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Hargrove T, Lamb DC, Wawrzak Z, Hull M, Kelly SL, Guengerich FP, Lepesheva GI. Identification of Potent and Selective Inhibitors of Acanthamoeba: Structural Insights into Sterol 14α-Demethylase as a Key Drug Target. J Med Chem 2024; 67:7443-7457. [PMID: 38683753 PMCID: PMC11089504 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c00303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2024] [Revised: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
Acanthamoeba are free-living pathogenic protozoa that cause blinding keratitis, disseminated infection, and granulomatous amebic encephalitis, which is generally fatal. The development of efficient and safe drugs is a critical unmet need. Acanthamoeba sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) is an essential enzyme of the sterol biosynthetic pathway. Repurposing antifungal azoles for amoebic infections has been reported, but their inhibitory effects on Acanthamoeba CYP51 enzymatic activity have not been studied. Here, we report catalytic properties, inhibition, and structural characterization of CYP51 from Acanthamoeba castellanii. The enzyme displays a 100-fold substrate preference for obtusifoliol over lanosterol, supporting the plant-like cycloartenol-based pathway in the pathogen. The strongest inhibition was observed with voriconazole (1 h IC50 0.45 μM), VT1598 (0.25 μM), and VT1161 (0.20 μM). The crystal structures of A. castellanii CYP51 with bound VT1161 (2.24 Å) and without an inhibitor (1.95 Å), presented here, can be used in the development of azole-based scaffolds to achieve optimal amoebicidal effectiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiana
Y. Hargrove
- Department
of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School
of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, United States
| | - David C. Lamb
- Faculty
of Medicine, Health and Life Science, Swansea
University, Swansea SA2 8PP, U.K.
| | - Zdzislaw Wawrzak
- Synchrotron
Research Center, Life Science Collaborative Access Team, Northwestern University, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States
| | - Marcus Hull
- Faculty
of Medicine, Health and Life Science, Swansea
University, Swansea SA2 8PP, U.K.
| | - Steven L. Kelly
- Faculty
of Medicine, Health and Life Science, Swansea
University, Swansea SA2 8PP, U.K.
| | - F. Peter Guengerich
- Department
of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School
of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, United States
| | - Galina I. Lepesheva
- Department
of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School
of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, United States
- Vanderbilt
Institute of Chemical Biology, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, United States
- Center
for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, United States
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2
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Rao K, Abdullah M, Ahmed U, Wehelie HI, Shah MR, Siddiqui R, Khan NA, Alawfi BS, Anwar A. Self-assembled micelles loaded with itraconazole as anti-Acanthamoeba nano-formulation. Arch Microbiol 2024; 206:134. [PMID: 38433145 DOI: 10.1007/s00203-024-03854-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Revised: 01/13/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
Acanthamoeba castellanii are opportunistic pathogens known to cause infection of the central nervous system termed: granulomatous amoebic encephalitis, that mostly effects immunocompromised individuals, and a sight threatening keratitis, known as Acanthamoeba keratitis, which mostly affects contact lens wearers. The current treatment available is problematic, and is toxic. Herein, an amphiphilic star polymer with AB2 miktoarms [A = hydrophobic poly(ℇ-Caprolacton) and B = hydrophilic poly (ethylene glycol)] was synthesized by ring opening polymerization and CuI catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition. Characterization by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, size-exclusion chromatography and fluorescence spectroscopy was accomplished. The hydrophobic drug itraconazole (ITZ) was incorporated in self-assembled micellar structure of AB2 miktoarms through co-solvent evaporation. The properties of ITZ loaded (ITZ-PCL-PEG2) and blank micelles (PCL-PEG2) were investigated through zeta sizer, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Itraconazole alone (ITZ), polymer (DPB-PCL), empty polymeric micelles (PCL-PEG2) alone, and itraconazole loaded in polymeric micelles (ITZ-PCL-PEG2) were tested for anti-amoebic potential against Acanthamoeba, and the cytotoxicity on human cells were determined. The polymer was able to self-assemble in aqueous conditions and exhibited low value for critical micelle concentration (CMC) 0.05-0.06 µg/mL. The maximum entrapment efficiency of ITZ was 68%. Of note, ITZ, DPB, PCL-PEG2 and ITZ-PCL-PEG2 inhibited amoebae trophozoites by 37.34%, 36.30%, 35.77%, and 68.24%, respectively, as compared to controls. Moreover, ITZ-PCL-PEG2 revealed limited cytotoxicity against human keratinocyte cells. These results are indicative that ITZ-PCL-PEG2 micelle show significantly better anti-amoebic effects as compared to ITZ alone and thus should be investigated further in vivo to determine its clinical potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Komal Rao
