ABSTRACT
An in silico screen of 350 000 commercially available compounds was conducted with an unbiased approach to identify potential malaria inhibitors that bind to the Plasmodium falciparum protein kinaseâ 5 (PfPK5) ATP-binding site. PfPK5 is a cyclin-dependent kinase-like protein with high sequence similarity to human cyclin-dependent kinaseâ 2 (HsCDK2), but its precise role in cell-cycle regulation remains unclear. After two-dimensional fingerprinting of the top scoring compounds, 182 candidates were prioritized for biochemical testing based on their structural diversity. Evaluation of these compounds demonstrated that 135 bound to PfPK5 to a similar degree or better than known PfPK5 inhibitors, confirming that the library was enriched with PfPK5-binding compounds. A previously reported triazolodiamine HsCDK2 inhibitor and the screening hit 4-methylumbelliferone were each selected for an analogue study. The results of this study highlight the difficult balance between optimization of PfPK5 affinity and binding selectivity for PfPK5 over its closest human homologue HsCDK2. Our approach enabled the discovery of several new PfPK5-binding compounds from a modest screening campaign and revealed the first scaffold to have improved PfPK5/HsCDK2 selectivity. These steps are critical for the development of PfPK5-targeting probes for functional studies and antimalarials with decreased risks of host toxicity.
Subject(s)
Antimalarials/chemistry , Antimalarials/pharmacology , Cyclins/antagonists & inhibitors , Plasmodium falciparum/drug effects , Protein Kinase Inhibitors/chemistry , Protein Kinase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Protozoan Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Computer Simulation , Cyclins/metabolism , Drug Discovery , Hep G2 Cells , Humans , Malaria, Falciparum/drug therapy , Malaria, Falciparum/parasitology , Plasmodium falciparum/metabolism , Protozoan Proteins/metabolism , Structure-Activity RelationshipABSTRACT
Con base en estudios realizados previamente en los cuales se identificaron los residuos críticos para la unión de la secuencia 21KNESKYSNTFINNAYNMSIR40 del antígeno MSP-2 del Plasmodium falciparum, se diseñaron y sintetizaron dos secuencias de pseudopéptidos amida reducida en las cuales se sustituyó un enlace peptídico normal por su isóstero ψ[CH2-NH] entre los residuos fenilalanina-isoleucina y entre los residuos isoleucina-asparagina, para dar lugar a los análogos codificados ψ-128 (forma monomérica), ψ-129 (forma polimérica), ψ-130 (forma monomérica) y ψ-131 (forma polimérica). Con los péptido-miméticos obtenidos en forma de polímero se inmunizaron ratones BALB/c para generar anticuerpos monoclonales que presentaron isotipo IgM. Mediante ensayos controlados de inmunización in vitro se indujo el cambio isotipo de los clones reactivos aislados de los hibridomas obtenidos de manera reproducible. Las inmunoglobulinas aisladas se ensayaron por su capacidad funcional neutralizadora de la infección controlada in vitro de cepas de Plasmodium de roedores a glóbulos rojos. Los resultados obtenidos evidencian el papel que pueden tener los anticuerpos inducidos por péptido-miméticos Plasmodium en ensayos de infección realizados en modelos animales de experimentación.
Based on previous studies in which those residues being critical for Plasmodium falciparum binding to red blood cells (RBCs) through the antigenic sequence (21KNESKYSNTFINNAYNMSIR40) from the merozoite surface antigen-2 (MSP-2) were identified, we have designed and synthesized two reduced amide pseudopeptide sequences based on the 31IN32 binding motif. Synthesized peptidomimetics, possess each one a modified peptide bond that presented as a ψ[CH2-NH] reduced amide isoster bond, to allowing the Phe-Ile modified aminoacid pair allowing pseudopeptides coded ψ-128 (monomer form) and ψ-129 (polymer form) and the Ile-Asn modified aminoacid pair for pseudopeptides coded ψ-130 (monomer form) and ψ-131 (polymer form). By using the polymer forms of both peptido-mimetics as immunogens, monoclonal antibodies were produced in BALB/c mice. These Ig showed an IgM isotype. The isotype antibody switching was lead by in vitro immunization of the original hybridomas. Isolated immunoglobulins were tested for their functional in vitro activity, on a infection controlled experiment of rodent Plasmodium strains infecting red blood cells. Obtained results reveal the role played by antibodies to peptido-mimetic in infection assays performed further on animal experimental models.
