Wang Jie, Song Lijun, Xing Yuntian, Dai Yang, Hu Jinyuan, Qu Guoli, Xu Yongliang, Yin Xuren, Hang Derong, Zhang Jianfeng, Xiong Chunrong, Shi Liang, Xu Fei
National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Parasitic Disease Control and Prevention, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory on Parasite and Vector Control Technology, Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Wuxi, China.
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China.
Microbiol Spectr. 2025 Feb 4;13(2):e0377123. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.03771-23. Epub 2024 Dec 19.
Schistosomiasis is commonly managed using the praziquantel, but it is only effective against adult worms and duration of action is short. Liver fibrosis will worsen if eggs are still present after stopping treatment. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a sustained drug release system for effectively preventing and treating schistosomiasis. A disulfide bond-induced three-dimensional (3D) recombinant collagen hydrogel was developed for sustained praziquantel release. Three collagen sequences were developed based on the sequence for of , with different substitutions of residues for cysteine (S-VCL-S1, S-VCL-S2, and S-VCL-S3). Their properties were tested. Mice were infected with cercariae and treated either with praziquantel collagen hydrogel or niclosamide collagen hydrogel. The worm-killing effect was examined. The application of hydrogel-niclosamide on the skin for 24 h effectively prevented cercariae from infecting mice and showed 70.95% and 81.73% reduction in the number of eggs and worms, respectively. The combined use of niclosamide and anti-cercariae cream showed 100% protection after 24 h. The hydrogel-praziquantel also showed a 100% reduction of worms and eggs after 24 h of subcutaneous injection. The subcutaneous injection of praziquantel after 28 days of infection showed 95.19% and 80.12% reduction of worm and egg counts, respectively, and the development of larvae was significantly slowed down. Liver analysis showed no infection after 7 days of treatment. These results suggest developing a novel type of sustained-release agent against schistosomiasis based on the recombinant collagen hydrogel that provides a potential new treatment for schistosomiasis.IMPORTANCEThis study introduces an new way for treating schistosomiasis: a special collagen hydrogel that gradually releases medication to treat schistosomiasis effectively. This innovation provides a promising way to treat schistosomiasis. It represents a significant step forward in the fight against this disease and offers hope for more effective and safer treatments in the future.
血吸虫病通常使用吡喹酮进行治疗，但它仅对成虫有效且作用持续时间短。如果在停止治疗后虫卵仍存在，肝纤维化将会恶化。因此，本研究旨在开发一种能有效预防和治疗血吸虫病的持续药物释放系统。一种用于持续释放吡喹酮的二硫键诱导三维（3D）重组胶原蛋白水凝胶被开发出来。基于 的序列开发了三种胶原蛋白序列，半胱氨酸残基有不同的取代（S-VCL-S1、S-VCL-S2和S-VCL-S3）。对它们的特性进行了测试。用 尾蚴感染小鼠，并用吡喹酮胶原蛋白水凝胶或氯硝柳胺胶原蛋白水凝胶进行治疗。检测了杀蠕虫效果。将水凝胶-氯硝柳胺涂抹在皮肤上24小时可有效防止 尾蚴感染小鼠，且虫卵和虫体数量分别减少了70.95%和81.73%。氯硝柳胺与抗尾蚴乳膏联合使用在24小时后显示出100%的保护效果。皮下注射水凝胶-吡喹酮24小时后也显示虫体和虫卵数量减少了100%。感染28天后皮下注射吡喹酮，虫体和虫卵数量分别减少了95.19%和80.12%，且幼虫发育明显减缓。肝脏分析显示治疗7天后无感染。这些结果表明基于重组胶原蛋白水凝胶开发一种新型的抗血吸虫病缓释剂，为血吸虫病提供了一种潜在的新治疗方法。重要性本研究介绍了一种治疗血吸虫病的新方法：一种能逐渐释放药物以有效治疗血吸虫病的特殊胶原蛋白水凝胶。这一创新为治疗血吸虫病提供了一条有前景的途径。它代表了在对抗这种疾病方面向前迈出的重要一步，并为未来更有效、更安全的治疗带来了希望。
