CTCF Binding Sites in the Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Genome Display Site-Specific CTCF Occupation, Protein Recruitment, and Insulator Function.

There are seven conserved CTCF binding domains in the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) genome. These binding sites individually flank the latency-associated transcript (LAT) and the immediate early (IE) gene regions, suggesting that CTCF insulators differentially control transcriptional domains in HSV-1 latency. In this work, we show that two CTCF binding motifs in HSV-1 display enhancer blocking in a cell-type-specific manner. We found that CTCF binding to the latent HSV-1 genome was LAT dependent and that the quantity of bound CTCF was site specific. Following reactivation, CTCF eviction was dynamic, suggesting that each CTCF site was independently regulated. We explored whether CTCF sites recruit the polycomb-repressive complex 2 (PRC2) to establish repressive domains through a CTCF-Suz12 interaction and found that Suz12 colocalized to the CTCF insulators flanking the ICP0 and ICP4 regions and, conversely, was removed at early times postreactivation. Collectively, these data support the idea that CTCF sites in HSV-1 are independently regulated and may contribute to lytic-latent HSV-1 control in a site-specific manner.IMPORTANCE The role of chromatin insulators in DNA viruses is an area of interest. It has been shown in several beta- and gammaherpesviruses that insulators likely control the lytic transcriptional profile through protein recruitment and through the formation of three-dimensional (3D) chromatin loops. The ability of insulators to regulate alphaherpesviruses has been understudied to date. The alphaherpesvirus HSV-1 has seven conserved insulator binding motifs that flank regions of the genome known to contribute to the establishment of latency. Our work presented here contributes to the understanding of how insulators control transcription of HSV-1.

Potent antimicrobial agents against azole-resistant fungi based on pyridinohydrazide and hydrazomethylpyridine structural motifs.

Schiff base derivatives have recently been shown to possess antimicrobial activity, and these derivatives include a limited number of salicylaldehyde hydrazones. To further explore this structure-activity relationship between salicylaldehyde hydrazones and antifungal activity, we previously synthesized and analyzed a large series of salicylaldehyde and formylpyridinetrione hydrazones for their ability to inhibit fungal growth of both azole-susceptible and azole-resistant species of Candida. While many of these analogs showed excellent growth inhibition with low mammalian cell toxicity, their activity did not extend to azole-resistant species of Candida. To further dissect the structural features necessary to inhibit azole-resistant fungal species, we synthesized a new class of modified salicylaldehyde derivatives and subsequently identified a series of modified pyridine-based hydrazones that had potent fungicidal antifungal activity against multiple Candida spp. Here we would like to present our synthetic procedures as well as the results from fungal growth inhibition assays, mammalian cell toxicity assays, time-kill assays and synergy studies of these novel pyridine-based hydrazones on both azole-susceptible and azole-resistant fungal species.

Synthesis and antifungal activity of substituted salicylaldehyde hydrazones, hydrazides and sulfohydrazides.

Efficient synthetic procedures for the preparation of acid hydrazines and hydrazides were developed by converting the corresponding carboxylic acid into the methyl ester catalyzed by Amberlyst-15, followed by a reaction with hydrazine monohydrate. Sulfohydrazides were prepared from the corresponding sulfonyl chlorides and hydrazine monohydrate. Both of these group of compounds were condensed with substituted salicylaldehydes using gradient concentration methods that generated a large library of hydrazone, hydrazide and sulfohydrazide analogs. Antifungal activity of the prepared analogs showed that salicylaldehyde hydrazones and hydrazides are potent inhibitors of fungal growth with little to no mammalian cell toxicity, making these analogs promising new targets for future therapeutic development.

Synthesis and antifungal activity of substituted 2,4,6-pyrimidinetrione carbaldehyde hydrazones.

Opportunistic fungal infections caused by the Candida spp. are the most common human fungal infections, often resulting in severe systemic infections-a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in at-risk populations. Azole antifungals remain the mainstay of antifungal treatment for candidiasis, however development of clinical resistance to azoles by Candida spp. limits the drugs' efficacy and highlights the need for discovery of novel therapeutics. Recently, it has been reported that simple hydrazone derivatives have the capability to potentiate antifungal activities in vitro. Similarly, pyrimidinetrione analogs have long been explored by medicinal chemists as potential therapeutics, with more recent focus being on the potential for pyrimidinetrione antimicrobial activity. In this work, we present the synthesis of a class of novel hydrazone-pyrimidinetrione analogs using novel synthetic procedures. In addition, structure-activity relationship studies focusing on fungal growth inhibition were also performed against two clinically significant fungal pathogens. A number of derivatives, including phenylhydrazones of 5-acylpyrimidinetrione exhibited potent growth inhibition at or below 10µM with minimal mammalian cell toxicity. In addition, in vitro studies aimed at defining the mechanism of action of the most active analogs provide preliminary evidence that these compound decrease energy production and fungal cell respiration, making this class of analogs promising novel therapies, as they target pathways not targeted by currently available antifungals.