Candida Albicans CYP51 Research Articles

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel boron-containing azoles as potential antifungal agents

A series of novel boron-containing azoles were designed, synthesized, and characterized via1H NMR, 13C-NMR, and HRMS. Subsequent antifungal tests in vitro revealed that the target compounds possessed moderate to exceptional efficacy against the five fluconazole-sensitive Candida strains. Most interesting is that these target compounds showed superior activity against fluconazole-resistant strains compared to positive drug fluconazole. To complete with the study of antifungal mechanism, the effect of target compounds on the sterol composition of fungal was investigated. Meantime, the target compound N01 might cause direct harm to the fungal cell wall and cell membrane. Furthermore, compound N01 was nearly non-toxic to mammalian MRC-5 cell with IC50 >100 μM. Molecular docking experiment revealed that compound N01 interacted with Candida albicans CYP51 in a similar to that of the eutectic small molecule VT-1161. These findings strongly suggested that compound N01 warrants further investigation as a potential azole CYP51 inhibitor.

Synthesis, antifungal evaluation, and molecular docking studies of steroidal thiazolopyrimidines.

A series of steroidal thiazolopyrimidine derivatives were developed and evaluated for their antifungal properties against Candida species using steroid as the basic skeletonand a thiazolopyrimidine heterocycle as a pharmacophore in the D-ring. Dehydroepiandrosterone, aromatic aldehydes, and 2-aminothiazole were used in a one-pot multicomponent reaction with silica sulphuric acid to generate the target molecules. Additionally, molecular docking studies were conducted to determine how synthesized steroidal derivatives interacted with the amino acid residues of CYP51 ofCandida albicans.

Design, synthesis and antifungal activities of novel triazole derivatives with selenium-containing hydrophobic side chains

In this work, a series of novel 1,2,4-triazole derivatives with selenium-containing hydrophobic side chains were designed and synthesized based on the structure of lanosterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51). All compounds were characterized by HRMS, 1H NMR and 13C NMR. Then, their antifungal activities against eight human pathogenic fungi were evaluated in vitro by testing the minimal inhibitory concentrations. The results showed that nearly all tested compounds were found to be more potent against all tested fungal strains than control drug fluconazole. Further mechanism study demonstrated that the target compounds had fungal CYP51 inhibitory activity. Meanwhile, representative compounds revealed low cytotoxic effects toward mammalian cell lines. In addition, the docking results showed that the target compounds bound to Candida albicans CYP51 in a better pattern than fluconazole, especially in the narrow hydrophobic cleft. Overall, the novel 1,2,4-triazole derivatives with selenium-containing hydrophobic side chains can be further developed for the potential treatment of invasive fungal infections.

Potential dual inhibition of SE and CYP51 by eugenol conferring inhibition of Candida albicans: Computationally curated study with experimental validation

Ergosterol is the key sterol component in the cell membrane of fungi including moulds and yeasts. Any decrease in the levels of ergosterol in the cell membrane of fungi render them venerable to cell membrane damage and even its death. Majority of antifungal drug targets the key enzymes involved in ergosterol biosynthesis pathway. The biochemical pathway for the synthesis of Ergosterol is a complex one, though the reactions carried by Squalene Epoxidase (SE) and 14α-demethylase (CYP51- a member of Cytochrome P450 family) serves to the key rate limiting reactions that can impact the overall production of Ergosterol. Allylamines class of antifungal drug target SE while Azoles target the CYP51. Currently advancement in the drug development is focused to introduce newer drugs that can simultaneously inhibit both this rate limiting enzymes. However, natural compounds established to possess antifungal activity but the major loophole about their understanding lies in the fact that their mode of action are severely unstudied. One such well-established antifungal natural phytochemical is Eugenol, and in current manuscript we investigated its efficacy to interact with both, SE and CYP51 of Candida albicans using molecular Docking, Free energy change calculations and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation, showing promising outcomes. For experimental studies, terbinafine, clotrimazole and eugenol showed 4 μg/ml, 2 μg/ml, and 512 μg/ml MIC90 values, respectively against C. albicans and also showed reduction in Ergosterol production at sub-MIC levels. The obtained result indicates the involvement of eugenol in the inhibition of enzymes require in the ergosterol biosynthesis pathway.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of selenium-containing small molecule compounds based on the dual mechanism of fungal CYP51 inhibition and fungal ROS generation

