Suganuma Keisuke, N'Da David D, Watanabe Ken-Ichi, Tanaka Yusuke, Mossaad Ehab, Elata Afraa, Inoue Noboru, Kawazu Shin-Ichiro
OIE Reference Laboratory for Surra, National Research Centre for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro 80-8555, Japan.
Research Center for Global Agromedicine, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro 080-8555, Japan.
Pathogens. 2022 Mar 9;11(3):331. doi: 10.3390/pathogens11030331.
Animal African trypanosomosis (AAT) leads to emaciation and low productivity in infected animals. Only six drugs are commercially available against AAT; they have severe side effects and face parasite resistance. Thus, the development of novel trypanocidal drugs is urgently needed. Nitrofurantoin, an antimicrobial, is used for treating bacterial urinary tract infections. Recently, we reported the trypanocidal effects of nitrofurantoin and its analogs in vitro. Furthermore, a nitrofurantoin analog, nifurtimox, is currently used to treat Chagas disease and chronic human African trypanosomiasis. Thus, this study was aimed at evaluating the in vivo efficacy of nitrofurantoin in treating AAT caused by . Nitrofurantoin was orally administered for 7 consecutive days from 4 days post-infection in -infected mice, and the animals were observed for 28 days. Compared to the control group, the treatment group showed significantly suppressed parasitemia at 6 days post-infection. Furthermore, survival was significantly prolonged in the group treated with at least 10 mg/kg nitrofurantoin. Moreover, 100% survival and cure was achieved with a dose of nitrofurantoin higher than 30 mg/kg. Thus, oral nitrofurantoin administration has potential trypanocidal efficacy against -induced AAT. This preliminary data will serve as a benchmark when comparing future nitrofurantoin-related compounds, which can overcome the significant shortcomings of nitrofurantoin that preclude its viable use in livestock.
动物非洲锥虫病（AAT）会导致受感染动物消瘦和生产力低下。目前仅有六种药物可用于商业治疗AAT；它们具有严重的副作用且面临寄生虫耐药性问题。因此，迫切需要开发新型杀锥虫药物。呋喃妥因是一种抗菌药物，用于治疗细菌性尿路感染。最近，我们报道了呋喃妥因及其类似物在体外的杀锥虫作用。此外，一种呋喃妥因类似物硝呋莫司目前用于治疗恰加斯病和慢性人类非洲锥虫病。因此，本研究旨在评估呋喃妥因治疗由[具体病原体未提及]引起的AAT的体内疗效。在感染[具体病原体未提及]的小鼠中，从感染后4天开始连续7天口服给予呋喃妥因，并对动物观察28天。与对照组相比，治疗组在感染后6天的寄生虫血症明显受到抑制。此外，至少10mg/kg呋喃妥因治疗组的生存期显著延长。而且，高于30mg/kg的呋喃妥因剂量可实现100%的存活和治愈。因此，口服呋喃妥因对[具体病原体未提及]诱导的AAT具有潜在的杀锥虫疗效。当比较未来的呋喃妥因相关化合物时，这些初步数据将作为一个基准，这些化合物可以克服呋喃妥因的重大缺点，使其无法在牲畜中实际应用。
