Identifying biological factors which contribute to the clinical progression of heterogeneous motor and non-motor phenotypes in Parkinson's disease may help to better understand the disease process. Several lipid-related genetic risk factors for Parkinson's disease have been identified, and the serum lipid signature of Parkinson's disease patients is significantly distinguishable from controls. However, the extent to which lipid profiles are associated with clinical outcomes remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFShorter and more effective treatment regimens as well as new drugs are urgent priorities for reducing the immense global burden of tuberculosis (TB). As treatment of TB currently requires multiple antibiotics with diverse mechanisms of action, any new drug lead requires assessment of potential interactions with existing TB antibiotics. We previously described the discovery of wollamides, a new class of -derived cyclic hexapeptides with antimycobacterial activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImmunology
May 2023
Granulomas are key histopathological features of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, with complex roles in pathogen control and dissemination. Thus, understanding drivers and regulators of granuloma formation is important for improving tuberculosis diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Yet, molecular mechanisms underpinning granuloma formation and dynamics remain poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF) plays a central role in the host control of mycobacterial infections. Expression and release of TNF are tightly regulated, yet the molecular mechanisms that control the release of TNF by mycobacteria-infected host cells, in particular macrophages, are incompletely understood. Rab GTPases direct the transport of intracellular membrane-enclosed vesicles and are important regulators of macrophage cytokine secretion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTuberculosis (TB) remains an infectious disease of global significance and a leading cause of death in low- and middle-income countries. Significant effort has been directed towards understanding Mycobacterium tuberculosis genomics, virulence, and pathophysiology within the framework of Koch postulates. More recently, the advent of "-omics" approaches has broadened our appreciation of how "commensal" microbes have coevolved with their host and have a central role in shaping health and susceptibility to disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo obtain effective eradication of numerous infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, it is important to supply the medicinal chemistry arsenal with novel chemical agents. Isosterism and bioisosterism are widely known concepts in the field of early drug discovery, and in several cases, rational isosteric replacements have contributed to improved efficacy and physicochemical characteristics throughout the hit-to-lead optimization process. However, sometimes the synthesis of isosteres might not be as straightforward as that of the parent compounds, and therefore, novel synthetic strategies must be elaborated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTuberculosis remains one of the leading causes of death from a single pathogen globally. It is estimated that 1/4 of the world's population harbors latent tuberculosis, but only a 5-10% of patients will develop active disease. During latent infection, can persist unaffected by drugs for years in a non-replicating state with low metabolic activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe thienopyrimidine TP053 is an antitubercular prodrug active against both replicating and nonreplicating () cells, which requires activation by the mycothiol-dependent nitroreductase Mrx2. The investigation of the mechanism of action of TP053 revealed that Mrx2 releases nitric oxide from this drug both in the enzyme assays with purified Mrx2 and in mycobacterial cultures, which can explain its activity against nonreplicating bacilli, similar to pretomanid activated by the nitroreductase Ddn. In addition, we identified a highly reactive metabolite, 2-(4-mercapto-6-(methylamino)-2-phenylpyrimidin-5-yl)ethan-1-ol, which can contribute to the antimycobacterial effects on replicating cells as well as on nonreplicating cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLynch syndrome (LS) is a dominantly inherited condition with incomplete penetrance, characterized by high predisposition to colorectal cancer (CRC), endometrial and ovarian cancers, as well as to other tumors. LS is associated with constitutive DNA mismatch repair (MMR) gene defects, and carriers of the same pathogenic variants can show great phenotypic heterogeneity in terms of cancer spectrum. In the last years, human gut microbiota got a foothold among risk factors responsible for the onset and evolution of sporadic CRC, but its possible involvement in the modulation of LS patients' phenotype still needs to be investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe search for compounds with biological activity for many diseases is turning increasingly to drug repurposing. In this study, we have focused on the European Union-approved antimalarial pyronaridine which was found to have in vitro activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MIC 5 μg/mL). In macromolecular synthesis assays, pyronaridine resulted in a severe decrease in incorporation of C-uracil and C-leucine similar to the effect of rifampicin, a known inhibitor of M.