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Ajiboye J, Uldry AC, Heller M, Naguleswaran A, Fan E, Van Voorhis WC, Hemphill A, Müller J. Molecular Targets of the 5-Amido-Carboxamide Bumped Kinase Inhibitor BKI-1748 in Cryptosporidium parvum and HCT-8 Host Cells. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:2707. [PMID: 38473953 PMCID: PMC10931551 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25052707] [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: 02/02/2024] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Cryptosporidium parvum is an apicomplexan parasite causing persistent diarrhea in humans and animals. Issuing from target-based drug development, calcium-dependent protein kinase 1 inhibitors, collectively named bumped kinase inhibitors (BKIs), with excellent efficacies in vitro and in vivo have been generated. Some BKIs including BKI-1748 share a core structure with similarities to the first-generation antiprotozoal drug quinine, which is known to exert notorious side effects. Unlike quinine, BKI-1748 rapidly interfered with C. parvum proliferation in the human colon tumor (HCT) cell line HCT-8 cells and caused dramatic effects on the parasite ultrastructure. To identify putative BKI targets in C. parvum and in host cells, we performed differential affinity chromatography with cell-free extracts from non-infected and infected HCT-8 cells using BKI-1748 and quinine epoxy-activated sepharose columns followed by mass spectrometry. C. parvum proteins of interest were identified in eluates from columns coupled to BKI-1748, or in eluates from both BKI-1748 and quinine columns. However, no C. parvum proteins could be identified binding exclusively to BKI-1748. In contrast, 25 BKI-1748-specific binding proteins originating from HCT-8 cells were detected. Moreover, 29 C. parvum and 224 host cell proteins were identified in both BKI-1748 as well as in quinine eluates. In both C. parvum and host cells, the largest subset of binding proteins was involved in RNA binding and modification, with a focus on ribosomal proteins and proteins involved in RNA splicing. These findings extend previous results, showing that BKI-1748 interacts with putative targets involved in common, essential pathways such as translation and RNA processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jubilee Ajiboye
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggass-Strasse 122, 3012 Bern, Switzerland;
- Cellular, Molecular and Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
| | - Anne-Christine Uldry
- Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Core Facility, Department for BioMedical Research (DBMR), University of Bern, Länggass-Strasse 122, 3012 Bern, Switzerland; (A.-C.U.); (M.H.)
| | - Manfred Heller
- Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Core Facility, Department for BioMedical Research (DBMR), University of Bern, Länggass-Strasse 122, 3012 Bern, Switzerland; (A.-C.U.); (M.H.)
| | - Arunasalam Naguleswaran
- Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggass-Strasse 122, 3012 Bern, Switzerland;
| | - Erkang Fan
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA;
| | - Wesley C. Van Voorhis
- Center for Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA;
| | - Andrew Hemphill
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggass-Strasse 122, 3012 Bern, Switzerland;
| | - Joachim Müller
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggass-Strasse 122, 3012 Bern, Switzerland;
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2
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Fenwick M, Reers AR, Liu Y, Zigweid R, Sankaran B, Shin J, Hulverson MA, Hammerson B, Fernández Álvaro E, Myler PJ, Kaushansky A, Van Voorhis WC, Fan E, Staker BL. Identification of and Structural Insights into Hit Compounds Targeting N-Myristoyltransferase for Cryptosporidium Drug Development. ACS Infect Dis 2023; 9:1821-1833. [PMID: 37722671 PMCID: PMC10580320 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.3c00151] [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: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/20/2023]
Abstract
Each year, approximately 50,000 children under 5 die as a result of diarrhea caused by Cryptosporidium parvum, a protozoan parasite. There are currently no effective drugs or vaccines available to cure or prevent Cryptosporidium infection, and there are limited tools for identifying and validating targets for drug or vaccine development. We previously reported a high throughput screening (HTS) of a large compound library against Plasmodium N-myristoyltransferase (NMT), a validated drug target in multiple protozoan parasite species. To identify molecules that could be effective against Cryptosporidium, we counter-screened hits from the Plasmodium NMT HTS against Cryptosporidium NMT. We identified two potential hit compounds and validated them against CpNMT to determine if NMT might be an attractive drug target also for Cryptosporidium. We tested the compounds against Cryptosporidium using both cell-based and NMT enzymatic assays. We then determined the crystal structure of CpNMT bound to Myristoyl-Coenzyme A (MyrCoA) and structures of ternary complexes with MyrCoA and the hit compounds to identify the ligand binding modes. The binding site architectures display different conformational states in the presence of the two inhibitors and provide a basis for rational design of selective inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael
K. Fenwick
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID), Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Alexandra R. Reers
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID), Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Yi Liu
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Rachael Zigweid
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID), Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Banumathi Sankaran
- Berkeley
Center for Structural Biology, Advanced Light Source, Berkeley National
Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Janis Shin
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID), Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Matthew A. Hulverson
- Center
for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases, Division of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Bradley Hammerson
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID), Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | | | - Peter J. Myler
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID), Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Department
of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
- Department
of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Alexis Kaushansky
- Center
for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases, Division of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Department
of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Wesley C. Van Voorhis
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID), Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases, Division of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Erkang Fan
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Bart L. Staker
- Seattle
Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID), Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
- Center
for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
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3
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Hanna JC, Corpas-Lopez V, Seizova S, Colon BL, Bacchetti R, Hall GMJ, Sands EM, Robinson L, Baragaña B, Wyllie S, Pawlowic MC. Mode of action studies confirm on-target engagement of lysyl-tRNA synthetase inhibitor and lead to new selection marker for Cryptosporidium. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1236814. [PMID: 37600947 PMCID: PMC10436570 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1236814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Cryptosporidiosis is a leading cause of diarrheal-associated morbidity and mortality, predominantly affecting children under 5 years old in low-and-middle-income countries. There is no effective treatment and no vaccine. New therapeutics are emerging from drug discovery efforts. It is critical that mode of action studies are performed alongside drug discovery to ensure the best clinical outcomes. Unfortunately, technology to identify and validate drug targets for Cryptosporidium is severely lacking. Methods We used C. parvum lysyl-tRNA synthetase (CpKRS) and DDD01510706 as a target-compound pair to develop both chemical and genetic tools for mode of action studies for Cryptosporidium. We adapted thermal proteome profiling (TPP) for Cryptosporidium, an unbiased approach for target identification. Results Using TPP we identified the molecular target of DDD01510706 and confirm that it is CpKRS. Genetic tools confirm that CpKRS is expressed throughout the life cycle and that this target is essential for parasite survival. Parasites genetically modified to over-express CpKRS or parasites with a mutation at the compound-binding site are resistant to treatment with DDD01510706. We leveraged these mutations to generate a second drug selection marker for genetic modification of Cryptosporidium, KRSR. This second selection marker is interchangeable with the original selection marker, NeoR, and expands the range of reverse genetic approaches available to study parasite biology. Due to the sexual nature of the Cryptosporidium life cycle, parental strains containing different drug selection markers can be crossed in vivo. Discussion Selection with both drug markers produces highly efficient genetic crosses (>99% hybrid progeny), paving the way for forward genetics approaches in Cryptosporidium.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack C. Hanna
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Victor Corpas-Lopez
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Simona Seizova
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Beatrice L. Colon
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Ross Bacchetti
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Grant M. J. Hall
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Emma M. Sands
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Lee Robinson
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Beatriz Baragaña
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
- Drug Discovery Unit, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Susan Wyllie
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Mattie C. Pawlowic
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
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4
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Gilbert IH, Vinayak S, Striepen B, Manjunatha UH, Khalil IA, Van Voorhis WC. Safe and effective treatments are needed for cryptosporidiosis, a truly neglected tropical disease. BMJ Glob Health 2023; 8:e012540. [PMID: 37541693 PMCID: PMC10407372 DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2023-012540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Sumiti Vinayak
- Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Boris Striepen
- Department of Pathobiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Ujjini H Manjunatha
- Global Health, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc, Emeryville, California, USA
| | - Ibrahim A Khalil
- Department of Health, State of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
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Lee S, Love MS, Modukuri R, Chatterjee AK, Huerta L, Lawson AP, McNamara CW, Mead JR, Hedstrom L, Cuny GD. Structure-activity relationship of BMS906024 derivatives for Cryptosporidium parvum growth inhibition. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2023; 90:129328. [PMID: 37196868 PMCID: PMC10290938 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2023.129328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
BMS906024, a γ-secretase inhibitor that blocks Notch signaling, was previously shown to inhibit Cryptosporidium parvum growth in vitro. A structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis of BMS906024 reported herein demonstrates the importance of the stereochemistry of the C-3 benzodiazepine and the succinyl β-substituent. However, concomitant removal of the succinyl α-substituent and switching the primary amide with secondary amides was tolerated. For example, 32 (SH287) inhibited C. parvum growth in HCT-8 host cells with an EC50 = 6.4 nM and an EC90 = 16 nM; however, blocking C. parvum growth with BMS906024 derivatives was correlative with inhibition of Notch signaling, highlighting that additional SAR analysis will be needed to separate these two activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seungheon Lee
- Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Houston, Health Building 2, Houston, TX 77204, USA
| | - Melissa S Love
- Calibr, a Division of The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Ramkumar Modukuri
- Calibr, a Division of The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Arnab K Chatterjee
- Calibr, a Division of The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Lauren Huerta
- Calibr, a Division of The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Ann P Lawson
- Department of Biology, Brandeis University, 415 South St., Waltham, MA 02454, USA
| | - Case W McNamara
- Calibr, a Division of The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Jan R Mead
- Atlanta VA Medical Center and Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Lizbeth Hedstrom
- Department of Biology, Brandeis University, 415 South St., Waltham, MA 02454, USA; Department of Chemistry, Brandeis University, 415 South St., Waltham, MA 02454, USA
| | - Gregory D Cuny
- Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Houston, Health Building 2, Houston, TX 77204, USA.
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6
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Hulverson MA, Choi R, Schaefer DA, Betzer DP, McCloskey MC, Whitman GR, Huang W, Lee S, Pranata A, McLeod MD, Marsh KC, Kempf DJ, LeRoy BE, Zafiratos MT, Bielinski AL, Hackman RC, Ojo KK, Arnold SLM, Barrett LK, Tzipori S, Riggs MW, Fan E, Van Voorhis WC. Comparison of Toxicities among Different Bumped Kinase Inhibitor Analogs for Treatment of Cryptosporidiosis. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2023; 67:e0142522. [PMID: 36920244 PMCID: PMC10112232 DOI: 10.1128/aac.01425-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent advances on the development of bumped kinase inhibitors for treatment of cryptosporidiosis have focused on the 5-aminopyrazole-4-carboxamide scaffold, due to analogs that have less hERG inhibition, superior efficacy, and strong in vitro safety profiles. Three compounds, BKI-1770, -1841, and -1708, showed strong efficacy in C. parvum infected mice. Both BKI-1770 and BKI-1841 had efficacy in the C. parvum newborn calf model, reducing diarrhea and oocyst excretion. However, both compounds caused hyperflexion of the limbs seen as dropped pasterns. Toxicity experiments in rats and calves dosed with BKI-1770 showed enlargement of the epiphyseal growth plate at doses only slightly higher than the efficacious dose. Mice were used as a screen to check for bone toxicity, by changes to the tibia epiphyseal growth plate, or neurological causes, by use of a locomotor activity box. These results showed neurological effects from both BKI-1770 and BKI-1841 and bone toxicity in mice from BKI-1770, indicating one or both effects may be contributing to toxicity. However, BKI-1708 remains a viable treatment candidate for further evaluation as it showed no signs of bone toxicity or neurological effects in mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A. Hulverson
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Ryan Choi
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Deborah A. Schaefer
- School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Dana P. Betzer
- School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Molly C. McCloskey
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Grant R. Whitman
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Wenlin Huang
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Sangun Lee
- Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Andy Pranata
- Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Malcolm D. McLeod
- Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Kennan C. Marsh
- Research and Development, AbbVie, Inc., North Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Dale J. Kempf
- Research and Development, AbbVie, Inc., North Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Former employee of AbbVie, Inc., North Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Bruce E. LeRoy
- Research and Development, AbbVie, Inc., North Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Mark T. Zafiratos
- Research and Development, AbbVie, Inc., North Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | | | - Robert C. Hackman
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Kayode K. Ojo
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Samuel L. M. Arnold
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Lynn K. Barrett
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Saul Tzipori
- Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Michael W. Riggs
- School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Erkang Fan
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Wesley C. Van Voorhis
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
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7
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Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors Display Potent Activity against Cryptosporidium parvum. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0387422. [PMID: 36533912 PMCID: PMC9927415 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.03874-22] [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] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium is a leading cause of diarrheal disease (cryptosporidiosis) and death in young children. Cryptosporidiosis can be life-threatening in individuals with weak immunity such as HIV/AIDS patients and organ transplant recipients. There is currently no effective drug to treat cryptosporidiosis in the pediatric and immunocompromised population. Therefore, there is an urgent need to expedite the drug discovery process in order to develop new and effective therapies to reduce the global disease burden of cryptosporidiosis. In this study, we employed a drug repurposing strategy to screen a library of 473 human kinase inhibitors to determine their activity against Cryptosporidium parvum. We have identified 67 new anti-cryptosporidial compounds using phenotypic screening based on a transgenic C. parvum strain expressing a luciferase reporter. Further, dose-response assays led to the identification of 11 hit compounds that showed potent inhibition of C. parvum at nanomolar concentration. Kinome profiling of these 11 prioritized hits identified compounds that displayed selectivity in targeting specific families of kinases, particularly tyrosine kinases. Overall, this study identified tyrosine kinase inhibitors that hold potential for future development as new drug candidates against cryptosporidiosis. IMPORTANCE The intestinal parasite Cryptosporidium parvum is a major cause of diarrhea-associated morbidity and mortality in children, immunocompromised people, and young ruminant animals. With no effective drug available to treat cryptosporidiosis in humans and animals, there is an urgent need to identify anti-parasitic compounds and new targets for drug development. To address this unmet need, we screened a GSK library of kinase inhibitors and identified several potent compounds, including tyrosine kinase inhibitors, that were highly effective in killing C. parvum. Overall, our study revealed several novel compounds and a new family of kinases that can be targeted for anti-cryptosporidial drug development.
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8
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Dhal AK, Panda C, Yun SIL, Mahapatra RK. An update on Cryptosporidium biology and therapeutic avenues. J Parasit Dis 2022; 46:923-939. [PMID: 35755159 PMCID: PMC9215156 DOI: 10.1007/s12639-022-01510-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Cryptosporidium species has been identified as an important pediatric diarrheal pathogen in resource-limited countries, particularly in very young children (0–24 months). However, the only available drug (nitazoxanide) has limited efficacy and can only be prescribed in a medical setting to children older than one year. Many drug development projects have started to investigate new therapeutic avenues. Cryptosporidium’s unique biology is challenging for the traditional drug discovery pipeline and requires novel drug screening approaches. Notably, in recent years, new methods of oocyst generation, in vitro processing, and continuous three-dimensional cultivation capacities have been developed. This has enabled more physiologically pertinent research assays for inhibitor discovery. In a short time, many great strides have been made in the development of anti-Cryptosporidium drugs. These are expected to eventually turn into clinical candidates for cryptosporidiosis treatment in the future. This review describes the latest development in Cryptosporidium biology, genomics, transcriptomics of the parasite, assay development, and new drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ajit Kumar Dhal
- School of Biotechnology, KIIT Deemed to Be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 751024 India
| | - Chinmaya Panda
- School of Biotechnology, KIIT Deemed to Be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 751024 India
| | - Soon-IL Yun
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, 54896 Republic of Korea
- Department of Agricultural Convergence Technology, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, 54896 Republic of Korea
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9
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Repurposing the Kinase Inhibitor Mavelertinib for Giardiasis Therapy. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2022; 66:e0001722. [PMID: 35703552 PMCID: PMC9295539 DOI: 10.1128/aac.00017-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
A phenotypic screen of the ReFRAME compound library was performed to identify cell-active inhibitors that could be developed as therapeutics for giardiasis. A primary screen against Giardia lamblia GS clone H7 identified 85 cell-active compounds at a hit rate of 0.72%. A cytotoxicity counterscreen against HEK293T cells was carried out to assess hit compound selectivity for further prioritization. Mavelertinib (PF-06747775), a third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI), was identified as a potential new therapeutic based on indication, activity, and availability after reconfirmation. Mavelertinib has in vitro efficacy against metronidazole-resistant 713-M3 strains. Other EGFR-TKIs screened in follow-up assays exhibited insignificant inhibition of G. lamblia at 5 μM, suggesting that the primary molecular target of mavelertinib may have a different mechanistic binding mode from human EGFR-tyrosine kinase. Mavelertinib, dosed as low as 5 mg/kg of body weight or as high as 50 mg/kg, was efficacious in the acute murine Giardia infection model. These results suggest that mavelertinib merits consideration for repurposing and advancement to giardiasis clinical trials while its analogues are further developed.
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10
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English ED, Guérin A, Tandel J, Striepen B. Live imaging of the Cryptosporidium parvum life cycle reveals direct development of male and female gametes from type I meronts. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001604. [PMID: 35436284 PMCID: PMC9015140 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Cryptosporidium is a leading infectious cause of diarrhea around the world associated with waterborne outbreaks, community spread, or zoonotic transmission. The parasite has significant impact on early childhood mortality, and infection is both a consequence and cause of malnutrition and stunting. There is currently no vaccine, and treatment options are very limited. Cryptosporidium is a member of the Apicomplexa, and, as typical for this, protist phylum relies on asexual and sexual reproduction. In contrast to other Apicomplexa, including the malaria parasite Plasmodium, the entire Cryptosporidium life cycle unfolds in a single host in less than 3 days. Here, we establish a model to image life cycle progression in living cells and observe, track, and compare nuclear division of asexual and sexual stage parasites. We establish the length and sequence of the cell cycles of all stages and map the developmental fate of parasites across multiple rounds of invasion and egress. We propose that the parasite executes an intrinsic program of 3 generations of asexual replication, followed by a single generation of sexual stages that is independent of environmental stimuli. We find no evidence for a morphologically distinct intermediate stage (the tetraploid type II meront) but demonstrate direct development of gametes from 8N type I meronts. The progeny of each meront is collectively committed to either asexual or sexual fate, but, importantly, meronts committed to sexual fate give rise to both males and females. We define a Cryptosporidium life cycle matching Tyzzer’s original description and inconsistent with the coccidian life cycle now shown in many textbooks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth D. English
- Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Amandine Guérin
- Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Jayesh Tandel
- Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Boris Striepen
- Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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11
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Advances in therapeutic and vaccine targets for Cryptosporidium: Challenges and possible mitigation strategies. Acta Trop 2022; 226:106273. [PMID: 34906550 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.106273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Revised: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Cryptosporidium is known to be the second most common diarrheal pathogen in children, causing potentially fatal diarrhea and associated with long-term growth stunting and cognitive deficits. The only Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for cryptosporidiosis is nitazoxanide, but this drug has not shown potentially effective results in susceptible hosts. Therefore, a safe and effective drug for cryptosporidiosis is urgently needed. Cryptosporidium genome sequencing analysis may help develop an effective drug, but both in vitro and in vivo approaches to drug evaluation are not fully standardized. On the other hand, the development of partial immunity after exposure suggests the possibility of a successful and effective vaccine, but protective surrogates are not precise. In this review, we present our current perspectives on novel cryptosporidiosis therapies, vaccine targets and efficacies, as well as potential mitigation plans, recommendations and perceived challenges.
