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Valderas-García E, Castilla-Gómez de Agüero V, González Del Palacio L, Galli G, Escala N, Ruiz-Somacarrera M, González-Warleta M, Del Olmo E, Balaña-Fouce R, Martínez-Valladares M. New benzimidazole derivative compounds with in vitro fasciolicidal properties. Parasit Vectors 2024; 17:173. [PMID: 38570858 PMCID: PMC10993450 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-024-06224-6] [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: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Control of the zoonotic food-borne parasite Fasciola hepatica remains a major challenge in humans and livestock. It is estimated that annual economic losses due to fasciolosis can reach US$3.2 billion in agriculture and livestock. Moreover, the wide distribution of drug-resistant parasite populations and the absence of a vaccine threaten sustainable control, reinforcing the need for novel flukicides. METHODS The present work analyses the flukicidal activity of a total of 70 benzimidazole derivatives on different stages of F. hepatica. With the aim to select the most potent ones, and screenings were first performed on eggs at decreasing concentrations ranging from 50 to 5 µM and then on adult worms at 10 µM. Only the most effective compounds were also evaluated using a resistant isolate of the parasite. RESULTS After the first screenings at 50 and 10 µM, four hit compounds (BZD31, BZD46, BZD56, and BZD59) were selected and progressed to the next assays. At 5 µM, all hit compounds showed ovicidal activities higher than 71% on the susceptible isolate, but only BZD31 remained considerably active (53%) when they were tested on an albendazol-resistant isolate, even with values superior to the reference drug, albendazole sulfoxide. On the other hand, BZD59 displayed a high motility inhibition when tested on adult worms from an albendazole-resistant isolate after 72 h of incubation. CONCLUSIONS BZD31 and BZD59 compounds could be promising candidates for the development of fasciolicidal compounds or as starting point for the new synthesis of structure-related compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elora Valderas-García
- Departamento Sanidad Animal, Instituto de Ganadería de Montaña, CSIC-Universidad de León, Grulleros, 24346, León, Spain
- Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de León, Campus de Vegazana S/N, 24071, León, Spain
| | - Verónica Castilla-Gómez de Agüero
- Departamento Sanidad Animal, Instituto de Ganadería de Montaña, CSIC-Universidad de León, Grulleros, 24346, León, Spain
- Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de León, Campus de Vegazana S/N, 24071, León, Spain
| | - Laura González Del Palacio
- Departamento Sanidad Animal, Instituto de Ganadería de Montaña, CSIC-Universidad de León, Grulleros, 24346, León, Spain
- Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de León, Campus de Vegazana S/N, 24071, León, Spain
| | - Giulio Galli
- Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de León, Campus de Vegazana S/N, 24071, León, Spain
| | - Nerea Escala
- Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas: Química Farmacéutica, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, CIETUS, IBSAL, 37007, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Marta Ruiz-Somacarrera
- Departamento Sanidad Animal, Instituto de Ganadería de Montaña, CSIC-Universidad de León, Grulleros, 24346, León, Spain
- Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de León, Campus de Vegazana S/N, 24071, León, Spain
| | - Marta González-Warleta
- Laboratorio de Parasitología, Centro de Investigacións Agrarias de Mabegondo, AGACAL-Xunta de Galicia, Abegondo, 15318, A Coruña, Spain
| | - Esther Del Olmo
- Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas: Química Farmacéutica, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, CIETUS, IBSAL, 37007, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Rafael Balaña-Fouce
- Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, Institute of Biomedicine (IBIOMED), Universidad de León, 24071, León, Spain
| | - María Martínez-Valladares
- Departamento Sanidad Animal, Instituto de Ganadería de Montaña, CSIC-Universidad de León, Grulleros, 24346, León, Spain.
