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Kumar R, Singh R, das Chagas Almeida A, da Trindade Granato J, de Oliveira Lemos AS, Kumar K, Patil MT, da Silva AD, Rode AB, Coimbra ES, Salunke DB. Imidazo[1,2- a]pyrimidine as a New Antileishmanial Pharmacophore against Leishmania amazonensis Promastigotes and Amastigotes. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:40613-40621. [PMID: 37929127 PMCID: PMC10621021 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c05441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
Leishmania poses a substantial threat to the human population all over the globe because of its visceral and cutaneous spread engendered by all 20 species. Unfortunately, the available drugs against leishmania are already hobbled with toxicity, prolonged treatment, and increasing instances of acquirement of resistance. Under these grave circumstances, the development of new drugs has become imperative to keep these harmful microbes at bay. To this end, a Groebke-Blackburn-Bienaymé multicomponent reaction-based library of different imidazo-fused heterocycles has been synthesized and screened against Leishmania amazonensis promastigotes and amastigotes. Among the library compounds, the imidazo-pyrimidine 24 has been found to be the most effective (inhibitory concentration of 50% (IC50) < 10 μM), with selective antileishmanial activity on amastigote forms, a stage of the parasite related to human disease. The compound 24 has exhibited an IC50 value of 6.63 μM, being ∼two times more active than miltefosine, a reference drug. Furthermore, this compound is >10 times more destructive to the intracellular parasites than host cells. The observed in vitro antileishmanial activity along with suitable in silico physicochemical and absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) properties of compound 24 reinforce the imidazo-pyrimidine scaffold as a new antileishmanial pharmacophore and encourage further murine experimental leishmaniasis studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravinder Kumar
- Department
of Chemistry and Centre of Advanced Studies in Chemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160 014, India
| | - Rahul Singh
- Department
of Chemistry and Centre of Advanced Studies in Chemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160 014, India
| | - Ayla das Chagas Almeida
- Department
of Parasitology, Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Biological
Sciences, Federal University of Juiz de
Fora, Juiz de
Fora 36036-900, Brazil
| | - Juliana da Trindade Granato
- Department
of Parasitology, Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Biological
Sciences, Federal University of Juiz de
Fora, Juiz de
Fora 36036-900, Brazil
| | - Ari Sérgio de Oliveira Lemos
- Department
of Parasitology, Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Biological
Sciences, Federal University of Juiz de
Fora, Juiz de
Fora 36036-900, Brazil
| | - Kushvinder Kumar
- Department
of Chemistry and Centre of Advanced Studies in Chemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160 014, India
| | - Madhuri T. Patil
- Mehr
Chand Mahajan DAV College for Women, Sector 36, Chandigarh 160036, India
| | - Adilson D. da Silva
- Department
of Chemistry, Institute of Exacts Sciences, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, 36036-900, Juiz de Fora, Brazil
| | - Ambadas B. Rode
- Regional
Centre for Biotechnology, NCR Biotech Science
Cluster, third Milestone, Faridabad-Gurgaon Expressway, Faridabad - 121 001, India
| | - Elaine S. Coimbra
- Department
of Parasitology, Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Biological
Sciences, Federal University of Juiz de
Fora, Juiz de
Fora 36036-900, Brazil
| | - Deepak B. Salunke
- Department
of Chemistry and Centre of Advanced Studies in Chemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160 014, India
- National
Interdisciplinary Centre of Vaccine, Immunotherapeutic and Antimicrobials, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160 014, India
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2
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Barazorda-Ccahuana HL, Goyzueta-Mamani LD, Candia Puma MA, Simões de Freitas C, de Sousa Vieria Tavares G, Pagliara Lage D, Ferraz Coelho EA, Chávez-Fumagalli MA. Computer-aided drug design approaches applied to screen natural product's structural analogs targeting arginase in Leishmania spp. F1000Res 2023; 12:93. [PMID: 37424744 PMCID: PMC10323282 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.129943.