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGut microbiota has been implicated in the etiopathogenesis of colorectal cancer. The development of colorectal cancer is a multistep process by which healthy epithelium slowly develops into preneoplastic lesions, which in turn progress into malignant carcinomas over time. In particular, sporadic colorectal cancers can arise from adenomas (about 85% of cases) or serrated polyps through the "adenoma-carcinoma" or the "serrated polyp-carcinoma" sequences, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report on the virtual screening, synthesis, and biological evaluation of new furan derivatives targeting Mycobacterium tuberculosis salicylate synthase (MbtI). A receptor-based virtual screening procedure was applied to screen the Enamine database, identifying two compounds, I and III, endowed with a good enzyme inhibitory activity. Considering the most active compound I as starting point for the development of novel MbtI inhibitors, we obtained new derivatives based on the furan scaffold.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMycobacterium tuberculosis, the etiological agent of the infectious disease tuberculosis, kills approximately 1.5 million people annually, while the spread of multidrug-resistant strains is of great global concern. Thus, continuous efforts to identify new antitubercular drugs as well as novel targets are crucial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA series of isoniazid derivatives bearing a phenolic or heteroaromatic coupled frame were obtained by mechanochemical means. Their pH stability and their structural (conformer/isomer) analysis were checked. The activity of prepared derivatives against cell growth was evaluated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite its great potential, the target-based approach has been mostly unsuccessful in tuberculosis drug discovery, while whole cell phenotypic screening has delivered several active compounds. However, for many of these hits, the cellular target has not yet been identified, thus preventing further target-based optimization of the compounds. In this context, the newly validated drug target CTP synthetase PyrG was exploited to assess a target-based approach of already known, but untargeted, antimycobacterial compounds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The World Health Organization publishes global tuberculosis reports annually in order to provide the latest information in the surveillance of drug resistance. Given the alarming rise of resistance to antitubercular drugs worldwide, finding new cellular targets and developing new analogues or new compounds with greater potency against already known targets are both important aspects in fighting drug-sensitive and drug-resistant M.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe term 'prodrug' was first introduced by Albert in 1958. Generally, prodrugs can be utilized for improving active drug solubility and bioavailability, increasing drug permeability and absorption, modifying the distribution profile, preventing fast metabolism and excretion, and reducing toxicity. Previously, the prodrug approach was a final resort during the drug discovery process only after all other approaches had been exhausted.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA series of GEQ analogues bearing pyrrolidinone or pyrrolidine cores were synthesized and evaluated against InhA, essential target for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) survival. The compounds were also evaluated against M.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInhibitors of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis enoyl-ACP reductase (InhA) are considered as potential promising therapeutics for the treatment of tuberculosis. Previously, we reported that azaisoindolinone-type compounds displayed, in vitro, inhibitory activity toward InhA. Herein, we describe chemical modifications of azaisoindolinone scaffold, the synthesis of 15 new compounds and their evaluations toward the in vitro InhA activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTuberculosis (TB) remains one of the major causes of death worldwide, in particular because of the emergence of multidrug-resistant TB. Herein we explored the potential of an alternative class of molecules as anti-TB agents. Thus, a series of novel 3-substituted triazolophthalazines was quickly and easily prepared from commercial hydralazine hydrochloride as starting material and were further evaluated for their antimycobacterial activities and cytotoxicities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElectron deficient nitroaromatic compounds such as BTZ043 and its closest congener, PBTZ169, and related agents are a promising new class of anti-TB compounds. Herein we report the design and syntheses of 1,3-benzothiazinone azide (BTZ-N3) and related click chemistry products based on the molecular mode of activation of BTZ043. Our computational docking studies indicate that BTZ-N3 binds in the essentially same pocket as that of BTZ043.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA series of fluorene-based derivatives was synthesized and evaluated for inhibiting both InhA and Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth. These compounds were inspired by the previously reported Genz-10850 molecule, a good InhA inhibitor, but with a poor activity against M. tuberculosis growth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo combat the emergence of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, new antitubercular agents and novel drug targets are needed. Phenotypic screening of a library of 594 hit compounds uncovered two leads that were active against M. tuberculosis in its replicating, non-replicating, and intracellular states: compounds 7947882 (5-methyl-N-(4-nitrophenyl)thiophene-2-carboxamide) and 7904688 (3-phenyl-N-[(4-piperidin-1-ylphenyl)carbamothioyl]propanamide).
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