- International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, Karachi University, Karachi, 75270, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Abdullah
- International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, Karachi University, Karachi, 75270, Pakistan
| | - Usman Ahmed
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, 47500, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Hashi Isse Wehelie
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, 47500, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Muhammad Raza Shah
- International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, Karachi University, Karachi, 75270, Pakistan
| | - Ruqaiyyah Siddiqui
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Biophysics and Bioengineering, Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, UK
- Microbiota Research Center, Istinye University, 34010, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Naveed A Khan
- Microbiota Research Center, Istinye University, 34010, Istanbul, Turkey.
| | - Bader S Alawfi
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taibah University, 42353, Madinah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ayaz Anwar
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, 47500, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
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3
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Lukáč M, Slobodníková L, Mrva M, Dušeková A, Garajová M, Kello M, Šebová D, Pisárčik M, Kojnok M, Vrták A, Kurin E, Bittner Fialová S. Caffeic Acid Phosphanium Derivatives: Potential Selective Antitumor, Antimicrobial and Antiprotozoal Agents. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1200. [PMID: 38256271 PMCID: PMC10817097 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25021200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Caffeic acid (CA) is one of the most abundant natural compounds present in plants and has a broad spectrum of beneficial pharmacological activities. However, in some cases, synthetic derivation of original molecules can expand their scope. This study focuses on the synthesis of caffeic acid phosphanium derivatives with the ambition of increasing their biological activities. Four caffeic acid phosphanium salts (CAPs) were synthesized and tested for their cytotoxic, antibacterial, antifungal, and amoebicidal activity in vitro, with the aim of identifying the best area for their medicinal use. CAPs exhibited significantly stronger cytotoxic activity against tested cell lines (HeLa, HCT116, MDA-MB-231 MCF-7, A2058, PANC-1, Jurkat) in comparison to caffeic acid. Focusing on Jurkat cells (human leukemic T cell lymphoma), the IC50 value of CAPs ranged from 0.9 to 8.5 μM while IC50 of CA was >300 μM. Antimicrobial testing also confirmed significantly higher activity of CAPs against selected microbes in comparison to CA, especially for Gram-positive bacteria (MIC 13-57 μM) and the yeast Candida albicans (MIC 13-57 μM). The anti-Acanthamoeba activity was studied against two pathogenic Acanthamoeba strains. In the case of A. lugdunensis, all CAPs revealed a stronger inhibitory effect (EC50 74-3125 μM) than CA (>105 µM), while in A. quina strain, the higher inhibition was observed for three derivatives (EC50 44-291 μM). The newly synthesized quaternary phosphanium salts of caffeic acid exhibited selective antitumor action and appeared to be promising antimicrobial agents for topical application, as well as potential molecules for further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miloš Lukáč
- Department of Chemical Theory of Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University Bratislava, Odbojárov 10, 832 32 Bratislava, Slovakia; (M.L.); (M.P.); (M.K.); (A.V.)
| | - Lívia Slobodníková
- Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University Bratislava, University Hospital in Bratislava, Sasinkova 4, 811 08 Bratislava, Slovakia;
| | - Martin Mrva
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University Bratislava, Mlynská Dolina, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15 Bratislava, Slovakia; (M.M.); (A.D.); (M.G.)
| | - Aneta Dušeková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University Bratislava, Mlynská Dolina, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15 Bratislava, Slovakia; (M.M.); (A.D.); (M.G.)
