Macrocyclic inhibitors have emerged as a privileged scaffold in medicinal chemistry, offering enhanced selectivity, stability, and pharmacokinetic profiles compared to their linear counterparts. Here, we describe a novel, on-resin macrocyclization strategy for the synthesis of potent inhibitors targeting the secreted protease Major Aspartyl Peptidase 1 in Cryptococcus neoformans, a pathogen responsible for life-threatening fungal infections. By employing diverse aliphatic linkers and statine-based transition-state mimics, we constructed a focused library of 624 macrocyclic compounds. Screening identified several subnanomolar inhibitors with desirable pharmacokinetic and antifungal properties. Lead compound 25 exhibited a Ki of 180 pM, significant selectivity against host proteases, and potent antifungal activity in culture. The streamlined synthetic approach not only yielded drug-like macrocycles with potential in antifungal therapy but also provided insights into structure-activity relationships that can inform broader applications of macrocyclization in drug discovery.

• MeSH
• antifungální látky * farmakologie   chemie   chemická syntéza   farmakokinetika   MeSH
• Cryptococcus neoformans * účinky léků   enzymologie   MeSH
• inhibitory proteas * farmakologie   chemie   chemická syntéza   farmakokinetika   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• makrocyklické sloučeniny * farmakologie   chemie   chemická syntéza   farmakokinetika   MeSH
• mikrobiální testy citlivosti MeSH
• vztahy mezi strukturou a aktivitou MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Cryptococcosis is an invasive infection that accounts for 15% of AIDS-related fatalities. Still, treating cryptococcosis remains a significant challenge due to the poor availability of effective antifungal therapies and emergence of drug resistance. Interestingly, protease inhibitor components of antiretroviral therapy regimens have shown some clinical benefits in these opportunistic infections. We investigated Major aspartyl peptidase 1 (May1), a secreted Cryptococcus neoformans protease, as a possible target for the development of drugs that act against both fungal and retroviral aspartyl proteases. Here, we describe the biochemical characterization of May1, present its high-resolution X-ray structure, and provide its substrate specificity analysis. Through combinatorial screening of 11,520 compounds, we identified a potent inhibitor of May1 and HIV protease. This dual-specificity inhibitor exhibits antifungal activity in yeast culture, low cytotoxicity, and low off-target activity against host proteases and could thus serve as a lead compound for further development of May1 and HIV protease inhibitors.

• MeSH
• antifungální látky chemie   metabolismus   farmakologie   MeSH
• aspartátové proteasy antagonisté a inhibitory   genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• Cryptococcus neoformans enzymologie   MeSH
• fungální proteiny antagonisté a inhibitory   genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• HIV-proteasa chemie   metabolismus   MeSH
• HIV enzymologie   MeSH
• houby účinky léků   MeSH
• katalytická doména MeSH
• krystalografie rentgenová MeSH
• preklinické hodnocení léčiv MeSH
• rekombinantní proteiny biosyntéza   chemie   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• simulace molekulární dynamiky MeSH
• substrátová specifita MeSH
• vazebná místa MeSH
• vztahy mezi strukturou a aktivitou MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH