In silico Leishmania proteome mining applied to identify drug target potential to be used to treat against visceral and tegumentary leishmaniasis

• Published in: Journal of molecular graphics & modelling 2019-03, Vol.87, p.89-97
• Main Authors: Chávez-Fumagalli, Miguel A., Lage, Daniela P., Tavares, Grasiele S.V., Mendonça, Débora V.C., Dias, Daniel S., Ribeiro, Patrícia A.F., Ludolf, Fernanda, Costa, Lourena E., Coelho, Vinicio T.S., Coelho, Eduardo A.F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Antiprotozoal Agents - chemistry; Antiprotozoal Agents - pharmacology; Computational Biology - methods; Data Mining; Drug Discovery; Drug targets; Female; Humans; Leishmania - drug effects; Leishmania - genetics; Leishmania - metabolism; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - drug therapy; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - parasitology; Macrophages - drug effects; Macrophages - parasitology; Mice; Models, Molecular; Molecular Sequence Annotation; N-Glycan biosynthesis pathway; Protein Conformation; Proteome; Proteome mining; Proteomics - methods; Structure-Activity Relationship; Toxicity; Treatment; Visceral leishmaniasis
• ISSN: 1093-3263; 1873-4243
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmgm.2018.11.014

New therapeutic strategies against leishmaniasis are desirable, since the treatment against disease presents problems, such as the toxicity, high cost and/or parasite resistance. As consequence, new antileishmanial compounds are necessary to be identified, as presenting high activity against Leishmania, but low toxicity in mammalian hosts. In the present study, a Leishmania proteome mining strategy was developed, in order to select new drug targets with low homology to human proteins, but that are considered relevant for the parasite' survival. Results showed a hypothetical protein, which was functionally annotated as a glucosidase-like protein, as presenting such characteristics. This protein was associated with the metabolic network of the N-Glycan biosynthesis pathway in Leishmania, and two specific inhibitors – acarbose and miglitol – were predicted to be potential targets against it. In this context, miglitol [1-(2-Hydroxyethyl)-2-(hydroxymethyl)piperidine-3,4,5-triol] was tested against stationary promastigotes and axenic amastigotes of the Leishmania amazonensis and L. infantum species, and results showed high values of antileishmanial inhibition against both parasite species. Miglitol showed also efficacy in the treatment of Leishmania-infected macrophages; thus denoting its potential use as an antileishmanial candidate. In conclusion, this work presents a new drug target identified by a proteome mining strategy associated with bioinformatics tools, and suggested its use as a possible candidate to be applied in the treatment against disease. [Display omitted] •A Leishmania proteome mining strategy and bioinformatics assays were performed.•A hypothetical protein annotated as a glucosidase-like protein was identified.•It was related with the N-Glycan biosynthesis pathway in Leishmania.•Miglitol was predicted as being a drug potential against this molecule in Leishmania.•It was in vitro effective against Leishmania amazonensis and L. infantum.