Derivatives of a benzoquinone acyl hydrazone with activity against Toxoplasma gondii

Publication date: Available online 10 November 2018Source: International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug ResistanceAuthor(s): A.G. Sanford, T.T. Schulze, L.P. Potluri, G.F. Watson, E.B. Darner, S.J. Zach, R.M. Hemsley, A.I. Wallick, R.C. Warner, S.A. Charman, X. Wang, J.L. Vennerstrom, P.H. DavisAbstractToxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite with global incidence. The acute infection, toxoplasmosis, is treatable but current regimens have poor host tolerance and no cure has been found for latent infections. This work builds upon a previous high throughput screen which identified benzoquinone acyl hydrazone (KG8) as the most promising compound; KG8 displayed potent in vitro activity against T. gondii but only marginal in vivo efficacy in a T. gondii animal model. To define the potential of this new lead compound, we now describe a baseline structure-activity relationship for this chemotype. Several derivatives displayed IC50's comparable to that of the control treatment pyrimethamine with little to no cytotoxicity. The best of these, KGW44 and KGW59, had higher metabolic stability than KG8. In an in vivo T. gondii murine model, KGW59 significantly increased survivorship. This work provides new insights for optimization of this novel chemotype.Graphical abstract
Source: International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance - Category: Parasitology Source Type: research