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Leishmaniasis is a disease with high mortality rates and approximately 1.5 million new cases each year. Despite the new approaches and advances to fight the disease, there are no effective therapies. Methods: Hence, this study aims to screen for natural products' structural analogs as new drug candidates against leishmaniasis. We applied Computer-aided drug design (CADD) approaches, such as virtual screening, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, molecular mechanics-generalized Born surface area (MM-GBSA) binding free estimation, and free energy perturbation (FEP) aiming to select structural analogs from natural products that have shown anti-leishmanial and anti-arginase activities and that could bind selectively against the Leishmania arginase enzyme. Results: The compounds 2H-1-benzopyran, 3,4-dihydro-2-(2-methylphenyl)-(9CI), echioidinin, and malvidin showed good results against arginase targets from three parasite species and negative results for potential toxicities. The echioidinin and malvidin ligands generated interactions in the active center at pH 2.0 conditions by MM-GBSA and FEP methods. Conclusions: This work suggests the potential anti-leishmanial activity of the compounds and thus can be further in vitro and in vivo experimentally validated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haruna Luz Barazorda-Ccahuana
- Computational Biology and Chemistry Research Group, Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Universidad Catolica de Santa Maria de Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru
| | - Luis Daniel Goyzueta-Mamani
- Computational Biology and Chemistry Research Group, Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Universidad Catolica de Santa Maria de Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru
- Sustainable Innovative Biomaterials Department, Le Qara Research Center, Arequipa, Peru
| | - Mayron Antonio Candia Puma
- Computational Biology and Chemistry Research Group, Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Universidad Catolica de Santa Maria de Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru
- Universidad Católica de Santa María, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, Bioquímicas y Biotecnológicas, Arequipa, Peru
| | - Camila Simões de Freitas
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde: Infectologia e Medicina Tropical, Faculdade de Medicina, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Grasiele de Sousa Vieria Tavares
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde: Infectologia e Medicina Tropical, Faculdade de Medicina, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Daniela Pagliara Lage
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde: Infectologia e Medicina Tropical, Faculdade de Medicina, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Eduardo Antonio Ferraz Coelho
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde: Infectologia e Medicina Tropical, Faculdade de Medicina, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Departamento de Patologia Clínica, COLTEC, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Miguel Angel Chávez-Fumagalli
- Computational Biology and Chemistry Research Group, Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Universidad Catolica de Santa Maria de Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru
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3
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Louzada-Flores VN, Latrofa MS, Lucente MS, Dambrós BP, Mendoza-Roldan JA, Varotto-Boccazzi I, Cattaneo GM, Späth GF, Buonavoglia A, Otranto D. Intracellular persistence of Leishmania tarentolae in primary canine macrophage cells. Acta Trop 2023; 243:106935. [PMID: 37127215 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2023.106935] [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: 03/24/2023] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Leishmania tarentolae is a non-pathogenic species first isolated from geckoes in the Mediterranean basin. The finding that dogs test positive against both Leishmania infantum and L. tarentolae raises questions regarding the ability of the latter species to persist and adapt to new hosts. This study aimed to evaluate in vitro the capability of L. tarentolae to colonize, survive and persist in canine primary monocyte-derived mononuclear cells. Monocytes were isolated from dog whole blood samples and placed in 24-well plates for differentiation into macrophages and for incubation with L. tarentolae field-isolated strains (RI-325 and SF-178) and laboratory (LEM-124) strain; the parasite burden was assessed at different time points post-infection. The L. infantum laboratory strain (MON-1) was used as control. Infection parameters were evaluated by microscopy, counting the number of amastigotes/200 infected cells, and by duplex real-time PCR from supernatants and detached cells. Similar to L. infantum, L. tarentolae strains developed into round-shaped amastigote-like forms, with higher infection rates detected at 4 h followed by an overall decrease until 48 h. RI-325 presented also a higher infection rate at 72 h. Data showed that L. tarentolae strains infect and persist inside in vitro primary canine mononuclear cells, opening new perspectives for further laboratory studies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Gerald F Späth
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, INSERM U1201, Unité de Parasitologie moléculaire et Signalisation, Paris, France
| | - Alessio Buonavoglia
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Domenico Otranto
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Italy; Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran.
