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Mahanta PJ, Lhouvum K. Plasmodium falciparum proteases as new drug targets with special focus on metalloproteases. Mol Biochem Parasitol 2024; 258:111617. [PMID: 38554736 DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2024.111617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 03/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024]
Abstract
Malaria poses a significant global health threat particularly due to the prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum infection. With the emergence of parasite resistance to existing drugs including the recently discovered artemisinin, ongoing research seeks novel therapeutic avenues within the malaria parasite. Proteases are promising drug targets due to their essential roles in parasite biology, including hemoglobin digestion, merozoite invasion, and egress. While exploring the genomic landscape of Plasmodium falciparum, it has been revealed that there are 92 predicted proteases, with only approximately 14 of them having been characterized. These proteases are further distributed among 26 families grouped into five clans: aspartic proteases, cysteine proteases, metalloproteases, serine proteases, and threonine proteases. Focus on metalloprotease class shows further role in organelle processing for mitochondria and apicoplasts suggesting the potential of metalloproteases as viable drug targets. Holistic understanding of the parasite intricate life cycle and identification of potential drug targets are essential for developing effective therapeutic strategies against malaria and mitigating its devastating global impact.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kimjolly Lhouvum
- Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology, Arunachal Pradesh, India.
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2
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Uddin A, Gupta S, Shoaib R, Aneja B, Irfan I, Gupta K, Rawat N, Combrinck J, Kumar B, Aleem M, Hasan P, Joshi MC, Chhonker YS, Zahid M, Hussain A, Pandey K, Alajmi MF, Murry DJ, Egan TJ, Singh S, Abid M. Blood-stage antimalarial activity, favourable metabolic stability and in vivo toxicity of novel piperazine linked 7-chloroquinoline-triazole conjugates. Eur J Med Chem 2024; 264:115969. [PMID: 38039787 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023]
Abstract
The persistence of drug resistance poses a significant obstacle to the advancement of efficacious malaria treatments. The remarkable efficacy displayed by 1,2,3-triazole-based compounds against Plasmodium falciparum highlights the potential of triazole conjugates, with diverse pharmacologically active structures, as potential antimalarial agents. We aimed to synthesize 7-dichloroquinoline-triazole conjugates and their structure-activity relationship (SAR) derivatives to investigate their anti-plasmodial activity. Among them, QP11, featuring a m-NO2 substitution, demonstrated efficacy against both chloroquine-sensitive and -resistant parasite strains. QP11 selectively inhibited FP2, a cysteine protease involved in hemoglobin degradation, and showed synergistic effects when combined with chloroquine. Additionally, QP11 hindered hemoglobin degradation and hemozoin formation within the parasite. Metabolic stability studies indicated high stability of QP11, making it a promising antimalarial candidate. In vivo evaluation using a murine malaria model demonstrated QP11's efficacy in eradicating parasite growth without neurotoxicity, presenting it as a promising compound for novel antimalarial development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amad Uddin
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India; Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Sonal Gupta
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Rumaisha Shoaib
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India; Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Babita Aneja
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India
| | - Iram Irfan
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India
| | - Kanika Gupta
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Neha Rawat
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Jill Combrinck
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7701, South Africa
| | - Bhumika Kumar
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India; National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, 110077, India
| | - Mohd Aleem
- Division of Behavioral Neuroscience, Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, Delhi, 110054, India
| | - Phool Hasan
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India
| | - Mukesh C Joshi
- Department of Chemistry, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007, India
| | - Yashpal S Chhonker
- Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986145, Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198-6145, USA
| | - Muhammad Zahid
- Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986145, Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198-6145, USA
| | - Afzal Hussain
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Kailash Pandey
- National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, 110077, India
| | - Mohamed F Alajmi
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Daryl J Murry
- Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986145, Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198-6145, USA
| | - Timothy J Egan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7701, South Africa
| | - Shailja Singh
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India.
| | - Mohammad Abid
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India.
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3
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Patra J, Rana D, Arora S, Pal M, Mahindroo N. Falcipains: Biochemistry, target validation and structure-activity relationship studies of inhibitors as antimalarials. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 252:115299. [PMID: 36996716 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2023] [Revised: 03/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
Malaria is a tropical disease with significant morbidity and mortality burden caused by Plasmodium species in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and South America. Pathogenic Plasmodium species have lately become increasingly resistant to approved chemotherapeutics and combination therapies. Therefore, there is an emergent need for identifying new druggable targets and novel chemical classes against the parasite. Falcipains, cysteine proteases required for heme metabolism in the erythrocytic stage, have emerged as promising drug targets against Plasmodium species that infect humans. This perspective discusses the biology, biochemistry, structural features, and genetics of falcipains. The efforts to identify selective or dual inhibitors and their structure-activity relationships are reviewed to give a perspective on the design of novel compounds targeting falcipains for antimalarial activity evaluating reasons for hits and misses for this important target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeevan Patra
- School of Health Sciences and Technology, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Energy Acres, Bidholi, Via Prem Nagar, Uttarakhand, 248007, India
| | - Devika Rana
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, Bajhol, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, 173229, India
| | - Smriti Arora
- School of Health Sciences and Technology, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Energy Acres, Bidholi, Via Prem Nagar, Uttarakhand, 248007, India
| | - Mintu Pal
- Department of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bathinda, Punjab, 151001, India
| | - Neeraj Mahindroo
- School of Health Sciences and Technology, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Energy Acres, Bidholi, Via Prem Nagar, Uttarakhand, 248007, India; School of Health Sciences and Technology, Dr. Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University, 124 Paud Road, Kothrud, Pune, Maharashtra, 411038, India.
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Rojas-Pirela M, Kemmerling U, Quiñones W, Michels PAM, Rojas V. Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs): Potential Therapeutic Strategy against Trypanosomiases? Biomolecules 2023; 13:biom13040599. [PMID: 37189347 DOI: 10.3390/biom13040599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Revised: 03/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Trypanosomiases are a group of tropical diseases that have devastating health and socio-economic effects worldwide. In humans, these diseases are caused by the pathogenic kinetoplastids Trypanosoma brucei, causing African trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness, and Trypanosoma cruzi, causing American trypanosomiasis or Chagas disease. Currently, these diseases lack effective treatment. This is attributed to the high toxicity and limited trypanocidal activity of registered drugs, as well as resistance development and difficulties in their administration. All this has prompted the search for new compounds that can serve as the basis for the development of treatment of these diseases. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small peptides synthesized by both prokaryotes and (unicellular and multicellular) eukaryotes, where they fulfill functions related to competition strategy with other organisms and immune defense. These AMPs can bind and induce perturbation in cell membranes, leading to permeation of molecules, alteration of morphology, disruption of cellular homeostasis, and activation of cell death. These peptides have activity against various pathogenic microorganisms, including parasitic protists. Therefore, they are being considered for new therapeutic strategies to treat some parasitic diseases. In this review, we analyze AMPs as therapeutic alternatives for the treatment of trypanosomiases, emphasizing their possible application as possible candidates for the development of future natural anti-trypanosome drugs.
