Selective human inhibitors of ATR and ATM render Leishmania major promastigotes sensitive to oxidative damage

PLoS One. 2018 Sep 28;13(9):e0205033. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205033. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

All cellular processes, including those involved in normal cell metabolism to those responsible for cell proliferation or death, are finely controlled by cell signaling pathways, whose core proteins constitute the family of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-related kinases (PIKKs). Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM) and Ataxia Telangiectasia and Rad3 related (ATR) are two important PIKK proteins that act in response to DNA damage, phosphorylating a large number of proteins to exert control over genomic integrity. The genus Leishmania belongs to a group of early divergent eukaryotes in evolution and has a highly plastic genome, probably owing to the existence of signaling pathways designed to maintain genomic integrity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of specific human inhibitors of ATR and ATM in Leishmania major. Bioinformatic analyses revealed the existence of the putative PIKK genes ATR and ATM, in addition to mTOR and DNA-PKcs in Leishmania spp. Moreover, it was possible to suggest that the inhibitors VE-821 and KU-55933 have binding affinity for the catalytic sites of putative L. major ATR and ATM, respectively. Promastigotes of L. major exposed to these inhibitors show slight growth impairment and minor changes in cell cycle and morphology. It is noteworthy that treatment of promastigotes with inhibitors VE-821 and KU-55933 enhanced the oxidative damage caused by hydrogen peroxide. These inhibitors could significantly reduce the number of surviving L. major cells following H2O2 exposure whilst also decreasing their evaluated IC50 to H2O2 to less than half of that observed for non-treated cells. These results suggest that the use of specific inhibitors of ATR and ATM in Leishmania interferes in the signaling pathways of this parasite, which can impair its tolerance to DNA damage and affect its genome integrity. ATR and ATM could constitute novel targets for drug development and/or repositioning for treatment of leishmaniases.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Humans
  • Leishmania major / metabolism*
  • Life Cycle Stages / drug effects*
  • Morpholines / pharmacology*
  • Oxidative Stress / drug effects*
  • Pyrazines / pharmacology*
  • Pyrones / pharmacology*
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects
  • Sulfones / pharmacology*

Substances

  • 2-morpholin-4-yl-6-thianthren-1-yl-pyran-4-one
  • 3-amino-6-(4-(methylsulfonyl)phenyl)-N-phenylpyrazine-2-carboxamide
  • Morpholines
  • Pyrazines
  • Pyrones
  • Sulfones
  • ATM protein, human
  • ATR protein, human
  • Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins

Grants and funding

Funded by Fundação de Amparo À Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais. Grant number APQ-00644-16 (www.fapemig.br) - ALP. Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico. Grant number 408355/2016-6 (www.cnpq.br) - ALP. Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (www.capes.gov.br) - RBdaS. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.