Herein, we modified our previously published miconazole analogue containing selenium A03 of fungal CYP51 (belongs to the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (CYP) superfamily) inhibitors to obtain novel analogues with inhibitory effects on multiple fungal pathogens, but also with a novel mechanism of action such as inducing fungal ROS (reactive oxygen species) generation. Firstly, three novel series of selenium-containing azole derivatives were prepared to determine their antifungal activity against common test fungal strains and fluconazole-resistant strains. Among all the novel derivatives, compounds B06, B11 and B14 with excellent antifungal activity (0.03-4 µg/mL) can inhibit the fluconazole-resistant Candida Strain 17#, CaR, 632, 901 and 904 in the range of MIC (minimal inhibitory concentrations) values (0.25–16 µg/mL). Antifungal mechanism studies revealed representative compounds not only had dose-dependent inhibitory activity of CYP51 but also down-regulated the expression of resistance-associated genes. Interestingly, representative compound B11 could also promote the generation of ROS. Therefore, the MIC values of Candida albicans (SC5314) inhibited by B11 and C06 in the presence of different concentrations of antioxidant NAC (N-acetyl-L-cysteine) were measured to further verify the synergistic antifungal effect between the mechanism promoting fungal ROS production and CYP51 inhibitory activity. Meanwhile, the results of cytotoxic evaluation showed that representative compounds were at the same level as that of miconazole with IC50 of 8.61∼29.91 µM, suggesting that the toxicity of the target compounds did not increase after the introduction of selenium atoms. Moreover, the in vitro stability assays also indicated our developed compounds possessed better liver microsomal metabolic stabilities (T1/2=14.9–20.1 min) compared with miconazole (T1/2=8.3 min). And representative compound B11 also displayed stability in rat plasma (T1/2>360 min). In addition, the docking results showed that the binding modes of target compounds B06, B11 and C06 to Candida albicans CYP51 were almost the same as those of miconazole. Overall, the selenium-containing small molecule compounds with dual mechanism can be further developed for the potential treatment of invasive fungal infections.

Identification of 1, 2, 4-Triazine and Its Derivatives Against Lanosterol 14-Demethylase (CYP51) Property of Candida albicans: Influence on the Development of New Antifungal Therapeutic Strategies

This research aims to find out whether the 1, 2, 4-triazine and its derivatives have antifungal effects and can protect humans from infection with Candida albicans. Molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulation are widely used in modern drug design to target a particular protein with a ligand. We are interested in using molecular docking and molecular dynamics modeling to investigate the interaction between the derivatives of 1, 2, 4-triazine with enzyme Lanosterol 14-demethylase (CYP51) of Candida albicans. The inhibition of Candida albicans CYP51 is the main goal of our research. The 1, 2, 4-triazine and its derivatives have been docked to the CYP51 enzyme, which is involved in Candida albicans Multidrug Drug Resistance (MDR). Autodock tools were used to identify the binding affinities of molecules against the target proteins. Compared to conventional fluconazole, the molecular docking results indicated that each drug has a high binding affinity for CYP51 proteins and forms unbound interactions and hydrogen bonds with their active residues and surrounding allosteric residues. The docking contacts were made using a 10 ns MD simulation with nine molecules. RMSD, RMSF, hydrogen bonds, and the Rg all confirm these conclusions. In addition, these compounds were expected to have a favorable pharmacological profile and low toxicity. The compounds are being offered as scaffolds for the development of new antifungal drugs and as candidates for future in vitro testing.

Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of new 2-piperazin-1-yl-N-1,3-thiazol-2-ylacetamides of cyclopenta[c]pyridines and pyrano[3,4-c]pyridines.