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Anam Z, Kumari G, Mukherjee S, Rex DAB, Biswas S, Maurya P, Ravikumar S, Gupta N, Kushawaha AK, Sah RK, Chaurasiya A, Singhal J, Singh N, Kaushik S, Prasad TSK, Pati S, Ranganathan A, Singh S. Complementary crosstalk between palmitoylation and phosphorylation events in MTIP regulates its role during Plasmodium falciparum invasion. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:924424. [PMID: 36250062 PMCID: PMC9556994 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.924424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Post-translational modifications (PTMs) including phosphorylation and palmitoylation have emerged as crucial biomolecular events that govern many cellular processes including functioning of motility- and invasion-associated proteins during Plasmodium falciparum invasion. However, no study has ever focused on understanding the possibility of a crosstalk between these two molecular events and its direct impact on preinvasion- and invasion-associated protein–protein interaction (PPI) network-based molecular machinery. Here, we used an integrated in silico analysis to enrich two different catalogues of proteins: (i) the first group defines the cumulative pool of phosphorylated and palmitoylated proteins, and (ii) the second group represents a common set of proteins predicted to have both phosphorylation and palmitoylation. Subsequent PPI analysis identified an important protein cluster comprising myosin A tail interacting protein (MTIP) as one of the hub proteins of the glideosome motor complex in P. falciparum, predicted to have dual modification with the possibility of a crosstalk between the same. Our findings suggested that blocking palmitoylation led to reduced phosphorylation and blocking phosphorylation led to abrogated palmitoylation of MTIP. As a result of the crosstalk between these biomolecular events, MTIP’s interaction with myosin A was found to be abrogated. Next, the crosstalk between phosphorylation and palmitoylation was confirmed at a global proteome level by click chemistry and the phenotypic effect of this crosstalk was observed via synergistic inhibition in P. falciparum invasion using checkerboard assay and isobologram method. Overall, our findings revealed, for the first time, an interdependence between two PTM types, their possible crosstalk, and its direct impact on MTIP-mediated invasion via glideosome assembly protein myosin A in P. falciparum. These insights can be exploited for futuristic drug discovery platforms targeting parasite molecular machinery for developing novel antimalarial therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zille Anam
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Geeta Kumari
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Soumyadeep Mukherjee
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | | | - Shreeja Biswas
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Preeti Maurya
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Susendaran Ravikumar
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Nutan Gupta
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | | | - Raj Kumar Sah
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Ayushi Chaurasiya
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Jhalak Singhal
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Niharika Singh
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Shikha Kaushik
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - T. S. Keshava Prasad
- Center for Systems Biology and Molecular Medicine, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Mangalore, India
| | - Soumya Pati
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
- *Correspondence: Shailja Singh, ; Anand Ranganathan, ; Soumya Pati,
| | - Anand Ranganathan
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
- *Correspondence: Shailja Singh, ; Anand Ranganathan, ; Soumya Pati,
| | - Shailja Singh
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
- *Correspondence: Shailja Singh, ; Anand Ranganathan, ; Soumya Pati,
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6
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Singh V, Hada RS, Uddin A, Aneja B, Abid M, Pandey KC, Singh S. Inhibition of Hemoglobin Degrading Protease Falcipain-2 as a Mechanism for Anti-Malarial Activity of Triazole-Amino Acid Hybrids. Curr Top Med Chem 2020; 20:377-389. [PMID: 32000644 DOI: 10.2174/1568026620666200130162347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Revised: 08/20/2019] [Accepted: 10/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Novel drug development against malaria parasite over old conventional antimalarial drugs is essential due to rapid and indiscriminate use of drugs, which led to the emergence of resistant strains. METHODS In this study, previously reported triazole-amino acid hybrids (13-18) are explored against Plasmodium falciparum as antimalarial agents. Among six compounds, 15 and 18 exhibited antimalarial activity against P. falciparum with insignificant hemolytic activity and cytotoxicity towards HepG2 mammalian cells. In molecular docking studies, both compounds bind into the active site of PfFP-2 and block its accessibility to the substrate that leads to the inhibition of target protein further supported by in vitro analysis. RESULTS Antimalarial half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 15 and 18 compounds were found to be 9.26 μM and 20.62 μM, respectively. Blood stage specific studies showed that compounds, 15 and 18 are effective at late trophozoite stage and block egress pathway of parasites. Decreased level of free monomeric heme was found in a dose dependent manner after the treatment with compounds 15 and 18, which was further evidenced by the reduction in percent of hemoglobin hydrolysis. Compounds 15 and 18 hindered hemoglobin degradation via intra- and extracellular cysteine protease falcipain-2 (PfFP-2) inhibitory activity both in in vitro and in vivo in P. falciparum. CONCLUSION We report antimalarial potential of triazole-amino acid hybrids and their role in the inhibition of cysteine protease PfFP-2 as its mechanistic aspect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vigyasa Singh
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Rahul Singh Hada
- Department of Life Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Gautam Buddha Nagar UP, 201314, India
| | - Amad Uddin
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India
| | - Babita Aneja
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India.,Department of Organic Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Mohammad Abid
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India
| | - Kailash C Pandey
- Host-Parasite Interaction Biology Group, National Institute of Malaria Research, Indian Council of Medical Research, Sector-8, Dwarka, New Delhi 110077, India
| | - Shailja Singh
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India
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7
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Elkerdany ED, Elnassery SM, Arafa FM, Zaki SAF, Mady RF. In vitro effect of a novel protease inhibitor cocktail on Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites. Exp Parasitol 2020; 219:108010. [PMID: 33007297 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2020.108010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2020] [Revised: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease and a global food and water-borne infection. The disease is caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which is a highly successful and remarkable pathogen because of its ability to infect almost any nucleated cell in warm-blooded animals. The present study was done to demonstrate the effect of protease inhibitors cocktail (PIC), which inhibit both cysteine and serine proteases, on in vitro cultured T. gondii tachyzoites on HepG2 cell line. This was achieved by assessing its effect on the invasion of the host cells and the intracellular development of T.gondii tachyzoites through measuring their number and viability after their incubation with PIC. Based on the results of the study, it was evident that the inhibitory action of the PIC was effective when applied to tachyzoites before their cultivation on HepG2 cells. Pre-treatment of T.gondii tachyzoites with PIC resulted in failure of the invasion of most of the tachyzoites and decreased the intracellular multiplication and viability of the tachyzoites that succeeded in the initial invasion process. Ultrastructural studies showed morphological alteration in tachyzoites and disruption in their organelles. This effect was irreversible till the complete lysis of cell monolayer in cultures. It can be concluded that PIC, at in vitro levels, could prevent invasion and intracellular multiplication of Toxoplasma tachyzoites. In addition, it is cost effective compared to individual protease inhibitors. It also had the benefit of combined therapy as it lowered the concentration of each protease inhibitor used in the cocktail. Other in vivo experiments are required to validate the cocktail efficacy against toxoplasmosis. Further studies may be needed to establish the exact mechanism by which the PIC exerts its effect on Toxoplasma tachyzoites behavior and its secretory pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eman D Elkerdany
- Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Egypt.
| | - Suzanne M Elnassery
- Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Egypt.
| | - Fadwa M Arafa
- Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Egypt.
| | - Sahar Abdel-Fattah Zaki
- Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Genetic Engineering Biotechnology Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications, Egypt.
| | - Rasha F Mady
- Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Egypt.
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Uddin A, Singh V, Irfan I, Mohammad T, Singh Hada R, Imtaiyaz Hassan M, Abid M, Singh S. Identification and structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies of carvacrol derivatives as potential anti-malarial against Plasmodium falciparum falcipain-2 protease. Bioorg Chem 2020; 103:104142. [PMID: 32763521 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2020.104142] [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: 05/03/2020] [Revised: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
In an effort to develop a potent anti-malarial agent against Plasmodium falciparum, a structure-guided virtual screening using an in-house library comprising 652 compounds was performed. By docking studies, we identified two compounds (JMI-105 and JMI-346) which formed significant non-covalent interactions and fit well in the binding pocket of PfFP-2. We affirmed this observation by MD simulation studies. As evident by the biochemical analysis, such as enzyme inhibition assay, Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), live-cell imaging and hemozoin inhibition, JMI-105 and JMI-346 at 25 µM concentration showed an inhibitory effect on purified PfFP-2. JMI-105 and JMI-346 inhibited the growth of CQS (3D7; IC50 = 8.8 and 13 µM) and CQR (RKL-9; IC50 = 14.3 and 33 µM) strains of P. falciparum. Treatment with compounds resulted in defect in parasite growth and development. No significant hemolysis or cytotoxicity towards human cells was observed suggesting that these molecules are non-toxic. We pursued, structural optimization on JMI-105 and in the process, SAR oriented derivatives (5a-5l) were synthesized and evaluated for growth inhibition potential. JMI-105 significantly decreased parasitemia and prolonged host survival in a murine model with P. berghei ANKA infection. The compounds (JMI-105 and JMI-346) against PfFP-2 have the potential to be used as an anti-malarial agent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amad Uddin
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025, India; Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
| | - Vigyasa Singh
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
| | - Iram Irfan
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025, India
| | - Taj Mohammad
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025, India
| | - Rahul Singh Hada
- Department of Life Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh 201314, India
| | - Md Imtaiyaz Hassan
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025, India
| | - Mohammad Abid
- Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025, India.
| | - Shailja Singh
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India.
