge
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Jiri Gut
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Philip J Rosenthal
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Kelly Chibale
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa; Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa; South African Medical Research Council, Drug Discovery and Development Unit, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa.
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26
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Zamudio-Prieto O, Benítez-Cardoza C, Arroyo R, Ortega-López J. Conformational changes induced by detergents during the refolding of chemically denatured cysteine protease ppEhCP-B9 from Entamoeba histolytica. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS 2014; 1844:1299-306. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2014.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2013] [Revised: 04/11/2014] [Accepted: 04/12/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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27
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Bertoldo JB, Chiaradia-Delatorre LD, Mascarello A, Leal PC, Cordeiro MNS, Nunes RJ, Sarduy ES, Rosenthal PJ, Terenzi H. Synthetic compounds from an in house library as inhibitors of falcipain-2 from Plasmodium falciparum. J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem 2014; 30:299-307. [PMID: 24964346 DOI: 10.3109/14756366.2014.920839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Falcipain-2 (FP-2) is a key cysteine protease from the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Many previous studies have identified FP-2 inhibitors; however, none has yet met the criteria for an antimalarial drug candidate. In this work, we assayed an in-house library of non-peptidic organic compounds, including (E)-chalcones, (E)-N'-benzylidene-benzohydrazides and alkyl-esters of gallic acid, and assessed the activity toward FP-2 and their mechanisms of inhibition. The (E)-chalcones 48, 54 and 66 showed the lowest IC50 values (8.5 ± 0.8 µM, 9.5 ± 0.2 µM and 4.9 ± 1.3 µM, respectively). The best inhibitor (compound 66) demonstrated non-competitive inhibition, and using mass spectrometry and fluorescence spectroscopy assays, we suggest a potential allosteric site for the interaction of this compound, located between the catalytic site and the hemoglobin binding arm in FP-2. We combined structural biology tools and mass spectrometry to characterize the inhibition mechanisms of novel compounds targeting FP-2.
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28
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Inhibitory effects of a peptide-fusion protein (Latarcin-PAP1-Thanatin) against chikungunya virus. Antiviral Res 2014; 108:173-80. [PMID: 24929084 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2014.05.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2013] [Revised: 05/21/2014] [Accepted: 05/30/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) outbreaks have led to a serious economic burden, as the available treatment strategies can only alleviate disease symptoms, and no effective therapeutics or vaccines are currently available for human use. Here, we report the use of a new cost-effective approach involving production of a recombinant antiviral peptide-fusion protein that is scalable for the treatment of CHIKV infection. A peptide-fusion recombinant protein LATA-PAP1-THAN that was generated by joining Latarcin (LATA) peptide with the N-terminus of the PAP1 antiviral protein, and the Thanatin (THAN) peptide to the C-terminus, was produced in Escherichia coli as inclusion bodies. The antiviral LATA-PAP1-THAN protein showed 89.0% reduction of viral plaque formation compared with PAP1 (46.0%), LATA (67.0%) or THAN (79.3%) peptides alone. The LATA-PAP1-THAN protein reduced the viral RNA load that was 0.89-fold compared with the untreated control cells. We also showed that PAP1 resulted in 0.44-fold reduction, and THAN and LATA resulting in 0.78-fold and 0.73-fold reductions, respectively. The LATA-PAP1-THAN protein inhibited CHIKV replication in the Vero cells at an EC50 of 11.2μg/ml, which is approximately half of the EC50 of PAP1 (23.7μg/ml) and protected the CHIKV-infected mice at the dose of 0.75mg/ml. We concluded that production of antiviral peptide-fusion protein in E. coli as inclusion bodies could accentuate antiviral activities, enhance cellular internalisation, and could reduce product toxicity to host cells and is scalable to epidemic response quantities.
