RESUMO
Drug resistance to commercially available antimalarials is a major obstacle in malaria control and elimination, creating the need to find new antiparasitic compounds with novel mechanisms of action. The success of kinase inhibitors for oncological treatments has paved the way for the exploitation of protein kinases as drug targets in various diseases, including malaria. Casein kinases are ubiquitous serine/threonine kinases involved in a wide range of cellular processes such as mitotic checkpoint signaling, DNA damage response, and circadian rhythm. In Plasmodium, it is suggested that these protein kinases are essential for both asexual and sexual blood-stage parasites, reinforcing their potential as targets for multi-stage antimalarials. To identify new putative PfCK2α inhibitors, we utilized an in silico chemogenomic strategy involving virtual screening with docking simulations and quantitative structure-activity relationship predictions. Our investigation resulted in the discovery of a new quinazoline molecule (542), which exhibited potent activity against asexual blood stages and a high selectivity index (>100). Subsequently, we conducted chemical-genetic interaction analysis on yeasts with mutations in casein kinases. Our chemical-genetic interaction results are consistent with the hypothesis that 542 inhibits yeast Cka1, which has a hinge region with high similarity to PfCK2α. This finding is in agreement with our in silico results suggesting that 542 inhibits PfCK2α via hinge region interaction.
Assuntos
Antimaláricos , Malária Falciparum , Malária , Plasmodium , Antimaláricos/farmacologia , Caseína Quinase II/antagonistas & inibidores , Malária/tratamento farmacológico , Malária/parasitologia , Malária Falciparum/parasitologia , Plasmodium/metabolismo , Plasmodium falciparumRESUMO
In tropical and subtropical areas, malaria stands as a profound public health challenge, causing an estimated 247 million cases worldwide annually. Given the absence of a viable vaccine, the timely and effective treatment of malaria remains a critical priority. However, the growing resistance of parasites to currently utilized drugs underscores the critical need for the identification of new antimalarial therapies. Here, we aimed to identify potential new drug candidates against Plasmodium falciparum, the main causative agent of malaria, by analyzing the transcriptomes of different life stages of the parasite and identifying highly expressed genes. We searched for genes that were expressed in all stages of the parasite's life cycle, including the asexual blood stage, gametocyte stage, liver stage, and sexual stages in the insect vector, using transcriptomics data from publicly available databases. From this analysis, we found 674 overlapping genes, including 409 essential ones. By searching through drug target databases, we discovered 70 potential drug targets and 75 associated bioactive compounds. We sought to expand this analysis to similar compounds to known drugs. So, we found a list of 1557 similar compounds, which we predicted as actives and inactives using previously developed machine learning models against five life stages of Plasmodium spp. From this analysis, two compounds were selected, and the reactions were experimentally evaluated. The compounds HSP-990 and silvestrol aglycone showed potent inhibitory activity at nanomolar concentrations against the P. falciparum 3D7 strain asexual blood stage. Moreover, silvestrol aglycone exhibited low cytotoxicity in mammalian cells, transmission-blocking potential, and inhibitory activity comparable to those of established antimalarials. These findings warrant further investigation of silvestrol aglycone as a potential dual-acting antimalarial and transmission-blocking candidate for malaria control.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The rise of infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram negative bacilli (MDR-GNB), added to paucity of newer therapy, have led to increase polymyxin B use, despite adverse renal toxicity profile. AIM: To determine the incidence and risk factors associated to acute kidney injury (AKI) and polymyxin B use, in patients with infections caused by MDR-GNB. METHODS: A retrospective cohort, with a nested case-control study of adults who received polymyxin B for more than 48 hours at a tertiary university hospital in Colombia (2011-2015) was performed. AKI was defined by AKIN criteria. RESULTS: Of 139 patients included in our study, 102 were male with median age of 49 years (IQR:28-64). Sixty-one patients (44%) developed AKI. Independent risk factors for development of AKI included: total polymyxin B daily dose (OR = 2.19, 95% CI, 1.04-4.64); length of stay at ICU (OR = 1.03, 95% CI, 1.00-1.06); nosocomial infection (OR = 6.43, 95% CI, 2.12, -19.47); and vasopressor use (OR = 5.38, 95% CI, 2.40-12.07). Mortality was higher among AKI-patients (58.6%) compared with non-AKI patients (25.6%) (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: In this study, the rate of AKI associated to polymyxin B use was greater than reported in studies from last decade, and associated with increased mortality. AKI associated to polymyxin B use is likely multifactorial and aggravated by the critically ill state of patients suffering nosocomial infections caused by mdr-gnb.
