Sánchez-Brunete JA, Dea MA, Rama S, Bolás F, Alunda JM, Raposo R, Méndez MT, Torrado-Santiago S, Torrado JJ. Treatment of experimental visceral leishmaniasis with amphotericin B in stable albumin microspheres.
Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2004;
48:3246-52. [PMID:
15328080 PMCID:
PMC514726 DOI:
10.1128/aac.48.9.3246-3252.2004]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2004] [Revised: 04/26/2004] [Accepted: 05/24/2004] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Hydrophilic albumin microspheres are proposed as a new delivery system for amphotericin B (AMB; AMB microspheres). The acute toxicity of AMB microspheres was lower than that of the AMB-deoxycholate (AMB-Doc) reference formulation in hamsters. Lethal doses in healthy and infected animals were improved at least eight times. Intravenous bolus administration of doses of AMB microspheres up to 40 mg/kg of body weight did not produce acute symptoms of toxicity. The efficacy of this new formulation was tested against Leishmania infantum-infected hamsters at doses of 2, 10, 20, and 40 mg/kg. With the 2-mg/kg dose, the activity of AMB, as assessed through the parasite load reductions in the liver and spleen and the evolution of antibody levels, was also improved (P < 0.05) by use of the AMB microsphere system. At the higher doses of 10, 20, and 40 mg/kg, reductions in parasite levels of more than 99% were achieved in the liver and spleen after the administration of AMB microspheres. A pharmacokinetic study was performed to study the serum, liver, and spleen AMB concentrations after administration of AMB microspheres and the reference formulation. Interestingly, a significant accumulation of AMB in the spleen and liver was observed after AMB microsphere administration. Our results suggest that this new formulation is a promising alternative to the conventional AMB-Doc formulation for the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis.
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