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12
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Substantial progress has been made recently on the development of new therapeutics for cryptosporidiosis, an infection by the protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium that is associated with diarrhea, malnutrition, growth stunting, cognitive deficits, and oral vaccine failure in children living in low-resource settings. RECENT FINDINGS Various drug discovery approaches have generated promising lead candidates. The repurposed antimycobacterial drug clofazimine was tested in Malawian HIV patients with cryptosporidiosis but was ineffective. Target-based screens identified inhibitors of lysyl-tRNA synthetase, phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase, methionyl-tRNA synthetase, and calcium-dependent protein kinase 1. Phenotypic screens led to discovery of a phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase inhibitor, the piperazine MMV665917, and the benzoxaborole AN7973. The relationship between pharmacokinetic properties and in-vivo efficacy is gradually emerging. A pathway to clinical trials, regulatory approval, and introduction has been proposed but additional work is needed to strengthen the route. SUMMARY Several lead compounds with potent activity in animal models and a favorable safety profile have been identified. A sustained effort will be required to advance at least one to clinical proof-of-concept studies. The demonstrated risk of resistance indicates multiple candidates should be advanced as potential components of a combination therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa S. Love
- Calibr, a division of The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, USA
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13
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Schneider A, Wendt S, Lübbert C, Trawinski H. Current pharmacotherapy of cryptosporidiosis: an update of the state-of-the-art. Expert Opin Pharmacother 2021; 22:2337-2342. [PMID: 34281461 DOI: 10.1080/14656566.2021.1957097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: Cryptosporidiosis has emerged as a major cause of diarrheal disease worldwide. It has especially serious health consequences for young, malnourished children living in endemic areas and for individuals with highly impaired T-cell function, such as HIV-positive individuals with low CD4 counts or immunosuppressed solid-organ transplant recipients.Areas covered: A selective literature search using PubMed was performed to review the available therapeutics to treat cryptosporidiosis, as well as related advances in drug development.Expert opinion: The only FDA-approved antiparasitic treatment in immunocompetent patients is nitazoxanide; however, it has failed to demonstrate convincing effectiveness among HIV-positive patients, immunosuppressed individuals and malnourished children. Thus, restoring HIV-positive patients' cellular immune response through effective antiretroviral therapy (ART), or reducing or changing immunosuppressive drugs, is important. Several new targets have been identified for chemotherapy, and the development of drugs for these targets has progressed, including parasite kinases, nucleic acid synthesis and processing, proteases and lipid metabolism. Candidate drugs that have been shown to be effective and safe in a neonatal calf model will most likely constitute the next advance for clinical trials in humans. However, developing an effective and inexpensive vaccination, as well as complementing structural preventive measures, would most decisively reduce the global cryptosporidiosis burden.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Schneider
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Department of Medicine II, Leipzig University Hospital, Leipzig, Germany.,Interdisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases (ZINF), Leipzig University Hospital, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sebastian Wendt
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Department of Medicine II, Leipzig University Hospital, Leipzig, Germany.,Interdisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases (ZINF), Leipzig University Hospital, Leipzig, Germany.,Institute of Medical Microbiology and Virology, Leipzig University Hospital, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christoph Lübbert
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Department of Medicine II, Leipzig University Hospital, Leipzig, Germany.,Interdisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases (ZINF), Leipzig University Hospital, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Henning Trawinski
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Department of Medicine II, Leipzig University Hospital, Leipzig, Germany.,Interdisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases (ZINF), Leipzig University Hospital, Leipzig, Germany
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14
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Hulverson MA, Choi R, McCloskey MC, Whitman GR, Ojo KK, Michaels SA, Somepalli M, Love MS, McNamara CW, Rabago LM, Barrett LK, Verlinde CLMJ, Arnold SL, Striepen B, Jimenez-Alfaro D, Ballell L, Fernández E, Greenwood MN, las Heras LD, Calderón F, Van Voorhis WC. Repurposing Infectious Disease Hits as Anti- Cryptosporidium Leads. ACS Infect Dis 2021; 7:1275-1282. [PMID: 33740373 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.1c00076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
New drugs are critically needed to treat Cryptosporidium infections, particularly for malnourished children under 2 years old in the developing world and persons with immunodeficiencies. Bioactive compounds from the Tres-Cantos GSK library that have activity against other pathogens were screened for possible repurposing against Cryptosporidium parvum growth. Nineteen compounds grouped into nine structural clusters were identified using an iterative process to remove excessively toxic compounds and screen related compounds from the Tres-Cantos GSK library. Representatives of four different clusters were advanced to a mouse model of C. parvum infection, but only one compound, an imidazole-pyrimidine, led to significant clearance of infection. This imidazole-pyrimidine compound had a number of favorable safety and pharmacokinetic properties and was maximally active in the mouse model down to 30 mg/kg given daily. Though the mechanism of action against C. parvum was not definitively established, this imidazole-pyrimidine compound inhibits the known C. parvum drug target, calcium-dependent protein kinase 1, with a 50% inhibitory concentration of 2 nM. This compound, and related imidazole-pyrimidine molecules, should be further examined as potential leads for Cryptosporidium therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A. Hulverson
- Department of Medicine Division of Allergy Infectious Disease Center for Emerging Reemerging Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Ryan Choi
- Department of Medicine Division of Allergy Infectious Disease Center for Emerging Reemerging Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Molly C. McCloskey
- Department of Medicine Division of Allergy Infectious Disease Center for Emerging Reemerging Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Grant R. Whitman
- Department of Medicine Division of Allergy Infectious Disease Center for Emerging Reemerging Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Kayode K. Ojo
- Department of Medicine Division of Allergy Infectious Disease Center for Emerging Reemerging Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Samantha A. Michaels
- Department of Medicine Division of Allergy Infectious Disease Center for Emerging Reemerging Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Mastanbabu Somepalli
- Department of Pathobiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Melissa S. Love
- Calibr, a division of The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Case W. McNamara
- Calibr, a division of The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Lesley M. Rabago
- Department of Medicine Division of Allergy Infectious Disease Center for Emerging Reemerging Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Lynn K. Barrett
- Department of Medicine Division of Allergy Infectious Disease Center for Emerging Reemerging Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | | | - Samuel L.M. Arnold
- Department of Medicine Division of Allergy Infectious Disease Center for Emerging Reemerging Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Boris Striepen
- Department of Pathobiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Dolores Jimenez-Alfaro
- Medicines Development Campus, Global Health Pharma Unit, GlaxoSmithKline, Tres Cantos, 28760, Madrid Spain
| | - Lluis Ballell
- Medicines Development Campus, Global Health Pharma Unit, GlaxoSmithKline, Tres Cantos, 28760, Madrid Spain
| | - Elena Fernández
- Medicines Development Campus, Global Health Pharma Unit, GlaxoSmithKline, Tres Cantos, 28760, Madrid Spain
| | - M. Nicole Greenwood
- Academic Liaison, GlaxoSmithKline, Upper Providence, Pennsylvania 19426, United States
| | | | - Felix Calderón
- Medicines Development Campus, Global Health Pharma Unit, GlaxoSmithKline, Tres Cantos, 28760, Madrid Spain
| | - Wesley C. Van Voorhis
- Department of Medicine Division of Allergy Infectious Disease Center for Emerging Reemerging Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
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15
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Hulverson MA, Choi R, Vidadala RSR, Whitman GR, Vidadala VN, Ojo KK, Barrett LK, Lynch JJ, Marsh K, Kempf DJ, Maly DJ, Van Voorhis WC. Pyrrolopyrimidine Bumped Kinase Inhibitors for the Treatment of Cryptosporidiosis. ACS Infect Dis 2021; 7:1200-1207. [PMID: 33565854 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.0c00803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Bumped kinase inhibitors (BKIs) that target Cryptosporidium parvum calcium-dependent protein kinase 1 have been well established as potential drug candidates against cryptosporidiosis. Recently, BKI-1649, with a 7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-amine, or "pyrrolopyrimidine", central scaffold, has shown improved efficacy in mouse models of Cryptosporidium at substantially reduced doses compared to previously explored analogs of the pyrazolopyrimidine scaffold. Here, two pyrrolopyrimidines with varied substituent groups, BKI-1812 and BKI-1814, were explored in several in vitro and in vivo models and show improvements in potency over the previously utilized pyrazolopyrimidine bumped kinase inhibitors while maintaining equivalent results in other key properties, such as toxicity and efficacy, with their pyrazolopyrimidine isosteric counterparts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A. Hulverson
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Ryan Choi
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Rama S. R. Vidadala
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Grant R. Whitman
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | | | - Kayode K. Ojo
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Lynn K. Barrett
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - James J. Lynch
- Research and Development, AbbVie Inc., North Chicago, Illinois 60064, United States
| | - Kennan Marsh
- Research and Development, AbbVie Inc., North Chicago, Illinois 60064, United States
| | - Dale J. Kempf
- Research and Development, AbbVie Inc., North Chicago, Illinois 60064, United States
| | - Dustin J. Maly
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Wesley C. Van Voorhis
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
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16
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Ashigbie PG, Shepherd S, Steiner KL, Amadi B, Aziz N, Manjunatha UH, Spector JM, Diagana TT, Kelly P. Use-case scenarios for an anti-Cryptosporidium therapeutic. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021; 15:e0009057. [PMID: 33705395 PMCID: PMC7951839 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Cryptosporidium is a widely distributed enteric parasite that has an increasingly appreciated pathogenic role, particularly in pediatric diarrhea. While cryptosporidiosis has likely affected humanity for millennia, its recent "emergence" is largely the result of discoveries made through major epidemiologic studies in the past decade. There is no vaccine, and the only approved medicine, nitazoxanide, has been shown to have efficacy limitations in several patient groups known to be at elevated risk of disease. In order to help frontline health workers, policymakers, and other stakeholders translate our current understanding of cryptosporidiosis into actionable guidance to address the disease, we sought to assess salient issues relating to clinical management of cryptosporidiosis drawing from a review of the literature and our own field-based practice. This exercise is meant to help inform health system strategies for improving access to current treatments, to highlight recent achievements and outstanding knowledge and clinical practice gaps, and to help guide research activities for new anti-Cryptosporidium therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul G. Ashigbie
- Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, Emeryville, California, United States of America
| | - Susan Shepherd
- Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA), Dakar, Senegal
| | - Kevin L. Steiner
- The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Beatrice Amadi
- Children’s Hospital, University Teaching Hospitals, Lusaka, Zambia
- Tropical Gastroenterology & Nutrition Group, University of Zambia School of Medicine, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - Natasha Aziz
- Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, Emeryville, California, United States of America
| | - Ujjini H. Manjunatha
- Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, Emeryville, California, United States of America
| | - Jonathan M. Spector
- Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, Emeryville, California, United States of America
| | - Thierry T. Diagana
- Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, Emeryville, California, United States of America
| | - Paul Kelly
- Tropical Gastroenterology & Nutrition Group, University of Zambia School of Medicine, Lusaka, Zambia
- Blizard Institute, Barts & The London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
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17
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Van Voorhis WC, Hulverson MA, Choi R, Huang W, Arnold SLM, Schaefer DA, Betzer DP, Vidadala RSR, Lee S, Whitman GR, Barrett LK, Maly DJ, Riggs MW, Fan E, Kennedy TJ, Tzipori S, Doggett JS, Winzer P, Anghel N, Imhof D, Müller J, Hemphill A, Ferre I, Sanchez-Sanchez R, Ortega-Mora LM, Ojo KK. One health therapeutics: Target-Based drug development for cryptosporidiosis and other apicomplexa diseases. Vet Parasitol 2020; 289:109336. [PMID: 33418437 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2020.109336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2020] [Revised: 12/12/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
This is a review of the development of bumped-kinase inhibitors (BKIs) for the therapy of One Health parasitic apicomplexan diseases. Many apicomplexan infections are shared between humans and livestock, such as cryptosporidiosis and toxoplasmosis, as well as livestock only diseases such as neosporosis. We have demonstrated proof-of-concept for BKI therapy in livestock models of cryptosporidiosis (newborn calves infected with Cryptosporidium parvum), toxoplasmosis (pregnant sheep infected with Toxoplasma gondii), and neosporosis (pregnant sheep infected with Neospora caninum). We discuss the potential uses of BKIs for the treatment of diseases caused by apicomplexan parasites in animals and humans, and the improvements that need to be made to further develop BKIs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wesley C Van Voorhis
- Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA.
| | - Matthew A Hulverson
- Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Ryan Choi
- Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Wenlin Huang
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Samuel L M Arnold
- Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Deborah A Schaefer
- School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
| | - Dana P Betzer
- School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
| | - Rama S R Vidadala
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Sangun Lee
- Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA, 01536, USA
| | - Grant R Whitman
- Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Lynn K Barrett
- Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Dustin J Maly
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Michael W Riggs
- School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
| | - Erkang Fan
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | | | - Saul Tzipori
- Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA, 01536, USA
| | - J Stone Doggett
- Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Pablo Winzer
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Nicoleta Anghel
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Dennis Imhof
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Joachim Müller
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Andrew Hemphill
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Ignacio Ferre
- Saluvet, Animal Health Department, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Sanchez-Sanchez
- Saluvet, Animal Health Department, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Luis Miguel Ortega-Mora
- Saluvet, Animal Health Department, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Kayode K Ojo
- Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
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18
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Vinayak S. Recent advances in genetic manipulation of Cryptosporidium. Curr Opin Microbiol 2020; 58:146-152. [PMID: 33161368 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2020.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Revised: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Cryptosporidium is a leading cause of diarrhea-associated morbidity and mortality in young children. Currently, there is no fully effective drug to treat cryptosporidiosis and a complete lack of vaccine to prevent disease. For a long time, progress in the field of Cryptosporidium research has been hindered due to unavailability of methods to propagate the parasite, lack of efficient animal infection models and most importantly, the absence of technology to genetically manipulate the parasite. The recent advent of molecular genetics has been transformative for Cryptosporidium research, and is facilitating our fundamental understanding of parasite biology, and accelerating the pace of drug discovery. This review summarizes recent advancements in genetic manipulation and its applications for studying parasite gene function, host-parasite interactions and discovery of anti-cryptosporidial drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sumiti Vinayak
- Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61802, United States.
