Design,synthesis and evaluation of novel 2,5,6-trisubstituted benzimidazoles targeting FtsZ as antitubercular agents

Filamenting temperature-sensitive protein Z (FtsZ), an essential cell division protein, is a promising target for the drug discovery of new-generation antibacterial agents against various bacterial pathogens. As a part of SAR studies on benzimidazoles, we have synthesized a library of 376 novel 2,5,6-trisubstituted benzimidazoles, bearing ether or thioether linkage at the 6-position. In a preliminary HTP screening against Mtb H37Rv, 108 compounds were identified as hits at a cut off concentration of 5 μg/mL. Among those hits, 10 compounds exhibited MIC values in the range of 0.63–12.5 μg/mL. Light scattering assay and TEM analysis with the most potent compound 5a clearly indicate that its molecular target is Mtb-FtsZ. Also, the K_d of 5a with Mtb-FtsZ was determined to be 1.32 μM.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of a class of quinolone triazoles as potential antimicrobial agents and their interactions with calf thymus DNA

A novel series of quinolone triazoles were synthesized and characterized by IR, NMR, MS and HRMS spectra. All the newly prepared compounds were screened for their antimicrobial activities against seven bacteria and four fungi. Bioactive assay manifested that most of new compounds exhibited good or even stronger antibacterial and antifungal activities against the tested strains including multi-drug resistant MRSA in comparison with reference drugs Norfloxacin, Chloromycin and Fluconazole. The preliminary interactive investigations of compound 6b with calf thymus DNA by fluorescence and UV–vis spectroscopic methods revealed that compound 6b could effectively intercalate DNA to form compound 6b–DNA complex which might block DNA replication and thus exert its antimicrobial activities.     

Azoalkyl ether imidazo[2,1-b]benzothiazoles as potentially antimicrobial agents with novel structural skeleton

A series of new azoalkyl ether imidazo[2,1-b]benzothiazoles were developed via a convenient synthetic procedure. The antimicrobial assays showed that a good number of the prepared derivatives exhibited significant inhibitory properties against most of the tested strains. Especially 2-methyl-5-nitroimidazole derivative 5a presented superior inhibit activity against MRSA and B. typhi with MIC?=?4?μg/mL and MIC?=?1?μg/mL, respectively. The highly active compound 5a showed low toxicity against mammalian cells without obvious triggering of the development of bacterial resistance, and it also possessed rapid bactericidal efficacy. Molecular docking study exposed that the active molecule 5a could interact with the active site of S. aureus gyrase through hydrogen bond. Quantum chemical studies were also performed to explain the high antibacterial activity. Further investigation revealed that compound 5a could significantly associate with gyrase–DNA complex by mean of hydrogen bonds and could efficiently intercalate into MRSA DNA to form 5a–DNA supramolecular complex, which impart potent bioactivity.     

Design and synthesis of positional isomers of 5 and 6-bromo-1-[(phenyl)sulfonyl]-2-[(4-nitrophenoxy)methyl]-1H-benzimidazoles as possible antimicrobial and antitubercular agents

In this Letter, we report the structure–activity relationship (SAR) studies on series of positional isomers of 5(6)-bromo-1-[(phenyl)sulfonyl]-2-[(4-nitrophenoxy)methyl]-1H-benzimidazoles derivatives 7(a–j) and 8(a–j) synthesized in good yields and characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and mass spectral analyses. The crystal structure of 7a was evidenced by X-ray diffraction study. The newly synthesized compounds were evaluated for their in vitro antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, (Gram-positive), Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae (Gram-negative), antifungal activity against Candida albicans, Aspergillus flavus and Rhizopus sp. and antitubercular activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Mycobacterium fortuitum and MDR-TB strains. The synthesized compounds displayed interesting antimicrobial activity. The compounds 7b, 7e and 7h displayed significant activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain.     

Bio-guided isolation of potential antimicrobial and antioxidant agents from the stem bark of Trilepisium madagascariense

Aim

This study describes the activity-guided isolation of antimicrobial and antioxidant agents from Trilepisium madagascariense stem bark.

Methods

The methanol crude extract of T. madagascariense was partitioned sequentially into n-hexane, ethyl acetate, n-butanol and the residual aqueous fractions. The ethyl acetate fraction was subjected to column chromatography and the structures of isolated compounds were elucidated using GC-MS and/or NMR data by comparing with those reported in the literature. Antimicrobial activity was assayed by agar well diffusion and broth microdilution techniques on 8 bacteria and 10 yeasts. The antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH radical scavenging method.

