Identification of potent and selective N-myristoyltransferase inhibitors of Plasmodium vivax liver stage hypnozoites and schizonts.

Drugs targeting multiple stages of the Plasmodium vivax life cycle are needed to reduce the health and economic burdens caused by malaria worldwide. N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) is an essential eukaryotic enzyme and a validated drug target for combating malaria. However, previous PvNMT inhibitors have failed due to their low selectivity over human NMTs. Herein, we apply a structure-guided hybridization approach combining chemical moieties of previously reported NMT inhibitors to develop the next generation of PvNMT inhibitors. A high-resolution crystal structure of PvNMT bound to a representative selective hybrid compound reveals a unique binding site architecture that includes a selective conformation of a key tyrosine residue. The hybridized compounds significantly decrease P. falciparum blood-stage parasite load and consistently exhibit dose-dependent inhibition of P. vivax liver stage schizonts and hypnozoites. Our data demonstrate that hybridized NMT inhibitors can be multistage antimalarials, targeting dormant and developing forms of liver and blood stage.

Development of Dicationic Bisguanidine-Arylfuran Derivatives as Potent Agents against Gram-Negative Bacteria.

Antibiotic resistance among bacteria is a growing global challenge. A major reason for this is the limited progress in developing new classes of antibiotics active against Gram-negative bacteria. Here, we investigate the antibacterial activity of a dicationic bisguanidine-arylfuran, originally developed as an antitrypanosomal agent, and new derivatives thereof. The compounds showed good activity (EC50 2-20 µM) against antibiotic-resistant isolates of the Gram-negative members of the ESKAPE group (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter spp.) and Escherichia coli with different antibiotic susceptibility patterns, including ESBL isolates. Cytotoxicity was moderate, and several of the new derivatives were less cytotoxic than the lead molecule, offering better selectivity indices (40-80 for several ESKAPE isolates). The molecular mechanism for the antibacterial activity of these molecules is unknown, but sensitivity profiling against human ESKAPE isolates and E. coli collections with known susceptibility patterns against established antibiotics indicates that it is distinct from lactam and quinolone antibiotics.

Direct effects of selection on aboveground biomass contrast with indirect structure-mediated effects of complementarity in a subtropical forest.

Understanding the multiple biotic and abiotic controls of aboveground biomass (AGB) is important for projecting the consequences of global change and to effectively manage carbon storage. Although large-scale studies have identified the major environmental and biological controls of AGB, drivers of local-scale variation are less well known. Additionally, involvement of multiple causal paths and scale dependence in effect sizes potentially confounds comparisons among studies differing in methodology and sampling grain. We tested for scale dependence in evidence supporting selection, complementarity and environmental factors as the main determinants of AGB variation over a 50 ha study extent in subtropical China, modelling this at four sampling grains (0.01, 0.04, 0.25 and 1 ha). At each grain, we used piecewise structural equation models to quantify the direct and indirect effects of environmental (topographic and edaphic properties) and forest attributes (structure, diversity and functional traits) on AGB, while controlling for spatial autocorrelation. Direct scale-invariant effects on AGB were evident for structure and community-mean traits, supporting dominance of selection effects. However, diversity had strong indirect effects on AGB via forest structure, particularly at larger sampling grains (≥ 0.25 ha), while direct effects only emerged at the smallest grain size (0.01 ha). The direct and indirect effects of edaphic and topographic factors were also important for explaining both forest attributes and AGB across all scales. Although selection effects appeared to be more influential on ecosystem function, ignoring indirect causal pathways for diversity via structural attributes risks overlooking the importance of complementarity on ecosystem functioning, particularly as sampling grain increases.

The complexity of trait-environment performance landscapes in a local subtropical forest.

That functional traits should affect individual performance and, in turn, determine fitness and population growth, is a foundational assumption of trait-based ecology. This assumption is, however, not supported by a strong empirical base. Here, we measured simultaneously two individual performance metrics (survival and growth), seven traits and 10 environmental properties for each of 3981 individuals of 205 species in a 50-ha stem-mapped subtropical forest. We then modelled survival/growth as a function of traits, environments and trait × environment interactions, and quantified their relative importance at both the species and individual levels. We found evidence of alternative functional designs and multiple performance peaks along environmental gradients, indicating the presence of complicated trait × environment interactions. However, such interactions were relatively unimportant in our site, which had relatively low environmental variations. Moreover, individual performance was not better predicted, and trait × environment interactions were not more likely detected, at the individual level than at the species level. Although the trait × environment interactions might be safely ignored in relatively homogeneous environments, we encourage future studies to test the interactive effects of traits and environments on individual performances and lifelong fitness at larger spatial scales or along experimentally manipulated environmental gradients.