In this study, we report the synthesis and antimicrobial activity of some new disubstituted piperazines. Thus, 3-chlorocyclopenta[c]pyridines and 6-chloropyrano[3,4-c]pyridine 1 under mild reaction conditions with piperazine gave the 3(6)-piperazine-substituted cyclopenta[c]pyridines and pyrano[3,4-c]pyridine 2. Furthermore, the latter, by alkylation with 2-chloro-N-1,3-thiazol-2-ylacetamide, led to the formation of the target compounds. The evaluation of the antibacterial activity revealed that 3k was the most potent compound. The most sensitive bacterium was found to be Listeria monocytogenes, whereas Staphylococcus aureus was the most resistant one. Three compounds, 3d, 3g, and 3k, were tested also against the following resistant strains: methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. All three compounds appeared to be more potent than ampicillin against MRSA. Moreover, compound 3d showed a better activity than the reference drug ampicillin against P. aeruginosa, whereas 3g was more efficient against E. coli. The best antifungal activity was observed again for compound 3k. The most resistant fungi appeared to be Aspergillus fumigatus, whereas Trichoderma viride seemed the most sensitive one toward the compounds tested. Molecular docking studies on E. coli MurB, as well as on Candida albicans CYP51 and dihydrofolate reductase, were used for the prediction of the mechanisms of the antibacterial and antifungal activities, confirming the experimental results.

Evaluation of the combination mode of azoles antifungal inhibitors with CACYP51 and the influence of Site-directed mutation

14α-demethylase (CYP51) is an essential metabolic enzyme for fungal survival and has been considered as an interesting target for the development of new antifungal inhibitors. Azoles antifungal inhibitors in the treatment of fungal diseases are good candidates via the interaction with the target enzyme CYP51 of fungus. In the study, we constructed the homology model for Candida albicans CYP51 (CACYP51) and analyzed the active site. In order to better understand the structural characteristics of azoles inhibitors and combination mode, the common feature pharmacophore model and the molecular docking were performed. The results suggest that the azoles inhibitors consist of three chemical features: the aromatic groups, phenyl groups and the azoles groups. The aromatic groups of inhibitors occupy the upper of active pocket, the phenyl groups and azoles groups occupy the bottom of active pocket. Further validation studies found these amino acid residues Tyr118, His310 and Ser378 play an important role in the substrate binding, and these amino acid residues with site-directed mutation will weaken the combining ability of the inhibitors.

Design, synthesis, and structure-activity relationship studies of benzothiazole derivatives as antifungal agents

A series of compounds with benzothiazole and amide-imidazole scaffolds were designed and synthesized to combat the increasing incidence of drug-resistant fungal infections. The antifungal activity of these compounds was evaluated in vitro, and their structure-activity relationships (SARs) were evaluated. The synthesized compounds showed excellent inhibitory activity against Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. The most potent compounds 14o, 14p, and 14r exhibited potent activity, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values in the range of 0.125–2 μg/mL. Preliminary mechanism studies revealed that the compound 14p might act by inhibiting the CYP51 of Candida albicans. The SARs and binding mode established in this study are useful for further lead optimization.

Triazole derivatives with improved in vitro antifungal activity over azole drugs.

A series of triazole antifungal agents with piperidine side chains was designed and synthesized. The results of antifungal tests against eight human pathogenic fungi in vitro showed that all the compounds exhibited moderate-to-excellent activities. Molecular docking between 8d and the active site of Candida albicans CYP51 was provided based on the computational docking results. The triazole interacts with the iron of the heme group. The difluorophenyl group is located in the S3 subsite and its fluorine atom (2-F) can form H-bonds with Gly307. The side chain is oriented into the S4 subsite and formed hydrophobic and van der Waals interactions with the amino residues. Moreover, the phenyl group in the side chain interacts with the phenol group of Phe380 through the formation of π–π face-to-edge interactions.

Azole–carbodithioate hybrids as vaginal anti-Candida contraceptive agents: Design, synthesis and docking studies

Azole and carbodithioate hybrids were synthesized as alkyl 1H-azole-1-carbodithioates (7–27) and evaluated for spermicidal/microbicidal activities against human sperm, Trichomonas vaginalis and Candida species. Seventeen compounds (7–14, 16–18 and 20–25) showed spermicidal activity at MEC 1.0% (w/v) and permanently immobilized 100% normal human spermatozoa within ∼30 s. Seventeen compounds (7–11, 13–18 and 20–25) exhibited anti-Candida activity (IC50 1.26–47.69 μg/mL). All compounds were devoid of bactericidal activity against four bacterial strains (50.00 μg/mL) and antiprotozoal activity against Trichomonas vaginalis (200.00 μg/mL). Four promising compounds (10, 17, 20 and 22) have better safety profile as compared to Nonoxynol-9 (N-9). Docking study was done to visualize the possible interaction of designed scaffold with prospective receptor (Cyp51) of Candida albicans.

