Evaluation of the inhibtory effects of dipyridamole analogous on growth and multiplication of toxplasma gondii in culture

ABSTRACT

A new array of therapeutic agents [dipyridamole and four of its analogues], interfering with adenosine transport through the parasite plasma membrane, was evaluated for the first time in this study as potential drugs for T. gondii. A concentration of 10 uM of each drug was used in a triplicate of monolayers of cultured human foreskin fibroblasts [HFF] infected with tachyzoites of the RH strain of T. gondii. Different parameters of parasite growth and multiplication were scored 24 hours later. The dipyridamole analogues RE498 and BIBW22 along with dipyridamole itself showed a significant inhibitory effect, especially on the parasite ability to infect host cells and on the overall parasite multiplication. RE541 showed moderate inhibitory effects, while the last analogue [RE57] had almost no effect on parasite growth. These results showed that dipyridamole and some of its analogues could represent effective and safe drugs for the treatment of toxoplasmosis, especially in immunocompromised patients and if combined with other drugs that could interfere with the alternative metabolic pathway of other purines