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Geraniol, an abundantly available naturally occurring allylic alcohol, has been used as a starting material to prepare a series of 6-[alpha-(3'-aryl-3'-hydroxypropyl)vinyl]-1,2,4-trioxanes. Some of these novel trioxanes have shown very promising antimalarial activity against multi-drug resistant Plasmodium yoelii in mice by both intramuscular (im) and oral routes.
A series of 4,8-dimethyl-4-phenylsulfonylmethyl-2,3-dioxabicyclo[3.3.1]+ ++nonanes, carrying a variety of substituents at position-8 (4) were prepared by a short and efficient method from R-(+)-limonene. Key reactions include thiol oxygen cooxidation, and alkylation and acylation of a sterically hindered tertiary alcohol compatible with the endoperoxy functionality. Some of compounds 4, which are structurally related to yingzhaosu A (2), were found to exhibit in vitro antimalarial activity comparable to that of artemisinin (1) and superior to that of arteflene (3).
A unique heterodimeric naphthylisoquinoline alkaloid, korundamine A (2), comprised of two different monomeric biaryl halves, has been isolated from the Cameroonian tropical liana Ancistrocladus korupensis. Korundamine A is the first "hybrid" dimer found in the Ancistrocladaceae; in vitro, it demonstrated anticytopathic activity against HIV-1 and antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum.
Several N-substituted 11-azaartemisinins were prepared from 11-azaartemisinin in high yield by the DMAP catalyzed addition of terminal acetylenes conjugated with electron-withdrawing groups. Their antimalarial activities against two drug-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum were determined.
A series of N-substituted 11-azaartemisinins were prepared in high yield employing base-catalyzed additions to an amide nitrogen of olefins and terminal acetylenes conjugated with electron withdrawing groups (EWGs). When the terminal acetylene was conjugated with carbomethoxy, N,N-dimethyl amide or carbonyl groups, the E-adducts resulted. A mixture of E- and Z-adducts were obtained when the EWG was a nitrile. In vitro antimalarial activities of each compound were determined against two drug-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum. Many of the compounds prepared were several times more active than artemisinin.
Following our search for novel compounds with high antimalarial activity, a series of artemisinin (QHS) derivatives containing a ferrocenic nucleus was prepared and tested in vitro against Plasmodium falciparum strains. Two new metallocenic derivatives (1 and 3) were found as potent as QHS. All compounds showed a capacity to bind with ferroprotoporphyrin IX. A decrease in the Soret band absorbance of ferroprotoporphyrin IX, resulting from the addition of different drugs concentrations, was shown. The association stoichiometry of compounds to ferroprotoporphyrin IX appears to be 1:2 at equilibrium, with an intermediate 1:1 complexation. These results appear to strengthen the role of adducts between artemisinin derivatives and heme in generation of artemisinin radicals. Such interaction of artemisinin ferrocenyl derivatives with ferroprotoporphyrin IX and its biological significance could form a basis in future drug development.
Antimalarial activity of a series of sulfonamide derivatives (2,4-diamino-6-quinazoline sulfonamides) was modeled topologically using Wiener (W)-, and Szeged (Sz)-indices. The regression analysis of the data has shown that better results are obtained in multiparametric regressions upon introduction of indicator parameters. Predicting ability of the models was tested by r(2)(cv) values. It was observed that models based on W index gave slightly better results than those in which Sz is involved.
A concise and efficient synthesis of two simplified diastereomeric analogues of a natural peroxide is presented. Both compounds could be isolated in high purity and fully identified. They exhibited moderate antimalarial activity.
A series of tetracyclic and tricyclic trioxane dimers has been prepared with ether and ester tethers of varying length and flexibility. Several of these trioxane dimers have been found to have potent and potentially therapeutically valuable antimalarial, antiproliferative, and antitumor activities in vitro.
The Plasmodium falciparum cysteine protease falcipain is required for the degradation of hemoglobin by erythrocytic malaria parasites. In prior studies, peptidyl inhibitors of falcipain blocked hemoglobin degradation and development by cultured parasites and one of these compounds, when administered parenterally, cured Plasmodium vinckei-infected mice. We now report an evaluation of orally administered peptidyl inhibitors of falcipain in a mouse malaria model. In studies with a fluoromethyl ketone, orally administered morpholine urea-phenylalanine-homophenylalanine-fluoromethyl ketone delayed the progression of murine malaria. In studies of a new series of vinyl sulfones, a set of related compounds demonstrated marked inhibition of falcipain and of parasite biological activities in vitro. One of these compounds, N-methyl piperazine urea-leucine-homophenylalanine-2-naphthalene vinyl sulfone, cured about 40% of mice when administered orally twice-a-day for four days. Our results suggest that peptidyl inhibitors of falcipain have promise as antimalarial chemotherapeutic agents.
