Ennaji Najahi

Interaction between antimalarial 2-aryl-3H-indol-3-one derivatives and human serum albumin.

Binding of drugs to plasma proteins, such as albumin, is a major factor which determines their pharmacokinetics and pharmacological effects. Therefore, the interactions between human serum albumin (HSA) and four antimalarial compounds selected in the 2-aryl-3H-indol-3-one series have been investigated using UV-visible, fluorescence and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopies. Compounds produced a static quenching of the intrinsic fluorescence of HSA. The thermodynamic parameters have shown that the binding reaction is endothermic for three compounds while exothermic for the 2-phenyl-3H-indol-3-one, 3. The interaction is entropically driven with predominant hydrophobic forces with binding affinities of the order of 10(4) M(-1). The highest binding constant is observed for 3 (Kλ=280nm = 4.53 × 10(4) M(-1)) which is also the less active compound against Plasmodium falciparum. Synchronous fluorescence gave qualitative information on the conformational changes of HSA while quantitative data were obtained with CD. Displacement experiments with site markers indicated that drugs bind to HSA at site I (subdomain IIA). In addition, the apparent binding constant and the binding site number were calculated in the presence of different ions.

Antibacterial, antifungal and antileishmanial activities of indolone- N -oxide derivatives

An alarming increase in microbial resistance to traditional drugs and classical pharmacophores has spurred the search for new antimicrobial compounds. Indolone-N-oxides (INODs) possess a redox pharmacophore with promising, recently established, antimalarial activities. In this study, the anti-infectious properties of a series of INODs were investigated. The antibacterial activity was evaluated against five bacterial strains Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus hirae), Gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli) and acid-fast (Mycobacterium tuberculosis). The antifungal activity was assessed using two fungal strains (Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans). The antileishmanial activity was tested against two leishmanial strains, axenically-cultured amastigote (Leishmania infantum, Leishmania amazonensis). The pharmacological activities are discussed as a function of structural and lipophilic characteristics. The Gram-positive bacterial strain E. hirae was found to be the most sensitive strain, whereas the Gram-negative E. coli was resistant to this family of compounds. One compound (64) was more potent than nalidixic acid against E. hirae, whereas another one (52) was equipotent as clotrimazole against C. albicans. INODs were microbe -cidal rather than -static. INODs showed good antitubercular activity in the low micromolar range (similar to ciprofloxacin). In addition, INOD-antiprotozoal potencies were confirmed against the leishmania parasite. INODs showed a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity and offer a promising anti-infectious prototype worthy of being developed.

Pro-oxidant properties of indolone-N-oxides in relation to their antimalarial properties

Indolone-N-oxides (INODs) are bioreducible and possess remarkable anti-malarial activities in the low nanomolar range in vitro against different Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) strains and in vivo. INODs have an original mechanism of action: they damage the host cell membrane without affecting non-parasitized erythrocytes. These molecules produce a redox signal which activates SYK tyrosine kinases and induces a hyperphosphorylation of AE1 (band 3, erythrocyte membrane protein). The present work aimed to understand the early stages of the biochemical interactions of these compounds with some erythrocyte components from which the redox signal could originate. The interactions were studied in a biomimetic model and compared with those of chloroquine and artemisinin. The results showed that INODs i) do not enter the coordination sphere of the metal in the heme iron complex as does chloroquine; ii) do not generate iron-dependent radicals as does artemisinin; iii) generate stable free radical adducts after reduction at one electron; iv) cannot trap free radicals after reduction. These results confirm that the bioactivity of INODs does not lie in their spin-trapping properties but rather in their pro-oxidant character. This property may be the initiator of the redox signal which activates SYK tyrosine kinases.

Synthesis of 6-Amino-5-cyano-1,4-disubstituted-2(1H)- Pyrimidinones via Copper-(I)-catalyzed Alkyne-azide 'Click Chemistry' and Their Reactivity

In this paper we present the room temperature synthesis of a novel serie of 1,4-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazoles 4a-l by employing the (3+2) cycloaddition reaction of pyrimidinones containing alkyne functions with different model azides in the presence of copper sulphate and sodium ascorbate. To obtain the final triazoles, we also synthesized the major precursors 6-amino-5-cyano-1,4-disubstituted-2(1H)-pyrimidinones 3a-r from ethyl 2,2-dicyanovinylcarbamate derivatives 2a-c and various primary aromatic amines containing an alkyne group. The triazoles were prepared in good to very good yields.

Antimalarial activities of indolones and derivatives.

