In vitro antiplasmodial activity of Dicoma anomala subsp. gerrardii (Asteraceae): identification of its main active constituent and gene expression profiling.
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ABSTRACT: To determine the transcriptional effects of a novel plant-based compound, dehydrobrachylaenolide, on P. falciparum, parasite cultures were treated with the compound over time. Samples were taken for analysis 2, 6, and 12 hours post-invasion of human red blood cells. Control cultures were treated simultaneously with DMSO, and samples isolated at 2, 6, and 12 hours for transcriptional analysis. Background Antimalarial drug resistance threatens to undermine efforts to eliminate this deadly disease. The resulting omnipresent requirement for drugs with novel modes of action prompted a national consortium initiative to discover new antiplasmodial agents from South African medicinal plants. One of the plants selected for investigation was Dicoma anomala subsp. gerrardii, based on its ethnomedicinal profile. Methods Standard phytochemical analysis techniques including solvent-solvent extraction, thin-layer and column chromatography, were used to isolate the main active constituent of Dicoma anomala subsp. gerrardii. The crystallised pure compound was identified using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and X-ray crystallography. The compound was tested in vitro on Plasmodium falciparum cultures using the parasite lactate dehydrogenase assay. The effects of treatment on the P. falciparum transcriptome were subsequently investigated by treating ring-stage parasites (alongside untreated controls) with the pure compound, followed by oligonucleotide microarray and data analysis. Results The main active constituent was identified as dehydrobrachylaenolide, a eudesmanolide-type sesquiterpene lactone. The compound demonstrated an in vitro IC50 of 245.6 nM, which was comparable to the IC50 of chloroquine, against a chloroquine-resistant strain (K1) of P. falciparum. Microarray data analysis identified a cluster of unique genes that were differentially expressed as a result of the treatment and gene ontology analysis identified various biological processes that were significantly affected. Comparison of the dehydrobrachylaenolide treatment transcriptional dataset with a published artesunate (also a sesquiterpene lactone) dataset revealed little overlap. This suggests differentiated modes of action between the two compounds. Conclusions Dehydrobrachylaenolide could play a valuable role as a drug candidate to generate new antimalarial compounds with novel modes of action and favourable ADMET properties.
ORGANISM(S): Plasmodium falciparum Plasmodium falciparum 3D7
PROVIDER: GSE29874 | GEO | 2011/11/01
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA140989
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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