scholarly journals Towards chemical validation of Leishmania infantum ribose 5-phosphate isomerase as a drug target

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily A. Dickie ◽  
Céline Ronin ◽  
Mónica Sá ◽  
Fabrice Ciesielski ◽  
Nathalie Trouche ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Leishmania Infantum ◽  
Neglected Tropical Diseases ◽  
Docking Studies ◽  
Pentose Phosphate ◽  
Biochemical Processes ◽  
Shift Analysis ◽  
Fragment Library ◽  
Current Therapies

Neglected tropical diseases caused by kinetoplastid parasites (Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania spp.) place a significant health and economic burden on developing nations worldwide. Current therapies are largely out-dated, inadequate and facing mounting drug resistance from the causative parasites. Thus, there is an urgent need for drug discovery and development. Target-led drug discovery approaches have focused on the identification of parasite enzymes catalysing essential biochemical processes, which significantly differ from equivalent proteins found in humans, thereby providing potentially exploitable therapeutic windows. One such target is ribose 5-phosphate isomerase B (RpiB), an enzyme involved in the non-oxidative branch of the pentose phosphate pathway, which catalyses the inter-conversion of D-ribose 5-phosphate and D-ribulose 5-phosphate. Although protozoan RpiB has been the focus of numerous targeted studies, compounds capable of selectively inhibiting this parasite enzyme have not been identified. Here, we present the results of a fragment library screening against Leishmania infantum RpiB, performed using thermal shift analysis. Hit fragments were shown to be effective inhibitors of LiRpiB in activity assays, and several were capable of selectively inhibiting parasite growth in vitro. These results support the identification of LiRpiB as a validated therapeutic target. The X-ray crystal structure of apo LiRpiB was also solved, permitting docking studies to assess how hit fragments might interact with LiRpiB to inhibit its activity. Overall, this work will guide structure-based development of LiRpiB inhibitors as anti-leishmanial agents.

scholarly journals Potentials of marine natural products against malaria, leishmaniasis, and trypanosomiasis parasites: a review of recent articles

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Justus Amuche Nweze ◽  
Florence N. Mbaoji ◽  
Yan-Ming Li ◽  
Li-Yan Yang ◽  
Shu-Shi Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Marine Natural Products ◽  
Neglected Tropical Diseases ◽  
Marine Organisms ◽  
New Drugs ◽  
Screening Methods ◽  
Pharmaceutical Industries

Abstract Background Malaria and neglected communicable protozoa parasitic diseases, such as leishmaniasis, and trypanosomiasis, are among the otherwise called diseases for neglected communities, which are habitual in underprivileged populations in developing tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Some of the currently available therapeutic drugs have some limitations such as toxicity and questionable efficacy and long treatment period, which have encouraged resistance. These have prompted many researchers to focus on finding new drugs that are safe, effective, and affordable from marine environments. The aim of this review was to show the diversity, structural scaffolds, in-vitro or in-vivo efficacy, and recent progress made in the discovery/isolation of marine natural products (MNPs) with potent bioactivity against malaria, leishmaniasis, and trypanosomiasis. Main text We searched PubMed and Google scholar using Boolean Operators (AND, OR, and NOT) and the combination of related terms for articles on marine natural products (MNPs) discovery published only in English language from January 2016 to June 2020. Twenty nine articles reported the isolation, identification and antiparasitic activity of the isolated compounds from marine environment. A total of 125 compounds were reported to have been isolated, out of which 45 were newly isolated compounds. These compounds were all isolated from bacteria, a fungus, sponges, algae, a bryozoan, cnidarians and soft corals. In recent years, great progress is being made on anti-malarial drug discovery from marine organisms with the isolation of these potent compounds. Comparably, some of these promising antikinetoplastid MNPs have potency better or similar to conventional drugs and could be developed as both antileishmanial and antitrypanosomal drugs. However, very few of these MNPs have a pharmaceutical destiny due to lack of the following: sustainable production of the bioactive compounds, standard efficient screening methods, knowledge of the mechanism of action, partnerships between researchers and pharmaceutical industries. Conclusions It is crystal clear that marine organisms are a rich source of antiparasitic compounds, such as alkaloids, terpenoids, peptides, polyketides, terpene, coumarins, steroids, fatty acid derivatives, and lactones. The current and future technological innovation in natural products drug discovery will bolster the drug armamentarium for malaria and neglected tropical diseases.

