S-Adenosyl-l-Methionine Inhibitors Δ(24)-Sterol Methyltransferase and Δ(24(28))-Sterol Methylreductase as Possible Agents against Paracoccidioides brasiliensis

We studied the antiproliferative effects of three azasterol analogs [piperidyl-2-yl-5α-pregnan-3β,20(R)-diol (AZA-1), 22-piperidin-2-yl-pregnan-22(S),3β-diol (AZA-2), and 22-piperidin-3-yl-pregnan-22(S),3β-diol (AZA-3)] and their effects on the lipid composition of the pathogenic yeastlike phase of the dimorphic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. Inhibition was 100% for AZA-1 at 5 μM, 62% for AZA-2 at 10 μM, and 100% for AZA-3 at 0.5 μM. The analogs inhibited different stages of the sterol biosynthesis pathway

Amiodarone Destabilizes Intracellular Ca2+ Homeostasis and Biosynthesis of Sterols in Leishmania mexicana▿

Leishmaniasis represents a serious public health problem worldwide. The first line of treatment is based on glucantime and pentostan, which generate toxic effects in treated patients. We have recently shown that amiodarone, frequently used as an antiarrhythmic, possesses activity against Trypanosoma cruzi through the disruption of mitochondrial Ca2+ homeostasis and the inhibition of parasite ergosterol biosynthesis, specifically at the level of oxidosqualene cyclase activity (G. Benaim, J. Sanders, Y. Garcia-Marchan, C. Colina, R. Lira, A. Caldera, G. Payares, C. Sanoja, J. Burgos, A. Leon-Rossell, J. Concepcion, A. Schijman, M. Levin, E. Oldfield, and J. Urbina, J. Med. Chem. 49:892-899, 2006). Here we show that at therapeutic concentrations, amiodarone has a profound effect on the viability of Leishmania mexicana promastigotes. Additionally, its effect on the viability of the parasite was greater against intracellular amastigotes than against promastigotes, and it did not affect the host cell. Using fluorimetric and confocal microscopy techniques, we also demonstrated that the mechanism of action of amiodarone was related to the disruption of intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis through a direct action not only on the mitochondria but also on the acidocalcisomes. On the other hand, analysis of the free sterols in promastigotes incubated with amiodarone showed that this drug also affected the biosynthesis of 5-dehydroepisterol, which results in squalene accumulation, thus suggesting that amiodarone inhibits the squalene epoxidase activity of the parasite. Taken together, the results obtained in the present work point to a more general effect of amiodarone in trypanosomatids, opening potential therapeutic possibilities for this infectious disease

Two squalene synthase inhibitors, E5700 and ER-119884, interfere with cellular proliferation and induce ultrastructural and lipid profile alterations in a Candida tropicalis strain resistant to fluconazole, itraconazole, and amphotericin B

8 p. : il., tab.Three quinuclidine-based squalene synthase (SQS) inhibitors (BPQ-OH, E5700, and ER-119884) were evaluated against five Candida tropicalis strains with different susceptibility profiles to fluconazole (FLC), itraconazole (ITC), terbinafine (TRB), and amphotericin B (AMB). Although the quinuclidine derivatives were inactive against most C. tropicalis strains tested at concentrations up to 16 lg/ml, E5700 and ER-119884 showed antifungal activity against C. tropicalis ATCC 28707, a strain resistant to FLC, ITC, and AMB, with IC50 and IC90 values (i.e., the minimum inhibitory concentrations of the drugs determined as the lowest drug concentrations leading to a 50 and 90% of reduction in turbidity at 492 nm, respectively, after 48 h of incubation) of 1 and 4 lg/ml, respectively. Analysis of free sterols showed that nontreated C. tropicalis ATCC 28707 cells contained only 14-methylated sterols and that treatment with E5700 or ER-119884 led to a marked reduction of squalene content and the complete disappearance of the endogenous sterols. The fatty acid and phospholipid profiles in C. tropicalis ATCC 28707 cells grown in the presence of E5700 and ER-119884 were also markedly altered, with a large increase in the content of linolenic acid (C18:3), associated with a reduction in the content of linoleic (C18:2) and oleic (C18:1) acids. Treatment of C. tropicalis ATCC 28707 with E5700 or ER-119884 IC50 values induced several ultrastructural alterations, including a marked increase in the thickness of the cell wall and the appearance of a large number of electron-dense vacuoles. In conclusion, our results indicated that E5700 and ER-119884 inhibited the growth and altered the lipid prolife and the ultrastructure of a multiple drug-resistant C. tropicalis strain. Therefore, such compounds could act as leads for the development of new treatment options against multidrug resistant Candida species

Sterol methenyl transferase inhibitors alter the ultrastructure and function of the Leishmania amazonensis mitochondrion leading to potent growth inhibition

10 p. : il.We describe here the effects of Δ 24(25) sterol methenyl transferase inhibitors (SMTI) on promastigote and axenic amastigote forms of Leishmania amazonensis. When these cells were exposed to 20-piperidin-2-yl-5α-pregnan-3β-20-diol (22,26-azasterol; AZA), hydrazone-imidazol-2-yl-5α-pregnan- 3b-ol (IMI), 20-hydrazone-pyridin-2-yl-5a-pregnan-3β-ol (PYR) or 24(R,S),25-epiiminolanosterol (EIL), a concentration- and time-dependent inhibition of growth was observed, with IC50 values in the submicromolar range. Ultrastructural alterations in treated cells were mainly observed in the mitochondrion, which displayed an intense swelling and a reduction of the electron density of the matrix with remarkable changes in the inner mitochondrial membranes. Mitochondrial transmembrane electric potential (DW) was measured using spectrophotometric methods in control and treated promastigotes permeabilized with digitonin. After energization with the substrates for complexes I, II or IV of the respiratory chain, it was possible to detect marked changes of DW in promastigotes treated with 1 lM of the SMTI for 48 or 72 h when compared with normal cells, indicating that these compounds led to the loss of the energy-transducing properties of the mitochondrial inner membrane, probably related to the alteration of its lipid composition. The present study confirms these findings, showing that in Leishmania amazonensis the mitochondrial complex appears to be the first organelle affected after treatment with different SMTI

