Busca de produtos naturais como inibidores específicos de enzimas

Abstract

The present work describes the search of bioactive secondary metabolites isolated from plants, against enzymes: gGAPDH (glyceraldehydes-3- phosphate dehydrogenase from Trypanosoma cruzi and lysosomal cathepsins K, V, L and S. This work is divided in two parts: Part I: Study of the oil from the nut shells of Anacardium occidentale (Anacardiaceae) - Chagas disease, a parasitic infection caused by the flagellate protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is a major public health problem affecting millions of individuals in Latin America. On the basis of the essential role in the life cycle of T. cruzi, the enzyme gGAPDH has been considered an attractive target for the development of novel antitrypanosomatid agents. From the dicloromethane extract of A. occidentale were isolated phenolic compounds which were investigated on their inhibition activity against gGAPDH and trypomastigote forms of T. cruzi. The most promising compound was the 6-n-pentadecylsalicylic acid (AC1) with IC50 values of 28 μM against gGAPDH and 66.7 μg/mL against trypomastigote forms. In addition, a detailed mechanistic characterization of the effects of AC1 on the T. cruzi gGAPDHcatalyzed reaction showed clear noncompetitive inhibition with respect to both substrate G-3-P and cofactor NAD+. Part II: Study of natural products and synthetic derivatives searching for inhibitors of lysosomal cysteine peptidases - After completing the human genome, eleven lysosomal cysteine peptidases were identified. Those enzymes are involved in general protein degradation. The lysosomal cysteine peptidases are found in various tissues and those are found in many organs. Cathepsin K is associated to bone resorption, cathepsin L to skin cancer, at last cathepsins V and S are associated to the immune system. In this work, four enzymes (cathepsins K, V, L and S) were selected as a molecular target for the identification of new inhibitors. Some potent inhibitors of cathepsin V were found, and a study including kinetic characterization of the most potent inhibitors, including potency (IC50), mechanism of action and constant Ki was carried out. The most promising compound is the acridone alkaloid citbrasine (107), with values of IC50 of 1.2 μM and Ki of 0.24 μM. Moreover, it was determined that citbrasine is a competitive inhibitor against cathepsin V in relation to the substrate ZFRMCA. Additionally, it was carried out the study of molecular modeling for acridone alkaloids that showed significant inhibition of cathepsin V.