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29
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Rothan HA, Bahrani H, Mohamed Z, Abd Rahman N, Yusof R. Fusion of protegrin-1 and plectasin to MAP30 shows significant inhibition activity against dengue virus replication. PLoS One 2014; 9:e94561. [PMID: 24722532 PMCID: PMC3983197 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0094561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2013] [Accepted: 03/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Dengue virus (DENV) broadly disseminates in tropical and sub-tropical countries and there are no vaccine or anti-dengue drugs available. DENV outbreaks cause serious economic burden due to infection complications that requires special medical care and hospitalization. This study presents a new strategy for inexpensive production of anti-DENV peptide-fusion protein to prevent and/or treat DENV infection. Antiviral cationic peptides protegrin-1 (PG1) and plectasin (PLSN) were fused with MAP30 protein to produce recombinant antiviral peptide-fusion protein (PG1-MAP30-PLSN) as inclusion bodies in E. coli. High yield production of PG1-MAP30-PLSN protein was achieved by solubilization of inclusion bodies in alkaline buffer followed by the application of appropriate refolding techniques. Antiviral PG1-MAP30-PLSN protein considerably inhibited DENV protease (NS2B-NS3pro) with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) 0.5±0.1 μM. The real-time proliferation assay (RTCA) and the end-point proliferation assay (MTT assay) showed that the maximal-nontoxic dose of the peptide-fusion protein against Vero cells is approximately 0.67±0.2 μM. The cell-based assays showed considerable inhibition of the peptide-fusion protein against binding and proliferating stages of DENV2 into the target cells. The peptide-fusion protein protected DENV2-challeged mice with 100% of survival at the dose of 50 mg/kg. In conclusion, producing recombinant antiviral peptide-fusion protein by combining short antiviral peptide with a central protein owning similar activity could be useful to minimize the overall cost of short peptide production and take advantage of its synergistic antiviral activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hussin A. Rothan
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Hirbod Bahrani
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Zulqarnain Mohamed
- Genetics and Molecular Biology Unit, Institute of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Noorsaadah Abd Rahman
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Rohana Yusof
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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30
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Salas-Sarduy E, Cabrera-Muñoz A, Cauerhff A, González-González Y, Trejo SA, Chidichimo A, Chávez-Planes MDLA, Cazzulo JJ. Antiparasitic effect of a fraction enriched in tight-binding protease inhibitors isolated from the Caribbean coral Plexaura homomalla. Exp Parasitol 2013; 135:611-22. [DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2013.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2013] [Revised: 09/17/2013] [Accepted: 09/22/2013] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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31
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Rothan HA, Mohamed Z, Suhaeb AM, Rahman NA, Yusof R. Antiviral cationic peptides as a strategy for innovation in global health therapeutics for dengue virus: high yield production of the biologically active recombinant plectasin peptide. OMICS-A JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY 2013; 17:560-7. [PMID: 24044366 DOI: 10.1089/omi.2013.0056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Dengue virus infects millions of people worldwide, and there is no vaccine or anti-dengue therapeutic available. Antimicrobial peptides have been shown to possess effective antiviral activity against various viruses. One of the main limitations of developing these peptides as potent antiviral drugs is the high cost of production. In this study, high yield production of biologically active plectasin peptide was inexpensively achieved by producing tandem plectasin peptides as inclusion bodies in E. coli. Antiviral activity of the recombinant peptide towards dengue serotype-2 NS2B-NS3 protease (DENV2 NS2B-NS3pro) was assessed as a target to inhibit dengue virus replication in Vero cells. Single units of recombinant plectasin were collected after applying consecutive steps of refolding, cleaving by Factor Xa, and nickel column purification to obtain recombinant proteins of high purity. The maximal nontoxic dose (MNTD) of the recombinant peptide against Vero cells was 20 μM (100 μg/mL). The reaction velocity of DENV2 NS2B-NS3pro decreased significantly after increasing concentrations of recombinant plectasin were applied to the reaction mixture. Plectasin peptide noncompetitively inhibited DENV2 NS2B-NS3pro at Ki value of 5.03 ± 0.98 μM. The percentage of viral inhibition was more than 80% at the MNTD value of plectasin. In this study, biologically active recombinant plectasin which was able to inhibit dengue protease and viral replication in Vero cells was successfully produced in E. coli in a time- and cost- effective method. These findings are potentially important in the development of potent therapeutics against dengue infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hussin A Rothan
- 1 Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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32
