Sulfonamide inhibition studies of an α-carbonic anhydrase from Schistosoma mansoni, a platyhelminth parasite responsible for schistosomiasis

Schistosomiasis is a debilitating infection provoked by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. The species Schistosoma mansoni is endemic in Africa, where it causes intestinal schistosomiasis. Recently, an α-carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) was cloned and characterized from this organism and designated as SmCA. The protein is expressed in the tegument (skin) of S. mansoni at the host–parasite interface. Recombinant SmCA possesses high catalytic activity in the CO2 hydration reaction, similar to that of human CA isoform II with a kcat of 1.2 × 106 s−1 and a kcat /KM of 1.3 × 108 M−1·s−1. It has been found that schistosomes whose SmCA gene is suppressed using RNA interference are unable to establish a robust infection in mice, suggesting that the chemicals that inhibit SmCA function should have the same debilitating effect on the parasites. In this study, a collection of aromatic/heterocyclic sulfonamides were investigated as possible SmCA inhibitors. Several sulfonamides inhibited SmCA with medium to weak potency (KI values of 737.2 nM−9.25 µM), whereas some heterocyclic compounds inhibited the enzyme with KI values in the range of 124−325 nM. The α-CA from S. mansoni, SmCA, is proposed as a new anti-schistosomiasis drug target.