Substituted N-Phenyl-5-(2-(phenylamino)thiazol-4-yl)isoxazole-3-carboxamides Are Valuable Antitubercular Candidates that Evade Innate Efflux Machinery

J Med Chem. 2017 Aug 24;60(16):7108-7122. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.7b00793. Epub 2017 Aug 10.

Abstract

Tuberculosis remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases in the world, and the increased number of multidrug-resistant and extremely drug-resistant strains is a significant reason for concern. This makes the discovery of novel antitubercular agents a cogent priority. We have previously addressed this need by reporting a series of substituted 2-aminothiazoles capable to inhibit the growth of actively replicating, nonreplicating persistent, and resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains. Clues from the structure-activity relationships lining up the antitubercular activity were exploited for the rational design of improved analogues. Two compounds, namely N-phenyl-5-(2-(p-tolylamino)thiazol-4-yl)isoxazole-3-carboxamide 7a and N-(pyridin-2-yl)-5-(2-(p-tolylamino)thiazol-4-yl)isoxazole-3-carboxamide 8a, were found to show high inhibitory activity toward susceptible M. tuberculosis strains, with an MIC90 of 0.125-0.25 μg/mL (0.33-0.66 μM) and 0.06-0.125 μg/mL (0.16-0.32 μM), respectively. Moreover, they maintained good activity also toward resistant strains, and they were selective over other bacterial species and eukaryotic cells, metabolically stable, and apparently not susceptible to the action of efflux pumps.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antitubercular Agents / chemical synthesis
  • Antitubercular Agents / metabolism
  • Antitubercular Agents / pharmacology*
  • Antitubercular Agents / toxicity
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism
  • Drug Design
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / drug effects
  • Drug Stability
  • Ethidium / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Isoxazoles / chemical synthesis
  • Isoxazoles / metabolism
  • Isoxazoles / pharmacology*
  • Isoxazoles / toxicity
  • Macrophages / drug effects
  • Macrophages / metabolism
  • Membrane Transport Proteins / metabolism
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Microsomes, Liver / metabolism
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis / drug effects
  • Thiazoles / chemical synthesis
  • Thiazoles / metabolism
  • Thiazoles / pharmacology*
  • Thiazoles / toxicity
  • Thioridazine / pharmacology
  • Verapamil / pharmacology

Substances

  • Antitubercular Agents
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Isoxazoles
  • Membrane Transport Proteins
  • N-(pyridin-2-yl)-5-(2-(p-tolylamino)thiazol-4-yl)isoxazole-3-carboxamide
  • N-phenyl-5-(2-(p-tolylamino)thiazol-4-yl)isoxazole-3-carboxamide
  • Thiazoles
  • Verapamil
  • Ethidium
  • Thioridazine