Piperidones with activity against Plasmodium falciparum.

Abstract

The increasing resistance of the malaria parasites has enforced new strategies of finding new drug targets. We have isolated two genes involved in spermidine metabolism, encoding deoxyhypusine synthase (DHS) and eukaryotic initiation factor 5A (eIF-5A) in the malaria parasites. eIF-5A is activated by the formation of the unusual amino acid hypusine. This process occurs in two steps. DHS transfers an aminobutyl moiety from the triamine spermidine to a specific lysine residue in the eIF-5A precursor protein to form deoxyhypusine. In a second step, deoxyhypusine hydroxylase (DHH), completes hypusine biosynthesis. We used DHH inhibitors, being effective in mammalian cells, to study an antiplasmodicidal effect in Plasmodium falciparum. Experiments with the antifungal drug ciclopiroxolamine, an alpha-hydroxypyridone, and the plant amino acid L: -mimosine, a 4-pyridone, resulted in an antiplasmodial effect in vitro. Using mimosine as a lead structure, alkyl 4-oxo-piperidine 3-carboxylates were found to have the most efficient antiplasmodial effects in vitro and in vivo.

• Authors: Michael Saeftel, Ramadan Salem Sarite, Tujo Njuguna, Ulrike Holzgrabe, Daniela Ulmer, Achim Hoerauf, Annette Kaiser
• Journal: Parasitology research (Parasitol Res) Vol. 99 Issue 3 Pg. 281-6 (Aug 2006) ISSN: 0932-0113 [Print] Germany
• PMID: 16550432 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Antimalarials
• Piperidones
• Pyridones
• Ciclopirox
• Mimosine

Topics

• Animals
• Antimalarials (pharmacology)
• Ciclopirox
• Disease Models, Animal
• Malaria (drug therapy, parasitology)
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred BALB C
• Mimosine (pharmacology)
• Molecular Structure
• Parasitemia (drug therapy)
• Piperidones (chemical synthesis, pharmacology)
• Plasmodium berghei (drug effects)
• Plasmodium falciparum (drug effects)
• Pyridones (pharmacology)