A nanotherapy strategy significantly enhances anticryptosporidial activity of an inhibitor of bifunctional thymidylate synthase-dihydrofolate reductase from Cryptosporidium

Anindita Mukerjee, Pinar Iyidogan, Alejandro Castellanos-Gonzalez, José A. Cisneros, Daniel Czyzyk, Amalendu Prakash Ranjan, William L. Jorgensen, A. Clinton White, Jamboor K. Vishwanatha, Karen S. Anderson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cryptosporidiosis, a gastrointestinal disease caused by protozoans of the genus Cryptosporidium, is a common cause of diarrheal diseases and often fatal in immunocompromised individuals. Bifunctional thymidylate synthase-dihydrofolate reductase (TS-DHFR) from Cryptosporidium hominis (C. hominis) has been a molecular target for inhibitor design. C. hominis TS-DHFR inhibitors with nM potency at a biochemical level have been developed however drug delivery to achieve comparable antiparasitic activity in Cryptosporidium infected cell culture has been a major hurdle for designing effective therapies. Previous mechanistic and structural studies have identified compound 906 as a nM C. hominis TS-DHFR inhibitor in vitro, having μM antiparasitic activity in cell culture. In this work, proof of concept studies are presented using a nanotherapy approach to improve drug delivery and the antiparasitic activity of 906 in cell culture. We utilized PLGA nanoparticles that were loaded with 906 (NP-906) and conjugated with antibodies to the Cryptosporidium specific protein, CP2, on the nanoparticle surface in order to specifically target the parasite. Our results indicate that CP2 labeled NP-906 (CP2-NP-906) reduces the level of parasites by 200-fold in cell culture, while NP-906 resulted in 4.4-fold decrease. Moreover, the anticryptosporidial potency of 906 improved 15 to 78-fold confirming the utility of the antibody conjugated nanoparticles as an effective drug delivery strategy.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2065-2067
Number of pages3
JournalBioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters
Volume25
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 15 2015

Keywords

  • Cryptosporidium hominis
  • Dihydrofolate reductase
  • Drug delivery
  • Nanoparticle
  • Thymidylate synthase

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Medicine
  • Molecular Biology
  • Pharmaceutical Science
  • Drug Discovery
  • Clinical Biochemistry
  • Organic Chemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A nanotherapy strategy significantly enhances anticryptosporidial activity of an inhibitor of bifunctional thymidylate synthase-dihydrofolate reductase from Cryptosporidium'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this