| | - Mária Garajová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University Bratislava, Mlynská Dolina, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15 Bratislava, Slovakia; (M.M.); (A.D.); (M.G.)
| | - Martin Kello
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, P.J. Šafárik University, Trieda SNP 1, 040 11 Košice, Slovakia; (M.K.); (D.Š.)
| | - Dominika Šebová
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, P.J. Šafárik University, Trieda SNP 1, 040 11 Košice, Slovakia; (M.K.); (D.Š.)
| | - Martin Pisárčik
- Department of Chemical Theory of Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University Bratislava, Odbojárov 10, 832 32 Bratislava, Slovakia; (M.L.); (M.P.); (M.K.); (A.V.)
| | - Marián Kojnok
- Department of Chemical Theory of Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University Bratislava, Odbojárov 10, 832 32 Bratislava, Slovakia; (M.L.); (M.P.); (M.K.); (A.V.)
| | - Andrej Vrták
- Department of Chemical Theory of Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University Bratislava, Odbojárov 10, 832 32 Bratislava, Slovakia; (M.L.); (M.P.); (M.K.); (A.V.)
| | - Elena Kurin
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University Bratislava, Odbojárov 10, 832 32 Bratislava, Slovakia;
| | - Silvia Bittner Fialová
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University Bratislava, Odbojárov 10, 832 32 Bratislava, Slovakia;
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Alsharedeh RH, Rezigue M, Bashatwah RM, Amawi H, Aljabali AAA, Obeid MA, Tambuwala MM. Nanomaterials as a Potential Target for Infectious Parasitic Agents. Curr Drug Deliv 2024; 21:828-851. [PMID: 36815647 DOI: 10.2174/1567201820666230223085403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Revised: 10/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
Abstract
Despite the technological advancement in the era of personalized medicine and therapeutics development, infectious parasitic causative agents remain one of the most challenging areas of research and development. The disadvantages of conventional parasitic prevention and control are the emergence of multiple drug resistance as well as the non-specific targeting of intracellular parasites, which results in high dose concentration needs and subsequently intolerable cytotoxicity. Nanotechnology has attracted extensive interest to reduce medication therapy adverse effects including poor bioavailability and drug selectivity. Numerous nanomaterials-based delivery systems have previously been shown in animal models to be effective in the treatment of various parasitic infections. This review discusses a variety of nanomaterials-based antiparasitic procedures and techniques as well as the processes that allow them to be targeted to different parasitic infections. This review focuses on the key prerequisites for creating novel nanotechnology-based carriers as a potential option in parasite management, specifically in the context of human-related pathogenic parasitic agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rawan H Alsharedeh
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Yarmouk University, Irbid, 21163, Jordan
| | - Meriem Rezigue
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Yarmouk University, Irbid, 21163, Jordan
| | - Rasha M Bashatwah
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Yarmouk University, Irbid, 21163, Jordan
| | - Haneen Amawi
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan
| | - Alaa A A Aljabali
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Yarmouk University, Irbid, 21163, Jordan
| | - Mohammad A Obeid
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Yarmouk University, Irbid, 21163, Jordan
| | - Murtaza M Tambuwala
- Lincoln Medical School, Brayford Pool Campus, University of Lincoln, Lincoln LN6 7TS, United Kingdom
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5
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Antiamoebic Properties of Ceftriaxone and Zinc-Oxide-Cyclodextrin-Conjugated Ceftriaxone. Antibiotics (Basel) 2022; 11:antibiotics11121721. [PMID: 36551378 PMCID: PMC9774710 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics11121721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 11/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Acanthamoeba castellanii is a ubiquitous free-living amoeba capable of instigating keratitis and granulomatous amoebic encephalitis in humans. Treatment remains limited and inconsistent. Accordingly, there is a pressing need for novel compounds. Nanotechnology has been gaining attention for enhancing drug delivery and reducing toxicity. Previous work has shown that various antibiotic classes displayed antiamoebic activity. Herein, we employed two antibiotics: ampicillin and ceftriaxone, conjugated with the nanocarrier zinc oxide and β-cyclodextrin, and tested them against A. castellanii via amoebicidal, amoebistatic, encystment, excystment, cytopathogenicity, and cytotoxicity assays at a concentration of 100 μg/mL. Notably, zinc oxide β-cyclodextrin ceftriaxone significantly inhibited A. castellanii growth and cytopathogenicity. Additionally, both zinc oxide β-cyclodextrin ceftriaxone and ceftriaxone markedly inhibited A. castellanii encystment. Furthermore, all the tested compounds displayed negligible cytotoxicity. However, minimal anti-excystment or amoebicidal effects were observed for the compounds. Accordingly, this novel nanoconjugation should be employed in further studies in hope of discovering novel anti-Acanthamoeba compounds.