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19
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Love MS, McNamara CW. Phenotypic screening techniques for Cryptosporidium drug discovery. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2020; 16:59-74. [PMID: 32892652 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2020.1812577] [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] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: Two landmark epidemiological studies identified Cryptosporidium spp. as a significant cause of diarrheal disease in pediatric populations in resource-limited countries. Notably, nitazoxanide is the only approved drug for treatment of cryptosporidiosis but shows limited efficacy. As a result, many drug discovery efforts have commenced to find improved treatments. The unique biology of Cryptosporidium presents challenges for traditional drug discovery methods, which has inspired new assay platforms to study parasite biology and drug screening. Areas covered: The authors review historical advancements in phenotypic-based assays and techniques for Cryptosporidium drug discovery, as well as recent advances that will define future drug discovery. The reliance on phenotypic-based screens and repositioning of phenotypic hits from other pathogens has quickly created a robust pipeline of potential cryptosporidiosis therapeutics. The latest advances involve new in vitro culture methods for oocyst generation, continuous culturing capabilities, and more physiologically relevant assays for testing compounds. Expert opinion: Previous phenotypic screening techniques have laid the groundwork for recent cryptosporidiosis drug discovery efforts. The resulting improved methodologies characterize compound activity, identify, and validate drug targets, and prioritize new compounds for drug development. The most recent improvements in phenotypic assays are poised to help advance compounds into clinical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa S Love
- Calibr, a division of The Scripps Research Institute , La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Case W McNamara
- Calibr, a division of The Scripps Research Institute , La Jolla, CA, USA
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20
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Abstract
Cryptosporidium parvum and Cryptosporidium hominis are leading pathogens responsible for diarrheal disease (cryptosporidiosis) and deaths in infants and children below 5 years of age. There are no effective treatment options and no vaccine for cryptosporidiosis. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify essential gene targets and uncover their biological function to accelerate the development of new and effective anticryptosporidial drugs. Current genetic tool allows targeted disruption of gene function but leads to parasite lethality if the gene is essential for survival. In this study, we have developed a genetic tool for conditional degradation of proteins in Cryptosporidium spp., thus allowing us to study the function of essential genes. Our conditional system expands the molecular toolbox for Cryptosporidium, and it will help us to understand the biology of this important human diarrheal pathogen for the development of new drugs and vaccines. Cryptosporidium spp., protozoan parasites, are a leading cause of global diarrhea-associated morbidity and mortality in young children and immunocompromised individuals. The limited efficacy of the only available drug and lack of vaccines make it challenging to treat and prevent cryptosporidiosis. Therefore, the identification of essential genes and understanding their biological functions are critical for the development of new therapies. Currently, there is no genetic tool available to investigate the function of essential genes in Cryptosporidium spp. Here, we describe the development of the first conditional system in Cryptosporidium parvum. Our system utilizes the Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase degradation domain (DDD) and the stabilizing compound trimethoprim (TMP) for conditional regulation of protein levels in the parasite. We tested our system on the calcium-dependent protein kinase-1 (CDPK1), a leading drug target in C. parvum. By direct knockout strategy, we establish that cdpk1 is refractory to gene deletion, indicating its essentiality for parasite survival. Using CRISPR/Cas9, we generated transgenic parasites expressing CDPK1 with an epitope tag, and localization studies indicate its expression during asexual parasite proliferation. We then genetically engineered C. parvum to express CDPK1 tagged with DDD. We demonstrate that TMP can regulate CDPK1 levels in this stable transgenic parasite line, thus revealing the critical role of this kinase in parasite proliferation. Further, these transgenic parasites show TMP-mediated regulation of CDPK1 levels in vitro and an increased sensitivity to kinase inhibitor upon conditional knockdown. Overall, this study reports the development of a powerful conditional system that can be used to study essential genes in Cryptosporidium.
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21
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Shrestha A, Ruttkowski B, Greber P, Whitman GR, Hulverson MA, Choi R, Michaels SA, Ojo KK, Van Voorhis WC, Joachim A. Reduced treatment frequencies with bumped kinase inhibitor 1369 are effective against porcine cystoisosporosis. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-DRUGS AND DRUG RESISTANCE 2020; 14:37-45. [PMID: 32861205 PMCID: PMC7442133 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2020.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Revised: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Bumped kinase inhibitors (BKIs) are a new class of antiprotozoal drugs that target calcium-dependent protein kinase 1 (CDPK1) in various apicomplexan parasites. A multiple dose regimen of BKI 1369 has been shown to be highly effective against Cystoisospora suis (syn. Isospora suis), the causative agent of neonatal porcine coccidiosis. However, multiple dosing may not be widely applicable in the field. The present study aimed to determine the efficacy of reduced treatment frequencies with BKI 1369 against porcine cystoisosporosis in vitro and in vivo. Pre-incubation of sporozoites with BKI 1369 completely failed to inhibit the infection in vitro unless treatment was prolonged post-infection. Notably, a single treatment of infected cell cultures 2 days post-infection (dpi) resulted in a significant reduction of merozoite replication. In an experimental infection model, treatment of suckling piglets experimentally infected with C. suis 2 and 4 dpi with 20 mg BKI 1369/kg body weight completely suppressed oocyst excretion. A single treatment on the day of infection or 2 dpi suppressed oocyst excretion in 50% and 82% of the piglets and reduced the quantitative excretion in those that shed oocysts by 95.2% and 98.4%, respectively. Moreover, a significant increase in body weight gain and reduced number of diarrhea days were observed in BKI 1369 treated piglets compared to the control piglets, irrespective of time points and frequencies of treatment. Given that reduced treatment frequencies with BKI 1369 are comparable in efficacy to repeated applications without any adverse effects, this could be considered as a practical therapeutic alternative against porcine cystoisosporosis. BKI 1369 does not target host cell invasion by C. suis sporozoites but replication of merozoites. Single treatment with BKI 1369 in parallel with experimental infection is not effective for the control of cystoisosporosis. Two doses of BKI 1369 at 2 and 4 dpi completely suppressed oocyst excretion in piglets experimentally infected with C. suis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aruna Shrestha
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinärplatz 1, A-1210, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Bärbel Ruttkowski
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinärplatz 1, A-1210, Vienna, Austria
| | - Patricia Greber
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinärplatz 1, A-1210, Vienna, Austria
| | - Grant R Whitman
- Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, 750 Republican Street, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Matthew A Hulverson
- Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, 750 Republican Street, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Ryan Choi
- Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, 750 Republican Street, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Samantha A Michaels
- Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, 750 Republican Street, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Kayode K Ojo
- Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, 750 Republican Street, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Wesley C Van Voorhis
- Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, 750 Republican Street, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA; Departments of Microbiology and Global Health, University of Washington, 750 Republican Street, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Anja Joachim
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinärplatz 1, A-1210, Vienna, Austria
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22
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Novel Antiparasitic Activity of the Antifungal Lead Occidiofungin. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2020; 64:AAC.00244-20. [PMID: 32457108 PMCID: PMC7526809 DOI: 10.1128/aac.00244-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Novel antiparasitic activity was observed for the antifungal occidiofungin. It efficaciously and irreversibly inhibited the zoonotic enteric parasite Cryptosporidium parvum in vitro with limited cytotoxicity (50% effective concentration [EC50] = 120 nM versus 50% cytotoxic concentration [TC50] = 988 nM), and its application disrupted the parasite morphology. This study expands the spectrum of activity of a glycolipopeptide named occidiofungin. Occidiofungin has poor gastrointestinal tract absorption properties, supporting future investigations into its potential activities on other enteric parasites.
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23
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Wang B, Castellanos-Gonzalez A, White AC. Novel drug targets for treatment of cryptosporidiosis. Expert Opin Ther Targets 2020; 24:915-922. [PMID: 32552166 DOI: 10.1080/14728222.2020.1785432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Introduction Cryptosporidium species are protozoan parasites that are important causes of diarrheal disease including waterborne outbreaks, childhood diarrhea in resource-poor countries, and diarrhea in compromised hosts worldwide. Recent studies highlight the importance of cryptosporidiosis in childhood diarrhea, malnutrition, and death in resource-poor countries. Despite this, only a single drug, nitazoxanide, has demonstrated efficacy in human cryptosporidiosis and its efficacy is limited in malnourished children and patients with HIV. Areas covered In this review, we highlight work on potential targets for chemotherapy and review progress on drug development. A number of new targets have been identified for chemotherapy and progress has been made at developing drugs for these targets. Targets include parasite kinases, nucleic acid synthesis and processing, proteases, and lipid metabolism. Other groups have performed high-throughput screening to identify potential drugs. Several compounds have advanced to large animal studies. Expert opinion Development of drugs for cryptosporidiosis has been plagued by a lack of success. Barriers have included poor correlations between in vitro activity and clinical success as well as frequent unanticipated adverse effects. Without a clear pathway forward, it is wise to maintain a diverse development pipeline. Drug developers should also realize that success will likely require a sustained, methodical effort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beilin Wang
- Infectious Disease Division, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch , Galveston, TX, USA
| | | | - A Clinton White
- Infectious Disease Division, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch , Galveston, TX, USA
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24
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Arnold SLM, Choi R, Hulverson MA, Whitman GR, Mccloskey MC, Dorr CS, Vidadala RSR, Khatod M, Morada M, Barrett LK, Maly DJ, Yarlett N, Van Voorhis WC. P-Glycoprotein-Mediated Efflux Reduces the In Vivo Efficacy of a Therapeutic Targeting the Gastrointestinal Parasite Cryptosporidium. J Infect Dis 2020; 220:1188-1198. [PMID: 31180118 PMCID: PMC6736360 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiz269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Accepted: 05/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have illustrated the burden Cryptosporidium infection places on the lives of malnourished children and immunocompromised individuals. Treatment options remain limited, and efforts to develop a new therapeutic are currently underway. However, there are unresolved questions about the ideal pharmacokinetic characteristics of new anti-Cryptosporidium therapeutics. Specifically, should drug developers optimize therapeutics and formulations to increase drug exposure in the gastrointestinal lumen, enterocytes, or systemic circulation? Furthermore, how should researchers interpret data suggesting their therapeutic is a drug efflux transporter substrate? In vivo drug transporter–mediated alterations in efficacy are well recognized in multiple disease areas, but the impact of intestinal transporters on therapeutic efficacy against enteric diseases has not been established. Using multiple in vitro models and a mouse model of Cryptosporidium infection, we characterized the effect of P-glycoprotein efflux on bumped kinase inhibitor pharmacokinetics and efficacy. Our results demonstrated P-glycoprotein decreases bumped kinase inhibitor enterocyte exposure, resulting in reduced in vivo efficacy against Cryptosporidium. Furthermore, a hollow fiber model of Cryptosporidium infection replicated the in vivo impact of P-glycoprotein on anti-Cryptosporidium efficacy. In conclusion, when optimizing drug candidates targeting the gastrointestinal epithelium or gastrointestinal epithelial infections, drug developers should consider the adverse impact of active efflux transporters on efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel L M Arnold
- Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.,Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Ryan Choi
- Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.,Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Matthew A Hulverson
- Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.,Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Grant R Whitman
- Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.,Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Molly C Mccloskey
- Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.,Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Carlie S Dorr
- Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.,Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease, University of Washington, Seattle
| | | | | | | | - Lynn K Barrett
- Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.,Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Dustin J Maly
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle.,Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle
| | | | - Wesley C Van Voorhis
- Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.,Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease, University of Washington, Seattle
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25
