Polydispersity-mediated high efficacy of an in-situ aqueous nanosuspension of PPEF.3HCl in methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus sepsis model.

Recently, World Health Organization declared antimicrobial resistance as the third greatest threat to human health. Absence of known cross-resistance, new class, new target, and a new mode of action are few major strategies being undertaken by researches to combat multidrug resistant pathogen. PPEF.3HCl, a bisbenzimidazole was developed as highly potent antibacterial agent against ESKAPE (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species) pathogens, targeting topoisomerase IA. The present work encompasses a radical on-site generation of In-situ nanosuspension of PPEF.3HCl with enhanced efficacy against methicillin resistant S. aureus in septicemia model. We have generated instantaneously a PPEF.3HCl nanosuspension (IsPPEF.3HCl-NS) by mixing optimized monophasic PPEF.3HCl preconcentrate in propylene glycol into an aqueous medium comprising tween 80 as stabilizer. The IsPPEF.3HCl-NS showed precipitation efficiency of > 90 %, average particle size < 500 nm, retained upto 5 h, a negative zeta potential and bi/trimodal particle size distribution. Differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction confirmed partial amorphization and transmission electron microscopy revealed spherical particles. IsPPEF.3HCl-NS was non-hemolytic and exhibited good stability in serum. More significantly, it exhibited a âˆ¼ 1.6-fold increase in macrophage uptake compared to free PPEF.3HCl in the RAW 264.7 macrophage cell line. Confocal microscopy revealed accumulation of IsPPEF.3HCl-NS within the lysosomal compartment and cell cytosol, proposing high efficacy. In terms of antimicrobial efficacy, IsPPEF.3HCl-NS outperforms free PPEF.3HCl against clinical methicillin sensitive and resistant S. aureus strains. In a pivotal experiment, IsPPEF.3HCl-NS exhibited over 83 % survival at 8 mg/kg.bw and an impressive reduction of âˆ¼ 4-5 log-fold in bacterial load, primarily in the kidney, liver and spleen of septicemia mice. IsPPEF.3HCl-NS prepared by the In-situ approach, coupled with enhanced intramacrophage delivery and superior efficacy, positions IsPPEF.3HCl-NS as a pioneering and highly promising formulation in the battle against antimicrobial resistance.

Design, synthesis, X-ray crystal structures, anticancer, DNA binding, and molecular modelling studies of pyrazole-pyrazoline hybrid derivatives.

We have designed and synthesized three pyrazole analogs (4, 5a, 5b), pyrazole-based chalcones (6a-6d) and (8a-8h), and N-formyl/acetyl 1,3,5-trisubstituted pyrazoline analogs (7a-7d), (9a-9d). FT-IR, 1H, 13C NMR, and mass spectrometry techniques were used to describe the structures of all the synthesized analogs. The single crystal X-ray method was used to identify the molecular structure of derivatives 4 and 5a. All synthesized analogs were screened by MTT assay on two cancer cell lines, the human lung cancer cell line (A549) and cervical cancer cell line (HeLa). Among all compounds, analog 9d demonstrates significant anticancer activity against HeLa (IC50 = 23.6 µM) and A549 (IC50 = 37.59 µM). The non-interactive interaction of active compound (9d) with Calf thymus DNA (Ct-DNA) has been investigated through various methods, such as UV-vis absorption, emission, cyclic voltammetry and circular dichroism. The DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radical has been used to measure the antioxidant capacity of the pyrazoline derivative (9d). The outcomes showed that active analog has significant antioxidant activity. In addition, MD simulation of the EGFR tyrosine kinase protein-ligand complex was performed at a time scale of 100 ns. The MMGBSA data of ligand-protein complex are showed stable interactions up to 100 ns.

Unraveling topoisomerase IA gate dynamics in presence of PPEF and its preclinical evaluation against multidrug-resistant pathogens.

Type IA topoisomerases maintain DNA topology by cleaving ssDNA and relaxing negative supercoils. The inhibition of its activity in bacteria prevents the relaxation of negative supercoils, which in turn impedes DNA metabolic processes leading to cell death. Using this hypothesis, two bisbenzimidazoles, PPEF and BPVF are synthesized, selectively inhibiting bacterial TopoIA and TopoIII. PPEF stabilizes the topoisomerase and topoisomerase-ssDNA complex, acts as an interfacial inhibitor. PPEF display high efficacy against ~455 multi-drug resistant gram positive and negative bacteria. To understand molecular mechanism of inhibition of TopoIA and PPEF, accelerated MD simulation is carried out, and results suggested that PPEF binds, stabilizes the closed conformation of TopoIA with -6Kcal/mol binding energy and destabilizes the binding of ssDNA. The TopoIA gate dynamics model can be used as a tool to screen TopoIA inhibitors as therapeutic candidates. PPEF and BPVF cause cellular filamentation and DNA fragmentation leading to bacterial cell death. PPEF and BPVF show potent efficacy against systemic and neutropenic mouse models harboring E. coli, VRSA, and MRSA infection without cellular toxicity.

Unraveling molecular mechanisms of head and neck cancer.

