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Alvaxanthone, a Thymidylate Synthase Inhibitor with Nematocidal and Tumoricidal Activities
oleh: Piotr Maj, Mattia Mori, Justyna Sobich, Joanna Markowicz, Łukasz Uram, Zbigniew Zieliński, Deborah Quaglio, Andrea Calcaterra, Ylenia Cau, Bruno Botta, Wojciech Rode
Format: | Article |
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Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2020-06-01 |
Deskripsi
With the aim to identify novel inhibitors of parasitic nematode thymidylate synthase (TS), we screened in silico an in-house library of natural compounds, taking advantage of a model of nematode TS three-dimensional (3D) structure and choosing candidate compounds potentially capable of enzyme binding/inhibition. Selected compounds were tested as (i) inhibitors of the reaction catalyzed by TSs of different species, (ii) agents toxic to a nematode parasite model (<i>C. elegans</i> grown in vitro), (iii) inhibitors of normal human cell growth, and (iv) antitumor agents affecting human tumor cells grown in vitro. The results pointed to alvaxanthone as a relatively strong TS inhibitor that causes <i>C. elegans</i> population growth reduction with nematocidal potency similar to the anthelmintic drug mebendazole. Alvaxanthone also demonstrated an antiproliferative effect in tumor cells, associated with a selective toxicity against mitochondria observed in cancer cells compared to normal cells.