Alteration to one of three adenosine transporters is associated with resistance to cymelarsan in Trypanosoma evansi.

Continuous exposure of Trypanosoma evansi bloodstream forms to Cymelarsan in vitro resulted in the induction of resistance to the drug over a period of 4.5 months. Induction of resistance to Cymelarsan was accompanied by increased resistance to both Arsobal and Berenil, but Cymelarsan-resistant trypanosomes remained sensitive to Suramin and Antrycide. Since resistance to arsenical drugs in trypanosomes has been linked to changes in adenosine uptake, the adenosine metabolism in drug-sensitive and drug-resistant clones was measured. The initial rate of [3H]-adenosine uptake was much higher in sensitive trypanosomes than in drug-resistant parasites, but the amount of radiolabel accumulated by each population was similar. Both adenine and inosine inhibited incorporation of [3H]-adenosine in each population, but in quite different ways. Adenine inhibited more than 80% of adenosine incorporation in drug-sensitive trypanosomes but suppressed less than half of this process in the resistant population. In contrast, inosine inhibited only 10-15% of adenosine incorporation in the sensitive parasites but was inhibitory to a much greater extent in resistant trypanosomes. Lysis of drug-sensitive trypanosomes by 1 microM Cymelarsan was inhibited by adenosine, adenine and Berenil but not by inosine. Furthermore, in drug-sensitive trypanosomes, adenosine uptake could be reduced in three stages by the sequential addition of inosine, Berenil and adenine, whereas in drug-resistant parasites a reduction in adenosine uptake was caused only by the addition of inosine and adenine. These observations provide evidence that the acquisition of resistance to Cymelarsan is accompanied by the loss of one of three adenosine transporters in T. evansi. In drug-sensitive trypanosomes, this transporter mediates the entry of adenine and also of Cymelarsan and Berenil into the parasites.

Trypanosoma evansi: measurement of pyruvate production as an indicator of the drug sensitivity of isolates in vitro.

In a previous study, three in vitro methods for the assessment of drug sensitivity among Trypanosoma evansi isolates were compared--a direct counting method, pyruvate production method and uptake of radiolabelled hypoxanthine. The pyruvate assay system, which measures the amount of pyruvate in the supernatant of growing populations of trypanosomes by a spectrophotometric method, was selected for further investigation with regard to its suitability for field studies. The effect of initial seeding density and incubation time on the growth of three stocks of T. evansi--TREU 1840 and TREU 1981 (suramin sensitive) and TREU 2136 (suramin resistant)--and drug sensitivities revealed by the pyruvate assay and direct counting were examined to optimise assay conditions. Maximum densities and pyruvate production achieved were not affected by varying the initial seeding densities in the range of 5 x 10(4)-5 x 10(5)/ml and had been reached after 48 hours incubation with one exception: Pyruvate levels continued to increase up to 72 hours in the suramin resistant stock. However, inhibition curves were affected by initial seeding density and incubation period. Results suggested that an initial seeding density of 1 x 10(5)/ml and an incubation time of 48 hours are optimal for the assay. Using these assay conditions, the isolates were screened against suramin, quinapyramine sulphate and Cymelarsan, the trypanocides used most commonly against T. evansi. This assay proved to be a relatively simple and cheap technique applicable to screening large numbers of isolates of differing sensitivities to trypanocidal drugs.