1
|
Zygocotyle lunata as a model for in vivo screening of anthelmintic activity against paramphistomes: Evaluation of efficacy of praziquantel, albendazole and closantel in experimentally infected mice. Exp Parasitol 2019; 199:74-79. [PMID: 30840851 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2019.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2018] [Revised: 02/11/2019] [Accepted: 02/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Paramphistomes are important parasites in veterinary medicine. There are few anthelmintic drugs available against them. The development of new drugs is urgently needed and this process can be accelerated through the development of rodent models for in vivo testing. Among the few paramphistomes that develop in rodents is the caecal fluke Zygocotyle lunata, a species with which several biological studies have been performed over several decades. Nevertheless, its use as a model for evaluation of anthelmintic drugs had not yet been evaluated. In the present study, we evaluated the efficacy of praziquantel (PZQ 300 mg/kg 5x), albendazole (ABZ 200 mg/kg 5x) and closantel (CLO 50 mg/kg single dose, 50 mg/kg 3x and 25 mg/kg 3x) for treatment of mice experimentally infected with Z. lunata. The animals were infected with 20 metacercariae of the parasite and were treated 30 days post-infection. Untreated groups were maintained as controls. Seven days after the treatments, the animals were euthanized for recovery and counting of parasites. We found that PZQ and ABZ, at the dosages and therapeutic schedule employed here, did not cause significant alterations in worm burden [worm counts 16.0 ± 2.8 (13-19), 17.6 ± 2.1 (14-19) and 16.2 ± 1.9 (13-18) (p = 0.51) in PZQ, ALB and control, respectively]. CLO 50 mg/kg in a single dose caused significant reduction in the number of parasites [treated: 1.8 ± 0.9 (1-3); control: 15.6 ± 2.5 (12-19)], although it did not result in complete elimination of the parasites in any animal. Despite the fact that three doses of CLO 50 mg/kg or CLO 25 mg/kg caused complete elimination of the parasites in most surviving animals, there was significant host mortality. In general, results here obtained are concordant with those of studies performed on ruminant paramphistomes. Given that Z. lunata can be maintained in laboratory rodents, it is a suitable model for screening anthelmintic drugs against paramphistomes.
Collapse
|
2
|
Luo YP, Zhang Y, Zhang HM, Zhang H, Zhang L, Yu HJ, Cao MQ, Shi YB, Zhi DJ, Ma XM, Dong KZ. Anti-parasitic effects of water-soluble alkaloid fractions from ethanolic extracts of Sophora moorcroftiana seeds in Caenorhabditis elegans. Chin J Nat Med 2018; 16:665-673. [PMID: 30269843 DOI: 10.1016/s1875-5364(18)30106-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2017] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Parasite infections of humans and animals remain a major global health problem, with limited choice of drugs being available to the treatment of parasitosis in the clinic. Sophora moorcroftiana (S. moorcroftiana) is a shrub that grows in Tibet Plateau of China. Decoction of the seeds has been used as a traditional Tibetan medicine to treat parasitosis for years. But the anti-parasitic effects of water-soluble fractions in the seeds need further investigation. In the present study, the water-soluble alkaloid fractions (E2) were obtained from S. moorcroftiana seeds by refluxing extraction with 60% ethanol and low polarity fraction (E2-a) and high polarity fraction (E2-b) were subsequently isolated from E2 using column chromatography. As a parasite model, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) were treated with different fractions and their survivals were recorded. The results showed that that E2-a induced a lower survival rate in C. elegans than E2-b and E2. The protoscoleces of Echinococcus granulosus (E. granulosus) were cultured in the presence of E2-a. Compared with E2-b and E2, protoscoleces exhibited decreased survival rate following E2-a treatment. Furtherly, the effects of E2-a on the behavior, brood size, and lifespan of the worms were investigated. Body bend frequencies of the worms treated with the high concentration of E2-a were reduced by two-thirds compared with the control group (P < 0.01). Compared with non-E2-a-treated group, exposure of nematodes to E2-a led to a decrease in head thrashes and pharyngeal pumps frequency (P < 0.01). E2-a treatment resulted in a significantly lower brood size (P < 0.01). Additional E2-a treatment induced a significantly shortened lifespan, compared with the control (P < 0.05). These findings indicated that water-soluble fraction E2-a from S. moorcroftiana seeds was a potential helminthic agent.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yan-Ping Luo
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China; Key Lab of Preclinical Study for New Drugs of Gansu Province, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Yuan Zhang
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Hui-Min Zhang
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Hong Zhang
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Lin Zhang
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Hong-Juan Yu
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Ming-Qiang Cao
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Yan-Bin Shi
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - De-Juan Zhi
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Xing-Ming Ma
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China; Key Lab of Preclinical Study for New Drugs of Gansu Province, Lanzhou 730000, China.
| | - Kai-Zhong Dong
- Department of Microbiology, Medical College, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Luo Y, Zhang G, Liu X, Yuan M, Gao Q, Gao H, Ke L, Zhang X, Shi Y, Ma X, Zhang L, Dong K. Therapeutic and immunoregulatory effects of water-soluble alkaloids E2-a from Sophora moorcroftiana seeds as a novel potential agent against echinococcosis in experimentally protoscolex-infected mice. Vet Res 2018; 49:100. [PMID: 30286809 PMCID: PMC6389144 DOI: 10.1186/s13567-018-0596-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Novel compounds and more efficient treatment options are urgently needed for the treatment of cystic echinococcosis (CE), which is caused by Echinococcus granulosus. The decoction of Sophora moorcroftiana (Fabaceae) has been used to treat parasitosis for years in traditional Tibetan medicine. The aim of this study was to screen insecticidal water-soluble alkaloids from S. moorcroftiana seeds and evaluate the therapeutic effects against CE and the immune response induced by the alkaloidal fraction. Low polarity compounds (E2-a) were isolated from water-soluble alkaloid (E2) and matrine and sophocarpine were identified as major components. The E2-a fraction was more effective against protoscoleces than other constituents from S. moorcroftiana. After 20 weeks of secondary infection with protoscoleces, mice were orally treated with E2-a (100 mg/kg/day) for 6 weeks to evaluate therapeutic and immunoregulatory activities. Compared with the untreated group, E2-a treatment induced a significant reduction in cyst weight (mean 2.93 g) (p < 0.05) and an impaired ultrastructural modification of the cyst. Interestingly, the application of E2-a resulted in a significant increased frequency of CD3+CD4+ T-cell subsets and decreased frequency of CD3+PD-1+ T-cell subsets, compared with protoscolece-infected mice without treatment. The E2-a fraction of S. moorcroftiana can inhibit the cyst development of CE and boost the specific immune response by reducing the expression of PD-1 and accelerate the cytokine secretion of antigen-specific T-cells. All data suggest the E2-a fraction from S. moorcroftiana seeds may be used as a new potential therapeutic option against E. granulosus infection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yanping Luo
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Guochao Zhang
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Xun Liu
- Institute of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Miaomiao Yuan
- Cancer Research Institute, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Qi Gao
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Haijun Gao
- Institute of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Lixin Ke
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Xinxing Zhang
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Yanbin Shi
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Xingming Ma
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China. .,Key Lab of Preclinical Study for New Drugs of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
| | - Lifeng Zhang
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Kaizhong Dong
- Department of Microbiology, Medical College, Northwest University for Nationalities, Lanzhou, 730030, China.
| |
Collapse
|