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Biomedical subjects

C Bories

Publications and source records attributed to C Bories.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

In vitro reversion of amphotericin B resistance in Leishmania donovani by poloxamer 188.

A micellar formulation of amphotericin B (AmB) solubilized with poloxamer 188 was evaluated against an AmB Leishmania donovani-resistant line. A concave isobologram showed a synergistic effect of this association against promastigotes. This result was confirmed with amastigotes since the 50% effective concentration of the new formulation was 100 times less than that of the control AmB formulation.

Amphotericin B↗

Antiprotozoal activity of aporphine alkaloids isolated from Unonopsis buchtienii (Annonaceae).

On a preliminary screening, substantial leishmanicidal activity was observed for the petroleum ether and alkaloidal extracts of the stem bark of Unonopsis buchtienii, the alkaloids and sterols isolated from these were studied. Of the alkaloids, liriodenine exhibited the highest activity against Leishmania major and L donovani (IC100 = 3.12 micrograms/mL). On the other hand, O-methylmoschatoline and the petroleum ether extract without alkaloids showed an interesting in vitro activity against Trypanosoma brucei with an IC100 of 6.25 micrograms/mL. The highest cytotoxic activities were found with the petroleum ether extracts without alkaloids and with all alkaloids isolated (IC50 < 9 micrograms/mL for Vero cell line).

Alkaloids↗

A new photometric assay with bromocresol purple for testing in vitro antitrichomonal activity in aerobic environment.

A new colorimetric assay relying on the acidic metabolism of Trichomonas vaginalis was developed for in vitro screening of various compounds against axenically grown trichomonads. Parasites from continuous culture were exposed to series of drug dilutions in a microtiter plate. After an incubation period of 48 h at 37 degrees C, the pH indicator of the medium had changed its colour in non-inhibited cultures due to the production of lactate and acetate. Inhibited cultures showed no colour changes. The use of bromocresol purple, a pH indicator, was suitable for several reasons: it is not toxic at the concentration used in the assay; the absorbance of bromocresol purple at 405 nm showed a linear correlation with both the pH of the medium and the viability of the trichomonads observed microscopically; plates could easily be read by eye or using an enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) reader. By comparison of the decreases in absorbance in test cultures with those in control cultures, IC50 values could be determined. Thus, IC50 of metronidazole was calculated at 25.5 +/- 2.3 mumol/l (n = 5) with the bromocresol purple assay and about 25 mumol/l after microscope observation. Minimal lethal concentrations (MLCs) could be read by eye. This test is now routinely used for anti-trichomonas evaluation of various chemical compounds and natural products.

Aerobiosis↗

Recent strategies for the chemotherapy of visceral leishmaniasis.

Visceral leishmaniasis is a widespread and deadly disease. First-line drugs are antimonials, but amphotericin B and its lipid formulations B is used for treating visceral leishmaniasis that is unresponsive to antimony. New therapeutic approaches are being actively developed, including the following: use of drug carriers targeted specifically to the parasite location, thus reduce adverse effects of drug; use of immunomodulating drugs; evaluation of natural products; pharmacokinetic studies; and drug combinations. Recent clinical trials with paromomycin and miltefosine were successful and these drugs appear to be promising for the future therapy of visceral leishmaniasis. Furthermore, identification and therapeutic evaluation of specific targets in the Leishmania organism could lead to new compounds, such as antileishmanial drugs and reversal agents of drug resistance.

Journal Article↗

Synthesis and biological evaluation of ureido and thioureido derivatives of 2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucose and related aminoalcohols as N-acetyl-beta-D-hexosaminidase inhibitors.

Ureido and thioureido derivatives of 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucose, 1-amino-1-deoxy-D-glucitol and 2-(2-aminoethoxy)ethanol were prepared as N-acetyl-beta-D-hexosaminidase (NAHase) inhibitors and were evaluated on Trichomonas vaginalis NAHase. Although none showed complete inhibition of the enzyme at 100 microM, 1-amino-1-deoxy-D-glucitol derivatives acted as competitive inhibitors of the NAHase of T. vaginalis.

Animals↗

Chitinolytic activities in Trichomonas vaginalis.