Meliponamycins: Antimicrobials from Stingless Bee-Associated Streptomyces sp.

Social insects establish complex interactions with microorganisms, some of which play defensive roles in colony protection. The important role of pollinators such as the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris in nature encouraged us to pursue efforts to study its associated microbiota. Here we describe the discovery of two novel cyclic hexadepsipeptides, meliponamycin A (1) and meliponamycin B (2), from Streptomyces sp. ICBG1318 isolated from M. scutellaris nurse bees. Their structures were established by interpretation of NMR and MS data, and the absolute configuration of the constituent amino acids was determined by the advanced Marfey's method. Compounds 1 and 2 showed strong activity against the entomopathogen Paenibacillus larvae and human pathogens Staphylococcus aureus and Leishmania infantum.

Antiureolytic Activity of Substituted 2,5-Diaminobenzoquinones.

A series of 2,5-bis(alkyl/arylamino)-1,4-benzoquinones (1-12) were investigated in vitro for their potential to inhibit the activity of jack bean urease. Compounds 1-6, 8, 9, 11 and 12 effectively inhibited the jack bean urease activity by 90.8 % when tested at 5 µm, whereas 7 and 10 had relatively little effect. The IC50 for most compounds was in the nanomolar range (31.4 nm and 36.0 nm for 2 and 8, respectively). The mechanism of enzyme inhibition shown by 2 and 8 is typical of mixed-type inhibitors, whose affinity for the active site is over 6- and 2-fold higher (Ki =30.0 and 22.8 nm, for 2 and 8, respectively) than that of an allosteric site. Molecular docking studies revealed that both 2 and 8 establish hydrogen bonds with the amino acids residues Asp494, Met588, His593 and Ala636 in the active site of jack bean urease. These results indicate that such aminoquinones are useful leads for the development of more efficient urease inhibitors of wider utility.

Secondary metabolites as a survival strategy in plants of high mountain habitats / Metabolitos secundarios como estrategia de supervivencia en plantas de hábitat de alta montaña

This review work focuses on how the secondary chemistry could help in the survival of plants in high mountain habitats under extreme environmental conditions. The elevated levels of stress in high areas of the tropic and subtropic change dramatically not only by following the annual cycles of winter and summer but they also change in a single day. Some species, however, are able to successfully grow at heights more than 3000 m in the tropical mountains due, in part, to highly specialized physiological processes that affect their physical and chemical responses. In this study, it describes some strategies of how the secondary metabolites could help the plants to stand the high levels of stress in the high mountain ecosystems.

Este trabajo de revisión se centra en cómo la química secundaria podría ayudar en la supervivencia de plantas en hábitats de alta montaña en condiciones ambientales extremas. Los altos niveles de estrés en las zonas altas del trópico y subtrópico cambian dramáticamente no solo al seguir los ciclos anuales de invierno y verano, sino que también cambian en un solo día. Sin embargo, algunas especies pueden crecer con éxito a alturas superiores a 3000 m en las montañas tropicales debido, en parte, a procesos fisiológicos altamente especializados que afectan sus respuestas físicas y químicas. En esta revisión, se describen algunas estrategias de cómo los metabolitos secundarios podrían ayudan a las plantas a soportar los altos niveles de estrés en los ecosistemas de alta montaña.

Hederagenin amide derivatives as potential antiproliferative agents.

In this study, a series of C-28 amides derivatives of hederagenin with or without the presence of an acetyl group at positions 3 and 23 in ring A, were synthetized aiming to develop potent cytotoxic agents. Their structures were confirmed by MS, IR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectroscopic analyses and their cytotoxic activities were screened in SRB assays using a panel of six human cancer cell lines. The majority of the amide derivatives were cytotoxic for a variety of human tumor cell lines. In general, the hydroxylated derivatives (1a-1d; EC50 in the range 1.2-22.5 µM) were less active than the acetylated derivatives (2a-2n; EC50 in the range 0.4-9.0 µM). Hydroxylated derivative bearing pyrrolidinyl substituent 1c, was the most active for HT29 human line cells (EC50 = 1.2 µM), however their acetylated derivative 2c was the most potent and selective against A2780, FaDu, SW1736 cells, showing EC50 values between 0.4 and 1.7 µM and SI between 5.6 and 24. Staining experiments combined with fluorescence microscopy indicate that the cell membrane became permeable, and finally a process of secondary necrosis was observed. In addition, the docking results showed that acetylated compounds display more affinity to HER2 than to USP7, indicating that HER2 is a most probable receptor, both proteins found in tumor cell line A2780.

