RESUMEN

Tuberculosis remains a global health problem that affects millions of people around the world. Despite recent efforts in drug development, new alternatives are required. Herein, a series of 27 N-(4-(benzyloxy)benzyl)-4-aminoquinolines were synthesized and evaluated for their ability to inhibit the M. tuberculosis H37Rv strain. Two of these compounds exhibited minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) similar to the first-line drug isoniazid. In addition, these hit compounds were selective for the bacillus with no significant change in viability of Vero and HepG2 cells. Finally, chemical stability, permeability and metabolic stability were also evaluated. The obtained data show that the molecular hits can be optimized aiming at the development of drug candidates for tuberculosis treatment.

Asunto(s)

Mycobacterium tuberculosis , Tuberculosis , Aminoquinolinas/farmacología , Antituberculosos/química , Humanos , Isoniazida/farmacología , Pruebas de Sensibilidad Microbiana , Tuberculosis/tratamiento farmacológico

RESUMEN

2-(Quinolin-4-yloxy)acetamides have been described as potent in vitro inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth. Herein, additional chemical modifications of lead compounds were carried out, yielding highly potent antitubercular agents with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values as low as 0.05 µM. Further, the synthesized compounds were active against drug-resistant strains and were devoid of apparent toxicity to Vero and HaCat cells (IC50s ≥ 20 µM). In addition, the 2-(quinolin-4-yloxy)acetamides showed intracellular activity against the bacilli in infected macrophages with action similar to rifampin, low risk of drug-drug interactions, and no sign of cardiac toxicity in zebrafish (Danio rerio) at 1 and 5 µM. Therefore, these data indicate that this class of compounds may furnish candidates for future development to, hopefully, provide drug alternatives for tuberculosis treatment.