Design, synthesis and molecular docking studies of novel N-arylsulfonyl-benzimidazoles with anti Trypanosoma cruzi activity.

Currently, only two drugs (i.e. benznidazole (BZN) and nifurtimox (NFX)) have been approved for the treatment of Trypanosoma cruzi (Tc) infection, the etiological agent causing Chagas disease. Since both drugs exhibit severe side effects, patients frequently abandon therapy, resulting in an inefficient pharmacotherapeutic treatment. In this context, there is an urgent need to develop new, safer and optimised anti-Tc agents. In this report, we present the synthesis and biological activity of 11 novel and 3 already reported N-arylsulfonyl-benzimidazole derivatives (NBSBZD,1-14) currently in development as potential anti-Tc compounds. These compounds were designed as part of a library of synthetic arylsulfonyl heterocycle derivatives constructed from privileged structures exhibiting drug-like properties. Based on bioactivity assays against Tc, (in both the extracellular and intracellular forms), we observed that 10 compounds exhibited bioactivity against the epimastigote form, while six of them exhibited activity against the amastigote counterpart. Also, the compounds showed less cytotoxicity compared to the reference drug BZN as measured in Vero cell culture. In order to elucidate the potential mechanism of action, metabolite excretion profiles studies were performed, and complemented with molecular modeling studies performed over known Tc druggable targets. Consistency was observed between experimental and theoretical findings, with metabolic profiles showing that compounds 1, 2, 9, 12 and 14 interfered with the normal glycolysis cycle of Tc, while molecular modeling studies were able to establish a solid structure-activity relationship towards the inhibition of 6-phospho-1-fructokinase, a key enzyme involved in the parasite glycolytic cascade. Overall, the present study constitutes a multidisciplinary contribution to the development of new anti-Chagas compounds.