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9
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Nasamu AS, Polino AJ, Istvan ES, Goldberg DE. Malaria parasite plasmepsins: More than just plain old degradative pepsins. J Biol Chem 2020; 295:8425-8441. [PMID: 32366462 PMCID: PMC7307202 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.rev120.009309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Plasmepsins are a group of diverse aspartic proteases in the malaria parasite Plasmodium Their functions are strikingly multifaceted, ranging from hemoglobin degradation to secretory organelle protein processing for egress, invasion, and effector export. Some, particularly the digestive vacuole plasmepsins, have been extensively characterized, whereas others, such as the transmission-stage plasmepsins, are minimally understood. Some (e.g. plasmepsin V) have exquisite cleavage sequence specificity; others are fairly promiscuous. Some have canonical pepsin-like aspartic protease features, whereas others have unusual attributes, including the nepenthesin loop of plasmepsin V and a histidine in place of a catalytic aspartate in plasmepsin III. We have learned much about the functioning of these enzymes, but more remains to be discovered about their cellular roles and even their mechanisms of action. Their importance in many key aspects of parasite biology makes them intriguing targets for antimalarial chemotherapy. Further consideration of their characteristics suggests that some are more viable drug targets than others. Indeed, inhibitors of invasion and egress offer hope for a desperately needed new drug to combat this nefarious organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Armiyaw S Nasamu
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Departments of Medicine and Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Alexander J Polino
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Departments of Medicine and Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Eva S Istvan
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Departments of Medicine and Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Daniel E Goldberg
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Departments of Medicine and Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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10
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Rosenthal PJ. Falcipain cysteine proteases of malaria parasites: An update. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS 2020; 1868:140362. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2020.140362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2019] [Revised: 01/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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Aggarwal S, Paliwal D, Kaushik D, Gupta GK, Kumar A. Synthesis, Antimalarial Evaluation and SAR Study of Some 1,3,5-Trisubstituted Pyrazoline Derivatives. LETT ORG CHEM 2019. [DOI: 10.2174/1570178616666190212145754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The synthesis of a novel series of 1,3,5-trisubstitiuted pyrazoline was achieved by refluxing
chalcone derivative with different heteroaryl hydrazines. The newly synthesized compounds were
characterized by 1H NMR, 13CNMR, mass spectral and elemental analysis data. The synthetic series of
novel pyrazoline hybrids was screened for in vitro schizont maturation assay against chloroquine sensitive
3D7 strain of Plasmodium falciparum. Most of the compounds showed promising in vitro antimalarial
activity against CQ sensitive strain. The preliminary structure-activity relationship study showed
that quinoline substituted analog at position N-1 showed maximum activity followed by benzothiazole
substitution, while phenyl substitution lowers the antimalarial activity. The observed activity was persistent
by the docking study on P. falciparum cystein protease falcipain-2. The pharmacokinetic properties
were also studied using ADME prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Deepika Paliwal
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra 136119, India
| | - Dhirender Kaushik
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra 136119, India
| | - Girish Kumar Gupta
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, M.M. College of Pharmacy, Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Mullana, Ambala 133203, India
| | - Ajay Kumar
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra 136119, India
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12
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Mishra M, Singh V, Singh S. Structural Insights Into Key Plasmodium Proteases as Therapeutic Drug Targets. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:394. [PMID: 30891019 PMCID: PMC6411711 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2018] [Accepted: 02/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Malaria, caused by protozoan of genus Plasmodium, remains one of the highest mortality infectious diseases. Malaria parasites have a complex life cycle, easily adapt to their host’s immune system and have evolved with an arsenal of unique proteases which play crucial roles in proliferation and survival within the host cells. Owing to the existing knowledge of enzymatic mechanisms, 3D structures and active sites of proteases, they have been proven to be opportune for target based drug development. Here, we discuss in depth the crucial roles of essential proteases in Plasmodium life cycle and particularly focus on highlighting the atypical “structural signatures” of key parasite proteases which have been exploited for drug development. These features, on one hand aid parasites pathogenicity while on the other hand could be effective in designing targeted and very specific inhibitors for counteracting them. We conclude that Plasmodium proteases are suitable as multistage targets for designing novel drugs with new modes of action to combat malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manasi Mishra
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Dadri, India
| | - Vigyasa Singh
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Shailja Singh
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Dadri, India.,Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
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13
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Siqueira-Neto JL, Debnath A, McCall LI, Bernatchez JA, Ndao M, Reed SL, Rosenthal PJ. Cysteine proteases in protozoan parasites. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2018; 12:e0006512. [PMID: 30138453 PMCID: PMC6107107 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Cysteine proteases (CPs) play key roles in the pathogenesis of protozoan parasites, including cell/tissue penetration, hydrolysis of host or parasite proteins, autophagy, and evasion or modulation of the host immune response, making them attractive chemotherapeutic and vaccine targets. This review highlights current knowledge on clan CA cysteine proteases, the best-characterized group of cysteine proteases, from 7 protozoan organisms causing human diseases with significant impact: Entamoeba histolytica, Leishmania species (sp.), Trypanosoma brucei, T. cruzi, Cryptosporidium sp., Plasmodium sp., and Toxoplasma gondii. Clan CA proteases from three organisms (T. brucei, T. cruzi, and Plasmodium sp.) are well characterized as druggable targets based on in vitro and in vivo models. A number of candidate inhibitors are under development. CPs from these organisms and from other protozoan parasites should be further characterized to improve our understanding of their biological functions and identify novel targets for chemotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jair L. Siqueira-Neto
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Anjan Debnath
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Laura-Isobel McCall
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Jean A. Bernatchez
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Momar Ndao
- National Reference Centre for Parasitology, The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Canada
- Program in Infectious Diseases and Immunity in Global Health, The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Sharon L. Reed
- Departments of Pathology and Medicine, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Philip J. Rosenthal
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
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14
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Inactivation of Plasmepsins 2 and 3 Sensitizes Plasmodium falciparum to the Antimalarial Drug Piperaquine. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2018; 62:AAC.02309-17. [PMID: 29439977 DOI: 10.1128/aac.02309-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2017] [Accepted: 01/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHA-PPQ), the current frontline artemisinin combination therapy used to treat Plasmodium falciparum malaria in multiple Southeast Asian countries, is now increasingly failing in Cambodia, where artemisinin resistance is nearly fixed, which suggests that PPQ resistance has emerged and is spreading rapidly in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Recent reports have shown that amplification of the genes encoding plasmepsins 2 and 3 is a molecular marker of PPQ resistance; however, whether these enzymes play a role in the mechanism of resistance is currently unknown. We show here that inactivating the genes encoding plasmepsin 2 or 3 individually in P. falciparum reference strain 3D7 results in hypersusceptibility to PPQ. Interestingly, no significant differences in the susceptibility to other antimalarials were observed, which suggests specific roles of plasmepsins 2 and 3 in PPQ susceptibility. The piperaquine hyper-sensitivity of the plasmepsin-2-and-3-inactivated lines provides direct evidence that these enzymes modulate parasite susceptibility to PPQ in the context of a single copy of PfMDR1 and independent of Kelch13 mutations conferring artemisinin resistance.
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15
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Purification and antiparasitic activity of a few legume serine proteinase inhibitors: Effect on erythrocyte invasion, schizont rupture and proteolytic processing of the Plasmodium falciparum AMA1 protein. Process Biochem 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.procbio.2017.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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16
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A Variant PfCRT Isoform Can Contribute to Plasmodium falciparum Resistance to the First-Line Partner Drug Piperaquine. mBio 2017; 8:mBio.00303-17. [PMID: 28487425 PMCID: PMC5424201 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.00303-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Current efforts to reduce the global burden of malaria are threatened by the rapid spread throughout Asia of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to artemisinin-based combination therapies, which includes increasing rates of clinical failure with dihydroartemisinin plus piperaquine (PPQ) in Cambodia. Using zinc finger nuclease-based gene editing, we report that addition of the C101F mutation to the chloroquine (CQ) resistance-conferring PfCRT Dd2 isoform common to Asia can confer PPQ resistance to cultured parasites. Resistance was demonstrated as significantly higher PPQ concentrations causing 90% inhibition of parasite growth (IC90) or 50% parasite killing (50% lethal dose [LD50]). This mutation also reversed Dd2-mediated CQ resistance, sensitized parasites to amodiaquine, quinine, and artemisinin, and conferred amantadine and blasticidin resistance. Using heme fractionation assays, we demonstrate that PPQ causes a buildup of reactive free heme and inhibits the formation of chemically inert hemozoin crystals. Our data evoke inhibition of heme detoxification in the parasite’s acidic digestive vacuole as the primary mode of both the bis-aminoquinoline PPQ and the related 4-aminoquinoline CQ. Both drugs also inhibit hemoglobin proteolysis at elevated concentrations, suggesting an additional mode of action. Isogenic lines differing in their pfmdr1 copy number showed equivalent PPQ susceptibilities. We propose that mutations in PfCRT could contribute to a multifactorial basis of PPQ resistance in field isolates. The global agenda to eliminate malaria depends on the continued success of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), which target the asexual blood stages of the intracellular parasite Plasmodium. Partial resistance to artemisinin, however, is now established in Southeast Asia, exposing the partner drugs to increased selective pressure. Plasmodium falciparum resistance to the first-line partner piperaquine (PPQ) is now spreading rapidly in Cambodia, resulting in clinical treatment failures. Here, we report that a variant form of the Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter, harboring a C101F mutation edited into the chloroquine (CQ)-resistant Dd2 isoform prevalent in Asia, can confer PPQ resistance in cultured parasites. This was accompanied by a loss of CQ resistance. Biochemical assays showed that PPQ, like CQ, inhibits the detoxification of reactive heme that is formed by parasite-mediated catabolism of host hemoglobin. We propose that novel PfCRT variants emerging in the field could contribute to a multigenic basis of PPQ resistance.