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Blocking Plasmodium falciparum development via dual inhibition of hemoglobin degradation and the ubiquitin proteasome system by MG132. PLoS One 2013; 8:e73530. [PMID: 24023882 PMCID: PMC3759421 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0073530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2013] [Accepted: 07/22/2013] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Among key potential drug target proteolytic systems in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum are falcipains, a family of hemoglobin-degrading cysteine proteases, and the ubiquitin proteasomal system (UPS), which has fundamental importance in cellular protein turnover. Inhibition of falcipains blocks parasite development, primarily due to inhibition of hemoglobin degradation that serves as a source of amino acids for parasite growth. Falcipains prefer P2 leucine in substrates and peptides, and their peptidyl inhibitors with leucine at the P2 position show potent antimalarial activity. The peptidyl inhibitor MG132 (Z-Leu-Leu-Leu-CHO) is a widely used proteasome inhibitor, which also has P2 leucine, and has also been shown to inhibit parasite development. However, the antimalarial targets of MG132 are unclear. We investigated whether MG132 blocks malaria parasite development by inhibiting hemoglobin degradation and/or by targeting the UPS. P. falciparum was cultured with inhibitors of the UPS (MG132, epoxomicin, and lactacystin) or falcipains (E64), and parasites were assessed for morphologies, extent of hemoglobin degradation, and accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins. MG132, like E64 and unlike epoxomicin or lactacystin, blocked parasite development, with enlargement of the food vacuole and accumulation of undegraded hemoglobin, indicating inhibition of hemoglobin degradation by MG132, most likely due to inhibition of hemoglobin-degrading falcipain cysteine proteases. Parasites cultured with epoxomicin or MG132 accumulated ubiquitinated proteins to a significantly greater extent than untreated or E64-treated parasites, indicating that MG132 inhibits the parasite UPS as well. Consistent with these findings, MG132 inhibited both cysteine protease and UPS activities present in soluble parasite extracts, and it strongly inhibited recombinant falcipains. MG132 was highly selective for inhibition of P. falciparum (IC50 0.0476 µM) compared to human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (IC50 10.8 µM). Thus, MG132 inhibits two distinct proteolytic systems in P. falciparum, and it may serve as a lead molecule for development of dual-target inhibitors of malaria parasites.
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33
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Trafficked Proteins-Druggable in Plasmodium falciparum? Int J Cell Biol 2013; 2013:435981. [PMID: 23710183 PMCID: PMC3655585 DOI: 10.1155/2013/435981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2013] [Accepted: 03/12/2013] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Malaria is an infectious disease that results in serious health problems in the countries in which it is endemic. Annually this parasitic disease leads to more than half a million deaths; most of these are children in Africa. An effective vaccine is not available, and the treatment of the disease is solely dependent on chemotherapy. However, drug resistance is spreading, and the identification of new drug targets as well as the development of new antimalarials is urgently required. Attention has been drawn to a variety of essential plasmodial proteins, which are targeted to intra- or extracellular destinations, such as the digestive vacuole, the apicoplast, or into the host cell. Interfering with the action or the transport of these proteins will impede proliferation of the parasite. In this mini review, we will shed light on the present discovery of chemotherapeutics and potential drug targets involved in protein trafficking processes in the malaria parasite.
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Marques AF, Esser D, Rosenthal PJ, Kassack MU, Lima LMTR. Falcipain-2 inhibition by suramin and suramin analogues. Bioorg Med Chem 2013; 21:3667-73. [PMID: 23680445 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2013.04.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2013] [Revised: 04/09/2013] [Accepted: 04/17/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Falcipain-2 is a cysteine protease of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum that plays a key role in the hydrolysis of hemoglobin, a process that is required by intraerythrocytic parasites to obtain amino acids. In this work we show that the polysulfonated napthylurea suramin is capable of binding to falcipain-2, inhibiting its catalytic activity at nanomolar concentrations against both synthetic substrates and the natural substrate hemoglobin. Kinetic measurements suggest that the inhibition occurs through an noncompetitive allosteric mechanism, eliciting substrate inhibition. Smaller suramin analogues and those with substituted methyl groups also showed inhibition within the nanomolar range. Our results identify the suramin family as a potential starting point for the design of falcipain-2 inhibitor antimalarials that act through a novel inhibition mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Fonseca Marques
- Laboratory for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, CCS, Bss34, Ilha do Fundão, 21941-590 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
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35
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Substrate specificity studies of the cysteine peptidases falcipain-2 and falcipain-3 from Plasmodium falciparum and demonstration of their kininogenase activity. Mol Biochem Parasitol 2013; 187:111-6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2013.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2012] [Revised: 10/20/2012] [Accepted: 01/16/2013] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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36
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Tadigoppula N, Korthikunta V, Gupta S, Kancharla P, Khaliq T, Soni A, Srivastava RK, Srivastava K, Puri SK, Raju KSR, Wahajuddin, Sijwali PS, Kumar V, Mohammad IS. Synthesis and Insight into the Structure–Activity Relationships of Chalcones as Antimalarial Agents. J Med Chem 2012; 56:31-45. [DOI: 10.1021/jm300588j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Narender Tadigoppula
