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dos Santos JV, Medina JM, Dias Teixeira KL, Agostinho DMJ, Chorev M, Diotallevi A, Galluzzi L, Aktas BH, Gazos Lopes U. Activity of the Di-Substituted Urea-Derived Compound I-17 in Leishmania In Vitro Infections. Pathogens 2024; 13:104. [PMID: 38392842 PMCID: PMC10893125 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens13020104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Protein synthesis has been a very rich target for developing drugs to control prokaryotic and eukaryotic pathogens. Despite the development of new drug formulations, treating human cutaneous and visceral Leishmaniasis still needs significant improvements due to the considerable side effects and low adherence associated with the current treatment regimen. In this work, we show that the di-substituted urea-derived compounds I-17 and 3m are effective in inhibiting the promastigote growth of different Leishmania species and reducing the macrophage intracellular load of amastigotes of the Leishmania (L.) amazonensis and L. major species, in addition to exhibiting low macrophage cytotoxicity. We also show a potential immunomodulatory effect of I-17 and 3m in infected macrophages, which exhibited increased expression of inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS2) and production of Nitric Oxide (NO). Our data indicate that I-17, 3m, and their analogs may be helpful in developing new drugs for treating leishmaniasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Vitorino dos Santos
- Laboratory of Molecular Parasitology, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil; (J.V.d.S.); (J.M.M.); (D.M.J.A.)
| | - Jorge Mansur Medina
- Laboratory of Molecular Parasitology, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil; (J.V.d.S.); (J.M.M.); (D.M.J.A.)
| | | | - Daniel Marcos Julio Agostinho
- Laboratory of Molecular Parasitology, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil; (J.V.d.S.); (J.M.M.); (D.M.J.A.)
| | - Michael Chorev
- Division of Hematology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA;
| | - Aurora Diotallevi
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, 61029 Urbino, Italy; (A.D.)
| | - Luca Galluzzi
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, 61029 Urbino, Italy; (A.D.)
| | - Bertal Huseyin Aktas
- Division of Hematology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA;
| | - Ulisses Gazos Lopes
- Laboratory of Molecular Parasitology, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil; (J.V.d.S.); (J.M.M.); (D.M.J.A.)
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Impact of Laboratory-Adapted Intracellular Trypanosoma cruzi Strains on the Activity Profiles of Compounds with Anti- T. cruzi Activity. Microorganisms 2023; 11:microorganisms11020476. [PMID: 36838441 PMCID: PMC9967867 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11020476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2022] [Revised: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Chagas disease is caused by infection with the protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi. The disease causes ~12,000 deaths annually and is one of the world's 20 neglected tropical diseases, as defined by the World Health Organisation. The drug discovery pipeline for Chagas disease currently has few new clinical candidates, with high attrition rates an ongoing issue. To determine if the Trypanosoma cruzi strain utilised to assess in vitro compound activity impacts activity, a comparison of laboratory-adapted T. cruzi strains from differing geographical locations was undertaken for a selection of compounds with anti-T. cruzi activity. To minimise the possible effect of differences in experimental methodology, the same host cell and multiplicity of infection were utilised. To determine whether the compound exposure time influenced results, activity was determined following exposure for 48 and 72 h of incubation. To ascertain whether replication rates affected outcomes, comparative rates of replication of the T. cruzi strains were investigated, using the nucleoside analogue, 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine. Minimal differences in the in vitro activity of compounds between strains were observed following 48 h incubation, whereas significant differences were observed following 72 h incubation, in particular for the cytochrome P450 inhibitors tested and the cell cycle inhibitor, camptothecin. Thus, the use of panels of laboratory adapted strains in vitro may be dependent on the speed of action that is prioritised. For the identification of fast-acting compounds, an initial shorter duration assay using a single strain may be used. A longer incubation to identify compound activity may alternatively require profiling of compounds against multiple T. cruzi strains.