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17
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Istvan ES, Mallari JP, Corey VC, Dharia NV, Marshall GR, Winzeler EA, Goldberg DE. Esterase mutation is a mechanism of resistance to antimalarial compounds. Nat Commun 2017; 8:14240. [PMID: 28106035 PMCID: PMC5263872 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2016] [Accepted: 12/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Pepstatin is a potent peptidyl inhibitor of various malarial aspartic proteases, and also has parasiticidal activity. Activity of pepstatin against cultured Plasmodium falciparum is highly variable depending on the commercial source. Here we identify a minor contaminant (pepstatin butyl ester) as the active anti-parasitic principle. We synthesize a series of derivatives and characterize an analogue (pepstatin hexyl ester) with low nanomolar activity. By selecting resistant parasite mutants, we find that a parasite esterase, PfPARE (P. falciparum Prodrug Activation and Resistance Esterase) is required for activation of esterified pepstatin. Parasites with esterase mutations are resistant to pepstatin esters and to an open source antimalarial compound, MMV011438. Recombinant PfPARE hydrolyses pepstatin esters and de-esterifies MMV011438. We conclude that (1) pepstatin is a potent but poorly bioavailable antimalarial; (2) PfPARE is a functional esterase that is capable of activating prodrugs; (3) Mutations in PfPARE constitute a mechanism of antimalarial resistance. Pepstatin is a known inhibitor of malarial proteases, but its activity varies between sources. Here, Istvan et al. identify a pepstatin ester as the active component of pepstatin preparations and show that this prodrug is activated by a Plasmodium esterase, mutation of which can confer resistance to pepstatin and other compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva S Istvan
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.,Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri 63110, USA
| | - Jeremy P Mallari
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.,Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri 63110, USA
| | - Victoria C Corey
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Neekesh V Dharia
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Garland R Marshall
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri 63110, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Winzeler
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Daniel E Goldberg
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.,Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri 63110, USA
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18
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Abiodun OO, Gbimadee N, Gbotosho GO. Lopinavir/ritonavir enhanced the antimalarial activity of amodiaquine and artesunate in a mouse model of Plasmodium berghei. J Chemother 2016; 28:482-486. [PMID: 26900802 DOI: 10.1080/1120009x.2016.1139770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Treatment of malaria and HIV in co-infected patients remains a challenge due to the limited information on interaction between drugs used for the treatment of the two infections. Thus, this study evaluated the interaction between lopinavir/ritonavir (LR) and artesunate (AS), amodiaquine (AQ) or a fixed dose of AS/AQ in a mouse model of chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium berghei. Combination of LR with graded doses of AS or AQ resulted in a significant reduced ED50. In addition, parasites cleared completely from day 3 till day 21 post-infection in animals infected, treated with AS/AQ alone or AS/AQ with LR and all the animals survived till day 21 post-infection. In contrast, survival on day 21 in animals treated with AQ alone or AQ with LR was 20 and 60%, respectively. It appears that the protease inhibitor LR enhanced the antimalarial drugs AS and AQ.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nekabari Gbimadee
- a Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics , College of Medicine, University of Ibadan , Ibadan , Nigeria
| | - Grace Olushola Gbotosho
- a Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics , College of Medicine, University of Ibadan , Ibadan , Nigeria
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19
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Kong Q, Tong Q, Lou D, Ding J, Zheng B, Chen R, Zhu X, Chen X, Dong K, Lu S. Quantitative proteomic analyses of Schistosoma japonicum in response to artesunate. MOLECULAR BIOSYSTEMS 2016; 11:1400-9. [PMID: 25820832 DOI: 10.1039/c5mb00074b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Artesunate (ART) has high prophylactic efficacy against Schistosoma japonicum infections and has been used to treat and prevent schistosomiasis in China since 1995. However, the molecular mechanism of ART's effects on S. japonicum remains unclear. Herein, we applied isobaric tagging reagents for relative and absolute quantification analyses coupled with two-dimensional liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry to investigate the effect of ART on the proteome of S. japonicum in susceptible mice. 4529 proteins were quantified on the basis of 21,825 unique peptides. Comparative proteomic analyses revealed that 145, 228 and 185 proteins were significantly differentially expressed after ART treatment in schistosomula, juvenile and adult worms, respectively. Ninety proteins were differentially expressed between each two treatment groups in response to ART treatment: 67 proteins were associated with S. japonicum development/aging and 23 were specifically associated with ART treatment. Quantitative real-time PCR of selected genes verified the proteomic data. Gene ontology annotation and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathway mapping analysis showed that the majority of differentially expressed proteins were involved in stress/defense/detoxification, signal transduction, carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, transcription/translation, and protein synthesis/assembly/degradation. Thirty-four of the proteins differentially expressed under ART treatment encoded hypothetical, uncharacterized proteins with unknown functions. This study obtained the first comprehensive protein expression profile of S. japonicum in response to ART, and provides a basis for a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of ART effects on S. japonicum.
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Affiliation(s)
- QingMing Kong
- Department of Immunity and Biochemistry, Institute of Parasitic Disease, Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
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20
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Why strategies to control Leishmania spp. multiplication based on the use of proteinase inhibitors should consider multiple targets and not only a single enzyme. J Mol Model 2014; 20:2465. [PMID: 25296889 DOI: 10.1007/s00894-014-2465-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2014] [Accepted: 09/08/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
The use of proteinases as targets to develop novel chemotherapies against Leishmania spp. infections is a very promising strategy. Based on a previous study by Goyal et al. [J Mol Model (2014) 20:2099], we discuss herein the idea that only a combined treatment with distinct proteinase inhibitors would be an effective antileishmanial therapy.
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21
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de Paula MC, Valle MS, Pliego JR. Electron affinity and dipole moment of 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes antimalarials and correlation with activity against Plasmodium falciparum. Med Chem Res 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00044-014-1088-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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22
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Yadav MK, Singh A, Swati D. A knowledge-based approach for identification of drugs against vivapain-2 protein of Plasmodium vivax through pharmacophore-based virtual screening with comparative modelling. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 2014; 173:2174-88. [PMID: 24970047 DOI: 10.1007/s12010-014-1023-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2013] [Accepted: 06/19/2014] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Malaria is one of the most infectious diseases in the world. Plasmodium vivax, the pathogen causing endemic malaria in humans worldwide, is responsible for extensive disease morbidity. Due to the emergence of resistance to common anti-malarial drugs, there is a continuous need to develop a new class of drugs for this pathogen. P. vivax cysteine protease, also known as vivapain-2, plays an important role in haemoglobin hydrolysis and is considered essential for the survival of the parasite. The three-dimensional (3D) structure of vivapain-2 is not predicted experimentally, so its structure is modelled by using comparative modelling approach and further validated by Qualitative Model Energy Analysis (QMEAN) and RAMPAGE tools. The potential binding site of selected vivapain-2 structure has been detected by grid-based function prediction method. Drug targets and their respective drugs similar to vivapain-2 have been identified using three publicly available databases: STITCH 3.1, DrugBank and Therapeutic Target Database (TTD). The second approach of this work focuses on docking study of selected drug E-64 against vivapain-2 protein. Docking reveals crucial information about key residues (Asn281, Cys283, Val396 and Asp398) that are responsible for holding the ligand in the active site. The similarity-search criterion is used for the preparation of our in-house database of drugs, obtained from filtering the drugs from the DrugBank database. A five-point 3D pharmacophore model is generated for the docked complex of vivapain-2 with E-64. This study of 3D pharmacophore-based virtual screening results in identifying three new drugs, amongst which one is approved and the other two are experimentally proved. The ADMET properties of these drugs are found to be in the desired range. These drugs with novel scaffolds may act as potent drugs for treating malaria caused by P. vivax.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manoj Kumar Yadav
- Department of Bioinformatics, MMV, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, India,
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23
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Carrasco MP, Newton AS, Gonçalves L, Góis A, Machado M, Gut J, Nogueira F, Hänscheid T, Guedes RC, dos Santos DJVA, Rosenthal PJ, Moreira R. Probing the aurone scaffold against Plasmodium falciparum: design, synthesis and antimalarial activity. Eur J Med Chem 2014; 80:523-34. [PMID: 24813880 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2014.04.076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2013] [Revised: 04/24/2014] [Accepted: 04/25/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
A library comprising 44 diversely substituted aurones derivatives was synthesized by straightforward aldol condensation reactions of benzofuranones and the appropriately substituted benzaldehydes. Microwave enhanced synthesis using palladium catalyzed protocols was introduced as a powerful strategy for extending the chemical space around the aurone scaffold. Additionally, Mannich-base derivatives, containing a 7-aminomethyl-6-hydroxy substitution pattern at ring A, were also prepared. Screening against the chloroquine resistant Plasmodium falciparum W2 strain identified novel aurones with IC50 values in the low micromolar range. The most potent compounds contained a basic moiety, with the ability to accumulate in acidic digestive vacuole of the malaria parasite. However, none of those aurones revealed significant activity against hemozoin formation and falcipain-2, two validated targets expressed during the blood stage of P. falciparum infection and functional in digestive vacuole of the parasite. Overall, this study highlight (i) the usefulness of aurones as platforms for synthetic procedures using palladium catalyzed protocols to rapidly deliver lead compounds for further optimization and (ii) the potential of novel aurone derivatives as promising antimalarial compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta P Carrasco
- Instituto de Investigação do Medicamento (iMed.ULisboa), Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Ana S Newton
- Instituto de Investigação do Medicamento (iMed.ULisboa), Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Lídia Gonçalves
- Instituto de Investigação do Medicamento (iMed.ULisboa), Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Ana Góis
- Unidade de Microbiologia Molecular e Infecção, Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Marta Machado
- Centro de Malária e outras Doenças Tropicais, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Jiri Gut
- Department of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, Box 0811, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Fátima Nogueira
- Centro de Malária e outras Doenças Tropicais, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Thomas Hänscheid
- Unidade de Microbiologia Molecular e Infecção, Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Rita C Guedes
- Instituto de Investigação do Medicamento (iMed.ULisboa), Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Daniel J V A dos Santos
- Instituto de Investigação do Medicamento (iMed.ULisboa), Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Philip J Rosenthal
- Department of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, Box 0811, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Rui Moreira
- Instituto de Investigação do Medicamento (iMed.ULisboa), Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal.
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24
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Jin H, Xu Z, Cui K, Zhang T, Lu W, Huang J. Dietary flavonoids fisetin and myricetin: dual inhibitors of Plasmodium falciparum falcipain-2 and plasmepsin II. Fitoterapia 2014; 94:55-61. [PMID: 24468190 DOI: 10.1016/j.fitote.2014.01.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2013] [Revised: 01/14/2014] [Accepted: 01/17/2014] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Malaria is one of the most devastating infectious diseases in the developing world. Until now, only one candidate malaria vaccine RTS,S/AS01 has shown modest protection in phase 3 trial in African infants. Hence the treatment of malaria still depends on the current chemotherapeutic drugs. Considering the resistance of malaria parasites to almost all used antimalarial drugs, aiming at multi-targets rather than a single target will be a more promising strategy. Previous studies have shown that myricetin and fisetin exhibited in vitro antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum, but very little research focused on the molecular mechanism for their parasiticidal activity. The cysteine protease falcipain-2 and aspartic protease plasmepsin II have long been considered as important antimalarial drug targets, especially combined inhibition of these two proteases. In this study, we determined that myricetin and fisetin are dual inhibitors of falcipain-2 and plasmepsin II, which might account for their antimalarial properties. Overall, the dual inhibition of falcipain-2 and plasmepsin II by myricetin and fisetin has shed light on a possible mechanism for their antimalarial activity and provided a rationale for further development as antimalarial drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huangtao Jin
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Zhongyu Xu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Kunqiang Cui
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Tianshu Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Weiqiang Lu
- The Institute of Biomedical Sciences and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China.
| | - Jin Huang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China.
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25
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Salas-Sarduy E, Cabrera-Muñoz A, Cauerhff A, González-González Y, Trejo SA, Chidichimo A, Chávez-Planes MDLA, Cazzulo JJ. Antiparasitic effect of a fraction enriched in tight-binding protease inhibitors isolated from the Caribbean coral Plexaura homomalla. Exp Parasitol 2013; 135:611-22. [DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2013.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2013] [Revised: 09/17/2013] [Accepted: 09/22/2013] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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26
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Rodrigues T, Ressurreição AS, da Cruz FP, Albuquerque IS, Gut J, Carrasco MP, Gonçalves D, Guedes RC, dos Santos DJVA, Mota MM, Rosenthal PJ, Moreira R, Prudêncio M, Lopes F. Flavones as isosteres of 4(1H)-quinolones: discovery of ligand efficient and dual stage antimalarial lead compounds. Eur J Med Chem 2013; 69:872-80. [PMID: 24125849 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2013.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2013] [Revised: 09/01/2013] [Accepted: 09/03/2013] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Malaria is responsible for nearly one million deaths annually, and the increasing prevalence of multi-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum poses a great challenge to controlling the disease. A diverse set of flavones, isosteric to 4(1H)-quinolones, were prepared and profiled for their antiplasmodial activity against the blood stage of P. falciparum W2 strain, and the liver stage of the rodent parasite Plasmodium berghei. Ligand efficient leads were identified as dual stage antimalarials, suggesting that scaffold optimization may afford potent antiplasmodial compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago Rodrigues
- Research Institute for Medicines and Pharmaceutical Sciences (iMed.UL), Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-019 Lisbon, Portugal.
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Blocking Plasmodium falciparum development via dual inhibition of hemoglobin degradation and the ubiquitin proteasome system by MG132. PLoS One 2013; 8:e73530. [PMID: 24023882 PMCID: PMC3759421 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0073530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2013] [Accepted: 07/22/2013] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Among key potential drug target proteolytic systems in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum are falcipains, a family of hemoglobin-degrading cysteine proteases, and the ubiquitin proteasomal system (UPS), which has fundamental importance in cellular protein turnover. Inhibition of falcipains blocks parasite development, primarily due to inhibition of hemoglobin degradation that serves as a source of amino acids for parasite growth. Falcipains prefer P2 leucine in substrates and peptides, and their peptidyl inhibitors with leucine at the P2 position show potent antimalarial activity. The peptidyl inhibitor MG132 (Z-Leu-Leu-Leu-CHO) is a widely used proteasome inhibitor, which also has P2 leucine, and has also been shown to inhibit parasite development. However, the antimalarial targets of MG132 are unclear. We investigated whether MG132 blocks malaria parasite development by inhibiting hemoglobin degradation and/or by targeting the UPS. P. falciparum was cultured with inhibitors of the UPS (MG132, epoxomicin, and lactacystin) or falcipains (E64), and parasites were assessed for morphologies, extent of hemoglobin degradation, and accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins. MG132, like E64 and unlike epoxomicin or lactacystin, blocked parasite development, with enlargement of the food vacuole and accumulation of undegraded hemoglobin, indicating inhibition of hemoglobin degradation by MG132, most likely due to inhibition of hemoglobin-degrading falcipain cysteine proteases. Parasites cultured with epoxomicin or MG132 accumulated ubiquitinated proteins to a significantly greater extent than untreated or E64-treated parasites, indicating that MG132 inhibits the parasite UPS as well. Consistent with these findings, MG132 inhibited both cysteine protease and UPS activities present in soluble parasite extracts, and it strongly inhibited recombinant falcipains. MG132 was highly selective for inhibition of P. falciparum (IC50 0.0476 µM) compared to human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (IC50 10.8 µM). Thus, MG132 inhibits two distinct proteolytic systems in P. falciparum, and it may serve as a lead molecule for development of dual-target inhibitors of malaria parasites.
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Protein complex directs hemoglobin-to-hemozoin formation in Plasmodium falciparum. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013; 110:5392-7. [PMID: 23471987 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1218412110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Malaria parasites use hemoglobin (Hb) as a major nutrient source in the intraerythrocytic stage, during which heme is converted to hemozoin (Hz). The formation of Hz is essential for parasite survival, but to date, the underlying mechanisms of Hb degradation and Hz formation are poorly understood. We report the presence of a ∼200-kDa protein complex in the food vacuole that is required for Hb degradation and Hz formation. This complex contains several parasite proteins, including falcipain 2/2', plasmepsin II, plasmepsin IV, histo aspartic protease, and heme detoxification protein. The association of these proteins is evident from coimmunoprecipitation followed by mass spectrometry, coelution from a gel filtration column, cosedimentation on a glycerol gradient, and in vitro protein interaction analyses. To functionally characterize this complex, we developed an in vitro assay using two of the proteins present in the complex. Our results show that falcipain 2 and heme detoxification protein associate with each other to efficiently convert Hb to Hz. We also used this in vitro assay to elucidate the modes of action of chloroquine and artemisinin. Our results reveal that both chloroquine and artemisinin act during the heme polymerization step, and chloroquine also acts at the Hb degradation step. These results may have important implications in the development of previously undefined antimalarials.
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Soh BY, Song HO, Lee Y, Lee J, Kaewintajuk K, Lee B, Choi YY, Cho JH, Choi S, Park H. Identification of active Plasmodium falciparum calpain to establish screening system for Pf-calpain-based drug development. Malar J 2013; 12:47. [PMID: 23374507 PMCID: PMC3583800 DOI: 10.1186/1475-2875-12-47] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2012] [Accepted: 01/30/2013] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND With the increasing resistance of malaria parasites to available drugs, there is an urgent demand to develop new anti-malarial drugs. Calpain inhibitor, ALLN, is proposed to inhibit parasite proliferation by suppressing haemoglobin degradation. This provides Plasmodium calpain as a potential target for drug development. Pf-calpain, a cysteine protease of Plasmodium falciparum, belongs to calpain-7 family, which is an atypical calpain not harboring Ca2+-binding regulatory motifs. In this present study, in order to establish the screening system for Pf-calpain specific inhibitors, the active form of Pf-calpain was first identified. METHODS Recombinant Pf-calpain including catalytic subdomain IIa (rPfcal-IIa) was heterologously expressed and purified. Enzymatic activity was determined by both fluorogenic substrate assay and gelatin zymography. Molecular homology modeling was carried out to address the activation mode of Pf-calpain in the aspect of structural moiety. RESULTS Based on the measurement of enzymatic activity and protease inhibitor assay, it was found that the active form of Pf-calpain only contains the catalytic subdomain IIa, suggesting that Pf-calpain may function as a monomeric form. The sequence prediction indicates that the catalytic subdomain IIa contains all amino acid residues necessary for catalytic triad (Cys-His-Asn) formation. Molecular modeling suggests that the Pf-calpain subdomain IIa makes an active site, holding the catalytic triad residues in their appropriate orientation for catalysis. The mutation analysis further supports that those amino acid residues are functional and have enzymatic activity. CONCLUSION The identified active form of Pf-calpain could be utilized to establish high-throughput screening system for Pf-calpain inhibitors. Due to its unique monomeric structural property, Pf-calpain could be served as a novel anti-malarial drug target, which has a high specificity for malaria parasite. In addition, the monomeric form of enzyme may contribute to relatively simple synthesis of selective inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Byoung Yul Soh
- Laboratory of Cell & Molecular Biology, Department of Life Science, Seonam University, Namwon, Jeonbuk 590-711, Republic of Korea
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Tabares P, Degel B, Schaschke N, Hentschel U, Schirmeister T. Identification of the protease inhibitor miraziridine A in the Red sea sponge Theonella swinhoei. Pharmacognosy Res 2012; 4:63-6. [PMID: 22224064 PMCID: PMC3250042 DOI: 10.4103/0974-8490.91047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2011] [Revised: 07/29/2011] [Accepted: 12/22/2011] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Miraziridine A, a natural peptide isolated from a marine sponge, is a potent cathepsin B inhibitor with a second-order rate constant of 1.5 × 10(4) M(-1) s(-1). In the present study, miraziridine A was isolated from the Red Sea sponge Theonella swinhoei on the basis of chromatographic and spectrometric techniques. We conclude that T. swinhoei from the Red Sea represents an alternative source of the aziridinylpeptide miraziridine A to the previously identified Theonella mirabilis from Japan. We confirmed that the metabolite is produced by marine sponges from different geographical locations. CONTEXT Marine sponges have been proven to be a rich source of secondary metabolites exhibiting a huge diversity of biological activities, including antimicrobial, antitumor and immunomodulatory activities. Theonella species (order Lithistida, Demospongiae) have been shown to be a source of anti-protease and anti-HIV secondary metabolites. AIMS To identify the protease inhibitor mirazirine A in the marine sponge Theonella swinhoei. MATERIAL AND METHODS The marine sponge Theonella swinhoei was collected by SCUBA diving in the Red Sea in Eilat (Israel). Sponge material was lyophilized and further extracted successively with cyclohexane, dichloromethane and methanol to obtain three crude extracts. LC-MS analysis was performed to confirm the presence of Miraziridine A in the dichloromethane fraction. RESULTS In the present study, miraziridine A was isolated from the Red Sea sponge T. swinhoei on the basis of chromatographic and spectrophotometric techniques. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that T. swinhoei from the Red Sea represents an alternative source of the aziridinylpeptide miraziridine A to the previously identified Theonella mirabilis from Japan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Tabares
- University of Wuerzburg, Botany II, Julius-von-Sachs-Institute, Würzburg, Germany
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Munkhjargal T, AbouLaila M, Terkawi MA, Sivakumar T, Ichikawa M, Davaasuren B, Nyamjargal T, Yokoyama N, Igarashi I. Inhibitory effects of pepstatin A and mefloquine on the growth of Babesia parasites. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2012; 87:681-8. [PMID: 22890034 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.2012.12-0218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
We evaluated the inhibitory effects of pepstatin A and mefloquine on the in vitro and in vivo growths of Babesia parasites. The in vitro growth of Babesia bovis, B. bigemina, B. caballi, and B. equi was significantly inhibited (P < 0.05) by micromolar concentrations of pepstatin A (50% inhibitory concentrations = 38.5, 36.5, 17.6, and 18.1 μM, respectively) and mefloquine (50% inhibitory concentrations = 59.7, 56.7, 20.7, and 4 μM, respectively). Furthermore, both reagents either alone at a concentration of 5 mg/kg or in combinations (2.5/2.5 and 5/5 mg/kg) for 10 days significantly inhibited the in vivo growth of B. microti in mice. Mefloquine treatment was highly effective and the combination treatments were less effective than other treatments. Therefore, mefloquine may antagonize the actions of pepstatin A against babesiosis and aspartic proteases may play an important role in the asexual growth cycle of Babesia parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tserendorj Munkhjargal
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan.
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Sarduy ES, Muñoz AC, Trejo SA, Chavéz Planes MDLA. High-level expression of Falcipain-2 in Escherichia coli by codon optimization and auto-induction. Protein Expr Purif 2012; 83:59-69. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2012.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2012] [Revised: 03/08/2012] [Accepted: 03/10/2012] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
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New benzimidazole derivatives as antiplasmodial agents and plasmepsin inhibitors: synthesis and analysis of structure-activity relationships. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2011; 22:1282-6. [PMID: 22204908 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2011.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2011] [Revised: 09/07/2011] [Accepted: 10/07/2011] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The newly synthesized benzimidazole compounds were suggested to be inhibitors of Plasmodium falciparum plasmepsin II and human cathepsin D by virtual screening of an internal library of synthetic compounds. This was confirmed by enzyme inhibition studies that gave IC(50) values in the low micromolar range (2-48μM). Ligand docking studies with plasmepsin II predicted binding of benzimidazole compounds at the center of the extended substrate-binding cleft. According to the plausible mode of binding, the pyridine ring of benzimidazole compounds interacted with S1' subsite residues whereas the acetophenone moiety was in contact with S1-S3 subsites of plasmepsin II active center. The benzimidazole derivatives were evaluated for capacity to inhibit the growth of intraerythrocytic P. falciparum in culture. Four benzimidazole compounds inhibited parasite growth at ⩽3μM. The most active compound 10, 1-(4-phenylphenyl)-2[2-(pyridinyl-2-yl)-1,3-benzdiazol-1-yl]ethanone showed an IC(50) of 160nM. The substitution of a phenyl group and a chlorine atom at the para position of the acetophenone moiety were shown to be crucial for antiplasmodial activity.
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Rosenthal PJ. Falcipains and other cysteine proteases of malaria parasites. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2011; 712:30-48. [PMID: 21660657 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4419-8414-2_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
A number of cysteine proteases of malaria parasites have been described and many more are suggested by analysis of the Plasmodium falciparum genome sequence. The best characterized of these proteases are the falcipains, a family of four papain-family enzymes. Falcipain-2 and falcipain-3 act in concert with other proteases to hydrolyze host erythrocyte hemoglobin in the parasite food vacuole. Disruption of the falcipain-2 gene led to a transient block in hemoglobin hydrolysis and parasites with increased sensitivity to protease inhibitors. Disruption of the falcipain-3 gene was not possible, strongly suggesting that this protease is essential for erythrocytic parasites. Disruption of the falcipain-1 gene did not alter development in erythrocytes, but led to decreased production of oocysts in mosquitoes. other papain-family proteases predicted by the genome sequence include dipeptidyl peptidases, a calpain homolog and serine-repeat antigens (SERAs). Dipeptidyl aminopeptidase 1 appears to be essential and localized to the food vacuole, suggesting a role in hemoglobin hydrolysis. Dipeptidyl aminopeptidase 3 appears to play a role in the rupture of erythrocytes by mature parasites. the P. falciparum calpain homolog gene could not be disrupted, suggesting that the protein is essential and a role in the parasite cell cycle has been suggested. Nine P. falciparum SERAs have cysteine protease motifs, but in some the active site cys is replaced by a Ser. Gene disruption studies suggested that SERA-5 and SERA-6 are essential. activation of SERA-5 by a serine protease seems to be required for merozoite egress from the erythrocyte. New drugs for malaria are greatly needed and cysteine proteases represent potential drug targets. cysteine protease inhibitors have demonstrated potent antimalarial effects and the optimization and testing of falcipain inhibitor antimalarials is underway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip J Rosenthal
- Department of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
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Miura T, Hidaka K, Uemura T, Kashimoto K, Hori Y, Kawasaki Y, Ruben AJ, Freire E, Kimura T, Kiso Y. Improvement of both plasmepsin inhibitory activity and antimalarial activity by 2-aminoethylamino substitution. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2010; 20:4836-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2010.06.099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2010] [Revised: 06/17/2010] [Accepted: 06/19/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Wijayanti MA, Sholikhah EN, Hadanu R, Jumina J, Supargiyono S, Mustofa M. Additive in vitro antiplasmodial effect of N-alkyl and N-benzyl-1,10-phenanthroline derivatives and cysteine protease inhibitor e64. Malar Res Treat 2010; 2010:540786. [PMID: 22332022 PMCID: PMC3275986 DOI: 10.4061/2010/540786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2010] [Revised: 04/13/2010] [Accepted: 05/10/2010] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Potential new targets for antimalarial chemotherapy include parasite proteases, which are required for several cellular functions during the Plasmodium falciparum life cycle. Four new derivatives of N-alkyl and N-benzyl-1,10-phenanthroline have been synthesized. Those are (1)-N-methyl-1,10-phenanthrolinium sulfate, (1)-N-ethyl-1,10-phenanthrolinium sulfate, (1)-N-benzyl-1,10-phenanthrolinium chloride, and (1)-N-benzyl-1,10-phenanthrolinium iodide. Those compounds had potential antiplasmodial activity with IC50 values from 260.42 to 465.38 nM. Cysteine proteinase inhibitor E64 was used to investigate the mechanism of action of N-alkyl and N-benzyl-1,10-phenanthroline derivatives. A modified fixed-ratio isobologram method was used to study the in vitro interactions between the new compounds with either E64 or chloroquine. The interaction between N-alkyl and N-benzyl-1,10-phenanthroline derivatives and E64 was additive as well as their interactions with chloroquine were also additive. Antimalarial mechanism of chloroquine is mainly on the inhibition of hemozoin formation. As the interaction of chloroquine and E64 was additive, the results indicated that these new compounds had a mechanism of action by inhibiting Plasmodium proteases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahardika Agus Wijayanti
