ABSTRACT
It has been demonstrated that continuous exposure to amodiaquine (AQ) alone elicits <i>in vitro</i> antischistosomal activities at concentrations of 1 - 10 µg/ml. However, orally administered drugs reach a peak blood concentration within one or two hours and then gradually decrease. The blood concentration does not remain at a constant level over several days as <i>in vitro</i> concentration of continuous drug exposure. <i>In vitro</i> activities by one day exposure to AQ better reflect the actual antischistosomal activities after oral administration than those elicited by continuous exposure.The objective of the present study is to compare the antischistosomal potential of one-day exposure to AQ with that to praziquantel (PZQ), a current antischistosomal drug. <i>Schistosoma mansoni</i> adult worm pairs were incubated with 0 (control), 1, 2, 5 and 10 µg/ml AQ as well as 0.01, 0.02, 0.05 and 0.1 µg/ml PZQ for the first day, and were subsequently incubated in drug-free media for a period of 14 days. The one-day exposure to AQ significantly reduced the daily egg output of the worm pairs at 1 - 10 µg/ml. The inhibitory effect on egg production continued at 5 and 10 µg/ml but proved temporary at 1 and 2 µg/ml. Furthermore, AQ-induced specific morphological alterations (severe swelling and/or localization of hemozoin) were observed in the worms at 5 and 10 µg/ml. The AQ-specific appearance of the male worms gradually faded during subsequent incubation in drug-free media, although the female worms showed elongation. Meanwhile, PZQ inhibited the egg output of adult worm pairs at concentrations of 0.01 - 0.1 µg/ml during exposure. The inhibitory effect on egg production continued at 0.05 and 0.1 µg/ml but proved temporary at 0.01 and 0.02 µg/ml. Furthermore, PZQ induced a visible contraction and shortening of the male and female worms at 0.05 and 0.1 µg/ml during exposure, but the PZQ-specific alterations quickly disappeared during subsequent incubation in drug-free media. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that one-day exposure to AQ inhibits the egg production of adult worm pairs at 1 - 10 µg/ml and induces specific morphological alterations in the worms at 5 and 10 µg/ml. The present findings have important implications for the evaluation of the therapeutic effects of both AQ monotherapy and combination therapy with artesunate on schistosomiasis in clinical field trials.
ABSTRACT
It has been demonstrated that continuous exposure to amodiaquine (AQ) alone elicits <i>in vitro</i> antischistosomal activities at concentrations of 1–10 μg/ml. However, orally administered drugs reach a peak blood concentration within one or two hours and then gradually decrease. The blood concentration does not remain at a constant level over several days as <i>in vitro</i> concentration of continuous drug exposure. <i>In vitro</i> activities by one day exposure to AQ better reflect the actual antischistosomal activities after oral administration than those elicited by continuous exposure.The objective of the present study is to compare the antischistosomal potential of one-day exposure to AQ with that to praziquantel (PZQ), a current antischistosomal drug. <i>Schistosoma mansoni</i> adult worm pairs were incubated with 0 (control), 1, 2, 5 and 10 μg/ml AQ as well as 0.01, 0.02, 0.05 and 0.1 μg/ml PZQ for the first day, and were subsequently incubated in drug-free media for a period of 14 days. The one-day exposure to AQ significantly reduced the daily egg output of the worm pairs at 1–10 μg/ml. The inhibitory effect on egg production continued at 5 and 10 μg/ml but proved temporary at 1 and 2 μg/ml. Furthermore, AQ-induced specific morphological alterations (severe swelling and/or localization of hemozoin) were observed in the worms at 5 and 10 μg/ml. The AQ-specific appearance of the male worms gradually faded during subsequent incubation in drug-free media, although the female worms showed elongation. Meanwhile, PZQ inhibited the egg output of adult worm pairs at concentrations of 0.01–0.1 μg/ml during exposure. The inhibitory effect on egg production continued at 0.05 and 0.1 μg/ml but proved temporary at 0.01 and 0.02 μg/ml. Furthermore, PZQ induced a visible contraction and shortening of the male and female worms at 0.05 and 0.1 μg/ml during exposure, but the PZQ-specific alterations quickly disappeared during subsequent incubation in drug-free media. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that one-day exposure to AQ inhibits the egg production of adult worm pairs at 1–10 μg/ml and induces specific morphological alterations in the worms at 5 and 10 μg/ml. The present findings have important implications for the evaluation of the therapeutic effects of both AQ monotherapy and combination therapy with artesunate on schistosomiasis in clinical field trials.
ABSTRACT
In this study, the in vitro effects of amodiaquine (AQ) monotherapy on the egg output of paired adult Schistosoma mansoni worms and their survival during in vitro culture were assessed. In addition, the gross morphological alterations of male and female worms caused by AQ were visually observed under a dissecting microscope. AQ significantly reduced the daily egg output of paired adult S. mansoni worms following incubation for 14 days at 1-5 µg/mL, but not at 0.5 µg/mL, compared with the control group. AQ also reduced the survival of male and female worms at concentrations of 2 and 5 µg/mL, respectively. Moreover, exposure to 5 µg/mL AQ caused severe swelling and/or localisation of black content in the body of all male and female worms within one or two days of incubation; subsequently, shrinkage in the male worms and elongation in the female worms were observed. The initial morphological alterations caused by AQ occurred along the intestinal tract of the male and female worms. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report not only the efficacy of AQ at concentrations lower than 5 µg/mL on paired adult S. mansoni worms, but also the effects of AQ on the intestinal tracts of worms in in vitro culture.