Results

The bioassay-guided fractionation of the crude methanol extract of T. madagascariense afforded two known compounds [vanillic acid () and isoliquiritigenin ()] and two mixtures of fatty acids (n-hexane fraction and first column fraction of ethyl acetate fraction, F1). The fractionation of the crude methanol extract enhanced the antimicrobial activity. Compound 2 was generally more active than compound 1. For all the tested samples, the most sensitive microbes were Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 10541 (MIC range of 60-780 μg/ml) for bacteria and Candida guillermondi (MIC range of 0.01-190 μg/ml) for yeasts. The DPPH radical scavenging activity (RSa) of compound 2 (RSa₅₀ = 28.73 μg/ml) was comparable to that of the crude methanol extract (RSa₅₀ = 29.92 μg/ml).

Conclusion

The antimicrobial activities and the antioxidant properties of the methanol crude extract, fractions and compounds 1 and 2 from the stem bark of T. madagascariense are being reported for the first time. These results may justify the traditional use of this plant for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders.     

1,2,3-Triazole fused with pyridine/pyrimidine as new template for antimicrobial agents: Regioselective synthesis and identification of potent N-heteroarenes

The 1,2,3-triazole ring fused with pyridine/pyrimidine was explored as new template for the identification of potential antimicrobial agents. The regioselective synthesis of these pre-designed N-heteroarenes was achieved via exploring the application of Buchwald’s strategy (i.e. C–N bond formation/reduction/diazotization/cyclization sequence) to the N-heteroarene system. Two of them showed promising antibacterial (comparable to streptomycin) and several showed potent antifungal (comparable to mancozeb) activities.     

Honokiol ameliorates oxidative stress-induced DNA damage and apoptosis of c2c12 myoblasts by ROS generation and mitochondrial pathway

ABSTRACT

Honokiol is one of the main active components of Magnolia officinalis, and has been demonstrated to have multiple pharmacological activities against a variety of diseases. Recently, this phenolic compound is known to have antioxidant activity, but its mechanism of action remains unclear. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the preventive effects of honokiol against oxidative stress-induced DNA damage and apoptosis in C2C12 myoblasts. The present study found that honokiol inhibited hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-induced DNA damage and mitochondrial dysfunction, while reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation. The inhibitory effect of honokiol on H₂O₂-induced apoptosis was associated with the up-regulation of Bcl-2 and down-regulation of Bax, thus reducing the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio that in turn protected the activation of caspase-9 and -3, and inhibition of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage, which was associated with the blocking of cytochrome c release to the cytoplasm. Collectively, these results demonstrate that honokiol defends C2C12 myoblasts against H₂O₂-induced DNA damage and apoptosis, at least in part, by preventing mitochondrial-dependent pathway through scavenging excessive ROS.     

1,2,3-Triazole-derived naphthalimides as a novel type of potential antimicrobial agents: Synthesis,antimicrobial activity,interaction with calf thymus DNA and human serum albumin

A series of 1,2,3-triazole-derived naphthalimides as a novel type of potential antimicrobial agents were synthesized and characterized by IR, NMR and HRMS spectra. All the new compounds were screened for their antimicrobial activity against four Gram-positive bacteria, four Gram-negative bacteria and three fungi. Bioactive assay manifested that 3,4-dichlorobenzyl compound 9e and its corresponding hydrochloride 11e showed better anti-Escherichia coli activity than Norfloxacin and Chloromycin. Preliminary research revealed that compound 9e could effectively intercalate into calf thymus DNA to form compound 9e–DNA complex which might block DNA replication and thus exert antimicrobial activities. Human serum albumin could effectively store and carry compound 9e by electrostatic interaction.     

Synthesis and bioactive evaluation of novel hybrids of metronidazole and berberine as new type of antimicrobial agents and their transportation behavior by human serum albumin

A series of novel hybrids of metronidazole and berberine as new type of antimicrobial agents were synthesized and characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, IR, MS and HRMS spectra. Bioactive assay manifested that most of the prepared compounds exhibited effective antibacterial and antifungal activities and some showed comparable or superior potency against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus to reference drugs Norfloxacin, Chloromycin and Berberine. The transportation behavior of human serum albumin (HSA) to the highly active compound 5g was evaluated and revealed that the association of imidazole derivative 5g with HSA was spontaneous and the electrostatic interactions played important roles in the transportation of HSA to 5g. The calculated parameters indicated that compound 5g could be effectively stored and carried by HSA.     

