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A. Leverrier et al. / European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 100 (2015) 10e17
6. Experimental section
6.2.3. Compounds 1e2aed and 7e8aed
See Ref. [15].
6.1. General
6.2.4. Compounds 3e6aed and 9e12aed
Bile acids (cholic, deoxycholic, hyocholic and hyodeoxycholic
acids) and Cinchona alkaloids (quinine, quinidine, cinchonine,
cinchonidine) were obtained from commercial sources and used
as such or recrystallized prior to use when necessary. The per-
acetylated bile acids were obtained by standard procedures, using
Ac2O/DMAP/Pyridine. 2-Mercaptopyridine-N-oxide, N,N0-dicy-
clohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) and camphorsulfonic acid were pur-
chased from Aldrich. All the solvents were distilled prior to use,
and CH2Cl2 used for reactions was bidistilled from phosphorous
pentoxide. NMR spectra were recorded in CDCl3 or CD3OD on
Bruker AC-200 (200.13 MHz) and Bruker Avance II (500.13 MHz)
spectrometers, using the signals of the residual nondeuterated
solvent as internal reference (dH 7.26, dC 77.0 for chloroform and dH
3.31, dC 49.0 for methanol). All 2D NMR experiments (COSY, DEPT-
HSQC, HMBC, and NOESY) were performed using standard pulse
sequences. HRMS were recorded on a Bruker micrOTOF-Q II
spectrometer. IR spectra were obtained on an FT-IR Nicolet Magna
550 instrument, optical rotations on a Perkin Elmer Polarimeter
343 (at 589 nm), and melting points on a Fisher-Johns apparatus.
TLCs were carried out on Merck Sílicagel 60 F254 plates. TLC plates
were sprayed with 2% vanillin in concentrated H2SO4 or with
Dragendorff's spray reagent (Aldrich). Merck Silicagel (230e400
mesh) and RP-18 (Aldrich) stationary phases were used for Vac-
uum Column Chromatography. Sephadex LH-20 (GE Healthcare)
was used for exclusion chromatography.
See Supplementary Information.
6.3. Biological assays
6.3.1. Parasites, cells and media
Trypanosoma brucei brucei (strain Lister 427) bloodstream forms
were cultured in vitro in HMI9 medium containing 10% heat-
inactivated foetal bovine serum [26]. Parasites were incubated in
a humidified atmosphere with 5% CO2 at 37 ꢀC.
P. falciparum (3D7, was originally isolated from a patient living
near Schipol airport, The Netherlands) asexual erythrocytic stages
were cultivated continuously in vitro according to the procedure
described by Trager and Jensen (1976) at 37 ꢀC and under an at-
mosphere of 5% CO2, 5% O2 and 90% N2 [27]. The host cells were
human red blood cells (A or O Rhþ). The culture medium was RPMI
1640 (Gibco) containing 32 mM NaHCO3, 25 mM HEPES and L-
glutamine. The medium was supplemented with 1.76 g/l glucose
(SigmaeAldrich), 44 mg/ml hypoxanthin (SigmaeAldrich), 100 mg/
l gentamycin (Gibco) and 10% human pooled serum (A or O Rhþ).
Parasites were subcultured every 3e4 days with initial conditions
of 0.5% parasitaemia and 1% haematocrit.
The human non-cancer fibroblast cell line WI38, was cultivated
in vitro in DMEM medium (Gibco) containing 4 mM L-glutamine,
1 mM sodium pyruvate supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated
foetal bovine serum (Gibco) and penicillinestreptomycin (100 UI/
ml to 100 mg/ml). Cells were incubated in a humidified atmosphere
6.2. Chemistry
with 5% CO2 at 37 ꢀC.
