In vitro and in vivo growth inhibitory activities of cryptolepine hydrate against several Babesia species and Theileria equi

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2020 Aug 27;14(8):e0008489. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008489. eCollection 2020 Aug.

Abstract

Piroplasmosis treatment has been based on the use of imidocarb dipropionate or diminazene aceturate (DA), however, their toxic effects. Therefore, the discovery of new drug molecules and targets is urgently needed. Cryptolepine (CRY) is a pharmacologically active plant alkaloid; it has significant potential as an antiprotozoal and antibacterial under different in vitro and in vivo conditions. The fluorescence assay was used for evaluating the inhibitory effect of CRY on four Babesia species and Theileria equi in vitro, and on the multiplication of B. microti in mice. The toxicity assay was evaluated on Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK), mouse embryonic fibroblast (NIH/3T3), and human foreskin fibroblast (HFF) cell lines. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of CRY on Babesia bovis, B. bigemina, B. divergens, B. caballi, and T. equi were 1740 ± 0.377, 1400 ± 0.6, 790 ± 0.32, 600 ± 0.53, and 730 ± 0.025 nM, respectively. The toxicity assay on MDBK, NIH/3T3, and HFF cell lines showed that CRY affected the viability of cells with a half-maximum effective concentration (EC50) of 86.67 ± 4.43, 95.29 ± 2.7, and higher than 100 μM, respectively. In mice experiments, CRY at a concentration of 5 mg/kg effectively inhibited the growth of B. microti, while CRY-atovaquone (AQ) and CRY-DA combinations showed higher chemotherapeutic effects than CRY alone. Our results showed that CRY has the potential to be an alternative remedy for treating piroplasmosis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Infective Agents / administration & dosage
  • Anti-Infective Agents / pharmacology*
  • Babesia / drug effects*
  • Babesiosis / drug therapy*
  • Cell Line
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Indole Alkaloids / pharmacology*
  • Mice
  • Quinolines / pharmacology*
  • Theileria / drug effects*

Substances

  • Anti-Infective Agents
  • Indole Alkaloids
  • Quinolines
  • cryptolepine

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Ministry of Higher Education, Egypt, and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKEN, Grant Number 18 H02337 to Prof. Ikuo Igarashi. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.