Genetic polymorphisms of Echinococcus tapeworms in China as determined by mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences

The genetic polymorphisms of Echinococcus spp. in the eastern Tibetan Plateau and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region were evaluated by DNA sequencing analyses of genes for mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) and nuclear elongation factor-1 alpha (ef1a). We collected 68 isolates of Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto (s.s.) from Xinjiang and 113 isolates of E. granulosus s. s., 49 isolates of Echinococcus multilocularis and 34 isolates of Echinococcus shiquicus from the Tibetan Plateau. The results of molecular identification by mitochondrial and nuclear markers were identical, suggesting the infrequency of introgressive hybridization. A considerable intraspecific variation was detected in mitochondrial cox1 sequences. The parsimonious network of cox1 haplotypes showed star-like features in E. granulosus s. s. and E. multilocularis, but a divergent feature in E. shiquicus. The cox1 neutrality indexes computed by Tajima’s D and Fu’s Fs tests showed high negative values in E. granulosus s. s. and E. multilocularis, indicating significant deviations from neutrality. In contrast, the low positive values of both tests were obtained in E. shiquicus. These results suggest the following hypotheses: (i) recent founder effects arose in E. granulosus and E. multilocularis after introducing particular individuals into the endemic areas by anthropogenic movement or natural migration of host mammals, and (ii) the ancestor of E. shiquicus was segregated into the Tibetan Plateau by colonising alpine mammals and its mitochondrial locus has evolved without bottleneck effects.     

Little population structuring and recent evolution of the Pacific saury (Cololabis saira) as indicated by mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data

Genetic population structure of the Pacific saury (Cololabis saira) was investigated using nucleotide sequence analysis on the mitochondrial DNA control region (355-361 bp). Although the left domain of the control region is known to be highly variable in many species, extremely low nucleotide and haplotype diversities (π = 0.17% and h = 0.418, respectively) were observed in a total of 141 individuals collected from five distant locales (East China Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, northwest Pacific, central North Pacific and northeast Pacific). No significant haplotype frequency differences were detected among widely separated samples, therefore we were unable to reject the null hypothesis of no genetic structuring in the Pacific saury population. Moderate levels of nucleotide substitution (p-distance) were observed between the Pacific saury and its Atlantic counterpart (Scomberesox saurus) in the control region (7.44%), cytochrome b gene (4.64%), and internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) (11.49%), indicating that the low sequence diversity of the control region in the Pacific saury is not due to the slow mutation rate. The molecular data suggest the Pacific saury may be a relatively recent offshoot among the extant members in the family Scomberesocidae.     

Synthesis of amides from (E)-3-(1-chloro-3,4-dihydronaphthalen-2-yl)acrylic acid and substituted amino acid esters as NorA efflux pump inhibitors of Staphylococcus aureus

Inhibitors for NorA efflux pump of Staphylococcus aureus have attracted the attention of many researchers towards the discovery and development of novel efflux pump inhibitors (EPIs). In an attempt to find specific potent inhibitors of NorA efflux pump of S. aureus, a total of 15 amino acid conjugates of 3-(1-chloro-3,4-dihydronaphthalen-2-yl)acrylic acid (4–18) were synthesized using a simple convenient synthetic approach and bioevaluated against NorA efflux pump. Two compounds 7 and 8 (each having MEC of 1.56?µg/mL) were found to restore the activity of ciprofloxacin through reduction of the MIC elucidated by comparing the ethidium bromide efflux in dose dependent manner in addition to ethidium bromide efflux inhibition and accumulation study using NorA overexpressing strain SA-1199B. Most potent compounds among these were able to restore the antibacterial activity of ciprofloxacin completely against SA-1199B. Structure activity relationship (SAR) studies and docking study of potent compounds 7 and 8 could elucidate the structural requirements necessary for interaction with the NorA efflux pumps. On the whole, compounds 7 and 8 have ability to reverse the NorA efflux mediated resistance and could be further optimized for development of potent efflux pump inhibitors.     

Genetic diversity in Tunisian rosy garlic populations (Allium roseum L.) as evidenced by chloroplastic DNA analysis: Sequence variation of non-coding region and intergenic spacers

Allium roseum (Alliaceae) is an important medicinal and aromatic plant in the flora of Tunisia. It is widespread in southern Tunisia, where it is commonly used as a therapeutic agent. However, its existence is seriously threatened because of over-collection.