Leishmanicidal and cytotoxic activity of hederagenin-bistriazolyl derivatives.

Aiming to obtain new potent leishmanicidal and cytotoxic compounds from natural sources, the triterpene hederagenin was converted into several new 1,2,3-triazolyl derivatives tethered at C-23 and C-28. For this work hederagenin was isolated from fruits of Sapindus saponaria and reacted with propargyl bromide to afford as a major product bis-propargylic derivative 1 in 74%. Submitting this compound to Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions with several azides afforded the derivatives 2-19 with yields in the range of 40-87%. All compounds have been screened for in vitro cytotoxic activity in a panel of five human cancer cell lines by a SRB assay. The bioassays showed that compound 19 was the most cytotoxic against all human cancer cell lines with EC50 = 7.4-12.1 µM. Moreover, leishmanicidal activity was evaluated through the in vitro effect in the growth of Leishmania infantum, and derivatives 1, 2, 5 and 17 were highly effective preventing proliferation of intracellular amastigote forms of L. infantum (IC50 = 28.8, 25.9, 5.6 and 7.4 µM, respectively). All these compounds showed a higher selectivity index and low toxicity against two strains of kidney BGM and liver HepG2 cells. Compound 5 has higher selectivity (1780 times) in comparison with the commercial antimony drug and is around 8 times more selective than the most active compound previously reported hederagenin derivative. Such high activity associated with low toxicities make the new bis-traiazolyl derivatives promising candidates for the treatment of leishmaniasis. In addition, hederagenin and some derivatives (2, 5 and 17) showed interaction in the binding site of the enzyme CYP51Li.

Natural abenquines and synthetic analogues: Preliminary exploration of their cytotoxic activity.

In this study, we explore the cytotoxic activity of four natural abenquines (2a-d) and fourteen synthetic analogues (2e-j and 3a-h) against a panel of six human cancer cell lines using a SRB assay. It was found that most of the compounds revealed higher levels of cytotoxic activities than naturally occurring abenquines. The analogues carrying ethylpyrrolidinyl and ethylpyrimidinyl with either an acetyl group (2h-i) or a benzoyl group (3f-g), were the most potent against all human cancer cell lines and displayed EC50 between a range of 0.6-3.4µM. Notably, of the compounds tested, compound 2i proved the most cytotoxic against both ovarian (A2780) and breast (MCF7) cells, showing EC50=0.6 and 0.8µM respectively. Likewise, the analogues 2i, 3f and 3g showed strong activity against cell HT29 with EC50=0.9µM for these compounds.

Cyanolipids from Sapindus saponaria L. seeds oil / Cianolípidos en las semillas de Sapindus saponaria L

The chemical composition of the oil extracted from the seeds of Sapindus saponaria L., (Sapindaceae), was investigated. Cyanolipids constituted 5 percent hexane extract of the seeds, whereas triacylglycerols (TAG) accounted for 90 percent. The oil contains type III cyanolipids (CL) 1-cyano-2-hydroxymethylprop-1-en-3-ol-diesters. Structural investigation of the oil components was accomplished by chemical, chromatographic (TLC, CC, GC-MS), and spectroscopic (IR, NMR) means. GC-MS analysis showed that fatty acids were dominant in the CL components of the oil from S. saponaria L., with cis-11-eicosenoic acid, cis-11-octadecenoic acid and eicosanoic acid as the only esterified fatty acyl chains respectively. This being the first report of this kind of natural products (CL), located in the seeds of this plant.

La composición química del aceite de las semillas de Sapindus saponaria L., (Sapindaceae), fue investigada. Cianolípidos (CL) constituyen el 5 por ciento del extracto hexanico de las semillas, mientras que los triacilgliceroles (TAG) representaron el 90 por ciento. La fracción cianolipídica estaba compuesta por el CL tipo III, el diester de 1-ciano-2-hidroximetilprop-3-en-1-ol. La investigación estructural de los componentes del aceite se logró mediante técnicas cromatografícas, (CCF, CC, GC-MS), y espectroscópicas (IR, RMN). El análisis por GC-MS mostró que los ácidos grasos tales como: ácidos cis-11-eicosenoico, cis-11-octadecanoico y eicosanoico fueron los únicos ácidos grasos esterificados ubicados en el extracto rico en CL tipo III. Siendo este el primer reporte de esta clase de productos naturales (CL) ubicados en las semilla de esta planta.

