Discovery of 1,3,4,5-tetrasubstituted pyrazoles as anti-trypanosomatid agents: Identification of alterations in flagellar structure of L. amazonensis.

Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania species are causative agents of Chagas disease and Leishmaniasis, respectively, known as Neglected Tropical Diseases. Up to now, the treatments are inadequate and based on old drugs. Thus, we report herein the discovery of 1,3,4,5-tetrasubstituted pyrazole derivatives that presented potent and selective inhibition against promastigote forms of L. amazonensis, and epimastigote forms of T. cruzi. The structure-activity relationship led to the identification of three compounds (2m, 2n and 2p) with an in vitro IC50 of 7.4 µM (selective index - SI ≥ 133.0), 3.8 µM (SI in the range of 148.4 to 200.8), and 7.3 µM (SI in the range of 87.2 to 122.4) against L. amazonensis, respectively. Also, those compounds exhibited in vitro IC50 of 9.7 µM (SI ≥ 101.5), 4.5 µM (SI in the range of 125.3 to 169.6) and 17.1 µM (SI in the range of 37.2 to 52.2) against T. cruzi, respectively. A preliminary study about the reaction mechanism in promastigotes showed that 2n caused an increase of the production of ROS and of lipid storage bodies. Furthermore, 2n induced abnormalities in the flagellum that may have an impact on the parasite motility.

Efficient synthesis and antitumor evaluation of 4-aminomethyl-N-arylpyrazoles: Discovery of potent and selective agents for ovarian cancer.

A new one-pot two-step sequential methodology for synthesis of novel 3-carboxyethyl 4-[(tert-butylamino)methyl]-N-arylpyrazole derivatives is reported. One-pot transformation of ß-enamino diketones and arylhydrazines generated 4-iminium-N-arylpyrazole salt intermediates in situ, which were easily transformed into 4-[(tert-butylamino)methyl]-N-arylpyrazole derivatives by NaBH3CN. The products could be isolated in the free or hydrochloride salt forms. Also, it was possible to obtain the products in the zwitterionic form by ester group hydrolysis. Furthermore, all synthesised compounds were evaluated in vitro against a panel of eight human tumor cell lines. The 4-[(tert-butylamino)methyl]-N-arylpyrazole derivatives were much more powerful than the hydrochloride and zwitterionic forms. Moreover, the results suggest that the N-aryl group at the pyrazole ring is vital for modulating antiproliferative activity. The 3-carboxyethyl 4-[(tert-butylamino)methyl]-N-phenylpyrazoles 3a-g exhibited higher inhibitory activities against OVCAR-3, with GI50 values of 0.013-8.78 µM, and lower inhibitory activities against normal human cell lines. Molecular docking was performed to evaluate the probable binding mode of 3a into active site of CDK2.

Antiparasitic activities of novel pyrimidine N-acylhydrazone hybrids.

In this article, a series of 29 new pyrimidine N-acylhydrazone hybrids were synthesized and evaluated in vitro against Leishmania amazonensis and Trypanosoma cruzi protozoa that cause the neglected diseases cutaneous leishmaniasis and Chagas disease, respectively. Eight of the target compounds showed significant antiprotozoal activities with IC50 values in 4.3-33.6 µM range. The more active compound 4f exhibited selectivity index greater than 15 and drug-like properties based on Lipinski's rule.

Synthesis of novel 3,5,6-trisubstituted 2-pyridone derivatives and evaluation for their anti-inflammatory activity.

The inflammatory response is the reaction of living tissue to an injury of a foreign nature, such as infection and irritants, and occurs as part of the body's natural defence response. Compounds capable of inhibiting cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes, especially COX-2, have great potential as anti-inflammatory agents. Herein we present the regioselective synthesis of 49 novel compounds based on the 2-pyridone nucleus. The topical anti-inflammatory activity of seventeen compounds was evaluated in mice by croton oil (CO) induced ear edema assay. Most of the compounds exhibited a high level of in vivo anti-inflammatory activity, reducing ear edema and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. The most active compounds (2a and 7a) were inhibitors of COX enzymes. Compound 2a selectively inhibited the COX-2, while 7a was nonselective. Further, the compound 2a showed effective binding at the active site of COX-2 co-crystal by docking molecular study.

Oral treatment with T6-loaded yeast cell wall particles reduces the parasitemia in murine visceral leishmaniasis model.