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O’Connor RM, Nepveux V FJ, Abenoja J, Bowden G, Reis P, Beaushaw J, Bone Relat RM, Driskell I, Gimenez F, Riggs MW, Schaefer DA, Schmidt EW, Lin Z, Distel DL, Clardy J, Ramadhar TR, Allred DR, Fritz HM, Rathod P, Chery L, White J. A symbiotic bacterium of shipworms produces a compound with broad spectrum anti-apicomplexan activity. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1008600. [PMID: 32453775 PMCID: PMC7274485 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Revised: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Apicomplexan parasites cause severe disease in both humans and their domesticated animals. Since these parasites readily develop drug resistance, development of new, effective drugs to treat infection caused by these parasites is an ongoing challenge for the medical and veterinary communities. We hypothesized that invertebrate-bacterial symbioses might be a rich source of anti-apicomplexan compounds because invertebrates are susceptible to infections with gregarines, parasites that are ancestral to all apicomplexans. We chose to explore the therapeutic potential of shipworm symbiotic bacteria as they are bona fide symbionts, are easily grown in axenic culture and have genomes rich in secondary metabolite loci [1,2]. Two strains of the shipworm symbiotic bacterium, Teredinibacter turnerae, were screened for activity against Toxoplasma gondii and one strain, T7901, exhibited activity against intracellular stages of the parasite. Bioassay-guided fractionation identified tartrolon E (trtE) as the source of the activity. TrtE has an EC50 of 3 nM against T. gondii, acts directly on the parasite itself and kills the parasites after two hours of treatment. TrtE exhibits nanomolar to picomolar level activity against Cryptosporidium, Plasmodium, Babesia, Theileria, and Sarcocystis; parasites representing all branches of the apicomplexan phylogenetic tree. The compound also proved effective against Cryptosporidium parvum infection in neonatal mice, indicating that trtE may be a potential lead compound for preclinical development. Identification of a promising new compound after such limited screening strongly encourages further mining of invertebrate symbionts for new anti-parasitic therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta M. O’Connor
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Felix J. Nepveux V
- Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Jaypee Abenoja
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
| | - Gregory Bowden
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
| | - Patricia Reis
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
| | - Josiah Beaushaw
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
| | - Rachel M. Bone Relat
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
| | - Iwona Driskell
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
| | - Fernanda Gimenez
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
| | - Michael W. Riggs
- School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Deborah A. Schaefer
- School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Eric W. Schmidt
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America
| | - Zhenjian Lin
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America
| | - Daniel L. Distel
- Ocean Genome Legacy Center, Northeastern University, Nahant, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Jon Clardy
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Timothy R. Ramadhar
- Department of Chemistry, Howard University, Washington DC, United States of America
| | - David R. Allred
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, and Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America
| | - Heather M. Fritz
- California Animal Health and Food Safety Lab, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Pradipsinh Rathod
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Laura Chery
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - John White
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
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26
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Bumped Kinase Inhibitors as therapy for apicomplexan parasitic diseases: lessons learned. Int J Parasitol 2020; 50:413-422. [PMID: 32224121 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2020.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Revised: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Bumped Kinase Inhibitors, targeting Calcium-dependent Protein Kinase 1 in apicomplexan parasites with a glycine gatekeeper, are promising new therapeutics for apicomplexan diseases. Here we will review advances, as well as challenges and lessons learned regarding efficacy, safety, and pharmacology that have shaped our selection of pre-clinical candidates.
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27
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De Rycker M, Horn D, Aldridge B, Amewu RK, Barry CE, Buckner FS, Cook S, Ferguson MAJ, Gobeau N, Herrmann J, Herrling P, Hope W, Keiser J, Lafuente-Monasterio MJ, Leeson PD, Leroy D, Manjunatha UH, McCarthy J, Miles TJ, Mizrahi V, Moshynets O, Niles J, Overington JP, Pottage J, Rao SPS, Read KD, Ribeiro I, Silver LL, Southern J, Spangenberg T, Sundar S, Taylor C, Van Voorhis W, White NJ, Wyllie S, Wyatt PG, Gilbert IH. Setting Our Sights on Infectious Diseases. ACS Infect Dis 2020; 6:3-13. [PMID: 31808676 PMCID: PMC6958537 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.9b00371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
In
May 2019, the Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research (WCAIR) at the University of Dundee, UK, held an international
conference with the aim of discussing some key questions around discovering
new medicines for infectious diseases and a particular focus on diseases
affecting Low and Middle Income Countries. There is an urgent need
for new drugs to treat most infectious diseases. We were keen to see
if there were lessons that we could learn across different disease
areas and between the preclinical and clinical phases with the aim
of exploring how we can improve and speed up the drug discovery, translational,
and clinical development processes. We started with an introductory
session on the current situation and then worked backward from clinical
development to combination therapy, pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic
(PK/PD) studies, drug discovery pathways, and new starting points
and targets. This Viewpoint aims to capture some of the learnings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manu De Rycker
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - David Horn
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Bree Aldridge
- Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, United States
| | - Richard K. Amewu
- Department of Chemistry, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG56, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Clifton E. Barry
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
| | - Frederick S. Buckner
- Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), University of Washington, MS 358061, 750 Republican Street, Rm E-606, Seattle, Washington 98109-4766, United States
| | - Sarah Cook
- School of Humanities, University of Glasgow, 1 University Gardens, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Michael A. J. Ferguson
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Nathalie Gobeau
- Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), PO Box 1826, 20 Route de Pré-Bois, 1215 Geneva 15, Switzerland
| | - Jennifer Herrmann
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland, Department Microbial Natural Products, Saarland University, Campus E8.1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
- German Centre for Infection Research, partner
site Hannover-Braunschweig, Germany
| | | | - William Hope
- Institute of Translational Medicine, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX, United Kingdom
| | - Jennifer Keiser
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, CH-4051 Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, CH-4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Didier Leroy
- Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), PO Box 1826, 20 Route de Pré-Bois, 1215 Geneva 15, Switzerland
| | - Ujjini H. Manjunatha
- Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD), Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR), 5300 Chiron Way, Emeryville, California 94608, United States
| | - James McCarthy
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, 300 Herston Road, Hertson, Queensland 4006, Australia
| | - Timothy J. Miles
- Tres Cantos Medicines Development Campus, Diseases of the Developing World (DDW), GlaxoSmithKline, Tres Cantos, Spain
| | - Valerie Mizrahi
- SAMRC/NHLS/UCT Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine and Wellcome Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Africa, University of Cape Town, Observatory, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
| | - Olena Moshynets
- Biofilm Study Group, Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 150 Zabolotnoho Street, Kiev 03143, Ukraine
| | - Jacquin Niles
- School of Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Building 1-206, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139-4307, United States
| | - John P. Overington
- Medicines Discovery Catapult, Alderley
Park, Alderley Edge, Cheshire SK10 4TG, United Kingdom
| | - John Pottage
- ViiV Healthcare, 980 Great West Road, Brentford, Middlesex TW8 9GS, United Kingdom
| | - Srinivasa P. S. Rao
- Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD), Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR), 5300 Chiron Way, Emeryville, California 94608, United States
| | - Kevin D. Read
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Isabela Ribeiro
- Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), Chemin Louis-Dunant 15, 1202 Genève, Switzerland
| | | | - Jen Southern
- Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts (LICA), The LICA Building, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YW, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas Spangenberg
- Global Health Institute of Merck, Ares Trading S.A., a subsidiary
of Merck KGaA Darmstadt Germany, Route de Crassier 1, 1262 Eysins, Switzerland
| | - Shyam Sundar
- Department of Medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India
| | - Caitlin Taylor
- SAMRC/NHLS/UCT Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine and Wellcome Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Africa, University of Cape Town, Observatory, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
| | - Wes Van Voorhis
- Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), University of Washington, MS 358061, 750 Republican Street, Rm E-606, Seattle, Washington 98109-4766, United States
| | - Nicholas J. White
- Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, 3/F, 60th Anniversary Chalermprakiat Building, 420/6 Rajvithi Road, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
| | - Susan Wyllie
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Paul G. Wyatt
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Ian H. Gilbert
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
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28
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Hulverson MA, Bruzual I, McConnell EV, Huang W, Vidadala RSR, Choi R, Arnold SLM, Whitman GR, McCloskey MC, Barrett LK, Rivas KL, Scheele S, DeRocher AE, Parsons M, Ojo KK, Maly DJ, Fan E, Van Voorhis WC, Doggett JS. Pharmacokinetics and In Vivo Efficacy of Pyrazolopyrimidine, Pyrrolopyrimidine, and 5-Aminopyrazole-4-Carboxamide Bumped Kinase Inhibitors against Toxoplasmosis. J Infect Dis 2020; 219:1464-1473. [PMID: 30423128 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiy664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2018] [Accepted: 11/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Bumped kinase inhibitors (BKIs) have been shown to be potent inhibitors of Toxoplasma gondii calcium-dependent protein kinase 1. Pyrazolopyrimidine and 5-aminopyrazole-4-carboxamide scaffold-based BKIs are effective in acute and chronic experimental models of toxoplasmosis. Through further exploration of these 2 scaffolds and a new pyrrolopyrimidine scaffold, additional compounds have been identified that are extremely effective against acute experimental toxoplasmosis. The in vivo efficacy of these BKIs demonstrates that the cyclopropyloxynaphthyl, cyclopropyloxyquinoline, and 2-ethoxyquinolin-6-yl substituents are associated with efficacy across scaffolds. In addition, a broad range of plasma concentrations after oral dosing resulted from small structural changes to the BKIs. These select BKIs include anti-Toxoplasma compounds that are effective against acute experimental toxoplasmosis and are not toxic in human cell assays, nor to mice when administered for therapy. The BKIs described here are promising late leads for improving anti-Toxoplasma therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A Hulverson
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Center for Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases
| | - Igor Bruzual
- Veterans Affairs Portland Health Care System, Oregon
| | | | - Wenlin Huang
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle
| | | | - Ryan Choi
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Center for Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases
| | - Samuel L M Arnold
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Center for Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases
| | - Grant R Whitman
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Center for Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases
| | - Molly C McCloskey
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Center for Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases
| | - Lynn K Barrett
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Center for Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases
| | - Kasey L Rivas
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Center for Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases
| | | | - Amy E DeRocher
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, Washington
| | | | - Kayode K Ojo
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Center for Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases
| | - Dustin J Maly
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle.,Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Erkang Fan
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Wesley C Van Voorhis
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Center for Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases
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29
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Yarlett N, Morada M, Gobin M, Van Voorhis W, Arnold S. In Vitro Culture of Cryptosporidium parvum Using Hollow Fiber Bioreactor: Applications for Simultaneous Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Evaluation of Test Compounds. Methods Mol Biol 2020; 2052:335-350. [PMID: 31452171 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9748-0_19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Hollow fiber technology is a powerful tool for the culture of difficult-to-grow cells. Cryptosporidium parvum has a multistage sexual and asexual life cycle that has proved difficult to culture by conventional in vitro culture methods. Here, we describe a method utilizing a hollow fiber bioreactor for the continuous in vitro growth of C. parvum that produces sexual and asexual stages. The method enables the evaluation of potential therapeutic compounds under conditions that mirror the dynamic conditions found in the gut facilitating preliminary pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data to be obtained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nigel Yarlett
- Haskins Laboratories, Pace University, New York, NY, USA.