Highly potent anti-leishmanial derivatives of hederagenin, a triperpenoid from Sapindus saponaria L.

Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease (NTDs), endemic in 88 countries that affect more than 12 million people. Current drugs are limited due to their toxicity, development of biological resistance, length of treatment and high cost. Thus, the search for new effective and less toxic treatments is an urgent need. In this study, we report the synthesis of 3 new amide derivatives of hederagenin (22-24) with yields between 70% and 90%, along with 57 other derivatives of hederagenin (1-21, 25-60) carrying different groups at C-28 previously reported by our group, and the results of their in vitro ability to inhibit the growth of Leishmania infantum. Some derivatives (3, 4, 44, 49 and 52), showed activity at micromolar level and low toxicity against BGM and HepG2 cells. Moreover, the ability of hederagenin derivatives 3 (IC50 = 9.7 µM), 4 (12 µM), 44 (11 µM) and 49 (2 µM), to prevent proliferation of intracellular amastigote forms of L. infantum and their higher selectivity index and low toxicity compared to commercial positive drug control of choice (potassium antimonyl tartrate trihydrate) (IC50 = 80 µM, SI = 0.1), make these compounds promising candidates for the treatment of leishmaniasis.

Novel hederagenin-triazolyl derivatives as potential anti-cancer agents.

A series of novel aryl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl methylester and amide derivatives of the natural product hederagenin was synthesized aiming to develop new antitumor agents, using Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions, with yields between 35% and 95%. The structures of all derivatives (2-31) were confirmed by MS, IR, (1)H NMR and (13)C NMR spectroscopic data. The cytotoxic activities of all compounds were screened against a panel of six human cancer cell lines using SRB assay. It was found that most of the compounds displayed higher levels of antitumor activities as compared to parent hederagenin. Compounds 4, 8 and 15 were the most potent against all human cancer cell lines. Furthermore, compound 11 was the most cytotoxic against cell HT29 showing EC50 = 1.6 µM and a selectivity index of 5.4.

Hederagenin as a triterpene template for the development of new antitumor compounds.

In this study, a series of novel C-28 esters and amides derivatives of hederagenin (He) were designed and synthesized in attempt to develop potent antitumor agents. Their structures were confirmed by MS, IR, (1)H NMR and (13)C NMR spectroscopic analyses and their cytotoxic activities were screened in SRB assays using a panel of six human cancer cell lines. Although most of the compounds displayed moderate to high levels of cytotoxic activity they were all more potent than the natural product He. The most active compounds had either an ethylpyrimidinyl (27) or an ethylpyrrolidinyl (28) substituent, with EC50 in the range of 1.1-6.5 µM for six human cancer cell lines. Notably, this corresponds to an approximately 30-fold times greater potency than He.

Diterpene Foliar exudates of Blakiella bartsiifolia and phytotoxicity of clerodanes.

Blakiella bartsiifolia (S.F. Blake), an endemic and rare high altitude plant of the northern Andes, appears well adapted to the prevailing harsh environment owing in part to a thick glandular trichome cover. From foliar exudates, two new clerodanes, 15,16-epoxy-2-hydroxy-3,13(16),14-clerodatrien-20-oic acid (bartsiifolic acid) (2) and Z-15,16-dihydroxy-3,13-clerodien-20-oic acid (barthydrolic acid) (3), were isolated in addition to the known junceic acid (1). In addition, three new alicyclic furanoditerpenes: 1,20-epoxy-1,3(20),6(E),10(E),14-phytapentaen-18-methyl-19-oic acid (blakielic acid) (4), 1,20-epoxy- 1,3(20),10(E),14-phytapentaen-18-methyl-19-oic acid (blakifolic acid) (5) and 1,20-epoxy-1,3(20),6,14-phytatetraen-19-methyl-18-oic acid (dihydrocentipedic acid) (6) were obtained in minor quantity. Seed germination and plantlet growth bioassays on Allium cepa and Lactuca sativa to monitor bioactivity during isolation procedures revealed compounds 1-3 with substantial inhibition comparable with synthetic linuron.