Sesquiterpene Lactones with Dual Inhibitory Activity against the Trypanosoma brucei Pteridine Reductase 1 and Dihydrofolate Reductase

Possart K, Herrmann FC, Jose J, Costi MP, Schmidt TJ

Zusammenfassung

The parasiteTrypanosoma brucei(T.brucei) is responsible for human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) and the cattle disease “Nagana” which to this day cause severe medical and socio-economic issues for the affected areas in Africa. So far, most of the available treatment options are accompanied by harmful side effects and are constantly challenged by newly emerging drug resistances. Since trypanosomatids are auxotrophic for folate, their pteridine metabolism provides a promising target for an innovative chemotherapeutic treatment. They are equipped with a unique corresponding enzyme system consisting of the bifunctional dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (TbDHFR-TS) and the pteridine reductase 1 (TbPTR1). Previously, gene knockout experiments with PTR1 null mutants have underlined the importance of these enzymes for parasite survival. In a search for new chemical entities with a dual inhibitory activity against theTbPTR1 andTbDHFR, a multi-step in silico procedure was employed to pre-select promising candidates against the targeted enzymes from a natural product database. Among others, the sesquiterpene lactones (STLs) cynaropicrin and cnicin were identified as in silico hits. Consequently, an in-house database of 118 STLs was submitted to an in silico screening yielding 29 further virtual hits. Ten STLs were subsequently tested against the target enzymes in vitro in a spectrophotometric inhibition assay. Five compounds displayed an inhibition over 50% againstTbPTR1 as well as three compounds againstTbDHFR. Cynaropicrin turned out to be the most interesting hit since it inhibited bothTbPTR1 andTbDHFR, reaching IC50values of 12.4 µM and 7.1 µM, respectively.