Malignancies that develop from mucosal epithelium of the upper aerodigestive tract are known as head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). Heterogeneity, late stage diagnosis and high recurrence rate are big hurdles in head and neck treatment regimen. Presently, the biomarkers available for diagnosis and prognosis of HNSCC are based on smoking as the major risk habit. This review shed light on the differential environment of HNSCC in smokeless tobacco consuming Indian patients. Frequent mutation in genes involved in DNA repair pathway (p53), cell proliferation (PIK3CA, HRAS) and cell death (CASP8, FADD) are common in western population. On the contrary, the genes involved in metastasis (MMPs, YAP1), lymphocyte proliferation (TNFRSF4, CD80), cell-cell adhesion (DCC, EDNRB), miRNA processing (DROSHA) and inflammatory responses (TLR9, IL-9) are mutated in Indian HNSCC patients. Gene ontology enrichment analysis highlighted that responses to chemical stimulus, immune pathways and stress pathways are highly enriched in Indian patients.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel 1H-Benzo[d]imidazole Derivatives as Potential Anticancer Agents Targeting Human Topoisomerase I.

Small molecules that modulate biological functions are targets of modern-day drug discovery efforts. A new series of novel 1H-benzo[d]imidazoles (BBZs) were designed and synthesized with different functional groups at the phenyl ring and variable lengths of the alkyl chain at the piperazine end as anticancer agents. We identified human topoisomerase I (Hu Topo I) as a probable target of these molecules through a computational study and DNA relaxation assay, a functional assay of the Hu Topo I enzyme. UV absorption, fluorescence, and circular dichroism spectroscopy were used to study interactions between BBZ and DNA. Out of 16 compounds, 11a, 12a, and 12b showed strong binding affinity and thermal stabilization of AT sequence-specific DNA. BBZs were screened against a panel of 60 human cancer cell lines at National Cancer Institute, USA. Most potent molecules 11a, 12a, and 12b showed 50% growth inhibition (GI50) in a concentration range from 0.16 to 3.6 µM cancer cells. Moreover, 12b showed 50% inhibition of the relaxation of DNA by Hu Topo I at 16 µM. Furthermore, flow cytometry revealed that 11a, 12a, and 12b cause prominent G2M arrest of cancer cells. In view of the above, we propose that 12b deserves to be further evaluated for its therapeutic use as an anticancer agent.

DMA, a Small Molecule, Increases Median Survival and Reduces Radiation-Induced Xerostomia via the Activation of the ERK1/2 Pathway in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Survival, recurrence, and xerostomia are considerable problems in the treatment of oral squamous carcinoma patients. In this study, we investigated the role of DMA (5-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)-2-[2'-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)5″benzimidazoyl]benzimidazole) as a salivary gland cytoprotectant in a patient-derived xenograft mouse model. A significant increase in saliva secretion was observed in the DMA-treated xenograft compared to radiation alone. Repeated doses of DMA with a high dose of radiation showed a synergistic effect on mice survival and reduced tumor growth. The mean survival rate of tumor-bearing mice was significantly enhanced. The increased number of Ki-67-stained cells in the spleen, intestine, and lungs compared to the tumor suggests DMA ablates the tumor but protects other organs. The expression of aquaporin-5 was restored in tumor-bearing mice injected with DMA before irradiation. The reduced expression of αvß3 integrin and CD44 in DMA alone and DMA with radiation-treated mice suggests a reduced migration of cells and stemness of cancer cells. DMA along with radiation treatment results in the activation of the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK pathway in the tumor, leading to apoptosis through caspase upregulation. In conclusion, DMA has strong potential for use as an adjuvant in radiotherapy in OSCC patients.

Prochlorperazine enhances radiosensitivity of non-small cell lung carcinoma by stabilizing GDP-bound mutant KRAS conformation.

Lung cancer is considered as leading cancer with the highest mortality. The KRAS-oncogenic mutations are dominant in lung carcinoma leading to poor prognosis and radioresistance, which is a major impediment to radiotherapy. Thus, KRAS mutant inhibitors that synergistically sensitize tumours to radiation are urgently needed. In pursuance of the search for a novel radiosensitizer, high-throughput screening of FDA-approved drugs was performed at active site of K-Ras. Prochlorperazine (PCZ), an antipsychotic drug, showed good binding affinity with KRAS-mutant proteins. PCZ binds to the GTP-binding pocket of KRAS-mutant protein and inhibits its constitutive activation by stabilizing the GDP-bound conformation of K-Ras mutants by 9 kcal/mol compared to WT. PCZ alongwith radiation decreased the clonogenic survival of KRAS-mutant NSCLC but not KRAS-WT cells. The combination treatment activates p-ATM, p53, and p21 proteins, leading to cell cycle arrest. PCZ with increasing radiation caused a linear increase in γH2AX foci, suggesting enhanced DSBs-associated apoptosis in radioresistant A549 cells. Pharmacokinetics study showed Cmax = 526 ng/ml at 30min, 4.6h half-life in plasma, and highest accumulation in tumours. PCZ and 10Gy irradiation synergistically radiosensitize mice xenografts via downregulation of Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK pathway. Our efforts have led to the discovery of PCZ as a lead compound. In preclinical analyses, treatment with PCZ alone and in combination with radiation led to regression of KRAS-G12S tumours.