Repurposing of an old drug: In vitro and in vivo efficacies of buparvaquone against Echinococcus multilocularis.

ABSTRACT: The metacestode stage of the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis causes the lethal disease alveolar echinococcosis. Current chemotherapeutic treatment options are based on benzimidazoles (albendazole and mebendazole), which are insufficient and hence alternative drugs are needed. In this study, we screened the 400 compounds of the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) Pathogen Box against E. multilocularis metacestodes. For the screen, we employed the phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) assay which assesses drug-induced damage on metacestodes, and identified ten new compounds with activity against the parasite. The anti-theilerial drug MMV689480 (buparvaquone) and MMV671636 (ELQ-400) were the most promising compounds, with an IC₅₀ of 2.87 μM and 0.02 μM respectively against in vit

SUBMITTER: Rufener R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6216040 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature