In silico and in vitro analysis of the mechanisms of action of nitroxoline against some medically important opportunistic fungi.

The increasing resistance to antifungal agents associated with toxicity and interactions turns therapeutic management of fungal infections difficult. This scenario emphasizes the importance of drug repositioning, such as nitroxoline - a urinary antibacterial agent that has shown potential antifungal activity. The aims of this study were to discover the possible therapeutic targets of nitroxoline using an in silico approach, and to determine the in vitro antifungal activity of the drug against the fungal cell wall and cytoplasmic membrane. We explored the biological activity of nitroxoline using PASS, SwissTargetPrediction and Cortellis Drug Discovery Intelligence web tools. After confirmation, the molecule was designed and optimized in HyperChem software. GOLD 2020.1 software was used to predict the interactions between the drug and the target proteins. In vitro investigation evaluated the effect of nitroxoline on the fungal cell wall through sorbitol protection assay. Ergosterol binding assay was carried out to assess the effect of the drug on the cytoplasmic membrane. In silico investigation revealed biological activity with alkane 1-monooxygenase and methionine aminopeptidase enzymes, showing nine and five interactions in the molecular docking, respectively. In vitro results exhibited no effect on the fungal cell wall or cytoplasmic membrane. Finally, nitroxoline has potential as an antifungal agent due to the interaction with alkane 1-monooxygenase and methionine aminopeptidase enzymes, which are not the main human therapeutic targets. These results have potentially revealed a new biological target for the treatment of fungal infections. We also consider that further studies are required to confirm the biological activity of nitroxoline on fungal cells, mainly the confirmation of the alkB gene.

Novel Antimicrobial 8-Hydroxyquinoline-Based Agents: Current Development, Structure-Activity Relationships, and Perspectives.

The search for new antimicrobials is imperative due to the emergent resistance of new microorganism strains. In this context, revisiting known classes like 8-hydroxyquinolines could be an interesting strategy to discover new agents. The 8-hydroxyquinoline derivatives nitroxoline and clioquinol are used to treat microbial infections; however, these drugs are underused, being available in few countries or limited to topical use. After years of few advances, in the last two decades, the potent activity of clioquinol and nitroxoline against several targets and the privileged structure of 8-hydroxyquinoline nucleus have prompted an increased interest in the design of novel antimicrobial, anticancer, and anti-Alzheimer agents based on this class. Herein, we discuss the current development and antimicrobial structure-activity relationships of this class in the perspective of using the 8-hydroxyquinoline nucleus for the search for novel antimicrobial agents. Furthermore, the most investigated molecular targets concerning 8-hydroxyquinoline derivatives are explored in the final section.

8-Hydroxyquinoline 1,2,3-triazole derivatives with promising and selective antifungal activity.

Fungal infections that affect humans and plants have increased significantly in recent decades. However, these pathogens are still neglected when compared to other infectious agents. Due to the high prevalence of these infections, the need for new molecules with antifungal potential is recognized, as pathogenic species are developing resistance to the main drugs available. This work reports the design and synthesis of 1,2,3-triazole derivatives of 8-hydroxyquinoline, as well as the determination of their activities against a panel of fungal species: Candida spp., Trichosporon asahii, Magnusiomyces capitatus, Microsporum spp., Trichophyton spp. and Fusarium spp. The triazoles 5-(4-phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)quinolin-8-ol (12) and 5-(4-(cyclohex-1-en-1-yl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)quinolin-8-ol (16) were more promising, presenting minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values between 1-16 µg/ml for yeast and 2-4 µg/ml for dermatophytes. However, no relevant anti-Fusarium spp. activity was observed. In the time-kill assays with Microsporum canis, 12 and 16 presented time-dependent fungicide profile at 96 h and 120 h in all evaluated concentrations, respectively. For Candida guilliermondii, 12 was fungicidal at all concentrations at 6 h and 16 exhibited a predominantly fungistatic profile. Both 12 and 16 presented low leukocyte toxicity at 4 µg/ml and the cell viability was close to 100% after the treatment with 12 at all tested concentrations. The sorbitol assay combined with SEM suggest that damages on the fungal cell wall could be involved in the activity of these derivatives. Given the good results obtained with this series, scaffold 4-(cycloalkenyl or phenyl)-5-triazol-8-hydroxyquinoline appears to be a potential pharmacophore for exploration in the development of new antifungal agents.