6.2.1. General procedure for the formation of hybrids 3e6aed
In a flask protected from light with aluminium foil, the per-
acetate of a bile acid (3e6, around 0.2e0.3 mmol) and 2-
mercaptopyridine-N-oxide (1,5 equivalents) were dissolved in
4 ml of dry CH2Cl2, and the solution was cooled to 0 ꢀC. Then,
1.5 eq.eq. of DCC were added, the solution was stirred at 0 ꢀC for
2e3 h, and the reaction was monitored by TLC. The solution was
filtered through a cotton plug, to remove dicyclohexylurea, into a
flask containing a Cinchona alkaloid (QN, QND, CN or CND, 10 eq.)
and camphorsulfonic acid (20 eq.) dissolved in 4 ml of dry CH2Cl2.
The solution was cooled to 0 ꢀC, placed under N2, and subsequently
irradiated using a single 300 W tungsten lamp during 1h150. The
reaction was quenched with an aqueous solution of NaOH (2 N) and
extracted 3 times with CH2Cl2. The organic layers were combined,
washed with water, dried over Na2SO4 and evaporated yielding a
residue. The latter was quickly separated in 4 fractions by VLC on
silica, eluting with cyclohexane/EtOAc/methanol 1/1/0, 0/1/0, 0/95/
5 and 0/9/1 respectively. Fractions 3 and 4 were pooled together to
be further purified by VLC on reversed-phase (Rp-18), eluting with
mixtures of H2O/MeOH from 1/0 to 0/1, increasing the proportion of
methanol by steps of 10%. Fractions eluted with 100% MeOH, con-
tained the hybrid, together with a small amount of the parent
alkaloid. These fractions were taken to dryness and submitted to a
final purification by Sephadex LH-20 (MeOH) to yield the desired
hybrids 3e6aed.
6.3.2. In vitro antitrypanosomal activity
The in vitro tests were performed in 96-wells microtiter plates as
described by Hoet et al. (2004) [28]. Suramin (a commercial anti-
trypanosomal drug) was used as positive control. First, stock so-
lutions of the compounds were prepared in DMSO at 4 mg/ml for
the hybrids and for suramin, and at 10 mg/ml for the bile acids. The
highest concentration of solvent to which the parasites were
exposed was 0.5%, which was shown to have no measurable effect
on parasite viability. Bile acids 1e12 were tested at 20 and 100 mg/
ml in duplicate (six wells/concentration) and in addition bile acids
2e5 were tested in triplicate in an eight serial three-fold dilutions
(final concentration range: 100e0.05 mg/ml, two wells/concentra-
tion). Suramin and hybrids 3e6aed and 9e12aed were tested in
eight serial three-fold dilutions (final concentration range:
20e0.009 mg/ml, two wells/concentration), at least in triplicate.
6.3.3. In vitro antiplasmodial activity
Parasite viability was measured using parasite lactate dehy-
drogenase (pLDH) activity according to the methods described by
Makler et al. [29]. The in vitro tests were performed in 96-wells
microtiter plates as described by Murebwayire et al. [30]. The
parasitaemia and the haematocrit were 2% and 1%, respectively.
Artemisinin (Sigma) was used as positive control in all experiments
with an initial concentration of 100 ng/ml. First stock solutions of
the compounds were prepared in DMSO at 4 mg/ml for the hybrids
and 10 mg/ml for the bile acids. The highest concentration of DMSO
to which the parasites were exposed was 1%, which was shown to
have no measurable effect on parasite viability. Bile acids 1e12
6.2.2. Deacetylation of hybrids 3e6aed
A solution of NaOH in methanol (20%) was added to compounds
3e6aed to reach a concentration of 1 mg/ml, and the solution was
then refluxed overnight. The solvent was removed under reduced
pressure and the residue dissolved in H2O before extraction with
dichloromethane. Evaporation of the organic layer yielded quanti-
tatively the deacetylated compound (9e12aed).
were tested at 20 and 100
tration) and then in duplicate in an eight serial three-fold dilutions
(final concentration range: 100e0.05 g/ml, two wells/concentra-
tion). Hybrids 3e6aed and 9e12aed were tested in two eight serial
three-fold dilutions (final concentration range: 20e0.009 g/ml
mg/ml in duplicate (four wells/concen-
m
m