scholarly journals Anti-Trypanosoma cruzi Activity of Metabolism Modifier Compounds

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nieves Martinez-Peinado ◽  
Clara Martori ◽  
Nuria Cortes-Serra ◽  
Julian Sherman ◽  
Ana Rodriguez ◽  
...  

Chagas disease is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and affects over 6 million people worldwide. Development of new drugs to treat this disease remains a priority since those currently available have variable efficacy and frequent adverse effects, especially during the long regimens required for treating the chronic stage of the disease. T. cruzi modulates the host cell-metabolism to accommodate the cell cytosol into a favorable growth environment and acquire nutrients for its multiplication. In this study we evaluated the specific anti-T. cruzi activity of nine bio-energetic modulator compounds. Notably, we identified that 17-DMAG, which targets the ATP-binding site of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), has a very high (sub-micromolar range) selective inhibition of the parasite growth. This inhibitory effect was also highly potent (IC50 = 0.27 μmol L−1) against the amastigote intracellular replicative stage of the parasite. Moreover, molecular docking results suggest that 17-DMAG may bind T. cruzi Hsp90 homologue Hsp83 with good affinity. Evaluation in a mouse model of chronic T. cruzi infection did not show parasite growth inhibition, highlighting the difficulties encountered when going from in vitro assays onto preclinical drug developmental stages.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (20) ◽  
pp. 9657
Author(s):  
Gilberto Mandujano-Lázaro ◽  
Carlos Galaviz-Hernández ◽  
César A. Reyes-López ◽  
Julio C. Almanza-Pérez ◽  
Abraham Giacoman-Martínez ◽  
...  

In the search for new drugs against obesity, the chronic disease that threatens human health worldwide, several works have focused on the study of estrogen homologs because of the role of estrogen receptors (ERs) in adipocyte growth. The isoflavone equol, an ERβ agonist, has shown beneficial metabolic effects in in vivo and in vitro assays; however, additional studies are required to better characterize its potential for body weight control. Here, we showed that the treatment of 3T3-L1 cells with 10 μM of S-equol for the first three days of the adipocyte differentiation protocol was able to prevent cells becoming semi-rounded and having a lipid droplet formation until the seventh day of culture; moreover, lipid accumulation was reduced by about 50%. Congruently, S-equol induced a reduction in mRNA expression of the adipogenic markers C/EBPα and PPARγ, and adipokines secretion, mainly Adiponectin, Leptin, Resistin, and MCP-1, while the release of PAI-1 was augmented. Moreover, it also reduced the expression of ERα and attenuated the subexpression of ERβ associated with adipogenesis. Altogether, our data suggested that S-equol binding to ERβ affects the transcriptional program that regulates adipogenesis and alters adipocyte functions. Future efforts will focus on studying the impact of S-equol on ER signaling pathways.


2010 ◽  
Vol 54 (9) ◽  
pp. 3738-3745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon King-Keller ◽  
Minyong Li ◽  
Alyssa Smith ◽  
Shilong Zheng ◽  
Gurpreet Kaur ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Trypanosoma cruzi phosphodiesterase (PDE) C (TcrPDEC), a novel and rather unusual PDE in which, unlike all other class I PDEs, the catalytic domain is localized in the middle of the polypeptide chain, is able to hydrolyze cyclic GMP (cGMP), although it prefers cyclic AMP (cAMP), and has a FYVE-type domain in its N-terminal region (S. Kunz et al., FEBS J. 272:6412-6422, 2005). TcrPDEC shows homology to the mammalian PDE4 family members. PDE4 inhibitors are currently under development for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, such as asthma, chronic pulmonary diseases, and psoriasis, and for treating depression and serving as cognitive enhancers. We therefore tested a number of compounds originally synthesized as potential PDE4 inhibitors on T. cruzi amastigote growth, and we obtained several useful hits. We then conducted homology modeling of T. cruzi PDEC and identified other compounds as potential inhibitors through virtual screening. Testing of these compounds against amastigote growth and recombinant TcrPDEC activity resulted in several potent inhibitors. The most-potent inhibitors were found to increase the cellular concentration of cAMP. Preincubation of cells in the presence of one of these compounds stimulated volume recovery after hyposmotic stress, in agreement with their TcrPDEC inhibitory activity in vitro, providing chemical validation of this target. The compounds found could be useful tools in the study of osmoregulation in T. cruzi. In addition, their further optimization could result in the development of new drugs against Chagas' disease and other trypanosomiases.