- The Department of Chemistry and Physical Chemistry, Pace University, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Mary Morada
- Haskins Laboratories, Pace University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mohini Gobin
- Haskins Laboratories, Pace University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Wesley Van Voorhis
- Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, The Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Samuel Arnold
- Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, The Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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Lapinskas PJ, Ben-Harari RR. Perspective on current and emerging drugs in the treatment of acute and chronic toxoplasmosis. Postgrad Med 2019; 131:589-596. [PMID: 31399001 DOI: 10.1080/00325481.2019.1655258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
No new drugs for treatment of toxoplasmosis have been approved in over 60 years, despite the burden of toxoplasmosis on human society. The small selection of effective drugs is limited by important side effects, often limiting patient use. This perspective highlights promising late-stage drug candidates in the treatment of toxoplasmosis. Presently, drugs target the tachyzoite form of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii responsible for the acute infection but do not eradicate the tissue cyst form underlying chronic infection. Pyrimethamine - the first-line and only approved drug for treatment of toxoplasmosis in the United States - inhibits parasite DNA synthesis by inhibiting dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR). Two novel DHFR inhibitors with improved potency and selectivity for parasite DHFR over human DHFR are in clinical-stage development. One of the most advanced and promising therapeutic targets, demonstrating potential to treat both acute and chronic toxoplasmosis, is the calcium-dependent protein kinase 1 (CDPK1) which plays an essential role in the intracellular replicative cycle of the parasite, and has no direct mammalian homolog. Two CDPK1 inhibitor programs have identified potent and selective lead series, demonstrating acceptable systemic and CNS exposure, and in vivo efficacy in animal models of acute and chronic infection. Physicians need a better arsenal of parasiticidal drugs for the treatment of toxoplasmosis, particularly those active against tissue cysts.
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Comparative Pathobiology of the Intestinal Protozoan Parasites Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica, and Cryptosporidium parvum. Pathogens 2019; 8:pathogens8030116. [PMID: 31362451 PMCID: PMC6789772 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens8030116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Revised: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Protozoan parasites can infect the human intestinal tract causing serious diseases. In the following article, we focused on the three most prominent intestinal protozoan pathogens, namely, Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica, and Cryptosporidium parvum. Both C. parvum and G. lamblia colonize the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum and are the most common causative agents of persistent diarrhea (i.e., cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis). Entamoeba histolytica colonizes the colon and, unlike the two former pathogens, may invade the colon wall and disseminate to other organs, mainly the liver, thereby causing life-threatening amebiasis. Here, we present condensed information concerning the pathobiology of these three diseases.
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Buckner FS, Ranade RM, Gillespie JR, Shibata S, Hulverson MA, Zhang Z, Huang W, Choi R, Verlinde CLMJ, Hol WGJ, Ochida A, Akao Y, Choy RKM, Van Voorhis WC, Arnold SLM, Jumani RS, Huston CD, Fan E. Optimization of Methionyl tRNA-Synthetase Inhibitors for Treatment of Cryptosporidium Infection. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2019; 63:e02061-18. [PMID: 30745384 PMCID: PMC6437504 DOI: 10.1128/aac.02061-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2018] [Accepted: 02/01/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Cryptosporidiosis is one of the leading causes of moderate to severe diarrhea in children in low-resource settings. The therapeutic options for cryptosporidiosis are limited to one drug, nitazoxanide, which unfortunately has poor activity in the most needy populations of malnourished children and HIV-infected persons. We describe here the discovery and early optimization of a class of imidazopyridine-containing compounds with potential for treating Cryptosporidium infections. The compounds target the Cryptosporidium methionyl-tRNA synthetase (MetRS), an enzyme that is essential for protein synthesis. The most potent compounds inhibited the enzyme with Ki values in the low picomolar range. Cryptosporidium cells in culture were potently inhibited with 50% effective concentrations as low as 7 nM and >1,000-fold selectivity over mammalian cells. A parasite persistence assay indicates that the compounds act by a parasiticidal mechanism. Several compounds were demonstrated to control infection in two murine models of cryptosporidiosis without evidence of toxicity. Pharmacological and physicochemical characteristics of compounds were investigated to determine properties that were associated with higher efficacy. The results indicate that MetRS inhibitors are excellent candidates for development for anticryptosporidiosis therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ranae M Ranade
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - J Robert Gillespie
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Sayaka Shibata
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | | | - Zhongsheng Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Wenlin Huang
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Ryan Choi
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | | | - Wim G J Hol
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | | | | | - Robert K M Choy
- Drug Development Program, PATH, San Francisco, California, USA
| | | | - Sam L M Arnold
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Rajiv S Jumani
- Department of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
| | | | - Erkang Fan
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
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Huang W, Hulverson MA, Choi R, Arnold SLM, Zhang Z, McCloskey MC, Whitman GR, Hackman RC, Rivas KL, Barrett LK, Ojo KK, Van Voorhis WC, Fan E. Development of 5-Aminopyrazole-4-carboxamide-based Bumped-Kinase Inhibitors for Cryptosporidiosis Therapy. J Med Chem 2019; 62:3135-3146. [PMID: 30830766 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b00069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Cryptosporidium is a leading cause of pediatric diarrhea worldwide. Currently, there is neither a vaccine nor a consistently effective drug available for this disease. Selective 5-aminopyrazole-4-carboxamide-based bumped-kinase inhibitors (BKIs) are effective in both in vitro and in vivo models of Cryptosporidium parvum. Potential cardiotoxicity in some BKIs led to the continued exploration of the 5-aminopyrazole-4-carboxamide scaffold to find safe and effective drug candidates for Cryptosporidium. A series of newly designed BKIs were tested for efficacy against C. parvum using in vitro and in vivo (mouse infection model) assays and safety issues. Compound 6 (BKI 1708) was found to be efficacious at 8 mg/kg dosed once daily (QD) for 5 days with no observable signs of toxicity up to 200 mg/kg dosed QD for 7 days. Compound 15 (BKI 1770) was found to be efficacious at 30 mg/kg dosed twice daily (BID) for 5 days with no observable signs of toxicity up to 300 mg/kg dosed QD for 7 days. Compounds 6 and 15 are promising preclinical leads for cryptosporidiosis therapy with acceptable safety parameters and efficacy in the mouse model of cryptosporidiosis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matthew A Hulverson
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy & Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging & Re-Emerging Infectious Disease (CERID) , University of Washington , Seattle , Washington 98109 , United States
| | - Ryan Choi
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy & Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging & Re-Emerging Infectious Disease (CERID) , University of Washington , Seattle , Washington 98109 , United States
| | - Samuel L M Arnold
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy & Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging & Re-Emerging Infectious Disease (CERID) , University of Washington , Seattle , Washington 98109 , United States
| | | | - Molly C McCloskey
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy & Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging & Re-Emerging Infectious Disease (CERID) , University of Washington , Seattle , Washington 98109 , United States
| | - Grant R Whitman
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy & Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging & Re-Emerging Infectious Disease (CERID) , University of Washington , Seattle , Washington 98109 , United States
| | - Robert C Hackman
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center , Seattle , Washington 98109 , United States
| | - Kasey L Rivas
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy & Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging & Re-Emerging Infectious Disease (CERID) , University of Washington , Seattle , Washington 98109 , United States
| | - Lynn K Barrett
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy & Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging & Re-Emerging Infectious Disease (CERID) , University of Washington , Seattle , Washington 98109 , United States
| | - Kayode K Ojo
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy & Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging & Re-Emerging Infectious Disease (CERID) , University of Washington , Seattle , Washington 98109 , United States
| | - Wesley C Van Voorhis
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy & Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging & Re-Emerging Infectious Disease (CERID) , University of Washington , Seattle , Washington 98109 , United States
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Bartelt LA, Bolick DT, Kolling GL, Stebbins E, Huston CD, Guerrant RL, Hoffman PS. Amixicile Reduces Severity of Cryptosporidiosis but Does Not Have In Vitro Activity against Cryptosporidium. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2018; 62:e00718-18. [PMID: 30297368 PMCID: PMC6256802 DOI: 10.1128/aac.00718-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2018] [Accepted: 09/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cryptosporidium species cause significant morbidity in malnourished children. Nitazoxanide (NTZ) is the only approved treatment for cryptosporidiosis, but NTZ has diminished effectiveness during malnutrition. Here, we show that amixicile, a highly selective water-soluble derivative of NTZ diminishes Cryptosporidium infection severity in a malnourished mouse model despite a lack of direct anticryptosporidial activity. We suggest that amixicile, by tamping down anaerobes associated with intestinal inflammation, reverses weight loss and indirectly mitigates infection-associated pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luther A Bartelt
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - David T Bolick
- Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, Department of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Glynis L Kolling
- Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, Department of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Erin Stebbins
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
| | - Christopher D Huston
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
| | - Richard L Guerrant
- Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, Department of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Paul S Hoffman
- Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, Department of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
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Janes J, Young ME, Chen E, Rogers NH, Burgstaller-Muehlbacher S, Hughes LD, Love MS, Hull MV, Kuhen KL, Woods AK, Joseph SB, Petrassi HM, McNamara CW, Tremblay MS, Su AI, Schultz PG, Chatterjee AK. The ReFRAME library as a comprehensive drug repurposing library and its application to the treatment of cryptosporidiosis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:10750-10755. [PMID: 30282735 PMCID: PMC6196526 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1810137115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 128] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The chemical diversity and known safety profiles of drugs previously tested in humans make them a valuable set of compounds to explore potential therapeutic utility in indications outside those originally targeted, especially neglected tropical diseases. This practice of "drug repurposing" has become commonplace in academic and other nonprofit drug-discovery efforts, with the appeal that significantly less time and resources are required to advance a candidate into the clinic. Here, we report a comprehensive open-access, drug repositioning screening set of 12,000 compounds (termed ReFRAME; Repurposing, Focused Rescue, and Accelerated Medchem) that was assembled by combining three widely used commercial drug competitive intelligence databases (Clarivate Integrity, GVK Excelra GoStar, and Citeline Pharmaprojects), together with extensive patent mining of small molecules that have been dosed in humans. To date, 12,000 compounds (∼80% of compounds identified from data mining) have been purchased or synthesized and subsequently plated for screening. To exemplify its utility, this collection was screened against Cryptosporidium spp., a major cause of childhood diarrhea in the developing world, and two active compounds previously tested in humans for other therapeutic indications were identified. Both compounds, VB-201 and a structurally related analog of ASP-7962, were subsequently shown to be efficacious in animal models of Cryptosporidium infection at clinically relevant doses, based on available human doses. In addition, an open-access data portal (https://reframedb.org) has been developed to share ReFRAME screen hits to encourage additional follow-up and maximize the impact of the ReFRAME screening collection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeff Janes
- California Institute for Biomedical Research, La Jolla, CA 92037
| | - Megan E Young
- California Institute for Biomedical Research, La Jolla, CA 92037
| | - Emily Chen
- California Institute for Biomedical Research, La Jolla, CA 92037
| | - Nicole H Rogers
- California Institute for Biomedical Research, La Jolla, CA 92037
