Mesquita Juliana Tonini, Taniwaki Noemi Nosomi, Tempone Andre Gustavo, Reimão Juliana Quero
Pathophysiology Laboratory, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo 01246-902, SP, Brazil.
Electron Microscopy Nucleus, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, São Paulo 01246-000, SP, Brazil.
ACS Omega. 2025 Aug 7;10(32):36432-36440. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.5c04856. eCollection 2025 Aug 19.
Leishmaniasis remains a significant global health challenge, with limited therapeutic options and rising drug resistance. The repurposing of Food and Drug Administration approved antidepressants as amitriptyline, a widely used tricyclic drug, could offer a promising strategy for developing novel antileishmanial agents. This study investigates the in vitro activity of amitriptyline against promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes and explores its ultrastructural effects and potential in combination therapy. Amitriptyline was effective against the clinically relevant form, the intracellular amastigotes of , resulting in an EC value of 22 μM. Ultrastructural analyses revealed mitochondrial swelling following amitriptyline treatment, suggesting mitochondria as a key target. This structural damage, in the absence of observable plasma membrane disruption, supports the hypothesis that amitriptyline may specifically target intracellular organelles rather than initiating cell lysis through membrane destabilization. Additionally, amitriptyline induces mitochondrial membrane depolarization in , disrupting parasite energy homeostasis. Combination assays with standard drugs amphotericin B and miltefosine demonstrated additive interactions, reinforcing the potential of amitriptyline as complementary therapy. This work highlights the antileishmanial activity of tricyclic compounds and underscores the potential for further repositioning studies, broadening the assessment of clinically used, structurally related compounds.
利什曼病仍然是一项重大的全球健康挑战,治疗选择有限且耐药性不断上升。将美国食品药品监督管理局批准的抗抑郁药如阿米替林(一种广泛使用的三环类药物)重新用于治疗,可能为开发新型抗利什曼原虫药物提供一种有前景的策略。本研究调查了阿米替林对前鞭毛体和细胞内无鞭毛体的体外活性,并探讨了其超微结构效应以及在联合治疗中的潜力。阿米替林对临床相关形式的利什曼原虫细胞内无鞭毛体有效,其半数有效浓度(EC)值为22 μM。超微结构分析显示,阿米替林处理后线粒体肿胀,表明线粒体是关键靶点。在未观察到质膜破坏的情况下,这种结构损伤支持了阿米替林可能特异性靶向细胞内细胞器而非通过膜不稳定引发细胞裂解的假说。此外,阿米替林可诱导利什曼原虫线粒体膜去极化,破坏寄生虫的能量稳态。与标准药物两性霉素B和米替福新的联合试验显示出相加作用,增强了阿米替林作为辅助治疗的潜力。这项工作突出了三环类化合物的抗利什曼原虫活性,并强调了进一步进行重新定位研究的潜力,拓宽了对临床使用的、结构相关化合物的评估范围。
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