- Medicinal and Process Chemistry
Division, CSIR—Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow-226
001, UP, India
| | - Venkateswarlu Korthikunta
- Medicinal and Process Chemistry
Division, CSIR—Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow-226
001, UP, India
| | - Shweta Gupta
- Medicinal and Process Chemistry
Division, CSIR—Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow-226
001, UP, India
| | - Papireddy Kancharla
- Medicinal and Process Chemistry
Division, CSIR—Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow-226
001, UP, India
| | - Tanvir Khaliq
- Medicinal and Process Chemistry
Division, CSIR—Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow-226
001, UP, India
| | - Awakash Soni
- Parasitology
Division, CSIR—Central
Drug Research Institute, Lucknow-226 001, UP, India
| | | | - Kumkum Srivastava
- Parasitology
Division, CSIR—Central
Drug Research Institute, Lucknow-226 001, UP, India
| | - Sunil Kumar Puri
- Parasitology
Division, CSIR—Central
Drug Research Institute, Lucknow-226 001, UP, India
| | - Kanumuri Siva Rama Raju
- Pharmacokinetics and Metabolism
Division, CSIR—Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow-226
001, UP, India
| | - Wahajuddin
- Pharmacokinetics and Metabolism
Division, CSIR—Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow-226
001, UP, India
| | - Puran Singh Sijwali
- CSIR—Centre
for Cellular
and Molecular Biology, Habsiguda, Hyderabad-500007, AP, India
| | - Vikash Kumar
- Molecular and Structural Biology
Division, CSIR—Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow-226
001, UP, India
| | - Imran Siddiqi Mohammad
- Molecular and Structural Biology
Division, CSIR—Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow-226
001, UP, India
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Rothan HA, Han HC, Ramasamy TS, Othman S, Rahman NA, Yusof R. Inhibition of dengue NS2B-NS3 protease and viral replication in Vero cells by recombinant retrocyclin-1. BMC Infect Dis 2012; 12:314. [PMID: 23171075 PMCID: PMC3575220 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2334-12-314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2012] [Accepted: 11/19/2012] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Global resurgence of dengue virus infections in many of the tropical and subtropical countries is a major concern. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the development of successful drugs that are both economical and offer a long-lasting protection. The viral NS2B-NS3 serine protease (NS2B-NS3pro) is a promising target for the development of drug-like inhibitors, which are not available at the moment. In this study, we report retrocyclin-1 (RC-1) production in E. coli as a recombinant peptide to test against dengue NS2B-NS3pro. METHODS Dengue NS2B-NS3pro was produced as a recombinant single chain protein in E. coli and purified by Ni+ affinity chromatography. The RC-1 peptide was produced in E. coli and the tri-disulphide bonds were reformed in a diluted alkaline environment. Protease assay was performed using a fluorogenic peptide substrate and measured by fluorescence spectrometry. Real-time PCR was used for quantification of dengue serotype 2 (DENV-2) viral RNA produced in Vero cells. RESULTS The RC-1 peptide inhibited the activity of recombinant NS2B-NS3pro with different values at 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) which are temperature dependent (28°C, 46.1 ± 1.7 μM; 37°C, 21.4 ± 1.6 μM; 40°C, 14.1 ± 1.2 μM). The presence of RC-1 significantly reduced viral replication in Vero cells infected with DENV-2 at simultaneous treatment after 48 hrs (70%) and 75 hrs (85%). Furthermore, moderate reduction in viral replication was observed at pre-treatment mode after 48 hrs (40%) and 72 hrs (38%) and post-treatment at 48 hrs (30%) and 72 hrs (45%). CONCLUSION Recombinant RC-1 inhibits DENV-2 replication in Vero cells by interfering with the activity of its serine protease. Thus, we propose that recombinant RC-1 is a potent, cost-effective dengue virus inhibitor. Therefore, it is suitable to consider RC-1 as a new candidate for drug development against dengue infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hussin A Rothan
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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Sarduy ES, Chávez Planes MDLA. Efficient expression systems for cysteine proteases of malaria parasites: too good to be true? Bioengineered 2012; 4:107-14. [PMID: 23018863 DOI: 10.4161/bioe.22348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Papain-like cysteine proteases of malaria parasites are considered important chemotherapeutic targets or valuable models for the evaluation of drug candidates. Consequently, many of these enzymes have been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli for their biochemical characterization. However, their expression has been problematic, showing low yield and leading to the formation of insoluble aggregates. Given that highly-productive expression systems are required for the high-throughput evaluation of inhibitors, we analyzed the existing expression systems to identify the causes of such apparent issues. We found that significant divergences in codon and nucleotide composition from host genes are the most probable cause of expression failure, and propose several strategies to overcome these limitations. Finally we predict that yeast hosts Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris may be better suited than E. coli for the efficient expression of plasmodial genes, presumably leading to soluble and active products reproducing structural and functional characteristics of the natural enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emir Salas Sarduy
- Centro de Estudio de Proteínas, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de la Habana, Havana, Cuba.
