Novel small molecule retrograde transport blocker confers post-exposure protection against ricin intoxication

摘要

Ricin is a highly toxic type 2 ribosome-inactivating protein(RIP)which is extracted from the seeds of castor beans.Ricin is considered a potential bioterror agent and no effective antidote for ricin exists so far.In this study,by structural modification of a retrograde transport blocker Retro-2cyc1,a series of novel compounds were obtained.The primary screen revealed that compound 27 has an improved antiricin activity compare to positive control.In vitro pre-exposure evaluation in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney(MDCK)cells demonstrated that 27 is a powerful anti-ricin compound with an EC50 of 41.05 nmol/L against one LC(lethal concentration,5.56 ng/mL)of ricin.Further studies surprisingly indicated that 27 confers post-exposure activity against ricin intoxication.An in vivo study showed that 1 h post-exposure administration of 27 can improve the survival rate as well as delay the death of ricin-intoxicated mice.A drug combination of 27 with monoclonal antibody mAb4 C13 rescued mice from one LD(lethal dose)ricin challenge and the survival rate of tested animals is 100%.These results represent,for the first time,indication that small molecule retrograde transport blocker confers both in vitro and in vivo post-exposure protection against ricin and therefore provides a promising candidate for the development of anti-ricin medicines.