Chitinolytic activities were identified in the Protozoa Trichomonas vaginalis. Overall chitinase activity assessed using chitine-azure as substrate was 10.93 +/- 1.21 nmoles/min/mg prot. End nonreducing chitobiosidase (exochitinase) and chitotriosidase (endochitinase) activities were shown using p-nitrophenyl-substrates and had specific activities of 4.55 +/- 0.53 and 0.47 +/- 0.06 nmol/min/mg prot, Kmapp. = 1.32 mM and 5 microM and pH optimum = 7.0 and 6.1 respectively. beta-N-acetylhexosaminidase (NAHase) activity was also detected with a specific activity of 5.40 +/- 0.65 nmol/min/mg prot., Kmapp = 0.656 mM and pH optimum at 7.0. No release of these enzymes into the culture medium was found. The possible role of chitinases in T. vaginalis remains to be investigated.

Animals↗

Lack of a nitric-oxide response during the course of Leishmania infantum infection in the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus), with or without treatment with liposomal amphotericin B.

Liver and spleen volumes and serum concentrations of nitrate (the end-product of NO in vivo), albumin, gamma-globulin, protein, creatine and urea were measured during the course of progressive infections with Leishmania infantum MON-1 (MHOM/PR/93/CRE29) in 10 Syrian golden hamsters. Each hamster was infected by intraperitoneal injection with 4 x 10(7) promastigotes. Five of the infected animals were treated, with 6 mg liposomal amphotericin B (L-AmB)/kg given by intracardiac injection, on day 107 post-infection (p.i.). Compared with those in the uninfected hamsters used as controls, the liver volumes in the infected animals became significantly enlarged by day 40 p.i. (38% larger than the controls; P < 0.001) whereas significant enlargement of the spleen was first detected on day 72. Each infected animal had detectable serum levels of antileishmanial antibodies on day 72. There were significant elevations in gamma-globulin concentration as early as day 40 (P < 0.05) but significant falls in albumin concentrations were only detected from day 107 (P < 0.001). Nitrate, creatinine and urea concentrations remained unchanged during the course of infection, even after L-AmB treatment. Serum nitrate levels were not enhanced by L. infantum infection nor by the L-AmB treatment which induced a 98.2% decrease in parasite burden. The lack of NO production in visceral leishmaniasis, with or without L-AmB treatment, points to the unresponsiveness of inducible nitric oxide synthase in this rodent model.

Amphotericin B↗

[Portal hypertension and neutrocytic ascites in POEMS syndrome].

We report a case of portal hypertension and neutrocytic ascites in a 52 year old man with POEMS syndrome. POEMS syndrome is an association of polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal gammapathy and skin changes. Portal hypertension is rare in POEMS syndrome and this is the first time that culture negative neutrocytic ascites has been described with this syndrome.

Ascites↗

Epoxyethane-/ethynesulfonamides with antifilarial activities. Degradation kinetics and inhibitory effect on filarial malate dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase.

Some epoxyethane-/ethynesulfonamides had shown strong filaricidal activity with inconstant reproducibility as a result of a lack of stability in aqueous solution. The degradation in hydroxylic and aprotic solutions of two epoxyethanesulfonamides and one ethynesulfonamide was investigated using TLC, HPLC, GC and mass spectrometry. For both epoxydes, the degradation rate followed first-order kinetics and was more rapid in hydroxylic than in aprotic solutions. The degradation increased with the temperature whereas it was not modified with and without light exposure. Four kinds of degradation products were found: the first one involved the oxidation of the epoxyde bond, the second the breaking of the N-S bond, the third a desulfonation product and the fourth was not identified. In contrast, the stability of ethynesulfonamide was better than those of epoxyethanesulfonamide. These results suggest that epoxyethanesulfonamides should be kept at +4 degrees C before being injected to animals during the study of biological activity. Since epoxyde compounds are known to have inhibitory effects on parasite energy metabolism enzymes, the compunds were evaluated on two major filarial enzymes: lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and cytoplasmic malate dehydrogenase (MDH). Both epoxyethanesulfonamides showed only a slight inhibitory effect on filarial LDH and MDH confirming the evidence that the main mode of action of these compounds remains to discover. Moreover, ethynesulfonamide and the degradation products of both epoxyethane-sulfonamides had no effect on LDH and MDH.

Animals↗

Ultrastructural changes in parasites induced by nanoparticle-bound pentamidine in a Leishmania major/mouse model.