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Berg A, Oelmeier SA, Kittelmann J, Dismer F, Hubbuch J. Development and characterization of an automated high throughput screening method for optimization of protein refolding processes. J Sep Sci 2012; 35:3149-59. [PMID: 22821717 DOI: 10.1002/jssc.201200306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2012] [Revised: 05/16/2012] [Accepted: 05/16/2012] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Optimization of protein refolding parameters by automated, miniaturized, and parallelized high throughput screening is a powerful approach to meet the demand for fast process development with low material consumption. In this study, we validated methods applicable on a standard liquid handling robot for screening of refolding process parameters by dilution of denatured lysozyme in refolding buffer systems. Different approaches for the estimation of protein solubility and folding were validated concerning resolution and compatibility with the robotic system and with the complex buffer and protein structure composition. We established an indirect method to assess soluble lysozyme concentration independent of matrix effects and protein structure varieties by automated separation of aggregated protein, resolubilization, and measurement of absorption at 280 nm. Using this nonspecific solubility assays the correlation between favorable parameters for high active and soluble lysozyme yields were evaluated. An overlap of good refolding buffer compositions was found provided that the redox environment was controlled with redox reagents. In addition, the need to control unfolding conditions like time, temperature, lysozyme, and dithiothreitol concentration was pointed out as different feedstocks resulted in different refolding yields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annette Berg
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute of Process Engineering in Life Sciences, Section IV: Biomolecular Separation Engineering, Karlsruhe, Germany
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Ettari R, Micale N, Grazioso G, Bova F, Schirmeister T, Grasso S, Zappalà M. Synthesis and Molecular Modeling Studies of Derivatives of a Highly Potent Peptidomimetic Vinyl Ester as Falcipain-2 Inhibitors. ChemMedChem 2012; 7:1594-600. [DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.201200274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2012] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Sarduy ES, Muñoz AC, Trejo SA, Chavéz Planes MDLA. High-level expression of Falcipain-2 in Escherichia coli by codon optimization and auto-induction. Protein Expr Purif 2012; 83:59-69. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2012.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2012] [Revised: 03/08/2012] [Accepted: 03/10/2012] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
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Single pH buffer refolding screen for protein from inclusion bodies. Protein Expr Purif 2012; 82:352-9. [PMID: 22343064 DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2012.01.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2011] [Revised: 01/21/2012] [Accepted: 01/23/2012] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
We previously reported the set up of an automated test for screening the refolding of recombinant proteins expressed as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli[1]. The screen used 96 refolding buffers and was validated with 24 proteins, 70% of which remained soluble in at least one buffer. In the present paper, we have analyzed in more detail these experimental data to see if the refolding process can be driven by general rules. Notably, we found that proteins with an acidic isoelectric point (pI) refolded in buffers the average pH of which was alkaline and conversely. In addition, the number of refolding buffers wherein a protein remained soluble increased with the difference between its pI and the average pH of the buffers in which it refolded. A trend analysis of the other variables (ionic strength, detergents, etc.) was also performed. On the basis of this analysis, we devised and validated a new refolding screen made of a single buffer for acidic proteins and a single buffer for alkaline proteins.