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Domagalska MA, Barrett MP, Dujardin JC. Drug resistance in Leishmania: does it really matter? Trends Parasitol 2023; 39:251-259. [PMID: 36803859 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2023.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023]
Abstract
Treatment failure (TF) jeopardizes the management of parasitic diseases, including leishmaniasis. From the parasite's point of view, drug resistance (DR) is generally considered as central to TF. However, the link between TF and DR, as measured by in vitro drug susceptibility assays, is unclear, some studies revealing an association between treatment outcome and drug susceptibility, others not. Here we address three fundamental questions aiming to shed light on these ambiguities. First, are the right assays being used to measure DR? Second, are the parasites studied, which are generally those that adapt to in vitro culture, actually appropriate? Finally, are other parasite factors - such as the development of quiescent forms that are recalcitrant to drugs - responsible for TF without DR?
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michael P Barrett
- School of Infection & Immunity, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
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5
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Ait Maatallah I, Akarid K, Lemrani M. Tissue tropism: Is it an intrinsic characteristic of Leishmania species? Acta Trop 2022; 232:106512. [PMID: 35568069 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2022.106512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 05/07/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The genus Leishmania comprises a wide range of species, some of which are pathogenic to humans and each of which has a different tissue preference, resulting in one of the three clinical forms of human leishmaniasis: visceral, cutaneous, or mucocutaneous. Although, all pathogenic species are deposited intradermally in the mammalian host upon an infectious sand fly bite, only the viscerotropic strains can leave the skin and reach the internal organs. We assume that Leishmania tissue tropism is not only the result of Leishmania genetic determinism but is also governed by the interaction of the parasite with different vectorial and human host elements. To shed light on these elements and key steps determining the course of the infection, we describe throughout this review the disease's progression from the early stages of infection taking place in the skin to the late stages succeeding in the parasite's visceral dissemination. Hence, we address the question of Leishmania tropism, through providing relevant hypotheses and answers gathered from the literature.
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6
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Baek KH, Phan TN, Malwal SR, Lee H, Li ZH, Moreno SNJ, Oldfield E, No JH. In Vivo Efficacy of SQ109 against Leishmania donovani, Trypanosoma spp. and Toxoplasma gondii and In Vitro Activity of SQ109 Metabolites. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10030670. [PMID: 35327472 PMCID: PMC8944987 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10030670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2022] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
SQ109 is an anti-tubercular drug candidate that has completed Phase IIb/III clinical trials for tuberculosis and has also been shown to exhibit potent in vitro efficacy against protozoan parasites including Leishmania and Trypanosoma cruzi spp. However, its in vivo efficacy against protozoa has not been reported. Here, we evaluated the activity of SQ109 in mouse models of Leishmania, Trypanosoma spp. as well as Toxoplasma infection. In the T. cruzi mouse model, 80% of SQ109-treated mice survived at 40 days post-infection. Even though SQ109 did not cure all mice, these results are of interest since they provide a basis for future testing of combination therapies with the azole posaconazole, which acts synergistically with SQ109 in vitro. We also found that SQ109 inhibited the growth of Toxoplasma gondii in vitro with an IC50 of 1.82 µM and there was an 80% survival in mice treated with SQ109, whereas all untreated animals died 10 days post-infection. Results with Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania donovani infected mice were not promising with only moderate efficacy. Since SQ109 is known to be extensively metabolized in animals, we investigated the activity in vitro of SQ109 metabolites. Among 16 metabolites, six mono-oxygenated forms were found active across the tested protozoan parasites, and there was a ~6× average decrease in activity of the metabolites as compared to SQ109 which is smaller than the ~25× found with mycobacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyung-Hwa Baek
- Host-Parasite Research Laboratory, Institut Pasteur Korea, Seongnam-si 13488, Korea; (K.-H.B.); (T.-N.P.); (H.L.)
| | - Trong-Nhat Phan
- Host-Parasite Research Laboratory, Institut Pasteur Korea, Seongnam-si 13488, Korea; (K.-H.B.); (T.-N.P.); (H.L.)
| | - Satish R. Malwal
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; (S.R.M.); (E.O.)
| | - Hyeryon Lee
- Host-Parasite Research Laboratory, Institut Pasteur Korea, Seongnam-si 13488, Korea; (K.-H.B.); (T.-N.P.); (H.L.)
| | - Zhu-Hong Li
- Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA; (Z.-H.L.); (S.N.J.M.)
| | - Silvia N. J. Moreno
- Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA; (Z.-H.L.); (S.N.J.M.)
| | - Eric Oldfield
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; (S.R.M.); (E.O.)
| | - Joo Hwan No
- Host-Parasite Research Laboratory, Institut Pasteur Korea, Seongnam-si 13488, Korea; (K.-H.B.); (T.-N.P.); (H.L.)
