Gold compounds as cysteine protease inhibitors: perspectives for pharmaceutical application as antiparasitic agents

Gold compounds form a new class of promising metal-based drugs with a number of potential therapeutic applications, particularly in the fields of anticancer and antimicrobial treatments. Previous research revealed that a group of structurally diverse gold compounds cause conspicuous inhibition of the protease activities of the human proteasome. Given the pharmacological importance of protease inhibition, the present study further explored whether these gold compounds might inhibit a few other proteases that are accepted druggable targets for disease treatment. In particular, four distinct cysteine proteases were considered here: cathepsin B and L that play a primary role in tumor-cell invasion and metastasis; rhodesain, the major cathepsin L-like cysteine protease of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and CPB2.8ΔCTE, a Leishmania mexicana mature cysteine protease. Based on the encouraging results obtained for some of the tested gold compounds on the two parasitic cysteine proteases, especially against CPB2.8ΔCTE, with IC_50s in the micromolar range, we next evaluated whether those gold compounds might contrast effectively the growth of the respective protozoa and indeed important antiprotozoal properties were disclosed; on the other hand a certain lack of selectivity was highlighted. Also, no direct or clear correlation could be established between the in vitro antiprotozoal properties and the level of protease inhibition. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to possible pharmaceutical applications.     

Discovery of the type VII ESX‐1 secretion needle?

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the etiological agent of human tuberculosis, harbours five ESAT‐6/type VII secretion (ESX/T7S) systems. The first esx gene clusters were identified during the genome‐sequencing project of M. tuberculosis H37Rv. Follow‐up studies revealed additional genes playing important roles in ESX/T7S systems. Among the latter genes, one can find those that encode Pro‐Glu (PE) and Pro‐Pro‐Glu (PPE) proteins as well as a gene cluster that is encoded >260 kb upstream of the esx‐1 locus and encodes ESX‐1 secretion‐associated proteins EspA (Rv3616c), EspC (Rv3615c) and EspD (Rv3614c). The espACD cluster has been suggested to have an important function in ESX‐1 secretion since EspA‐EspC and EsxA–EsxB are mutually co‐dependent on each other for secretion. However, the molecular mechanism of this co‐dependence and interaction between the substrates remained unknown. In this issue of Molecular Microbiology, Lou and colleagues show that EspC forms high‐molecular weight polymerization complexes that resemble selected components of type II, III and/or IV secretion systems of Gram‐negative bacteria. Indeed, EspC‐multimeric complexes form filamentous structures that could well represent a secretion needle of ESX‐1 type VII secretion systems. This exciting observation opens new avenues for research to discover and characterize ESX/T7S components and elucidates the co‐dependence of EsxA/B secretion with EspA/C.     

Animal movement in the absence of predation: environmental drivers of movement strategies in a partial migration system

Animal movement strategies including migration, dispersal, nomadism, and residency are shaped by broad‐scale spatial‐temporal structuring of the environment, including factors such as the degrees of spatial variation, seasonality and inter‐annual predictability. Animal movement strategies, in turn, interact with the characteristics of individuals and the local distribution of resources to determine local patterns of resource selection with complex and poorly understood implications for animal fitness. Here we present a multi‐scale investigation of animal movement strategies and resource selection. We consider the degree to which spatial variation, seasonality, and inter‐annual predictability in resources drive migration patterns among different taxa and how movement strategies in turn shape local resource selection patterns. We focus on adult Galapagos giant tortoises Chelonoidis spp. as a model system since they display many movement strategies and evolved in the absence of predators of adults. Specifically, our analysis is based on 63 individuals among four taxa tracked on three islands over six years and almost 10⁶ tortoise re‐locations. Tortoises displayed a continuum of movement strategies from migration to sedentarism that were linked to the spatio‐temporal scale and predictability of resource distributions. Movement strategies shaped patterns of resource selection. Specifically, migratory individuals displayed stronger selection toward areas where resources were more predictable among years than did non‐migratory individuals, which indicates a selective advantage for migrants in seasonally structured, more predictable environments. Our analytical framework combines large‐scale predictions for movement strategies, based on environmental structuring, with finer‐scale analysis of space‐use. Integrating different organizational levels of analysis provides a deeper understanding of the eco‐evolutionary dynamics at play in the emergence and maintenance of migration and the critical role of resource predictability. Our results highlight that assessing the potential benefits of differential behavioral responses first requires an understanding of the interactions among movement strategies, resource selection and individual characteristics.     

Inspiratory flow in the nose: a model coupling flow and vasoerectile tissue distensibility.

We have developed a discrete multisegmental model describing the coupling between inspiratory flow and nasal wall distensibility. This model is composed of 14 individualized compliant elements, each with its own relationship between cross-sectional area and transmural pressure. Conceptually, this model is based on flow limitation induced by the narrowing of duct due to collapsing pressure. For a given inspiratory pressure and for a given compliance distribution, this model predicts the area profile and inspiratory flow. Acoustic rhinometry and posterior rhinomanometry were used to determine the initial geometric area and mechanical characteristics of each element. The proposed model, used under steady-state conditions, is able to simulate the pressure-flow relationship observed in vivo under normal conditions (4 subjects) and under pathological conditions (4 vasomotor rhinitis and 3 valve syndrome subjects). Our results suggest that nasal wall compliance is an essential parameter to understand the nasal inspiratory flow limitation phenomenon and the associated increase of resistance that is well known to physiologists. By predicting the functional pressure-flow relationship, this model could be a useful tool for the clinician to evaluate the potential effects of treatments.