The search for antimalarial compounds continues to be an area of intensive investigation in medicinal chemistry. This review presents the structural variations around the indolone-N-oxide core. From these pharmacomodulation studies, new antiplasmodial agents with various structures have emerged. Most of the molecules generated from reduced forms of the indolone scaffold have led to compounds with antiplasmodial properties. These results confirm the importance of the redox reversibility of the bioreducible N=C bond in these series to obtain antimalarial activities.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of new bis-indolone-N-oxides

A series of bis-indolone-N-oxides, 1a-f, was prepared from bis(ethynyl)benzenes and o-halonitroaryls and studied for their in vitro antiplasmodial activities against Plasmodium falciparum and representative strains of bacteria and candida as well as for their cytotoxicity against a human tumor cell line (MCF7). They did not cause any haemolysis (300 μgmL(-1)). Of the synthesized bis-indolones, compound 1a had the most potent antiplasmodial activity (IC50=0.763 μmolL(-1) on the FcB1 strain) with a selectivity index (CC50 MCF7/IC50 FcB1) of 35.6. No potency against the tested microbial strains was observed.

Amino derivatives of indolone-N-oxide: Preparation and antiplasmodial properties

There is an urgent need for new antimalarial drugs with novel mechanisms of action on novel targets. Indolone-N-oxides (INODs) display antimalarial properties in vitro and in vivo, but identified leads such as 6-(4-chloro-phenyl)-5-oxy-[1,3]dioxolo[4,5-f]indol-7-one 1, suffer from very poor aqueous solubility. In this study, structural modifications have been made by introducing various amino and bulky groups to produce sufficiently water soluble and active compounds for further pharmacological and pharmacokinetic studies. We report here the preparation of twelve novel amino derivatives and their antiplasmodial activities including those of two other structurally known compounds. The 5-methoxy-2-(4-morpholin-4-yl-phenyl)-1-oxy-indol-3-one, 9, has the highest antiplasmodial activity in vitro (IC₅₀ = 6.5 nM; FcB1 strain) and selectivity index (SI (CC₅₀ MCF7/IC₅₀ FcB1) = 4538.5). The 6-amino-2-(4-chloro-phenyl)-1-oxy-indol-3-one, 14, (IC₅₀ = 183 nM; SI = 60), is an excellent candidate for further mechanistic studies. Indeed, this is structurally the closest analogue to the current lead, 1, bearing an NH2 group at R(2) offering possibilities for functionalization and labeling.

Role of Quinone Reductase 2 in the Antimalarial Properties of Indolone-Type Derivatives

Indolone-N-oxides have antiplasmodial properties against Plasmodium falciparum at the erythrocytic stage, with IC50 values in the nanomolar range. The mechanism of action of indolone derivatives involves the production of free radicals, which follows their bioreduction by an unknown mechanism. In this study, we hypothesized that human quinone reductase 2 (hQR2), known to act as a flavin redox switch upon binding to the broadly used antimalarial chloroquine, could be involved in the activity of the redox-active indolone derivatives. Therefore, we investigated the role of hQR2 in the reduction of indolone derivatives. We analyzed the interaction between hQR2 and several indolone-type derivatives by examining enzymatic kinetics, the substrate/protein complex structure with X-ray diffraction analysis, and the production of free radicals with electron paramagnetic resonance. The reduction of each compound in cells overexpressing hQR2 was compared to its reduction in naïve cells. This process could be inhibited by the specific hQR2 inhibitor, S29434. These results confirmed that the anti-malarial activity of indolone-type derivatives was linked to their ability to serve as hQR2 substrates and not as hQR2 inhibitors as reported for chloroquine, leading to the possibility that substrate of hQR2 could be considered as a new avenue for the design of new antimalarial compounds.

Synthesis and Evaluation of Antiplasmodial Activities of Fluorinated 6-Amino- 2-Aryl-3H-Indolone-N-Oxides

A series of novel 6-amino-2-aryl-3H-indolone-N-oxides were synthesized at yields of up to 65% and characterized; one was further characterized using X-ray crystallographic analysis. Synthesized compounds were evaluated for their in vitro activity against a chloroquine-resistant (FcB1) strain of Plasmodium falciparum, as well as for the 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC50) on Vero cell lines. The most promising activities were observed for the fluorinated compounds, the most active in vitro being 6-(2-morpholinoacetamido)-2-(4-(trifluoromethoxy) phenyl)-3H-indolone-N-oxide (IC50: 15.5 nM). In addition, these compounds showed weak cytotoxicity leading to selectivity index values of >170, thus warranting further in vitro and in vivo studies.