Activity of mefloquine and mefloquine derivatives against Echinococcus multilocularis

Publication date: August 2018Source: International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance, Volume 8, Issue 2Author(s): Reto Rufener, Dominic Ritler, Jana Zielinski, Luca Dick, Emerson Teixeira da Silva, Adriele da Silva Araujo, Deborah Elisabeth Joekel, David Czock, Christine Goepfert, Adriana Marques Moraes, Marcus Vinicius Nora de Souza, Joachim Müller, Meike Mevissen, Andrew Hemphill, Britta Lundström-StadelmannAbstractThe cestode E. multilocularis causes the disease alveolar echinococcosis (AE) in humans. The continuously proliferating metacestode (larval stage) of the parasite infects mostly the liver and exhibits tumor-like growth. Current chemotherapeutical treatment options rely on benzimidazoles, which are rarely curative and have to be applied daily and life-long. This can result in considerable hepatotoxicity and thus treatment discontinuation. Therefore, novel drugs against AE are urgently needed. The anti-malarial mefloquine was previously shown to be active against E. multilocularis metacestodes in vitro, and in mice infected by intraperitoneal inoculation of metacestodes when administered at 100 mg/kg by oral gavage twice a week for 12 weeks. In the present study, the same dosage regime was applied in mice infected via oral uptake of eggs representing the natural route of infection. After 12 weeks of treatment, the presence of parasite lesions was assessed in a liver squeeze chamber and by PCR, and a significantly reduced parasite load was foun...
Source: International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance - Category: Parasitology Source Type: research