A fresh look at the role of spiramycin in preventing a neglected disease: meta-analyses of observational studies

In defense of children's brain: reshuffling the laboratory toolbox for the diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis

For decades, an immunosorbent agglutination assay (ISAGA) has been considered the gold standard method for the detection of Toxoplasma gondii-specific IgM in infants for the diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis (CT). The Toxoplasma IgM ISAGA was consistently reported as having superior sensitivity. Unfortunately, the commercial kit for the detection of Toxoplasma IgM ISAGA will no longer be available in 2024 and alternatives will only be available at a handful of reference laboratories as in-house or laboratory-developed tests. In a recent study, S. Arkhis, C. Rouges, N. Dahane, H. Guegan, et al. (J Clin Microbiol 62:e01222-23, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1128/jcm.01222-23), reported that the performance of the PLATELIA Toxo IgM was comparable to that of the ISAGA method for the diagnosis of CT. A second study revealing similar results supports the PLATELIA Toxo IgM as the new gold standard for the detection of T. gondii-specific IgM in infants. Although the laboratory toolbox for CT diagnosis has been reshuffled successfully, it is by universally implementing all available serological and molecular tools at the earliest possible time during gestation that we can best defend children's brain from the potential harm caused by trans-placentally transmitted T. gondii.

The prevention of congenital toxoplasmosis using a combination of Spiramycin and Cotrimoxazole: The long-time experience of a tertiary referral centre

BACKGROUND

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic infection caused by Toxoplasma gondii and is responsible for gestational and congenital infections worldwide. The current standard therapy is based on the administration of Spiramycin to prevent trans-placental transmission. Other therapies are being studied to reduce the rates of foetal transmission and symptomatic congenital infection.

OBJECTIVES

We report our long-standing experience in maternal toxoplasmosis infection treatment using a combination of Spiramycin-Cotrimoxazole, assessing its effectiveness in preventing vertical transmission compared to the expected incidence of congenital infection.

METHODS

We retrospectively collected cases of pregnant women referred to our centre for suspected toxoplasmosis infection according to Lebech criteria, treated with Spiramycin-Cotrimoxazole.

RESULTS

Of 1364 women referred to our centre, postnatal follow-up of primary toxoplasmosis was available in 562 cases (73.9%). The overall vertical transmission rate was 3.4% in women treated immediately with Spiramycin-Cotrimoxazole after the diagnosis of infection. In comparison, it was 7.7% in women undergoing the same therapy but late or with poor compliance. The foetal transmission rate was 71.4% in untreated cases. All the infected newborns of mother treated adequately with Spiramycin-Cotrimoxazole were asymptomatic afterbirth, while 6/21 infected infants of the inadequate Spiramycin-Cotrimoxazole therapy group had postnatal sequelae (28.5%). The incidence of transmission after appropriate Spiramycin-Cotrimoxazole therapy was significantly lower than the expected rate reported in literature.

CONCLUSIONS

A combination of Spiramycin and Cotrimoxazole is safe and effective in preventing foetal congenital toxoplasmosis and reducing sequelae in case of in-utero infection. The timing and adherence to the therapy are crucial to lowering the risk of congenital infection and neonatal morbidity.

Building Programs to Eradicate Toxoplasmosis Part I: Introduction and Overview

Purpose of Review

Review building of programs to eliminate Toxoplasma infections.

Recent Findings

Morbidity and mortality from toxoplasmosis led to programs in USA, Panama, and Colombia to facilitate understanding, treatment, prevention, and regional resources, incorporating student work.

Summary

Studies foundational for building recent, regional approaches/programs are reviewed. Introduction provides an overview/review of programs in Panamá, the United States, and other countries. High prevalence/risk of exposure led to laws mandating testing in gestation, reporting, and development of broad-based teaching materials about Toxoplasma. These were tested for efficacy as learning tools for high-school students, pregnant women, medical students, physicians, scientists, public health officials and general public. Digitized, free, smart phone application effectively taught pregnant women about toxoplasmosis prevention. Perinatal infection care programs, identifying true regional risk factors, and point-of-care gestational screening facilitate prevention and care. When implemented fully across all demographics, such programs present opportunities to save lives, sight, and cognition with considerable spillover benefits for individuals and societies.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40124-022-00269-w.

