Synthesis of omeprazole analogues and evaluation of these as potential inhibitors of the multidrug efflux pump NorA of Staphylococcus aureus.

A series of 11 pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxaline derivatives, 1a to 1k, sharing structural analogies with omeprazole, a eukaryotic efflux pump inhibitor (EPI) used as an antiulcer agent, was synthesized. Their inhibitory effect was evaluated using Staphylococcus aureus strain SA-1199B overexpressing NorA. By determinations of the MIC of norfloxacin in the presence of these EPIs devoid of intrinsic antibacterial activity and used at 128 microg/ml, and by the checkerboard method, compound 1e (MIC decrease, 16-fold; fractional inhibitory concentration index [SigmaFIC], 0.18) appeared to be more active than compounds 1b to 1d, reserpine, and omeprazole (MIC decrease, eightfold; SigmaFIC, 0.31), followed by compounds 1a and 1f (MIC decrease, fourfold; SigmaFIC, 0.37) and 1g to 1k (MIC decrease, twofold; SigmaFIC, 0.50 to 0.56). By time-kill curves combining norfloxacin (1/4 MIC) and the most efficient EPIs (128 microg/ml), compound 1e persistently restored the bactericidal activity of norfloxacin (inoculum reduction, 3 log(10) CFU/ml at 8 and 24 h), compound 1f led to a delayed but progressive decrease in the number of viable cells, and compounds 1b to 1d and omeprazole acted synergistically (inoculum reduction, 3 log(10) CFU/ml at 8 h but further regrowth), while compound 1a and reserpine slightly enhanced norfloxacin activity. The bacterial uptake of norfloxacin monitored by high-performance liquid chromatography confirmed that compounds 1a to 1f increased antibiotic accumulation, as did reserpine and omeprazole. Since these EPIs did not disturb the Deltapsi and DeltapH, they might directly interact with the pump. A structure-activity relationships study identified the benzimidazole nucleus of omeprazole as the main structural element involved in efflux pump inhibition and highlighted the critical role of the chlorine substituents in the stability and efficiency of compounds 1e to 1f. However, further pharmacomodulation is required to obtain therapeutically applicable derivatives.

Probing the role of the covalent linkage of ferrocene into a chloroquine template.

A new therapeutic approach to malaria led to the discovery of ferroquine (FQ, SR97276). To assess the importance of the linkage of the ferrocenyl group to a 4-aminoquinoline scaffold, two series of 4-aminoquinolines, structurally related to FQ, were synthesized. Evaluation of antimalarial activity, physicochemical parameters, and the beta-hematin inhibition property indicate that the ferrocene moiety has to be covalently flanked by a 4-aminoquinoline and an alkylamine. Current data reinforced our choice of FQ as a drug candidate.

Insights into the mechanism of action of ferroquine. Relationship between physicochemical properties and antiplasmodial activity.

Ferroquine (FQ) is a 4-aminoquinoline antimalarial which contains a quinoline nucleus similar to chloroquine, but a novel ferrocenic group in its side chain. Previous work has demonstrated that this compound has excellent activity against malaria parasites, both in vitro and in vivo, with especially good activity against chloroquine-resistant parasites, but details of its mechanism of action have not previously been reported. In this study, we have investigated the physicochemical properties of FQ for comparison with chloroquine (CQ). Like CQ, FQ forms complexes with hematin in solution (log K = 4.95 +/- 0.05). FQ is an even stronger inhibitor of beta-hematin formation than CQ (IC(50) = 0.78 equiv relative to hematin for FQ vs 1.9 for CQ). These data suggest that the mechanism of action of FQ is likely to be similar to that of CQ and probably involves hematin as the drug target and inhibition of hemozoin formation. However, both the basicity and lipophilicity of FQ are significantly different from those of CQ. The lipophilicity of FQ and CQ are similar when protonated at the putative food vacuole pH of 5.2 (log D = -0.77 and -1.2 respectively), but differ markedly at pH 7.4 (log D = 2.95 and 0.85 respectively). In addition, the pK(a) values of FQ are lower (pK(a1) = 8.19 and pK(a2) = 6.99) than those of CQ (10.03 and 7.94, respectively). This suggests that there will be somewhat less vacuolar accumulation of FQ compared with CQ. Single crystal structure determination of FQ shows the presence of a strong internal hydrogen bond between the 4-amino group and the terminal N atom. This, together with the electron donating properties of the ferrocene moiety, probably explains the decreased pK(a). Interestingly, the decreased accumulation arising from the less basic behavior of this compound is partly compensated for by its stronger beta-hematin inhibition. Increased lipophilicity, differences in geometric and electronic structure, and changes in the N-N distances in FQ compared to CQ probably explain its activity against CQ-resistant parasites.

Synthesis, antimalarial activity, and molecular modeling of new pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxalines, bispyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxalines, bispyrido[3,2-e]pyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazines, and bispyrrolo[1,2-a]thieno[3,2-e]pyrazines.

Three pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxalines, 15 bispyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxalines, bispyrido[3,2-e]pyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazines, and bispyrrolo[1,2-a]thieno[3,2-e]pyrazines were synthesized from various substituted nitroanilines or nitropyridines and tested for their in vitro activity upon the erythrocytic development of Plasmodium falciparum strains with different chloroquine-resistance status. Bispyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxalines showed superior antimalarial activity with respect to monopyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxalines. The best activity was observed with bispyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxalines linked by a bis(3-aminopropyl)piperazine. Moreover, it was observed that the presence of a methoxy group on the pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxaline nucleus increased the pharmacological activity. Drug effects upon beta-hematin formation were assayed and showed similar or higher inhibitory activities than CQ. A possible mechanism of interaction implicating binding of pyrroloquinoxalines to beta-hematin was supported by molecular modeling.