Trypanosoma brucei: Radioimmunoassay of variant surface glycoproteins from organisms grown in vitro and in vivo

1980 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.C. McGuire ◽  
A.F. Barbet ◽  
H. Hirumi ◽  
S. Meshnick ◽  
J.J. Doyle
Keyword(s):  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Variant Surface Glycoproteins ◽  
Surface Glycoproteins

scholarly journals Antitrypanosomal activity of purine nucleosides can be enhanced by their conversion to O-acetylated derivatives.

1996 ◽  
Vol 40 (11) ◽  
pp. 2567-2572 ◽  
Author(s):  
J R Sufrin ◽  
D Rattendi ◽  
A J Spiess ◽  
S Lane ◽  
C J Marasco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Parent Compound ◽  
Nucleoside Analogs ◽  
Significant Activity ◽  
Structural Class ◽  
Antitrypanosomal Activity ◽  
Salvage Pathways ◽  
Purine Salvage Pathways

Fifteen purine nucleosides and their O-acetylated ester derivatives were examined for in vitro antitrypanosomal activity against the LAB 110 EATRO isolate of Trypanosoma brucei brucei and two clinical isolates of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. Initial comparisons of activity were made for the LAB 110 EATRO isolate. Three nucleoside analogs exhibited no significant activity (50% inhibitory concentrations [IC50s] of > 100 microM), whether they were O acetylated or unacetylated; three nucleosides showed almost equal activity (IC50s of < 5 microM) for the parent compound and the O-acetylated derivative; nine nucleosides showed significantly improved activity (> or = 3-fold) upon O acetylation; of these nine analogs, six displayed activity at least 10-fold greater than that of their parent nucleosides. The most significant results were those for four apparently inactive compounds which, upon O acetylation, displayed IC50s of < or = 25 microM. When the series of compounds was tested against T. brucei rhodesiense isolates (KETRI 243 and KETRI 269), their antitrypanosomal effects were comparable to those observed for the EATRO 110 strain. Thus, our studies of purine nucleosides have determined that O acetylation consistently improved their in vitro antitrypanosomal activity. This observed phenomenon was independent of their cellular enzyme targets (i.e., S-adenosylmethionine, polyamine, or purine salvage pathways). On the basis of our results, the routine preparation of O-acetylated purine nucleosides for in vitro screening of antitrypanosomal activity is recommended, since O acetylation transformed several inactive nucleosides into compounds with significant activity, presumably by improving uptake characteristics. O-acetylated purine nucleosides may offer in vivo therapeutic advantages compared with their parent nucleosides, and this possibility should be considered in future evaluations of this structural class of trypanocides.

scholarly journals Characterization and selective inhibition of myristoyl-CoA:protein N-myristoyltransferase from Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania major

2006 ◽  
Vol 396 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chrysoula Panethymitaki ◽  
Paul W. Bowyer ◽  
Helen P. Price ◽  
Robin J. Leatherbarrow ◽  
Katherine A. Brown ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Leishmania Major ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Selective Inhibition ◽  
Fungal Species ◽  
Chemotherapeutic Agents ◽  
Human Pathogens ◽  
Ic50 Values

The eukaryotic enzyme NMT (myristoyl-CoA:protein N-myristoyltransferase) has been characterized in a range of species from Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Homo sapiens. NMT is essential for viability in a number of human pathogens, including the fungi Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans, and the parasitic protozoa Leishmania major and Trypanosoma brucei. We have purified the Leishmania and T. brucei NMTs as active recombinant proteins and carried out kinetic analyses with their essential fatty acid donor, myristoyl-CoA and specific peptide substrates. A number of inhibitory compounds that target NMT in fungal species have been tested against the parasite enzymes in vitro and against live parasites in vivo. Two of these compounds inhibit TbNMT with IC50 values of <1 μM and are also active against mammalian parasite stages, with ED50 (the effective dose that allows 50% cell growth) values of 16–66 μM and low toxicity to murine macrophages. These results suggest that targeting NMT could be a valid approach for the development of chemotherapeutic agents against infectious diseases including African sleeping sickness and Nagana.