- Correspondence:
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7
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Benítez D, Medeiros A, Quiroga C, Comini MA. A Simple Bioluminescent Assay for the Screening of Cytotoxic Molecules Against the Intracellular Form of Leishmania infantum. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2524:127-147. [PMID: 35821468 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2453-1_10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
This chapter describes a viability assay for the intracellular (amastigote) and clinically relevant form of Leishmania infantum that is based on the detection of bioluminescence (BL) signal. The assay uses a reporter cell line of L. infantum that expresses constitutively a redshifted luciferase from Photinus pyralis and murine macrophages (cell line J774.A1) as host cells for infection. The host cell line was selected because it is a differentiated cell line, easy to manipulate in vitro, and advantageous for ethical reasons. This chapter introduces an assay designed for the screening of bioactive compounds/molecules employing a 96-well microplate and a 24 h treatment. The assay setup shows excellent balance between simplicity (cell culture manipulation/infection and timing) and quality parameters, as well as potential to detect drug-like molecules acting in a fast and cytotoxic manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Benítez
- Group Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay.
| | - Andrea Medeiros
- Group Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Cristina Quiroga
- Group Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Marcelo A Comini
- Group Redox Biology of Trypanosomes, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay.
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8
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Zulfiqar B, Avery VM. Assay development in leishmaniasis drug discovery: a comprehensive review. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2021; 17:151-166. [PMID: 34818139 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2022.2002843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Cutaneous, muco-cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis occur due to an infection with the protozoan parasite Leishmania. The current therapeutic options are limited mainly due to extensive toxicity, emerging resistance and variation in efficacy based on species and strain of the Leishmania parasite. There exists a high unmet medical need to identify new chemical starting points for drug discovery to tackle the disease. AREAS COVERED The authors have highlighted the recent progress, limitations and successes achieved in assay development for leishmaniasis drug discovery. EXPERT OPINION It is true that sophisticated and robust phenotypic in vitro assays have been developed during the last decade, however limitations and challenges remain with respect to variation in activity reported between different research groups and success in translating in vitro outcomes in vivo. The variability is not only due to strain and species differences but also a lack of well-defined criteria and assay conditions, e.g. culture media, host cell type, assay formats, parasite form used, multiplicity of infection and incubation periods. Thus, there is an urgent need for more physiologically relevant assays that encompass multi-species phenotypic approaches to identify new chemical starting points for leishmaniasis drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bilal Zulfiqar
- Discovery Biology, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Vicky M Avery
- Discovery Biology, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.,Discovery Biology, Griffith University Drug Discovery Programme for Cancer Therapeutics, Brisbane, Australia.,School of Environment and Sciences, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
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9
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Silva-Silva JV, Moragas-Tellis CJ, Chagas MDSDS, de Souza PVR, de Souza CDSF, Hardoim DDJ, Taniwaki NN, Moreira DDL, Dutra Behrens M, Calabrese KDS, Almeida-Souza F. Antileishmanial Activity of Flavones-Rich Fraction From Arrabidaea chica Verlot (Bignoniaceae). Front Pharmacol 2021; 12:703985. [PMID: 34354593 PMCID: PMC8329660 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.703985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Acknowledging the need of identifying new compounds for the treatment of leishmaniasis, this study aimed to evaluate, from in vitro trials, the activity of flavones from Arrabidaea chica against L. amazonensis. The chromatographic profiles of the hydroethanolic extract and a flavone-rich fraction (ACFF) from A. chica were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a diode-array UV-Vis detector (HPLC-DAD-UV) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in tandem (LC-ESI-MS-MS). The flavones luteolin (1) and apigenin (2), isolated from chromatographic techniques and identified by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance of 1H and 13C, were also quantified in ACFF, showing 190.7 mg/g and apigenin 12.4 mg/g, respectively. The other flavones were identified by comparing their spectroscopic data with those of the literature. The in vitro activity was assayed against promastigotes and intramacrophagic amastigote forms of L. amazonensis. Cytotoxicity tests were performed with peritoneal macrophages of BALB/c mice. Nitrite quantification was performed with Griess reagent. Ultrastructural investigations were obtained by transmission electron microscopy. Anti-Leishmania assays indicated that the IC50 values for ACFF, apigenin, and luteolin were obtained at 40.42 ± 0.10 and 31.51 ± 1.13 μg/mL against promastigotes, respectively. ACFF and luteolin have concentration-dependent cytotoxicity. ACFF and luteolin also inhibited the intra-macrophagic parasite (IC50 3.575 ± 1.13 and 11.78 ± 1.24 μg/mL, respectively), with a selectivity index of 11.44 for ACFF. Promastigotes exposed to ACFF and luteolin exhibited ultrastructural changes, such as intense cytoplasm vacuolization and mitochondrial swelling. These findings data evidence the antileishmanial action of flavone-rich fractions of A. chica against L. amazonensis, encouraging further studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Victor Silva-Silva
- Laboratory of Immunomodulation and Protozoology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Carla Junqueira Moragas-Tellis
- Laboratory of Natural Products for Public Health, Pharmaceutical Techonology Institute - Farmanguinhos, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Maria do Socorro Dos Santos Chagas
- Laboratory of Natural Products for Public Health, Pharmaceutical Techonology Institute - Farmanguinhos, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Paulo Victor Ramos de Souza
- Laboratory of Natural Products for Public Health, Pharmaceutical Techonology Institute - Farmanguinhos, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Student on Postgraduate Program in Translational Research in Drugs and Medicines, Farmanguinhos, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Daiana de Jesus Hardoim
- Laboratory of Immunomodulation and Protozoology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Davyson de Lima Moreira
- Laboratory of Natural Products for Public Health, Pharmaceutical Techonology Institute - Farmanguinhos, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Maria Dutra Behrens
- Laboratory of Natural Products for Public Health, Pharmaceutical Techonology Institute - Farmanguinhos, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Kátia da Silva Calabrese
- Laboratory of Immunomodulation and Protozoology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Fernando Almeida-Souza
- Laboratory of Immunomodulation and Protozoology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Postgraduate in Animal Science, State University of Maranhão, São Luís, Brazil
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10
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Pereira A, Parreira R, Cristóvão JM, Vitale F, Bastien P, Campino L, Maia C. Leishmania infantum strains from cats are similar in biological properties to canine and human strains. Vet Parasitol 2021; 298:109531. [PMID: 34293586 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2021.109531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Zoonotic visceral leishmaniosis is a worldwide severe disease caused by Leishmania infantum, a protozoan that has phlebotomine sand flies as vectors and dogs as primary reservoir hosts. Over the last few decades, cats have been regarded as an indisputable piece within the ecological system in which L. infantum is maintained indefinitely. However, little is known about feline strains, including their phenotypic plasticity and infectivity. In this study, the phenotypic behaviour of seven L. infantum feline strains was compared to those of well-characterised counterparts isolated from two dogs and two humans in terms of growth profile, adaptive capacity under several stress conditions, susceptibility to antileishmanial drugs, and infectivity to host cells. Feline strains displayed a similar growth profile, survival capacity, and ability to infect feline, canine, and human monocyte-derived primary macrophages. Furthermore, multivariate cluster analysis suggested that most strains studied did not display distinctive phenotypic features. To our knowledge, this is the first study to analyse the phenotypic behaviour of feline L. infantum strains. This study brings new insights into the hypothetical role of cats as reservoir hosts of L. infantum since the parasites found in them are phenotypically identical to those of dogs and humans. However, further studies on the transmission dynamics should be encouraged to fully establish the status of cats in the maintenance of L. infantum foci.
