Anti-parasitic activity of polyether ionophores

Despite some progress in recent years, the fight against parasitic diseases still remains a great challenge. Parasitic diseases affect primarily (but not exclusively) the poorest people living in underdeveloped regions of the world. The distribution of parasitoses are linked to tropical and subtropical climate conditions, to population growth and to impoverishment. If not treated, parasitic diseases may lead to serious health problems, and even death. Particularly vulnerable groups include infants and young children, pregnant women and immunocompromised individuals. Polyether ionophore antibiotics (ionophores), traditionally used in veterinary medicine as anti-coccidial feed additives and non-hormonal growth promoters, are of considerable interest, as they have been found to be highly effective agents against various parasites, both in vitro and in vivo. This review summarizes the anti-parasitic effects of the most important polyether ionophores against parasites that are responsible for a number of animal and human parasitic diseases. Recent findings and advances that support the potential of polyether ionophore antibiotics as novel anti-parasitic drug candidates are also presented and discussed

Anti-trypanosomal activity of doubly modified salinomycin derivatives

Abstract: As a group of biologically active compounds, polyether antibiotics (ionophores) show a broad spectrum of interesting pharmacological properties, ranging from anti-bacterial to anti-cancer activities. There is increasing evidence that ionophores, including salinomycin (SAL), and their semi-synthetic analogues are promising candidates for the development of drugs against parasitic diseases. Our previous studies have shown that esterification and amidation of the C1 carboxylate moiety of SAL provides compounds with potent activity against Trypanosoma brucei, protozoan parasites responsible for African trypanosomiasis. In this paper, we present the synthetic pathways, crystal structures and anti-trypanosomal activity of C1 esters, amides and hydroxamic acid conjugates of SAL, its C20-oxo and propargylamine analogues as well novel C1/C20 doubly modified derivatives. Evaluation of the trypanocidal and cytotoxic activity using bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei and human myeloid HL-60 cells revealed that the single-modified C20-oxo and propargylamine precursor molecules 10 and 16 were the most anti-trypanosomal and selective compounds with 50% growth inhibition (GI50) values of 0.037 and 0.0035 µM, and selectivity indices of 252 and 300, respectively. Also the salicylhydroxamic acid conjugate of SAL (compound 9) as well as benzhydroxamic acid and salicylhydroxamic acid conjugates of 10 (compounds 11 and 12) showed promising trypanocidal activities with GI50 values between 0.032 to 0.035 µM but less favorable selectivities. The findings confirm that modification of SAL can result in derivatives with improved trypanocidal activity that might be interesting lead compounds for further anti-trypanosomal drug development

Antiparasitic activity of ivermectin: Four decades of research into a “wonder drug”

Parasitic diseases still pose a serious threat to human and animal health, particularly for millions of people and their livelihoods in low-income countries. Therefore, research into the development of effective antiparasitic drugs remains a priority. Ivermectin, a sixteen-membered macrocyclic lactone, exhibits a broad spectrum of antiparasitic activities, which, combined with its low toxicity, has allowed the drug to be widely used in the treatment of parasitic diseases affecting humans and animals. In addition to its licensed use against river blindness and strongyloidiasis in humans, and against roundworm and arthropod infestations in animals, ivermectin is also used “off-label” to treat many other worm-related parasitic diseases, particularly in domestic animals. In addition, several experimental studies indicate that ivermectin displays also potent activity against viruses, bacteria, protozoans, trematodes, and insects. This review article summarizes the last 40 years of research on the antiparasitic effects of ivermectin, and the use of the drug in the treatment of parasitic diseases in humans and animals

Unexpected rearrangement of ivermectin in the synthesis of new derivatives with trypanocidal and antiplasmodial activities

Ivermectin is a sixteen-membered macrolactone “wonder drug” of Nobel prize-honored distinction that exhibits a wide range of antiparasitic activities. It has been used for almost four decades in the treatment of various parasitic diseases in humans and animals. In this paper, we describe the synthesis of the first-in-class ivermectin derivatives obtained via derivatization of the C13 position, along with the unexpected rearrangement of the oxahydrindene (hexahydrobenzofuran) unit of the macrolide ring. The structural investigation of the rearrangement has been performed using the single-crystal X-ray diffraction method. The antiparasitic and cytotoxic activities of the newly synthesized derivatives were determined in vitro with the bloodstream form of Trypanosoma brucei brucei, the hepatic stage of Plasmodium berghei, and human leukemia HL-60 cells. The compounds with the highest trypanocidal activity were the C13-epi-2-chloroacetamide analogs of native (6h) or rearranged (7h) ivermectin. Both 6h and 7h displayed trypanocidal activities within a similar mid-nanomolar concentration range as the commercially used trypanocides suramin and ethidium bromide. Furthermore, 6h and 7h exhibited a comparable cytotoxic to trypanocidal ratio as the reference drug ethidium bromide. The double-modified compound 7a (C13-epi-acetamide of rearranged ivermectin) exhibited the highest activity against P. berghei grown in human hepatoma cells, which was 2.5 times higher than that of ivermectin. The findings of this study suggest that C13-epi-amide derivatives of ivermectin are suitable leads in the rational development of new antiparasitic agents

