Amoebicidal Activity of Caffeine and Maslinic Acid by the Induction of Programmed Cell Death in Acanthamoeba
Free-living amoebae of the genus are the causal agents of a sight-threatening ulceration of the cornea called keratitis, as well as the rare but usually fatal disease granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. Although there are many therapeutic options for the treatment of infections, they are generally l...
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Published in | Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy Vol. 61; no. 6 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
American Society for Microbiology
01.06.2017
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Free-living amoebae of the genus
are the causal agents of a sight-threatening ulceration of the cornea called
keratitis, as well as the rare but usually fatal disease granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. Although there are many therapeutic options for the treatment of
infections, they are generally lengthy and/or have limited efficacy. For the best clinical outcome, treatments should target both the trophozoite and the cyst stages, as cysts are known to confer resistance to treatment. In this study, we document the activities of caffeine and maslinic acid against both the trophozoite and the cyst stages of three clinical strains of
These drugs were chosen because they are reported to inhibit glycogen phosphorylase, which is required for encystation. Maslinic acid is also reported to be an inhibitor of extracellular proteases, which may be relevant since the protease activities of
species are correlated with their pathogenicity. We also provide evidence for the first time that both drugs exert their anti-amoebal effects through programmed cell death. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 PMCID: PMC5444160 Citation Martín-Navarro CM, López-Arencibia A, Sifaoui I, Reyes-Batlle M, Fouque E, Osuna A, Valladares B, Piñero JE, Héchard Y, Maciver SK, Lorenzo-Morales J. 2017. Amoebicidal activity of caffeine and maslinic acid by the induction of programmed cell death in Acanthamoeba. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 61:e02660-16. https://doi.org/10.1128/AAC.02660-16. |
ISSN: | 0066-4804 1098-6596 |
DOI: | 10.1128/AAC.02660-16 |