Rational design of 5-phenyl-3-isoxazolecarboxylic acid ethyl esters as growth inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A potent and selective series for further drug development

New antituberculosis (anti-TB) drugs are urgently needed to shorten the 6-12month treatment regimen and especially to battle drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strains. In this study, we have continued our efforts to develop isoxazole-based anti-TB compounds by applying rational drug design approach. The biological activity and the structure-activity relationships (SAR) for a designed series of 5-phenyl-3-isoxazolecarboxylic acid ethyl ester derived anti-TB compounds were investigated. Several compounds were found to exhibit nanomolar activity against the replicating bacteria (R-TB) and low micromolar activity against the nonreplicating bacteria (NRP-TB). The series showed excellent selectivity toward Mtb, and in general, no cytotoxicity was observed in Vero cells (IC₅₀>128 μM). Notably, selected compounds also retained their activity against isoniazid (INH), rifampin (RMP), and streptomycin (SM) resistant Mtb strains. Hence, benzyloxy, benzylamino, and phenoxy derivatives of 5-phenyl-3-isoxazolecarboxylic acid ethyl esters represent a highly potent, selective, and versatile series of anti-TB compounds and as such present attractive lead compounds for further TB drug development.