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Gadjah Mada, 55281 Yogyakarta, Indonesia
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Downstream effects of haemoglobinase inhibition in Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes. Mol Biochem Parasitol 2010; 173:81-7. [PMID: 20478341 DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2010.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2009] [Revised: 04/28/2010] [Accepted: 05/08/2010] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Blood-stage malarial parasites (Plasmodium falciparum) digest large quantities of host haemoglobin during their asexual development in erythrocytes. The haemoglobin digestion pathway, involving a succession of cleavages by various peptidases, appears to be essential for parasite development and has received much attention as an antimalarial drug target. A variety of peptidase inhibitors that have potent antimalarial activity are believed to inhibit and/or kill parasites by blocking haemoglobin digestion. It has not however been established how such a blockage might lead to parasite death. The answer to this question should lie in identifying the affected physiological function, but the purpose of excess haemoglobin digestion by P. falciparum has for many years been the subject of debate. The process was traditionally believed to be nutritional until Lew et al. [Blood 2003;101:4189-94] suggested that it is linked to volume control of the infected erythrocyte and is necessary to prevent premature osmotic lysis of the host cell. Their model predicts that sufficient inhibition of haemoglobin degradation should result in premature haemolysis. In this study we examined the downstream effects of reduced haemoglobin digestion on osmoprotection and nutrition. We found that inhibitors of haemoglobinases (plasmepsins, falcipains and aminopeptidases) did not cause premature haemolysis. The inhibitors did however block parasite development and this effect corresponded to a strong inhibition of protein synthesis. The effect on protein synthesis (i) occurred at inhibitor concentrations and times of exposure that were relevant to parasite growth inhibition, (ii) was observed with different chemical classes of inhibitor, and (iii) was synergistic when a plasmepsin and a falcipain inhibitor were combined, reflecting the well-established antimalarial synergism of the combination. Taken together, the results suggest that the likely primary downstream effect of inhibition of haemoglobin degradation is amino acid depletion, leading to blockade of protein synthesis, and that the parasite probably degrades globin for nutritional purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bimal K. Banik
- Dept. Chemistry, University of Texas-Pan American, W. University Drive 1201, Edinburg, 78539 USA
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Löser R, Gut J, Rosenthal PJ, Frizler M, Gütschow M, Andrews KT. Antimalarial activity of azadipeptide nitriles. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2009; 20:252-5. [PMID: 19913414 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2009.10.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2009] [Accepted: 10/27/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Azadipeptide nitriles-novel cysteine protease inhibitors-display structure-dependent antimalarial activity against both chloroquine-sensitive and chloroquine-resistant lines of cultured Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites. Inhibition of parasite's hemoglobin-degrading cysteine proteases was also investigated, revealing the azadipeptide nitriles as potent inhibitors of falcipain-2 and -3. A correlation between the cysteine protease-inhibiting activity and the antimalarial potential of the compounds was observed. These first generation azadipeptide nitriles represent a promising new class of compounds for antimalarial drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reik Löser
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
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Dvorák J, Mashiyama ST, Sajid M, Braschi S, Delcroix M, Schneider EL, McKerrow WH, Bahgat M, Hansell E, Babbitt PC, Craik CS, McKerrow JH, Caffrey CR. SmCL3, a gastrodermal cysteine protease of the human blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2009; 3:e449. [PMID: 19488406 PMCID: PMC2685030 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0000449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2009] [Accepted: 05/01/2009] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma are platyhelminth parasites that infect 200 million people worldwide. Digestion of nutrients from the host bloodstream is essential for parasite development and reproduction. A network of proteolytic enzymes (proteases) facilitates hydrolysis of host hemoglobin and serum proteins. Methodology/Principal Findings We identified a new cathepsin L termed SmCL3 using PCR strategies based on S. mansoni EST sequence data. An ortholog is present in Schistosoma japonicum. SmCL3 was heterologously expressed as an active enzyme in the yeast, Pichia pastoris. Recombinant SmCL3 has a broad pH activity range against peptidyl substrates and is inhibited by Clan CA protease inhibitors. Consistent with a function in degrading host proteins, SmCL3 hydrolyzes serum albumin and hemoglobin, is localized to the adult gastrodermis, and is expressed mainly in those life stages infecting the mammalian host. The predominant form of SmCL3 in the parasite exists as a zymogen, which is unusual for proteases. This zymogen includes an unusually long prodomain with alpha helical secondary structure motifs. The striking specificity of SmCL3 for amino acids with large aromatic side chains (Trp and Tyr) at the P2 substrate position, as determined with positional scanning-synthetic combinatorial library, is consistent with a molecular model that shows a large and deep S2 pocket. A sequence similarity network (SSN) view clusters SmCL3 and other cathepsins L in accordance with previous large-scale phylogenetic analyses that identify six super kingdoms. Conclusions/Significance SmCL3 is a gut-associated cathepsin L that may contribute to the network of proteases involved in degrading host blood proteins as nutrients. Furthermore, this enzyme exhibits some unusual sequence and biophysical features that may result in additional functions. The visualization of network inter-relationships among cathepsins L suggests that these enzymes are suitable ‘marker sequences’ for inclusion in future phylogenetic analyses. Parasitic infection caused by blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma is a major global health problem. More than 200 million people are infected. Identifying and characterizing the constituent enzymes of the parasite's biochemical pathways should reveal opportunities for developing new therapies (i.e., vaccines, drugs). Schistosomes feed on host blood, and a number of proteolytic enzymes (proteases) contribute to this process. We have identified and characterized a new protease, SmCL3 (for Schistosoma mansoni cathepsin L3), that is found within the gut tissue of the parasite. We have employed various biochemical and molecular biological methods and sequence similarity analyses to characterize SmCL3 and obtain insights into its possible functions in the parasite, as well as its evolutionary position among cathepsin L proteases in general. SmCL3 hydrolyzes major host blood proteins (serum albumin and hemoglobin) and is expressed in parasite life stages infecting the mammalian host. Enzyme substrate specificity detected by positional scanning-synthetic combinatorial library was confirmed by molecular modeling. A sequence analysis placed SmCL3 to the cluster of other cathepsins L in accordance with previous phylogenetic analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Dvorák
- Sandler Center for Basic Research in Parasitic Diseases, California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America.
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Rodrigues T, Guedes RC, dos Santos DJVA, Carrasco M, Gut J, Rosenthal PJ, Moreira R, Lopes F. Design, synthesis and structure-activity relationships of (1H-pyridin-4-ylidene)amines as potential antimalarials. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2009; 19:3476-80. [PMID: 19467600 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2009.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2009] [Revised: 05/05/2009] [Accepted: 05/05/2009] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
(1H-Pyridin-4-ylidene)amines containing lipophilic side chains at the imine nitrogen atom were prepared as potential clopidol isosteres in the development of antimalarials. Their antiplasmodial activity was evaluated in vitro against the Plasmodium falciparum W2 (chloroquine-resistant) and FCR3 (atovaquone-resistant) strains. The most active of these derivatives, 4m, had an IC(50) of 1microM against W2 and 3microM against FCR3. Molecular modeling studies suggest that (1H-pyridin-4-ylidene)amines may bind to the ubiquinol oxidation Q(o) site of cytochrome bc(1).
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago Rodrigues
- iMed.UL, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisbon, Portugal
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Mallari JP, Guiguemde WA, Guy RK. Antimalarial activity of thiosemicarbazones and purine derived nitriles. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2009; 19:3546-9. [PMID: 19447616 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2009.04.142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2009] [Revised: 04/29/2009] [Accepted: 04/30/2009] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Malaria is a devastating illness caused by multiple species of the Plasmodium genus. The parasite's falcipain proteases have been extensively studied as potential drug targets. Here we report the testing of two established cysteine protease inhibitor scaffolds against both chloroquine sensitive and chloroquine resistant parasites. A subset of purine derived nitriles killed the parasite with moderate potency, and these inhibitors do not seem to exert their antiproliferative effects as cysteine protease inhibitors. Compound potency was determined to be similar against both parasite strains, indicating a low probability of cross resistance with chloroquine. These compounds represent a novel antimalarial scaffold, and a potential starting point for the development new inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy P Mallari
- Graduate Program in Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-2280, USA
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Dude MA, Kaeppler U, Herb M, Schiller M, Schulz F, Vedder B, Heppner S, Pradel G, Gut J, Rosenthal PJ, Schirmeister T, Leippe M, Gelhaus C. Synthesis and evaluation of non-peptidic cysteine protease inhibitors of P. falciparum derived from etacrynic acid. Molecules 2008; 14:19-35. [PMID: 19104483 PMCID: PMC6253875 DOI: 10.3390/molecules14010019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2008] [Revised: 12/12/2008] [Accepted: 12/19/2008] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
A series of etacrynic acid derivatives was synthesized and screened for their in vitro activity against Plasmodium falciparum, as well as their activity against recombinantly expressed falcipain-2 and -3. The two most active compounds of the series displayed IC50 values of 9.0 and 18.8 μM against Plasmodia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Adrienne Dude
- Research Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Würzburg, Röntgenring 11, 97070 Würzburg, Germany; E-mail: (M-A. D.), (G. P.)