Novel nitroaromatic compound activates autophagy and apoptosis pathways in HL60 cells.

N-(2-butanoyloxyethyl)-4-(chloromethyl)-3-nitrobenzamide (NBCN) is a nitroaromatic bioreducible compound with cytotoxic effects in cancer cell lines. The aim of this work was to investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in cell death promoted by NBCN in HL60 cells. We observed that NBCN treatment increased intracellular ROS and reduced mitochondria membrane potential (ΔΨm). NBCN treatment also induced morphological changes, phosphatidylserine exposure, cell cycle arrest in G2/M-phase, DNA condensation and fragmentation, but it did not show cytotoxic effects on normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). NBCN-induced caspase 3- and 9-dependent DNA fragmentation, which was blocked by pretreatment with the broad-spectrum caspase inhibitor, z-VAD-fmk. Flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that NBCN also increased of the number of autophagic vesicles in HL60 cells, which was not observed when cells were pre-treated with bafilomycin A1. Taken together, these results indicate that NBCN triggered the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway and led to the onset of autophagic cell death, which contributed to its cytotoxic effects.

Ortho-nitrobenzyl derivatives as potential anti-schistosomal agents

ABSTRACT In the search for new anti-schistosomal agents, a series of fifteen ortho-nitrobenzyl derivatives was assayed in vitro against both the schistosomulum (somule) and adult forms of Schistosoma mansoni. Compounds 8 and 12 showed significant activity against somules at low micromolar concentrations, but none was active against adults. The SAR demonstrated that the compounds most active against the parasite were mutagenic to the human cell line RKO-AS45-1 only at concentrations 10- to 40-fold higher than the worm-killing dose. Given their electrophilicity, compounds were also screened as inhibitors of the S. mansoni cysteine protease (cathepsin B1) in vitro. Amides 5 and 15 exhibited a modest inhibition activity with values of 55.7 and 50.6 % at 100 µM, respectively. The nitrobenzyl compounds evaluated in this work can be regarded as hits in the search for more active and safe anti-schistosomal agents.

Synthesis of nitroaromatic compounds as potential anticancer agents.

Twenty-seven nitrated and non-nitrated compounds have been synthesized and tested for their growth inhibitory activity on three human cancer cells lines. Fourteen compounds were able to inhibit more than 50% of the growth of at least one of the cancer cell lines and five compounds exhibited high antiproliferative activity on human cancer cell lines (IC50 < 8.5 µM). The cytotoxicity of the compounds on Vero cell line was established in vitro to evaluate the selectivity. All active compounds have a good leaving group (bromide or chloride) at the benzylic position, indicating that the mechanism of action of these compounds is related to their alkylating properties. Two compounds (3 and 24) were selected for further studies in mice with Ehrlich solid tumors and display significant antitumor effects in vivo.

The activity of a metronidazole analogue and its β-cyclodextrin complex against Trypanosoma cruzi

In this study we prepared an inclusion complex between an iodide analogue of metronidazole (MTZ-I) and cyclodextrin (CD) to develop a safer and more effective method of treating Trypanosoma cruzi infections. According to our results, MTZ-I and MTZ-I:β-CD were 10 times more active than MTZ, demonstrating that the presence of an iodine atom on the side chain increased the trypanocidal activity while maintaining its cytotoxicity. The selective index shows that MTZ-I was 10 times more active against T. cruzi than it was against mammalian cells. The modification of MTZ side chains provides a promising avenue for the development of new drugs.

The activity of a metronidazole analogue and its ß-cyclodextrin complex against Trypanosoma cruzi.

In this study we prepared an inclusion complex between an iodide analogue of metronidazole (MTZ-I) and cyclodextrin (CD) to develop a safer and more effective method of treating Trypanosoma cruzi infections. According to our results, MTZ-I and MTZ-I:ß-CD were 10 times more active than MTZ, demonstrating that the presence of an iodine atom on the side chain increased the trypanocidal activity while maintaining its cytotoxicity. The selective index shows that MTZ-I was 10 times more active against T. cruzi than it was against mammalian cells. The modification of MTZ side chains provides a promising avenue for the development of new drugs.