Methylembelin affects the invasion and proliferation of Trypanosoma cruzi

SPINA R; BARRERA P; LOZANO E; TAPIA A; FERESIN G; SOSA MA

Buenos Aires

Congreso; NPND4t Scientific Meeting of the Research Network Natural Products against Neglected Diseases; 2018

Instituto de la Química y Metabolismo del Fármaco

Chagas? disease, which is endemic in Latin America, is a zoonotic parasiticdisease caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Despite theintense efforts made to develop efficient antiparasitic drugs, an effectivetreatment for Chagas' disease is still lacking. Only nifurtimox and benznidazoleare currently in use, albeit with restrictions due to the undesirable side effectsand their low efficacy during the chronic phase. Theplant kingdom is an important source of bioactive compounds, with many of themshowing trypanocidal activity. It has been demonstrated that quinones arepossible antitrypanocidal candidates due to their capacity to generate reactiveoxygen species. Among them, the benzoquinone embelin (EMB) isolated fromOxalis erythrorhiza has many biological activities. A recent study demonstratedthat methylation of EMB potentiates an antiparasitic action against Trypanosomacruzi (Spina et al., 2018). In this study we have evaluated the effects of themethylated EMB (ME) on infectiive capacity of parasites to mammalian cells andon intracellular progression. Using light microscopy and immunofluorescencewe provide new insights about the potentiality of the compound over intracellularparasites.