In Silico, In Vitro, and Pharmacokinetic Studies of UBMC-4, a Potential Novel Compound for Treating against .

The lack of therapeutic alternatives for the treatment of Chagas disease, a neglected disease, drives the discovery of new drugs with trypanocidal activity. Consequently, we conducted in vitro studies using UBMC-4, a potential Trypanosoma cruzi AKT-like pleckstrin homology (PH) domain inhibitory compound found using bioinformatics tools. The half effective concentration (EC50) on intracellular amastigotes was determined at 1.

Identification of Potential Kinase Inhibitors within the PI3K/AKT Pathway of Species.

Leishmaniasis is a public health disease that requires the development of more effective treatments and the identification of novel molecular targets. Since blocking the PI3K/AKT pathway has been successfully studied as an effective anticancer strategy for decades, we examined whether the same approach would also be feasible in due to their high amount and diverse set of annotated proteins. Here, we used a best reciprocal hits protocol to identify potential protein kinase homologues in an annotated human PI3K/AKT pathway.

Search of Allosteric Inhibitors and Associated Proteins of an AKT- Kinase from .

Proteins associated to the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway are widely used targets for cancer treatment, and in recent years they have also been evaluated as putative targets in trypanosomatids parasites, such as . Here, we performed a virtual screening approach to find candidates that can bind regions on or near the Pleckstrin homology domain of an AKT- protein in The compounds were also evaluated in vitro. The in silico and experimental results allowed us to identify a set of compounds that can potentially alter the intracellular signaling pathway through the AKT- kinase of the parasite; among them, a derivative of the pyrazolopyridine nucleus with an IC of 14.

[Standardization of a multiplex real-time PCR test for the identification of Angiostrongylus cantonensis, A. costaricensis and A. vasorum].

Introduction: Angiostrongyliasis is a disease caused by Angiostrongylus nematodes that is present worldwide. The infections with the highest impact on human and animal health are caused by A. cantonensis, A.

Identification of a RAC/AKT-like gene in Leishmania parasites as a putative therapeutic target in leishmaniasis.

Background: Leishmaniasis is one of the world's most neglected diseases caused by at least 20 different species of the protozoan parasite Leishmania. Although new drugs have become recently available, current therapy for leishmaniasis is still unsatisfactory. A subgroup of serine/threonine protein kinases named as related to A and C protein kinases (RAC), or protein kinase B (PKB)/AKT, has been identified in several organisms including Trypanosoma cruzi parasites.

Mitochondria and lipid raft-located FOF1-ATP synthase as major therapeutic targets in the antileishmanial and anticancer activities of ether lipid edelfosine.

Background: Leishmaniasis is the world's second deadliest parasitic disease after malaria, and current treatment of the different forms of this disease is far from satisfactory. Alkylphospholipid analogs (APLs) are a family of anticancer drugs that show antileishmanial activity, including the first oral drug (miltefosine) for leishmaniasis and drugs in preclinical/clinical oncology trials, but their precise mechanism of action remains to be elucidated.

Methodology/principal Findings: Here we show that the tumor cell apoptosis-inducer edelfosine was the most effective APL, as compared to miltefosine, perifosine and erucylphosphocholine, in killing Leishmania spp.

C-Geranylated flavonoids from Paulownia tomentosa fruits with antimicrobial potential and synergistic activity with antibiotics.

Context C-6-Geranylated flavonoids possess promising biological activities. These substances could be a source of lead compounds for the development of therapeutics. Objective The study was designed to evaluate their antibacterial and antileishmanial activity.

Inhibition of Granulomatous Inflammation and Prophylactic Treatment of Schistosomiasis with a Combination of Edelfosine and Praziquantel.

Background: Schistosomiasis is the third most devastating tropical disease worldwide caused by blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma. This parasitic disease is due to immunologic reactions to Schistosoma eggs trapped in tissues. Egg-released antigens stimulate tissue-destructive inflammatory and granulomatous reactions, involving different immune cell populations, including T cells and granulocytes.

In vitro and in vivo anti-schistosomal activity of the alkylphospholipid analog edelfosine.

Background: Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by trematodes of the genus Schistosoma. Five species of Schistosoma are known to infect humans, out of which S. haematobium is the most prevalent, causing the chronic parasitic disease schistosomiasis that still represents a major problem of public health in many regions of the world and especially in tropical areas, leading to serious manifestations and mortality in developing countries.

The HSP90 inhibitor 17-AAG potentiates the antileishmanial activity of the ether lipid edelfosine.

HSP90 is an abundant protein in Leishmania parasites that plays a major role in the parasite survival under stress conditions. Here we found that the HSP90 inhibitor 17-AAG (≥100nM 17-AAG) induced cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 in Leishmania infantum and Leishmania panamensis promastigotes, and highly potentiated the induction of cell death by an apoptotic-like process mediated by the ether phospholipid edelfosine (5-20μM). These data suggest that the combined treatment of 17-AAG and edelfosine might be a novel and effective approach of combination therapy in the treatment of leishmaniasis.

In vitro and in vivo efficacy of ether lipid edelfosine against Leishmania spp. and SbV-resistant parasites.

Background: The leishmaniases are a complex of neglected tropical diseases caused by more than 20 Leishmania parasite species, for which available therapeutic arsenal is scarce and unsatisfactory. Pentavalent antimonials (SbV) are currently the first-line pharmacologic therapy for leishmaniasis worldwide, but resistance to these compounds is increasingly reported. Alkyl-lysophospoholipid analogs (ALPs) constitute a family of compounds with antileishmanial activity, and one of its members, miltefosine, has been approved as the first oral treatment for visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Leishmania (Viannia) panamensis: an in vitro assay using the expression of GFP for screening of antileishmanial drug.

Promastigotes of Leishmania (Viannia) panamensis were successfully transfected with p6.5-egfp to express green fluorescent protein. The transfectants remained infective to macrophages, providing an in vitro model for screening antileishmanial drugs.