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Expression and characterization of the Babesia bigemina cysteine protease BbiCPL1. Acta Trop 2012; 121:1-5. [PMID: 21986365 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2011.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2010] [Revised: 08/25/2011] [Accepted: 09/12/2011] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
BbiCPL1 was the first papain-like cysteine protease from a piroplasm to be identified with proteolytic activity. Here we report the improved production of the active recombinant enzyme, and the biochemical characterization of this potential drug target. BbiCPL1 showed characteristic properties of its class, including hydrolysis of papain-family peptide substrates, an acidic pH optimum, requirement of a reducing environment for maximum activity, and inhibition by standard cysteine protease inhibitors such as E-64, leupeptin, ALLN and cystatin. The optimum pH for the protease activity against peptide substrates was 5.5, but enzymatic activity was observed between pH 4.0 and pH 9.0. At slightly basic pH 7.5, BbiCPL1 maintained 83% of maximum activity, suggesting a role in cytosol environment.
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Selected gold compounds cause pronounced inhibition of Falcipain 2 and effectively block P. falciparum growth in vitro. J Inorg Biochem 2011; 105:1576-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2011.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2011] [Revised: 08/31/2011] [Accepted: 09/01/2011] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Chakravorty A, Awad MM, Hiscox TJ, Cheung JK, Carter GP, Choo JM, Lyras D, Rood JI. The cysteine protease α-clostripain is not essential for the pathogenesis of Clostridium perfringens-mediated myonecrosis. PLoS One 2011; 6:e22762. [PMID: 21829506 PMCID: PMC3146509 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0022762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2011] [Accepted: 06/28/2011] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Clostridium perfringens is the causative agent of clostridial myonecrosis or gas gangrene and produces many different extracellular toxins and enzymes, including the cysteine protease α-clostripain. Mutation of the α-clostripain structural gene, ccp, alters the turnover of secreted extracellular proteins in C. perfringens, but the role of α-clostripain in disease pathogenesis is not known. We insertionally inactivated the ccp gene C. perfringens strain 13 using TargeTron technology, constructing a strain that was no longer proteolytic on skim milk agar. Quantitative protease assays confirmed the absence of extracellular protease activity, which was restored by complementation with the wild-type ccp gene. The role of α-clostripain in virulence was assessed by analysing the isogenic wild-type, mutant and complemented strains in a mouse myonecrosis model. The results showed that although α-clostripain was the major extracellular protease, mutation of the ccp gene did not alter either the progression or the development of disease. These results do not rule out the possibility that this extracellular enzyme may still have a role in the early stages of the disease process.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Milena M. Awad
- Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
| | - Thomas J. Hiscox
- Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
| | - Jackie K. Cheung
- Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
| | - Glen P. Carter
- Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
| | - Jocelyn M. Choo
- Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
| | - Dena Lyras
- Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
| | - Julian I. Rood
- Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
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Rosenthal PJ. Falcipains and other cysteine proteases of malaria parasites. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2011; 712:30-48. [PMID: 21660657 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4419-8414-2_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
