Antimalarial Agents as Therapeutic Tools Against Toxoplasmosis-A Short Bridge between Two Distant Illnesses

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 25; no. 7; p. 1574
• Main Authors: Secrieru, Alina, Costa, Inês C C, O'Neill, Paul M, Cristiano, Maria L S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 30.03.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Animals; Antimalarial agents; antimalarial drugs; Antimalarials - therapeutic use; Antiprotozoal agents; Brain research; Chemical compounds; Chemotherapy; Congenital diseases; Cysts; Drug development; Drug Repositioning; drug repurposing; Drugs; endochin-like quinolones; Fetuses; Humans; Illnesses; Immune system; Infections; Infectious diseases; Malaria; Organic compounds; Organs; Parasites; Pathogens; Peptides; Pharmacology; Plasmodium spp; Populations; Pregnancy; Public health; Pyrimidines; Quinolines; Review; Toxoplasma - metabolism; Toxoplasma gondii; Toxoplasmosis; Toxoplasmosis - drug therapy; Toxoplasmosis - metabolism; Toxoplasma gondii; antimalarial drugs; drug repurposing; endoperoxides; pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines; endochin-like quinolones; Plasmodium spp; antimicrobial peptides; quinolines
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules25071574

Toxoplasmosis is an infectious disease with paramount impact worldwide, affecting many vulnerable populations and representing a significant matter of concern. Current therapies used against toxoplasmosis are based essentially on old chemotypes, which fail in providing a definitive cure for the disease, placing the most sensitive populations at risk for irreversible damage in vital organs, culminating in death in the most serious cases. Antimalarial drugs have been shown to possess key features for drug repurposing, finding application in the treatment of other parasite-borne illnesses, including toxoplasmosis. Antimalarials provide the most effective therapeutic solutions against toxoplasmosis and make up for the majority of currently available antitoxoplasmic drugs. Additionally, other antiplasmodial drugs have been scrutinized and many promising candidates have emanated in recent developments. Available data demonstrate that it is worthwhile to explore the activity of classical and most recent antimalarial chemotypes, such as quinolines, endoperoxides, pyrazolo[1,5- ]pyrimidines, and nature-derived peptide-based parasiticidal agents, in the context of toxoplasmosis chemotherapy, in the quest for encountering more effective and safer tools for toxoplasmosis control or eradication.