| | | | - Laura D Hughes
- Department of Integrative, Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037
| | - Melissa S Love
- California Institute for Biomedical Research, La Jolla, CA 92037
| | - Mitchell V Hull
- California Institute for Biomedical Research, La Jolla, CA 92037
| | - Kelli L Kuhen
- California Institute for Biomedical Research, La Jolla, CA 92037
| | - Ashley K Woods
- California Institute for Biomedical Research, La Jolla, CA 92037
| | - Sean B Joseph
- California Institute for Biomedical Research, La Jolla, CA 92037
| | | | - Case W McNamara
- California Institute for Biomedical Research, La Jolla, CA 92037
| | | | - Andrew I Su
- Department of Integrative, Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037
| | - Peter G Schultz
- California Institute for Biomedical Research, La Jolla, CA 92037;
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Abstract
The intestinal apicomplexan parasite
Cryptosporidium is a major cause of diarrheal disease in humans worldwide. However, treatment options are severely limited. The search for novel interventions is imperative, yet there are several challenges to drug development, including intractability of the parasite and limited technical tools to study it. This review addresses recent, exciting breakthroughs in this field, including novel cell culture models, strategies for genetic manipulation, transcriptomics, and promising new drug candidates. These advances will stimulate the ongoing quest to understand
Cryptosporidium and the pathogenesis of cryptosporidiosis and to develop new approaches to combat this disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seema Bhalchandra
- Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, 02111, USA
| | - Daviel Cardenas
- Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, 02111, USA
| | - Honorine D Ward
- Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, 02111, USA.,Medicine, Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, 02111, USA
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Hennessey KM, Rogiers IC, Shih HW, Hulverson MA, Choi R, McCloskey MC, Whitman GR, Barrett LK, Merritt EA, Paredez AR, Ojo KK. Screening of the Pathogen Box for inhibitors with dual efficacy against Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium parvum. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2018; 12:e0006673. [PMID: 30080847 PMCID: PMC6095626 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2017] [Revised: 08/16/2018] [Accepted: 07/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
There is need for a more efficient cell-based assay amenable to high-throughput drug screening against Giardia lamblia. Here, we report the development of a screening method utilizing G. lamblia engineered to express red-shifted firefly luciferase. Parasite growth and replication were quantified using D-luciferin as a substrate in a bioluminescent read-out plateform. This assay was validated for reproducibility and reliability against the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) Pathogen Box compounds. For G. lamblia, forty-three compounds showed ≥ 75% inhibition of parasite growth in the initial screen (16 μM), with fifteen showing ≥ 95% inhibition. The Pathogen Box was also screened against Nanoluciferase expressing (Nluc) C. parvum, yielding 85 compounds with ≥ 75% parasite growth inhibition at 10 μM, with six showing ≥ 95% inhibition. A representative set of seven compounds with activity against both parasites were further analyzed to determine the effective concentration that causes 50% growth inhibition (EC50) and cytotoxicity against mammalian HepG2 cells. Four of the seven compounds were previously known to be effective in treating either Giardia or Cryptosporidium. The remaining three shared no obvious chemical similarity with any previously characterized anti-parasite diarrheal drugs and offer new medicinal chemistry opportunities for therapeutic development. These results suggest that the bioluminescent assays are suitable for large-scale screening of chemical libraries against both C. parvum and G. lamblia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly M. Hennessey
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Ilse C. Rogiers
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Han-Wei Shih
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Matthew A. Hulverson
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Ryan Choi
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Molly C. McCloskey
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Grant R. Whitman
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Lynn K. Barrett
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Ethan A. Merritt
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Alexander R. Paredez
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Kayode K. Ojo
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
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Challenges and recent progress in drug discovery for tropical diseases. Nature 2018; 559:498-506. [PMID: 30046073 PMCID: PMC6129172 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0327-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2018] [Accepted: 05/02/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Infectious tropical diseases have a huge effect in terms of mortality and morbidity, and impose a heavy economic burden on affected countries. These diseases predominantly affect the world's poorest people. Currently available drugs are inadequate for the majority of these diseases, and there is an urgent need for new treatments. This Review discusses some of the challenges involved in developing new drugs to treat these diseases and highlights recent progress. While there have been notable successes, there is still a long way to go.
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Chavez MA, White AC. Novel treatment strategies and drugs in development for cryptosporidiosis. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther 2018; 16:655-661. [PMID: 30003818 DOI: 10.1080/14787210.2018.1500457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Cryptosporidium is a protozoan pathogen that can cause diarrheal disease in healthy and immunosuppressed individuals, worldwide. Recent studies have highlighted the impact of cryptosporidiosis on children in resource-limited countries. Nitazoxanide is the only Food and Drug Administration approved treatment, but it is not consistently effective therapy for cryptosporidiosis in the most vulnerable populations. Areas covered: This review focused on recent published studies evaluating novel drugs and new compounds for the treatment of cryptosporidiosis. Expert commentary: Combinations of approved drugs have demonstrated some activity. Broad screens have demonstrated activity against Cryptosporidium for a number of available drugs, including statins and clofazimine, and the latter has advanced into clinical trials. Cryptosporidium calcium-dependent protein kinase 1 (CDPK1) has been identified as an attractive target for treatment, and bumped kinase inhibitors have been developed which inhibit CDPK1 and are active against Cryptosporidium growth both in vitro and in vivo. Inhibition of Plasmodium lipid kinase PI(4)K8 of Cryptosporidium by KDU731 greatly reduced oocyst shedding and improved diarrhea in calves with limited effects on the human PI(4)K. Another novel potent inhibitor MMV665917 was efficacious in mouse models with cidal activity against Cryptosporidium. Additional compounds have proved active in vitro. So far, only clofazimine has entered human trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel A Chavez
- a Department of Internal Medicine , University of Texas Medical Branch , Galveston , Texas , USA
| | - A Clinton White
- b Infectious Diseases Division, Department of Internal Medicine , University of Texas Medical Branch , Galveston , Texas , USA
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Vidadala RSR, Golkowski M, Hulverson MA, Choi R, McCloskey MC, Whitman GR, Huang W, Arnold SLM, Barrett LK, Fan E, Merritt EA, Van Voorhis WC, Ojo KK, Maly DJ. 7 H-Pyrrolo[2,3- d]pyrimidin-4-amine-Based Inhibitors of Calcium-Dependent Protein Kinase 1 Have Distinct Inhibitory and Oral Pharmacokinetic Characteristics Compared with 1 H-Pyrazolo[3,4- d]pyrimidin-4-amine-Based Inhibitors. ACS Infect Dis 2018. [PMID: 29522315 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.7b00224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Selective inhibitors of Cryptosporidium calcium-dependent protein kinase 1 ( CpCDPK1) based on the 1 H-pyrazolo[3,4- d]pyrimidin-4-amine (pyrazolopyrimidine, PP) scaffold are effective in both in vitro and in vivo models of cryptosporidiosis. However, the search for distinct safety and pharmacokinetic (PK) properties has motivated our exploration of alternative scaffolds. Here, we describe a series of 7 H-pyrrolo[2,3- d]pyrimidin-4-amine (pyrrolopyrimidine, PrP)-based analogs of PP CpCDPK1 inhibitors. Most of the PrP-based inhibitors described potently inhibit the CpCDPK1 enzyme, demonstrate no toxicity against mammalian cells, and block proliferation of the C. parvum parasite in the low micromolar range. Interestingly, certain substituents that show reduced CpCDPK1 potency when displayed from a PP scaffold provided notably enhanced efficacy in the context of a PrP scaffold. PK studies on these paired compounds show that some PrP analogs have distinct physiochemical properties compared with their PP counterparts. These results demonstrate that inhibitors based on a PrP scaffold are distinct therapeutic alternatives to previously developed PP inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rama S. R. Vidadala
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, 36 Bagley Hall, Box 351700, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Martin Golkowski
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Box 357280, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Matthew A. Hulverson
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), University of Washington, 750 Republican Street, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Ryan Choi
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), University of Washington, 750 Republican Street, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Molly C. McCloskey
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), University of Washington, 750 Republican Street, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Grant R. Whitman
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), University of Washington, 750 Republican Street, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Wenlin Huang
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, 1705 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Samuel L. M. Arnold
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), University of Washington, 750 Republican Street, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Lynn K. Barrett
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), University of Washington, 750 Republican Street, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Erkang Fan
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, 1705 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Ethan A. Merritt
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, 1705 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Wesley C. Van Voorhis
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), University of Washington, 750 Republican Street, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Kayode K. Ojo
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID), University of Washington, 750 Republican Street, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Dustin J. Maly
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, 36 Bagley Hall, Box 351700, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
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Bowden GD, Land KM, O'Connor RM, Fritz HM. High-throughput screen of drug repurposing library identifies inhibitors of Sarcocystis neurona growth. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-DRUGS AND DRUG RESISTANCE 2018; 8:137-144. [PMID: 29547840 PMCID: PMC6114104 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2018.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2017] [Revised: 01/29/2018] [Accepted: 02/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
The apicomplexan parasite Sarcocystis neurona is the primary etiologic agent of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM), a serious neurologic disease of horses. Many horses in the U.S. are at risk of developing EPM; approximately 50% of all horses in the U.S. have been exposed to S. neurona and treatments for EPM are 60-70% effective. Advancement of treatment requires new technology to identify new drugs for EPM. To address this critical need, we developed, validated, and implemented a high-throughput screen to test 725 FDA-approved compounds from the NIH clinical collections library for anti-S. neurona activity. Our screen identified 18 compounds with confirmed inhibitory activity against S. neurona growth, including compounds active in the nM concentration range. Many identified inhibitory compounds have well-defined mechanisms of action, making them useful tools to study parasite biology in addition to being potential therapeutic agents. In comparing the activity of inhibitory compounds identified by our screen to that of other screens against other apicomplexan parasites, we found that most compounds (15/18; 83%) have activity against one or more related apicomplexans. Interestingly, nearly half (44%; 8/18) of the inhibitory compounds have reported activity against dopamine receptors. We also found that dantrolene, a compound already formulated for horses with a peak plasma concentration of 37.8 ± 12.8 ng/ml after 500 mg dose, inhibits S. neurona parasites at low concentrations (0.065 μM [0.036-0.12; 95% CI] or 21.9 ng/ml [12.1-40.3; 95% CI]). These studies demonstrate the use of a new tool for discovering new chemotherapeutic agents for EPM and potentially providing new reagents to elucidate biologic pathways required for successful S. neurona infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory D Bowden
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - Kirkwood M Land
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA, USA
| | - Roberta M O'Connor
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
| | - Heather M Fritz
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
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Arnold SLM, Choi R, Hulverson MA, Schaefer DA, Vinayak S, Vidadala RSR, McCloskey MC, Whitman GR, Huang W, Barrett LK, Ojo KK, Fan E, Maly DJ, Riggs MW, Striepen B, Van Voorhis WC. Necessity of Bumped Kinase Inhibitor Gastrointestinal Exposure in Treating Cryptosporidium Infection. J Infect Dis 2017; 216:55-63. [PMID: 28541457 PMCID: PMC5853285 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jix247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2017] [Accepted: 05/22/2017] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
