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We introduce the Center for Research and Advancement in Fragments and Molecular Targets (CRAFT), a pioneering research center established in 2021 through a collaboration between the University of São Paulo (USP) and the Federal University of Goiás (UFG). CRAFT integrates fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD), artificial intelligence (AI), and structural biology to develop novel therapeutic strategies. We have created fragment and target libraries and utilize AI models to streamline the drug discovery process. We invite the global scientific community to collaborate with us in addressing neglected diseases, with the goal of enhancing research capabilities and fostering scientific innovation across Latin America., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

The urgent need for effective treatments against emerging viral diseases, driven by drug-resistant strains and new viral variants, remains critical. We focus on inhibiting the human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase ( Hs DHODH), one of the main enzymes responsible for pyrimidine nucleotide synthesis. This strategy could impede viral replication without provoking resistance. We evaluated naphthoquinone fragments, discovering potent Hs DHODH inhibition with IC 50 ranging from 48 to 684 nM, and promising in vitro anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity with EC 50 ranging from 1.2 to 2.3 μM. These compounds exhibited low toxicity, indicating potential for further development. Additionally, we employed computational tools such as molecular docking and quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models to analyze protein-ligand interactions, revealing that these naphthoquinones exhibit a protein binding pattern similar to brequinar, a potent Hs DHODH inhibitor. These findings represent a significant step forward in the search for effective antiviral treatments and have great potential to impact the development of new broad-spectrum antiviral drugs., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

A series of 28 compounds, 3-nitro-1 H -1,2,4-triazole, were synthesized by click-chemistry with diverse substitution patterns using medicinal chemistry approaches, such as bioisosterism, Craig-plot, and the Topliss set with excellent yields. Overall, the analogs demonstrated relevant in vitro antitrypanosomatid activity. Analog 15g (R 1 = 4-OCF 3 -Ph, IC 50 = 0.09 μM, SI = >555.5) exhibited an outstanding antichagasic activity ( Trypanosoma cruzi , Tulahuen LacZ strain) 68-fold more active than benznidazole (BZN, IC 50 = 6.15 μM, SI = >8.13) with relevant selectivity index, and suitable LipE = 5.31. 15g was considered an appropriate substrate for the type I nitro reductases (TcNTR I), contributing to a likely potential mechanism of action for antichagasic activity. Finally, 15g showed nonmutagenic potential against Salmonella typhimurium strains (TA98, TA100, and TA102). Therefore, 3-nitro-1 H -1,2,4-triazole 15g is a promising antitrypanosomatid candidate for in vivo studies.

Herein, relationships between the structures of 1-aminoethyl-substituted chromenes and their antimalarial activities were thoroughly investigated. At first, the methyl moiety in the side chain was removed to eliminate chirality. The hydrogenation state of the benzopyran system, the position of the phenolic OH moiety, and the distance of the basic amino moiety toward both aromatic rings were varied systematically. 1-Benzopyran-5-ol 8b (IC 50 = 10 nM), 1-benzopyran-7-ol 9c (IC 50 = 38 nM), and the aminoalcohol 19c (IC 50 = 17 nM) displayed antiplasmodial activity with IC 50 values below 50 nM. To identify the mechanism of action, inhibition of three key enzymes by 9c was investigated. 9c was not able to reduce the number of Plasmodia in erythrocytes of mice. This low in vivo activity was explained by fast clearance from blood plasma combined with rapid biotransformation of 9c . Three main metabolites of 9c were identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methods.

Leishmaniases affect the poorest people on earth and have no effective drug therapy. Here, we present the crystal structure of the mitochondrial isoform of class I fumarate hydratase (FH) from Leishmania major and compare it to the previously determined cytosolic Leishmania major isoform. We further describe the mechanism of action of the first class-specific FH inhibitor, 2-thiomalate, through X-ray crystallography and inhibition assays. Our crystal structures of both FH isoforms with inhibitor bound at 2.05 Å resolution and 1.60 Å resolution show high structural similarity. These structures further reveal that the selectivity of 2-thiomalate for class I FHs is due to direct coordination of the inhibitor to the unique Fe of the catalytic [4Fe-4S] cluster that is found in class I parasitic FHs but is absent from class II human FH. These studies provide the structural scaffold in order to exploit class I FHs as potential drug targets against leishmaniases as well as Chagas diseases, sleeping sickness, and malaria.

Dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) is an enzyme necessary for pyrimidine biosynthesis in protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium , the causative agents of malaria. We recently reported the identification of novel compounds derived from diversity-oriented synthesis with activity in multiple stages of the malaria parasite life cycle. Here, we report the optimization of a potent series of antimalarial inhibitors consisting of azetidine-2-carbonitriles, which we had previously shown to target P. falciparum DHODH in a biochemical assay. Optimized compound BRD9185 ( 27 ) has in vitro activity against multidrug-resistant blood-stage parasites (EC 50 = 0.016 μM) and is curative after just three doses in a P. berghei mouse model. BRD9185 has a long half-life (15 h) and low clearance in mice and represents a new structural class of DHODH inhibitors with potential as antimalarial drugs.

Homeobox transcription factor A9 (HoxA9) is overexpressed in 70% of patients diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), whereas only a small subset of AML patients respond to current differentiation therapies. A cell line overexpressing HoxA9 was derived from the bone marrow of a lysozyme-GFP mouse. In this fashion, GFP served as an endogenous reporter of differentiation, permitting a high-throughput phenotypic screen against the MLPCN library. Two chemical scaffolds were optimized for activity yielding compound ML390, and genetic resistance and sequencing efforts identified dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) as the target enzyme. The DHODH inhibitor brequinar works against these leukemic cells as well. The X-ray crystal structure of ML390 bound to DHODH elucidates ML390s binding interactions.