Pedro L.S. Pinto

Phytol, a Diterpene Alcohol from Chlorophyll, as a Drug against Neglected Tropical Disease Schistosomiasis Mansoni

Background Schistosomiasis is a major endemic disease that affects hundreds of millions worldwide. Since the treatment and control of this parasitic disease rely on a single drug, praziquantel, it is imperative that new effective drugs are developed. Here, we report that phytol, a diterpene alcohol from chlorophyll widely used as a food additive and in medicinal fields, possesses promising antischistosomal properties in vitro and in a mouse model of schistosomiasis mansoni. Methods and findings In vitro, phytol reduced the motor activity of worms, caused their death and confocal laser scanning microscopy analysis showed extensive tegumental alterations in a concentration-dependent manner (50 to 100 µg/mL). Additionally, phytol at sublethal doses (25 µg/mL) reduced the number of Schistosoma mansoni eggs. In vivo, a single dose of phytol (40 mg/kg) administered orally to mice infected with adult S. mansoni resulted in total and female worm burden reductions of 51.2% and 70.3%, respectively. Moreover, phytol reduced the number of eggs in faeces (76.6%) and the frequency of immature eggs (oogram pattern) was significantly reduced. The oogram also showed increases in the proportion of dead eggs. Confocal microcopy studies revealed tegumental damage in adult S. mansoni recovered from mice, especially in female worms. Conclusions The significant reduction in parasite burden by this chlorophyll molecule validates phytol as a promising drug and offers the potential of a new direction for chemotherapy of human schistosomiasis. Phytol is a common food additive and nonmutagenic, with satisfactory safety. Thus, phytol has potential as a safe and cost-effective addition to antischistosomal therapy.

Aedes albopictus em área rural do Brasil e implicações na transmissão de febre amarela silvestre

Larvae and adult forms of Aedes albopictus were found during ecological study of anopheline mosquitos in the rural zone of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul in Brazil. This occurrence was registered, for the first time in Brazil, in an enzoootic area if sylvatic yellow fever virus. This implies a potential risk of the transfer of this virus to an urban area infested with Aedes aegypti.

Antischistosomal Activity of the Terpene Nerolidol

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease that affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Since the treatment of this disease currently relies on a single drug, praziquantel, new and safe schistosomicidal agents are urgently required. Nerolidol, a sesquiterpene present in the essential oils of several plants, is found in many foods and was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In this study we analysed the in vitro antiparasitic effect of nerolidol on Schistosoma mansoni adult worms. Nerolidol at concentrations of 31.2 and 62.5 μM reduced the worm motor activity and caused the death of all male and female schistosomes, respectively. In addition, confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed morphological alterations on the tegument of worms such as disintegration, sloughing and erosion of the surface, and a correlation between viability and tegumental damage was observed. In conclusion, nerolidol may be a promising lead compound for the development of antischistosomal natural agents.

Detection of Cryptosporidium sp. in non diarrheal faeces from children, in a day care center in the city of São Paulo, Brazil

The protozoan Cryptosporidium sp. has been frequently detected in faeces from children with persistent diarrhoea. This work achieved to investigate an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis, in a day care center, attending children of high socio-economic level, between 0 and six years old. The outbreak was detected through the network of public health, when stool samples, not diarrhoeic, were examined at the Parasitology Service of the Adolfo Lutz Institute. Among the 64 examined children, 13 (20.3%) showed oocysts of Cryptosporidium sp. in the faeces examined by Kinyoun technique: seven children one year old, three, two years old and three, three years old. Among the 23 examined adults, only a 22 years old woman, possibly having an immunocomprometiment, was positive. Clinical and epidemiological aspects were investigated by questionnaires, highlighting the occurrence of the outbreak in a very dry period.