Synthesis and antifungal activity of 1,5-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazole containing fluconazole analogues

Fluconazole based novel mimics containing 1,5-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles were synthesized by using Ru catalysed 1,3 dipolar cycloaddition. All the newly synthesized compounds and pure enantiomers were more potent than fluconazole against Candida albicans. Docking of 9A and 9B showed different conformation in the active site of Cyp51 of Candida albicans. The more active compounds 2 and 2A did not exhibit any toxicity up to 3.12 μg mL−1 against mammalian cell line L929.

Itraconazole, a Commonly Used Antifungal that Inhibits Hedgehog Pathway Activity and Cancer Growth

In a screen of drugs previously tested in humans we identified itraconazole, a systemic antifungal, as a potent antagonist of the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway that acts by a mechanism distinct from its inhibitory effect on fungal sterol biosynthesis. Systemically administered itraconazole, like other Hh pathway antagonists, can suppress Hh pathway activity and the growth of medulloblastoma in a mouse allograft model and does so at serum levels comparable to those in patients undergoing antifungal therapy. Mechanistically, itraconazole appears to act on the essential Hh pathway component Smoothened (SMO) by a mechanism distinct from that of cyclopamine and other known SMO antagonists, and prevents the ciliary accumulation of SMO normally caused by Hh stimulation.

Evolutionary trace analysis of CYP51 family: implication for site-directed mutagenesis and novel antifungal drug design

Lanosterol 14alpha-demethylase (CYP51) is an essential enzyme in the fungal life cycle and also an important target for the antifungal drug development. Based on the multiple sequence alignments of CYP51 family, an evolutionary tree of the CYP51 family was constructed by the evolutionary trace (ET) method. The identified trace residues could provide a reliable and rational guide to the design of CYP51 mutations and give more information about the detailed mechanism of substrate (drug) recognition and binding. The reliability of ET analysis to identify residues of functional importance was validated by the reported site-directed mutagenesis studies of CYP51s. Several residues in the active site were also validated by our mutagenesis studies. Mapping the identified trace residues onto the active site of the modeled structure of Candida albicans CYP51 (CACYP51) may provide useful information for the design of novel antifungal agents.

Bulky 1,4-benzoxazine derivatives with antifungal activity

For many years the development of new azole antifungals has been quite empirically based. More recently, the publication of the crystal structure of CYP51 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MT-CYP51) provided new opportunities to rationalize the knowledge about antifungal action of this class of compounds. Recent studies reported that a ‘channel 2 opened’ conformation of the enzyme could better explain the interaction with ketoconazole (KTZ)-like drugs. Conformational changes were made on our model of Candida albicans CYP51 (CA-CYP51) previously reported and docking experiments were performed. The results allowed new KTZ analogues to be designed, by predicting that the 1,4-benzoxazine moiety could replace the KTZ aryl-piperazinyl chain. The synthesis of derivatives 12 and 13 was planned. The in vitro antifungal activity was evaluated against different Candida species and low and high capsulated strains of Cryptococcus neoformans. Since the in vitro activity do not necessarily correlate with the in vivo antifungal activity the newly synthesized compounds were also tested in a murine model of systemic C. albicans infection. The therapeutic effect was evaluated in terms of animal survival and of fungal growth in the kidneys, the target organ in systemic candidiasis.

Design, synthesis and antifungal activities in vitro of novel tetralin compounds

Novel chiral tetralin compounds were designed and synthesized, and their antifungal activities in vitro were tested. The results showed that all of target compounds had potent antifungal activities, and were stronger than that of control compounds tetrahydroisoquinolines. The binding model of lead molecules in the active site of CYP51 of Candida albicans showed that lead compound specifically interacted with the amino acids residues in the active site, without binding with the heme of CYP51, which was different from azole antifungal drugs. The present study might afford a novel lead molecule to develop non-azole CYP51 inhibitors of fungi.

