Eva Novotná

Salicylanilide derivatives block Mycobacterium tuberculosis through inhibition of isocitrate lyase and methionine aminopeptidase

The global burden of tuberculosis, its health and socio-economic impacts, the presence of drug-resistant forms and a potential threat of latent tuberculosis should serve as a strong impetus for the development of novel antituberculosis agents. We reported the in vitro activity of salicylanilide benzoates and pyrazine-2-carboxylates against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (minimum inhibitory concentrations as low as 0.5 μmol/L). Nineteen salicylanilide derivatives with mostly good antimycobacterial activity were evaluated for the inhibition of two essential mycobacterial enzymes, methionine aminopeptidase and isocitrate lyase, which are necessary for the maintenance of the latent tuberculosis infection. Salicylanilide derivatives act as moderate inhibitors of both mycobacterial and human methionine aminopeptidase and they also affect the function of mycobacterial isocitrate lyase. 4-Bromo-2-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenylcarbamoyl]phenyl pyrazine-2-carboxylate was the most potent inhibitor of mycobacterial methionine aminopeptidase (41% inhibition at 10 μmol/L) and exhibited the highest selectivity. 5-Chloro-2-hydroxy-N-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]benzamide and 4-chloro-2-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenylcarbamoyl]phenyl pyrazine-2-carboxylate caused 59% inhibition of isocitrate lyase at 100 μmol/L concentration and (S)-4-bromo-2-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenylcarbamoyl]phenyl 2-acetamido-3-phenylpropanoate produced 22% inhibition at 10 μmol/L; this rate is approximately comparable to 3-nitropropionic acid. Inhibition of those enzymes contributes at least in part to the antimicrobial activity of the compounds.

Ochratoxin A: Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity—An Overview

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is nephrotoxic, hepatotoxic, reprotoxic, embryotoxic, teratogenic, neurotoxic, immunotoxic, and carcinogenic for laboratory and farm animals. Male and female reproductive health has deteriorated in many countries during the last few decades. A number of toxins in environment are suspected to affect reproductive system in male and female. OTA is one of them. OTA has been found to be teratogenic in several animal models including rat, mouse, hamster, quail, and chick, with reduced birth weight and craniofacial abnormalities being the most common signs. The presence of OTA also results in congenital defects in the fetus. Neither the potential of OTA to cause malformations in human nor its teratogenic mode of action is known. Exposure to OTA leads to increased embryo lethality manifested as resorptions or dead fetuses. The mechanism of OTA transfer across human placenta (e.g., which transporters are involved in the transfer mechanism) is not fully understood. Some of the toxic effects of OTA are potentiated by other mycotoxins or other contaminants. Therefore, OTA exposure of pregnant women should be minimized. OTA has been shown to be an endocrine disruptor and a reproductive toxicant, with abilities of altering sperm quality. Other studies have shown that OTA is a testicular toxin in animals. Thus, OTA is a biologically plausible cause of testicular cancer in man.

Toxicity of the mycotoxin ochratoxin A in the light of recent data

Abstract Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a ubiquitous, naturally occurring chlorophenolic mycotoxin produced in contaminated food and feed by fungi of genera Penicillium and Aspergillus. OTA is a common contaminant of various foodstuffs of both plant and animal origin. OTA represents significant risk to human and animal health. OTA has been shown to be nephrotoxic, hepatotoxic, teratogenic, immunotoxic, neurotoxic, genotoxic and carcinogenic (possible human carcinogen-group 2B), being characterized by species and sex differences in sensitivity. In some aspects OTA remains as a controversial topic. Its metabolism, genotoxicity and mechanism of action for renal carcinogenicity have been discussed.

Antibacterial Activity of Salicylanilide 4-(Trifluoromethyl)-benzoates

The development of novel antimicrobial agents represents a timely research topic. Eighteen salicylanilide 4-(trifluoromethyl)benzoates were evaluated against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, M. avium and M. kansasii, eight bacterial strains including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and for the inhibition of mycobacterial isocitrate lyase. Some compounds were further screened against drug-resistant M. tuberculosis and for their cytotoxicity. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for all mycobacterial strains were within 0.5–32 μmol/L, with 4-chloro-2-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenylcarbamoyl]phenyl 4-(trifluoromethyl)benzoate superiority. Gram-positive bacteria including MRSA were inhibited with MICs ≥ 0.49 μmol/L, while Gram-negative ones were much less susceptible. Salicylanilide 4-(trifluoromethyl)benzoates showed significant antibacterial properties, for many strains being comparable to standard drugs (isoniazid, benzylpenicillin) with no cross-resistance. All esters showed mild inhibition of mycobacterial isocitrate lyase and four compounds were comparable to 3-nitropropionic acid without a direct correlation between in vitro MICs and enzyme inhibition.

Synthesis and biological activity of new salicylanilide N,N-disubstituted carbamates and thiocarbamates

The development of novel antimicrobial drugs represents a cutting edge research topic. In this study, 20 salicylanilide N,N-disubstituted carbamates and thiocarbamates were designed, synthesised and characterised by IR, (1)H NMR and (13)C NMR. The compounds were evaluated in vitro as potential antimicrobial agents against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria (Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium kansasii) as well as against eight bacterial and fungal strains. Additionally, we investigated the inhibitory effect of these compounds on mycobacterial isocitrate lyase and cellular toxicity. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) against mycobacteria were from 4 μM for thiocarbamates and from 16 μM for carbamates. Gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, were inhibited with MICs from 0.49 μM by thiocarbamates, whilst Gram-negative bacteria and most of the fungi did not display any significant susceptibility. All (thio)carbamates mildly inhibited isocitrate lyase (up to 22%) at a concentration of 10 μM. The (thio)carbamoylation of the parent salicylanilides led to considerably decreased cytotoxicity and thus improved the selectivity indices (up to 175). These values indicate that some derivatives are attractive candidates for future research.

