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Antimalarial efficacy of MMV390048, an inhibitor of Plasmodium phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase.

Tanya PaquetClaire Le ManachDiego González CabreraYassir YounisPhilipp P HenrichTara S AbrahamMarcus C S LeeRajshekhar BasakSonja Ghidelli-DisseMaría José Lafuente-MonasterioMarcus BantscheffAndrea RueckerAndrew M BlagboroughSara E ZakutanskyAnne-Marie ZeemanKaren L WhiteDavid M ShacklefordJanne MannilaJulia MorizziChristian ScheurerIñigo Angulo-BarturenMaría Santos MartínezSantiago FerrerLaura María SanzFrancisco Javier GamoJanette ReaderMariette BothaKoen J DecheringRobert W SauerweinAnchalee TungtaengPattaraporn VanachayangkulChek Shik LimJeremy BurrowsMichael J WittyKennan C MarshChristophe BodenreiderRosemary RochfordSuresh M SolapureMaría Belén Jiménez-DíazSergio WittlinSusan A CharmanCristina DoniniBrice CampoLyn-Marie BirkholtzKirsten K HansonGerard DrewesClemens H M KockenMichael J DelvesDidier LeroyDavid A FidockDavid WatersonLeslie J StreetKelly Chibale
Published in: Science translational medicine (2018)
As part of the global effort toward malaria eradication, phenotypic whole-cell screening revealed the 2-aminopyridine class of small molecules as a good starting point to develop new antimalarial drugs. Stemming from this series, we found that the derivative, MMV390048, lacked cross-resistance with current drugs used to treat malaria. This compound was efficacious against all Plasmodium life cycle stages, apart from late hypnozoites in the liver. Efficacy was shown in the humanized Plasmodium falciparum mouse model, and modest reductions in mouse-to-mouse transmission were achieved in the Plasmodium berghei mouse model. Experiments in monkeys revealed the ability of MMV390048 to be used for full chemoprotection. Although MMV390048 was not able to eliminate liver hypnozoites, it delayed relapse in a Plasmodium cynomolgi monkey model. Both genomic and chemoproteomic studies identified a kinase of the Plasmodium parasite, phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase, as the molecular target of MMV390048. The ability of MMV390048 to block all life cycle stages of the malaria parasite suggests that this compound should be further developed and may contribute to malaria control and eradication as part of a single-dose combination treatment.
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