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Zhang Q, Du R, Reis Monteiro Dos Santos GR, Yefidoff-Freedman R, Bohm A, Halperin J, Chorev M, Aktas BH. New activators of eIF2α Kinase Heme-Regulated Inhibitor (HRI) with improved biophysical properties. Eur J Med Chem 2019; 187:111973. [PMID: 31881453 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2019.111973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Revised: 12/13/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Heme-regulated inhibitor (HRI), a eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha (eIF2α) kinase, is critically important for coupling protein synthesis to heme availability in reticulocytes and adaptation to various environmental stressors in all cells. HRI modifies the severity of several hemoglobin misfolding disorders including β-thalassemia. Small molecule activators of HRI are essential for studying normal- and patho-biology of this kinase as well as for the treatment of various human disorders for which activation of HRI or phosphorylation of eIF2α may be beneficial. We previously reported development of 1-((1,4-trans)-4-aryloxycyclohexyl)-3-arylureas (cHAUs) as specific HRI activators and demonstrated their potential as molecular probes for studying HRI biology and as lead compounds for treatment of various human disorders. To develop more druglike cHAUs for in vivo studies and drug development and to expand the chemical space, we undertook bioassay guided structure-activity relationship studies replacing cyclohexyl ring with various 4-6-membered rings and explored further substitutions on the N-phenyl ring. We tested all analogs in the surrogate eIF2α phosphorylation and cell proliferation assays, and a subset of analogs in secondary mechanistic assays that included endogenous eIF2α phosphorylation and expression of C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), a downstream effector. Finally, we determined specificity of these compounds for HRI by testing their anti-proliferative activity in cells transfected with siRNA targeting HRI or mock. These compounds have significantly improved cLogPs with no loss of potencies, making them excellent candidates for lead optimization for development of investigational new drugs that potently and specifically activate HRI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingwen Zhang
- Division of Medicinal and Process Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Pharmaceutical Industry, Pudong, Shanghai, 201203, China; Hematology Laboratory for Translational Research, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Ronghui Du
- Hematology Laboratory for Translational Research, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA; Medicine School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210093, China
| | | | - Revital Yefidoff-Freedman
- Hematology Laboratory for Translational Research, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Andrew Bohm
- Tufts University Medical School, Boston, MA, 02117, USA
| | - Jose Halperin
- Hematology Laboratory for Translational Research, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Michael Chorev
- Hematology Laboratory for Translational Research, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Bertal H Aktas
- Hematology Laboratory for Translational Research, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
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Franco CH, Alcântara LM, Chatelain E, Freitas-Junior L, Moraes CB. Drug Discovery for Chagas Disease: Impact of Different Host Cell Lines on Assay Performance and Hit Compound Selection. Trop Med Infect Dis 2019; 4:E82. [PMID: 31108888 PMCID: PMC6630705 DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed4020082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2019] [Revised: 05/12/2019] [Accepted: 05/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell-based screening has become the major compound interrogation strategy in Chagas disease drug discovery. Several different cell lines have been deployed as host cells in screening assays. However, host cell characteristics and host-parasite interactions may play an important role when assessing anti-T. cruzi compound activity, ultimately impacting on hit discovery. To verify this hypothesis, four distinct mammalian cell lines (U2OS, THP-1, Vero and L6) were used as T. cruzi host cells in High Content Screening assays. Rates of infection varied greatly between different host cells. Susceptibility to benznidazole also varied, depending on the host cell and parasite strain. A library of 1,280 compounds was screened against the four different cell lines infected with T. cruzi, resulting in the selection of a total of 82 distinct compounds as hits. From these, only two hits were common to all four cell lines assays (2.4%) and 51 were exclusively selected from a single assay (62.2%). Infected U2OS cells were the most sensitive assay, as 55 compounds in total were identified as hits; infected THP-1 yielded the lowest hit rates, with only 16 hit compounds. Of the selected hits, compound FPL64176 presented selective anti-T. cruzi activity and could serve as a starting point for the discovery of new anti-chagasic drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caio Haddad Franco
- Brazilian Biosciences National Laboratory, National Centre for Research in Energy and Materials, Campinas, SP 13083-970, Brazil.
- Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil.
| | - Laura Maria Alcântara
- Brazilian Biosciences National Laboratory, National Centre for Research in Energy and Materials, Campinas, SP 13083-970, Brazil.
- Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil.
| | - Eric Chatelain
- Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Lucio Freitas-Junior
- Brazilian Biosciences National Laboratory, National Centre for Research in Energy and Materials, Campinas, SP 13083-970, Brazil.
- Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil.
| | - Carolina Borsoi Moraes
- Brazilian Biosciences National Laboratory, National Centre for Research in Energy and Materials, Campinas, SP 13083-970, Brazil.
- Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil.
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