scholarly journals Identification of Chalcone Derivatives as Inhibitors of Leishmania infantum Arginase and Promising Antileishmanial Agents

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreza R. Garcia ◽  
Danielle M. P. Oliveira ◽  
Jessica B. Jesus ◽  
Alessandra M. T. Souza ◽  
Ana Carolina R. Sodero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Leishmania Infantum ◽  
Hydrophobic Interactions ◽  
Docking Studies ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Polyamine Biosynthesis ◽  
Reference Drug ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Chalcone Derivatives ◽  
Antileishmanial Drug

Arginase catalyzes the hydrolysis of l-arginine into l-ornithine and urea, acting as a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of polyamines. Leishmania growth and survival is dependent on polyamine biosynthesis; therefore, inhibition of Leishmania arginase may be a promising therapeutic strategy. Here, we evaluated a series of thirty-six chalcone derivatives as potential inhibitors of Leishmania infantum arginase (LiARG). In addition, the activity of selected inhibitors against L. infantum parasites was assessed in vitro. Seven compounds exhibited LiARG inhibition above 50% at 100 μM. Among them, compounds LC41, LC39, and LC32 displayed the greatest inhibition values (72.3 ± 0.3%, 71.9 ± 11.6%, and 69.5 ± 7.9%, respectively). Molecular docking studies predicted hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions between the most active chalcones (LC32, LC39, and LC41) and specific residues from LiARG's active site, such as His140, Asn153, His155, and Ala193. Compound LC32 showed the highest activity against L. infantum promastigotes (IC50 of 74.1 ± 10.0 μM), whereas compounds LC39 and LC41 displayed the best results against intracellular amastigotes (IC50 of 55.2 ± 3.8 and 70.4 ± 9.6 μM, respectively). Moreover, compound LC39 showed more selectivity against parasites than host cells (macrophages), with a selectivity index (SI) of 107.1, even greater than that of the reference drug Fungizone®. Computational pharmacokinetic and toxicological evaluations showed high oral bioavailability and low toxicity for the most active compounds. The results presented here support the use of substituted chalcone skeletons as promising LiARG inhibitors and antileishmanial drug candidates.

Molecular Docking in Formulation and Development

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tejinder Kaur ◽  
Ashwini Madgulkar ◽  
Mangesh Bhalekar ◽  
Kalyani Asgaonkar
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Docking ◽  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Dosage Form ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Docking Studies ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Time Saving ◽  
Drug Discovery And Development

Background: In pharmaceutical research drug discovery and development process is timeconsuming and expensive. In many cases, it produces incompetent results due to the failure of in vitro and in vivo conventional approaches. Before any new drug is placed in the market it must undergo rigorous testing to get FDA approval. Due to the several limitations imposed by the drug discovery process, in recent times in silico approaches are widely applied in this field. The purpose of this review is to highlight the current molecular docking strategies used in drug discovery and to explore various advances in the field. Methods: In this review we have compiled database after an extensive literature search on docking studies which has found its applications relevant to the field of formulation and development. The papers retrieved were further screened to appraise the quality of work. In depth strategic analysis was carried out to confirm the credibility of the findings. Results: The papers included in this review highlight the promising role of docking studies to overcome the challenges in formulation and development by emphasizing it’s applications to predict drug excipient interactions which in turn assist to increase protein stability; to determine enzyme peptide interactions which maybe further used in drug development studies; to determine the most stable drug inclusion complex; to analyze structure at molecular level that ascertain an increase in solubility, dissolution and in turn the bioavailability of the drug; to design a dosage form that amplify the drug discovery and development process. Conclusion: This review summarizes recent findings of critical role played by molecular docking in the process of drug discovery and development. The application of docking approach will assist to design a dosage form in the most cost effective and time saving manner.