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6
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Saeed BQ, Rawas-Qalaji M, Akbar N, Siddiqui R, Roberta C, Manzoor S, Muhammad JS, Adrees AO, Al-Shahrabi R, Khan NA. Evaluation of Nanoparticles with 5-Fluorouracil and Chloroquine on Acanthamoeba castellanii activity. Mol Biochem Parasitol 2022; 250:111492. [PMID: 35714753 DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2022.111492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2022] [Revised: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Acanthamoeba is opportunistic pathogens that cause vision-threatening Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK). Previous studies proposed the use of chloroquine (CQ) and 5-fluorouracil (5FU) as anti-Acanthamoeba agents. The objective of this study was to determine the benefit of using 5FU and CQ nanoparticles (NP) formulations against A. castellanii that belonging to the T4 genotype and evaluate their anti-Acanthamoebic characteristic. Triplicate batches of 5FU nanoparticles (5FU-NP) were synthesized by using a modified nanoprecipitation method, while CQ anoparticles (CQ-NP) synthesized using a modified double emulsion method. The synthesized nanoparticles were subjected to biological assays to investigate their amoebicidal, amoebistatic, anti-encystation, and anti-excystation effects against A. castellanii, as well as cell cytotoxicity. Cytotoxicity assays were performed using human keratinocyte cells (HaCat) to determine the effect of CQ and 5FU nanoformulations on host cells. 5FU-NP with a concentration of 60µM showed significant inhibition to amoeba binding into human cell lines and remarkable prevention mainly during the encystation stage. Moreover, 5FU-NP resulted in less cytotoxicity and pathogenicity when compared with the free 5FU. On the other hand, CQ and CQ-NP, at the same concentration, showed poor inhibition to amoeba binding into human cells and insignificant prevention to encystation stage. Moderate human cells damage was resulted following their treatment with CQ and CQ-NP. In conclusion, 5FU may have the potential as an antiamoebic agent against Acanthamoeba spp. preferably as a nanoformulation to enhance its activity and reduce its cytoxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Balsam Qubais Saeed
- Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, UAE; Research Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates.