Drug targeting enhances drug efficacy. This principle was tested in the treatment of an experimental visceral leishmaniasis. Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) we localized pentamidine-loaded polymethocrylate nanoparticles in the liver of mice infected with Leishmania major and compared the ultrastructural changes in the parasites of these mice when they were treated with bound versus free pentamidine. Between days 13 and 17 after infection, loaded nanoparticles treated group were injected i.v. with 3 doses of 0.17 mg/kg bound pentamidine loaded on 2 x 10(11) nanospheres; control groups received 2 x 10(11) unloaded nanospheres. Drug reference control groups received five doses of 200 mg/kg pentavalent antimony (Glucantime) or three doses of free pentamidine (0.17 mg/kg or 2.28 mg/kg). Mice treated with bound pentamidine displayed a 77% reduction in their parasite burden versus the untreated controls. Nanoparticles were located by TEM inside parasitized Küpffer cells, in the phagolysosomes without entering the Leishmania. The low dose of 0.17 mg/kg bound pentamidine damaged the Leishmania to the same extent as 2.28 mg/kg of free pentamidine (the usual dose in human chemotherapy). In the parasites inside the Küpffer cells, TEM showed a swollen mitochondrian with loss of cristae, destruction or fragmentation of the kinetoplast, loss of ribosomes and destruction of parasite structures except for the subpellicular microtubules. This study therefore shows that a dose of bound pentamidine 13 times smaller than the usual dose of free pentamidine has a similar effect on the parasite.

Animals↗

Synthesis of catecholamide spiroarsoranes and their in vitro anthelmintic properties against Molinema dessetae and Nippostrongylus brasiliensis infective larvae.

Catecholamide spiroarsoranes were synthesized and evaluated for anthelmintic properties on two in vitro models, infective larvae of the filaria Molinema dessetae and infective larvae of an intestinal nematode. Nippostrongylus brasiliensis. On the N dessetae model, the most active compound after 24 h incubation time had an EC50 of 0.1 mumol/l. Eleven compounds had EC50 's in a range from 2 to 200 mumol/l. After 7 days incubation time, the two most active compounds had EC50 's of 0.03 and 0.07 mumol/l, respectively. On the N brasiliensis model, only three compounds were slightly active after 4 days incubation time. The ligands used for the spiroarsoranes synthesis were also evaluated for anthelmintic activity in order to know the contribution of these structures in the spiroarsoranes activity. Spiroarsoranes as prodrugs of arsonic acids were very active on the filaria, nematode having predominantly transcuticular uptake of nutrients while the activity on the intestinal nematode having both the types, transcuticular and intestinal uptake was low. The high sensitivity of filarial infective larvae is probably in relation to their location in the mosquito whereas N. brasiliensis infective larvae are telluric and should be more unsensitive to survive in a variable environment.

Animals↗

Selective elution and purification of living Trichomonas vaginalis using gravitational field-flow fractionation.

Gravitational field-flow fractionation is one of the simplest separation methods for biological materials. Its potential in parasitology is demonstrated for Trichomonas vaginalis, a parasite responsible for one of the most widespread sexually transmitted diseases. It was observed that this unicellular parasite can be purified in a culture medium with a recovery of 85% for the living trophozoites. The parasite retention characteristics were different when motile living and non-motile dead cells were eluted, motile cells being less retained than the non-motile cells.

Adult↗

In vitro quantitative assessment of Echinococcus multilocularis metacestode viability after in vivo and in vitro maintenance.

The aim of this study was to apply the enzymatic MTT (3,5 dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide--formazan colorimetry for quantifying the viability of Echinococcus multilocularis whole cysts, after maintenance in vivo or in vitro. The enzymatic activities of young cysts freshly removed from rodents were linearly correlated with the parasite cyst weight. A comparative evaluation of the MTT assay and the in vitro viability assessments showed that the number of animals used for drug-screening purposes would be reduced by 35.8%. In this way, the use of different parasite samples removed from the same host is required, because of their different ages and their subsequent different abilities to reduce MTT. Cysts removed from mice exhibited higher colorimetric values than those removed from jirds. Thus, small entire cysts obtained from mice were maintained in the CMRL 1066 culture medium. Their enzymatic activities were evaluated at different times. The results indicate that, in such conditions, the optimal period of time for testing the effect of drugs against the metacestodes is limited to the 10 days following their transfer from mouse to culture flasks. The MTT assay encourages further studies to improve the viability of the whole cysts in vitro, using other standardizable culture conditions.

Animals↗