A number of cysteine proteases of malaria parasites have been described and many more are suggested by analysis of the Plasmodium falciparum genome sequence. The best characterized of these proteases are the falcipains, a family of four papain-family enzymes. Falcipain-2 and falcipain-3 act in concert with other proteases to hydrolyze host erythrocyte hemoglobin in the parasite food vacuole. Disruption of the falcipain-2 gene led to a transient block in hemoglobin hydrolysis and parasites with increased sensitivity to protease inhibitors. Disruption of the falcipain-3 gene was not possible, strongly suggesting that this protease is essential for erythrocytic parasites. Disruption of the falcipain-1 gene did not alter development in erythrocytes, but led to decreased production of oocysts in mosquitoes. other papain-family proteases predicted by the genome sequence include dipeptidyl peptidases, a calpain homolog and serine-repeat antigens (SERAs). Dipeptidyl aminopeptidase 1 appears to be essential and localized to the food vacuole, suggesting a role in hemoglobin hydrolysis. Dipeptidyl aminopeptidase 3 appears to play a role in the rupture of erythrocytes by mature parasites. the P. falciparum calpain homolog gene could not be disrupted, suggesting that the protein is essential and a role in the parasite cell cycle has been suggested. Nine P. falciparum SERAs have cysteine protease motifs, but in some the active site cys is replaced by a Ser. Gene disruption studies suggested that SERA-5 and SERA-6 are essential. activation of SERA-5 by a serine protease seems to be required for merozoite egress from the erythrocyte. New drugs for malaria are greatly needed and cysteine proteases represent potential drug targets. cysteine protease inhibitors have demonstrated potent antimalarial effects and the optimization and testing of falcipain inhibitor antimalarials is underway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip J Rosenthal
- Department of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
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Mesplet M, Echaide I, Dominguez M, Mosqueda JJ, Suarez CE, Schnittger L, Florin-Christensen M. Bovipain-2, the falcipain-2 ortholog, is expressed in intraerythrocytic stages of the tick-transmitted hemoparasite Babesia bovis. Parasit Vectors 2010; 3:113. [PMID: 21092313 PMCID: PMC3003645 DOI: 10.1186/1756-3305-3-113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2010] [Accepted: 11/23/2010] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cysteine proteases have been shown to be highly relevant for Apicomplexan parasites. In the case of Babesia bovis, a tick-transmitted hemoparasite of cattle, inhibitors of these enzymes were shown to hamper intraerythrocytic replication of the parasite, underscoring their importance for survival. RESULTS Four papain-like cysteine proteases were found to be encoded by the B. bovis genome using the MEROPS database. One of them, the ortholog of Plasmodium falciparum falcipain-2, here named bovipain-2, was further characterized. Bovipain-2 is encoded in B. bovis chromosome 4 by an ORF of 1.3 kb, has a predicted molecular weight of 42 kDa, and is hydrophilic with the exception of a transmembrane region. It has orthologs in several other apicomplexans, and its predicted amino acid sequence shows a high degree of conservation among several B. bovis isolates from North and South America. Synteny studies demonstrated that the bovipain-2 gene has expanded in the genomes of two related piroplasmids, Theileria parva and T. annulata, into families of 6 and 7 clustered genes respectively. The bovipain-2 gene is transcribed in in vitro cultured intra-erythrocyte forms of a virulent and an attenuated B. bovis strain from Argentina, and has no introns, as shown by RT-PCR followed by sequencing. Antibodies against a recombinant form of bovipain-2 recognized two parasite protein bands of 34 and 26 kDa, which coincide with the predicted sizes of the pro-peptidase and mature peptidase, respectively. Immunofluorescence studies showed an intracellular localization of bovipain-2 in the middle-rear region of in vitro cultured merozoites, as well as diffused in the cytoplasm of infected erythrocytes. Anti-bovipain-2 antibodies also reacted with B. bigemina-infected erythrocytes giving a similar pattern, which suggests cross-reactivity among these species. Antibodies in sera of two out of six B. bovis-experimentally infected bovines tested, reacted specifically with recombinant bovipain-2 in immunoblots, thus demonstrating expression and immunogenicity during bovine-infecting stages. CONCLUSIONS Overall, we present the characterization of bovipain-2 and demonstrate its in vitro and in vivo expression in virulent and attenuated strains. Given the involvement of apicomplexan cysteine proteases in essential parasite functions, bovipain-2 constitutes a new vaccine candidate and potential drug target for bovine babesiosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Mesplet
- Instituto de Patobiología, Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, INTA-Castelar, Argentina.
