Karina Vázquez

In this study, a drug repurposing strategy was implemented with the aim of identifying new trypanocidal agents against Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi). A total of 924 Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs were screened by molecular docking on three sites of trypanothione synthetase (TS), including the catalytic site, a blind docking site, and a potential allosteric site. Selected compounds were further evaluated through in vitro and in vivo assays. Tadalafil, Zafirlukast, Raltegravir, and Olmesartan had better trypanocidal activity than the reference drugs Benznidazole and Nifurtimox in the in vitro evaluation against the trypomastigote form. Additionally, these drugs were able to decrease parasitemia by 20–50% in mice in an acute treatment. Molecular dynamics simulations (MDS) at 120 ns helped link findings from in vitro/in vivo experiments to a potential mechanism of action targeting T. cruzi trypanothione synthetase (TcTS). Therefore, the results encourage the use of these drugs to develop new anti-T. cruzi agents.

Background: Chagas disease, a condition caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is an endemic disease in Latin American countries that affects approximately eight million people worldwide. It is a continuing public health problem. As nifurtimox and benznidazole are the two pharmacological treatments currently used to treat it, the present research proposes new therapeutic alternatives. Previous studies conducted on naphthoquinone derivatives have found interesting trypanocidal effects on epimastigotes, with the molecules 2-phenoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (IC50= 50 nM and SI < 250) and 2-(3-nitrophenoxy)-naphthalene-1,4-dione (IC50= 20 nM and SI=625) presenting the best biological activity. Methods: The present study evaluated the efficacy of in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo models of two aryloxyquinones, 2-phenoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (1) and 2-(3-nitrophenoxy)-naphthalene-1,4- dione (2), against two Mexican T. cruzi strains in both their epimastigote and blood Trypomastigote stage. Both compounds were evaluated against T. cruzi using a mouse model (CD1) infected with Mexican isolates of T. cruzi, nifurtimox and benznidazole used as control drugs. Finally, the cytotoxicity of the two compounds against the J774.2 mouse macrophage cell line was also determined. Results: The in vitro and in vivo results obtained indicated that both quinones were more active than the reference drugs. Compound 1 presents in vivo activity, showing up to 40% parasite reduction after 8 h of administration, a finding which is 1.25 times more effective than the results obtained using nifurtimox. Conclusion: These are encouraging results for proposing new naphthoquinone derivatives with potential anti-T. cruzi activity.

Objective. To identify, describe and determine the frequency of species of the genus Eimeria from goat feces from the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Materials and methods. From 403 samples of goat excreta from 13 municipalities of Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Subsequently, after sporulation of the parasite dispersal forms (Oocysts), identification was made according to their morphology and morphometry by means of histograms and linear regression analysis. Results. A total of 60.29% of the animals sampled were positive for the presence of oocysts of Eimeria spp. The municipalities in which this parasite was most frequently detected were Ramones and Pesquería with 100% of positive samples, while a lower frequency was observed in the municipality of Aramberri with 3.4%. The morphological and morphometric analysis of the sporulated oocysts allowed the identification of 8 different types of Eimeria in the group of animals studied: E. caprina, E. caprovina, E. christenseni, E. ninakohlyakimovae, E. jolchijevi, E. alijevi, E. arloingi and E. apsheronica. Conclusions. Most of the identified Eimeria spp. showed a high degree of polymorphism. According to their morphometric characteristics, eight species were identified, including E. apsheronica, which has not been previously described in Mexico. Further studies of Eimeria species circulating in goats in Mexico are required.

To develop novel chemotherapeutic alternatives for the treatment of Chagas disease, in this study, a set of new amino naphthoquinone derivatives were synthesised and evaluated in vitro on the epimastigote and trypomastigote forms of Trypanosoma cruzi strains (NINOA and INC-5) and on J774 murine macrophages. The design of the new naphthoquinone derivatives considered the incorporation of nitrogenous fragments with different substitution patterns present in compounds with activity on T. cruzi, and, thus, 19 compounds were synthesised in a simple manner. Compounds 2e and 7j showed the lowest IC₅₀ values (0.43 µM against both strains for 2e and 0.19 µM and 0.92 µM for 7j). Likewise, 7j was more potent than the reference drug, benznidazole, and was more selective on epimastigotes. To postulate a possible mechanism of action, molecular docking studies were performed on T. cruzi trypanothione reductase (TcTR), specifically at a site in the dimer interface, which is a binding site for this type of naphthoquinone. Interestingly, 7j was one of the compounds that showed the best interaction profile on the enzyme; therefore, 7j was evaluated on TR, which behaved as a non-competitive inhibitor. Finally, 7j was predicted to have a good pharmacokinetic profile for oral administration. Thus, the naphthoquinone nucleus should be considered in the search for new trypanocidal agents based on our hit 7j.