2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 3453-3464
Author(s):  
Evelin Korcz ◽  
László Varga ◽  
Zoltán Kerényi

Serratia species are opportunistic pathogenic microorganisms primarily known as nosocomial infectious agents, which can also cause food quality problems. The appearance of the extracellular pigment-producing Serratia marcescens in cow’s milk causes its red discoloration, posing a challenge to the dairy industry and food certification laboratories. The detection of the bacterium by conventional procedures based on microbiological methods is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and in many cases does not lead to satisfactory results due to the competitive inhibitory effect of the accompanying microflora. Following the analysis of the relevant literature, the published endpoint PCR methods and the primers used for the detection of S. marcescens were evaluated in in silico and in vitro assays, and then the procedure was tested on farm milk samples. Using the method, a total of 60 raw and pasteurized milk samples were analyzed, more than half of which (i.e., 32) were identified as S. marcescens positive. The significance of our work is mainly represented by the application of the published test methods in food industry practice. Our results highlight to the importance of detecting this bacterial species.


Blood ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 1389-1393
Author(s):  
E Beutler ◽  
L Forman ◽  
C West

The addition of oxalate to blood stored in Citrate-phosphate-dextrose (CPD) produces a marked improvement in 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) preservation; an increase in 2,3-DPG levels can also be documented in short-term incubation studies. Oxalate is a potent in vitro inhibitor of red cell lactate dehydrogenase, monophosphoglycerate mutase, and pyruvate kinase (PK). In the presence of fructose 1,6-diphosphate the latter inhibitory effect is competitive with phospho(enol)pyruvate (PEP). Determination of the levels of intermediate compounds in red cells incubated with oxalate suggest the presence of inhibition at the PK step, indicating that this is the site of oxalate action. Apparent inhibition at the glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase step is apparently due to an increase in the NADH/NAD ratio. Oxalate had no effect on the in vivo viability of rabbit red cells stored in CPD preservatives for 21 days. Greater understanding of the toxicity of oxalate is required before it can be considered suitable as a component of preservative media, but appreciation of the mechanism by which it affects 2,3-DPG levels may be important in design of other blood additives. Malonate, the 3-carbon dicarboxylic acid analogue of oxalate late did not inhibit pyruvate kinase nor affect 2,3-DPG levels.


2000 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Bielawski ◽  
A Galicka ◽  
A Bielawska ◽  
K Sredzińska

Pentamidine despite its rather high toxicity, is currently in clinical use. For development of new drugs of this type it is important to know the mechanism of their action. Two new amidines (I and II) and 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) were found in preliminary experiments to inhibit protein synthesis in vitro in the cell-free rat liver system. The three compounds differed in the precise mode of action. The inhibitory effect of I on the activity of the eukaryotic elongation factor eEF-2 and ribosomes seems to suggest that the binding site of eEF-2 on the ribosome was blocked by this compound. eEF-2 has been identified as the primary target of II and eEF-1 as the primary target of DAPI in the system studied.


Author(s):  
Pingping Jia ◽  
Yi Zhang ◽  
Jian Xu ◽  
Mei Zhu ◽  
Shize Peng ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Resistance to anti-tuberculosis (TB) drug is a major issue in TB control, and demands the discovery of new drugs targeting virulence factor ESX-1. Methods We first established a high-throughput screen (HTS) assay for the discovery of ESX-1 secretion inhibitors. The positive hits were then evaluated for the potency of diminishing the survival of virulent mycobacterium and reducing bacterial virulence. We further investigated the probability of inducing drug-resistance and the underlying mechanism using M-PFC. Results A robust HTS assay was developed to identify small molecules that inhibit ESX-1 secretion without impairing bacterial growth in vitro. A hit named IMB-BZ specifically inhibits the secretion of CFP-10 and reduces virulence in an ESX-1-dependent manner, therefore resulting in significant reduction in intracellular and in vivo survival of mycobacteria. Blocking the CFP-10-EccCb1 interaction directly or indirectly underlies the inhibitory effect of IMB-BZ on the secretion of CFP-10. Importantly, our finding shows that the ESX-1 inhibitors pose low risk of drug resistance development by mycobacteria in vitro as compared with traditional anti-TB drug, and exhibit high potency against chronic mycobacterial infection. Conclusion Targeting ESX-1 may lead to the development of novel therapeutics for tuberculosis. IMB-BZ holds the potential for future development into a new anti-TB drug.


