Antichagasic, Leishmanicidal, and Trichomonacidal Activity of 2-Benzyl-5-nitroindazole-Derived Amines

Three different series of new 5-nitroindazole derivatives—1-(ω-aminoalkyl)-2-benzylindazolin-3-ones (series A; ten compounds), 3-(ω-aminoalkoxy)-2-benzylindazoles (series B; four compounds) and 3-alkylamino-2-benzylindazoles (series C; five compounds)—have been synthesized and evaluated against the protozoan parasites Trypanosoma cruzi, Leishmania amazonensis, and Trichomonas vaginalis: etiological agents of Chagas disease, cutaneous leishmaniasis, and trichomoniasis, respectively. Many indazoles of series A, B, and C were efficient against T. cruzi. Some compounds in series A, after successfully passing the preliminary screening for epimastigotes, exhibited activity values against amastigotes of several T. cruzi strains that were better than or similar to those shown by the reference drug benznidazole and displayed low nonspecific toxicity against mammalian cells. On the other hand, preliminary studies against promastigotes of L. amazonensis showed high leishmanicidal activity for some derivatives of series A and C. With regard to activity against T. vaginalis, some indazoles of series B and C were rather efficient against trophozoites of a metronidazole-sensitive isolate and showed low nonspecific toxicities toward Vero cell cultures. Additionally, some of these compounds displayed similar activity against metronidazole-sensitive and resistant isolates, showing the absence of cross-resistance between these derivatives and the reference drug.
This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINEICO; ref. SAF2015-66690-R), by the 911120 UCM-CEI Moncloa research group (E-Health Cluster), by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development of Brazil (CNPq; ref. 301372/2015-2) and by the Fundaçao Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo / Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ; ref. E02/2017). M.N.C.S. is a research fellow of CNPq and CNE. The authors thank the Program for Technological Development in Tools for Health (PDTIS-FIOCRUZ) for use of their facilities.