Two distinct intracellular pathogens, namely Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and Toxoplasma gondii (Tg), cause major public health problems worldwide. In addition, serious and challenging health problems of co-infections of Tg with Mtb have been recorded, especially in developing countries. Due to this fact, as well as the frequent cases of resistance to the current drugs, novel anti-infectious therapeutics, especially those with dual (anti-Tg and anti-Mtb) modes of action, are needed. To address this issue, we explored the anti-Tg potential of thiazolidinedione-based (TZD-based) hybrid molecules with proven anti-Mtb potency. Several TZD hybrids with pyridine-4-carbohydrazone (PCH) or thiosemicarbazone (TSC) structural scaffolds were more effective and more selective than sulfadiazine (SDZ) and trimethoprim (TRI). Furthermore, all of these molecules were more selective than pyrimethamine (PYR). Further studies for the most potent TZD-TSC hybrids 7, 8 and 10 and TZD-PCH hybrid molecule 2 proved that these compounds are non-cytotoxic, non-genotoxic and non-hemolytic. Moreover, they could cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB), which is a critical factor linked with ideal anti-Tg drug development. Finally, since a possible link between Tg infection and the risk of glioblastoma has recently been reported, the cytotoxic potential of TZD hybrids against human glioblastoma cells was also evaluated. TZD-PCH hybrid molecule 2 was found to be the most effective, with an IC50 of 19.36 ± 1.13 µg/mL against T98G cells.
两种不同的细胞内病原体,即结核分枝杆菌(Mtb)和弓形虫(Tg),在全球范围内造成了严重的公共卫生问题。此外,Tg 与 Mtb 的合并感染也带来了严重和具有挑战性的健康问题,尤其是在发展中国家。鉴于这一事实,以及对现有药物产生抗药性的频繁病例,我们需要新型抗感染疗法,尤其是具有双重(抗 Tg 和抗 Mtb)作用模式的疗法。为了解决这个问题,我们探索了已证实具有抗 Mtb 效力的噻唑烷二酮(TZD)类杂交分子的抗 Tg 潜力。与磺胺嘧啶(SDZ)和三甲氧苄啶(TRI)相比,几种具有吡啶-4-羧腙(PCH)或硫代氨基羰基(TSC)结构支架的 TZD 杂交分子更有效,选择性更高。此外,所有这些分子都比嘧啶胺(PYR)更具选择性。对最有效的 TZD-TSC 混合物 7、8 和 10 以及 TZD-PCH 混合物分子 2 的进一步研究证明,这些化合物无细胞毒性、无遗传毒性和无溶血性。此外,这些化合物还能穿过血脑屏障(BBB),而这正是开发理想抗 Tg 药物的关键因素。最后,由于最近有报道称 Tg 感染与胶质母细胞瘤风险之间可能存在联系,因此还评估了 TZD 杂交分子对人类胶质母细胞瘤细胞的细胞毒性潜力。结果发现,TZD-PCH 杂交分子 2 最有效,对 T98G 细胞的 IC50 为 19.36 ± 1.13 µg/mL。