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Bhattacharya A, Corbeil A, do Monte-Neto RL, Fernandez-Prada C. Of Drugs and Trypanosomatids: New Tools and Knowledge to Reduce Bottlenecks in Drug Discovery. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:genes11070722. [PMID: 32610603 PMCID: PMC7397081 DOI: 10.3390/genes11070722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2020] [Revised: 06/23/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis (Leishmania species), sleeping sickness (Trypanosoma brucei), and Chagas disease (Trypanosoma cruzi) are devastating and globally spread diseases caused by trypanosomatid parasites. At present, drugs for treating trypanosomatid diseases are far from ideal due to host toxicity, elevated cost, limited access, and increasing rates of drug resistance. Technological advances in parasitology, chemistry, and genomics have unlocked new possibilities for novel drug concepts and compound screening technologies that were previously inaccessible. In this perspective, we discuss current models used in drug-discovery cascades targeting trypanosomatids (from in vitro to in vivo approaches), their use and limitations in a biological context, as well as different examples of recently discovered lead compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arijit Bhattacharya
- Department of Microbiology, Adamas University, Kolkata, West Bengal 700 126, India;
| | - Audrey Corbeil
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 2M2, Canada;
| | | | - Christopher Fernandez-Prada
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 2M2, Canada;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-450-773-8521 (ext. 32802)
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Franco-Muñoz C, Manjarrés-Estremor M, Ovalle-Bracho C. Intraspecies differences in natural susceptibility to amphotericine B of clinical isolates of Leishmania subgenus Viannia. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0196247. [PMID: 29698432 PMCID: PMC5919572 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0196247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2017] [Accepted: 03/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Amphotericin B (AmB) is a recommended medication for the treatment of cutaneous and mucosal leishmaniasis in cases of therapeutic failure with first-line medications; however, little is known about the in vitro susceptibility to AmB of clinical isolates of the subgenus Viannia, which is most prevalent in South America. This work aimed to determine the in vitro susceptibility profiles to AmB of clinical isolates of the species L. (V.) panamensis, L. (V.) guyanensis and L. (V.) braziliensis. In vitro susceptibility to AmB was evaluated for 65 isolates. Macrophages derived from the U937 cell line were infected with promastigotes and exposed to different AmB concentrations. After 96 hours, the number of intracellular amastigotes was quantified by qPCR, and median effective concentration (EC50) was determined using the PROBIT model. The controls included sensitive strains and experimentally derived less sensitive strains generated in vitro, which presented EC50 values up to 7.57-fold higher than the values of the sensitive strains. The isolates were classified into groups according to their in vitro susceptibility profiles using Ward’s hierarchical method. The susceptibility to AmB differed in an intraspecies-specific manner as follows: 28.21% (11/39) of L. (V.) panamensis strains, 50% (3/6) of L. (V.) guyanensis strains and 34.61% (9/26) of L. (V.) braziliensis strains were classified as less sensitive. The latter subset featured three susceptibility groups. We identified Colombian isolates with different AmB susceptibility profiles. In addition, the capacity of species of subgenus Viannia to develop lower susceptibility to AmB was demonstrated in vitro. These new findings should be considered in the pharmacovigilance of AmB in Colombia and South America.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Franco-Muñoz
- Hospital Universitario Centro Dermatológico Federico Lleras Acosta E.S.E., Bogotá D.C., Colombia
| | - Merab Manjarrés-Estremor
- Hospital Universitario Centro Dermatológico Federico Lleras Acosta E.S.E., Bogotá D.C., Colombia
| | - Clemencia Ovalle-Bracho
- Hospital Universitario Centro Dermatológico Federico Lleras Acosta E.S.E., Bogotá D.C., Colombia
- * E-mail:
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Ginouvès M, Simon S, Nacher M, Demar M, Carme B, Couppié P, Prévot G. In Vitro Sensitivity of Cutaneous Leishmania Promastigote Isolates Circulating in French Guiana to a Set of Drugs. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2017; 96:1143-1150. [PMID: 28167598 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.16-0373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractAnti-leishmaniasis drug resistance is a common problem worldwide. The aim of this study was to inventory the general in vitro level of sensitivity of Leishmania isolates circulating in French Guiana and to highlight potential in vitro pentamidine-resistant isolates. This sensitivity study was conducted on 36 patient-promastigote isolates for seven drugs (amphotericin B, azithromycin, fluconazole, meglumine antimoniate, miltefosine, paromomycin, and pentamidine) using the Cell Counting Kit-8 viability test. The IC50 values obtained were heterogeneous. One isolate exhibited high IC50 values for almost all drugs tested. Pentamidine, which is the first-line treatment in French Guiana, showed efficacy at very low doses (mean of 0.0038 μg/mL). The concordance of the in vitro pentamidine results with the patients' clinical outcomes was 94% (K = 0.82).