Building Programs to Eradicate Toxoplasmosis Part IV: Understanding and Development of Public Health Strategies and Advances “Take a Village”

Purpose of Review

Review international efforts to build a global public health initiative focused on toxoplasmosis with spillover benefits to save lives, sight, cognition and motor function benefiting maternal and child health.

Recent Findings

Multiple countries’ efforts to eliminate toxoplasmosis demonstrate progress and context for this review and new work.

Summary

Problems with potential solutions proposed include accessibility of accurate, inexpensive diagnostic testing, pre-natal screening and facilitating tools, missed and delayed neonatal diagnosis, restricted access, high costs, delays in obtaining medicines emergently, delayed insurance pre-approvals and high medicare copays taking considerable physician time and effort, harmful shortcuts being taken in methods to prepare medicines in settings where access is restricted, reluctance to perform ventriculoperitoneal shunts promptly when needed without recognition of potential benefit, access to resources for care, especially for marginalized populations, and limited use of recent advances in management of neurologic and retinal disease which can lead to good outcomes.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40124-022-00268-x.

The anti-Toxoplasma activity of the plant natural phenolic compound piceatannol

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan that infects the nucleated cells of warm-blooded animals and causes life-threatening disease in immunocompromised patients. Due to the limited effectiveness and prominent side effects of existing drugs, there is an urgent need to develop new therapeutic options against T. gondii. Piceatannol is a natural plant compound with multiple functions such as antibacterial, antileukemic and antiparasitic activities. In the present study, the anti-T. gondii activity of piceatannol was evaluated. Piceatannol potently inhibited Toxoplasma with a half-maximal effective concentration (EC₅₀) of 28.10 μM. Piceatannol showed a significant inhibitory effect on intracellular proliferation, inhibiting intracellular parasites at a rate of 98.9% when treatment with 100 μM piceatannol. However, the invasion ability of tachyzoites was not affected by piceatannol. By immunofluorescence assay, we noted that the parasite showed abnormalities in cell division after exposure to piceatannol. To determine the in vivo effect of piceatannol on acute infection, a model was established by infecting BALB/c mice with the virulent RH strain of T. gondii. Mice infected with 500 tachyzoites showed a significant therapeutic effect when treated with 15 mg/kg of piceatannol. These results suggest that piceatannol is a promising drug for the treatment of T. gondii.

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Spiramycin in LPS-Activated RAW 264.7 Macrophages

Drug repurposing is a simple concept with a long history, and is a paradigm shift that can significantly reduce the costs and accelerate the process of bringing a new small-molecule drug into clinical practice. We attempted to uncover a new application of spiramycin, an old medication that was classically prescribed for toxoplasmosis and various other soft-tissue infections; specifically, we initiated a study on the anti-inflammatory capacity of spiramycin. For this purpose, we used murine macrophage RAW 264.7 as a model for this experiment and investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of spiramycin by inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokines. In the present study, we demonstrated that spiramycin significantly decreased nitric oxide (NO), interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6 levels in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Spiramycin also inhibited the expression of NO synthase (iNOS), potentially explaining the spiramycin-induced decrease in NO production. In addition, spiramycin inhibited the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs); extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-Jun N terminal kinase (JNK) as well as the inactivation and subsequent nuclear translocation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB). This indicated that spiramycin attenuates macrophages’ secretion of IL-6, IL-1β, and NO, inducing iNOS expression via the inhibition of the NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways. Finally, we tested the potential application of spiramycin as a topical material by human skin primary irritation tests. It was performed on the normal skin (upper back) of 31 volunteers to determine whether 100 μM and μM of spiramycin had irritation or sensitization potential. In these assays, spiramycin did not induce any adverse reactions. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that spiramycin can effectively attenuate the activation of macrophages, suggesting that spiramycin could be a potential candidate for drug repositioning as a topical anti-inflammatory agent.