Natural sesquiterpene lactones are active against Leishmania mexicana
Author
dc.contributor.author
Barrera, Patricia A.
Author
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Jimenez-Ortiz, Verónica
Author
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Tonn, Carlos
Author
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Giordano, Oscar
Author
dc.contributor.author
Galanti Garrone, Norbel
Author
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Sosa, Miguel A.
Admission date
dc.date.accessioned
2019-03-11T12:56:39Z
Available date
dc.date.available
2019-03-11T12:56:39Z
Publication date
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2008
Cita de ítem
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Journal of Parasitology, Volumen 94, Issue 5, 2018, Pages 1143-1149
Identifier
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00223395
Identifier
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10.1645/GE-1501.1
Identifier
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https://repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/2250/164622
Abstract
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In this paper, the effects of 3 natural sesquiterpene lactones, i.e., helenalin (Hln), mexicanin (Mxc), and dehydroleucodine (DhL), were evaluated using cultured Leishmania mexicana promastigotes. It was observed that the compounds inhibited the in vitro growth of the parasites at relatively low concentrations. The effect was rapid and irreversible with an estimated IC 50 of 2-4 μM, while all the lactones were more effective than ketoconazole. Moreover, these compounds exhibited low cytotoxicity for mammalian cells. Hln induced strong vacuolization of the parasite cytoplasm, although pericellular microtubules were preserved. The 3 lactones induced DNA fragmentation as judged by the high labeling with the fluorescent TUNEL method, which was confirmed by electrophoresis on agarose gels. The ability of the parasites to invade Vero cells was also decreased by exposure to low concentrations of the compounds. We conclude that these compounds can affect the parasite's life cycle, possibly thr