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Ginouvès
- Laboratoire Associé, Centre National de Référence Leishmania, Laboratoire Hospitalo-Universitaire de Parasitologie et Mycologie, General Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana.,Laboratoire des Ecosystèmes Amazoniens et Pathologie Tropicale (EPaT), Université de Guyane, Labex CEBA, DFR Santé, Cayenne, French Guiana
| | - Stéphane Simon
- Laboratoire des Ecosystèmes Amazoniens et Pathologie Tropicale (EPaT), Université de Guyane, Labex CEBA, DFR Santé, Cayenne, French Guiana.,Laboratoire Associé, Centre National de Référence Leishmania, Laboratoire Hospitalo-Universitaire de Parasitologie et Mycologie, General Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana
| | - Mathieu Nacher
- Laboratoire des Ecosystèmes Amazoniens et Pathologie Tropicale (EPaT), Université de Guyane, Labex CEBA, DFR Santé, Cayenne, French Guiana.,Centre d'Investigation Clinique Epidémiologie Clinique Antilles Guyane CIC EC 1424, General Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana
| | - Magalie Demar
- Laboratoire des Ecosystèmes Amazoniens et Pathologie Tropicale (EPaT), Université de Guyane, Labex CEBA, DFR Santé, Cayenne, French Guiana.,Laboratoire Associé, Centre National de Référence Leishmania, Laboratoire Hospitalo-Universitaire de Parasitologie et Mycologie, General Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana.,Laboratoire Hospitalo-Universitaire de Parasitologie et Mycologie, General Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana
| | - Bernard Carme
- Laboratoire des Ecosystèmes Amazoniens et Pathologie Tropicale (EPaT), Université de Guyane, Labex CEBA, DFR Santé, Cayenne, French Guiana
| | - Pierre Couppié
- Laboratoire des Ecosystèmes Amazoniens et Pathologie Tropicale (EPaT), Université de Guyane, Labex CEBA, DFR Santé, Cayenne, French Guiana.,Service de Dermatologie, Institut Guyanais de Dermatologie Tropicale, General Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana
| | - Ghislaine Prévot
- Laboratoire des Ecosystèmes Amazoniens et Pathologie Tropicale (EPaT), Université de Guyane, Labex CEBA, DFR Santé, Cayenne, French Guiana
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Simple colorimetric trypanothione reductase-based assay for high-throughput screening of drugs against Leishmania intracellular amastigotes. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2013; 58:527-35. [PMID: 24189262 DOI: 10.1128/aac.00751-13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Critical to the search for new anti-leishmanial drugs is the availability of high-throughput screening (HTS) methods to test chemical compounds against the relevant stage for pathogenesis, the intracellular amastigotes. Recent progress in automated microscopy and genetic recombination has produced powerful tools for drug discovery. Nevertheless, a simple and efficient test for measuring drug activity against Leishmania clinical isolates is lacking. Here we describe a quantitative colorimetric assay in which the activity of a Leishmania native enzyme is used to assess parasite viability. Enzymatic reduction of disulfide trypanothione, monitored by a microtiter plate reader, was used to quantify the growth of Leishmania parasites. An excellent correlation was found between the optical density at 412 nm and the number of parasites inoculated. Pharmacological validation of the assay was performed against the conventional alamarBlue method for promastigotes and standard microscopy for intracellular amastigotes. The activity of a selected-compound panel, including several anti-leishmanial reference drugs, demonstrated high consistency between the newly developed assay and the reference method and corroborated previously published data. Quality assessment with standard measures confirmed the robustness and reproducibility of the assay, which performed in compliance with HTS requirements. This simple and rapid assay provides a reliable, accurate method for screening anti-leishmanial agents, with high throughput. The basic equipment and manipulation required to perform the assay make it easy to implement, simplifying the method for scoring inhibitor assays.
