1-(Fluoroalkylidene)-1,1-bisphosphonic acids are potent and selective inhibitors of Toxoplasma farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase

Org Biomol Chem. 2012 Jan 3. [Epub ahead of print]

1-(Fluoroalkylidene)-1,1-bisphosphonic acids are potent and selective inhibitors of the enzymatic activity of Toxoplasma gondii farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase.

Szajnman SH, Rosso VS, Malayil L, Smith A, Moreno SN, Docampo R, Rodriguez JB.

Source
Departamento de Química Orgánica and UMYMFOR (CONICET-FCEyN), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón 2, Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina. jbr@qo.fcen.ar.


Abstract
α-Fluorinated-1,1-bisphosphonic acids derived from fatty acids were designed, synthesized and biologically evaluated against Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, and against Toxoplasma gondii, the agent responsible for toxoplasmosis, and also towards the target parasitic enzymes farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase of T. cruzi (TcFPPS) and T. gondii (TgFPPS). Interestingly, 1-fluorononylidene-1,1-bisphosphonic acid (compound 43) proved to be an extremely potent inhibitor of the enzymatic activity of TgFPPS at the low nanomolar range, exhibiting an IC(50) of 30 nM. This compound was two-fold more potent than risedronate (IC(50) = 74 nM) that was taken as a positive control. This enzymatic activity was associated with a strong cell growth inhibition against tachyzoites of T. gondii, with an IC(50) value of 2.7 μM.

PMID: 22215028 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]