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Na BK, Bae YA, Zo YG, Choe Y, Kim SH, Desai PV, Avery MA, Craik CS, Kim TS, Rosenthal PJ, Kong Y. Biochemical properties of a novel cysteine protease of Plasmodium vivax, vivapain-4. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2010; 4:e849. [PMID: 20967286 PMCID: PMC2953480 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0000849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2010] [Accepted: 09/14/2010] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Multiple cysteine proteases of malaria parasites are required for maintenance of parasite metabolic homeostasis and egress from the host erythrocyte. In Plasmodium falciparum these proteases appear to mediate the processing of hemoglobin and aspartic proteases (plasmepsins) in the acidic food vacuole and the hydrolysis of erythrocyte structural proteins at neutral pH. Two cysteine proteases, vivapain (VX)-2 and VX-3 have been characterized in P. vivax, but comprehensive studies of P. vivax cysteine proteases remain elusive. FINDINGS We characterized a novel cysteine protease of P. vivax, VX-4, of which orthologs appears to have evolved differentially in primate plasmodia with strong cladistic affinity toward those of rodent Plasmodium. Recombinant VX-4 demonstrated dual substrate specificity depending on the surrounding micro-environmental pH. Its hydrolyzing activity against benzyloxycarbonyl-Leu-Arg-4-methyl-coumaryl-7-amide (Z-Leu-Arg-MCA) and Z-Phe-Arg-MCA was highest at acidic pH (5.5), whereas that against Z-Arg-Arg-MCA was maximal at neutral pH (6.5-7.5). VX-4 preferred positively charged amino acids and Gln at the P1 position, with less strict specificity at P3 and P4. P2 preferences depended on pH (Leu at pH 5.5 and Arg at pH 7.5). Three amino acids that delineate the S2 pocket were substituted in VX-4 compared to VX-2 and VX-3 (Ala90, Gly157 and Glu180). Replacement of Glu180 abolished activity against Z-Arg-Arg-MCA at neutral pH, indicating the importance of this amino acid in the pH-dependent substrate preference. VX-4 was localized in the food vacuoles and cytoplasm of the erythrocytic stage of P. vivax. VX-4 showed maximal activity against actin at neutral pH, and that against P. vivax plasmepsin 4 and hemoglobin was detected at neutral/acidic and acidic pH, respectively. CONCLUSION VX-4 demonstrates pH-dependent substrate switching, which might offer an efficient mechanism for the specific cleavage of different substrates in different intracellular environments. VX-4 might function as a hemoglobinase in the acidic parasite food vacuole, a maturase of P. vivax plasmepsin 4 at neutral or acidic pH, and a cytoskeleton-degrading protease in the neutral erythrocyte cytosol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Byoung-Kuk Na
- Department of Molecular Parasitology and Center for Molecular Medicine, Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea
- Department of Parasitology and Institute of Health Sciences, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Jinju, Korea
| | - Young-An Bae
- Department of Molecular Parasitology and Center for Molecular Medicine, Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea
| | - Young-Gun Zo
- Department of Molecular Parasitology and Center for Molecular Medicine, Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea
| | - Youngchool Choe
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Seon-Hee Kim
- Department of Molecular Parasitology and Center for Molecular Medicine, Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea
| | - Prashant V. Desai
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, National Center for Natural Products Research, University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi, United States of America
| | - Mitchell A. Avery
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi, Unites States of America
| | - Charles S. Craik
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Tong-Soo Kim
- Department of Parasitology, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea
| | - Philip J. Rosenthal
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Yoon Kong
- Department of Molecular Parasitology and Center for Molecular Medicine, Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea
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Coterón JM, Catterick D, Castro J, Chaparro MJ, Díaz B, Fernández E, Ferrer S, Gamo FJ, Gordo M, Gut J, de las Heras L, Legac J, Marco M, Miguel J, Muñoz V, Porras E, de la Rosa JC, Ruiz JR, Sandoval E, Ventosa P, Rosenthal PJ, Fiandor JM. Falcipain inhibitors: optimization studies of the 2-pyrimidinecarbonitrile lead series. J Med Chem 2010; 53:6129-52. [PMID: 20672841 DOI: 10.1021/jm100556b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Falcipain-2 and falcipain-3 are papain-family cysteine proteases of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum that are responsible for host hemoglobin hydrolysis to provide amino acids for parasite protein synthesis. Different heteroarylnitrile derivatives were studied as potential falcipain inhibitors and therefore potential antiparasitic lead compounds, with the 5-substituted-2-cyanopyrimidine chemical class emerging as the most potent and promising lead series. Through a sequential lead optimization process considering the different positions present in the initial scaffold, nanomolar and subnanomolar inhibitors at falcipains 2 and 3 were identified, with activity against cultured parasites in the micromolar range. Introduction of protonable amines within lead molecules led to marked improvements of up to 1000 times in activity against cultured parasites without noteworthy alterations in other SAR tendencies. Optimized compounds presented enzymatic activities in the picomolar to low nanomolar range and antiparasitic activities in the low nanomolar range.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose M Coterón
- Department of Drug Discovery Chemistry, GlaxoSmithKline, Madrid, Spain
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Ettari R, Zappalà M, Micale N, Schirmeister T, Gelhaus C, Leippe M, Evers A, Grasso S. Synthesis of novel peptidomimetics as inhibitors of protozoan cysteine proteases falcipain-2 and rhodesain. Eur J Med Chem 2010; 45:3228-33. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2010.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2010] [Revised: 03/16/2010] [Accepted: 04/07/2010] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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