2. Academic Validation
  3. Identification and structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies of carvacrol derivatives as potential anti-malarial against Plasmodium falciparum falcipain-2 protease

Identification and structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies of carvacrol derivatives as potential anti-malarial against Plasmodium falciparum falcipain-2 protease

  • Bioorg Chem. 2020 Oct;103:104142. doi: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2020.104142.
Amad Uddin 1,  Vigyasa Singh 2,  Iram Irfan 3,  Taj Mohammad 4,  Rahul Singh Hada 5,  Md Imtaiyaz Hassan 4,  Mohammad Abid 6,  Shailja Singh 7
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025, India; Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India.
  • 2 Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India.
  • 3 Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025, India.
  • 4 Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025, India.
  • 5 Department of Life Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh 201314, India.
  • 6 Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025, India. Electronic address: mabid@jmi.ac.in.
  • 7 Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India. Electronic address: shailja.jnu@gmail.com.
PMID: 32763521 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2020.104142
Abstract

In an effort to develop a potent anti-malarial agent against Plasmodium falciparum, a structure-guided virtual screening using an in-house library comprising 652 compounds was performed. By docking studies, we identified two compounds (JMI-105 and JMI-346) which formed significant non-covalent interactions and fit well in the binding pocket of PfFP-2. We affirmed this observation by MD simulation studies. As evident by the biochemical analysis, such as Enzyme inhibition assay, Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), live-cell imaging and hemozoin inhibition, JMI-105 and JMI-346 at 25 µM concentration showed an inhibitory effect on purified PfFP-2. JMI-105 and JMI-346 inhibited the growth of CQS (3D7; IC50 = 8.8 and 13 µM) and CQR (RKL-9; IC50 = 14.3 and 33 µM) strains of P. falciparum. Treatment with compounds resulted in defect in Parasite growth and development. No significant hemolysis or cytotoxicity towards human cells was observed suggesting that these molecules are non-toxic. We pursued, structural optimization on JMI-105 and in the process, SAR oriented derivatives (5a-5l) were synthesized and evaluated for growth inhibition potential. JMI-105 significantly decreased parasitemia and prolonged host survival in a murine model with P. berghei ANKA Infection. The compounds (JMI-105 and JMI-346) against PfFP-2 have the potential to be used as an anti-malarial agent.

Keywords

Falcipain-2; Malaria; Plasmodium falciparum; SAR studies; Virtual screening.

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