INVESTIGADORES
SOSA ESCUDERO Miguel Angel
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Novel natural compounds obtained from native plants inhibit the in vitro growth of Trypanosoma cruzi.
Autor/es:
SPINA R; DONADEL J; LOZANO E; TONN C; SOSA MA
Lugar:
Mendoza
Reunión:
Congreso; XXXI Reunión Anual de la Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo.; 2013
Institución organizadora:
Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo
Resumen:
Trypanosoma cruzi is a monoflagellate parasite
that causes the Chagas` disease. Specific
and effective chemotherapy against T.cruzi remains unsatisfactory as currently
availabe drugs have toxic side effects on patients, and limited activity. At
present, Chagas? disease is treated with nitroheterocyclic derivatives such as
benznidazole (BZN) and nifurtimox although their use require long treatment
courses, and they are not effective in the late-stage disease, and present many
side effects. Then, it is important to test synthetic drugs and natural
compounds presenting anti-trypanocidal activity, in connection with specific
biological features of the parasite that could be used as specific targets for
their pharmacological control. In this study, we tested several novel natural
compounds, obtained from native plants, on the in-vitro growth of T. Cruzi (strain
Dm28c). Among the tested compounds six derivatives of grindelic acid strongly
inhibit the growth of T.cruzi from
concentrations of 5 μg/ml and seem to be more active than BZN. However, most of
parasites remain viable (eosin exclusion test), indicating a cytostatic effect
under these experimental conditions. It remains to determine whether these
compounds are cytotoxic on mammalian cells, and to identify molecular targets on
parasites. We conclude that screening of novel natural compounds remains valid
for the search of molecules against Chagas disease.