Singly and doubly modified analogues of C20-epi-salinomycin: A new group of antiparasitic agents against Trypanosoma brucei

Polyether ionophores, with >120 molecules belonging to this group, represent a class of naturally-occurring compounds that exhibit a broad range of pharmacological properties, including promising activity towards a variety of parasites. In this context, salinomycin (SAL) seems to be interesting, as this ionophore has been found to be active against parasites that are responsible for a number of human and animal diseases. On the other hand, less explored is the investigation into the anti-parasitic activity of SAL derivatives. Recently, we identified C1 amides and esters of SAL and its analogue, C20-oxosalinomycin, as promising structures for trypanocidal drug candidates. In search for novel compounds effective against African trypanosomes, the synthetic access to a completely new series of C20-epi-salinomycin (compound 2) analogues is described in this paper. This series includes products obtained via derivatisation of either the C1 carboxyl or the C20 hydroxyl of 2, but also C1/C20 double modified derivatives. The anti-trypanosomal activity as well as the cytotoxic activity of these analogues were evaluated with bloodstream forms of T. brucei and human myeloid HL-60 cells, respectively. It was found that the C20 single modified derivatives 8, 12, and 18 (C20 decanoate, C20 ethyl carbonate, and C20 allophanate of 2, respectively) were the most active compounds in selectively targeting bloodstream-form trypanosomes, with 50% growth inhibition (GI50) values of 0.027‒0.043 μM and selectivity indices of 165‒353. These results indicate that modification at the C20 position of C20-epi-salinomycin 2 can provide semi-synthetic products with enhanced trypanocidal activity that could be of great value for the development of new drugs to treat African trypanosomiasis

In vitro activity of salinomycin and monensin derivatives against Trypanosoma brucei

Background: African trypanosomes are the causative agents of sleeping sickness in humans and nagana disease in livestock animals. As the few drugs available for treatment of the diseases have limited efficacy and produce adverse reactions, new and better tolerated therapies are required. Polyether ionophores have been shown to display anti-cancer, anti-microbial and anti-parasitic activity. In this study, derivatives of the polyether ionophores, salinomycin and monensin were tested for their in vitro activity against bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei and human HL-60 cells. Results: Most polyether ionophore derivatives were less trypanocidal than their corresponding parent compounds. However, two salinomycin derivatives (salinomycin n-butyl amide and salinomycin 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl ester) were identified that showed increased anti-trypanosomal activity with 50% growth inhibition values in the mid nanomolar range and minimum inhibitory concentrations of below 1 μM similar to suramin, a drug used in the treatment of sleeping sickness. In contrast, human HL-60 cells were considerably less sensitive towards all polyether ionophore derivatives. The cytotoxic to trypanocidal activity ratio (selectivity) of the two promising compounds was greater than 250. Conclusions: The data indicate that polyether ionophore derivatives are interesting lead compounds for rational anti-trypanosomal drug development

Synthesis, Anticancer and Antibacterial Activity of Salinomycin N-Benzyl Amides

A series of 12 novel monosubstituted N-benzyl amides of salinomycin (SAL) was synthesized for the first time and characterized by NMR and FT-IR spectroscopic methods. Molecular structures of three salinomycin derivatives in the solid state were determined using single crystal X-ray method. All compounds obtained were screened for their antiproliferative activity against various human cancer cell lines as well as against the most problematic bacteria strains such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE), and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Novel salinomycin derivatives exhibited potent anticancer activity against drug-resistant cell lines. Additionally, two N-benzyl amides of salinomycin revealed interesting antibacterial activity. The most active were N-benzyl amides of SAL substituted at -ortho position and the least anticancer active derivatives were those substituted at the -para position

Synthesis, structural and spectroscopic studies as well as anticancer and antimicrobial activity of the new salinomycin derivatives

