Drug repurposing for the treatment of alveolar echinococcosis: in vitro and in vivo effects of silica nanoparticles modified with dichlorophen.

FABBRI JULIA; PENSEL, PATRICIA; ALBANI CLARA MARÍA; ARCE VALERIA; MARTIRE DANIEL; ELISSONDO MARIA CELINA

PARASITOLOGY

CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS

Lugar: Cambridge; Año: 2019 p. 1 - 36

0031-1820

Alveolar echinococcosis is a neglected parasitic zoonosis caused by the metacestode23 Echinococcus multilocularis, which grows as a malignant tumor-like infection in the liver of24 humans. Albendazole is the antiparasitic drug of choice for the treatment of the disease.25 However, its effectiveness is low, due to its poor absorption from the gastro-intestinal tract. It is26 also parasitostatic and in some cases produces side effects. Therefore, an alternative to the27 treatment of this severe human disease is necessary. In this context, the repositioning of drugs28 combined with nanotechnology to improve the bioavailability of drugs, emerges as an useful,29 fast, and inexpensive tool for the treatment of neglected diseases. The in vitro and in vivo30 efficacy of dichlorophen (DCP), an antiparasitic agent for intestinal parasites, and silica31 nanoparticles modified with DCP (NP-DCP) was evaluated against E. multilocularis larval stage.32 Both formulations showed a time and dose-dependent in vitro effect against protoscoleces. The33 NP-DCP had a greater in vitro efficacy than the drug alone or albendazole. In vivo studies34 demonstrated that the NP-DCP have similar efficacy than ABZ and greater activity than the free35 drug. Therefore, the repurposing of DCP combined with silica nanoparticles could be an36 alternative for the treatment of echinococcosis