INTEQUI   20941
INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES EN TECNOLOGIA QUIMICA
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Sesquiterpene lactones and the diterpene 5-epi-icetexone affect the intracellular and extracellular stages of Trypanosoma cruzi
Autor/es:
LOZANO, E.; BARRERA, P.A.; SALINAS, R.; VEGA, I.; NIETO, M.; TONN, C.E.; KEMMERLING, U.; MORTARA, R.A.; SOSA, M.A.
Revista:
PARASITOLOGY INTERNATIONAL
Editorial:
ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD
Referencias:
Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2012 vol. 61 p. 628 - 633
ISSN:
1383-5769
Resumen:
Chagas disease is a major health problem in Latin
America and is caused by the parasitic protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. Although
many drugs have been used to alleviate the disease, these have been ineffective
in the chronic phase and have also presented numerous side effects on patients.
In this study we tested the effect of three sesquiterpene lactones
(dehydroleucodine, helenalin and mexicanin) and a diterpene (5-epi-icetexone) on
parasites (Y-strain) grown in host cells. At 48 h of treatment, the number of
amastigotes inside the cells was lower than in the controls. This effect was
observable at concentrations of 1.5?3.8 μM,which are of lowcytotoxicity to host cells. In addition, the compounds
caused a decrease in the percentage of infected cells. The treatments also reduced
the presence of trypomastigotes in the extracellular medium. In all cases,
helenalin was the most potent. The number of parasites per cell at 24 h
indicates the occurrence of multiple infection, whichwould also be affected by
the compounds. However, we should not discard an effect on the proliferation
and survival of parasites within the host cells. On the other hand, an
additional effect on the differentiation of parasites and/or the survival of
extracellular trypomastigotes might be possible. We conclude that these
compounds are very effective against T. cruzi possibly by multiple mechanisms.