Antifolates are widely used to treat several diseases but are not currently used in the first-line treatment of tuberculosis, despite evidence that some of these molecules can target Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) bacilli in vitro. To identify new antifolate candidates for animal-model efficacy studies of tuberculosis, we paired knowledge and tools developed in academia with the infrastructure and chemistry resources of a large pharmaceutical company. Together we curated a focused library of 2508 potential antifolates, which were then tested for activity against live Mtb. We identified 210 primary hits, confirmed the on-target activity of potent compounds, and now report the identification and characterization of 5 hit compounds, representative of 5 different chemical scaffolds. These antifolates have potent activity against Mtb and represent good starting points for improvement that could lead to in vivo efficacy studies.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4707675PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsinfecdis.5b00063DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

mycobacterium tuberculosis
8
efficacy studies
8
focused screen
4
screen identifies
4
antifolates
4
identifies antifolates
4
activity
4
antifolates activity
4
activity mycobacterium
4
tuberculosis
4

Similar Publications

The mycomembrane of mycobacteria has long been regarded as the primary barrier to the accumulation of molecules within these bacteria. Understanding accumulation beyond the mycomembrane of ( ) is crucial for developing effective antimycobacterial agents. This study investigates two design principles commonly found in natural products and mammalian cell-permeable peptides - backbone -methylation and macrocyclization - aimed at enhancing accumulation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Bacterial serine-threonine protein kinases (STKs) regulate diverse cellular processes associated with cell growth, virulence, and pathogenicity. They are evolutionarily related to the druggable eukaryotic STKs. However, an incomplete knowledge of how bacterial STKs differ from their eukaryotic counterparts and how they have diverged to regulate diverse bacterial signaling functions presents a bottleneck in targeting them for drug discovery efforts.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tuberculous meningitis diagnosis and treatment: classic approaches and high-throughput pathways.

Front Immunol

January 2025

Rehabilitation Medicine Department, The Affiliated Changsha Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University (The First Hospital of Changsha, Changsha, China.

Tuberculous meningitis (TBM), a severe form of non-purulent meningitis caused by (Mtb), is the most critical extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB) manifestation, with a 30-40% mortality rate despite available treatment. The absence of distinctive clinical symptoms and effective diagnostic tools complicates early detection. Recent advancements in nucleic acid detection, genomics, metabolomics, and proteomics have led to novel diagnostic approaches, improving sensitivity and specificity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Identification of young children with ( )-infection is critical to curb Tuberculosis (TB)-related pediatric morbidity and mortality. The optimal test to identify young children with evidence of -infection remains controversial.

Methods: Using a TB household contact (HHC) study design among 130 Ugandan children less than 5 years with established -exposure, we compared the usefulness of the tuberculin skin test (TST) and QuantiFERON Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) to identify children with evidence for -sensitization.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Although granulomatous interstitial nephritis (GIN) is a rare histological finding in kidney transplants, the joint occurrence of GIN and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) has not, to our knowledge, been reported in the literature. We report a case of GIN and de novo FSGS in kidney transplant recipients leading to allograft failure. A 69-year-old male with a history of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) of unknown etiology, as well as liver failure from hepatitis B and C co-infection, initially had a living unrelated kidney transplant (LURT) in 2007 and subsequently received both liver and kidney transplants (SLKTs) in 2017.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!