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Al-Mulla Hummadi YM, Najim RA, Al-Bashir NM. The mechanism behind the antileishmanial effect of zinc sulphate. I. An in-vitro study. ANNALS OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND PARASITOLOGY 2013; 99:27-36. [PMID: 15701252 DOI: 10.1179/136485905x19900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
In an attempt to determine the possible mechanism(s) behind the antileishmanial activity of zinc sulphate, promastigotes, axenic amastigotes and intracellular amastigotes of both Leishmania major and L. tropica were incubated with different concentrations of the compound. For each of the two Leishmania species, all three forms were found to be inhibited by the zinc sulphate, in a dose-dependent manner, the promastigotes being the most resistant form, followed by the axenic amastigotes. These results indicate that zinc sulphate has a direct antileishmanial effect. Compared with macrophages from starch-treated mice, the macrophages recovered from mice that had been injected intraperitoneally with zinc sulphate (daily for the 4 days prior to the macrophage collection) or BCG (once, 4 days before the cell collection) showed increased phagocytosis and increased killing of L. major and L. tropica. As the effects of the zinc sulphate were not statistically different from those of the known immunomodulating agent BCG, zinc sulphate appears to have an immunomodulating effect, in addition to its direct antileishmanial effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y M Al-Mulla Hummadi
- Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, P.O. Box 61208, Baghdad 12114, Iraq
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Carrió J, de Colmenares M, Riera C, Gállego M, Arboix M, Portús M. Leishmania infantum: stage-specific activity of pentavalent antimony related with the assay conditions. Exp Parasitol 2000; 95:209-14. [PMID: 10964649 DOI: 10.1006/expr.2000.4537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The determination of the intrinsic sensitivity of Leishmania strains to pentavalent antimonials in clinical trials, before treatment is begun, is essential in order to avoid failures and to allow alternative drugs to be chosen. A comparative study of SbV activity on promastigotes, axenic amastigote-like cells, and intracellular amastigotes of Leishmania infantum, when administered in the form of meglumine antimoniate and free, in hydrochloric solution, was performed. Results indicate that the conditions under which the promastigotes were cultured affect the IC(50) obtained, although results were homogeneous when the products were assayed on axenic-like and intracellular amastigotes. The IC(50) obtained for SbV in the form of meglumine antimoniate or in hydrochloric solution on promastigotes cultured in Schneider's medium depends on the growth rate of the culture and therefore could be regulated by modifying the fetal calf serum concentration in the medium. The pH of the culture medium strongly affected the activity of meglumine antimoniate but not that of the SbV hydrochloric solution on promastigotes cultured in Schneider's medium. This influence of pH was observed to a much lesser extent when promastigotes were cultured on M199 or RPMI media. In homogeneous culture conditions, which included the regulation of the promastigote growth rate through the heat-inactivated fetal calf serum concentration in the medium and the dilution of the meglumine antimoniate with Schneider's medium at pH 6.5, the activity of SbV, free or in the form of meglumine antimoniate, was the same in promastigotes, intracellular amastigotes, and axenic amastigote-like cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Carrió
- Laboratory of Parasitology, Departament de Microbiologia i Parasitologia Sanitàries, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, 08028, Spain
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Essodaïgui M, Frézard F, Moreira ES, Dagger F, Garnier-Suillerot A. Energy-dependent efflux from Leishmania promastigotes of substrates of the mammalian multidrug resistance pumps. Mol Biochem Parasitol 1999; 100:73-84. [PMID: 10376995 DOI: 10.1016/s0166-6851(99)00036-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
We demonstrated the existence of three transport activities in promastigotes of Leishmania braziliensis, Leishmania guyanensis, and Leishmania mexicana. The first activity, an energy-dependent efflux of pirarubicin, was observed in all Leishmania species and inhibited by verapamil, by 2-[4-(diphenylmethyl)-1-piperazinyl]ethyl-5-(trans-4,6-dimethyl-1, 3,2-dioxaphosphorinan-2-yl)-2,6-dimethyl-4-(3-nitrophenyl)-3-py ridinecarboxylate P oxide (PAK104P) and by the phenothiazine derivatives: thioridazine, prochlorperazine, trifluoperazine, chlorpromazine and trifluoropromazine. The second activity, an energy-dependent efflux of calcein acetoxymethylester, was observed in all Leishmania species and inhibited by PAK104P and the same phenothiazine derivatives, but not by verapamil. The third activity, an energy-dependent efflux of calcein, was clearly detected in L. braziliensis and guyanensis and inhibited only by prochlorperazine and trifluoperazine. The fact that prochlorperazine and trifluoperazine inhibited the energy-dependent efflux of the three substrates suggests that these activities are mediated by the same transport system. It is noteworthy that the transport system identified in this study shares several properties with the mammalian multidrug resistance pump, MRP1. Pirarubicin, calcein acetoxymethylester and calcein are well known substrates of the MRP. Furthermore, the three types of inhibitors are also inhibitors of the MRP function.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Essodaïgui
- Laboratoire de Physicochimie Biomolëculaire et Cellulaire (UPRES-A 7033), Université Paris Nord, Bobigny, France
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Sereno D, Lemesre JL. Axenically cultured amastigote forms as an in vitro model for investigation of antileishmanial agents. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 1997; 41:972-6. [PMID: 9145854 PMCID: PMC163835 DOI: 10.1128/aac.41.5.972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 179] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide microassay, previously described as a means of quantifying Leishmania amazonensis in vitro at the amastigote stage (D. Sereno and J. L. Lemesre, Parisitol. Res., in press), we have compared the activities of seven drugs, including those currently used to treat leishmaniasis, against axenically grown amastigote and promastigote forms of three Leishmania species (L. amazonensis, L. mexicana, and L. infantum, responsible for diffuse cutaneous, cutaneous, and visceral leishmaniasis, respectively). The ability of axenically cultured amastigote organisms to be used in an investigation of antileishmanial agents was first evaluated. We have confirmed the toxicities of sodium stibogluconate (Pentostam), pentamidine, and amphotericin B to active and dividing populations of axenically cultured amastigotes. The toxicity of potassium antimonyl tartrate trihydrate, which is generally higher than that of Pentostam, seemed to indicate that pentavalent antimony can be metabolized in vivo to compounds, possibly trivalent in nature, which are more active against the amastigote organisms. When the drug susceptibilities of parasites at both stages were compared, great variations were found for all the drugs studied. These major differences, which show the specific chemosusceptibility of the parasite at the mammalian stage, demonstrate the potential of using cultured amastigotes instead of promastigotes in a drug-screening procedure for early detection. This in vitro model may help in the isolation of active compounds, particularly those with low-grade activities, against the mammalian stage of the parasite.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Sereno
- Laboratoire d'Epidémiologie des Maladies à Vecteur, Unité de Biologie Parasitaire, ORSTOM, Montpellier, France
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