A novel quinoline-appended chalcone derivative as potential Plasmodium falciparum gametocytocide.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Malaria has remained a global health problem despite the effective control and treatment measures. In the backdrop of drug resistance, developing novel hybrid molecules targeting the sexual stages (gametocytes) of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is of great significance. Recently, chalcone- based polyphenols have generated a great interest in the malaria research community worldwide due to their ease of synthesis and significant biological activity. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the interaction of a newly synthesized quinoline-appended chalcone derivative (ADMQ) with gametocyte specific proteins, Pfg 27 and Pfs 25 and explore its in vitro gametocytocidal potential. METHODS: The characterization of ligand-protein interactions at the atomistic level was done by a simulation strategy that combines molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation in a coherent workflow. The X-ray crystal structure of Pfg 27 was retrieved from protein data bank and Pfs 25 was built using the Iterative Threading ASSembly Refinement (I-TASSER) server. The detailed interaction of both ADMQ and a known gametocytocidal agent, methylene blue (MB) (used as a positive control) with gametocyte proteins Pfg 27 and Pfs 25 was studied with a 50 ns explicit MD simulation. The ligand binding pose in terms of glide score, molecular mechanics-generalized born surface area (MM-GBSA) binding energies, protein-ligand root-mean-square-deviation (RMSD) and secondary structure elements (SSE) changes were analyzed accordingly. The direct effect of ADMQ on structural integrity of P. falciparum gametocytes was also examined using in vitro microscopy. RESULTS: The analogous Glide score and MM-GBSA free energy of binding indicated stable interactions for both ADMQ and MB harboured in the active site of targeted gametocyte proteins, Pfg 27 and Pfs 25, separately. Explicit MD simulation by Desmond software package indicated similar distinguishable conformational changes in the active site of target polypeptide chain due to the specific accommodation of ADMQ molecule. The simulation also manifested comparable mechanistic profile in terms of protein-ligand RMSD and changes in secondary structure elements (SSE). Further, ADMQ treatment was found to adversely affect the structural integrity of gametocytes, which resulted in appearance of vesicles protruding from the gametocytes. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: The consolidated in silico molecular modeling and in vitro study described herein may give an insight into the interaction patterns of quinoline-chalcone hybrids with critical gametocyte proteins in the mosquito. This study will possibly pave the way for further exploration of similar heterocyclic quinoline-chalcone hybrids to open up new avenues in drug candidate development against P. falciparum gametocytes.

A platform for chemical modification of mandelate racemase: characterization of the C92S/C264S and γ-thialysine 166 variants.

Mandelate racemase (MR) serves as a paradigm for our understanding of enzyme-catalyzed deprotonation of a carbon acid substrate. To facilitate structure-function studies on MR using non-natural amino acid substitutions, we engineered the Cys92Ser/Cys264Ser variant (dmMR) as a platform for introducing Cys residues at specific locations for subsequent covalent modification. While the highly reactive thiol of Cys furnishes a site for chemical modification, site-specificity requires that other Cys residues be non-reactive or replaced by a non-reactive amino acid, especially if chemical modification is conducted under denaturing conditions. The catalytic efficiency of dmMR is reduced only ~2-fold relative to wild-type MR, making dmMR a viable platform for the site-specific introduction of Cys. As an example, the inactive Lys166Cys variant of dmMR was treated with ethylenimine under denaturing conditions to replace the Brønsted acid-base catalyst Lys 166 with the non-natural amino acid γ-thialysine. Comparison of the pH-activity profiles of dmMR and the active γ-thialysine variant revealed a reduction in the pKa for the side chain amino group of ~0.4 units for the latter variant. Unlike wild-type MR for which diffusion is partially rate-limiting, dmMR and the γ-thialysine variant showed no dependence on the solvent viscosity suggesting that the chemical step is fully rate-limiting.

Is the Sudlow site I of human serum albumin more generous to adopt prospective anti-cancer bioorganic compound than that of bovine: A combined spectroscopic and docking simulation approach.

A comparative biophysical study on the individual conformational adaptation embraced by two homologous serum albumins (SA) (bovine and human) towards a potential anticancer bioorganic compound 2-(6-chlorobenzo[d] thiazol-2-yl)-1H-benzo[de] isoquinoline-1,3(2H)- dione (CBIQD) is apparent from the discrimination in binding behavior and the ensuing consequences accomplished by combined in vitro optical spectroscopy, in silico molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The Sudlow site I of HSA although anion receptive, harbors neutral CBIQD in Sudlow site I (subdomain IIA, close to Trp) of HSA, while in BSA its prefers to snugly fit into Sudlow site II (subdomain IIIA, close to Tyr). Based on discernable diminution of HSA mean fluorescence lifetime as a function of biluminophore concentration, facile occurrence of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) is substantiated as the probable quenching mechanism accompanied by structural deformations in the protein ensemble. CBIQD establishes itself within HSA close to Trp214, and consequently reduces the micropolarity of the cybotactic environment that is predominantly constituted by hydrophobic amino acid residues. The stronger association of CBIQD with HSA encourages an allosteric modulation leading to slight deformation in its secondary structure whereas for BSA the association is comparatively weaker. Sudlow site I of HSA is capable to embrace a favorable conformation like malleable gold to provide room for incoming CBIQD, whereas for BSA it behaves more like rigid cast-iron which does not admit any change thus forcing CBIQD to occupy an altogether different binding location i.e. the Sudlow site II. The anticancer CBIQD is found to be stable within the HSA scaffold as vindicated by root mean square deviation (RMSD) and root mean square fluctuation (RMSF) obtained by MD simulation. A competitively inhibited esterase-like activity of HSA upon CBIQD binding to Lys199 and Arg257 residues, plausibly envisions that similar naphthalimide based prodrugs, bearing ester functionality, can be particularly activated by Sudlow site I of HSA. The consolidated spectroscopic research described herein may encourage design of naphthalimide based pro-drugs for effective in vivo biodistribution using HSA-based drug delivery systems.

Design, synthesis, physicochemical studies, solvation, and DNA damage of quinoline-appended chalcone derivative: comprehensive spectroscopic approach toward drug discovery.

The present study epitomizes the design, synthesis, photophysics, solvation, and interaction with calf-thymus DNA of a potential antitumor, anticancer quinoline-appended chalcone derivative, (E)-3-(anthracen-10-yl)-1-(6,8-dibromo-2-methylquinolin-3-yl)prop-2-en-1-one (ADMQ) using steady state absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, molecular modeling, molecular docking, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, and gel electrophoresis studies. ADMQ shows an unusual photophysical behavior in a variety of solvents of different polarity. The dual emission has been observed along with the formation of twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) excited state. The radiationless deactivation of the TICT state is found to be promoted strongly by hydrogen bonding. Quantum mechanical (DFT, TDDFT, and ZINDO-CI) calculations show that the ADMQ is sort of molecular rotor which undergoes intramolecular twist followed by a complete charge transfer in the optimized excited state. FTIR studies reveals that ADMQ undergoes important structural change from its native structure to a ß-hydroxy keto form in water at physiological pH. The concentration-dependent DNA cleavage has been identified in agarose gel DNA electrophoresis experiment and has been further supported by MD simulation. ADMQ forms hydrogen bond with the deoxyribose sugar attached with the nucleobase adenine DA-17 (chain A) and result in significant structural changes which potentially cleave DNA double helix. The compound does not exhibit any deleterious effect or toxicity to the E. coli strain in cytotoxicity studies. The consolidated spectroscopic research described herein can provide enormous information to open up new avenues for designing and synthesizing chalcone derivatives with low systematic toxicity for medicinal chemistry research.