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Affiliation(s)
- André Pereira
- Global Health and Tropical Medicine (GHMT), Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (NOVA), 1349-008, Lisbon, Portugal; Medical Parasitology Unit, IHMT/NOVA, 1349-008, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Ricardo Parreira
- Global Health and Tropical Medicine (GHMT), Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (NOVA), 1349-008, Lisbon, Portugal; Medical Microbiology Unit, IHMT/NOVA, 1349-008, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - José Manuel Cristóvão
- Global Health and Tropical Medicine (GHMT), Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (NOVA), 1349-008, Lisbon, Portugal; Medical Parasitology Unit, IHMT/NOVA, 1349-008, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Fabrizio Vitale
- OIE Leishmaniasis Reference Laboratory, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia, 90129, Palermo, Italy
| | - Patrick Bastien
- University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, Research Unit "MIVEGEC", Centre National de Reference pour les Leishmanioses, Academic Hospital (C.H.U.) of Montpellier, 34090, Montpellier, France
| | - Lenea Campino
- Medical Parasitology Unit, IHMT/NOVA, 1349-008, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Carla Maia
- Global Health and Tropical Medicine (GHMT), Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (NOVA), 1349-008, Lisbon, Portugal; Medical Parasitology Unit, IHMT/NOVA, 1349-008, Lisbon, Portugal.
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11
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Lee H, Baek KH, Phan TN, Park IS, Lee S, Kim J, No JH. Discovery of Leishmania donovani topoisomerase IB selective inhibitors by targeting protein-protein interactions between the large and small subunits. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2021; 569:193-198. [PMID: 34256188 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2021.07.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a fatal infectious disease caused by viscerotropic parasitic species of Leishmania. Current treatment options are often ineffective and toxic, and more importantly, there are no clinically validated drug targets available to develop next generation therapeutics against VL. Topoisomerase IB (TopIB) is an essential enzyme for Leishmania survival. The enzyme is organized as a bi-subunit that is distinct from the monomeric topoisomerase I of human. Based on this unique feature, we synthesized peptides composed of partial amino acid sequences of small subunit of Leishmania donovani (Ld) TopIB to confirm a decrease in catalytic activity by interfering the interaction between the two subunits. One of the synthetic peptides, covering essential amino acids for catalytic activity of LdTopIB, interrupted the enzymatic activity. Next, we examined 151 compounds selected from virtual screening in a functional assay and identified three LRL-TP compounds with a significant decrease in LdTopIB activity (IC50 of LRL-TP-85: 1.3 μM; LRL-TP-94: 2.9 μM; and LRL-TP-101: 35.3 μM) and no effects on Homo sapiens (Hs) TopIB activity. Based on molecular docking, the protonated tertiary amine of inhibitors formed key interactions with S415 of the large subunit. The EC50 values of LRL-TP-85, LRL-TP-94, and LRL-TP-101 were respectively 4.9, 1.4, and 27.8 μM in extracellular promastigote assay and 34.0, 53.7, and 11.4 μM in intracellular amastigote assay. Overall, we validated the protein-protein interaction site of LdTopIB as a potential drug target and identified small molecule inhibitors with anti-leishmanial activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyeryon Lee
- Host-Parasite Research Laboratory, Discovery Biology, Institut Pasteur Korea, 16, Daewangpangyo-ro, 712 beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, 13488, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyung-Hwa Baek
- Host-Parasite Research Laboratory, Discovery Biology, Institut Pasteur Korea, 16, Daewangpangyo-ro, 712 beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, 13488, Republic of Korea
| | - Trong-Nhat Phan
- Host-Parasite Research Laboratory, Discovery Biology, Institut Pasteur Korea, 16, Daewangpangyo-ro, 712 beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, 13488, Republic of Korea
| | - I Seul Park
- Screening Discovery Platform, Institut Pasteur Korea, 16, Daewangpangyo-ro, 712 beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, 13488, Republic of Korea
| | - Sangchul Lee
- Cheminformatics, Institut Pasteur Korea, 16, Daewangpangyo-ro, 712 beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, 13488, Republic of Korea
| | - Jiho Kim
- Screening Discovery Platform, Institut Pasteur Korea, 16, Daewangpangyo-ro, 712 beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, 13488, Republic of Korea
| | - Joo Hwan No
- Host-Parasite Research Laboratory, Discovery Biology, Institut Pasteur Korea, 16, Daewangpangyo-ro, 712 beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, 13488, Republic of Korea.
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