| | - Ulrich Kaeppler
- Institute of Pharmacy and Food Chemistry, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany E-mail: (T. S.)
| | - Monika Herb
- Institute of Pharmacy and Food Chemistry, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany E-mail: (T. S.)
| | - Markus Schiller
- Institute of Pharmacy and Food Chemistry, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany E-mail: (T. S.)
| | - Franziska Schulz
- Zoological Institute, University of Kiel, Olshausenstr. 40, D-24098 Kiel, GermanyE-mail: (M. L.)
| | - Birgit Vedder
- Institute of Pharmacy and Food Chemistry, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany E-mail: (T. S.)
| | - Saskia Heppner
- Zoological Institute, University of Kiel, Olshausenstr. 40, D-24098 Kiel, GermanyE-mail: (M. L.)
| | - Gabriele Pradel
- Research Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Würzburg, Röntgenring 11, 97070 Würzburg, Germany; E-mail: (M-A. D.), (G. P.)
| | - Jiri Gut
- Department of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-0811, USA; E-mail: (P-J. R.)
| | - Philip J. Rosenthal
- Department of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-0811, USA; E-mail: (P-J. R.)
| | - Tanja Schirmeister
- Institute of Pharmacy and Food Chemistry, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany E-mail: (T. S.)
| | - Matthias Leippe
- Zoological Institute, University of Kiel, Olshausenstr. 40, D-24098 Kiel, GermanyE-mail: (M. L.)
| | - Christoph Gelhaus
- Zoological Institute, University of Kiel, Olshausenstr. 40, D-24098 Kiel, GermanyE-mail: (M. L.)
- Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-mail:
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44
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Hidaka K, Kimura T, Ruben AJ, Uemura T, Kamiya M, Kiso A, Okamoto T, Tsuchiya Y, Hayashi Y, Freire E, Kiso Y. Antimalarial activity enhancement in hydroxymethylcarbonyl (HMC) isostere-based dipeptidomimetics targeting malarial aspartic protease plasmepsin. Bioorg Med Chem 2008; 16:10049-60. [PMID: 18952439 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2008.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2008] [Revised: 10/03/2008] [Accepted: 10/04/2008] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Plasmepsin (Plm) is a potential target for new antimalarial drugs, but most reported Plm inhibitors have relatively low antimalarial activities. We synthesized a series of dipeptide-type HIV protease inhibitors, which contain an allophenylnorstatine-dimethylthioproline scaffold to exhibit potent inhibitory activities against Plm II. Their activities against Plasmodium falciparum in the infected erythrocyte assay were largely different from those against the target enzyme. To improve the antimalarial activity of peptidomimetic Plm inhibitors, we attached substituents on a structure of the highly potent Plm inhibitor KNI-10006. Among the derivatives, we identified alkylamino compounds such as 44 (KNI-10283) and 47 (KNI-10538) with more than 15-fold enhanced antimalarial activity, to the sub-micromolar level, maintaining their potent Plm II inhibitory activity and low cytotoxicity. These results suggest that auxiliary substituents on a specific basic group contribute to deliver the inhibitors to the target Plm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koushi Hidaka
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Center for Frontier Research in Medicinal Science, 21st Century COE Program, Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, Yamashina-ku, Kyoto 607-8412, Japan
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45
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Schulz F, Gelhaus C, Degel B, Vicik R, Heppner S, Breuning A, Leippe M, Gut J, Rosenthal PJ, Schirmeister T. Screening of protease inhibitors as antiplasmodial agents. Part I: Aziridines and epoxides. ChemMedChem 2008; 2:1214-24. [PMID: 17562535 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.200700070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
A broad protease-based and cell-based screening of protease inhibitors yielded the aziridine-2-carboxylic acid derivative 2 a and the N-acylated aziridine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid derivatives 32 a and 34 b as the most potent inhibitors of falcipain-2 and falcipain-3 (IC(50) falcipain-2: 0.079-5.4 microM, falcipain-3: 0.25-39.8 microM). As the compounds also display in vitro activity against the P. falciparum parasite in the submicromolar and low micromolar range, these compound classes are leads for new antiplasmodial falcipain inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska Schulz
- Institute of Pharmacy and Food Chemistry, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
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46
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Lee SE, Kim MR, Kim JH, Takeoka GR, Kim TW, Park BS. Antimalarial activity of anthothecol derived from Khaya anthotheca (Meliaceae). PHYTOMEDICINE : INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYTOTHERAPY AND PHYTOPHARMACOLOGY 2008; 15:533-5. [PMID: 17913482 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2007.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2007] [Revised: 05/28/2007] [Accepted: 08/08/2007] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Antimalarial activity of anthothecol, a limonoid of Khaya anthotheca (Meliaceae) against Plasmodium falciparum was tested using a [(3)H]-hypoxanthine and 48h culture assay in vitro. Anthotechol showed potent antimalarial activity against malaria parasites with IC(50) values of 1.4 and 0.17microM using two different assays. Also, gedunin had antimalarial activity with IC(50) values of 3.1 and 0.14microM. However, the citrus limonoids, limonin and obacunone did not show any antimalarial activity. The antimalarial activities were compared with the three currently used antimalarial medicines quinine, chloroquinine and artemisinin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sung-Eun Lee
- Nanotoxtech. Inc., 301 Myung Jin Building, 234-27 Nonhyeon dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 153-010, Republic of Korea
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47
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Korde R, Bhardwaj A, Singh R, Srivastava A, Chauhan VS, Bhatnagar RK, Malhotra P. A prodomain peptide of Plasmodium falciparum cysteine protease (falcipain-2) inhibits malaria parasite development. J Med Chem 2008; 51:3116-23. [PMID: 18461922 DOI: 10.1021/jm070735f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Falcipain-2 (FP-2), a papain family cysteine protease of Plasmodium falciparum, is a promising target for antimalarial chemotherapy. Designing inhibitors that are highly selective for falcipain-2 has been difficult because of broad specificity of different cysteine proteinases. Because propeptide regions of cysteine proteases have been shown to inhibit their cognate enzymes specifically and selectively, in the present study, we evaluated the inhibitory potential of few falcipain-2 proregion peptides. A 15 residue peptide (PP1) inhibited falcipain-2 enzyme activity in vitro. Studies on the uptake of PP1 into the parasitized erythrocytes showed access of peptide into the infected RBCs. PP1 fused with Antennapedia homeoprotein internalization domain blocked hemoglobin hydrolysis, merozoite release and markedly inhibited Plasmodium falciparum growth and maturation. Together, our results identify a peptide derived from the proregion of falcipain-2 that blocks late-stage malaria parasite development in RBCs, suggesting the development of peptide and peptidometric drugs against the human malaria parasite.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reshma Korde
- International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi, India
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48
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Lavrado J, Paulo A, Gut J, Rosenthal PJ, Moreira R. Cryptolepine analogues containing basic aminoalkyl side-chains at C-11: Synthesis, antiplasmodial activity, and cytotoxicity. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2008; 18:1378-81. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2008.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2007] [Revised: 01/03/2008] [Accepted: 01/03/2008] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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49
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Ersmark K, Samuelsson B, Hallberg A. Plasmepsins as potential targets for new antimalarial therapy. Med Res Rev 2007; 26:626-66. [PMID: 16838300 DOI: 10.1002/med.20082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Malaria is one of the major diseases in the world. Due to the rapid spread of parasite resistance to available antimalarial drugs there is an urgent need for new antimalarials with novel mechanisms of action. Several promising targets for drug intervention have been revealed in recent years. This review addresses the parasitic aspartic proteases termed plasmepsins (Plms) that are involved in the hemoglobin catabolism that occurs during the erythrocytic stage of the malarial parasite life cycle. Four Plasmodium species are responsible for human malaria; P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae, and P. falciparum. This review focuses on inhibitors of the haemoglobin-degrading plasmepsins of the most lethal species, P. falciparum; Plm I, Plm II, Plm IV, and histo-aspartic protease (HAP). Previously, Plm II has attracted the most attention. With the identification and characterization of new plasmepsins and the results from recent plasmepsin knockout studies, it now seems clear that in order to achieve high-antiparasitic activities in P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes it is necessary to inhibit several of the haemoglobin-degrading plasmepsins. Herein we summarize the structure-activity relationships of the Plm I, II, IV, and HAP inhibitors. These inhibitors represent all classes which, to the best of our knowledge, have been disclosed in journal articles to date. The 3D structures of inhibitor/plasmepsin II complexes available in the protein data bank are briefly discussed and compared.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karolina Ersmark
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, BMC, SE-751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
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50
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Abstract
Diseases caused by tropical parasites affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide but have been largely neglected for drug development because they affect poor people in poor regions of the world. Most of the current drugs used to treat these diseases are decades old and have many limitations, including the emergence of drug resistance. This review will summarize efforts to reinvigorate the drug development pipeline for these diseases, which is driven in large part by support from major philanthropies. The organisms responsible for these diseases have a fascinating biology, and many potential biochemical targets are now apparent. These neglected diseases present unique challenges to drug development that are being addressed by new consortia of scientists from academia and industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam R Renslo
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and the Small Molecule Discovery Center, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
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