Oxime and Oxime Ether Derivatives of 1,4‐Benzothiazine Related to Oxiconazole

The synthesis, in vitro antifungal activity, and molecular docking experiments of some oxime and oxime ether derivatives of azole 1,4-benzothiazine are reported herein, with the aim of evaluating the influence of a partially constrained scaffold that is structurally related to Oxiconazole and bearing the 1,4-benzothiazine moiety, on the inhibition of Candida albicans CYP51.

Comparison of lanosterol-14α-demethylase (CYP51) of human and Candida albicans for inhibition by different antifungal azoles

Inhibition of fungal lanosterol-14α-demethylase (CYP51) is the working principle of the antifungal activity of azoles used in agriculture and medicine. Inhibition of human CYP51 may result in endocrine disruption since follicular fluid-meiosis activating steroid (FF-MAS), the direct product of lanosterol demethylation, is involved in the control of meiosis. To investigate the specificity of antifungal agents for the fungal enzyme, assays to determine inhibitory potencies of 13 agricultural fungicides and 6 antimycotic drugs were established. FF-MAS product formation was measured by LC–MS/MS analysis in the incubations using lanosterol as substrate. Recombinant human enzyme (hCYP51) was available from BD Gentest. CYP51 of Candida albicans (cCYP51) was co-expressed with Candida tropicalis oxidoreductase in the baculovirus system. IC 50 values of 13 fungicides for cCYP51 ranged about six-fold (0.059–0.35 μM); for hCYP51 the range was about 30-fold (1.3–37.2 μM). The most favourable IC 50 ratio human to Candida was observed for imazalil (440-fold), while the specificity of epoxiconazole and tebuconazole for cCYP51 was only by a factor of 10. For the antimycotic drugs, the range of IC 50 values for cCYP51 was similar to those of fungicides (0.039–0.30 μM). For the inhibition of hCYP51, IC 50 values split into two classes: the newer drugs fluconazole and itraconazole showed little inhibition (≥30 μM) while the older drugs were even more potent than the agricultural fungicides, with miconazole being the most potent (0.057 μM). No correlation was seen between the IC 50 values determined for the two enzymes, indicating that a housekeeping gene can show significant diversity if inhibition is concerned. Our data indicate that fungicide residues in food are unlikely to exert a relevant inhibition of CYP51 in humans whereas systemic use of some antimycotic drugs, e.g. ketoconazole or miconazole, should be carefully considered regarding disturbance of human steroid biosynthesis.

Differential inhibition of Candida albicans CYP51 with azole antifungal stereoisomers.

Azole antifungal compounds are important in agriculture and in the treatment of mycotic infection. The target enzyme, sterol 14 alpha-demethylase (CYP51), is inhibited through binding of triazole N-4 to the haem of this P450, as a sixth ligand together with the N-1 substituent groups interacting in some way with the apoprotein. Here we use Saccharomyces cerevisiae expression systems for the target enzyme of Candida albicans to investigate binding of enantiomers of the azole antifungal compounds SCH39304 and tetraconazole. A molecular model produced previously provided qualitative explanations for these differences. Interaction of the azole antifungal aromatic group with Phe-233 or -235 may cause the higher activity for (R)-tetraconazole while inactivity of the (SS)-enantiomer of SCH39304 was predicted to result from incompatibility of the hydrophilic sulfonyl moiety when located into the hydrophobic pocket of the active site.

Design, Synthesis, and Microbiological Evaluation of New Candida albicans CYP51 Inhibitors

In a program aimed at the design and synthesis of novel azole inhibitors of Candida albicans CYP51 (CA-CYP51), a series of azole 1,4-benzothiazines (BT) and 1,4-benzoxazines (BO) were recently synthesized. A morphological study of the enzyme active site highlighted a hydrophobic access channel, and a docking study pointed out that the C-2 position of the BT or BO nucleus was oriented toward the access channel. Here, we report the design, synthesis, and microbiological evaluation of C-2-alkyl BT and BO compounds. In both series, introduction of the alkyl chain maintained and in some cases improved the anti-Candida in vitro activity; however, there was not always a strict correlation between in vitro and in vivo activity for several compounds.