Background: Naphthoquinones are a class of aromatic compounds relevant for their chemical characteristics, structural properties, and biological activity. These compounds are found in nature with a wide range of effects, highlighting their antibacterial, antifungal, and antiprotozoal properties. Additionally, naphthoquinones are used as a scaffold to obtain new derivatives with pharmacological potential, mainly compounds against parasitic diseases. Objective: The purpose of this work was to carry out a comprehensive review of naphthoquinones and their derivatives obtained from both natural and synthetic sources, also, to analyze their biological activity against Leishmania spp. (Leishmaniasis), Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas disease), Plasmodium falciparum (Malaria), Toxoplasma gondii (Toxoplasmosis), and Toxocara canis (Toxocariasis). All of these agents are responsible for relevant diseases worldwide. Results : Natural naphthoquinones, such as plumbagin, diospyrin, burmanin, lapachol, lawsone and psychorubrin, show an antiprotozoal activity similar or enhanced antiprotozoal activity to reference drugs. Some naphthoquinones obtained by synthesis or semi-synthesis showed better biological activity or less toxic effects than natural compounds. Conclusion: In this review, natural and synthetic naphthoquinones showed antiparasitic activity, in most cases, with improved results than current drugs currently used in clinical trials. A modification of their structure with different functional groups can enhance their biological effects, improve solubility, and reduce undesirable side effects. Therefore, naphthoquinones are important molecules in the development of new chemotherapeutic agents against parasitic diseases.

Background & Objective: Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis is a major parasitic disease in Latin America with restricted available treatment: nifurtimox and benznidazole. These two drugs are ineffective in the chronic phase of the disease; therefore, there is a need for the development of new, efficient and safe drugs for the treatment of this pathology. With this goal, one of the promising targets is trypanothione reductase (TR), a key enzyme in the metabolism of Trypanosoma cruzi. Conclusion: In this review, we analyse the importance of TR as a drug target, as well as the well-known and new inhibitors reported in the last decade as potential therapeutic agents for Chagas disease.

A set of aryloxy-quinones, previously synthesized and evaluated against Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes cultures, were found more potent and selective than nifurtimox. One of the possible mechanisms of the trypanocidal activity of these quinones could be inhibition of trypanothione reductase (TR). Considering that glutathione reductase (GR) is the equivalent of TR in humans, biochemical, kinetic, and molecular docking studies in TR and GR were envisaged and compared with the trypanocidal and cytotoxic data of a set of aryloxy-quinones. Biochemical assays indicated that three naphthoquinones (Nq-h, Nq-g, and Nq-d) selectively inhibit TR and the TR kinetic analyses indicated that Nq-h inhibit TR in a noncompetitive mechanism. Molecular dockings were performed in TR and GR in the following three putative binding sites: the catalytic site, the dimer interface, and the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-binding site. In TR and GR, the aryloxy-quinones were found to exhibit high affinity for a site near it cognate-binding site in a place in which the noncompetitive kinetics could be justified. Taking as examples the three compounds with TR specificity (TRS) (Nq-h, Nq-g, and Nq-d), the presence of a network of contacts with the quinonic ring sustained by the triad of Lys62, Met400′, Ser464′ residues, seems to contribute hardly to the TRS. Compound Nq-b, a naphthoquinone with nitrophenoxy substituent, proved to be the best scaffold for the design of trypanocidal compounds with low toxicity. However, the compound displayed only a poor and non-selective effect toward TR indicating that TR inhibition is not the main reason for the antiparasitic activity of the aryloxy-quinones.