Parasitology ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Ayala ◽  
F. Kierszenbaum

SUMMARYWe previously reported that blood forms of Trypanosoma cruzi express alpha- and beta-adrenergic receptors and that binding of specific agonists to these receptors modifies the infective capacity of the parasite in vitro. The present study has revealed that the inhibitory effect of the beta-adrenergic agonist L-isoproterenol and the stimulatory effect of the alpha-adrenergic agonist L-phenylephrine are not produced when the parasite is subjected to prolonged exposure to otherwise effective doses of these agonists or when supraoptimal doses of these agonists are used. We refer to these phenomena as ‘desensitization’ because of their analogy with vertebrate cells becoming desensitized by prolonged exposure to, or relatively high concentrations of, adrenergic agonists. At a constant agonist concentration, T. cruzi desensitization was time-dependent and, when the time of parasite treatment with the agonists was not changed, the higher concentrations of the agonist tested were the most effective in producing desensitization. The reduced infectivity resulting from treatment with optimal doses of L-isoproterenol was accompanied by elevated levels of cyclic adenosine mono- phosphate (cAMP) which were not detectable when L-isoproterenol concentrations producing desensitization were used. This finding implicated cAMP as a likely second signal in the inhibitory mechanisms of this agonist. No significant change in cAMP was detectable in parasites treated with L-phenylephrine, leaving open the question about how optimal doses of this alpha-adrenergic agonist enhance T. cruzi infectivity. Parasite responsiveness to alpha- and beta-adrenergic agonists as well as the desensitization effects define a system which regulates infectivity and could be modified at the host tissue level by naturally occurring agonists.


Blood ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 1389-1393 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Beutler ◽  
L Forman ◽  
C West

Abstract The addition of oxalate to blood stored in Citrate-phosphate-dextrose (CPD) produces a marked improvement in 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) preservation; an increase in 2,3-DPG levels can also be documented in short-term incubation studies. Oxalate is a potent in vitro inhibitor of red cell lactate dehydrogenase, monophosphoglycerate mutase, and pyruvate kinase (PK). In the presence of fructose 1,6-diphosphate the latter inhibitory effect is competitive with phospho(enol)pyruvate (PEP). Determination of the levels of intermediate compounds in red cells incubated with oxalate suggest the presence of inhibition at the PK step, indicating that this is the site of oxalate action. Apparent inhibition at the glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase step is apparently due to an increase in the NADH/NAD ratio. Oxalate had no effect on the in vivo viability of rabbit red cells stored in CPD preservatives for 21 days. Greater understanding of the toxicity of oxalate is required before it can be considered suitable as a component of preservative media, but appreciation of the mechanism by which it affects 2,3-DPG levels may be important in design of other blood additives. Malonate, the 3-carbon dicarboxylic acid analogue of oxalate late did not inhibit pyruvate kinase nor affect 2,3-DPG levels.


2017 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung-Suk Suh ◽  
Se Kyung Oh ◽  
Sung Gu Lee ◽  
Il-Chan Kim ◽  
Sanghee Kim

Abstract The main aim of the current research was to study the effect of porphyra-334, one of mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs), well known as UV-absorbing compounds, on UVinduced apoptosis in human immortalized keratinocyte (HaCaT) cells. Due to their UV-screening capacity and ability to prevent UV-induced DNA damage, MAAs have recently attracted considerable attention in both industry and research in pharmacology. Herein, human HaCaT cells were used to determine the biological activities of porphyra- 334 by various in vitro assays, including proliferation, apoptosis and Western blot assays. The proliferation rate of UV-irradiated HaCaT cells was significantly decreased compared to the control group. Pretreatment with porphyra- 334 markedly attenuated the inhibitory effect of UV and induced a dramatic decrease in the apoptotic rate. Expression of active caspase-3 protein was increased in response to UV irradiation, while caspase-3 levels were similar between cells treated with porphyra-334 and the non-irradiated control group. Taken together, our data suggest that porphyra-334 inhibits UV-induced apoptosis in HaCaT cells through attenuation of the caspase pathway.


2013 ◽  
Vol 118 (10) ◽  
pp. 2605-2614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hidenobu Yaku ◽  
Takashi Murashima ◽  
Daisuke Miyoshi ◽  
Naoki Sugimoto

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