scholarly journals Cross-Resistance to Nitro Drugs and Implications for Treatment of Human African Trypanosomiasis

2010 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 2893-2900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoaneta Y. Sokolova ◽  
Susan Wyllie ◽  
Stephen Patterson ◽  
Sandra L. Oza ◽  
Kevin D. Read ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Human African Trypanosomiasis ◽  
Parent Drug ◽  
Cross Resistance ◽  
Pharmacokinetic Studies ◽  
African Trypanosomiasis ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei Brucei ◽  
Resistant Lines

ABSTRACT The success of nifurtimox-eflornithine combination therapy (NECT) for the treatment of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) has renewed interest in the potential of nitro drugs as chemotherapeutics. In order to study the implications of the more widespread use of nitro drugs against these parasites, we examined the in vivo and in vitro resistance potentials of nifurtimox and fexinidazole and its metabolites. Following selection in vitro by exposure to increasing concentrations of nifurtimox, Trypanosoma brucei brucei nifurtimox-resistant clones designated NfxR1 and NfxR2 were generated. Both cell lines were found to be 8-fold less sensitive to nifurtimox than parental cells and demonstrated cross-resistance to a number of other nitro drugs, most notably the clinical trial candidate fexinidazole (∼27-fold more resistant than parental cells). Studies of mice confirmed that the generation of nifurtimox resistance in these parasites did not compromise virulence, and NfxR1 remained resistant to both nifurtimox and fexinidazole in vivo. In the case of fexinidazole, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic studies indicate that the parent drug is rapidly metabolized to the sulfoxide and sulfone form of this compound. These metabolites retained trypanocidal activity but were less effective in nifurtimox-resistant lines. Significantly, trypanosomes selected for resistance to fexinidazole were 10-fold more resistant to nifurtimox than parental cells. This reciprocal cross-resistance has important implications for the therapeutic use of nifurtimox in a clinical setting and highlights a potential danger in the use of fexinidazole as a monotherapy.

scholarly journals In vivo efficacies of 5'-methylthioadenosine analogs as trypanocides.

1997 ◽  
Vol 41 (10) ◽  
pp. 2108-2112 ◽  
Author(s):  
C J Bacchi ◽  
K Sanabria ◽  
A J Spiess ◽  
M Vargas ◽  
C J Marasco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
East African ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei Rhodesiense ◽  
Polyamine Biosynthesis ◽  
Substrate Analogs ◽  
Osmotic Pumps ◽  
Derivatives Of ◽  
Ribose Moiety

5'-Deoxy-5'-(methylthio)adenosine (MTA), a key by-product of polyamine biosynthesis, is cleaved by MTA phosphorylase and is salvaged as adenine and, through conversion of the ribose moiety, methionine. An analog of MTA, 5'-deoxy-5'-(hydroxyethylthio)adenosine (HETA), is a substrate for trypanosome MTA phosphorylase and is active in vitro and in vivo against Trypanosoma brucei brucei, an agent of bovine trypanosomiasis. In this study, HETA and three O-acylated HETA derivatives were examined for their activities against model infections of T. b. brucei and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, the agent of East African sleeping sickness. HETA was curative (>60%) for infections caused by 5 of 11 clinical isolates of T. b. rhodesiense when it was given to mice at 200 mg/kg of body weight for 7 days as a continuous infusion in osmotic pumps. HETA at 150 to 200 mg/kg also extended the life spans of the mice infected with four additional isolates two- to fivefold. Di- and tri-O-acetylated derivatives of HETA also proved curative for the infections, while a tri-O-propionyl derivative, although also curative, was not as effective. This study indicates that substrate analogs of MTA should be given important consideration for development as novel chemotherapies against African trypanosomiasis.

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