BACKGROUND: Malaria caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum is a major public health concern. The parasite lacks a functional tricarboxylic acid cycle, making glycolysis its sole energy source. Although parasite enzymes have been considered as potential antimalarial drug targets, little is known about their structural biology. Here we report the crystal structure of triosephosphate isomerase (TIM) from P. falciparum at 2.2 A resolution. RESULTS: The crystal structure of P. falciparum TIM (PfTIM), expressed in Escherichia coli, was determined by the molecular replacement method using the structure of trypanosomal TIM as the starting model. Comparison of the PfTIM structure with other TIM structures, particularly human TIM, revealed several differences. In most TIMs the residue at position 183 is a glutamate but in PfTIM it is a leucine. This leucine residue is completely exposed and together with the surrounding positively charged patch, may be responsible for binding TIM to the erythrocyte membrane. Another interesting feature is the occurrence of a cysteine residue at the dimer interface of PfTIM (Cys13), in contrast to human TIM where this residue is a methionine. Finally, residue 96 of human TIM (Ser96), which occurs near the active site, has been replaced by phenylalanine in PfTIM. CONCLUSIONS: Although the human and Plasmodium enzymes share 42% amino acid sequence identity, several key differences suggest that PfTIM may turn out to be a potential drug target. We have identified a region which may be responsible for binding PfTIM to cytoskeletal elements or the band 3 protein of erythrocytes; attachment to the erythrocyte membrane may subsequently lead to the extracellular exposure of parts of the protein. This feature may be important in view of a recent report that patients suffering from P. falciparum malaria mount an antibody response to TIM leading to prolonged hemolysis. A second approach to drug design may be provided by the mutation of the largely conserved residue (Ser96) to phenylalanine in PfTIM. This difference may be of importance in designing specific active-site inhibitors against the enzyme. Finally, specific inhibition of PfTIM subunit assembly might be possible by targeting Cys13 at the dimer interface. The crystal structure of PfTIM provides a framework for new therapeutic leads.
To study its mechanism of antimalarial action, a tritium labelled analogue of (+/-)-chloroquine was required at high specific activity. Two synthetic methods were successfully employed. [3-3H] (+/-)-Chloroquine 2 was prepared by the catalytic tritium dehalogenation of an iodo precursor and [N-ethyl-3H] (+/-)-chloroquine 4 was synthesized by the alkylation of (+/-)-desethylchloroquine with [3H] ethyl iodide.
A potential anti-relapse antimalarial compound CDRI 80/53 [N1-(3-acetyl-4-5-dihydro-2-furanyl)-N4-(6-methoxy-8-quinolinyl)1,4- pentanediamine] at 7.5 mg/kg body weight and primaquine at 6.0 mg/kg body weight did not cause any significant change in the status of hepatic microsomal mixed function oxidase system of rhesus monkeys, when given orally for 7 days. Further, the extension of the treatment at the same dossier up to 21 days resulted in impairment of the different indices of the MFO system. The compound CDRI 80/53 inhibited cytochrome P-450, aminopyrine-N-demethylase, aniline and benzo(a)pyrene hydroxylases, cytochrome b5 and haem levels by 17, 11, 58, 0, 36 and 35% whereas the inhibition caused by primaquine was 34, 40, 72, 54, 39 and 38% respectively, establishing that the cytochrome P-450 dependent mono-oxygenase system of monkey liver was comparatively less suppressed by compound CDRI 80/53. The cessation of the compound/drug treatment resulted in almost complete reversal of all the MFO activities to normal in a period of about 6 weeks.
The erythrocytic growth stage of Plasmodium falciparum involves hemoglobin proteolysis as the primary nutrient source with the concomitant release of free heme. The liberated heme is processed by the parasite into hemozoin, a polymeric porphyrin dimer. Histidine-rich protein binds heme and mediates the formation of hemozoin, which is inhibited by the antimalarial drug chloroquine. Interference with heme binding was determined using a microtiterplate assay. Combinatorial libraries were screened and tested against parasite growth, revealing a good correlation between heme binding interference and the inhibition of parasite growth. Several of these compounds retain their potency against a chloroquine-resistant strain of Plasmodium falciparum. The most potent compounds have IC(50) values less than or equal to 50 nM against chloroquine-resistant and chloroquine-sensitive parasites.
Recent discoveries have uncovered some key processes that occur in the food vacuole of the malarial parasite. Consequently, new families of potential antimalarials that inhibit HRP-2, a hitherto unexplored drug target, were identified using a novel screening method.
Chemotherapy and chemoprophylaxis are the principal means of combating malaria parasite infections in the human host. In the last 75 years, since the introduction of synthetic antimalarials, only a small number of compounds have been found suitable for clinical usage, and this limited armoury is now greatly compromised by the spread of drug-resistant parasite strains. Our current knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying resistance in the lethal species Plasmodium falciparum is reviewed here.
Analysis of the trends in antimalarial research depicts a slow growth in launched products since 1995. However, 2002 saw the completion, after ten years, of the malarial genome project and an upsurge in products entering active development can be seen at the end of this period.
Antimalarial drug efficacy in uncomplicated malaria should be assessed parasitologically in large, community-based trials, enrolling the age groups most affected by clinical disease. For rapidly eliminated drugs, a 28-day follow-up is needed, but, for slowly eliminated drugs, up to nine weeks could be required to document all recrudescences, and, when possible, the drug levels should also be measured. The WHO 14-day assessments are neither sensitive nor specific. In tropical Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium ovale infections treated with chloroquine, the first relapse is usually suppressed by residual drug levels. A relapse cannot be distinguished confidently from a recrudescence. Host immunity is a major contributor to the therapeutic response, and can make failing drugs appear effective.