Effect of the aggregated protein dye YAT2150 on Leishmania parasite viability

The problems associated with the drugs currently used to treat leishmaniasis, including resistance, toxicity, and the high cost of some formulations, call for the urgent identification of new therapeutic agents with novel modes of action. The aggregated protein dye YAT2150 has been found to be a pot...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Monteiro, Juan M., Román-Álamo, Lucía, Avalos Padilla, Yunuen, Bouzón Arnáiz, Xavier, Iglesias, Valentín, Fernández-Lajo, Jorge, Rivas, Luis A., Fisa Saladrigas, Roser, Riera Lizandra, Ma. Cristina, Andreu, David, Pintado Grima, Carlos, Ventura, Salvador, Arce, Elsa M., Muñoz-Torrero López-Ibarra, Diego, Fernàndez Busquets, Xavier
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/216109
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/216109
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Leishmaniosi
Parasitologia mèdica
Leishmània
Leishmaniasis
Medical parasitology
Leishmania
Descripción
Sumario:The problems associated with the drugs currently used to treat leishmaniasis, including resistance, toxicity, and the high cost of some formulations, call for the urgent identification of new therapeutic agents with novel modes of action. The aggregated protein dye YAT2150 has been found to be a potent antileishmanial compound, with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of approximately 0.5 µM against promastigote and amastigote stages of Leishmania infantum. The encapsulation in liposomes of YAT2150 significantly improved its in vitro IC50 to 0.37 and 0.19 µM in promastigotes and amastigotes, respectively, and increased the half-maximal cytotoxic concentration in human umbilical vein endothelial cells to >50 µM. YAT2150 became strongly fluorescent when binding intracellular protein deposits in Leishmania cells. This fluorescence pattern aligns with the proposed mode of action of this drug in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, the inhibition of protein aggregation. In Leishmania major, YAT2150 rapidly reduced ATP levels, suggesting an alternative antileishmanial mechanism. To the best of our knowledge, this first-in-class compound is the only one described so far having significant activity against both Plasmodium and Leishmania, thus being a potential drug for the treatment of co-infections of both parasites.