Salicylanilide pyrazinoates inhibit in vitro multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains, atypical mycobacteria and isocitrate lyase.

The development of antimicrobial agents represents an up-to-date topic. This study investigated in vitro antimycobacterial activity, mycobacterial isocitrate lyase inhibition and cytotoxicity of salicylanilide pyrazinoates. They may be considered being mutual prodrugs of both antimycobacterial active salicylanilides and pyrazinoic acid (POA), an active metabolite of pyrazinamide, in which these esters are likely hydrolysed without presence of pyrazinamidase/nicotinamidase. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the esters were within the range 0.5-8 μmol/l for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and 1-32 μmol/l for nontuberculous mycobacteria (Mycobacterium avium, Mycobacterium kansasii). All esters showed a weak inhibition (8-17%) of isocitrate lyase at the concentration of 10 μmol/l. The most active pyrazinoates showed MICs for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis strains in the range of 0.125-2 μmol/l and no cross-resistance with clinically used drugs, thus being the most in vitro efficacious salicylanilide esters with 4-chloro-2-{[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]carbamoyl}phenyl pyrazine-2-carboxylate superiority (MICs⩽0.25 μmol/l). This promising activity is likely due to an additive or synergistic effect of released POA and salicylanilides. Selectivity indexes for the most active salicylanilide pyrazinoates ranged up to 64, making some derivatives being attractive candidates for the next research; 4-bromo-2-{[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]carbamoyl}phenyl pyrazine-2-carboxylate showed the most convenient toxicity profile.

Flavones Inhibit the Activity of AKR1B10, a Promising Therapeutic Target for Cancer Treatment.

AKR1B10 is an NADPH-dependent reductase that plays an important function in several physiological reactions such as the conversion of retinal to retinol, reduction of isoprenyl aldehydes, and biotransformation of procarcinogens and drugs. A growing body of evidence points to the important role of the enzyme in the development of several types of cancer (e.g., breast, hepatocellular), in which it is highly overexpressed. AKR1B10 is regarded as a therapeutic target for the treatment of these diseases, and potent and specific inhibitors may be promising therapeutic agents. Several inhibitors of AKR1B10 have been described, but the area of natural plant products has been investigated sparingly. In the present study almost 40 diverse phenolic compounds and alkaloids were examined for their ability to inhibit the recombinant AKR1B10 enzyme. The most potent inhibitors-apigenin, luteolin, and 7-hydroxyflavone-were further characterized in terms of IC50, selectivity, and mode of action. Molecular docking studies were also conducted, which identified putative binding residues important for the interaction. In addition, cellular studies demonstrated a significant inhibition of the AKR1B10-mediated reduction of daunorubicin in intact cells by these inhibitors without a considerable cytotoxic effect. Although these compounds are moderately potent and selective inhibitors of AKR1B10, they constitute a new structural type of AKR1B10 inhibitor and may serve as a template for the development of better inhibitors.

Synthesis and in vitro antimycobacterial activity of 2-methoxybenzanilides and their thioxo analogues

A new series of N-(3/4-substituted phenyl) 4/5-chloro-2-methoxybenzamides and their thioxo analogues have been synthesised and evaluated for in vitro antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv, as well as the two atypical strains Mycobacterium kansasii and Mycobacterium avium. Five of the most active compounds were evaluated for cytotoxicity and their ability to inhibit mycobacterial isocitrate lyase, which is responsible for latent survival of Mycobacterium. The results showed that benzthioanilides were more active than the corresponding benzanilides. The most active compound, 4-chloro-2-methoxy-N-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)benzothioamide (4e), had a minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) against M. tuberculosis of 2 μmol L(-1), which was better than the activity of the previously published corresponding salicylanilide.

Salicylanilide diethyl phosphates as potential inhibitors of some mycobacterial enzymes.

Antimycobacterially active salicylanilide diethyl phosphates were evaluated to identify their potential drug target(s) for the inhibition of several mycobacterial enzymes, including isocitrate lyase, L-alanine dehydrogenase (MtAlaDH), lysine ε-aminotransferase, chorismate mutase, and pantothenate synthetase. The enzymes are related to the nongrowing state of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Salicylanilide diethyl phosphates represent new candidates with significant inhibitory activity especially against L-alanine dehydrogenase. The most active MtAlaDH inhibitor, 5-chloro-2-[(3-chlorophenyl)carbamoyl]phenyl diethyl phosphate, has an IC50 of 4.96 µM and the best docking results. Other mycobacterial enzymes were mostly inhibited by some derivatives but at higher concentrations; isocitrate lyase showed the highest resistance to salicylanilide diethyl phosphates.

Synthesis and Biological Activity of Quaternary Ammonium Salt-Type Agents Containing Cholesterol and Terpenes

New quaternary ammonium salt‐type compounds with lipophilic cholesterol and terpene moieties were synthesized. The compounds showed promising antibacterial and antimycobacterial activities. Those compounds containing the cholesterol moiety showed significant activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Enterococcus faecium. On the contrary, the antimycobacterial activity increased with the presence of the terpene unit in the molecule.