Recent advances on the development of bumped kinase inhibitors for treatment of cryptosporidiosis have focused on the 5-aminopyrazole-4-carboxamide scaffold, due to analogs that have less hERG inhibition, superior efficacy, and strong safety profiles. Three compounds, BKI-1770, -1841, and -1708, showed strong efficacy in C. parvum infected mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTesting for mycobacterial lipoarabinomannan (LAM) in urine is a practical but insensitive alternative to sputum testing to diagnose tuberculosis (TB) in people with HIV (PWH). Here, we evaluated urine LAM testing alongside PCR-based tests for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) DNA in tongue swabs. We hypothesized that the two nonsputum samples would deliver complementary, not redundant, results.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntimicrob Agents Chemother
July 2022
Int J Parasitol Drugs Drug Resist
December 2021
The Neospora caninum Calcium-dependent protein kinase 1 (NcCDPK1) inhibitor BKI-1294 had demonstrated excellent efficacy in a pregnant mouse model of neosporosis, and was also highly efficacious in a pregnant sheep model of toxoplasmosis. In this work, we present the efficacy of BKI-1294 treatment (dosed 5 times orally every 48 h) starting 48 h after intravenous infection of sheep with 10 Nc-Spain7 tachyzoites at mid-pregnancy. In the dams, BKI-1294 plasma concentrations were above the IC for N.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Parasitol Drugs Drug Resist
December 2021
The apicomplexan parasite Neospora caninum is an important causative agent of congenital neosporosis, resulting in abortion, birth of weak offspring and neuromuscular disorders in cattle, sheep, and many other species. Among several compound classes that are currently being developed, two have been reported to limit the effects of congenital neosporosis: (i) bumped kinase inhibitors (BKIs) target calcium dependent protein kinase 1 (CDPK1), an enzyme that is encoded by an apicoplast-derived gene and found only in apicomplexans and plants. CDPK1 is essential for host cell invasion and egress; (ii) endochin-like quinolones (ELQs) are inhibitors of the cytochrome bc complex of the mitochondrial electron transport chain and thus inhibit oxidative phosphorylation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis is a review of the development of bumped-kinase inhibitors (BKIs) for the therapy of One Health parasitic apicomplexan diseases. Many apicomplexan infections are shared between humans and livestock, such as cryptosporidiosis and toxoplasmosis, as well as livestock only diseases such as neosporosis. We have demonstrated proof-of-concept for BKI therapy in livestock models of cryptosporidiosis (newborn calves infected with Cryptosporidium parvum), toxoplasmosis (pregnant sheep infected with Toxoplasma gondii), and neosporosis (pregnant sheep infected with Neospora caninum).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Parasitol Drugs Drug Resist
December 2020
Bumped kinase inhibitors (BKIs) are effective against a variety of apicomplexan parasites. Fifteen BKIs with promising in vitro efficacy against Neospora caninum tachyzoites, low cytotoxicity in mammalian cells, and no toxic effects in non-pregnant BALB/c mice were assessed in pregnant mice. Drugs were emulsified in corn oil and were applied by gavage for 5 days.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBumped Kinase Inhibitors, targeting Calcium-dependent Protein Kinase 1 in apicomplexan parasites with a glycine gatekeeper, are promising new therapeutics for apicomplexan diseases. Here we will review advances, as well as challenges and lessons learned regarding efficacy, safety, and pharmacology that have shaped our selection of pre-clinical candidates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent studies have illustrated the burden Cryptosporidium infection places on the lives of malnourished children and immunocompromised individuals. Treatment options remain limited, and efforts to develop a new therapeutic are currently underway. However, there are unresolved questions about the ideal pharmacokinetic characteristics of new anti-Cryptosporidium therapeutics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntimicrob Agents Chemother
July 2019
Previous studies on drug efficacy showed low protection against abortion and vertical transmission of in pregnant sheep. Bumped kinase inhibitors (BKIs), which are ATP-competitive inhibitors of calcium-dependent protein kinase 1 (CDPK1), were shown to be highly efficacious against several apicomplexan parasites and in laboratory animal models. Here, we present the safety and efficacy of BKI-1294 treatment (dosed orally at 100 mg/kg of body weight 5 times every 48 h) initiated 48 h after oral infection of sheep at midpregnancy with 1,000 TgShSp1 oocysts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Parasitol Drugs Drug Resist
August 2019
Cryptosporidium is a leading cause of pediatric diarrhea worldwide. Currently, there is neither a vaccine nor a consistently effective drug available for this disease. Selective 5-aminopyrazole-4-carboxamide-based bumped-kinase inhibitors (BKIs) are effective in both in vitro and in vivo models of Cryptosporidium parvum.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is need for a more efficient cell-based assay amenable to high-throughput drug screening against Giardia lamblia. Here, we report the development of a screening method utilizing G. lamblia engineered to express red-shifted firefly luciferase.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent reports highlighting the global significance of cryptosporidiosis among children have renewed efforts to develop control measures. We evaluated the efficacy of bumped kinase inhibitor (BKI) 1369 in the gnotobiotic piglet model of acute diarrhea caused by , the species responsible for most human cases. Five-day treatment with BKI 1369 reduced signs of disease early during treatment compared to those of untreated animals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSelective inhibitors of Cryptosporidium calcium-dependent protein kinase 1 ( CpCDPK1) based on the 1 H-pyrazolo[3,4- d]pyrimidin-4-amine (pyrazolopyrimidine, PP) scaffold are effective in both in vitro and in vivo models of cryptosporidiosis. However, the search for distinct safety and pharmacokinetic (PK) properties has motivated our exploration of alternative scaffolds. Here, we describe a series of 7 H-pyrrolo[2,3- d]pyrimidin-4-amine (pyrrolopyrimidine, PrP)-based analogs of PP CpCDPK1 inhibitors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeospora caninum is one of the main causes of abortion in cattle, and recent studies have highlighted its relevance as an abortifacient in small ruminants. Vaccines or drugs for the control of neosporosis are lacking. Bumped kinase inhibitors (BKIs), which are ATP-competitive inhibitors of calcium dependent protein kinase 1 (CDPK1), were shown to be highly efficacious against several apicomplexan parasites in vitro and in laboratory animal models.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImprovements have been made to the safety and efficacy of bumped kinase inhibitors, and they are advancing toward human and animal use for treatment of cryptosporidiosis. As the understanding of bumped kinase inhibitor pharmacodynamics for cryptosporidiosis therapy has increased, it has become clear that better compounds for efficacy do not necessarily require substantial systemic exposure. We now have a bumped kinase inhibitor with reduced systemic exposure, acceptable safety parameters, and efficacy in both the mouse and newborn calf models of cryptosporidiosis.
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