Institute for Parasitology, Justus-Liebig-University, 35392 Giessen, Germany.
Int J Parasitol. 2010 Apr;40(5):521-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2010.01.007. Epub 2010 Feb 10.
Schistosomes cause bilharzia (schistosomiasis), one of the most prevalent parasitic diseases for human and animals worldwide. Praziquantel (PZQ) is the only widely used drug for treatment and control of this parasitemia. Since a vaccine is not yet available, and in light of emerging resistance against PZQ, the search for alternatives has high priority. Here we present that Imatinib, a compound used in human cancer therapy (Gleevec; STI-571), significantly affected schistosome morphology and physiology in vitro. Besides its negative effect on gonad development and pairing stability, Imatinib led to pathological alterations of the gastrodermis, which finally caused the death of the parasite.
血吸虫引起的血吸虫病（裂体吸虫病）是全球人类和动物最普遍的寄生虫病之一。吡喹酮（PZQ）是唯一广泛用于治疗和控制这种寄生虫病的药物。由于目前还没有疫苗，而且鉴于 PZQ 出现了耐药性，因此寻找替代品是当务之急。在这里，我们发现用于人类癌症治疗的化合物伊马替尼（Gleevec；STI-571）在体外显著影响血吸虫的形态和生理。除了对生殖腺发育和配对稳定性产生负面影响外，伊马替尼还导致了胃皮的病理性改变，最终导致寄生虫死亡。
