Leishmaniasis is a neglected disease that affects 12 million people living mainly in developing countries. Herein, 24 new N-oxide-containing compounds were synthesized followed by in vitro and in vivo evaluation of their antileishmanial activity. Compound 4f, a furoxan derivative, was particularly remarkable in this regard, with EC50 value of 3.6 μM against L. infantum amastigote forms and CC50 value superior to 500 μM against murine peritoneal macrophages. In vitro studies suggested that 4f may act by a dual effect, by releasing nitric oxide after biotransformation and by inhibiting cysteine protease CPB (IC50: 4.5 μM). In vivo studies using an acute model of infection showed that compound 4f at 7.7 mg/Kg reduced ~90% of parasite burden in the liver and spleen of L. infantum-infected BALB/c mice. Altogether, these outcomes highlight furoxan 4f as a promising compound for further evaluation as an antileishmanial agent.
利什曼病是一种影响主要发展中国家居民的1200万人的被忽视的疾病。在这项研究中,合成了24种新的含氧化物的化合物,随后评估了它们的抗利什曼病活性。其中,一种呋喃氧化物衍生物4f在这方面表现尤为出色,对婴儿利什曼体形式的EC50值为3.6μM,对小鼠腹膜巨噬细胞的CC50值超过500μM。体外研究表明,4f可能通过双重作用发挥作用,经生物转化后释放一氧化氮,并抑制半胱氨酸蛋白酶CPB(IC50:4.5μM)。使用急性感染模型的体内研究表明,7.7毫克/千克的4f化合物可使感染婴儿利什曼体的BALB/c小鼠肝脏和脾脏中的寄生虫负担减少约90%。总的来说,这些结果突出了呋喃氧化物4f作为一种有前途的化合物,值得进一步评估其作为抗利什曼病药物的潜力。