Sterol 14α-Demethylase Structure-Based Design of VNI ((R)-N-(1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-2-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)ethyl)-4-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)benzamide)) Derivatives to Target Fungal Infections: Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, and Crystallographic Analysis.

Sterol 14α-Demethylase Structure-Based Design of VNI ((R)-N-(1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-2-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)ethyl)-4-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)benzamide)) Derivatives to Target Fungal Infections: Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, and Crystallographic Analysis.

J Med Chem. 2018 Jun 12;:

Authors: Friggeri L, Hargrove TY, Wawrzak Z, Blobaum AL, Rachakonda G, Lindsley CW, Villalta F, Nes WD, Botta M, Guengerich FP, Lepesheva GI

Abstract
Due to the increase in the number of immunocompromised patients, the incidence of invasive fungal infections is growing but the treatment efficiency remains unacceptably low. The most potent clinical systemic antifungals (azoles) are the derivatives of two scaffolds: ketoconazole and fluconazole. Being the safest antifungal drugs, they still have shortcomings, mainly because of pharmacokinetics and resistance. Here we report the successful use of the target fungal enzyme, sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51), for structure-based design of novel antifungal drug candidates by minor modifications of VNI [(R)-N-(1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-2-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)ethyl)-4-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)benzamide)], an inhibitor of protozoan CYP51 that cures Chagas disease. Synthesis of fungi-oriented VNI derivatives, analysis of their potencies to inhibit CYP51s from two major fungal pathogens (Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans), microsomal stability, effects in fungal cells, and structural characterization of A. fumigatus CYP51 in complexes with the most potent compound are described, offering a new antifungal drug scaffold and outlining directions for its further optimization.

PMID: 29894182 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

Source: Industry