Survival of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is dependent on pantothenate (vitamin B₅), a precursor of the fundamental enzyme cofactor coenzyme A. CJ-15,801, an enamide analogue of pantothenate isolated from the fungus Seimatosporium sp. CL28611, was previously shown to inhibit P. falciparum proliferation in vitro by targeting pantothenate utilization. To inform the design of next generation analogues, we set out to synthesize and test a series of synthetic enamide-bearing pantothenate analogues. We demonstrate that conservation of the R-pantoyl moiety and the trans-substituted double bond of CJ-15,801 is important for the selective, on-target antiplasmodial effect, while replacement of the carboxyl group is permitted, and, in one case, favored. Additionally, we show that the antiplasmodial potency of CJ-15,801 analogues that retain the R-pantoyl and trans-substituted enamide moieties correlates with inhibition of P. falciparum pantothenate kinase (PfPanK)-catalyzed pantothenate phosphorylation, implicating the interaction with PfPanK as a key determinant of antiplasmodial activity.

人类疟疾寄生虫恶性疟原虫的存活取决于泛酸（维生素B ₅），泛酸是基本酶辅因子辅酶A的前体。CJ-15,801，泛酸的酰胺类似物，从真菌Seimatosporium sp。分离。先前显示，CL28611可通过靶向泛酸利用来抑制恶性疟原虫的体外增殖。为了告知下一代类似物的设计，我们着手合成和测试了一系列合成的带有酰胺基的泛酸类似物。我们证明了R-泛酰基部分和反式的守恒CJ-15,801的双取代双键对于选择性的靶向抗血浆药物作用很重要，同时允许羧基取代，在一种情况下，这是有利的。此外，我们显示保留R-泛酰基和反式取代的酰胺基部分的CJ-15,801类似物的抗血浆活性与抑制恶性疟原虫泛酸激酶（Pf PanK）催化的泛酸磷酸化相关，暗示与Pf PanK的相互作用为抗疟原虫活性的关键决定因素。