Identification of Selective Inhibitors of Plasmodium N-Myristoyltransferase by High-Throughput Screening

J Med Chem. 2020 Jan 23;63(2):591-600. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b01343. Epub 2020 Jan 8.

Abstract

New drugs that target Plasmodium species, the causative agents of malaria, are needed. The enzyme N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) is an essential protein, which catalyzes the myristoylation of protein substrates, often to mediate membrane targeting. We screened ∼1.8 million small molecules for activity against Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) NMT. Hits were triaged based on potency and physicochemical properties and further tested against P. vivax and Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) NMTs. We assessed the activity of hits against human NMT1 and NMT2 and discarded compounds with low selectivity indices. We identified 23 chemical classes specific for the inhibition of Plasmodium NMTs over human NMTs, including multiple novel scaffolds. Cocrystallization of P. vivax NMT with one compound revealed peptide binding pocket binding. Other compounds show a range of potential modes of action. Our data provide insight into the activity of a collection of selective inhibitors of Plasmodium NMT and serve as a starting point for subsequent medicinal chemistry efforts.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acyltransferases / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Acyltransferases / chemistry
  • Animals
  • Antimalarials / chemical synthesis*
  • Antimalarials / pharmacology*
  • Binding Sites
  • Cell Line
  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • Drug Discovery
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / chemical synthesis*
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • High-Throughput Screening Assays
  • Humans
  • Malaria / drug therapy
  • Models, Molecular
  • Plasmodium / drug effects*
  • Plasmodium / enzymology*
  • Plasmodium falciparum / drug effects
  • Plasmodium vivax / drug effects
  • Small Molecule Libraries
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Antimalarials
  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Small Molecule Libraries
  • Acyltransferases
  • glycylpeptide N-tetradecanoyltransferase