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Robb E, McCammick EM, Wells D, McVeigh P, Gardiner E, Armstrong R, McCusker P, Mousley A, Clarke N, Marks NJ, Maule AG. Transcriptomic analysis supports a role for the nervous system in regulating growth and development of Fasciola hepatica juveniles. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022; 16:e0010854. [PMCID: PMC9639813 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Fasciola spp. liver flukes have significant impacts in veterinary and human medicine. The absence of a vaccine and increasing anthelmintic resistance threaten sustainable control and underscore the need for novel flukicides. Functional genomic approaches underpinned by in vitro culture of juvenile Fasciola hepatica facilitate control target validation in the most pathogenic life stage. Comparative transcriptomics of in vitro and in vivo maintained 21 day old F. hepatica finds that 86% of genes are expressed at similar levels across maintenance treatments suggesting commonality in core biological functioning within these juveniles. Phenotypic comparisons revealed higher cell proliferation and growth rates in the in vivo juveniles compared to their in vitro counterparts. These phenotypic differences were consistent with the upregulation of neoblast-like stem cell and cell-cycle associated genes in in vivo maintained worms. The more rapid growth/development of in vivo juveniles was further evidenced by a switch in cathepsin protease expression profiles, dominated by cathepsin B in in vitro juveniles and by cathepsin L in in vivo juveniles. Coincident with more rapid growth/development was the marked downregulation of both classical and peptidergic neuronal signalling components in in vivo maintained juveniles, supporting a role for the nervous system in regulating liver fluke growth and development. Differences in the miRNA complements of in vivo and in vitro juveniles identified 31 differentially expressed miRNAs, including fhe-let-7a-5p, fhe-mir-124-3p and miRNAs predicted to target Wnt-signalling, which supports a key role for miRNAs in driving the growth/developmental differences in the in vitro and in vivo maintained juvenile liver fluke. Widespread differences in the expression of neuronal genes in juvenile fluke grown in vitro and in vivo expose significant interplay between neuronal signalling and the rate of growth/development, encouraging consideration of neuronal targets in efforts to dysregulate growth/development for parasite control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Robb
- Microbes & Pathogen Biology, The Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (ER); (EMM); (AGM)
| | - Erin M. McCammick
- Microbes & Pathogen Biology, The Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (ER); (EMM); (AGM)
| | - Duncan Wells
- Microbes & Pathogen Biology, The Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Paul McVeigh
- Microbes & Pathogen Biology, The Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Erica Gardiner
- Microbes & Pathogen Biology, The Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Rebecca Armstrong
- Microbes & Pathogen Biology, The Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Paul McCusker
- Microbes & Pathogen Biology, The Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Angela Mousley
- Microbes & Pathogen Biology, The Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Nathan Clarke
- Microbes & Pathogen Biology, The Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Nikki J. Marks
- Microbes & Pathogen Biology, The Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Aaron G. Maule
- Microbes & Pathogen Biology, The Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (ER); (EMM); (AGM)
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Morales ML, Tanabe MB, White AC, Lopez M, Bascope R, Cabada MM. Triclabendazole Treatment Failure for Fasciola hepatica Infection among Preschool and School-Age Children, Cusco, Peru 1. Emerg Infect Dis 2021; 27:1850-1857. [PMID: 34152949 PMCID: PMC8237897 DOI: 10.3201/eid2707.203900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
We conducted a retrospective cohort study of children who had chronic fascioliasis in the highlands of Peru to determine triclabendazole treatment efficacy. Children passing Fasciola eggs in stool were offered directly observed triclabendazole treatment (>1 doses of 10 mg/kg). Parasitologic cure was evaluated by using microscopy of stool 1–4 months after each treatment. A total of 146 children who had chronic fascioliasis participated in the study; 53% were female, and the mean ± SD age was 10.4 ± 3.1 years. After the first treatment, 55% of the children achieved parasitologic cure. Cure rates decreased after the second (38%), third (30%), and fourth (23%) treatments; 17 children (11.6%) did not achieve cure after 4 treatments. Higher baseline egg counts and lower socioeconomic status were associated with triclabendazole treatment failure. Decreased triclabendazole efficacy in disease-endemic communities threatens control efforts. Further research on triclabendazole resistance and new drugs to overcome it are urgently needed.
