ABSTRACTLeishmaniasis is one of the major neglected tropical diseases of the world. Druggable targets are the parasite cysteine proteases (CPs) of clan CA, family C1 (CAC1). In previous studies, we identified two peptidomimetic compounds, the aziridine-2,3-dicarboxylate compounds 13b and 13e, in a series of inhibitors of the cathepsin L (CL) subfamily of the papain clan CAC1. Both displayed antileishmanial activityin vitrowhile not showing cytotoxicity against host cells. In further investigations, the mode of action was characterized inLeishmania major. It was demonstrated that aziridines 13b and 13e mainly inhibited the parasitic cathepsin B (CB)-like CPC enzyme and, additionally, mammalian CL. Although these compounds induced cell death ofLeishmaniapromastigotes and amastigotesin vitro, the induction of a proleishmanial T helper type 2 (Th2) response caused by host CL inhibition was observedin vivo. Therefore, we describe here the synthesis of a new library of more selective peptidomimetic aziridine-2,3-dicarboxylates discriminating between host and parasite CPs. The new compounds are based on 13b and 13e as lead structures. One of the most promising compounds of this series is compound s9, showing selective inhibition of the parasite CPsLmaCatB (a CB-like enzyme ofL. major; also namedL. majorCPC) andLmCPB2.8 (a CL-like enzyme ofLeishmania mexicana) while not affecting mammalian CL and CB. It displayed excellent leishmanicidal activities againstL. majorpromastigotes (50% inhibitory concentration [IC50] = 37.4 μM) and amastigotes (IC50= 2.3 μM). In summary, we demonstrate a new selective aziridine-2,3-dicarboxylate, compound s9, which might be a good candidate for futurein vivostudies.
摘要 利什曼病是世界上被忽视的主要热带疾病之一。寄生虫半胱氨酸蛋白酶(CPs)是CA家族C1(CAC1)的可药用靶标。在之前的研究中,我们在木瓜蛋白酶家族 CAC1 的酪蛋白酶 L(CL)亚家族的一系列抑制剂中发现了两种拟肽化合物,即氮丙啶-2,3-二羧酸化合物 13b 和 13e。这两种化合物在体外都显示出抗利什曼病活性,但对宿主细胞没有细胞毒性。在进一步的研究中,对其在利什曼原虫中的作用模式进行了鉴定。结果表明,氮丙啶 13b 和 13e 主要抑制寄生虫的类似于 CB 的 CPC 酶,此外还抑制哺乳动物的 CL。虽然这些化合物能在体外诱导利什曼病原虫和非原虫的细胞死亡,但在体内却观察到宿主的 CL 抑制作用诱导了原利什曼病 T 辅助细胞 2 型(Th2)反应。因此,我们在此描述了一个新的肽拟氮丙啶-2,3-二羧酸盐库的合成过程,该库具有更高的选择性,可区分宿主和寄生虫 CPs。新化合物以 13b 和 13e 为先导结构。该系列中最有前途的化合物之一是化合物 s9,它对寄生虫 CPsLmaCatB(大头利什曼原虫的一种 CB 类酶;也称为大头利什曼原虫 CPC)和 LmCPB2.8(墨西哥利什曼原虫的一种 CL 类酶)具有选择性抑制作用,而对哺乳动物的 CL 和 CB 没有影响。它对L. majorpromastigotes(50%抑制浓度 [IC50] = 37.4 μM)和amastigotes(IC50= 2.3 μM)显示出卓越的杀利什曼活性。总之,我们证明了一种新的选择性氮丙啶-2,3-二羧酸盐--化合物 s9,它可能是未来活体研究的良好候选药物。