scholarly journals Addressing Latent Tuberculosis: New Advances in Mimicking the Disease, Discovering Key Targets, and Designing Hit Compounds

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (22) ◽  
pp. 8854
Author(s):  
André Campaniço ◽  
Shrika G. Harjivan ◽  
Digby F. Warner ◽  
Rui Moreira ◽  
Francisca Lopes
Keyword(s):  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Latent Tuberculosis ◽  
Experimental Methods ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Public Health Concern ◽  
Physiological Factor ◽  
Current Therapies

Despite being discovered and isolated more than one hundred years ago, tuberculosis (TB) remains a global public health concern arch. Our inability to eradicate this bacillus is strongly related with the growing resistance, low compliance to current drugs, and the capacity of the bacteria to coexist in a state of asymptomatic latency. This last state can be sustained for years or even decades, waiting for a breach in the immune system to become active again. Furthermore, most current therapies are not efficacious against this state, failing to completely clear the infection. Over the years, a series of experimental methods have been developed to mimic the latent state, currently used in drug discovery, both in vitro and in vivo. Most of these methods focus in one specific latency inducing factor, with only a few taking into consideration the complexity of the granuloma and the genomic and proteomic consequences of each physiological factor. A series of targets specifically involved in latency have been studied over the years with promising scaffolds being discovered and explored. Taking in account that solving the latency problem is one of the keys to eradicate the disease, herein we compile current therapies and diagnosis techniques, methods to mimic latency and new targets and compounds in the pipeline of drug discovery.

Design, Synthesis and Docking Studies of Some Novel Fluoroquinolone Compounds with Antibacterial Activity

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 815-822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucia Pintilie ◽  
Amalia Stefaniu ◽  
Alina Ioana Nicu ◽  
Maria Maganu ◽  
Miron Teodor Caproiu
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Activity ◽  
Antibacterial Activity ◽  
Molecular Docking ◽  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Elemental Analysis ◽  
Docking Studies ◽  
Receptor Protein ◽  
Chemical Methods ◽  
Design Synthesis ◽  
Gram Negative

A new series of fluoroquinolone compounds have been obtained by Gould-Jacobs method. The compounds have been characterized by physic-chemical methods (elemental analysis, FTIR, NMR, UV-Vis) and by antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms. For the synthesized compounds have been performed calculations of characteristics and molecular properties, using Spartan�14 Software from Wavefunction, Inc. Irvine, CA. and molecular docking studies using CLC Drug Discovery Workbench 2.4 software, to identify and visualize the most likely interaction ligand (fluoroquinolone) with the receptor protein.

3D Culture Modelling: An Emerging Approach for Translational Cancer Research in Sarcomas

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (29) ◽  
pp. 4778-4788 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Heredia-Soto ◽  
Andrés Redondo ◽  
José Juan Pozo Kreilinger ◽  
Virginia Martínez-Marín ◽  
Alberto Berjón ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Cancer Biology ◽  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
3D Culture ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
In Vitro Models ◽  
Tumour Spheroids ◽  
Current Therapies

Sarcomas are tumours of mesenchymal origin, which can arise in bone or soft tissues. They are rare but frequently quite aggressive and with a poor outcome. New approaches are needed to characterise these tumours and their resistance mechanisms to current therapies, responsible for tumour recurrence and treatment failure. This review is focused on the potential of three-dimensional (3D) in vitro models, including multicellular tumour spheroids (MCTS) and organoids, and the latest data about their utility for the study on important properties for tumour development. The use of spheroids as a particularly valuable alternative for compound high throughput screening (HTS) in different areas of cancer biology is also discussed, which enables the identification of new therapeutic opportunities in commonly resistant tumours.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document