0000000000234230

AUTHOR

María José Rosales

In vitro activity of scorpiand-like azamacrocycle derivatives in promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes of Leishmania infantum and Leishmania braziliensis.

The activity of a family scorpiand-like azamacrocycles against Leishmania infantum and Leishmania braziliensis was studied using promastigotes, axenic and intracellular amastigotes forms. All the compounds are more active and less toxic than meglumine antimoniate (Glucantime). Moreover, the data on infection rates and amastigotes showed that compounds P2Py, PN and P3Py are the most active against both species of Leishmania. On the other hand, studies on the inhibitory effect of these compounds on SOD enzymes showed that while the inhibition of the Fe-SOD enzyme of the promastigote forms of the parasites is remarkable, the inhibition of human CuZn-SOD and Mn-SOD from Escherichia coli is negl…

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New polyamine drugs as more effective antichagas agents than benznidazole in both the acute and chronic phases.

Abstract Despite the continuous research effort that has been made in recent years to find ways to treat the potentially life threatening Chagas disease (CD), this remains the third most important infectious disease in Latin America. CD is an important public health problem affecting 6–7 million people. Since the need to search for new drugs for the treatment of DC persists, in this article we present a panel of new polyamines based on the tripodal structure of tris(2-aminomethyl)amine (tren) that can be prepared at low cost with high yields. Moreover, these polyamines present the characteristic of being water-soluble and resistant to the acidic pH values of stomach, which would allow their…

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Synthetic single and double aza-scorpiand macrocycles acting as inhibitors of the antioxidant enzymes iron superoxide dismutase and trypanothione reductase in Trypanosoma cruzi with promising results in a murine model

The anti-chagasic activity of a series of eleven derivatives of aza-scorpiand-like macrocycles, some of them newly synthesised, was assayed. The four compounds with the best selectivity indices in vitro were subjected to in vivo assays. Tests in a murine model of the acute phase of Chagas disease showed a two-fold reduction in parasitaemia compared to that with benznidazole. Furthermore, compounds 7 and 11, with 4-pyridine and phenanthroline substituents in the lateral chain, caused a remarkable decrease in parasitaemia reactivation during the chronic phase after inducing immunosuppression in mice. These activity studies were complemented by measuring their inhibitory effect towards the ant…

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In vitro antileishmanial activity of aza-scorpiand macrocycles. Inhibition of the antioxidant enzyme iron superoxide dismutase

The in vitro leishmanicidal activity of a series of nine aza-scorpiand-like macrocycles, recently synthesized, was tested on Leishmania infantum, Leishmania braziliensis and Leishmania donovani parasites, using promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes forms. The cytotoxicity of the tested compounds on J774.2 macrophage cells was also measured. Four of the tested compounds (1, 2, 8 and 9) showed selectivity indexes higher than those of the reference drug Glucantime for the three Leishmania species. Moreover, the data on infection rates and on amastigotes showed that compounds 1, 2, 8 and 9 are the most active against the three Leishmania species. The changes in the excretion product profi…

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In vitro leishmanicidal activity of pyrazole-containing polyamine macrocycles which inhibit the Fe-SOD enzyme of Leishmania infantum and Leishmania braziliensis species

The in vitro leishmanicidal activity and cytotoxicity of pyrazole-containing macrocyclic polyamines 1-4 was assayed on Leishmania infantum and Leishmania braziliensis species. Compounds 1-4 were more active and less toxic than glucantime and both infection rates and ultrastructural alterations confirmed that 1 and 2 were highly leishmanicidal and induced extensive parasite cell damage. Modifications in the excretion products of parasites treated with 1-3 were also consistent with substantial cytoplasm alterations. Compound 2 was highlighted as a potent inhibitor of Fe-SOD in both species, whereas its effect on human CuZn-SOD was poor. Molecular modelling suggested that 2 could deactivate Fe…

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