Fifteen purine nucleosides and their O-acetylated ester derivatives were examined for in vitro antitrypanosomal activity against the LAB 110 EATRO isolate of Trypanosoma brucei brucei and two clinical isolates of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. Initial comparisons of activity were made for the LAB 110 EATRO isolate. Three nucleoside analogs exhibited no significant activity (50% inhibitory concentrations [IC50s] of > 100 microM), whether they were O acetylated or unacetylated; three nucleosides showed almost equal activity (IC50s of < 5 microM) for the parent compound and the O-acetylated derivative; nine nucleosides showed significantly improved activity (> or = 3-fold) upon O acetylation; of these nine analogs, six displayed activity at least 10-fold greater than that of their parent nucleosides. The most significant results were those for four apparently inactive compounds which, upon O acetylation, displayed IC50s of < or = 25 microM. When the series of compounds was tested against T. brucei rhodesiense isolates (KETRI 243 and KETRI 269), their antitrypanosomal effects were comparable to those observed for the EATRO 110 strain. Thus, our studies of purine nucleosides have determined that O acetylation consistently improved their in vitro antitrypanosomal activity. This observed phenomenon was independent of their cellular enzyme targets (i.e., S-adenosylmethionine, polyamine, or purine salvage pathways). On the basis of our results, the routine preparation of O-acetylated purine nucleosides for in vitro screening of antitrypanosomal activity is recommended, since O acetylation transformed several inactive nucleosides into compounds with significant activity, presumably by improving uptake characteristics. O-acetylated purine nucleosides may offer in vivo therapeutic advantages compared with their parent nucleosides, and this possibility should be considered in future evaluations of this structural class of trypanocides.
本研究对15种
嘌呤核苷及其O-乙酰化酯衍
生物在体外抗非洲锥虫病活性方面进行了研究,包括
LAB 110 EATRO亚型的Trypanosoma brucei brucei和两种Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense的临床分离株。首先比较了
LAB 110 EATRO亚型的活性。其中三种核苷类似物没有显著活性(50%抑制浓度[IC50]大于100微米),无论它们是否被乙酰化;三种核苷显示出几乎相等的活性(IC50小于5微米)的母化合物和O-乙酰化衍
生物;九种核苷在O-乙酰化后显示出显著改善的活性(大于或等于3倍);在这九种类似物中,有六种显示出至少比其母核苷高10倍的活性。最显着的结果是四个表面上无活性的化合物,在O-乙酰化后显示出IC50小于或等于25微米的活性。当这一系列化合物对T. brucei rhodesiense分离物(KETRI 243和KETRI 269)进行测试时,它们的抗非洲锥虫病效果与EATRO 110株观察到的相当。因此,我们对
嘌呤核苷的研究确定了O-乙酰化一直改善它们的体外抗非洲锥虫病活性。这种观察到的现象与它们的细胞酶靶点(即S-
腺苷甲
硫氨酸、
多胺或
嘌呤拯救途径)无关。基于我们的结果,建议常规制备O-乙酰化
嘌呤核苷进行体外筛选抗非洲锥虫病活性,因为O-乙酰化将几种无活性的核苷转化为具有显著活性的化合物,可能通过改善摄取特性。与其母核苷比较,O-乙酰化
嘌呤核苷在体内治疗上可能具有优势,这一可能性应在对这种结构类的锥虫药物进行未来评估时予以考虑。