ComparativeEx VivoActivity of Novel Endoperoxides in Multidrug-Resistant Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax
ABSTRACTThe declining efficacy of artemisinin derivatives againstPlasmodium falciparumhighlights the urgent need to identify alternative highly potent compounds for the treatment of malaria. In Papua Indonesia, where multidrug resistance has been documented against bothP. falciparumandP. vivaxmalaria, comparativeex vivoantimalarial activity againstPlasmodiumisolates was assessed for the artemisinin derivatives artesunate (AS) and dihydroartemisinin (DHA), the synthetic peroxides OZ277 and OZ439, the semisynthetic 10-alkylaminoartemisinin derivatives artemisone and artemiside, and the conventional antimalarial drugs chloroquine (CQ), amodiaquine (AQ), and piperaquine (PIP).Ex vivodrug susceptibility was assessed in 46 field isolates (25P. falciparumand 21P. vivax). The novel endoperoxide compounds exhibited potentex vivoactivity against both species, but significant differences in intrinsic activity were observed. Compared to AS and its active metabolite DHA, all the novel compounds showed lower or equal 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) in both species (median IC50s between 1.9 and 3.6 nM inP. falciparumand 0.7 and 4.6 nM inP. vivax). The antiplasmodial activity of novel endoperoxides showed different cross-susceptibility patterns in the twoPlasmodiumspecies: whereas theirex vivoactivity correlated positively with CQ, PIP, AS, and DHA inP. falciparum, the same was not apparent inP. vivax. The current study demonstrates for the first time potent activity of novel endoperoxides against drug-resistantP. vivax. The high activity against drug-resistant strains of bothPlasmodiumspecies confirms these compounds to be promising candidates for future artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) regimens in regions of coendemicity.