Anthelmintic Activity In Vivo of Epiisopiloturine against Juvenile and Adult Worms of Schistosoma mansoni

Schistosomiasis is a serious disease currently estimated to affect more that 207 million people worldwide. Due to the intensive use of praziquantel, there is increasing concern about the development of drug-resistant strains. Therefore, it is necessary to search for and investigate new potential schistosomicidal compounds. This work reports the in vivo effect of the alkaloid epiisopiloturine (EPI) against adults and juvenile worms of Schistosoma mansoni. EPI was first purified its thermal behavior and theoretical solubility parameters charaterised. In the experiment, mice were treated with EPI over the 21 days post-infection with the doses of 40 and 200 mg/kg, and 45 days post-infection with single doses of 40, 100 and 300 mg/kg. The treatment with EPI at 40 mg/kg was more effective in adult worms when compared with doses of 100 and 300 mg/kg. The treatment with 40 mg/kg in adult worms reduced parasite burden significantly, lead to reduction in hepatosplenomegaly, reduced the egg burden in faeces, and decreased granuloma diameter. Scanning electron microscopy revealed morphological changes to the parasite tegument after treatment, including the loss of important features. Additionally, the in vivo treatment against juvenile with 40 mg/kg showed a reduction of the total worm burden of 50.2%. Histopathological studies were performed on liver, spleen, lung, kidney and brain and EPI was shown to have a DL50 of 8000 mg/kg. Therefore EPI shows potential to be used in schistosomiasis treatment. This is the first time that schistosomicidal in vivo activity of EPI has been reported.

Garcinielliptone FC: Antiparasitic activity without cytotoxicity to mammalian cells

Garcinielliptone FC (GFC) is a natural prenylated benzophenone found in the seeds of Platonia insignis Mart. (Clusiaceae), a native Brazilian plant. It has been chemically characterized and it is known that GFC has several biological activities such as antioxidant and vasorelaxant properties. In this study, we report the in vitro effect of GFC against the blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni, the parasite responsible for schistosomiasis mansoni. The anti-S. mansoni activity and cytotoxicity toward mammalian cells were determined for the compound. GFC⩾6.25 μM showed antischistosomal activity and confocal laser scanning microscopy analysis demonstrated several morphological alterations on the tegument of worms, and a correlation between viability and tegumental damage was observed. In addition, at sub-lethal concentrations of GFC (⩽3.125 μM), the number of S. mansoni eggs was reduced. More importantly, GFC exhibited no activity toward mammalian cells and, therefore, there is an appreciable selectivity of this compound against the helminths. In conclusion, these findings indicate the potential of GFC as an antiparasitic agent.

Cardamonin, a schistosomicidal chalcone from Piper aduncum L. (Piperaceae) that inhibits Schistosoma mansoni ATP diphosphohydrolase

BACKGROUND Schistosomiasis is one of the worlds major public health problems, and praziquantel (PZQ) is the only available drug to treat this neglected disease with an urgent demand for new drugs. Recent studies indicated that extracts from Piper aduncum L. (Piperaceae) are active against adult worms of Schistosoma mansoni, the major etiological agent of human schistosomiasis. PURPOSE We investigated the in vitro schistosomicidal activity of cardamonin, a chalcone isolated from the crude extract of P. aduncum. Also, this present work describes, for the first time, the S. mansoni ATP diphosphohydrolase inhibitory activity of cardamonin, as well as, its molecular docking with S. mansoni ATPDase1, in order to investigate its mode of inhibition. METHODS In vitro schistosomicidal assays and confocal laser scanning microscopy were used to evaluate the effects of cardamonin on adult schistosomes. Cell viability was measured by MTT assay, and the S. mansoni ATPase activity was determined spectrophotometrically. Identification of the cardamonin binding site and its interactions on S. mansoni ATPDase1 were made by molecular docking experiments. RESULTS A bioguided fractionation of the crude extract of P. aduncum was carried out, leading to identification of cardamonin as the active compound, along with pinocembrin and uvangoletin. Cardamonin (25, 50, and 100 µM) caused 100% mortality, tegumental alterations, and reduction of oviposition and motor activity of all adult worms of S. mansoni, without affecting mammalian cells. Confocal laser scanning microscopy showed tegumental morphological alterations and changes on the numbers of tubercles of S. mansoni worms in a dose-dependent manner. Cardamonin also inhibited S. mansoni ATP diphosphohydrolase (IC50 of 23.54 µM). Molecular docking studies revealed that cardamonin interacts with the Nucleotide-Binding of SmATPDase 1. The nature of SmATPDase 1-cardamonin interactions is mainly hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding. CONCLUSION This report provides evidence for the in vitro schistosomicidal activity of cardamonin and demonstrated, for the first time, that this chalcone is highly effective in inhibiting S. mansoni ATP diphosphohydrolase, opening the route to further studies of chalcones as prototypes for new S. mansoni ATP diphosphohydrolase inhibitors.

Structural parameters, molecular properties, and biological evaluation of some terpenes targeting Schistosoma mansoni parasite

The use of natural products has a long tradition in medicine, and they have proven to be an important source of lead compounds in the development of new drugs. Among the natural compounds, terpenoids present broad-spectrum activity against infective agents such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoan and helminth parasites. In this study, we report a biological screening of 38 chemically characterized terpenes from different classes, which have a hydroxyl group connected by hydrophobic chain or an acceptor site, against the blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni, the parasite responsible for schistosomiasis mansoni. In vitro bioassays revealed that 3,7-dimethyl-1-octanol (dihydrocitronellol) (10) was the most active terpene (IC50 values of 13-52 μM) and, thus, we investigated its antischistosomal activity in greater detail. Confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed that compound 10 induced severe tegumental damage in adult schistosomes and a correlation between viability and tegumental changes was observed. Furthermore, we compared all the inactive compounds with dihydrocitronellol structurally by using shape and charge modeling. Lipophilicity (miLogP) and other molecular properties (e.g. molecular polar surface area, molecular electrostatic potential) were also calculated. From the 38 terpenes studied, compound 10 is the one with the greatest flexibility, with a sufficient apolar region by which it may interact in a hydrophobic active site. In conclusion, the integration of biological and chemical analysis indicates the potential of the terpene dihydrocitronellol as an antiparasitic agent.

Antischistosomal Activity of Oxindolimine-Metal Complexes

ABSTRACT In recent years, a class of oxindole-copper and -zinc complex derivatives have been reported as compounds with efficient proapoptotic activity toward different tumor cells (e.g., neuroblastomas, melanomas, monocytes). Here we assessed the efficacy of synthesized oxindole-copper(II), -zinc(II), and -vanadyl (VO2+) complexes against adult Schistosoma mansoni worms. The copper(II) complexes (50% inhibitory concentrations of 30 to 45 μM) demonstrated greater antischistosomal properties than the analogous zinc and vanadyl complexes regarding lethality, reduction of motor activity, and oviposition.

Antiparasitic activity of nerolidol in a mouse model of schistosomiasis

Schistosomiasis is a major public health problem worldwide, especially in poor communities. Since praziquantel is currently the only drug available to treat schistosomiasis, there is an urgent need to identify new antischistosomal drugs. Nerolidol is a sesquiterpene present as an essential oil in several plants that has been approved by the FDA. This study evaluated the in vivo antischistosomal activity of nerolidol in a mouse model of schistosomiasis infected with either adult or juvenile stages of Schistosoma mansoni. A single dose of nerolidol (100, 200 or 400 mg/kg) administered orally to mice infected with adult schistosomes resulted in a reduction in worm burden and egg production. Treatment with the highest nerolidol dose (400 mg/kg) caused significant reduction in a total worm burden of 70.06% (P < 0.001). Additionally, the technique of quantitative and qualitative oograms showed that a single 400 mg/kg nerolidol dose achieved an immature egg reduction of 84.6% (P < 0.001). In faecal samples, the Kato-Katz method also revealed a reduction of 75.2% in eggs/g at a dose of 400 mg/kg (P < 0.001). Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy revealed that nerolidol-mediated worm killing was associated with tegumental damage. In contrast to activity against adult S. mansoni infection, oral treatment with nerolidol 400 mg/kg had low efficacy in mice harbouring juvenile schistosomes. Since nerolidol is already in use globally as a food additive and has a proven safety record, evaluation of this natural compounds potential for treatment of schistosomiasis could be entirely cost effective in the near future.