There is a substantial need for novel therapeutics to combat the widespread impact caused by Crytosporidium infection. However, there is a lack of knowledge as to which drug pharmacokinetic (PK) characteristics are key to generate an in vivo response, specifically whether systemic drug exposure is crucial for in vivo efficacy. To identify which PK properties are correlated with in vivo efficacy, we generated physiologically based PK models to simulate systemic and gastrointestinal drug concentrations for a series of bumped kinase inhibitors (BKIs) that have nearly identical in vitro potency against Cryptosporidium but display divergent PK properties. When BKI concentrations were used to predict in vivo efficacy with a neonatal model of Cryptosporidium infection, these concentrations in the large intestine were the sole predictors of the observed in vivo efficacy. The significance of large intestinal BKI exposure for predicting in vivo efficacy was further supported with an adult mouse model of Cryptosporidium infection. This study suggests that drug exposure in the large intestine is essential for generating a superior in vivo response, and that physiologically based PK models can assist in the prioritization of leading preclinical drug candidates for in vivo testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel L M Arnold
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease
| | - Ryan Choi
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease
| | - Matthew A Hulverson
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease
| | - Deborah A Schaefer
- School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson
| | | | | | - Molly C McCloskey
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease
| | - Grant R Whitman
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease
| | | | - Lynn K Barrett
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease
| | - Kayode K Ojo
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease
| | - Erkang Fan
- Department of Biochemistry, Biomolecular Structure Center, University of Washington, Seattle
| | | | - Michael W Riggs
- School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson
| | - Boris Striepen
- Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases.,Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens
| | - Wesley C Van Voorhis
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease
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In vitro efficacy of bumped kinase inhibitors against Besnoitia besnoiti tachyzoites. Int J Parasitol 2017; 47:811-821. [PMID: 28899692 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2017.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2017] [Revised: 08/25/2017] [Accepted: 08/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Besnoitia besnoiti is an apicomplexan parasite responsible for bovine besnoitiosis, a chronic and debilitating disease that causes systemic and skin manifestations and sterility in bulls. Neither treatments nor vaccines are currently available. In the search for therapeutic candidates, calcium-dependent protein kinases have arisen as promising drug targets in other apicomplexans (e.g. Neospora caninum, Toxoplasma gondii, Plasmodium spp. and Eimeria spp.) and are effectively targeted by bumped kinase inhibitors. In this study, we identified and cloned the gene coding for BbCDPK1. The impact of a library of nine bumped kinase inhibitor analogues on the activity of recombinant BbCDPK1 was assessed by luciferase assay. Afterwards, those were further screened for efficacy against Besnoitiabesnoiti tachyzoites grown in Marc-145 cells. Primary tests at 5µM revealed that eight compounds exhibited more than 90% inhibition of invasion and proliferation. The compounds BKI 1294, 1517, 1553 and 1571 were further characterised, and EC99 (1294: 2.38µM; 1517: 2.20µM; 1553: 3.34µM; 1571: 2.78µM) were determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction in 3-day proliferation assays. Exposure of infected cultures with EC99 concentrations of these drugs for up to 48h was not parasiticidal. The lack of parasiticidal action was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy, which showed that bumped kinase inhibitor treatment interfered with cell cycle regulation and non-disjunction of tachyzoites, resulting in the formation of large multi-nucleated complexes which co-existed with viable parasites within the parasitophorous vacuole. However, it is possible that, in the face of an active immune response, parasite clearance may occur. In summary, bumped kinase inhibitors may be effective drug candidates to control Besnoitiabesnoiti infection. Further in vivo experiments should be planned, as attainment and maintenance of therapeutic blood plasma levels in calves, without toxicity, has been demonstrated for BKIs 1294, 1517 and 1553.
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Hulverson MA, Choi R, Arnold SLM, Schaefer DA, Hemphill A, McCloskey MC, Betzer DP, Müller J, Vidadala RSR, Whitman GR, Rivas KL, Barrett LK, Hackman RC, Love MS, McNamara CW, Shaughnessy TK, Kondratiuk A, Kurnick M, Banfor PN, Lynch JJ, Freiberg GM, Kempf DJ, Maly DJ, Riggs MW, Ojo KK, Van Voorhis WC. Advances in bumped kinase inhibitors for human and animal therapy for cryptosporidiosis. Int J Parasitol 2017; 47:753-763. [PMID: 28899690 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2017.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2017] [Revised: 08/26/2017] [Accepted: 08/29/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Improvements have been made to the safety and efficacy of bumped kinase inhibitors, and they are advancing toward human and animal use for treatment of cryptosporidiosis. As the understanding of bumped kinase inhibitor pharmacodynamics for cryptosporidiosis therapy has increased, it has become clear that better compounds for efficacy do not necessarily require substantial systemic exposure. We now have a bumped kinase inhibitor with reduced systemic exposure, acceptable safety parameters, and efficacy in both the mouse and newborn calf models of cryptosporidiosis. Potential cardiotoxicity is the limiting safety parameter to monitor for this bumped kinase inhibitor. This compound is a promising pre-clinical lead for cryptosporidiosis therapy in animals and humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A Hulverson
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Ryan Choi
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Samuel L M Arnold
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Deborah A Schaefer
- School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Andrew Hemphill
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggass-Strasse 122, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Molly C McCloskey
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Dana P Betzer
- School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Joachim Müller
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggass-Strasse 122, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Rama S R Vidadala
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Grant R Whitman
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Kasey L Rivas
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Lynn K Barrett
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Robert C Hackman
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Melissa S Love
- California Institute for Biomedical Research, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Case W McNamara
- California Institute for Biomedical Research, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Matthew Kurnick
- Research and Development, AbbVie, Inc, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
| | | | - James J Lynch
- Research and Development, AbbVie, Inc, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
| | - Gail M Freiberg
- Research and Development, AbbVie, Inc, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
| | - Dale J Kempf
- Research and Development, AbbVie, Inc, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
| | - Dustin J Maly
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Michael W Riggs
- School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Kayode K Ojo
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.
| | - Wesley C Van Voorhis
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease (CERID), University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.
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Laurent F, Lacroix-Lamandé S. Innate immune responses play a key role in controlling infection of the intestinal epithelium by Cryptosporidium. Int J Parasitol 2017; 47:711-721. [PMID: 28893638 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2017.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2017] [Revised: 07/24/2017] [Accepted: 08/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Cryptosporidium infection leads to acute diarrhea worldwide. The development of cryptosporidiosis is closely related to the immune status of its host, affecting primarily young ruminants, infants, and immunocompromised individuals. In recent years, several studies have improved our knowledge on the immune mechanisms responsible for the control of the acute phase of the infection and have highlighted the importance of innate immunity. The parasite develops in the apical side of intestinal epithelial cells, giving these cells a central role, as they are both the exclusive host cell for replication of the parasite and participate in the protective immune response. Epithelial cells signal the infection by producing chemokines, attracting immune cells to the infected area. They also actively participate in host defense by inducing apoptosis and releasing antimicrobial peptides, free or incorporated into luminal exosomes, with parasiticidal activity. The parasite has developed several escape mechanisms to slow down these protective mechanisms. Recent development of several three-dimensional culture models and the ability to genetically manipulate Cryptosporidium will greatly help to further investigate host-pathogen interactions and identify virulence factors. Intestinal epithelial cells require the help of immune cells to clear the infection. Intestinal dendritic cells, well known for their ability to induce and orchestrate adaptive immunity, play a key role in controlling the very early steps of Cryptosporidium parvum infection by acting as immunological sentinels and active effectors. However, inflammatory monocytes, which are quickly and massively recruited to the infected mucosa, seem to participate in the loss of epithelial integrity. In addition to new promising chemotherapies, we must consider stimulating the innate immunity of neonates to strengthen their ability to control Cryptosporidium development. The microbiota plays a fundamental role in the development of intestinal immunity and may be considered to be a third actor in host-pathogen interactions. There is an urgent need to reduce the incidence of this yet poorly controlled disease in the populations of developing countries, and decrease economic losses due to infected livestock.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabrice Laurent
- UMR1282 Infectiologie et Santé Publique, INRA Centre Val de Loire, Université François Rabelais de Tours, 37380 Nouzilly, France.
| | - Sonia Lacroix-Lamandé
- UMR1282 Infectiologie et Santé Publique, INRA Centre Val de Loire, Université François Rabelais de Tours, 37380 Nouzilly, France.
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Feng Y, Xiao L. Molecular Epidemiology of Cryptosporidiosis in China. Front Microbiol 2017; 8:1701. [PMID: 28932217 PMCID: PMC5592218 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.01701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2017] [Accepted: 08/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Molecular epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis is an active research area in China. The use of genotyping and subtyping tools in prevalence studies has led to the identification of unique characteristics of Cryptosporidium infections in humans and animals. Human cryptosporidiosis in China is exemplified by the high diversity of Cryptosporidium spp. at species and subtype levels, with dominant C. hominis and C. parvum subtypes being rarely detected in other countries. Similarly, preweaned dairy calves, lambs, and goat kids are mostly infected with non-pathogenic Cryptosporidium species (C. bovis in calves and C. xiaoi in lambs and goat kids), with C. parvum starting to appear in dairy calves as a consequence of concentrated animal feeding operations. The latter Cryptosporidium species is dominated by IId subtypes, with IIa subtypes largely absent from the country. Unlike elsewhere, rodents in China appear to be commonly infected with C. parvum IId subtypes, with identical subtypes being found in these animals, calves, other livestock, and humans. In addition to cattle, pigs and chickens appear to be significant contributors to Cryptosporidium contamination in drinking water sources, as reflected by the frequent detection of C. suis, C. baileyi, and C. meleagridis in water samples. Chinese scientists have also made significant contributions to the development of new molecular epidemiological tools for Cryptosporidium spp. and improvements in our understanding of the mechanism involved in the emergence of hyper-transmissible and virulent C. hominis and C. parvum subtypes. Despite this progress, coordinated research efforts should be made to address changes in Cryptosporidium transmission because of rapid economic development in China and to prevent the introduction and spread of virulent and zoonotic Cryptosporidium species and subtypes in farm animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaoyu Feng
- College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural UniversityGuangzhou, China
| | - Lihua Xiao
- Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAtlanta, GA, United States
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5-Aminopyrazole-4-Carboxamide-Based Compounds Prevent the Growth of Cryptosporidium parvum. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2017; 61:AAC.00020-17. [PMID: 28533246 DOI: 10.1128/aac.00020-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2017] [Accepted: 05/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Cryptosporidium parvum calcium-dependent protein kinase 1 (CpCDPK1) is a promising target for drug development against cryptosporidiosis. We report a series of low-nanomolar CpCDPK1 5-aminopyrazole-4-carboxamide (AC) scaffold inhibitors that also potently inhibit C. parvum growth in vitro Correlation between anti-CpCDPK1 and C. parvum growth inhibition, as previously reported for pyrazolopyrimidines, was not apparent. Nonetheless, lead AC compounds exhibited a substantial reduction of parasite burden in the neonatal mouse cryptosporidiosis model when dosed at 25 mg/kg.
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