Wydział Chemii: Pracownia Chemii BioorganicznejBadania naukowe z ostatnich kilku lat udowodniły, że salinomycyna hamuje namnażanie ludzkich komórek nowotworowych oraz doprowadza do ich śmierci. W literaturze brakowało natomiast doniesień poświęconych chemicznej modyfikacji salinomycyny. Dlatego też głównym celem pracy doktorskiej było opracowanie wydajnych metod syntezy amidów oraz estrów salinomycyny. Równie ważnym celem pracy było określenie aktywności biologicznej otrzymanych związków. W ramach pracy doktorskiej opracowane zostały wydajne metody syntezy 66 różnorodnych pochodnych salinomycyny, które doprowadziły do otrzymania 39 amidów, 14 estrów oraz 13 O-acylowanych w pozycji C(20) pochodnych jonoforu. Badania aktywności przeciwdrobnoustrojowej pozwoliły udowodnić, że niektóre pochodne salinomycyny wykazują aktywność przeciwbakteryjną, przeciwgruźliczą, przeciwwąglikową oraz aktywność wobec trypanosomatozy afrykańskiej. Ponadto wybrane pochodne salinomycyny przełamują oporność wielolekową komórek nowotworowych. Zsyntezowane pochodne charakteryzowały się silniejszym przełamywaniem lekooporności komórek LoVo/DX niż salinomycyna oraz związki referencyjne. Wykonane pomiary udowodniły, że większość amidów oraz estrów salinomycyny cechuje mniejsza toksyczność wobec prawidłowych komórek organizmu od powszechnie stosowanych leków cytostatycznych. Wszystkie wykonane badania doprowadziły finalnie do wyznaczenia korelacji pomiędzy strukturą otrzymanych pochodnych a ich aktywnością biologiczną. Dzięki temu możliwe będzie racjonalne projektowanie syntezy nowych pochodnych salinomycyny.The scientific research over the past several years have demonstrated that salinomycin inhibits proliferation of human cancer cells and leads to their death. However, any informations about the chemical modification of salinomycin have been missed. Therefore, the main aim of this dissertation was to develop the efficient methods for the synthesis of amides and esters of salinomycin. An equally important objective was also to determine the biological activity of the compounds obtained. In this context, the efficient methods of synthesis of 66 different salinomycin derivatives, which led to afford 39 amides, 14 esters and 13 O-acylated at the C(20) position derivatives were developed. Moreover, it was proved that some derivatives show antibacterial, antitubercular, antianthrax and antitrypanosomal activity. In addition, salinomycin derivatives break multidrug resistance of tumour cells tested. The synthesized derivatives were characterized by stronger overcoming of drug resistance of LoVo/DX cells than salinomycin and the reference compounds. The measurements have shown that the majority of amides and esters are less toxic to normal cells of the body than the commonly used cytostatic drugs. All these tests led finally to determine the correlation between the structure of the resulting compounds and their biological activity. This will enable in the nearest future the rational design of the new synthetic derivatives of salinomycin

Application of the click chemistry for the synthesis of salinomycin bioconjugates

Bioconjugation is a well-known method of designing new drug candidates for many different diseases, including cancer. The idea of the process is to join two or more bioactive molecules by means of a covalent bond. Thus, obtained hybrids often exhibit higher efficiency compared to that of the starting compounds. Recently, the use of click chemistry, especially Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition, has attracted much attention for the synthesis of bioconjugates of natural compounds. The great advantage of this reaction is its high yield and enzymatic stability of the 1,2,3-triazole ring. Mild conditions of this reaction guarantee that it can be used to modify compounds with low stability, such as salinomycin – a representative of ionophore antibiotics. Salinomycin is a naturally occurring lipophilic compound isolated from Streptomyces albus. It is capable of forming complexes with metal cations and transport them across the lipid membranes. This process disturbs the intercellular Na+ /K+ concentration gradient and leads to apoptosis (programmed cell death). Salinomycin exhibits high anticancer activity, including efficiency against multidrug-resistant cancer cells and cancer stem cells of different origin. Chemical modification of the salinomycin skeleton to increase its biological activity is a very interesting research direction. Our review article is focused on the application of click chemistry for the synthesis of salinomycin bioconjugates with many different biologically active compounds (Cinchona alkaloids, nucleosides, triphenylphosphonium cation, betulinic acid and other ionophore antibiotics). Some of the obtained hybrids exhibit higher efficiency compared to that of the starting compounds, e.g., increased anticancer activity, the ability to overcome multi-drug resistance, or improved ionophoretic properties. These results are a good starting point for further research on the use of click chemistry in the synthesis of highly functional hybrids of natural compounds

Statins: HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors as Potential Anticancer Agents against Malignant Neoplasms in Women

Statins, also known as HMG-CoA inhibitors, are a class of bioactive small molecules that efficiently reduce the levels of cholesterol, and therefore are commonly used to manage and prevent various cardiovascular diseases. With respect to their original medical indications, statins are currently in the group of the most prescribed drugs worldwide. Of note is that statins are perceived actually rather as agents that have pleiotropic activities; in addition to their inhibitory activity on the production of endogenous cholesterol. Statins may also affect cell proliferation, angiogenesis and/or migration (metastasis) of different cancer cells, and play a positive role in the chemoprevention of cancer, thus being the excellent candidates to be repurposed in oncology. Particularly intriguing in this context seems to be the promising role of statins on both the incidence and course of common malignant neoplasms in women. In this article, we review and discuss the effect of the use of statins in the treatment of three types of cancer, i.e., breast, endometrial and ovarian cancer, with the highest mortality among gynecological cancers