Zinc(II)-Sterol Hydrazone Complex as a Potent Anti-<i>Leishmania</i> Agent: Synthesis, Characterization, and Insight into Its Mechanism of Antiparasitic Action

Searching for new alternatives for treating leishmaniasis, we present the synthesis, characterization, and biological evaluation against Leishmania amazonensis of the new ZnCl2(H3)2 complex. H3 is 22-hydrazone-imidazoline-2-yl-chol-5-ene-3β-ol, a well-known bioactive molecule functioning as a sterol Δ24-sterol methyl transferase (24-SMT) inhibitor. The ZnCl2(H3)2 complex was characterized by infrared, UV-vis, molar conductance measurements, elemental analysis, mass spectrometry, and NMR experiments. The biological results showed that the free ligand H3 and ZnCl2(H3)2 significantly inhibited the growth of promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes. The IC50 values found for H3 and ZnCl2(H3)2 were 5.2 µM and 2.5 µM for promastigotes, and 543 nM and 32 nM for intracellular amastigotes, respectively. Thus, the ZnCl2(H3)2 complex proved to be seventeen times more potent than the free ligand H3 against the intracellular amastigote, the clinically relevant stage. Furthermore, cytotoxicity assays and determination of selectivity index (SI) revealed that ZnCl2(H3)2 (CC50 = 5 μΜ, SI = 156) is more selective than H3 (CC50 = 10 μΜ, SI = 20). Furthermore, as H3 is a specific inhibitor of the 24-SMT, free sterol analysis was performed. The results showed that H3 was not only able to induce depletion of endogenous parasite sterols (episterol and 5-dehydroepisterol) and their replacement by 24-desalkyl sterols (cholesta-5,7,24-trien-3β-ol and cholesta-7,24-dien-3β-ol) but also its zinc derivative resulting in a loss of cell viability. Using electron microscopy, studies on the fine ultrastructure of the parasites showed significant differences between the control cells and parasites treated with H3 and ZnCl2(H3)2. The inhibitors induced membrane wrinkle, mitochondrial injury, and abnormal chromatin condensation changes that are more intense in the cells treated with ZnCl2(H3)2

Anti-leishmanial evaluation of C2-aryl quinolines: Mechanistic insight on bioenergetics and sterol biosynthetic pathway of Leishmania braziliensis

A series of diverse simple C2-aryl quinolines was synthesized de novo via a straightforward synthesis based on the acid-catalyzed multicomponent imino Diels–Alder reactions. Seven selected quinolines were evaluated at different stages of Leishmania braziliensis parasite. Among them, the 6-ethyl-2-phenylquinoline 5f was able to inhibit the growth of promastigotes of this parasite without affecting the mammalian cells viability and decreasing the number of intracellular L. braziliensis amastigotes on BMDM macrophages. The mechanism of action studied for the selected compound consisted in: (1) alteration of parasite bioenergetics, by disrupting mitochondrial electrochemical potential and alkalinisation of acidocalcisomes, and (2) inhibition of ergosterol biosynthetic pathway in promastigote forms. These results validate the efficiency of quinoline molecules as leishmanicide compounds.Departamento Administrativo de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación [CO] Colciencias5507-543-31904Programa: Bioprospección y desarrollo de ingredientes naturales para las industrias cosmética, farmacéutica y de productos de aseo con base en la biodiversidad colombianan

Copper(I)–Phosphine Polypyridyl Complexes: Synthesis, Characterization, DNA/HSA Binding Study, and Antiproliferative Activity

A series of copper­(I)–phosphine polypyridyl complexes have been investigated as potential antitumor agents. The complexes [Cu­(PPh₃)₂­dpq]­NO₃ (<b>2</b>), [Cu­(PPh₃)₂­dppz]­NO₃ (<b>3</b>), [Cu­(PPh₃)₂­dppa]­NO₃ (<b>4</b>), and [Cu­(PPh₃)₂­dppme]­NO₃ (<b>5</b>) were synthesized by the reaction of [Cu­(PPh₃)₂NO₃] with the respective planar ligand under mild conditions. These copper complexes were fully characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductivity, FAB-MS, and NMR, UV–vis, and IR spectroscopies. Interactions between these copper­(I)–phosphine polypyridyl complexes and DNA have been investigated using various spectroscopic techniques and analytical methods, such as UV–vis titrations, thermal denaturation, circular dichroism, viscosity measurements, gel electrophoresis, and competitive fluorescent intercalator displacement assays. The results of our studies suggest that these copper­(I) complexes interact with DNA in an intercalative way. Furthermore, their high protein binding affinities toward human serum albumin were determined by fluorescence studies. Additionally, cytotoxicity analyses of all complexes against several tumor cell lines (human breast, MCF-7; human lung, A549; and human prostate, DU-145) and non-tumor cell lines (Chinese hamster lung, V79-4; and human lung, MRC-5) were performed. The results revealed that copper­(I)–phosphine polypyridyl complexes are more cytotoxic than the corresponding planar ligand and also showed to be more active than cisplatin. A good correlation was observed between the cytostatic activity and lipophilicity of the copper­(I) complexes studied here