ABSTRACT
Studies have previously demonstrated the importance of serine proteases in Leishmania. A well-known serine protease inhibitor, TPCK, was used in the present study to evaluate its in vitro and in vivo antileishmanial effects and determine its mechanism of action. Despite slight toxicity against mammalian cells (CC50 = 138.8 µM), TPCK was selective for the parasite due to significant activity against L. amazonensis and L. infantum promastigote forms (IC50 = 14.6 and 31.7 µM for L. amazonensis PH8 and Josefa strains, respectively, and 11.3 µM for L. infantum) and intracellular amastigotes (IC50 values = 14.2 and 16.6 µM for PH8 and Josefa strains, respectively, and 21.7 µM for L. infantum). Leishmania parasites treated with TPCK presented mitochondrial alterations, oxidative stress, modifications in lipid content, flagellar alterations, and cytoplasmic vacuoles, all of which are factors that could be considered as contributing to the death of the parasites. Furthermore, BALB/c mice infected with L. amazonensis and treated with TPCK had a reduction in lesion size and parasite loads in the footpad and spleen. In BALB/c mice infected with L. infantum, TPCK also caused a reduction in the parasite loads in the liver and spleen. Therefore, we highlight the antileishmanial effect of the assessed serine protease inhibitor, proposing a potential therapeutic target in Leishmania as well as a possible new alternative treatment for leishmaniasis.
ABSTRACT
In our previous work, we demonstrated the promising in vitro effect of VOSalophen, a vanadium complex with a stilbene derivative, against Leishmania amazonensis. Its antileishmanial activity has been associated with oxidative stress in L. amazonensis promastigotes and L. amazonensis-infected macrophages. In the present study, the mechanism involved in the death of parasites after treatment with VOSalophen, as well as in vivo effect in the murine model cutaneous leishmaniasis, has been investigated. Promastigotes of L. amazonensis treated with VOSalophen presented apoptotic cells features, such as cell volume decrease, phosphatidylserine externalization, and DNA fragmentation. An increase in autophagic vacuoles formation in treated promastigotes was also observed, showing that autophagy also may be involved in the death of these parasites. In intracellular amastigotes, DNA fragmentation was observed after treatment with VOSalophen, but this effect was not observed in host cells, highlighting the selective effect of this vanadium complex. In addition, VOSalophen showed activity in the murine model of cutaneous leishmaniasis, without hepatic and renal damages. The outcome described here points out that VOSalophen had promising antileishmanial properties and these data also contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms involved in the death of protozoa induced by metal complexes.