Yeast cell wall particles isolated from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (scYCWPs) have a rich constitution of ß-glucan derived from the cell wall. After removing intracellular contents, ß-glucan molecules are readily recognized by dectin-1 receptors, present on the cytoplasmic membrane surface of the mononuclear phagocytic cells and internalized. Leishmania spp. are obligate intracellular parasites; macrophages are its primary host cells. An experimental murine model of visceral leishmaniasis caused by L. infantum was used to evaluate the antileishmanial activity of oral administration of these particles. A low-water soluble thiophene previously studied in vitro against L. infantum was entrapped into scYCWPs to direct it into the host cell, in order to circumvent the typical pharmacokinetic problems of water-insoluble compounds. We found that scYCWPs + T6 reduced the parasitic burden in the liver and spleen. There was an increase in IFN-γ levels related to nitric oxide production, explaining the reduction of the L. infantum burden in the tissue. Histological analysis did not show signals of tissue inflammation and biochemical analysis from plasma did not indicate signals of cytotoxicity after scYCWPs + T6 treatment. These findings suggested that scYCWPs + T6 administered through oral route reduced the parasitic burden without causing toxic effects, satisfying requirements for development of new strategies to treat leishmaniasis.

One-Pot Highly Regioselective Synthesis of α-Ketoamide N-Arylpyrazoles from Secondary ß-Enamino Diketones.

An efficient one-pot method is described for the highly regioselective synthesis of α-ketoamide N-arylpyrazoles from secondary ß-enamino diketones. For this, the key intermediate, 4-acyl 3,5-dihydroxypyrrolone, was generated in situ and underwent bimolecular nucleophilic substitution at C-5 by arylhydrazine, with subsequent heterocyclization at the carbonyl carbon of the acyl group. This strategy allowed for regiochemical control of α-ketoamide N-arylpyrazoles from ß-enamino diketones and arylhydrazines.

Development of methodologies for the regioselective synthesis of four series of regioisomer isoxazoles from ß-enamino diketones.

Four methodologies are reported for the regioselective synthesis of four series of regioisomer isoxazoles from cyclocondensation of ß-enamino diketones and hydroxylamine hydrochloride. Regiochemical control was achieved by varying reaction conditions and substrate structure. The mild reaction conditions used to access 4,5-disubstituted, 3,4-disubtituted, and 3,4,5-trisubstituted regioisomer isoxazoles, as well as the pharmacological and synthetic potential of the products, make these novel methodologies very powerful.

Unconventional Method for Synthesis of 3-Carboxyethyl-4-formyl(hydroxy)-5-aryl-N-arylpyrazoles.

An alternative highly regioselective synthetic method for the preparation of 3,5-disubstituted 4-formyl-N-arylpyrazoles in a one-pot procedure is reported. The methodology developed was based on the regiochemical control of the cyclocondensation reaction of ß-enamino diketones with arylhydrazines. Structural modifications in the ß-enamino diketone system allied to the Lewis acid carbonyl activator BF3 were strategically employed for this control. Also a one-pot method for the preparation of 3,5-disubstituted 4-hydroxymethyl-N-arylpyrazole derivatives from the ß-enamino diketone and arylhydrazine substrates is described.

Synthesis and evaluation against Leishmania amazonensis of novel pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyridazinone-N-acylhydrazone-(bi)thiophene hybrids.

A new series of pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyridazin-7-one derivatives were synthesised and evaluated for their in vitro antileishmanial activity against Leishmania amazonensis promastigote and axenic amastigote forms. The results showed that the pyrazolo[3,4-d]-pyridazin-7-one-N-acylhydrazone-(bi)thiophene hybrids 5b, 6b and 6d exhibit better antileishmanial activity with IC50 84.96, 3.63 and 10.79 µM, against the promastigote form and IC50 32.71, 2.32 and >100 µM against the axenic amastigote form, respectively. The active compounds had their cytotoxicity tested against macrophages and fibroblast cells with a higher selectivity index than 10 for compounds 6b and 6d. Molecular docking studies were performed for all active compounds using the enzyme trypanothione reductase (TR) to investigate a possible action mechanism. The results suggested that active compounds had interactions with the residues of amino acids Gly 13, Thr 51, Thr 160, Gly 161, Tyr 198, Arg 287, Asp 327, Thr 335, which may inhibit the enzyme TR.