Assuntos
Injúria Renal Aguda/induzido quimicamente , Antibacterianos/efeitos adversos , Polimixina B/efeitos adversos , Injúria Renal Aguda/epidemiologia , Adulto , Antibacterianos/uso terapêutico , Colômbia/epidemiologia , Métodos Epidemiológicos , Feminino , Infecções por Bactérias Gram-Negativas/tratamento farmacológico , Humanos , Incidência , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Polimixina B/uso terapêuticoRESUMO
Background: The rise of infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram negative bacilli (MDR-GNB), added to paucity of newer therapy, have led to increase polymyxin B use, despite adverse renal toxicity profile. Aim: To determine the incidence and risk factors associated to acute kidney injury (AKI) and polymyxin B use, in patients with infections caused by MDR-GNB. Methods: A retrospective cohort, with a nested case-control study of adults who received polymyxin B for more than 48 hours at a tertiary university hospital in Colombia (2011-2015) was performed. AKI was defined by AKIN criteria. Results: Of 139 patients included in our study, 102 were male with median age of 49 years (IQR:28-64). Sixty-one patients (44%) developed AKI. Independent risk factors for development of AKI included: total polymyxin B daily dose (OR = 2.19, 95% CI, 1.04-4.64); length of stay at ICU (OR = 1.03, 95% CI, 1.00-1.06); nosocomial infection (OR = 6.43, 95% CI, 2.12, -19.47); and vasopressor use (OR = 5.38, 95% CI, 2.40-12.07). Mortality was higher among AKI-patients (58.6%) compared with non-AKI patients (25.6%) (p = 0.001). Conclusion: In this study, the rate of AKI associated to polymyxin B use was greater than reported in studies from last decade, and associated with increased mortality. AKI associated to polymyxin B use is likely multifactorial and aggravated by the critically ill state of patients suffering nosocomial infections caused by mdr-gnb.
Introducción: El surgimiento de infecciones graves causadas por bacilos gramnegativos multi-resistentes (BGN-MR), sumado a la carencia de nuevas opciones terapéuticas efectivas, ha llevado a retomar el uso de polimixina B, a pesar de su perfil de nefrotoxicidad. Objetivo: Determinar la incidencia y factores relacionados con el desarrollo de nefrotoxicidad asociada al uso de polimixina B, en pacientes adultos con infecciones causadas por BGN-MR. Materiales y Métodos: Estudio observacional, analítico, tipo cohorte histórica, con un análisis de casos y controles anidado, realizado en un hospital universitario de tercer nivel de Colombia entre 2011 y 2015, en pacientes que recibieron polimixina B intravenosa por más de 48 h. Resultados: De 139 pacientes incluidos en el estudio, 61 (44%) desarrollaron falla renal aguda por criterios AKIN. Los factores de riesgo independientes para nefrotoxicidad fueron: dosis diaria de polimixina B (OR 2,19; IC 95% 1,04-4,64), días de estancia en UCI (OR 1,03; IC 95% 1,00-1,06), presencia de infección nosocomial (OR 6,43; IC 95% 2,12-19,47) y requerimiento de fármacos vasopresores (OR 5,38; IC 95%: 2,40-12,07). Conclusión: La tasa de nefrotoxicidad observada en pacientes que recibieron polimixina B es considerable; su origen probablemente multifactorial y agravada por estado crítico de pacientes con infecciones nosocomiales por BGN-MR.