Synthesis and antikinetoplastid evaluation of bis(benzyl)spermidine derivatives.

This study describes the synthesis and the biological evaluation of twenty-four original bis(benzyl)spermidines. Structural modifications of the polyamine scaffold were performed in order to avoid easily metabolized bonds. Some bis(benzyl)polyamine derivatives have demonstrated promising activity in vitro against Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and Leishmania donovani. From the enzymatic experiments on trypanothione reductase, we observed that this enzyme was not targeted by our compounds. In vivo evaluation on Swiss mice model infected by T. b. gambiense or L. donovani was done with the most interesting compound of the series.

Synthesis and in vitro antikinetoplastid activity of polyamine-hydroxybenzotriazole conjugates.

Thirteen new polyamine derivatives coupled to hydroxybenzotriazole have been synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro antikinetoplastid activity. Trypanosoma Trypanothione reductase (TryR) was envisioned as a potential target. Among all tested molecules, only one compound, a N3-spermidine-benzotriazole derivative, displayed relevant inhibitory activity on this enzyme but was not active on parasites. The corresponding Boc-protected spermidine-benzotriazole was however trypanocidal against Trypanosoma brucei gambiense with an IC50 value of 1µM and was completely devoid of cytotoxicity. On the intramacrophage amastigotes of Leishmania donovani, a N2-spermidine conjugate of this series, exhibited an interesting IC50 value of 3µM associated with both low cytotoxicity against axenic Leishmania donovani. These new compounds are promising leads for the development of antikinetoplastid agents and their targets have to be deciphered.

Hydrogen-Bonding Complexes of 5-Azauracil and Uracil Derivatives in Organic Medium.

Uracil derivatives form strong complexes with complementary 2,4-diaminotriazine and adenine compounds, whereas derivatives of 5-azauracil (2,4-dioxotriazine) are known to form weak complexes in aqueous medium. However, herein we report that in organic medium (CDCl3), the 5-azauracil moiety forms hydrogen-bond-mediated complexes with complementary 2,4-diaminotriazine and adenine compounds, with strengths comparable to those formed by uracil compounds. Such dichotomous base-pairing behavior of the 5-azauracil moiety, in organic versus aqueous media, is found to be consistent with the ionization of the 5-azauracil moiety in aqueous medium leading to competitive interference from water molecules (via solvation), which is absent (lack of such ionization and solvent interference) in organic medium. This discriminating role of solvent (e.g., water) could have been an important factor in the selection of molecules, based on their physicochemical properties, and subsequently in the emergence of potential primordial informational oligomers that would have played a role in the origins of life.