Discovery of New Broad-Spectrum Anti-Infectives for Eukaryotic Pathogens Using Bioorganometallic Chemistry

• Published in: bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
• Main Authors: Lin, Yan, Jung, Hyeim, Bulman, Christina A, Ng, James, Vinck, Robin, O'Beirne, Cillian, Moser, Matthew S, Tricoche, Nancy, Peguero, Ricardo, Li, Robert W, Urban, Joseph F, Pape, Patrice Le, Pagniez, Fabrice, Moretto, Marco, Weil, Tobias, Lustigman, Sara, Cariou, Kevin, Mitreva, Makedonka, Sakanari, Judy A, Gasser, Gilles
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 30.06.2023

Drug resistance observed with many anti-infectives clearly highlights the need for new broad-spectrum agents to treat especially neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) caused by eukaryotic parasitic pathogens including fungal infections. Since these diseases target the most vulnerable communities who are disadvantaged by health and socio-economic factors, new agents should be, if possible, easy-to-prepare to allow for commercialization based on their low cost. In this study, we show that simple modification of one of the most well-known antifungal drugs, fluconazole, with organometallic moieties not only improves the activity of the parent drug but also broadens the scope of application of the new derivatives. These compounds were highly effective against pathogenic fungal infections and potent against parasitic worms such as which causes lymphatic filariasis and one of the soil-transmitted helminths that infects millions of people globally. Notably, the identified molecular targets indicate a mechanism of action that differs greatly from the parental antifungal drug, including targets involved in biosynthetic pathways that are absent in humans, offering great potential to expand our armamentarium against drug-resistant fungal infections and NTDs targeted for elimination by 2030. Overall, the discovery of these new compounds with broad-spectrum activity opens new avenues for the development of treatments for several current human infections, either caused by fungi or by parasites, including other NTDs, as well as newly emerging diseases. Simple derivatives of the well-known antifungal drug fluconazole were found to be highly effective against fungal infections, and also potent against the parasitic nematode which causes lymphatic filariasis and against one of the soil-transmitted helminths that infects millions of people globally.