Anti-filarial efficacy of Centratherum anthelminticum: unravelling the underlying mechanisms through biochemical, HRAMS proteomics and MD simulation approaches

Abstract

Traditionally, Centratherum anthelminticum (CA) has been reported to be a potent anti-filarial, however no reports are available detailing its mechanism of action against filarial parasites. In this study, we have evaluated the anti-filarial activity of CA against lymphatic filarial parasites Setaria cervi using ex vivo biochemical, proteomics and in silico approaches. The motility and viability of the parasites decreased significantly after treatment with CA concentrations of ≥125 μg mL⁻¹. An increase in lipid peroxidation (51.92%), protein carbonylation (48.99%), NADPH oxidase (88.88%) activity and decrease in the glutathione (GSH) (−39.23%), glutathione reductase (GR) (−60.17%), and glutathione S-transferase (GST) (−50.48%) activity was also observed after CA treatment. The proteomics analysis was performed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and high-resolution accurate mass spectrometry (HRAMS). In total, 185 proteins were differentially expressed (DEPs) following CA treatment. The major DEPs were mostly involved in tRNA processing, biosynthetic processes, metabolic activities, protein transport, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, protein translation, and stress response. The UPLC-ESI-MS/MS analysis of CA extract revealed the presence of 40 bioactive compounds. Further the docking analysis showed 10 CA bioactive compounds to have high binding affinity towards antioxidant proteins of filarial parasites. Additionally, MD simulation studies showed stable interactions (RMSF ≤ 10 Å) of 3-O-methylquercitin, quinic acid, gentisic acid, and vanillin with filarial antioxidant enzymes/proteins. To our knowledge, this is the first report detailing the molecular mechanism of anti-filarial activity of CA, which can be further evaluated for the development of new anti-filarial formulations.