Bisphosphonates inhibit the growth of Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi, Leishmania donovani, Toxoplasma gondii, and Plasmodium falciparum: a potential route to chemotherapy.
Martin, MB;
Grimley, JS;
Lewis, JC;
Heath, HT;
Bailey, BN;
Kendrick, H;
Yardley, V;
Caldera, A;
Lira, R;
Urbina, JA;
+4 more...Moreno, SN;
Docampo, R;
Croft, SL;
Oldfield, E;
(2001)
Bisphosphonates inhibit the growth of Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi, Leishmania donovani, Toxoplasma gondii, and Plasmodium falciparum: a potential route to chemotherapy.
Journal of medicinal chemistry, 44 (6).
pp. 909-916.
ISSN 0022-2623
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/jm0002578
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We have investigated the effects in vitro of a series of bisphosphonates on the proliferation of Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, Leishmania donovani, Toxoplasma gondii, and Plasmodium falciparum. The results show that nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates of the type used in bone resorption therapy have significant activity against parasites, with the aromatic species having in some cases nanomolar or low-micromolar IC(50) activity values against parasite replication (e.g. o-risedronate, IC(50) = 220 nM for T. brucei rhodesiense; risedronate, IC(50) = 490 nM for T. gondii). In T. cruzi, the nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate risedronate is shown to inhibit sterol biosynthesis at a pre-squalene level, most likely by inhibiting farnesylpyrophosphate synthase. Bisphosphonates therefore appear to have potential in treating parasitic protozoan diseases.