| | - Mutasem Rawas-Qalaji
- Research Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates; College of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
| | - Noor Akbar
- College of Arts and Sciences, American University of Sharjah, UAE
| | | | - Cagliani Roberta
- Research Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates
| | - Shaista Manzoor
- Research Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates; Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, 27272, United Arab Emirates
| | - Jibran Sualeh Muhammad
- Research Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates; Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, 27272, United Arab Emirates
| | - Ahmed Omar Adrees
- College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, 27272, United Arab Emirates
| | - Rula Al-Shahrabi
- Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, UAE
| | - Naveed Ahmed Khan
- Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, UAE; Research Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates
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7
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Ahmed U, Anwar A, Ong SK, Anwar A, Khan NA. Applications of medicinal chemistry for drug discovery against Acanthamoeba infections. Med Res Rev 2021; 42:462-512. [PMID: 34472107 DOI: 10.1002/med.21851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Acanthamoeba is a genus of free-living amoebae, pervasively found in the environment. Most of its pathogenic species are the causative agent of sight-threatening Acanthamoeba keratitis and fatal granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. Despite the advancements in the field of chemotherapy, treating Acanthamoeba infections is still challenging due to incomplete knowledge of the complicated pathophysiology. In case of infection, the treatment regimen for the patients is often ineffective due to delayed diagnosis, poor specificity, and side-effects. Besides the resistance of Acanthamoeba cysts to most of the drugs, the recurrence of infection further complicates the recovery. Thus, it is necessary to develop an effective treatment which can eradicate these rare, but serious infections. Based on various computational and in vitro studies, it has been established that the synthetic scaffolds such as heterocyclic compounds may act as potential drug leads for the development of antiamoebic drugs. In this review, we report different classes of synthetic compounds especially heterocyclic compounds which have shown promising results against Acanthamoeba. Moreover, the antiamoebic activities of synthetic compounds with their possible mode of actions against Acanthamoeba, have been summarized and discussed in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Usman Ahmed
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Ayaz Anwar
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Seng-Kai Ong
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Areeba Anwar
- Faculty of Defence Science and Technology, National Defence University of Malaysia, Kuala Lampur, Malaysia
| | - Naveed Ahmed Khan
- Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE
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Mungroo MR, Khan NA, Anwar A, Siddiqui R. Nanovehicles in the improved treatment of infections due to brain-eating amoebae. Int Microbiol 2021; 25:225-235. [PMID: 34368912 DOI: 10.1007/s10123-021-00201-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Revised: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Pathogenic free-living amoebae are known to cause fatal central nervous system infections with extremely high mortality rates. High selectivity of the blood-brain barrier hampers delivery of drugs and untargeted delivery of drugs can cause severe side effects. Nanovehicles can be used for targeted drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier. Inorganic nanoparticles have been explored as carriers for various biomedical applications and can be modified with various ligands for efficient targeting and cell selectivity while lipid-based nanoparticles have been extensively used in the development of both precision and colloidal nanovehicles. Nanomicelles and polymeric nanoparticles can also serve as nanocarriers and may be modified so that responsiveness of the nanoparticles and release of the loads are linked to specific stimuli. These nanoparticles are discussed here in the context of the treatment of central nervous system infections due to pathogenic amoebae. It is anticipated that these novel strategies can be utilized in tandem with novel drug leads currently in the pipeline and yield in the development of much needed treatments against these devastating parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Ridwane Mungroo
- Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | - Naveed Ahmed Khan
- Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
| | - Ayaz Anwar
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Subang Jaya 47500, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Ruqaiyyah Siddiqui
- College of Arts and Sciences, American University of Sharjah, 26666, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
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Dušeková A, Garajová M, Lukáč M, Mrva M. Derivatisation of metronidazole enhances cytotoxic effect against Acanthamoeba genotype T4 isolates and leads to cytomorphological changes in trophozoites. Acta Trop 2021; 216:105830. [PMID: 33465352 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.105830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2020] [Revised: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Amoebae of the genus Acanthamoeba are worldwide distributed causative agents of serious human infections such as granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE) and Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK). To date, treatment of these infections is non-uniform and frequently unsuccessful. Recently, the phosphonium salts were studied for their high levels of antimicrobial activity. This work was aimed to investigate the cytotoxic effect of metronidazole and two phosphonium salts (PS1, PS2) on two clinical Acanthamoeba isolates. The isolates showed distinctly higher susceptibility to both phosphonium salts than to metronidazole. The highest susceptibility was noted to PS1 after 48 h of incubation. Metronidazole derivate PS2 showed higher susceptibility than metronidazole. The values of EC50 of PS2 were approximately twenty times lower than EC50 of metronidazole for Acanthamoeba lugdunensis strain and sixteen times lower for Acanthamoeba quina strain after 48 h. Although the therapeutic effect of metronidazole in Acanthamoeba infections is usually insufficient, its derivatisation can result in a significantly higher amoebicidal effect. Cytomorphological changes of trophozoites after exposure to tested compounds included rounding up of the cells, damage of membrane integrity, presence of pathological protrusions, elongation of the cells or pseudocyst-like stages. Obtained results indicate possible therapeutic potential of studied phosphonium salts.
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