1,2,3-Triazole is one of the most
flexible chemical scaffolds broadly
used in various fields. Here, we report the antileishmanial activity
of 1,2,3-triazole derivatives, the ultrastructural alterations induced
by their treatment, and the nitric oxide (NO) modulation effect on
their efficacy against Leishmania amazonensis
in vitro infection. After the screening of eleven
compounds, compound 4 exhibited better results against L. amazonensis promastigotes (IC50 = 15.52
± 3.782 μM) and intracellular amastigotes (IC50 = 4.10 ± 1.136 μM), 50% cytotoxicity concentration at
84.01 ± 3.064 μM against BALB/c peritoneal macrophages,
and 20.49-fold selectivity for the parasite over the cells. Compound 4 induced ultrastructural mitochondrial alterations and lipid
inclusions in L. amazonensis promastigotes,
upregulated tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin (IL)-1β,
IL-6, IL-12, and IL-10 messenger RNA expressions, and enhanced the
NO production, verified by nitrite (p = 0.0095) and
inducible nitric oxide synthase expression (p = 0.0049)
quantification, which played an important role in its activity against
intramacrophagic L. amazonensis. In silico prediction in association with antileishmanial
activity results showed compound 4 as a hit compound
with promising potential for further studies of new leishmaniasis
treatment options.