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Alba A, Vazquez AA, Hurtrez-Boussès S. Towards the comprehension of fasciolosis (re-)emergence: an integrative overview. Parasitology 2021; 148:385-407. [PMID: 33261674 PMCID: PMC11010171 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182020002255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2020] [Revised: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The increasing distribution and prevalence of fasciolosis in both human and livestock are concerning. Here, we examine the various types of factors influencing fasciolosis transmission and burden and the interrelations that may exist between them. We present the arsenal of molecules, 'adjusting' capabilities and parasitic strategies of Fasciola to infect. Such features define the high adaptability of Fasciola species for parasitism that facilitate their transmission. We discuss current environmental perturbations (increase of livestock and land use, climate change, introduction of alien species and biodiversity loss) in relation to fasciolosis dynamics. As Fasciola infection is directly and ultimately linked to livestock management, living conditions and cultural habits, which are also changing under the pressure of globalization and climate change, the social component of transmission is also discussed. Lastly, we examine the implication of increasing scientific and political awareness in highlighting the current circulation of fasciolosis and boosting epidemiological surveys and novel diagnostic techniques. From a joint perspective, it becomes clear that factors weight differently at each place and moment, depending on the biological, environmental, social and political interrelating contexts. Therefore, the analyses of a disease as complex as fasciolosis should be as integrative as possible to dissect the realities featuring each epidemiological scenario. Such a comprehensive appraisal is presented in this review and constitutes its main asset to serve as a fresh integrative understanding of fasciolosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annia Alba
- Centro de Investigaciones, Diagnóstico y Referencia, Instituto de Medicina Tropical ‘Pedro Kourí’, Havana, Cuba
| | - Antonio A. Vazquez
- Centro de Investigaciones, Diagnóstico y Referencia, Instituto de Medicina Tropical ‘Pedro Kourí’, Havana, Cuba
- MIVEGEC, IRD, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
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Marcos L, Maco V, Terashima A. Triclabendazole for the treatment of human fascioliasis and the threat of treatment failures. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther 2020; 19:817-823. [PMID: 33267701 DOI: 10.1080/14787210.2021.1858798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The only drug effective against the infection caused by Fasciola hepatica or F. gigantica is triclabendazole (TCBZ), recommended by the WHO and recently approved by the FDA. Here, we describe the evolution of TCBZ regimens and the emergence of TCBZ failure to Fasciola infection. AREAS COVERED The present review focuses on the evidence of TCBZ for the treatment of fascioliasis. For acute fascioliasis, there is a lack of studies to measure the presence of eggs of Fasciola in stool samples on the follow-up after initial TCBZ treatment. For chronic fascioliasis, WHO recommends a single oral dose of TCBZ 10 mg/kg whereas CDC recommends two doses of TCBZ 10 mg/kg 12 h apart. Incremental number of treatment failures have been documented worldwide. There are currently no therapeutic alternatives for the treatment of fascioliasis in humans. EXPERT OPINION Most cases of human fascioliasis are successfully treated with TCBZ, but some continue excreting eggs in the stools despite 1-2 standard of care regimens of TCBZ. A precise regimen is unclear for those patients who fail the initial treatment with TCBZ. Further clinical trials are needed to address the possible TCBZ emerging resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Marcos
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Vicente Maco
- Laboratorio De Parasitologia, Instituto De Medicina Tropical Alexander Von Humboldt, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | - Angelica Terashima
- Laboratorio De Parasitologia, Instituto De Medicina Tropical Alexander Von Humboldt, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.,Departamento De Enfermedades Infecciosas, Tropicales Y Dermatologicas, Hospital Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
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Caravedo MA, Cabada MM. Human Fascioliasis: Current Epidemiological Status and Strategies for Diagnosis, Treatment, and Control. Res Rep Trop Med 2020; 11:149-158. [PMID: 33273878 PMCID: PMC7705270 DOI: 10.2147/rrtm.s237461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose of the Review This review aims to critically assess current knowledge about the epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of Fasciola infection in humans. Recent Findings Fascioliasis is an emerging neglected zoonotic infection affecting the health and wellbeing of human populations. The burden of infection is unclear, and studies have shown the geographic expansion of fascioliasis in human and livestock likely related to climate change. The infection can be asymptomatic or present in acute or chronic forms. Regardless of the presentation, fascioliasis can be associated with long-term complications such as anemia and malnutrition. Early in the infection, antibody testing is the only tool available for diagnosis confirmation. In the chronic forms serology and stool microscopy are helpful. Other tests such as antigen detection and PCR-based methods including isothermal tests have shown promising results. Triclabendazole is the only drug available to treat Fasciola infection. However, reports of resistant infections in livestock and human threaten the clinical care and control of the infection in endemic areas. Summary Fascioliasis is an emerging infection around the world with an uncertain burden. Lack of standardization of diagnostic testing and treatment alternatives hinder treatment and control of the infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Alejandra Caravedo
- Division of Infectious Diseases Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA
| | - Miguel Mauricio Cabada
- Division of Infectious Diseases Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.,Cusco Branch - Tropical Medicine Institute, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Cusco, Peru
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