Inhibition of Trypanosoma brucei glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase by human steroids and their effects on the viability of cultured parasites.

Cordeiro, Artur T;Thiemann, Otavio H;Michels, Paulus
(2009) Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry : the tetrahedron journal for research at the interface of chemistry and biology — Vol. 17, n° 6, p. 2483-2489 (2009)

Files

pdfdocument.pdf
  • Restricted Access
  • Adobe PDF
  • 569.75 KB
Request a copy

Details

Authors
  • Cordeiro, Artur T
    Author
  • Thiemann, Otavio H
    Author
  • Michels, PaulusUCLouvain
    Author
Abstract
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is known as an intermediate in the synthesis of mammalian steroids and a potent uncompetitive inhibitor of mammalian glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), but not the enzyme from plants and lower eukaryotes. G6PDH catalyzes the first step of the pentose-phosphate pathway supplying cells with ribose 5-phosphate, a precursor of nucleic acid synthesis, and NADPH for biosynthetic processes and protection against oxidative stress. In this paper we demonstrate that also G6PDH of the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei is uncompetitively inhibited by DHEA and epiandrosterone (EA), with K(i) values in the lower micromolar range. A viability assay confirmed the toxic effect of both steroids on cultured T. brucei bloodstream form cells. Additionally, RNAi mediated reduction of the G6PDH level in T. brucei bloodstream forms validated this enzyme as a drug target against Human African Trypanosomiasis. Together these findings show that inhibition of G6PDH by DHEA derivatives may lead to the development of a new class of anti-trypanosomatid compounds.
Affiliations

Citations

  • APA
  • Chicago
  • FWB

Cordeiro, A. T., Thiemann, O. H., & Michels, P. (2009). Inhibition of Trypanosoma brucei glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase by human steroids and their effects on the viability of cultured parasites. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry : the tetrahedron journal for research at the interface of chemistry and biology, 17(6), 2483-2489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bmc.2009.01.068 (Original work published 2009)